What was her goal really?
Did she have a plan?
Well, she could follow the standard treebros fic- get Evan and Connor to become friends, fall in love with each other and help them find happiness and then quietly drift away.
But given her in-depth knowledge of their lives, that would be too manipulative.
Get Jared to be less of a jerk? Seems unlikely.
Get Alana to acknowledge her anxiety and open up about her depression in a healthy way? Could be doable, but that's going to be so much work. Nur didn't go through that much effort for her own friends when she was alive.
Get Connor to make up with Zoe? Can't really take back threatening to kill someone, but even if they aren't besties, they could tolerate each other?
Nur wanted to just curl up in bed and hope she would wake up soon.
Instead, she heard her alarm go off.
She took the bus again, Evan had already kept a place for her beside him.
"Morning!" Nur chimed.
"Good morning," Evan greeted back.
"Caught up on homework?"
"Yeah, I think so. How was your visit to Connor's house?" Evan asked.
"Pretty good, pretty normal honestly."
"So, Connor's parents aren't like him?"
"No, well kind of? They're nice, but I just feel sad for them. There's a lot going on there that probably needs some work, or at least counseling. But overall they seem pretty nice. They live on Van Ness."
"I didn't know anyone even lived there."
"I know, right?"
"Do you want to come over to my house later? Doesn't have to be today, but sometime this week?"
"Yeah, I could try. My parents don't like me spending time alone with guys though, so maybe we'll have to meet somewhere public like the library? I don't really have a car, so they'll have to pick me up."
"Oh," Evan replied. Deflated.
"I could ask Connor if he wants to join us, then he could drive me back?" Nur suggested.
"If he's ok with that, sure." Evan responded, though he still looked wary of the idea of being so close to Connor.
"He's really not so bad when you get to know him," Nur said in as reassuring a manner as she could. She texted Connor, who replied immediately.
"He says he's fine with it. Should I bring pizza?" Nur asked.
"No, it's ok, my mom gives me money for food, we can order something when you get there." Evan said.
"Oh this is going to be so fun!" Nur squealed.
"Yeah," Evan replied. She hoped he wasn't already regretting this decision.
"Hey, if it's too much, we can postpone this. I don't want it to be overwhelming."
"It's fine."
"We'll just chill, maybe listen to music, watch a movie, very low stakes." Nur continued. "I can even connect my laptop to the tv if you have HDMI cables, I have Netflix and Hulu."
"Oh wow, aren't we fancy," Evan said, raising an eyebrow.
"Very funny. But if I'm coming on too strong just tell me. I get overexcited sometimes." Nur insisted.
"I will, you don't have to worry about me so much." Evan answered.
They got off the bus, and headed into the school.
"Hey! Evan!" Jared ran over towards them. "Oh, hey you."
"Nur."
"Yeah. So, do you want to come over to my place tonight? It's been a while, and I need to keep my premiums up."
"I can't," Evan replied. "I have a thing tonight."
"Since when are you ever busy?" Jared asked.
"Nur and I are hanging out, you're welcome to join us though." Evan offered.
"Are you two making a sex tape? I charge extra for using my copy of Final Cut Pro."
"What? No!" Evan said in horror.
"I think that's my cue to leave." Nur added. "Text me what movies you might want to watch."
"How about Zach and Miri?" Jared shouted.
"Shut up!" Evan said, pushing him.
"C'mon dude. Admit it, it was funny."
Nur found Connor was actually at school this morning and walked over to him.
"It's too early in the morning to deal with you," Connor said before she opened her mouth.
"Should I get you some coffee? You look like you didn't sleep at all."
"I have been having trouble sleeping," Connor admitted. "It's awful, probably that vegan meatloaf we were subjected to."
"It could also be your depression? Have you thought about taking your medication?" Nur asked quietly.
"Not you too." Connor grumbled. "I thought you were different."
"Ok, I won't say anything, but have you talked to your doctor if it's not working for you? It's not something you need go alone. These things take a lot of trial and error."
"I said I'm fine," Connor insisted. He fiddled with the strap of his bag. "So we're going to Hansen's house? What should I expect? Does he have a wall full of pictures of my sister's face with the eyes cut out?"
Despite herself, Nur laughed. "He might have a crush, but he's not a full on creeper. He's sweet."
"That's what they say about most serial killers, they just seemed so nice." Connor continued.
"He's more scared of you than you are of him," Nur admonished.
"I hope so, it would be fucking weird if he wasn't."
"I just don't think you'll be satisfied unless he matches what stereotypes you've set for him. Would you want to be judged before someone got to know you?" Nur asked.
"I guess not," Connor shrugged.
They went to Homeroom, and parted ways.
At History, Nur and Alana had enough time to joke about the unflattering picture of Van Buren on their practice exam.
"This pamphlet is not doing him any favors." Alana mused.
"Yeah, I get that he invented a whole political party, but woof, that is not a look."
"Are we still on for Saturday?" Alana asked.
"Totally! Do you want to meet at your house or mine?" Nur asked.
"Yours if that's ok? I've got a bit of a Full House thing going on."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, my sister moved back home with her kids. It's been…loud."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Nur asked.
Alana paused. "Maybe? Mostly I just want my room back. But I was wondering, I'm double booked today, would you mind tabling for me at lunch for selling wristbands at Homecoming? They ended up moving up the Student gov meeting and I can't find anyone to take my place."
"Sure. What are friends for?"
Alana smiled. "You're a lifesaver."
"I'll just have to give Evan a heads up."
"Evan? Like Evan Hansen?" Alana asked.
"Do you two know each other?"
"He's an acquaintance."
"Oh. That bad, huh?"
"Oh! I don't mean it that way, I refer to most people as my acquaintances." Alana reassured her.
Nur nodded. "Well, I'm happy to do this as your friend. And I'm sure Evan would consider you a friend too. Have you signed his cast yet? It would mean a lot to him if you did."
Alana looked contemplative. "I'll do it when I see him next time."
Nur texted Evan after class, but didn't hear back from him. She headed over to the principal's office to pick up the cash box, and saw Connor sitting in the waiting room.
"Is someone in trouble?" Nur asked.
"Might've gotten caught, um, smoking by the bleachers."
"Connor!" Nur gasped. "Are they suspending you?"
"It was just cigarettes, and I'm 18. They can give me detention for smoking on premises and that's it. Just waiting for them to give me a dressing down."
"Well, I'm off to go table for homecoming wristbands." Nur declared.
"Sellout."
"I'm doing it as a favor for Alana. Do you want to join me? I could use the company."
"I think that's a great way to drive down sales." Connor retorted.
"Then what better way to stick it to the man?" Nur laughed.
Connor thought about it. "Ok, I'm in. See you there.
Nur received Evan's text shortly afterwards.
No problem, have fun tabling.
Nur set the items on the table and texted back
Do you want to join me?
No response. Probably a bit too much to ask the kid with anxiety if he wants to try to sell things.
There were a few students who bought their wristbands right away, but the line died down after about five minutes. Nur suspected she'd spend the rest of the hour waiting around. Connor showed up shortly afterward.
They other students watched as he sat at the table, some murmuring to each other.
"Told you," Connor said. "They're probably wondering what the weird kid's doing taking up space, trying to pretend like he belongs there."
"I think they're more surprised you're trying to be a part of something, and so what? Sometimes it's good to shake things up."
"Yeah, but they're staring."
"So what? Bet they can't help themselves. What did they do to bask in the glory of class hottie Connor Murphy?"
"Shut up."
"It's true though, you are the hottest kid in school."
"That is patently false."
"Second hottest then? I think Alana would probably give you a run for your money." Nur teased.
"Beck is pretty hot, but don't tell her I said that."
"Your secret's safe with me."
One of the kids nudged the other, and they could see they were nervously chatting. Finally, the other got up and walked over to the table.
"Are you guys selling wristbands?" The kid asked.
"Yeah, they're for homecoming." Nur replied. "They're $5."
"Do they get you added…benefits?"
"Like?" Nur asked.
"Well, Murphy's here. Are you selling anything else?"
Connor frowned. "I'm not a dealer, dude. I'm just here to support my friend."
The kid sighed. "Oh, ok. Worth a shot. But you would make a killing at homecoming, last year's sucked." The kid pulled out ten dollars. "I'll take two anyway, are you both going?"
"Yeah, definitely! See you there!" Nur replied as she handed him the wristband.
"What was that? See you there?" Connor asked mockingly.
"You might not go, but I might." Nur shrugged.
"Don't tell me you're into all that bullshit with school dances, they're so awkward."
"It's senior year, why not make the most of it?" Nur asked rhetorically.
"And you'll go by yourself?"
"I mean, it's no different than the other three years, just a different school."
Connor was going to say something, when Zoe walked over to their table.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Didn't think I'd ever see you tabling, for well, anything." Zoe remarked.
"Are you gonna buy a wristband or what?" Connor asked.
"Yeah, yeah I will. But you better go to the game. Kind of pointless if you only go to the dance." Zoe said as she slammed the bill on the table.
"I'm surprised you'd want me there." Connor said as he handed her a wristband.
"I have a solo. It's gonna be pretty badass. We're playing We Are the Champions."
"Wouldn't miss it."
Zoe tucked the wristband in her pocket. "Thanks."
Nur smiled at Connor, who glared at her. "What?"
"Nothing."
When school ended, they agreed to meet in the hallway and walk to Connor's car. He's drive them to Evan's house, and Evan would pay for gas money.
Overall, Project Treebros was working out. Nur made sure to sit in the back while Evan rode shotgun. She chatted with them while she and Connor argued about what station to listen to.
When they arrived at Evan's house, they ran into Evan's mom (Julianne Moore! Nur was not going to get over that.) who was just as surprised to see them.
"It's nice to meet your friends, honey. I wish I could stay and get to know you both, but maybe we can do this again soon?"
Heidi gave her son a kiss and she was out the door.
"Bye, Mom."
"So…what are we thinking? Order food first or homework?" Nur asked.
"Really? Homework?" Connor asked.
"The sooner we get it over with the better." Nur replied.
"Ugh, stop being such a dork. Can't I just copy yours?"
"We don't even have the same classes!" Nur exclaimed.
"Why don't we order food first? Then we can do homework while we wait for it?" Evan suggested.
"Best idea I've heard in, well, ever." Nur replied.
After the pizza arrived, they finished up the last of their assignments and settled on a movie. Nur curled up on the edge of the sofa, Evan sat on the other end, abd Connor sat on the floor.
"So, do you guys want to watch Mean Girls?"
"Isn't that a chick flick?" Connor asked.
"Course not. It's a classic."
Nur hooked up the HDMI and started streaming the movie.
"Remind me never to let you pick what we watch again," Connor scoffed.
"Agreed," Evan chimed in.
"Et tu, Brute?" Nur asked, mock offended.
"Next time we do this, I'm bringing something better, like A Clockwork Orange." Connor replied.
"What a fun and appropriate film to watch with your friends." Nur drawled.
"Good cinema isn't palatable, or appropriate, it challenges you." Connor stated.
"I don't think it's still a good movie to watch together, Evan back me up here." Nur pleaded.
"I haven't seen it, so I don't really know." Evan said.
"Aw man, it's so good." Connor replied.
"Well, let's hear him out then. We'll watch it next week." Evan decided.
"Can we compromise? How about Suspiria instead?" Nur bargained.
She did not want Heidi Hansen walking in while something vile was on her tv. They'd probably never be invited back.
"Ok, we can watch Suspiria, but only because I haven't seen it before." Connor agreed.
"Next week then?" Evan asked.
"I don't mind making it a thing," Nur said. "There's a lot of good movies out there. Have you guys seen Jennifer's Body? It's so underrated."
"The Megan Fox movie? You're joking," Connor scoffed.
"I'm not. You'll have to see for yourself."
"Alright, but if I hate it, you're buying dinner next time."