WHO: Connor Murphy, Evan Hansen, & Susan Turner WHERE: Madison Valley High School. WHEN: [Post Dated] Last day before Christmas break begins. WHAT: Connor's arrival. WARNINGS: A bit of aggression and anger, but not super bad. STATUS: gdoc | In Progress
Connor was certain the pot he’d smoked on the walk to school that morning hadn’t been laced with anything. After all, he’d smoked from the bag twice before with nothing trippy happening to him, so it made no sense for it to start now. Yet that was the only thing he could think of that would explain why he had found himself in a school hallway when a second before he’d been signing that boy—Evan’s—cast. In fact, he still had the red Sharpie in his hand, poised for writing as proof.
He was saved having to think much longer on the impossibilities when someone bumped into him and suddenly he was seeing red. He pushed the offending person, a sort of annoyed sigh escaping him.
“Watch where you are going, asshole,” he called, glaring hard. The person stared up at him, more confused than scared. But the paranoia he always felt when people watched him was sneaking up on him. “What are you staring at, huh? Do I scare you? Do I? Good.”
He would have made a threatening motion, though he hadn’t really planned on hurting the kid on the floor, but suddenly there was a tall man standing between him and the kid. The man Connor assumed had to be a teacher but he had never seen this teacher in his life. In fact, he’d never seen the kid—who was now rushing away in the opposite direction—either. A quick glance around told him that this school was definitely not the school he’d just left. He frowned, his eyebrows furrowing.
The man was talking but Connor heard none of it. He had to be dreaming. He couldn’t really understand why he’d have dreamed about that Hansen boy but aside from this all being a really freaky as fuck trip, that’s all he had. People didn’t just up and disappear from one place only to arrive at another—not outside of fiction. If it had, he would have used that power a long time ago.
The man was walking and Connor followed, on autopilot. He’d been in trouble at school more than enough times to know the drill, his school or not. He continued to ignore everything the man was saying because really, his voice was annoying and it was evident from the vibes he was giving off, that herding Connor around was not something he wanted to be doing with his time.
It didn’t take long until he was walked into the Administrative Offices and to the Principal’s office. Told to take a seat, Connor took it with a roll of his eyes, trying to listen in as the teacher told the Principal what had happened. He couldn’t hear much as the teacher had closed the door, but the moment the teacher left, another man peered out at him from the doorway.
“You’re a new arrival, right? Come in. What’s your name, son?”
Connor stood but glared. “I’m not your son. It’s Connor.”
The man looked unperturbed. “Last name?”
Connor let out a long suffering sigh. “Murphy, alright? You going to tell me what the hell’s going on here? This is my dream but I don’t seem to have any control over it.”
“Why don’t you come in and take a seat and we’ll talk. It’s quite a lot to go through and I think we’d both rather be comfortable while I explain, don’t you?”
Connor only glared in response but followed the man inside. The man let him pass, closing the door behind him. Connor took one of the chairs set before his desk and watched him doggedly as he moved around to his chair.
The man began to explain, stating that he’d only been repeating what the teacher had already told him. Connor didn’t tell him that he hadn’t been paying attention but he somehow suspected the older man knew. He went into as much detail as he could, assuring him that everything he’d told him was everything the people who’d lived in the town prior to everything that had happened knew. Connor could only stare for a few moments before…
“You have got to be fucking out of your mind,” he said, dark eyes flashing angrily. “This is all some kind of prank, isn’t it. Or some new, weird cure my mom thinks she’s found to fix me, right? Just a way to get me out of their lives so I stop screwing everything up for them. Now their lives can go back to being perfect without me in the picture.”
The man didn’t seem eager to interrupt his tirade but as soon as Connor finished, he cleared his throat. “It is a lot to take in. I don’t expect you to believe me. But you’ll see for yourself soon enough. You have been assigned a guardian for your time here with us. Her name is Susan Turner. She’ll be here soon to meet you and take you into her care. It seems she was also assigned another boy, about your age, not too long ago so we’ve called him down to meet you as well.”
Connor continued to stare, not believing his ears. Did this man really believe everything he was saying? No, Connor didn’t need to ask that. He knew he believed it because he could feel it. That meant this man was mental. Crazy. Crazier than everyone seemed to believe he was. Connor was about to tell him this in some not so nice words when the man spoke up again.
“I don’t know what your life was like where you came from, but from our brief interaction and the report the teacher who brought you here gave me, I can make an educated guess. You might choose to look at this as a second chance for you, Connor. You never know what could happen. You might find happiness here… it’s worth a shot, isn’t it?”
Connor wanted to tell him fat chance, but the man’s phone beeped and a woman spoke over the speaker, letting him know that Connor’s guardian was there. A rush of fear fell over Connor, who hid it by crossing his arms and glaring at the principal. Once again, the man held his gaze, looking uneffected. “Send her in. Thank you.”
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Turner wasn't sure exactly how she ended up with another ward, but they were lucky all she'd been doing was job hunting when she got the phone call to come to the school because Connor had just arrived and needed to be taken home. Evan was a handful all on his own, in part because she wasn't sure exactly how to help him, so she was nervous about adding another ward into the mix. Hopefully she could get it sorted out so that she wouldn't have to take both of them on.
She found the office easily enough and was directed into the principal's office with little fanfare. Turner glanced between the educator and her supposed new ward, noting how his arms were crossed and how he was glaring at the older man across from him. "Hi, I'm Susan," she said, introducing herself to the principal.
He stood and held out his hand, which Susan took to shake. She turned to look at Connor, appearing completely at ease. "And you must be Connor," she added kindly, holding her hand out for him. It seemed like the easiest way to start.
-----
Connor really had no idea what his dream world was thinking. Maybe he'd fallen asleep immediately after a session with his pipe which he'd learned usually didn't bode well for him, as it caused the craziest and sometimes the scariest dreams he'd ever had. Honestly, this probably wouldn't be the worst, just the strangest. He supposed he might as well go along with it because he assumed at some point he would wake up as usual.
The door opened and a woman stepped inside, addressing the principal first before turning her attention to Connor. Connor for his part didn't really care. Honestly, why did even dream adults feel the need to control his every move? He looked up, ready to tell her off but his eyes met her face and he blinked, recognizing her.
"You... you look like Maria Hill from the Avengers movies! Well, the Thor movies first, I guess, but still it's all basically the Avengers." He tried to recall the entire name the principal had given. She'd said Susan was her first name. What had been the last name... Turner? Susan Turner. Well, that was definitely not Maria Hill but she looked just like the actress that played her. Something told him that he shouldn't bring up the actress though, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly was telling him to keep quiet.
"..." He stared at her for a moment before standing and taking her hand, shaking it begrudgingly if only because it gave him a chance to look her over a little more closely. He wanted to ask if she was sure she wasn't Maria Hill. If he was going to dream of a person who looked like Cobie Smulders than it would definitely have been Maria Hill. He didn't even know a Susan Turner. "Yeah, its Connor Murphy," he said finally.
-----
That was interesting. She’d delve into that more another time. For now, all she said was, “I’m afraid you’re stuck with me.” His full name clicked with something Evan had told her, about how Connor was his best friend. Maybe having a second ward wouldn’t be so bad if the two boys could help each other out. She had no idea if Connor had any behavioral issues or if this was just a one time thing given the very jarring arrival process.
She turned to the Principal. “Would you please call Evan from class if you haven’t already? I’d like to take both boys home.” Turner wasn’t asking permission, but it certainly sounded like a request.
“Yes, of course. Let me give you two a few minutes,” the Principal replied as he stood. “I’ll make sure he’s on his way.”
“Thank you,” she said as she watched him exit his own office, closing the door behind him. Turner brought her attention back to Connor. “Evan arrived a little while ago. He’ll be glad to see you and hopefully his presence will make all of this a bit more bearable.” She offered him a reassuring smile.
-----
Connor let go of her hand as soon as possible, letting it grab the strap of his shoulder bag. His bag was still heavy with school books he never read--in fact, he was pretty sure he'd never even opened them once--but at that moment, they were a comfort. That gave him an idea and he let his hand slide over the front pocket of the bag where he kept his tiny bag of pot and his pipe, hidden in the back of the lining, behind the foam. If his bag was here and his books were here, then his pot and pile were definitely still there. Thank God.
Of course, he was still certain this was all just a really, freaky, trippy dream but there was this sinking feeling of dread because it all felt too real. Far too real. It was a comfort to know he had the thing that gave him the most comfort. The woman said that he was stuck with her and honestly, she looked like an Avenger--okay she wasn't technically one, but she kicked ass and deserved to be one just as much as Hawkeye and Black Widow so it all worked. Still, the fact that she looked like Maria Hill decided it for Connor. He would do his best not to make trouble for her but that didn't mean he was going to just accept it... all of this... whatever this was.
Then she said a name that had his attention. Gaze drawn back to her, he blinked as he listened to her talk to the principal. She'd told him to call Evan out of class. Was this the other kid the principal had mentioned she was looking after? Was she talking about Evan Hansen... the very Evan Hansen he'd been talking to just seconds before he arrived here?
The principal left and Susan turned her attention back to him. She was telling him that Evan had come earlier and that he'd be glad to see him and that Evan being here too would make this more bearable. The way she was talking, it was obvious that she thought he and Evan were friends. That made no sense considering he had barely even spoken to him before that morning. In fact, it was due to the letter that he'd addressed Evan in the first place. The red sharpie was still in his hand, fingers closed around it, but the letter was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he'd dropped it when that kid ran into him in the hall or maybe he'd dropped it during the trip that'd brought him here. Whatever the reason, he'd arrived with everything but that letter and now his guardian was telling him that Evan was here.
In fact, the principal had called him out of class. That meant Evan was on his way here. If this was a dream, why did Evan keep popping up into it. He'd had dreams about guys before. He was gay, he knew he was gay. It wasn't anything he really fought because it wasn't going to change one way or the other. But he made it a point to ignore it and never told anyone. That didn't stop the dreams from coming. The ones that had him waking up in a sweat, sometimes sticky with come. But this dream was not like those. And he wasn't even attracted to Evan. Sure he was cute and his painfully awkward personality was endearing in its own way, but Connor wasn't attracted to him.
Was he? No, no. He couldn't be. The guys in his dreams had all been well built and confident and tall and... none of that mattered. If Evan was in his dream, it was most likely due to the fact that he'd made it a point to try to make a friend out of him. That's it. There was no other reason for him to be dreaming about Evan Hansen. None at all. Besides, he was curious about why Susan Turner was under the impression that he and Evan were friends. The only way to find out was to talk to Evan.
-----
The office beeped into Evan’s english class, and requested he ‘bring his things and come to the office’. He remained sitting at his desk, frozen in fear. His teacher had to prod him, and with everyone in the class looking at him anyway, he wished he could shrink into the seat and disappear. He looked down at the desk, his hands twitching nervously in his lap.
The teacher stuffed his books into his bag, and held it out to him. He managed to get to his feet and take the bag from her. It was all he could do not to drop it on his way out of the room. He stumbled a few steps, and the teacher asked another student to go with Evan, to make sure he made it to the office. The girl who sat next to him offered, and when they headed out of the room and Evan ducked into the boy’s bathroom, she grabbed the backpack from him.
He barely made it to the toilet before he threw up. He heaved for a good minute or so before it subsided. The girl who was escorting him to the office obviously couldn’t go into the bathroom with him, but she called out to check on him. He opened his mouth to answer, but he didn’t manage to say anything. He went to the sink and splashed cold water in his face before he stumbled back out to the hallway.
The girl held his backpack out to him, but when he didn’t take it, she shrugged it onto her shoulder and carried it to the office for him. The principal met them at the door, took Evan’s bag and sent the girl back to class with a thank you. “I hope everything works out for you, Evan,” she said, and turned away.
Evan hung his head, looking down at his shoes. The principal clapped him on the back, causing him to jump in fear. His breath hitched, and he felt like he was going to vomit again. He didn’t, only because there was nothing left in his stomach to bring up.
“It’s alright, Evan. Ms Turner is here to pick you up. She and Connor are waiting for you in my office.” Evan didn’t hear anything after the word Connor. Connor was here? How was that possible? Connor was dead. Evan’s good hand moved to stroke his fingers over Connor’s name, huge letters written in Sharpie on the plaster. Connor, who was Evan’s best friend if only in Evan’s mind.
The principal lead Evan to his office, and practically had to nudge him inside. His breath caught at the sight of Connor sitting there, big as life. And very much alive. And Turner was there too, and it was all too much for Evan. he felt his vision going black and knew he was going to pass out. He scrambled for the other chair, sitting down and dropping his head before he hit the floor.
-----
The response she got to mentioning Evan's name hadn't been what she'd expected, though the silent treatment was. She wasn't the type to push or prod, so if he wanted to just be in silence for the time being, that was fine with her. It was only a few minutes later that the door opened, admitting the principal and Evan.
"Thank you," she said to the principal, but before she could get any further in gathering the two boys, Evan looked like he was about to pass out. He made it to one of the chairs thankfully and Turner took a step forward before she could think better of it. Evan didn't look well now that she could get a good look at him. He was pale, and that honestly wasn't the reaction she'd been expecting from him either. Something was up.
"Why don't we get out of your hair," Turner suggested. "Evan, do you have all of your things?" She was giving him a moment to collect himself, though she did glance at Connor in such a way to subtly suggest he grab Evan's bag.
-----
Connor felt his insides flip the moment the door opened and Evan stepped inside. He looked a bit different from how he remembered him from just that morning. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something different. And then Evan was rushing to the chair and looking faint. Connor's brows rose and he frowned deeply. He didn't understand how his being here could pull such a reaction from the other boy, especially considering that from the way Susan had brought Evan's presence in town up she was of the impression that they were friends. Close friends. She'd seemed as if knowing Evan was here would give Connor some kind of comfort.
Now that he assessed the situation, Connor found that he was comforted on some level. Though he had only just talked to Evan that morning, it felt solidifying to know that someone from his world was here. Of course, this was all a ridiculously elaborate dream and he needed to look into who had given him the half bag of weed. He'd bought from them before, a few times, and hadn't had any issues but when it came to weed, there was always the risk of a bad batch. It came with the cannabis territory. He sighed to himself and just barely caught the look Susan was giving him. He narrowed his eyes in confusion until he realized that she was insisting he take up Evan's bag.
Oh! Right. He could do this. Play along for a bit, until he could talk with Evan alone. He moved over to where Evan sat and crouched his long frame down, his hand resting gently on Evan's arm.
"Hey... dude. It's okay," he said, trying to sound convincing and also help the poor kid. He patted his arm before standing up, taking Evan's backpack with him. Hefting it onto his shoulder, he looked at Susan and gave a solemn nod to indicate he was ready. He turned back to Evan. “Evan, look… let’s get you home. Or well... “ He hesitated before shrugging. “I can get settled and you can feel more yourself. It’s… it’s a lot to take in.” Not a lie. It really was.
Especially when he was starting to realize there was no way he was sleeping. He wasn’t dreaming. He had no way to explain what had happened, but whatever it was, it was happening and it was real. Thank God he still had his weed and pipe. He mourned not having his bong, as the high would hit him that much faster and harder but he’d take what he could get. The sooner they got to wherever it was they were going, the better.
-----
Evan’s good hand had a grip on his chair as if it were a lifeline. He kind of thought maybe he should have let himself pass out. At least then he’d be understandably confused. He drew a shaky breath, his eyes darting from Connor to Turner and back again.
Evan flinched when Connor touched his arm. He couldn’t help it. No one ever voluntarily touched him, except to push him, as Connor had done that morning in school. Not even his mother touched him often. But here was Connor, patting his arm and basically telling him everything was all right.
It wasn’t. How could it be? Here was Connor, whose name was written in huge letters on Evan’s cast. Connor, who Evan toted as his best friend. The letter he’d written that morning said all of his hopes were pinned on Zoe who he didn’t even know, but really it was all pinned on Connor. Or at least Evan’s fictionalised version of Connor. The Connor that was truly Evan’s best friend, the one he made up in his own head, the one he sang songs to, the one he had such great adventures with.
“I...I…” he stammered, unable to get past that first word. He let his gaze drop, to look at Connor’s hand on his arm, and as he pulled it away and swung Evan’s backpack up on his shoulder. This wasn’t happening, couldn’t be happening.
His eyes flickered over to look at Turner. She had no idea what was happening, he could see that. Well, he supposed that made three of them. He gave up on whatever he was going to say, and instead, steeled his breath so that he could stand up.
-----
There was something else at play. It was clear that the boys both knew each other, but Turner wasn't sure she believed Evan's story about them being best friends given the reaction she was seeing right in front of her. Getting the two of them back to her and Evan's apartment was going to be the first step and they clearly had some things to talk about so if they wanted to work through things, she'd give them a bit of space to figure it out. People came from different points in time, so maybe that was the case.
"Great, let's go." She inclined her head toward the Principal and then headed for the door, waiting for the two boys to walk through before she followed them out. It didn't take very long to get to the car thankfully, and Turner had the two of them sit in the back.
"Let's stop and get Hinkles so you guys have something to eat," she suggested, though it was more of a 'this is a thing that's happening' as opposed to an actual option. Even the few minutes it would take for her to go in, order and bring it back out, they'd have some time to talk.