#thread: conner1

Eventually, with a little soothing from Hope as he frantically texted her his predicament, he finally settled on the simple art of calming down. There was no need to panic or pick out an entire outfit. Conner was his best friend, and he wasn’t about to start overanalysing the ins and outs of Drake’s dress sense. Not unless he’d become a secret fashion guru in the three years since he’d been locked up. Instead, Drake opted for throwing on his headphones, kicking back on the sofa and listening to his mom it’s not a phase playlist on Spotify. Before he knew it, he was relaxed and ready to go see his favourite person in the whole world. 

As he slipped out of his apartment and started making the journey to Conner’s, his phone started buzzing in the pocket of his jeans. Glancing down as he pulled it free, he spotted a text from Claudia. He smiled fondly, before wondering if she’d seen Conner’s post yet. 

Claud 💕: hey cutieeeeeeee i just got out of wrk are u free? 

Drake: hey babe :) 

Drake: i have plans :( 

Claud 💕: aw nooooo 

Claud 💕: what if i promised kisses from a qt girl wld that change ur mind? 

Drake: aha very tempting :) i'm on my way to see conner though. he's back! 

Drake: did you see? 

Claud 💕: ohhhhh ye i did  

Claud 💕: do u think he’d wna see me? 

Drake: why wouldn’t he? just text him babe, check in! he's our best friend. 

With that, Drake slipped his phone back into his pocket and carried on his way. He felt a little uneasy about the exchange, especially after speaking to Conner. His best friend had seemed upset about Drake and Claudia’s relationship, and even more surprised to find that Claudia had made the first move. To hear – metaphorically speaking – Claudia speak so casually about Conner, and seem so unmoved by the fact that he was finally back after three years in jail, it made Drake feel a little queasy. They were best friends, all of them. Why did that have to change? 

He pushed the thought to the back of his mind, instead focusing on arriving at Conner’s. The main priority for the evening was to wrap his best friend up in a bear hug and remind him just how much he’d missed him.  

A couple blocks later, Drake found himself forgoing the lift entirely and eagerly bounding the steps up to Conner’s apartment. His legs stretched far and wide as he skipped every two steps, speeding his way up several flights of stairs with far more energy than he knew he could possess. Even after upping his game in the gym, leg day had never been his favourite. 

He gave Conner’s door a quick knock and waited a little impatiently, bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet. The second the door swung open, relief flooded through his chest at the sight of his friend. Beaming across at him, Drake wasted no time in launching himself at Conner and wrapping his arms firmly around the other man’s shoulders, leaving him little-to-no time to react. 

“Holy heck, I missed you so much,” he repeated, for what felt like the hundredth time.