Part Two:

Just as Sue reached for the door to Willard and her future, she heard him.

"Suzy Q, wait up!" Sean yelled for her, clearly out of breath.

Sue turned, and she stopped, letting him catch up to her. "Oh, Sean. Sorry, I didn't hear you," she lied.

"Sue, I haven't seen you almost all week. How've you been?" Sean, nice to a fault, asked her. He stood in front of her, still so tall and so—ugh, no!

"I'm good. Just been really busy working on a project. How 'bout you?"

"I'm good too," he said once he caught his breath. After a pause, he realized something and said, "You don't have a class in Willard. What're you doing here?"

"Just going to a meeting with my adviser." She gave him a look. "How do you know my schedule?"

"You showed it to me."

"That was almost two months ago, and you still remember?" Sue pointed out before laugh to herself. "Wow, I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday."

"Speaking of lunch, are you free today? I'd love to catch up over a pizza at Mario's."

"Uh, I'll let you know, okay?" Sue answered sheepishly, her eyes averting to her feet as she tried to avoid that smile and those eyes.

"Sure, text me."

"I will. Bye, Sean." Turning away with an awkward expression, Sue ducked into Willard. Once out of Sean's sight, she leaned against the wall, tears brimming in her eyes. She realized at that moment that even if she was accepted into the study abroad program, it would be at least three months until she left.

She couldn't avoid him anymore. She'd have to tell him what was going on and ask him to give her some space so she could get over this silly crush or whatever it was. And maybe things could go back to normal.

Months ago, she had assumed he'd be going to Duke, his first choice, but somehow he hadn't gotten accepted. She could have handled all of this so much better if he was off in North Carolina and not Indiana.

She took out her phone.

How about 1:30?

He responded very quickly. See you then!

Sean arrived to Mario's early. He was so nervous, he nearly bounced in place! Today was the day he was going to ask Sue out on an official date.

God, what if she said no? He just couldn't handle that.

It had been back last Spring when he was visiting Axl at East Indy. He ended up spending more time with Sue than with Axl. He had always had feelings for her, sure, but not like this. It was as if something had switched on inside of him, like a light switch, when he'd walked into her apartment that day.

So confused with his feelings, he figured he would just flirt with her roommate and try to figure things out later on. But when he took Lexi out for coffee, all she had done was ask him a million questions about Axl and all he had done was think about Sue.

When he headed back to Notre Dame, he had thought about her every day. He would be walking across campus and she'd pop into his head; springalicious. He'd fall asleep with her on his mind, woke up still thinking of her. She simply could not leave his head.

Sure, he had been with a few girls in the past, but this felt different… except he couldn't figure out how. For a few years now, she had been the first person he wanted to call when something good happened or if he needed a lift after an especially bad day. She was this ray of sunshine that was so rare nowadays.

However, he didn't want to make any trouble. What would their families think? Or Axl? He had actually known her his entire life, and everyone saw them as siblings.

But then he learned to stop caring about what other people thought and had spent two weeks finding the perfect gift, drove five hours just to see her and only her, and found out she was already seeing someone else. His heart broke, crestfallen, but maybe he had given up too easily.

Sue walked in the door, and he began to smile. Then it fell.

Her eyes were bloodshot red, like she had been crying.

"Sue, are you okay?" Sean stood up to offer to help her with her coat.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just my allergies. You know me and fall pollen." She waved his concern away, rolling her reddened eyes.

"The waitress has been to our table a dozen times by now, so I ordered you a pop. That okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

The waitress showed up when they sat down, and Sue knew right then and there why she had been to their table so many times. Tall, blond, gorgeous girls were immediately drawn to Sean, like bugs to a bright light. She'd always been able to laugh it off, but at this very moment, she lost her sense of humor.

"So, cutie, what'll you have?" their waitress, named Ashley, asked, winking Sean's way.

Sue rolled her eyes, and Sean laughed nervously before ordering a salad.

Ashley even walked away without asking Sue what she wanted.

"Excuse me, miss! I'd like a salad, too!" she cried out, but heard nothing in response. Sue slumped in her seat, invisible again.

"She must be really busy, that's all," he offered, laughing it off.

"Sean, we're the only ones here," Sue retorted, gesturing around the empty seats.

They let silence sit between them before Sean cleared his throat. "Sue, I wanted to... talk to you about something."

Sue put her hands out. "If you don't mind, Sean, I have something to tell you, too, and I'd like to go first."

"Shoot, Suzy Q."

"Well, I just wanted you to be the first one to know that I've applied for a semester abroad for this Spring in London. If I get it, I'd be working at the Dorchester. It would be amazing. My adviser thinks I have a good chance and…" She stopped, realizing she was rambling on. Glancing up, she waited for his reaction.

"Sue, that's terrific!" Sean forced a smile, even though he couldn't stand the thought of an ocean between them. She wore this great smile that made her face bright and pretty.

"It's just that I really need a break from East Indy, and it would be a great experience." She paused, then let out a long breath. "But I need to ask you a favor, Sean."

"Anything for you," he said, his voice sincere.

She cringed. "Well, I don't want to sound rude, but I have so much to do before I leave, and I just don't want you to worry if you don't see too much of me for the next week weeks."

Sean sat in stunned silence. Sue waited for a reply, but got nothing.

Ashley returned to the table with "their" order, and of course forgot Sue's salad. And right in front of Sue, the waitress leaned over the table, picked up Sean's phone and programmed her number into it. She winked again before slipping it back into his hands. He kept smiling, just smiling.

But Sue had finally hit her breaking point. She stood up, palms firmly on the table. "Hello! I'm sitting right here. And I could very easily be his girlfriend, for all you know." To demonstrate, she leaned across the table, grabbed Sean by the collar, and kissed him briefly on the lips. When she pulled away, she shot Ashley a sharp look. "See? But… I'm not his girlfriend, so… I'll be leaving now."

Suddenly shy and her face bright red, Sue left her backpack and coat and flew out the door.

Sean just sat there with the biggest smile on his face, a genuine smile.