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Evan was a tough son of a bitch.
Jeff had no doubt about that. The way Evan had lunged himself at that tall thing and swung wildly at it with the bat was almost like he was possessed. Jeff has never seen Evan so determined or hysterical with rage in his life and it kind of left him stunned. Not just in admiration or respect, but in silent yearning.
He wanted to see Evan be reverted to nothing more than a primal animal state that showed off his power and brutality. Jeff wanted to see Evan beat that thing to a pulp until that bat snapped in two. He needed to see blood. Jeff just never expected it to be Evan's blood he would see that day.
The shorter man lay convulsing on the ground coughing up blood as he and Vinny ran over to him, trying to prop his head up so he wouldn't choke. Evan was muttering things like what happened? and did I kill it?, but that didn't matter to Jeff nor Vinny whether Evan killed it or not. They only cared about the current state of their friend's health.
After some maneuvering with trying to help Vinny hoist Evan up and keeping the camera steady, they eventually managed to move Evan into the backseat of the car to lay him down. Jeff gave Vinny the keys and proceeded to climb in the back with Evan to keep a closer eye on his friend. Vinny started the car and they sped off without further delay.
Evan was perpendicular to Jeff's body, on his back and legs stretched out as Jeff cradled Evan's head in his lap like an infant. Jeff slid off Evan's hat and tossed it into the front seat, getting the hair out of his face by smoothing it back gently. Evan's eyes were clenched shut in a wince as if he was enduring unseen pain and Jeff wouldn't be surprised if he was in pain.
They didn't know what was wrong with Evan or where that monster went, all that was on their mind right now was getting Evan to a hospital.
"We have to get him to a doctor," Vinny declares as he lays on the gas a little more firmly, significantly speeding the car up.
"How long do you think it's gonna be?" Jeff asks, the worry evident in his tone.
"I don't know..."
"You guys, I think I'm gonna be fine," Evan insists weakly, still coughing up blood.
"Shut up, Evan," Jeff tsks, turning his attention back to Vinny. "We can't be sure what's wrong with him or how much time he's got left."
"We're out here pretty far," Vinny points out with disdain. "It could be hours before we get back."
"Fuck..." Jeff swears under his breath, more to himself. He looks down at Evan's face cradled in his lap, grimacing at the thought of the worse case scenario. "What do we do?"
"I'm gonna get us outta here as fast as I can. Not much else we can do," Vinny tells him truthfully, keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead. "You just worry about keeping him conscious, okay? Talk to him, make sure he's comfortable."
Jeff nods his head, determined.
Over the next half hour Jeff spent his time making sure Evan stayed awake and lucid, which proved to be easier than he thought. The momentary sickness Evan had suffered seemed to be wearing off gradually, enough to where Evan could form coherent sentences and keep his eyes focused for longer than a few seconds.
"I should've had my knife," Evan murmurs, berating himself for not being more prepared.
Jeff's heart sank a little at this, getting the hint that Evan thought it was his fault that the monster got away and blew their, possibly, only chance of killing it. Jeff sighs, resting a hand on Evan's chest as he lets the other card smoothly through Evan's hair to soothe his friend, as well as himself.
"I honestly don't think it would've mattered either way, man," Jeff admits, almost despondent.
"I fucking had him, Jeff," Evan swears, voice cracking just slightly at the end. "And I wasn't strong enough."
"You're the craziest and toughest son of a bitch I know. No one would've had the balls to do what you did," Jeff laughs with mild hysteria, wondering how the hell Evan could sell himself so short. Then adds, "That doesn't necessarily mean it was a very smart thing to do in the first place, though. You dumb bastard."
This gets a short little chuckle from Evan, since it's all he can manage without going into a coughing fit. Jeff smiles down at his friend, stroking Evan's hair a bit more tenderly than what would be considered as purely platonic between two dudes. But Jeff didn't care about maintaining his masculinity and made no attempt to blurt out the awkward no homo as he ran his thumb up and down the center of Evan's chest.
And if Evan noticed the extra longing gaze here and there or the lingering sensation of his hair being playfully tugged on, Jeff didn't seem to care. Jeff wasn't afraid to bare himself if it meant soothing Evan and keeping him safe in his arms. Jeff loved Evan and would die before he let anything happen to him, masculinity be damned.
"How are you feeling?" Jeff inquires, running his hand in a mesmerizing pattern over Evan's scalp.
It had lulled Jeff into a calmer state of being, maybe even more so than it did for Evan.
"I can't taste blood anymore," Evan says and Jeff thinks that must be a good sign.
"That's good," he tells Evan, smiling weakly.
"You don't have to be afraid," Evan mutters, staring up at Jeff from the position on Jeff's lap.
"I'm not afraid," Jeff defends, frowning slightly at the certainty in Evan's voice.
"You're afraid I'm gonna die," Evan elaborates further, seeming to read his friend's mind almost dead on.
"You're not gonna die," Jeff assures, more to himself than to give Evan the benefit of the doubt. "You're too tough to die."
Evan chuckles.
"It's almost like I'm death proof," Evan quips, grinning from ear to ear at his pun.
But Jeff isn't amused and slaps Evan's chest playfully, forgetting for a split second that Evan could actually be dying.
"I hate you," Jeff deadpans, rolling his eyes as far as they can possibly go.
"You love me," Evan insists, smirking like he doesn't have possible internal bleeding right now.
Jeff can't resist the way Evan looks up at him without judgement and lets his hand drift up his chest to cup the side of Evan's face instead. He runs the pad of thumb along Evan's cheekbone tenderly, letting his intentions surface a little more as he becomes more bold and reckless with his true feelings.
Jeff looks up towards Vinny in the driver's seat, seemingly oblivious to everything they're discussing as he keeps his eyes on the road and fiddles with the radio to pad out the overwhelming tension in the car.
"Does that scare you?" Jeff asks, alluding to how his feelings towards Evan might make his friend feel with the sudden knowledge.
"Not at all."
Jeff's hand tightens slightly in Evan's hair and he has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from ruining the moment by opening his big mouth and possibly saying something he'll regret later. Evan knows how he feels and Evan accepts him for his honesty. Evan doesn't mind that he's being held and caressed by his friend who happens to be a guy or the fact that Jeff might actually be in love with him.
Evan reaches up and places his hand over the one Jeff has pressed to the side of his face, holding it there and leaning further into the contact. Jeff's heart swells and starts to race at what this might mean, what Evan might be trying to convey through this action alone, and he fears he already knows the answer. And it terrifies him.
"It scares me," Jeff admits.