I Found You- ch.1
My first Treebros fan fiction. Connor finds Evan after âfallingâ out of the tree and their relationship blossoms from there. Everyone lives, nobody dies.Â
Blinded by the tears, Evan felt his feet dragging across the leaf-stricken grass, unsure of where they were taking him. He felt the tight ball in his throat and the searing pain in his chest as he failed to push away the overwhelming scene that had occured only this morning.
Evan Hansen had already been running late for his summer job at the Ellison State Park, when his boss called him to ask where he was and he had stuttered and panicked in his response to which his boss replied with, âWhy donât you not come in today, Iâll have someone else cover your tours.â Evan loved his job and couldnât bear the thought of being fired and was already spiraling when his mother very abruptly entered his room and asked him why he hadnât started on his college scholarship essays yet. He couldnât come up with an excuse, and when she kept pushing him he blew up and told her he was waiting for her to be home for a change so she could help him like she said she would. Hurt, his mom told him sheâd been trying her best and Evan immediately regretted his outburst. Heidi ignored his sorries and murmured, âYou obviously need some space, so Iâll just head to work early,â and closed the door behind her.
Overwhelmed and angry with himself, Evan found his breathing shorten and his throat close up, and he stood from his bed as his vision went clouded. His sight didnât clear until he was in the orchard, standing in front of one of the great oaks. Evan craned his neck to stare up at the tree and only felt the tears flow harder.
He was a disappointment to everybody. He couldnât do his damn job right, the one thing he was supposed to be decent at. He was a burden to his hardworking mother. He had no friends; even Jared hated him. No one would notice if he disappeared, no one would even care.
Evan felt himself begin to climb the oak tree and his sight clouded yet again. One foot after the other; one branch, then to another, he climbed higher and higher until he heaved himself onto a sturdy branch forty feet above the ground. He sat, trembling on the branch for a moment, listening to his own miserable sobbing.
âNo one will notice. Iâm already forgotten,â he whispered to himself, âTheyâll be better off.â
He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply and relaxing his body.
He was on the ground in a few seconds, pain shooting all across his body and through his left arm. The wind had been knocked out of him and he lay there for several moments, hoping he would be gone soon, but he stayed conscious. He finally opened his eyes and began panicking, unable to breathe or move without his body seizing up in agony.
Suddenly Evan heard frantic footsteps and a distant voice growing nearer. He looked up as a boy about his age crouched down beside him, his hands shaking his shoulders. The boy was shouting something but Evan couldnât hear or see very clearly at the moment- his mind was too foggy. The boy could see his chest heave as he tried to breathe and he pulled Evan up into his lap at an angle to help open his lungs. As Evan gasped for breath, he saw his vision grow fuzzy and started to fade. He suddenly felt very tired. He closed his eyes, noticing how numb his body felt, and he relaxed into the boyâs arms.
The last thing he remembered before falling into a deep sleep was hearing, âYouâll be okay, Iâve got you. Youâll be okayâŠâ
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Connor Murphyâs day started off shitty like always. He wasnât able to fall asleep until around 5 AM, and his mother came into his room to wake him up only a couple hours afterwards, telling him that heâs wasting his summer in his room sleeping all day and that he should go hang out with his friends for a change. Of course she didnât listen when heâd tell her that he didnât have any friends. She didnât listen when heâd tell her that kids his age were afraid of him. She never listened. She forced him out of bed and downstairs for their âregularâ family breakfast, which was far from regular. His dad wouldnât even look up from his newspaper and his sister glared at him any time theyâd catch each otherâs eyes. Connor just wanted to sleep. He just wanted to be left alone. After sitting through his fatherâs ridicule for the millionth morning in a row, Connor had had enough.
âIâm going out,â he muttered as he stood from the table, grabbing his brown bag and heading towards the door.
âWhere are you going?â his mother asked from the dining room. Connor didnât bother stopping or looking over his shoulder at her.
âTo hang out with my hundreds of friends.â
He found himself walking down the street, not sure of where exactly he wanted to go. He just knew he didnât want to be home. After walking for a few minutes, Connor could feel his feet guiding him towards the place that always calmed him down.
As he paused at the gate of the apple orchard, Connor felt his tensed shoulders finally relax. He exhaled a breath he hadnât realized heâd been holding, and made his way slowly across the grass and through the trees. He loved the orchard, even though it brought back memories of before his family hated him. He could remember all the times he and Zoe played hide and seek and climbed the tallest trees and picked apples. Connor stopped at the base of one of the sycamore trees nearest the tallest oak in the center of the orchard. He leaned his back against the smooth bark and slid down, pulling his knees to his chest. Connor opened his bag and pulled out one of the books he had shoved in there the night before. He sat there for awhile, reading the same page over and over, his mind lost elsewhere.
Suddenly, Connor heard muffled crying and looked up from his book to watch a boy that looked about his age stumble across the grass. Surprised to see how distressed he looked, Connor stared in almost sympathy and confusion as the boy stopped in front of the tall oak. Curious, Connor wondered if the boy knew that he was even there, and before he could say anything, the boy began to climb the tree. Connor watched in astonishment as he climbed for several minutes, obscured by the branches and leaves. The rustling stopped and Connor strained his eyesight to see where he had gone. It was silent for so long Connor began to think his brain imagined the whole thing, and was about to go back to his book when a strange sound of cracking branches followed by a sickening thud caused Connor to gape in horror as the boy fell from the tree and to the hard ground.
Connor sat there for several moments, body frozen in shock as the boy struggled to gasp for breath, his arm contorted underneath his back. Suddenly snapping back to reality, he jumped up, throwing his book aside and rushing over to the boyâs shaking body.
âHoly shit, holy fuck oh my god,â Connor gushed out, hands shaking the boyâs shoulders. The guy looked like he was about to close his eyes, and Connor knew that if the guy was unconscious, he wouldnât be sure if heâd die or not. âJust keep your eyes open, donât fucking die, I am not about to watch you fucking die, holy shit-â He carefully pulled him up so that his upper back was in his lap, and the boy finally gasped for breath. His breathing regulated and Connor exhaled a shaky sigh. He pulled out his phone and called an ambulance. Thankfully the hospital wasnât that far away. He looked down at the boy who had closed his eyes. Connor pressed his hand to his neck, making sure there was still a heartbeat.
âItâs okay, youâre not gonna die, Iâm here,â he whispered. The boy relaxed in his arms and Connor suddenly felt a surge of protection over this stranger. He gently stroked his cheek. âYouâll be okay, Iâve got you. Youâll be okayâŠâ