Gus left his apartment around 7:30 and headed into the parking garage.
The blue Echo was gone.
Taped to his parking spot was a note.
Dude- Emergency! My bike's in the shop, and Blockbuster has Plan 9 From Outer Space on laser disc. LASER DISC!
-S. (Shawn)
P.S.- Don't worry. I don't need your keys. Did you know Wikipedia has an entry for hotwire? Very informative!
Gus crumpled the note and growled angrily.
Now what was he supposed to do?
He sighed and flipped through the contacts on his cell phone.
"Hi…Detective Lassiter? It's Gus…are you still going to the concert? Could you possibly…pick me up? Long story…"
The drive with Detective Lassiter was awkwardly silent. Gus just couldn't shake the thought from his head.
This isn't a date...this isn't a date…this isn't a date…
How did Shawn always do that? How did he always get in his head?
Finally, after about ten minutes of complete silence, Lassiter cleared his throat deliberately.
"Well, this is fun…"
The comment fell flat.
Finally, Gus couldn't stand the strain anymore.
"THIS ISN'T A DATE!" He burst out.
The car suddenly came to a screeching halt. Lassie slowly turned in his seat, his eyes burning a hole through Gus' skull.
"What was that?"
"Umm…nothing."
"Get out."
"I just meant—"
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Nothing! It's—"
"Why would you even say that? We're just two guys….going to a concert…oh."
Lassiter suddenly saw it, too.
The cars behind them began to beep. Lassiter quickly stepped on the gas, keeping his eyes on the road directly in front of them.
For a few more minutes, neither of them spoke.
Or looked at each other.
"I'll pay for my ticket," Gus offered finally. "Then it's definitely not a date."
"Good. Yeah." Lassiter nodded. "And we won't sit together."
"Right….and we're on our own for food or whatever."
"And we can't buy matching concert T-shirts."
"NO!"
"And…we'll never speak of this again."
"Deal."
The two nodded in unison, understanding each other perfectly.
"This is so not a date!" Gus sighed, relieved it was finally over. "I don't know what Shawn was thinking!"
"Of course not!" Lassiter snorted. "Spencer's a moron."
"We're just two guys…"
"Going to a concert."
"In the park."
"Exactly."