Five Hours
Sue.
Every time Axl's little sister entered his head he'd speed up. The five hour drive to East Indiana State seemed to drag on. But when Sue was on his mind his heart would race and he'd accidentally speed up his car.
Third tries the charm. It was gonna be the night he finally got to dance with Sue. This was something Sean hadn't realized was important until a few months ago.
Sue.
Sue was the subject his mind couldn't pull away from. Every moment of the day he spent thinking of her and he couldn't figure out why. Maybe his brain was trying to remember her Chancellor's Ball.
He rented a tux and jumped in his car without a second thought. He just passed Indianapolis.
Sean stopped for gas just outside Indy to call his mother. He couldn't stop smiling when he told her his plans. He wanted to take Sue to the ball.
He would be the Prince who took the Princess to her magical night. Maybe they'd kiss under the star's and dance until dawn.
His face flushed. He pushed it down and continued speaking to his mother. She was supportive and didn't ask a lot of questions which was nice.
An hour to go until he hit East Indiana. He grinned when he saw the signs. His heart was practically trying to escape his ribcage like the chestbuster from Alien.
Sean found a parking space and took a moment to decompress before go up to her apartment. The last time he tried to take her she turned him down. He was crushed, but he got over it. Donahue's never ruffle feathers.
He threw his tux over his shoulder and decided to walk in. He shared the elevator with a short guy about Sue's age.
"I'm here to take a girl to a Ball. I'm gonna surprise her."
"Good luck," said the boy.
Sean and the boy got out on the same floor. Sean nervously walked to Sue's door.
She had a date. Of course she did. Sean held composure. He smiled through his rejection like any Donahue. But when she closed the door he lost it.
Elevator Boy handed him a tissue and a sympathetic look as they rode the elevator back down.
"I'm a huge idiot."
Elevator Boy was kind enough to look away while Sean cried. He even began to him to drown out the sound of Sean's sniffling. Which was appreciated.
"Don't give up on love, man," Elevator Boy said as he walked beside Sean to the parking lot. He opened the truck of his car to grab the rest of his groceries.
"I don't love her," Sean said.
"Are you sure?" Elevator Boy dropped one of his bags and Sean helped him. He loaded the small guy's arms with bags and held the door open to the apartment building.
"This is the third time we've done this. I drove five hours."
"You drove five hours for a girl you don't love?"
And after an inquisitive look just like that Elevator Boy was gone. Sean got back in his car to drive home. But he didn't start it right away. He sat and ugly cried for a long time.
It hurt. Last time he was crushed but bounced back. This time it hurt. She decimated his heart and he wasn't prepared for it.