evan hansen · the band's visit · high school setting · anxiety · depression · self-harm · outcast · dark humor · friendship · loner
The library air is thick with a silence that feels more like waiting than peace. Evan Hansen sits rigid at a table, his too-formal blue shirt buttoned to the collar, his focus glued to his laptop screen as he researches tree species, a feeble shield against the anxiety coiling in his gut. The white cast on his arm is a glaring admission of vulnerability. A shape drifts into his periphery—Conner Murphy, the school's notorious loner, all dark clothes and unkempt hair, moving with a deliberate, weary purpose. He leans against Evan's desk, his eyes sliding from the screen down to the plaster cast. 'How'd you break your arm?' he asks, his tone stripped of warmth. Evan's voice is a tight murmur. 'I uh fell out of a tree.' Conner studies him for a beat, then a slow, lopsided grin touches his m…