Evan made a 'duh' face. There was a time he would never have considered lying to his mother. He'd evade, sure. That was pretty much a right of passage for any teenager, but lying was a completely different function. Evan had learned to lie after Connor's death, when he realised lies could help others, and give Connor's grieving family peace. The lie had blown up in his face, but he'd learned a powerful lesson.
Sometimes lies were necessary. And not telling his mother that Jared's parents weren't home was one of those necessary lies by omission. He wouldn't say it outright unless she asked. And she probably wouldn't. He was 18 now, after all. He was old enough to go to Jared's house without Jared's parents being there.
"I'll call her later," he said. There was a slight twitch, a worrying of his sleeve in the fingers of the other hand. Evan had come a long way since the events surrounding Connor's death and The Connor Project, but he was still prone to twitches and tics. He still moved his hands awkwardly, and tugged constantly at his clothes.
He slid off his bed, a subtle cat like grace in his movements as he got to his feet and stretched over to grab his backpack at the same time. He jammed his laptop into it, then moved to his dresser. Holding the back open he crammed some clothes in, and also the book from his night table and the box that held his prescription bottles.
He slung the pack onto his shoulders, and did an awkward hop as he tugged his pants up and smoothed his shirt down. He reached up to tug at his ear, his eyes flickering toward the door. "I'm...I'm ready."
He motioned for Jared to go first. It made sense. he'd turn out the light and shut the door to his room. But he also, maybe he kind of wanted to watch Jared walk out in front of him. Not that he could ever admit that, not really even to himself.