Summer Break, Rising Senior Year, 2015

"Shea, did you hear me?"

Shea snapped to attention. When she met her soon-to-be stepmother's eyes, she realized that no, in fact, she did not hear Jennifer.

"I'm sorry," Shea said, embarrassed. She really didn't mean to be acting like such a sad sack on her dad's big day; they deserved better. "What did you say?"

Jennifer smiled sadly, pitying poor, heartbroken Shea. "We're ready for family photos by the gazebo."

"I'll be right there," she promised.

Jennifer nodded, her beautifully styled updo barely moving. She looked absolutely stunning in her glittery mermaid dress and tiara; Jennifer was radiating happiness.

Shea, on the other hand, was not. It had been two days since her disastrous confession to Rodrick and she hadn't heard from him since. Not a call, not a text—nada. Shea knew she had made the right choice to end things, but the pain from the finality of their relationship still stung.

This was the end of the saga of Shea and Rodrick—for good, this time.

"It'll be okay" is what just about everyone told her (including the bartender at the hotel bar). She knew, deep down, they were right. But it definitely didn't feel that way now.

Still, Shea wanted to indulge her family—she wore the painful ruby high heels Jennifer had insisted on and strapped herself into an uncomfortable, poofy bridesmaid dress. She smiled for approximately two million photographs with her family, with the bridal party, with people she hadn't seen in a over decade, and people she would never see again.

"You hangin' in there?" Bryan asked her.

Shea gave two thumbs up. "Livin' the dream, brother."

The bridal party was gathered under a too-small white pop-up tent meant to corral them before they walked down the aisle. Jennifer was chatting with her matron of honor, her cousin Lucy, while Bryan and Shea paced around the tiny tent.

"Maybe you'll meet someone new tonight," Bryan teased her. "Some rich ass guy from Seattle with a waterfront home and a mega yacht."

Shea snorted; her brother could always make her laugh no matter her mood. "Maybe. Does he have good taste in music?"

"No. His favorite band is Staind."

"Eh, maybe. 'It's Been a While' is a damn classic."

Bryan barked a laugh. At the same time, his girlfriend Seneca poked her head through the flaps of the tent. Her hair, normally sleek and straight, was styled into thick ringlets that fell past her shoulders. She wore a tight-fitting emerald dress that proudly showed off her tattoos.

"Hey, really quick," she said to Bryan. "They're running late."

Bryan furrowed his eyebrows. "What happened?"

"The flight was delayed and the rental car line was a mess." Bryan groaned, but Seneca insisted, "It'll be fine. I just wanted to let you know."

"Who's going to be late?" Shea wondered.

"Don't worry about it," Bryan said dismissively.

Shea hated being out of the loop. She opened her mouth to argue when the wedding planner poked her head into the tent and said with a grin, "Time to line up!"

"Who?" Shea asked Bryan again as the bride and her cousin filed out of the tent.

Bryan pretended not to hear her.

Shea didn't trip down the aisle, and the wedding ceremony was only ten minutes long—it was a win, win.

Shea couldn't help but muse about love while the pastor, one of Jennifer's uncles, rambled on about the commitment of marriage and soulmates and all that other junk. Maybe it was the obscene number of romcoms she'd watched as an impressionable young girl, but deep down, Shea was a romantic. She had dreamed about finding an all-consuming soulmate love—of finding a person who could love her unconditionally. She had thought, perhaps naively, that Rodrick was going to be that person… But now, Shea wasn't sure if she would find love again.

Of course, she knew that, intellectually, she was young and still had literal decades to find that person. In the back of her mind, Priya's voice reminded her that most people don't get married until their late 20s.

Or later, Shea thought. After all, it took her dad over 50 years of her life to find his person, Jennifer.

Life was messy and unpredictable. She would get there… one day.

As the wedding moved from the ceremony to the cocktail hour, and Shea ordered a very heavy-handed rum and coke, she was finally beginning to unwind. Maybe she would meet someone new tonight. If not, she was headed back to school in a couple of weeks. The future loomed large but bright.

Shea glanced to her side and saw the matron of honor Lucy approaching her. Shit. Please don't need more pictures, please don't need more…

"Do you have it in you for a few more photos?"

Fuck.

Shea said instead, with her best smile, "Of course. Let's go."

Lucy led her from cocktail hour under the covered pavilion, decorated with lots of burlap and twinkling fairy lights, to a nearby field where the wedding party was already gathered. Shea took a long drink of her rum and coke, nearly finishing it. Ugh, why didn't alcohol make her drunk faster?

"Finally!" Bryan hollered dramatically, enunciating each syllable.

Shea rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry I'm late. The line for the bar was long and—"

"Not you," Bryan cut her off, pointing to someone behind Shea, "Him."

When Shea turned and saw who it was, her legs wobbled, nearly causing her to fall down.

"Oh my god," her voice hitched. She blinked, but no, she wasn't dreaming. "Rodrick?"

Rodrick looked almost refined in his suit—a burgundy shirt with a black tie and coat—and freshly cut hair. Shea could barely process what was happening before he closed the gap between them and wrapped her into a tight embrace. She breathed in his wonderfully familiar scent and couldn't help herself—she started crying, her body shaking with disbelief and overwhelm.

Was this real?

"Shea, no!" Jennifer shrieked, "Your make-up!"

Shea and the bridal party laughed. She unburied herself from Rodrick and said to her, "I'm so sorry. I know. My mascara's gonna be a mess."

"Let's take a moment," the photographer said encouragingly, and the group began to disperse.

Rodrick wrapped his arm tightly around Shea's waist, his hand holding her hip. His embrace was her home. Rodrick smiled down at her, looking perfectly normal for a person who just rocked her entire world.

Shea glowed. She said teasingly, "What the hell, man? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"Bryan told me not to," Rodrick said as if that explained everything. "But also, for dramatic effect."

Shea rolled her eyes. "So you told your brother you loved me but not me?"

"Pretty much." He laughed. "After you came to my house, my brain just… stopped working. And my chest got really tight. I started panicking so I called my therapist, but he wasn't around, so I tried your brother."

"My brother," Shea repeated flatly.

"I don't know why, but he came to mind. So we talked for a while and he helped me realize that I was being a giant dumbass. Because I'm ridiculously in love with you too and just didn't know it."

Shea's heart soared. She was certain she was grinning like a goon. "And then you let me suffer in anguish for dramatic effort?"

"Yep."

"That's very stupid and also very adorable."

"Story of my life." Rodrick grinned like a child, and Shea laughed.

She melted into her boyfriend's embrace, her heart pounding in her chest. Rodrick leaned down to kiss her, short and sweet. Though they had been kissing all summer, this one felt different—and so, so much better.

After a few moments of peace, Shea said, "I guess I should fix my make-up now."

"Definitely. You look like a gremlin."

Shea smacked Rodrick's torso, him laughing. "You're an ass."

"I love you," he said with a goofy smile.

"I love you, too," she kissed him.

Epilogue: Spring Semester, Senior Year, 2016

Bryan and Seneca's rowhome was a cacophonic, chaotic mess of people and moving boxes scattered across their living room. And yet, the air buzzed with excitement and possibility. Shea's graduation gown itched uncomfortably on her shoulders, but she purposefully ignored it. After all, she earned the hell out of her new early education degree! No one was going to tell her not to celebrate.

"There you are! I thought you may have been abducted," Rodrick said jokingly, though his face was truly relieved.

"There's still time," she said seriously.

Shea scanned the room—her mom and stepdad were standing by the sliding glass doors, chatting with Susan and Frank. A few paces away was her dad and Jennifer. In a cluster in the living room sat Priya, Ben, and Sam, who had all flown out for her graduation ceremony. Her stepbrothers were huddled around a Nintendo Switch, taking turns playing Mario Kart. Next to them on the couch was Greg and Manny, who were playing some sort of fighting game on Bryan's X-Box.

"I can't believe this many people can fit in their house."

"It's our house too," Rodrick reminded her for must have been the millionth time that week. "At least, that's why I hauled all those boxes from Plainview."

"Good thing your new truck is up to the job."

"It'll be good for hauling shit for work," he said. Though he wasn't yet employed, Rodrick did have an interview for a landscape manager at a local business in a few days.

"I know, I know. You love your truck more than me."

Rodrick shook his head, but he was grinning. "No way. You're stuck with me."

"At least until the band makes it big. Then I'm leaving you for Lzzy Hale."

"I mean, I get it."

Shea laughed. She glanced over at her high school friends, who were all clutching drinks and talking animatedly.

"I can't wait for Ben and Priya to get down here full time."

"I know. We need to start up rehearsals again," Rodrick said. "I've got a list of venues I want to call, too. The Ottobar, Soundstage…"

"Slow down, buddy," Shea teased. "We've gotta find a new bassist first."

Though Ben had decided to join Rodrick and Shea on moving to Baltimore (where he'd be staying with a cousin they didn't know existed), Chris could not be persuaded to move. He admitted he had outgrown the rock n' roll life and instead wanted to go total suburban: buy a house, get a corporate job, stuff like that. The band was disappointed but understood.

"Bryan said he could fill in while we look," Rodrick reminded her.

"That's going to be a disaster. He played for the bass for, like, six months in eighth grade."

"I'm not trying to win a Grammy here," Rodrick said defensively, and Shea laughed.

"It'll be fine," Shea said reassuringly, rubbing her boyfriend's arm.

"I know," he smiled at her.

"Hey Shea," her mom tapped her shoulder to get her attention. "Are you ready for cake?"

Shea smiled. "Always."

Rodrick took Shea's hand into his. Beyond the rest of today, which would predictably include drunken yard games and way too many snacks, Shea wasn't sure what lay in her future. A teaching job, most likely. Marriage, ideally. Super stardom, fun to think about, but unlikely.

And all those moments in between? Love and home and friendship… Everything would evolve over time. Sure, Shea couldn't predict what was going to happen, but she could hope.

Somehow, with Rodrick by her side, hope was all she needed.

FIN

The "Of Love and Punk Rock and College" Playlist:

"Time Bomb," The Format

"Twenty Letters," Dreamstate

"In Bloom," Neck Deep

"Scumbag," Goody Grace feat. blink-182

"Wolf in Sheep's Clothing," Set It Off

"Lovefalls," Hellyeah

"All Over You," The Spill Canvas

"I'm Just a Kid," Simple Plan

"Never Stop," Safetysuit