"I still just CAN NOT believe it!" Brad declared to Lexie as he sipped his complimentary in flight beverage. They were on their way home from Las Vegas and had managed to snag the same flight as Sean and Sue this time, but they weren't able to sit near each other so they broke into pairs. The previous day, Sue had spent the majority of the day with Brad and Lexie exploring the Las Vegas strip, watching a few shows, and indulging at one of the incredible, famous buffets. Brad still was completely unaware of the secrets that Lexie and Sue had shared earlier that morning, but the three of them did discuss the possibility of a change in living arrangements, that being Sue wanting to move in with Sean and Brad taking her place in Lexie's apartment.
"I know! You just can't tell anyone yet." Lexie whispered even though it wasn't like anyone else they knew would hear them at this particular moment. "She hasn't told anyone yet and her parents would totally freak if they found out she was going to move in with Sean." Lexie explained. Brad simply nodded in a 'no duh' sort of way. He wasn't one to blabber his best friend's secrets to the world.
"I'm just wondering how it's all going to work out. They are going to find out eventually, probably won't even take THAT long since they seem to come around pretty often for this and that." Brad wondered. It was true. Frankie, Mike, and Nancy were prone to showing up unannounced since their college campus was only 42 minutes away from Orson. For Sue, it wasn't so much that her parents were overprotective but they would come by occasionally to take her out for dinner or a drink and catch up on how school was going. Plus, it gave them an excuse to get out of the house for a change and away from Axl's pile of smelly socks.
"I don't know, I know my parents would be pretty pissed if I moved in with Axl, even though now I'm currently pr..." Lexie stopped herself. Brad tilted his head. "...pr...pretty much with him all of the time anyway." Lexie finished. She did want to tell Brad about her situation, but now wasn't the right time, especially since she still needed to talk to Axl. She knew that this would eventually impact their living arrangements as well during their last year of school, but she decided not to worry about it right now because there were more important things to take care of first.
"Yeah...maybe it's not that big of a deal...they'll probably end up getting married before you know it anyway." Brad joked. Lexie laughed uncomfortably and shifted in her seat. She turned to face forward and buried herself in the free magazine that was in the seat back pocket in front of her. Meanwhile, on the other side of the plane, Sue and Sean sat next to each other in comfortable silence. Sue was admiring the view from the the window and when she turned to look at her boyfriend, she noticed he seemed lost in whatever he was looking at on his phone.
"Whatcha doing?" Sue asked as she leaned to peak at his screen. Sean shook his head like he was coming out of a trance and smiled before kissing Sue on the cheek.
"Oh! Sorry...I was just reading this thing I found online. Actually, you should check it out. I know we didn't really...research...a whole lot about anything before this weekend." He furrowed his eyebrows and Sue chuckled in response. "But anyway, I just found out that our 'change in status' will probably affect our financial aid. In a good way!" He continued. Sue was taken aback that he was already looking into these things but she was grateful. She had never been good at staying on top of financial aid and the whole thing was just a big confusing mess to her.
"Really? I didn't even realize it would make a difference...although I have to admit that I haven't been thinking a lot about things like that...we probably should have." Sue laughed nervously. She didn't regret eloping with Sean, but she was starting to realize that she may have not been ready for all of the changes that were about to happen between finances, living arrangements, name changes, and all of the other things that went along with getting married. It was a bit overwhelming for her since just a week ago she had little more to worry about than buying her books for her classes. Sean noticed the tension and put his phone away to turn his attention to Sue. He gently massaged her hand and fiddled with the new ring that looked perfect on her dainty finger. He didn't have a wedding ring of his own yet, but he knew he wouldn't be able to wear it yet anyway since this was all a giant secret. He wondered how their families would respond if they just told them the truth, but the thought of it made his stomach feel a little queasy. He was glad he decided to ask for a ginger ale earlier and he took a sip.
"Sorry...I didn't mean to stress you out. We'll figure this all out when we get back." Sean said. He scooted down in his seat and rested his head on Sue's shoulder, looking up at her with his adorable puppy dog eyes, which in that moment Sue thought may have been the cutest thing he ever did. She moved to rest her head on his and decided to bring up a topic of her own while enjoying the closeness.
"Actually, I was thinking about the whole...living together thing." Sue said. Sean was instantly alert and sat up straight, eager to hear what she had to say about the topic.
"Yeah?" He questioned while gazing into her brown eyes. Sue smiled and leaned forward to give him a gentle kiss on the lips, but was interrupted by the passenger in their row, clearing their throat in an attempt to break them up. The passenger rolled their eyes at them and returned to focusing on a newspaper. Sue secretly made a face behind their back and Sean couldn't help but chuckle. Soon he remembered what they were talking about he was back to his serious face.
"Weeeeell...yesterday I talked to Brad and Lexie about it and they seemed to be on board with the plan...if you still want to live with me that is." Sue mocked even though she knew he wanted nothing more than to live with his new wife. Sean was beaming and he squeezed her hand in his. Before he had a chance to speak, Sue continued. "Buuuut." Sean's heart sank. Nothing good ever came after a 'but.' A frown replaced his glowing smile. Sue pulled out her phone to pull up a screenshot she had saved the previous day. "I was wondering if you would consider moving? I know you already have a great place but it's two bedrooms and we probably only need one amiright?" Sue blurted out. Sean's heart began beating at a normal pace once again and he let out a deep breath he didn't know he had been holding in. He took the phone from her hand and looked at the screen which revealed a beautiful, but more affordable, 1 bedroom apartment that happened to be in the same building as her current one, but wasn't quite as fancy.
"Hmm. This looks great but you do realize that once everyone finds out that we are living together that it will be pretty obvious that we are...involved." Sean winked and Sue instantly knew exactly what he was implying. The thought had crossed her mind, but she also realized that no matter how many bedrooms were in their apartment, her family would automatically assume the same thing anyway. She wondered if her family already assumed that they had been intimate, but she didn't really care anymore what they thought of the that. She was old enough to make her own adult decisions.
"That's okay. I mean, we are going to tell them that we are engaged anyway, right? So maybe there's a slight chance that our families won't totally flip out?" Sue said with uncertainty.
"I guess it's just a chance we'll have to take." Sean laughed. "I'm glad you brought this up, by the way. Luckily my lease is just about to end and I haven't renewed it yet since I wasn't sure if I was going to get a replacement roommate anyway and I didn't want to end up in a two bedroom apartment by myself. If it's okay with you, I'm going to send an email right now to see if we can snag this place before it gets snatched up? I know that building is super popular." Sean continued.
"Sounds good to me!" Sue squealed. She was truly excited for this opportunity and was ready to begin the next chapter with the love of her life. Sean put his arm around Sue and she rested her head on his chest, watching him carefully type up an email with his free hand. He leaned down to kiss her on the forehead and she saw the wide smile on his face. She was so glad that he seemed to be just as excited as her.
A/N: Hey all! This chapter is shorter than I originally intended but I usually have more time to write during the weekdays. Hopefully this chapter wasn't too boring as I was trying to squeeze in a few real life issues on their way home from the trip. Next up, they will be back home and moving forward in their relationship. The engagement will be revealed and maybe more. Happy Sunday!
