Elena Yells

Sean hates the sound of yelling. It probably goes back to when he was a kid and his parents used to fight over the smallest things, turning their house into a full-out warzone where no one was safe and no one was victorious. It used to leave him feeling literally sick at the stomach. That's the same kind of yelling that Elena does when she is angry.

It always starts of slowly, this kind of buildup where you can see it coming but you can't look away. And then there is the climax, the turning point where she goes from the calm, studious, rational Elena to the red-eyed monster who can't see straight. Sean isn't always sure that everyone else sees her this way, but that's definitely how he imagines it. That kind of reaction to stress can't be good for a future doctor.

She is angry now and rightfully so, her heart splattered all over the sidewalk at the hands of a betrayal of her boyfriend. He sees the fire and passion in her dark eyes and know that it's more about being hurt than being angry. It's the same way he felt after the rejection of Julie and he wouldn't wish that kind of heartache on his biggest enemy, let alone one of his closest friends.

The girls are circled around him, Elena's braid buried among Felicity's curls and Megan's mahogany tendrils and Julie's mousy brown hair. He admires the way girls can do that, step up when they need to physically gather around their friends. But in the next breath, he has to admire the way Elena breaks free of that and lets loose on the uncomfortable silence hanging in the cold New York air.

Her breath comes out in fast spurts, leaving behind the ghost of her words visible in the air. She uses a complex pattern of speech as she lays into Tracy, relentless in her verbal attack. The man cowers in her reign of vocal terror, never once finding the courage to meet her eyes. This only makes her that much powerful. Sean is awestruck by the courage of her conviction, but he knows that it's mostly just a front. Her yell is only a reaction to the little part of her heart that just died inside.

That leaves him feeling cold and lonely, and there isn't anything he can do. He's as trapped, as mesmerized, as Tracy is, and he isn't even part of it. She is toe-to-toe with her boyfriend, in his face and refusing to back down. Sean wants to pull them apart and stop her from doing something she'll regret. He somehow knows it won't seem as worth it in the morning.

Elena finally gives up and turns to walk away, her head hung and her arms crossed protectively over her chest. Sean sees the sadness in her eyes as she passes him by, nodding slightly in acknowledgement as Felicity runs after her to catch up. She pretends to be unaffected by it all, but Sean sees right through it just like he used to see how much it bothered his own mother. And just like then, he feels a little bit sick at just how ugly Elena's yell could get.