Chapter Text
Frankly, Jared didn’t know why he was here.
He had been playing Animal Crossing on the GameCube, which he needed to get back to because the fishing tournament was going to end in two hours, when his mom had dragged him out of the house and into the car.
After 10 minutes of listening to her ramble on about her friends and driving down unfamiliar roads, there he was, standing outside of some random house while his mom rang the doorbell. What a great way to ruin a perfect Saturday morning.
Finally, after what felt like ages to Jared, a petite platinum blonde woman emerged from the building along with a skinny kid with dirty blonde hair.
His eyes immediately locked on the two of them, as if to size them up. The woman herself looked like a mom. She had her long hair pulled back in a messy bun, with a few freckles that randomly dotted her face. Even though she had a bright smile, the woman still somehow managed to look exhausted. Standing just behind her, clinging to the back of her shirt, Jared could barely make out the form of another boy.
The woman smiled gently, "Linda, it's great to see you again."
His own mother grinned and chirped back a cheerful reply. The two women chatted frivolously for a moment, leaving Jared and the other kid to stand awkwardly. He couldn't help but groan mentally because this was so weird and he'd much rather be at home, fishing up sea basses until he seized first place and got new furniture.
It was only when Jared's Spider-Man light up Sketchers squeaked obnoxiously against the doorstep as he shifted his weight in place did the grown-ups finally pay attention to them again. Bright blue eyes twinkled with mirth as the woman focused her attention on him, "You must be Jared! I'm Ms. Hansen, it's a pleasure to meet you!"
She offered her hand to him which he took because that was the polite thing to do and because his mother would kill him if he wasn't respectful to her friends. His eyes darted behind her as he tried to get a better look at the other boy, a motion that didn't go unnoticed by the blonde woman. With a kind smile, Ms. Hansen nudged the boy hiding behind her forward a bit.
A soft voice barely whispered, "H-Hello." Jared practically didn't hear him; his voice was so soft it was barely even a murmur. The blonde woman gently pushed him forward, letting him stand in front of her. Jared raised an eyebrow as he checked the kid out.
The kid was rather lean like his mother. His eyes were a bright green that really popped against his pale complexion, and his hair was combed neatly to the side which gave him a "I actually like to attend Hebrew school" type of look. His stance was sort of weird too; it seemed like he was shrinking away from Jared, tepidness evident in every body movement. His tiny hands hung limply at his sides and were kind of twitchy, almost like he didn't know what to do with them.
Jared snorted to himself. This guy looked like a total dork.
"Oh you must be Heidi's son! It's such a delight to finally put a face to the name!" Mrs. Kleinman smiled, extending a hand toward the small boy. He pulled back as if he was scared of the thought of shaking hands. He quickly wiped his palm against the side of his pants before he shook her hand timidly. Jared's mom didn't even seem to notice as she continued to speak, "I'm Mrs. Kleinman, I'm a receptionist at your mother's workplace."
"H-Hi." The kid stuttered, briefly looking up at Mrs. Kleinman before his eyes darted away, landing on Jared instead. They locked eyes for a brief minute before those bright green eyes nervously flitted away again. "I'm Evan."
Mrs. Kleinman put her hand on Jared's shoulder as if to cue him that it was his turn to speak, an action that caused the boy to roll his eyes a bit. He stepped forward and out of his mother's grasp as he introduced himself, voice void of any enthusiasm.
The two boys just stared at each other quietly. To be completely honest, this guy wasn't exactly the kind of kid Jared saw himself having a blast with. He struck him as quiet, and with the way he kept skirting his eyes to avoid prolonged eye contact made it seem as if he was scared of everything. Still though, there was something interesting about the way he presented himself; Jared was regrettably curious about who this guy was.
"Sweetie, why don't you and Jared play together for a bit," Ms. Hansen coaxed, gently patting her son on the back. Alarmed, the young blonde looked back at her with widened eyes like a deer gazing into car headlights. His expression shifted from being uncomfortable to complete mortification in the blink of an eye.
His mom simply looked down at him and smiled, "It's okay, Jared won't bite."
"Probably," Jared mumbled under his breath, wincing lightly as his mom gave him a not-so-gentle nudge. Looking back at the kid, the brunette realized that he had already forgotten what his name was. He elected to call him What's-his-face for the time being.
What's-his-face's smile looked strained and as the women made their way to the kitchen for tea, Jared followed the other boy to the living room. When they sat down at a stuffy brown couch, there was an uncomfortable silence hanging between them. Deciding to take the initiative because this was really weird, Jared tried to make conversation, he really did.
He asked What's-his-face if he's seen the latest episode of Teen Titans but apparently the Hansens didn't have cable. Nonetheless, he went on and on about how it sucked that Terra betrayed the Titans and how it sucked even more that she died in the end. The timid boy simply nodded every now and then, even though he looked completely lost. But other than that, he didn't particularly say much. It was sort of annoying.
Jared then tried to ask the blonde boy questions about himself in hopes of finally starting a conversation. He asked him about his favorite color, his favorite superhero, etc. but What's-his-face only stuttered and stammered quick, one-worded answers. Jared couldn't help but groan because this was so boring and honestly could this guy even speak in full sentences?
After a dramatic inhalation, Jared looked at What's-his-face straight in the eyes and frowned, "You don't really talk very much, do you?"
The boy flinched but nodded. "S-Sorry…" His fingers curled around the hem of his shirt, crinkling the smooth ironed surface.
Jared huffed. The return of the stifling silence was annoying him immensely. Yeesh! Was this kid even capable of having fun or socializing with people?
"What was your name again?"
The boy nervously shifted in his seat as he murmured, "Um… E-Evan."
What's-his-face now christened as Evan still kept his eyes locked on a stain on the carpet which was really irritating. Jared let out an exasperated sigh before he slouched down into the rather comfy couch. Oh my god, someone end him now. Suddenly, just as he was about to call it quits, an idea struck and the brunette couldn't help but smirk a bit.
Straightening up in his seat, he turned towards the blonde and jokingly stuttered, "E-Evan, huh? That's kind of a funny name."
His joke seemed to catch Evan's attention since he finally looked up from that stained carpet spot and made eye contact with him. Jared couldn't help the swell of pride because wow he actually got a reaction from the other boy that wasn't a tepid nod. If he hadn't been so busy mentally patting himself on the back, he would have noticed how Evan's hands tightened their grip on his shirt.
"It's ju-just Evan." He mumbled softly, eyes downcast.
"You sure? It's not Ev-Evan?"
The timid boy's eyebrows furrowed together, his expression slowly moving into what seemed like annoyance. "I-It's not!" he replied, voice rising to what could be considered a normal speaking volume.
Something about hearing the defensive tone in his voice pleased Jared. It showed that there was more to Evan's personality than just a skittish, helpless kid. The brunette couldn't help but tease him even more.
"A-are you sc-sc-scared or something? Y-You so-sound so w-weird right no-now." The brunette said mockingly, trying to match the other boy's voice. This was so much better than having Evan nod and confirm at everything he said.
Wanting to wind up Evan even more, Jared stuck his tongue out at the boy, recalling how funny it was when Beastboy did the same. The shorter boy shrunk back a little, his cheeks sporting an adorable cherry red while his hands seemed to wring his shirt even more. The shorter boy let his eyes fall to the ground and bite his lip as he turned his head to the side.
It would have been funny if the brunette didn't see the tears beginning to well up in Evan's eyes. Immediately, Jared felt his stomach twist uncomfortably with regret. Way to screw it up again, Kleinman. As he tried to think of something else to say, the 8-year-old couldn't help but think that this kid is pretty sensitive; it was just a joke but at the same time, he really didn't want this kid to start crying.
He hesitantly lifted up his hand, hovering it awkwardly in the air before he summed up enough courage to reach over and grab Evan's wrist. The sudden body contact startled the boy so badly that he actually jumped in his seat.
Jared cringed because was there anything he could do that didn't scare this dude? Nonetheless, now that he had those watery green eyes locked back on him, he had to say something.
Thinking back to one of his all time favorite movies, Jared tried to mimic Zac Efron's charming, boyish smirk in High School Musical, but he felt like it came off as more of a weird and forced half-smile, half-grimace.
"C'mon Ev, you know I'm just kidding right? I'm just messing with you."
"You are?" The 8-year-old would be lying if he said that the shocked expression and the genuinely surprised tone in Evan's voice didn't sting a bit. Jeez, it wasn't like Jared was trying to be rude.
"Sheesh! Can't you take a joke?" He groaned, playfully poking the blonde's right cheek with his other hand. "And would it kill you to smile a little? You look like you're going to pass out any second now."
Evan stood there silently for a moment before he hesitantly grinned, his smile a little crooked and half-hearted. Jared beamed back at him, albeit sheepishly, in return. Seeing Evan's smile made his chest feel warm and he almost had half a mind to tell him that he looked much better with a grin on his face.
But before he could say more, Jared heard his mom's voice echo from the kitchen, calling for him.
He sighed, "I guess I gotta go." Looking back at Evan's face, the brunette was pleasantly surprised to see the disappointment etched on his face. He genuinely thought that Evan would be happy to see him go, so it was really nice to see that he felt just the opposite of that. It just felt nice in general to actually feel wanted for once.
With a hint of hope evident in his voice, Jared asked, "But we can play again sometime, right? I mean you’re pretty interesting Ev, so it wouldn't be lame if we hung out.”
The other boy's bright green eyes lit up, reminding Jared of the color of summer trees in Harvest Moon: Another Wonderful Life. "Yeah. But…can you not call me Ev? It sounds weird."
Jared shrugged nonchalantly, "Nah, it sounds cooler than Evan."
The smaller boy frowned and in return, he couldn't help but flash the blonde a cheeky grin. The brunette offered a quick goodbye and let go of Evan’s wrist, which he had forgotten about, and hurried to meet up with his mom at the front door.
All in all, Jared found Evan...amusing.
Maybe he just liked messing with him, or maybe it was the look he'd get on his face whenever Jared called him Ev. It was honestly the best because he would furrow his eyebrows and jut out his bottom lip, and every time he'd complain, "Jared my name is Evan, not Ev", in surprisingly loud and incredibly naggy voice.
But out of all of those things, there was one thing something about Evan that Jared really liked; whenever they played together, Jared would always feel his chest warm up with a weird sense of pride and joy whenever he could get the other boy to laugh or smile. It just felt like he did the impossible whenever he got Evan to open up a bit and feel comfortable enough to stop hiding his laughter behind his hand.
Since their parents were busy most of the time, they both attended the same summer daycare where they would play every afternoon until dusk. Some days they'd pretend they were searching for hidden treasure in the vast Caribbean Sea or that they were protecting the Fairy Queen of the Enchanted Forest from monsters.
On other days the blonde would sit beside Jared and watch him play Pokémon Emerald on his GameBoy, oohing and awing whenever he would win a Gym Battle or catch a new Pokémon. It was a lot more fun when the 8-year-old had someone cheering for him.
Jared had even caught and named a Cacnea after Evan which pleased the other boy to no end. It quickly evolved into a Cacturne and made its way to becoming the strongest Pokémon on his team, because Jared liked seeing the other boy's gleeful smile whenever he saw the Cactus Pokémon on screen.
And when it was the weekend and Jared's mom could watch the both of them, Evan would stay over at Jared's house until his mom could pick him up. Most of the time, the he would just sleepover because his mom had to work late and it was easier if he just stayed over.
Both boys would curl up on the couch and watch cartoons. Since Evan didn't have cable, it basically felt like a religious experience watching show after show on the Kleinsens’ modestly-sized television. Dubbing himself as Evan’s cartoon master, Jared only showed the blonde the best of tv shows like Danny Phantom, Avatar the Last Airbender, and El Tigre:the Adventures of Manny Rivera.
They would watch tv until Jared's mom shut it off and sent them off to bed. Even then, the two of them would stay up, talking about anything and everything.
The brunette would never admit it, but Jared really liked hearing Evan ramble late into the night with the soft glow of the moon illuminated the room in the background. It was almost as if the darkness helped Evan feel more at ease, probably because he felt as if no one could see him; it was always easier to say the things you wanted to say when you didn't see others looking at you. Jared often found himself falling asleep to the sound of the other boy's soft voice.
All in all, Evan was a pretty cool kid that Jared found himself slowly becoming more and more fond of. As summer seemed to fly by, week after week, it was clear to everybody that the two were becoming inseparable.