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Evan woke up to his phone blasting “Too Sexy For My Shirt”, a song Jared set as his own ringtone. Evan sat up and rubbed his eyes, wondering why anyone would be calling this early in the morning. It was then that he realized it was 11:57, a perfectly reasonable time to call someone. Even picked up the phone.
“H-Hello?” Evan sounded groggy and still half asleep. Which. Accurate.
“Don’t tell me you were still sleeping,” laughed a voice on the other end, ”It’s practically noon!” Evan rolled his eyes.
“Y-you know I s-sleep late, J-J-Jared. You also know I h-h-hate phone calls. Is this r-really that im-important?” Evan hated not being able to see the other person’s face while talking to them. Since he’s already bad at picking up social cues, not being able to see someone’s emotions makes him terrible at reading the situation. Not only that, but how are you even supposed to hold a conversation on the phone? You and the other person aren’t in the same room, so you can’t start a discussion about an object near you. You’re around different people, what do you do when the other person gets distracted by someone else? Do you just hang up? Furthermore, how do you end a conversation-?
“Just get dressed and come outside, we’re all waiting in the car,” Jared deadpanned and ended the phone call, effectively cutting off Evan’s train of thought. He rushed to his window and peaked out of the curtain. Sure enough, in his driveway sat Jared’s mom’s minivan, no doubt containing Jared, Connor, Zoe, and Alana.
Surprisingly enough, this isn’t the first time the group has pulled up to his house uninvited. There have been many impromptu movie nights and sleepovers at his cozy home since his mom was barely there. Even when she was present, she would happily heat up some frozen pizza and microwave some popcorn. Evan knew she was proud of him for getting so many good friends. They had all been close since Alana started the GSA earlier that year. They had met there and formed an incredibly tight knit group.
The car honked outside his window, and Evan broke from his thoughts once again. He rushed to his closet and quickly pulled on a loose fitting teal t-shirt, some khaki shorts, and a gray sweatshirt he was constantly stealing from Connor. Evan stopped at his front door and pulled on some beat up sneakers before walking out, not forgetting to lock the door behind him. Evan climbed into the front seat next to Jared, kissing his boyfriends hello and greeting Zoe and Alana with a tired but wide smile.
“So the plan is,” Alana began, “to go to Dusty’s for some to-go burgers, then head to Connor-and-Zoe’s to hang out all day. We’ll probably watch some movies, play some board games. The usual stuff.”
“MONOPOLY! MONOPOLY,” Zoe chanted before highfiving Jared from behind the driver’s seat.
“Jare, eyes on the road! And we are not playing monopoly. You, Zo, and I are just too good! It’s not fair too Evan and Alana.” The sarcasm and fake sympathy was fairly evident in Connor’s voice.
“Screw you guys! Ev and I would kick your ass and you know it,” Alana exclaimed,” You down, Ev?”
“Hell yeah!” Monopoly was common ground in their group. They often stayed up till very early in the morning, trying to complete at least one round. With the natural competitiveness of Connor, Zoe, Alana, and Jared, it was hard to avoid the game. Evan just went along.
Jared rolled down his window as they pulled up to Dusty’s drive through. When the person came on speaker, Jared recited everyone’s order by heart. They picked up their food and began the drive to the Murphy’s.
“For such an unsettling name, they have damn good burgers,” Connor said, already digging into his meal. That boy was never not hungry, his metabolism was nearly the speed of light.
Zoe rolled her eyes at her brother’s impatience. “Couldn’t you have waited until we got home? We literally live two minutes away.”
“I haven’t eaten since eight! That’s nearly two hours. You should be proud of me!”
“Could you two stop for one second? We’re here,” Jared lightheartedly called from the driver’s seat. Everyone climbed out of the car. Connor nearly tripped while racing Zoe to the front door, to the amusement of every else.
Evan was the last to enter. “So, what movie are we gonna- Oh god, were we supposed to bring presents? I’m so sorry guys, I must’ve forgotten!” Evan had walked into the living room and spotted several presents laying in the coffee table. Everyone was looking at him either confused or fondly.
“Evan, babe, do you know what day it is?” Jared asked, taking a quick glance at Connor.
“Saturday? I don’t know what’s so special about Saturday, it comes around every week”
“No, love,” Connor chuckled, “did you seriously forget your own birthday?”
Realization dawned on Evan’s face. “Oh. Oh! Oh my god, are those all for me? Thank you guys so much! That must’ve cost a lot of money, I promise I’ll pay you all back.”
Zoe shook her head. “You don’t have to pay us back, ev, they’re gifts! They’re just a little something to show you how much we love you.”
“But,” Alana interjected, “I definitely wouldn’t be opposed if you wanted to give us all a hug? You know I’m a slut for affection.” Alana opened her arms wide, welcoming everyone into a warm embrace.
“I really love you guys”
“We love you too, Ev.”