Chapter 2: New Year's Eve
"What about this?" Sue asked Brad while she held up an old sweater and polka dot leggings. Brad sighed and shook his head. "That's not going to work. Let me take a look in your closet to see what else there is. Brad gently shoved Sue to the side and began rummaging through her closet. Sue was preparing for a New Year's Eve party that her mom decided to throw at the last minute. Frankie thought of an idea to invite all of the neighbors over, including the Donahues, as a way to celebrate the New Year. Sue was extremely nervous since she had been waiting to see and talk to Sean ever since Christmas Eve. A few times, she typed his number into her phone but could never muster up the courage to call him. Sean hadn't called her either which made her feel uneasy. Maybe he didn't feel the same way about her after all, she thought. However, in typical Sue fashion, she brushed her fears aside and hoped for the best. Brad was trying to help her find the right outfit for the party, but since her family never did have much money, the options were limited. "Try this." said Brad. He handed her a velvet skirt and a plain sweater. "I guess we can just say it's vintage." Sue laughed and put on the outfit. "So what should I say to him?" Sue asked her long time best friend. "Hmm." Brad pondered. "Just follow your heart." Sue smiled and rolled her eyes. "Okay, I guess." Sue replied.
The doorbell rang and Sue's heart skipped a beat. She knew it would be the Donahues since they were always on time and always the first to arrive at every event. Sue walked into the living room where Brick, Axl, and Mike were sitting on the couch. Frankie had the door open and Nancy Donahue was standing in the doorway with a smile on her face and a platter of appetizers. "I hope you don't mind." Nancy said. "I brought some appetizers to share. I hope I'm not stepping on your toes. I just didn't want you to have to do all the work." Nancy continued." Frankie smiled and took the platter. "Thank you so much for bringing this, I don't mind. Ohhhh, fancy cheese!" Frankie took a few pieces of the cheese and shoved them in her mouth. Nancy laughed and stepped into the house with the rest of her family. Sean walked in the door after Nancy and Sue's heart was hammering. He looked at Sue and gave her a goofy smile. "Hi, everybody!" Sean said in an excited voice and took off his coat and took a few steps closer to the living room. He again looked at Sue and gave her a little wave. "Hey there, Su.." he began to say. Axl stood up from the couch and interrupted. "Finally, you're here." Axl groaned. "Come and check out this new game I just got." Axl said and started walking toward his room. "Uhh...sure." Sean said and began to follow Axl. As he walked past Sue, he gently brushed her arm with his hand and without thinking, she placed her hand on his. He winked at her and smiled before continuing to follow Axl to his room.
An hour had passed before Sean and Axl returned from Axl's room. By that time, the rest of the neighbors had arrived and the room was filled with laughter and chatter. Sean walked around the Heck's house in search of Sue. At last, he spotted her by the dining room table, getting a class of punch. He began walking in her direction. Sue turned around and immediately saw Sean coming in her direction. "This is it." she thought. Sean smiled as he walked toward her. "There you are!" Nancy shouted as she stepped in front of Sean. "You know it's not polite to disappear like that when we've been invited to a party." Nancy continued. "Uhh...Sorry, Mom. Axl just wanted to show me his new game and I guess we just got carried away for a while." Sean looked past his mom to see if Sue was still waiting for him, but she was then talking to Brad and Frankie. Sean sighed while his mom continued talking to him.
"Have you talked to him yet?" Brad asked eagerly. "Ugh, no. Stupid Axl dragged him away as soon as he got here." Sue groaned and then took a deep breath. "Maybe I should just go talk to him." Frankie came over and began asking all of the same questions that Brad had just asked. "You can do it, honey!" Frankie said. "Okay, I'm going to do it." Sue took another deep breath. "Here I go!" Sue said. Sue began to walk in Sean's direction right when his mom finally stepped away to get a refill of wine. Their eye's met and Sean gave Sue a big smile. "Hey Susie Q!" Sean said and continued smiling at her. "Heyyyyy, Sean!" Sue cried and stretched her arms out in preparation for a hug. Sean took a step toward her and right at that moment, Nicole Norwood appeared behind him and spun him around. "Hey, Sean!" Nicole said. Nicole was a tall, skinny, blonde girl from the neighborhood. Sue's heart sank in her chest. "Uhh, hey Nicole." Sean gave her a traditional Donahue smile. "How have you been?" Nicole asked. "I didn't know you were going to be here. If I had known you were going to be home from college I would have asked you to come with me, cutie." Nicole continued. "I don't usually go to parties without a date." she said. At this point, Sue was beginning to get angry. She turned back to look at Brad and Frankie who both had a shocked look on their face. She stomped over to where they were standing and took a drink of her punch. "Actually...I am kind of already in..." Sean began. Frankie ran over and interrupted. "Oh hi, Nicole!" Frankie shouted. "It's so nice to see you. How are you? Aren't you cold?" She akwardly tugged at Nicole's crop top to try to cover her belly button. "It's okay, Mrs. Heck, I'm really fine..." Nicole said. Frankie grabbed a blanket from the couch. "Here." Frankie covered Nicole's torso with the blanket. "How's your father?" Frankie asked and she walked Nicole away from Sean. Sean quickly turned to continue talking to Sue, but she was already gone. Brad was still standing near the dining room table when he made eye contact with Sean and just gave him a shrug. Sean put his head down and kicked an empty plastic cup that was sitting on the floor.
"Are you okay?" Brad asked. He found Sue in her bedroom. She was sitting on the bed, crying and cuddling with a pillow. "I'm so stupid." Sue finally said. "How could I think that Sean would like a girl like me? He probably only kissed me because he was upset or because he felt sorry for me. I'm just Axl's dorky little sister. It was stupid for me to think that Sean would see me as anything more..." she cried. "Don't say that about my best friend!" Brad shouted. "Where is the Sue Sue Heck that I know? You can't give up yet! Get up!" Sue brushed her tears away and stood up, still holding onto her pillow. Brad took the pillow and threw it onto the bed. He put his hands on her shoulders. Sue looked up at him. "You can't give up until you've at least talked to him." he said. "Okay.." she replied. "I mean it!" Brad shouted. "Okay!" Sue shouted back. He passed her a box of tissues and she took one to wipe the remaining tears from her eyes. "Let's go back out there." Brad said. "Okay." Sue replied. They walked back to the dining room where they had previously been standing.
Sean was standing in the living room by himself with a cup of punch. He looked like he was talking to himself, as if rehearsing. "Hey, Sue! It's almost time!" Frankie shouted when she came back to the room. She hugged her daughter and then gave her a pat on the shoulder. At that moment, Sean looked up and saw Sue standing in the dining room with Brad and her mom. "I have to do this." He said to himself. He started walking toward the dining room. "Ten...Nine...Eight..." the party guest began chanting. The countdown had started sooner than he expected. He began walking faster in Sue's direction. "Seven...Six...Five" the crowd continued. Sue looked up and saw Sean walking toward her. He smiled at her again and she had a surprised look on her face. He noticed that her eyes were a little red and wondered if she had been crying. "Four...Three...Two." He was almost there. He walked past his father and finally Sean and Sue were standing face to face, but not yet close enough. "One...Happy New Year!" the crowd shouted. Out of no where, Nicole stepped in and gave Sean a kiss. Sue's jaw dropped. Frankie and Brad gasped. Sean quickly pulled away and gently pushed her off of him. "Stop!" Sean shouted. "What...It was just a kiss.." Nicole remarked. "I didn't want to kiss you! I wanted to kiss Sue!" he shouted. "HER?" Nicole snapped and rolled her eyes. "YES! HER!" Sean yelled. The party guests were all starting to look in their direction. "Whatever floats your boat." Nicole rolled her eyes again and turned to walk away. Sean took a deep breath and rubbed his temples. Sue stood there, in shock at what he had just said. "Sue...I'm so sorry. I should have just..." Sue cut him off when she ran and jumped into his arms. He squeezed her and spun her around. He set her back down on the floor and smiled. "I think we need to talk." Sean said. Sue nodded her head in agreement and smiled.