Note: I do not own The Middle. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author note: This chapter was getting pretty long, so it'll be posted in two parts. Don't worry: Sean will appear in Part 2.
Over the next few weeks, Sue kept as busy as possible. She worked any shifts she could get at Spudsy's. She spent quality time with her family, Sean's family, and her friends. She shadowed at a local hotel. Unfortunately, the shadowing gig wasn't as helpful as she'd hoped. Orson was hardly a hot spot for tourists, so the hotel provided little for her to do or learn – although she did quickly become an expert at unclogging the ice machine. Since much of her time there was spent sitting around and waiting on something – anything! – to happen, she'd started using that time to make updates to her latest binder.
That binder was dedicated to, of course, Sean. She used it to hold everything from ads for things they might do on future dates to lists of things she wanted to talk to him about when he got home. They had agreed that they would wait until his return to go over the events of the last year. It had been Sean's suggestion; he'd pointed out that the logistics of their situation made it difficult to have an in-depth conversation about anything. He was right, of course. He sometimes went several days without being able to receive or send personal emails and texts or make personal phone calls, and their few FaceTime chats had almost all been carefully scheduled events that included his entire family. Logistics aside, they both seemed to tacitly understand that having those conversations face-to-face made it less likely that there would be any more misunderstandings between them. They'd had too many of those already.
Sue was also seeking greater clarity in her relationship with Shelly, Sean's little sister. While the whole Donahue family seemed to have accepted her relationship with Sean whole-heartedly, Sue had felt like there was something just a little bit off in her interactions with Shelly. It took her a while, but she finally figured it out: she was the Nancy to Shelly's Frankie. And just as Frankie was a pro at manipulating Nancy into doing things, Shelly had become quite the expert at bending Sue to her will.
Case in point: a street fair was being held in Gumford one weekend in June, and Shelly was desperate to attend. She was also desperate to watch a Netflix program that her parents had banned because they considered the subject matter too adult for their daughters. Shelly had decided that a "sister sleepover" in Sue's Gumford apartment was the solution to both situations. She had found it fairly easy to cajole Sue into taking that Saturday off from Spudsy's and instead spending the weekend with the Donahue girls in Gumford.
Early that Saturday morning, Sue, Shelly, and Dotty arrived at Sue's apartment. While the younger girls explored the apartment and unpacked in Sue's room (yes, they were sharing Sue's room while Sue slept on the couch – another win for Shelly), Sue took a few minutes to catch up with Lexie, who'd been staying there alone while she worked a couple of part-time jobs in town. After briefly swapping their latest news, Sue quietly explained her Shelly-as-Frankie theory to Lexie.
"Really?" Lexie said with a smile. "What was your first clue? When she took half your belongings in exchange for the snow globe? When she talked you into taking her to that movie Mrs. Donahue didn't want her to see? Or all those times she got you to drive her and her friends around town? Or the second time she talked you into taking her to a movie her mom didn't approve of?"
"Yes! All of those!" Sue shook her head and continued, "I don't know what to do. I really want her to like me, but I really, REALLY want Mrs. Donahue to like me, and if she finds out about things like those movies, I'm going to be in a lot of trouble. And Sean might be upset with me, too!"
"I doubt Sean will be upset. For one thing, he thinks you're perfect. For another, he's known Shelly her entire life. I'm sure he knows how…" Lexie paused, searching for a tactful way to put it, "persuasive Shelly can be."
"Maybe," Sue sighed. "As for today, I think the street fair will be great. It's afterwards that I'm worried about. She's been hinting about a show she wants to watch on Netflix…"
"Let me guess. One that's not Nancy-approved."
"Exactly! But I think I have a strategy for dealing with that." After quietly verifying that Shelly and Dotty were still occupied in her room, she continued, "Well, if we can't access Netflix, then there's no way for them to watch that show, right? So, after we leave for the fair, can you go into your Netflix accounts on the tv and your laptop and log out, and make sure your password isn't saved? Then I'll tell them that I don't know your password, and I can't ask you for it since you'll be at work and unable to use your cell phone."
"Sue, are you actually developing scheming skills? I am so proud! And I so wish Brad was here to witness it!"
Just then the Donahue girls came into the living room and announced that they were ready to go. Since Lexie would be working a double-shift at the restaurant, she told them she'd see them in the morning. After the younger girls headed out the door, Lexie gave Sue a quick thumb's up to assure her the Netflix situation would be handled.
Sue, Shelly, and Dotty did have a fantastic time over the next few hours. They played carnival games, browsed through stalls, ate copious amounts of junk food, and listened to live music. Sue had been surprised to see Aidan and his band walk on stage to perform. Since he tripped over his amp when he spotted her in the crowd, it was clear he was surprised to see her, too.
"Hey, isn't that your ex?" Dotty whispered.
"Uh, yeah," Sue said. "Do you guys want to go do something else?"
"We can't now. He's waving at you!" Dotty hissed. Sure enough, he was. So sure enough, they stayed and listened to his entire set. Sue couldn't help but wonder what, if anything, Sean's sisters would tell him about this.
As soon as the set ended, Sue tried to hurry the girls away. A loud commotion behind them caused them to turn back and see that Aidan had apparently jumped off the stage and misjudged his landing. After righting himself, he hurried over to them.
"Sue! Hi! How are you? What're you doing here? I thought you'd be in Orson for the summer."
"Oh, I am. I'm just here for the weekend. We're headed back home in the morning."
After an awkward pause, Aidan said to the girls, "Hi, I'm Aiden."
"We know," they chorused.
"Oh, right. Aidan, this is Dotty and Shelly Donahue. They're neighbors of mine in Orson…" Sue's voice trailed off. Both girls gave her surprised looks when they realized that was all she was going to say.
"So, are you a prospective student?" Aidan asked Dotty.
"Oh, no," Dotty replied. "We just came for the street fair."
"And for some sister-bonding time. Sue is our brother's girlfriend," Shelly added, pointedly. A flash of discomfort momentarily crossed Sue's face; she really hadn't wanted Aidan to find out that way. Not that there was a good way to find out that an ex had moved on, especially when it was with someone they had secretly been in love with while dating you. But hopefully he wouldn't figure that part out.
"Hey, wait. Donahue." Aidan turned to Sue. "Is that the neighbor guy from your birthday?"
"Um, yes. Yes, it is. His name's Sean."
Aidan shook his head. "Well…everything makes sense now! Sue, I'm happy for you." He turned and waved at a bandmate, who was calling for him. "Ladies, have fun today! I've got to go help tear down our equipment." And with that, he headed off.
Sue's curiosity got the best of her. "Girls, can you stay here for a minute? I need to ask Aidan something." At their nod, she took off after Aidan. Hearing her approach, he stopped suddenly, causing her to run into him. They laughed as they untangled themselves.
"Well, that's a familiar scenario! I hope Sean's not as accident-prone as we are!" Aidan said.
"No, he's not. Look, Aidan, I'm sorry you found out that way…"
"It's okay. Really," he assured her. "We broke up 3 months ago. I'm dating someone now, too."
"Wow, that's great! Really great! I'm sure she's great! I hope that everything works out…"
"Great?" he teased her.
"Yes," she giggled. "I hope it works out great." She sobered, then said, "Can I ask, what did you mean? About things making sense now?"
"Oh, well, I guess you don't remember too much about your birthday." When Sue shook her head, he continued, "The way he stuck around all night and took care of you… not many guys would do that for 'just a neighbor.' And when I first introduced myself, he refused to shake my hand. At the time, I thought it was strange, but in retrospect – I guess he saw me as competition or something."
"That's…Sean's not usually like that. He's the politest guy I know."
"Well, not when meeting your boyfriends, apparently," Aidan countered. "Although the biggest giveaway of that night should have been when you told him you really liked him."
"I did what?" Sue was truly horrified. And remorseful. "In front of you? I don't remember doing that!"
"Uh, yeah. You did. At the time, he played it off like you were just so drunk that you were confusing him with me, but now…now I realize you must have really meant it."
"Oh, Aidan. I am really, really sorry. I never in a million years would've wanted to hurt you."
"I know. And it really is okay. You're a sweetheart, Sue. When you're not drunk," he clarified. "But we weren't each other's great love story. I hope this guy is it for you."
With a sad smile, Sue gave Aidan a brief hug and told him good-bye. Then she turned and walked back to Sean's sisters.
"Everything okay?" Dotty asked.
"Yeah, I…I just learned something I need to ask Sean about."
"He said he'd be available to FaceTime with us at 4 our time. That's over an hour from now."
"Well, why don't we head back to the apartment? We can walk past that last row of booths, in case we missed something cool."