Connor Evans

“I can’t believe you willingly come to these,” Connor grumbled as he and Clara walked out of town hall. She laughed at his comment as they turned the corner, walking.

“Says the man who is running for a position that would require you to attend these for your entire term,” she reminded him. Connor’s brow furrowed and Clara immediately grabbed his arm to stop him.

“You do realize you’d have to attend town meetings… right?” she asked. Connor didn’t answer right away.

“Of course I do.” 

Clara stared at him, a small smirk on her face. 

“All right then,” she laughed, linking her arm with his as they continued down the sidewalk. “I’m so happy its finally cooling off, aren’t you?” 

“Its definitely preferable to the humidity and mosquitoes,” Connor replied. 

“But Bingley just seems to come alive in the fall, don’t you think?”

“That’s just the tourists driving up from Manhattan to see the leaves,” Connor paused, turning his head to look at Clara momentarily before turning his eyes back to the sidewalk ahead of them. “But I know how much you like wearing your big knit sweaters.”

“I do like my sweaters,” Clara agreed.”So I know how much you hate even the smallest alterations to you schedule but–”

Clara did not have a chance to finish the sentence as Connor suddenly stopped, turned, and kissed her without a word, right in front of the home of local busybody Donna Wilkerson (who, luckily, was visiting her son in Florida that week).

It was likely on a few seconds but it felt like the pair stood frozen in the sidewalk for quite awhile before either spoke.

“… I was just going to ask if you wanted to go apple picking if I promised there’d be cobbler after the fact.”  

“Yes.”

“Even on a Saturday when you’re normally at the library?”

“Yes.”

Clara stared up at him, the pair still standing incredibly close to one other on the sidewalk, illuminated by a dim streetlight a few yards behind them.

“Can I kiss you again?” Connor asked. Clara smiled.

YOUR MUSE BRINGING MY MUSE FLOWERS

“This is stupid,” muttered Connor to himself.  Around him, flowers and plants burst from their racks; a cacophony of scents assaulted his nostrils.  Blues and pinks and purples and oranges assaulted his eyes, a kaleidoscope of blinding color that almost made him wish he’d brought his sunglasses with him.  I should walk away, he thought for about the eighth time since the idea had struck him.  Better not to do this!

Spring was returning slowly to Bingley and, with it, the noise and bustle that so irritated Connor, but delighted others.  Clara had stayed through the cold winter months, watched the snow settle over town with him, and she had mentioned to him, on Friday (around 5:35pm) that, beautiful as the snow was, she missed the vibrant colors and scents of spring…she missed flowers.  

Connor sneezed, suddenly, and cast an accusatory glance towards a bobbing lilac in the window.  Removing a tissue from his breast pocket, he wiped at his nose; sneezed again, did the same.  “Hello?” called Connor.  “Is anyone here?”

Once he had found the employees, it took a little time to get through first, his general complaints about the flowers; second, his desire to isolate which were to blame for his resurgence in allergies; third, find flowers (from the remaining plants) bright enough to tempt a smile from Clara Young.  Connor left with a spritely bouquet and his usual scowl.

He felt stupid as he walked through town, he felt stupid as he stepped up to her door, he felt stupid when he raised his fist to knock on that door…and he felt stupid when he hesitated.  Heaving a sigh, he dropped his hand, bowed his head.  What was he going to say?  How was he going to say it?  Could he bring her flowers?  He wasn’t he boyfriend.  Did she have a boyfriend?  Did she want one?  No, no, stupid, stupid.  Was she even home?  His scowl had turned to nerves and he gnawed at his lip.  What if she didn’t even like the flowers he’d brought?  She’d said flowers, but she hadn’t been specific.  He ought to have asked her to be specific.  Connor turned, walked away from the door, stopped, turned again, stopped, glared at the flowers seized in his hand.

The door opened.

Connor froze, his heart leapt into his throat.  She hadn’t spotted him, yet, as she looked at her bag, which she was hauling over her shoulder.  There was still time to hide…Connor squared his shoulders and approached her, instead.

“Clara!” he greeted, watched her stop rifling through her bag, look up in surprise.  She stopped where she stood, looked at him, looked at the flowers, looked back at him.  Connor watched confusion blossom across her face, but he watched, too, an uncertain smile brighten her features.

“Connor?”

“I, um,” he started forward, stopped.  “I guess you’re going out?”

“I-” she hooked her thumb over her shoulder.  “I was just going to run to the store.  It’s not urgent.  Would you like to come in?”

Connor started to speak, stopped.  He walked up to her, gesturing with the flowers.  “I, uh, you said…You said you missed spring the other day.”

She nodded.  “I did,” she replied, settling her warm eyes on his as she smiled up at him.  “I do.”

Ok, so I could have seen that too, honestly, but I feel like lia didn’t actually grow up here and she didn’t move until she and her husband both got jobs and yeah so by the time she met connor she was already married.

but omg!!!!! I agree!!!!!! I so!!! love the idea of them being friends especially since they are so!!!! different!!!!! and like I see connor complaining about x and at the same time lia is just going on about how much she loves x haha #facepalm. (actual dialogue???) but yeah, I def think that lia would be able to see beyond his ~crusty~ exterior (she always finds the good in people, i feel like … altho sometimes i think she misjudges ppl in their favor but anyway!)

alkdjflakjflkjLKAJLDFJALSKDFJLAKJ omg I love that connor spends his time complaining about the traffic and the neighbors tHESE ARE TEARS!!!!!! jimmy def says he’s an old man and probably makes a lot of jokes about how staying out past 6PM is late for connor and tries to make him dinner at 4:30 and talks to him about his retirement plan and which nursing home he should send him to and where graveyard should he bury him and what kind of food should he serve at his funeral and tbh the old people jokes just keep going on for days ;DDDD

also I feel like him reorganizing the apartment probably throws jimmy off sometimes haha and tbh probably makes him an even messier roommate b/c he’s like “we used to keep dvds here but idk where i’m supposed to put this so the floor looks like a good place” ;DDD

I feel like maybe they’ve been living together ever since jimmy came back to bingley??? idk how long that’s been (did I write it down somewhere??? idk??? but I wanna say that it’s been about two years??????? thoughts????)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ALL. THE. OLD. PPL. JOKES. LSKDJFKLAJSDKLFJKDLSJFK Connor hates that (but he also loves it bc now it’s a ~thing...he’s weiRD lizzy) and at first he was probs like IM YOUNG!!! and then would do something to ‘prove’ it like go sit on a park bench for an hour w his book bc...that’s the definition of youthfulness obv smdh  I feel like he also sometimes goes on ‘kids these days’ rants and I just...Connor, no.  Also at least once, Connor probs thought he was genuinely asking for like insurance purposes and probs v srsly told him which nursing home and where was to be buried lkajfdlksjfkjdsf also????? if Jimmy ever offered to make dinner at 4:30 Connor would probs just be like ‘ok thanks’ #facepalm  Most of the time he doeS clue in tho and he hes’ like IM NOT OLD and gets v indignant and it’s a whole thing alkdjflkjdsklfjalsdkjfsd

AM I LAUGHING AM I CRYING Connor has a fiT when he gets home and finds that the dvds are all on the floor I DONT TAKE CARE OF THIS HOME FOR YOU TO JUST COMPLETELY IGNORE THE ORDER I INSTILL WHY DO I BOTHER but then he just puts all the dvds away and is like ‘see!!!! it’s orderly now!!!!’ instead of actually ~showing Jimmy where they go now if he didn’t happen to be watching at the time (and I’m realizing that they’re basically an old married couple in this instance #facepalm)

When Dom was a kid, i think he’d be a sarcastic know-it-all but more sociable than he is now. having close friends he wouldn’t really seek out new ones. connor would be one of his closer friends. i can definitely see them chillin’.

during his later years, I think he’d be less fake around his friends ? perhaps let his facade of being better than other people fall to the wayside. before he goes off to college, i think when he starts telling people he’s going to school and seeing their reactions be mostly positive, he’d wall up those emotions of paranoia and anxiousness about going somewhere new.

Awww, I love it!!!  And I think Dominic was def one of Connor’s closest friends, too!  I feel like they spent a lot of time together growing up and they’re both super organized and given to sarcasm so I feel like these things might’ve served to bring them closer at one time...and then to alienate them later on.  I feel like Connor is still hurt by the way they left things so he’ll be a lil leery upon their first reunion, but if Dominic is showing any even vague signs of reconciliation atp, Connor will be all over that hahaha  Also, even if Dom isn’t, Connor just wants his friend back so he’ll make overtures over time, too?

Honestly Connor probs liked him even more when Dom became more genuine!  He’s a lil crusty himself but he does value openness when it comes down to it.  And I can absolutely see them hanging out and having a grand ol’ time and probably Connor pushing books at him hahaha and most likely hanging out at Sullivan’s a lot!  

Dominic needs friends honestly, and the idea that Connor, Peter and Dom all grew up together makes complete sense. I’d say that maybe Connor and Dom lost touch maybe after he went off to college ? It’s even more probable ( because of Dom’s attitude ) that they ended their friendship on a sour note when Dom left ? But I would love the idea of Dom coming back to Bingley and just having to deal with his own actions and burnt bridges. idk, whatchu think ?

haha! i’m sure she’ll probably be in and borrow most of them (and other random things for whatever subject she is most interested in at that moment!) and she’ll probably love the library because its calm and quiet and you can hide out escape the world for awhile. …. unlesssssssssssssss milo follows her then she profusely apologizes in advance. ;)

Honestly, Connor is so happy and relieved for the library to be a place of refuge for ppl like that that’s what it ought to be in his book <3  That, and organized!  ;D  And thanks to him, Bingley Public Library is both of those things hahah

UNLESS MILO FOLLOWS HER LKDSJFKLJSD  Cue Connor and Milo having a stare off like it’s high noon in the Old West tbqh ;DDDD