As Emma walked down the stairs to her basement bedroom, she could hear the same crappy car reno show Sean watched at the same time everyday. She rolled her eyes and sighed, as she reached the bottom of the stairs and revealed herself from around the corner.
"Hey beautiful!" Sean's face lit up at the sight of the blonde.
She smiled weakly, tossing her shoulder bag onto a chair in the corner of the room. Sean couldn't help but notice her exhaustion, "what's the matter?"
He patted the spot on her bed next to him, but it went unnoticed.
"When are you going to talk to her?"
By now, it had been a couple weeks since Sean had last seen Alice and Jay. He had been doing nothing but lounging around the Simpson-Nelson residence. She had grown exhausted, and her parents were beginning to nag, too.
Sean turned the TV off and repositioned himself against the headboard. He let out a sigh, and took a moment to search for a valid excuse, to no avail.
"Soon," his response the same as it always was.
"Sean, you have no idea how tiring it is getting bombarded with questions about your wellbeing everyday," Emma growled, "stop being such a guy and put your pride aside for once."
In the absence of a response, she handed him her cell. The screen read Alice.
"All you have to do is press talk."
Sean's jaw visably clenched as his eyes darted between the phone and Emma, until he realized there was no getting out of this one. If he knew anything about Emma, it's that she is the most stubborn person he had ever met.
Reluctantly, he pressed the green button and put the phone to his ear. The tension in Emma's body visably loosened as she plopped down next to her boyfriend; taking him up on his offer from earlier.
"Hey, Em," the familiar voice spoke as the other line picked up. Sean took a moment before he spoke.
"Uh, hey, Al..."
"Sean?!" She shrieked, loud enough to cause her brother to move the phone from his ear.
"Yeah," he spoke softly, "how have you been?"
"I'm fine," she said, her response rushed, "the question is how have you been?"
"Never better!" He joked through gritted teeth. Emma slugged him on the shoulder. Even through the phone, Alice could sense the sarcasm.
"No," she pleaded, "really, Sean, how are you?"
"Emma's place has been great," he was honest this time, "you know Mr. Simpson. Always friendly."
"I'm glad you have a good place to stay," Alice sounded at ease, "but we have a lot to talk about. What do you say the four of us have dinner tomorrow night?"
"I-I don't know about that..."
Emma nudged him; her ear had been glued to the phone the whole time, too.
"Fine," he grumbled, "name the time and place."
The siblings solidified the plans for the following night. A pit grew in Sean's stomach at the idea of seeing Alice and Jay together.
"There," Emma sighed contently as Sean hung up, "was that so bad?"
Sean couldn't stay mad for very long. It warmed his heart to see Emma happy.
"Yeah," he welcomed her as she snuggled into his chest, "I guess it's not a bad thing going to see my sister again."
A silence fell between the couple, prompting Sean to turn the TV on again. It just so happened that his 'crappy' car show was on rerun. He quickly found himself immursed in all the mechanic talk, until he felt his stomach try to eat itself.
"You hungry?" His eyes slowly moved from the TV down to Emma on his chest, who was fast asleep now.
"Wow," he chuckled softly as to not wake her, "you're not kidding when you say car stuff is boring, huh?"
Suddenly, he began to pay less attention to the feeling in his stomach, and gave into the feeling of sleep that now overwhelmed him, too.
Before he knew it, the sun peaking from the crack in the curtains burned through his eyelids. He still lay in Emma's bed, but the basement was empty now. As he stretched out on the bed, his attention was drawn to the crinkle of a paper on the pillow next to his.
Sean,
Snake drove me to school today. Thought I'd let you sleep in. Looking forward to dinner tonight!
Love you,
Em.
His heart still fluttered everytime he heard those words; no matter how often the couple exchanged them. However, the same couldn't be said for how he felt about the impending dinner reservations.
He turned over to look at the alarm clock, that somehow already read 2:30. Sean looked away, then back at the red analog numbers. His eyes widened. He had never slept that long or well. Ever.
"What the fuck?" He blinked in disbelief, sitting up now. He had less than 30 minutes until he had to pick up Emma.
Quicker than he would've liked, he darted to the bathroom, where he was greeted with an atrocious sight. His normally well-groomed hair was now sticking out every which way. With the help of a little water, he tamed it the best he could. Then continued to brush his teeth and wash his face.
His vision returned to the reflection above the sink, "that'll have to do for now."
He retrieved his previously discarded denim jacket from the floor, and rushed up the stairs and out the door.
Upon arriving at the front steps of Degrassi, he was greeted by Emma impatiently waiting at the doors. She tapped her foot anxiously and looked between the street and her watch, until he finally pulled up.
"Where were you?" He couldn't gauge whether it was a genuine question or an expression of her frustration.
"I, uh, I slept in, I guess?" He responded, still somewhat trying to wake himself up.
"Sean!" Now he was sure she was annoyed. "You better wake yourself up. There's only a couple hours till we meet your sister and Jay."
Anytime it was even somewhat mentioned that his sister was dating that... thing, Sean's blood boiled. His grip on the steering wheel tightened as he drove, until his knuckles grew white.
Emma seemed to notice, "you're not still pissed off about them dating, are you?"
"Of course I am, Em," he couldn't contain it anymore, "she's too good for him. Have you seen the way he treats the girls he's been with?!"
Emma's heart pounded with guilt. Little did he know, she was one of those girls he was referring to.
"He's probably grown up. Changed, even."
Sean's eyes narrowed at the girl as his head slowly turned to look in her direction. He had just pulled in front of her place.
"You're really going to defend him?" Sean followed her down the sidewalk to her fron door, growing more and more livid.
Emma refrained from responding until the coast was clear from her mother. She whipped around to face him now as he reached the bottom of the stairs, "do you, or do you not, want to be in your sister's life again?"
Sean opted not to answer, but Emma spoke once more, "that's what I thought."
He sat on the bed and pondered while Emma darted around the room, to the bathroom and back, while getting ready for dinner.
Maybe he would give Jay a chance. After all, he was his best friend. He missed his best friend, too. His thought were interrupted by Emma's honey vanilla scented as she walked by, "are you going to get ready?"
He nodded, trying to collect his thoughts and focus on what he'd wear that night.
"I was thinking your dark jeans," Emma suggested in the midst of putting her left earring in, "and maybe... this shirt!"
With her free hand, she tossed him a button up. Without protest, he did what he was told and got dressed. Then, it was time to tame the rat's nest he called hair.
And before the couple knew it, it was time to meet Alice and Jay.
"You look amazing, Em," Sean beamed as he placed a kiss on her lips before she ducked into the passenger seat. He closed the door behind him.
"You clean up nice, too, Cameron," she joked as he joined her in the car. No one could deny it, they were a good looking couple.
The restaurant was practically around the corner, but somehow the other couple managed to beat them there. As they approached the table, they were greeted by Alice's goofy grin and wave. Sean couldn't help but notice Jay sinking into his seat.
"Sean," Alice said softly; contently, as she walked around the table for a hug from her brother, "thank you for coming."
As they let go, Sean's attention turned to Jay, who was unsure whether or not to stand. Sean's face was initially unreadable, until he softened it and a small smile crept onto the corner of his mouth. With a nod, he reached out a hand to Jay, "how's it going, man?"
It was clear Jay was relieved that Sean didn't want to kick the shit out of him. Not here, at least. Emma and Alice said their 'hello' and all four sat.
"We miss you at Jay's place," Alice confessed, breaking the awkward silence almost instantly, "it's weird not having you take up the living room."
Sean chuckled softly, "I've missed you, too, but Emma's has been really great."
"I'd imagine you'd like to stay there, huh?"
He nodded.
"And what have you been up to during the day?" She changed the subject, "have you put any thought into going back to Degrassi? Mr. Simpson said he'd talk to Ms. H."
All eyes were suddenly on him. Unbeknownst to Sean, his sister addressed an elephant in the room that he didn't even know existed.
"Nah," he blurted, before he could even think of an excuse. He panicked as he continued, "because I was planning on asking Jay if there were any positions open at the garage!"
Although that was far from the truth, he figured that would put both Emma and Alice's minds at ease. Little did they know, he had bigger things planned than returning to Degrassi.
