summary: Connor finds friends?

my updating schedule is fucked as i just started college a month ago but! i'm working on updating this fic! it's slow but we're getting there!

this chapter is a tad shorter than usual but it's soft? cute? i hope u enjoy it?

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"Hey, wanna join us for lunch?"

Connor looked up to see a boy with long hair standing over him. "Um, sure?" he finally said after a pause, not sure what this kid's deal was. On one hand, it was probably a prank, an excuse for yet another reason to tease him. But then, maybe, just maybe, he was being genuine, and it was probably better than eating alone in a corner again.

He picked up his tray of food and followed along. The boy led him to a corner of the playground that was more secluded and shaded by overhanging trees. Two other kids were stretched out on the grass—a boy at least a head taller than Connor, and a girl with long, blue hair. Connor recognized them, he'd seen them around school a number of times, and he wondered if they were in at least one or two of his classes… but he'd never really paid much attention during lessons, if he was completely honest. The blue-haired girl pulled herself into a sitting position as they approached.

"You're Connor, right?" she said, twirling a pencil between her fingers. She was wearing at least half a dozen rings on both hands, and her nails were painted black.

"Uh, yeah," Connor mumbled, still confused. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing, we were just wondering if you'd like to join us. You seemed kinda lonely out there."

Connor tried to laugh it off. "Sure, I guess," he said, sitting down cross-legged on the grass and balancing the tray on his lap.

"I'm Ashley, by the way, but you can just call me Ash, if you want," she said, tucking a stray wisp of blue hair behind her right ear. "This is Ben," she gestured towards the first boy. "And this is Andrew," she said, nodding towards the other boy who was still sprawled out comfortably on the ground. "But we just call him Drew. Never call him Andy, he hates it. Isn't that right, Andy?" she teased.

"Fuck off," he swatted at her good-naturedly and missed.

Connor couldn't help but smile. They seemed pretty nice. So far, at least. "So, uh, how do… do we know each other? Do we share a class or…?"

"Well, we don't," Ashley said. "but we've seen you in the cafeteria… well, when you're actually in the cafeteria."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize…" he said, blushing. "I don't know why I missed you, you're… kind of hard to miss…" he gestured lamely at her hair, hoping that wasn't rude.

"It's fine, I was blonde last week," she giggled. "This changes all the time," she pointed to her hair, tossing a loose wave behind her back. "Oh, and these two losers are Drew and Ben."

"Aren't you guys older or something?" Connor asked, turning towards Ben.

Ben shrugged. "By two years actually… you see, Drew and I have to retake our grade 'cause we flunked. Ashley's a year younger than us, and she's a fucking genius."

"Shut up, I'm not," Ashley insisted.

"Yeah, you are, but whatever," Ben dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

Connor smiled a little. "So you're in the same classes, that's how you all knew each other."

"Yeah, we were like, instant friends," Ashley grinned. "And we thought it might be fun if you joined us."

And just like that, Connor had a new lunch routine. Instead of eating by himself in some secluded corner of the canteen, he found himself hanging out with Ashley, Ben, and Drew. They would joke about their teachers, poke fun at the popular kids, or help each other with their homework. They were a little like him—awkward misfits with weird laughs and big hearts who just wanted a place in the world. But it didn't really matter to Connor that they might have been considered losers, they were a group of older kids who had taken him under their wing. They had picked him out from the other kids at school.

Connor soon learned that Ashley was the brainy one, and loved all things literature. Ben was a natural artist, always having charcoal streaked somewhere on his hands or face. Drew was the quiet one, preferring to let the others talk, but Connor soon discovered he loved Legos and robotics. None of them seemed bothered by the fact that Connor loved ballet, and even though they couldn't dance to save their lives, Connor appreciated their support nonetheless.

It was nice to have friends. It wasn't exactly like having Luke, but it was different in a good way. But Connor wasn't sure what to tell his parents. While he knew that Cynthia was desperate for him to start making friends now that Luke had moved and he was in middle school, he also was old enough to know that his parents considered themselves 'respectable people'. Despite Larry's thoughts about boys dancing ballet, Luke had still been more than welcome in his home, but he wasn't so sure his new friends would be.

Drew cussed a lot, Ashley had bright blue hair and Sharpie doodles running up and down her arms in place of the tattoos she wanted to get once she turned eighteen, and Ben was living at his grandparents' house with his two stepsisters. Connor was pretty sure none of them would be considered good influence by his parents. But they had taken him into their group, and he wasn't about to leave anytime. He just decided not to talk about this newfound friendship at home, it was too precious, too fragile to lose yet.

And despite its fragility, or perhaps because of it, Connor felt it was something that he needed more than anything else.

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to anyone who is still reading this, i love you
and if you comment, i love you even more

pls bear with me and my irregular updates. i adore this fic and i am still working on it! i know sometimes it feels like i've abandoned it but i'll try to update a bit more frequently

per usual feel free to message me on tumblr thewickedverkaiking about anything and everything