The last thing that Connor wanted, frankly, was anything to do with the drama plaguing his friend group ever since Nicole and Eric's breakup. His... former friend group, he had to recontextualise it as, with no small amount of bitterness. He couldn't believe someone he had trusted for so long would go out of her way to hurt his brother, even going so far as asking Connor for help doing it, however inadvertent his participation may have been. Worst of all, everyone else he had thought he could trust seemed to be abandoning him one by one, with the exception of his housemates. The van Houten twins, Ajax, Jenna, even Poppy, just about everyone seemed to have bought Nicole's lies about Eric. He had never felt so alone in his life, and Connor hated it.
He hated being alone, he hated hating his friends, he hated only having Eric, Kas, and Freya to turn to. As grateful as he was that they had at least seen sense, it hadn't left him with the most trustworthy group of friends. Connor just wasn't in the mood for Freya's elaborate stories about gullible being written on the ceiling, or Kas making fun of Eric's situation, even if they both meant well. Studying, at least, wasn't going to let him down. He had hoped to find some peace and quiet away from his problems, and focus on keeping up the grades he had worked so hard for this year. But the peace didn't last long, Connor's head snapping up in disbelief at the sound of the one voice he wanted to hear the least. He froze for a moment, taken aback by the venom coming from Nicole's mouth. How could she be so horrible, even now?! He gawked at Nicole in disbelief, before feeling his face shift into a glare. Connor hated being angry, but it would always be warranted when it came to cases of bullying, and as far as he was concerned, Nicole was the worst bully in the entire school right now. "What HE said?!" Connor exclaimed, eyes bulging slightly. "I can't believe you'd even show your face after the horrible things you said! How could you do that?! You pressed me for information about my brother, just so you could use him!" Connor snapped, rising up out of his seat slightly. "You're heartless!"