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Evan wasn’t obtuse enough to say that he had a bad childhood, nor was he one to say that his parents were awful people. They were fine people, decent, not quite good but not bad either. They were just very typical.
His parents had high expectations, though that was the least surprising thing about them. Do well in school. Get a good job. Marry a nice girl. Settle down and have children. Of course, it was expected that he would help take care of his parents as they all go older. That was just how life was.
The problem was that Evan didn’t want many of those things, at least not in the way they imagined it.
One night, at dinner, prior to applying to university, he passed the idea that had been haunting him for a while, lingering in the back of his mind. “Ma?” He tried to look up from his food, but his eyes wouldn’t move. He couldn’t meet his mother’s gaze no matter how much he tried to force himself. Evan knew it was disrespectful – but it didn’t matter.
“Yes?” His mother continued with her meal like nothing was happening at all. Evan’s father looked through a newspaper; the crinkle was deafening in the near silent room.
Evan took a deep breath. “I was thinking about what I was going to study in university.” He tried to take a bite, to pretend that this was a normal dinner.
His father raised his head. “I thought we already agreed on law.”
It wasn’t a question. It was clearly a statement. His father didn’t want to hear what Evan had to say, and the boy knew that. Still, he wanted to speak, to try to get his parents to understand where he was coming from. “Actually, I was thinking of going into something more classical.”
His parents both turned their heads at that point. Evan swallowed and put his hands on the table to stop them from trembling. To appear strong in his decision was the only way they would take him seriously. If he folded, if he appeared unsure, he wouldn’t get a chance like this again.
His mother narrowed her eyes at him. “What are you talking about? Law is a classical path, it's a good career, very noble.” And high paying, but that part went unsaid. His family was well enough off, but most people sought more than they started with. It was natural for his parents to want him to rise above his current lot in life.
Evan tried to smile. “I know that, it’s just, I don’t think I want to study law.”
The kitchen table went completely silent. Evan could hear the cars outside, even the whistle of wind through the trees. Even though his life came to a standstill, everything else kept moving on.
His father was the one to break the silence. “Nonsense. You will study law like we planned.” He waved his hand. “None of this other mess you’re thinking of.”
Evan folded his hands in his lap. “Ba, I’m being serious. I want to study things like philosophy and history.”
Both of his parents shook their heads. His mother let out a huff. That was when Evan knew no matter what he said, he wasn’t going to convince his parents that going into classics was a good idea.
⚬─────✧─────⚬
Moving to Paris wasn’t something Evan thought he’d ever actually do. He hadn’t even visited France before. He had to learn French, had to teach himself how to live in a new city.
The moving process itself was the most difficult part. Nobody was there to send him off, help him move into his new home – it was quite the disaster. When he was moving in, trying his hardest not to drop everything along the way, Evan nearly ran into another body hurtling down the hallway.
“Mierda!”
Evan dropped the box he was holding.
The other individual in the hallway started to scramble to pick up the objects scattered across the floor. “Lo siento.”
Evan’s face contorted in confusion, trying to figure out what language the man was speaking. “Désolé?” He didn’t think it was French, but the sound wasn’t completely out of left field. It certainly wasn’t Cantonese or English – the two languages Evan had the strongest grip on.
The man grimaced. “Anglaise?” He placed objects in the box.
“Yes, that would be easier.” Evan set his box down and outstretched his hand. “My name’s Evan Leung, yours?”
The man took his hand, a massive grin on his face. “Carlos Mendoza.” His grip was strong.
Something within Evan’s chest cracked when their hands separated. He wanted to hold on a little longer even though he’d just met the other man. “Where are you from?”
“Spain, just outside of Malaga. And you?” The two of them fell into an easy conversation. There was something about Carlos that made Evan immediately attracted to him – not in a romantic sense, not even in a physical sense – he just felt the need to be around the other as much as he could. They weren’t in the same major, which made things a bit difficult. Carlos was majoring in computer science which meant the two of them didn’t have any overlapping courses. Evan carved out time in his schedule though to spend time with the man, whether that was studying at the library, going on walks and little adventures around the city, or just stopping for coffee.
Carlos was a magnet, a figure Evan would always find himself drawn towards.
He met the others later. Vienna showed up in his History of Ancient Greece class two weeks into the semester, having picked up the class midway through. They two of them got along like a bonfire with a gallon of gasoline poured atop it. From her he met Brianne, then Lola.
With the addition of the youngest member, the group was complete. Evan went about his days with a smile on his face, nearly forgetting about the things his parents told him, the things they all but warned him of.
⚬─────✧─────⚬
The bliss couldn’t last forever though. Classes became more difficult, the pressure more intense, as time passed. Evan came home from his night class, horrible for a Friday, ready to slump in his bed and tune out the rest of the world for the weekend, but a notification on his phone alerted him.
He took his phone from his pocket, not stopping to pause his music before opening the message. Evan expected it to be from one of his friends, maybe the group chat since that always seemed to be buzzing no matter the hour, but instead he saw two letters which made his pulse stop.
Ma.
Neither of his parents had texted or called in weeks, months even. He stopped just after he entered his place.
You’ve spent enough time living your little fantasy, zai. It’s time for you to be realistic now.
Evan gripped his phone so hard he thought he’d crack it. He wanted to slam it on the ground, watch the screen shatter into a million pieces, look as the text faded to black. Instead, he turned his phone off and brought it to his chest. Evan took in a long breath, fighting back tears. He slumped against his door.
“Ev?” The man in question jumped. “Shit, Los.”
Carlos let out a laugh that he quickly stifled. “What’s wrong?” He stood up from his spot on the sofa.
With the text, Evan forgot all about how he invited the man over for the night. He waved a hand and shoved his phone in his pocket, ignoring the stream of texts coming through. “It’s nothing. Did you want to pick a film?” Evan kept his face away from Carlos as he knew damn well that he was horrible at hiding his emotions.
“Seriously, man, what’s up?”
Evan paused as he set his things down. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes. He hadn’t told his friends much about his parents, just the basic details. This felt like taking another step. His shoulders dropped. “My mom’s texting me. She wants me to switch majors.” Evan’s voice was tight as he spoke. “It’s not that important. Nothing I haven’t heard before.” But it was the first time one of his parents had said anything since he started university. He’d, naively, hoped that once they realized he was serious about the classics that they’d stop pestering him.
He’d been wrong.
Carlos stepped behind him. “It is important; they’re supposed to be rooting you on through this.” He put a hand on Evan’s shoulder, guiding the other to face him.
Evan stared at the ground. He didn’t want Evan to see the tears or the blush that threatened to cover his whole face in scarlet.
“You know, you’re one of the bravest people I know, no matter what anyone else says.”
Evan’s brow furrowed. “There isn’t anything about me that’s ‘brave.’”
Carlos shook his shoulder. “Oye, You moved across the globe by yourself to follow your dreams. That’s pretty damn brave, cabrón"
A minute smile appeared on Evan’s face despite the war raging in his chest. “You’re too kind to me.”
“You’re not kind enough to yourself.” Carlos’ hand slid down his arm until he was holding Evan’s hand. Carlos pulled him towards the sofa. “I know what’ll cheer you up. I saw we watch Love is Blind and drink every time someone ignores a red flag.”
That earned a laugh from Evan. “I think you’ve been spending too much time with Vienna.”
Carlos shrugged. “She has excellent ideas. Come on, no more moping.”
Evan allowed himself to be pulled to the sofa, relaxing with every step he took. His phone sat forgotten in his pocket as Carlos flipped through Netflix. Warmth filled his chest as the man sat beside him. Moving to Paris brought him a lot more than just educational prospects.