June:

Sully pulled at his tie, loosening it further before reaching over to the glove compartment. It sprang open at his light touch, barely hanging onto the worn out hinges. Despite all the hours of work he and Matthew had put in to get the thing working, the car was still a wreck and he knew it. With a sigh, Sully fumbled to extract the plastic box he had wedged in there earlier. A small strip of white card caught his eye as he pulled the box free. It had clearly fallen out when he had opened the hatch and gleamed in the darkness. Frowning, Sully reached down and picked it up off the mat. His eyes lit up as he recognised the cramped, red print.

Michaela had bought the tickets as an early birthday present and had gifted them to him before she had left again for Boston. Naturally, he'd asked Abby to go with him but she had pleaded off; a rock concert wasn't really her scene. So he'd rung the company and changed the dates to Christmas break. Michaela had flown out to Denver to meet him and they'd gone together. With a grin, Sully recalled her exuberant response when he had called to tell her what he'd done. She was the only girl he knew who was crazy enough to fly a thousand miles to see a band she'd never heard of in a ramshackle excuse for a club. The music, however, had been intoxicating and well worth the wait. Sully had joked afterwards that his car's stereo had never quite recovered from the onslaught it had received at Michaela's hands during the two hour drive back to Colorado Springs.

An insistent buzzing broke into his thoughts and patting his jacket pockets, Sully hastily located his phone and whipped it out. He scanned the message and groaned inwardly as he registered the time. Shoving the ticket stub into the empty ash tray, he flipped open the lid of the box nestled on his lap. He had successfully convinced himself that the reason he had bought two flowers was simple; Abby hadn't decided on her dress yet and he wanted to have a backup in case the one he picked didn't quite match. Yet as his glance drifted between the simple, red rose and the opulent, white orchid, he knew that he'd never really had a choice.

Michaela stood with her back against the wall, vaguely watching her classmates celebrate around her and wishing herself a million miles away. She had never really wanted to come anyway. It was Becky that had talked her in to it. Seemingly deaf to Michaela's plethora of excuses, including the sad fact that she didn't have a date, Becky had coaxed her into shopping for a dress, had helped tame her unruly hair into an elegant pleat and even loaned her the beautiful, diamond earrings that brushed against her jaw as she swayed gently in time to the music.

The booming voice of the DJ suddenly broke out over the clamour of the crowd and Michaela, startled out of her trance, glanced up in time to see couples pairing off around her. Tears pricked unexpectedly at her eyes and suddenly furious with herself and the whole ridiculous institution of the prom, Michaela took a deep breath and started for the exit. A hand caught her bare arm and startled, she turned as the familiar voice queried, "Where are you going?"

"Sully?" she exclaimed, her eyes widening in disbelief, "what are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the prom," grinned Sully, "sorry I'm late. Wanna dance?"

"Prom?" repeated Michaela slowly, her thoughts unmanageable, "but… how did you know…I mean, I don't understand."

"Becky tipped me off that you didn't have a date and that you were going to chicken out of going alone," chuckled Sully, "guess she doesn't know you like I do."

"I can't believe you're here," breathed Michaela, a broad smile pulling at her lips.

"Wouldn't have missed it," replied Sully, reaching into his pocket to pull out the slightly crumpled corsage and slipping it easily onto her wrist. The red petals flashed like rubies against the elegant, black lace of her dress and Michaela flexed her wrist in wonder.

"Wait a minute," she considered after a moment's silence, a frown furrowing her brow, "what about your prom?"

"It was last night," explained Sully lightly, "I left early. Caught the first flight out of Denver this morning.

"I was so afraid I wouldn't make it," he continued jokingly, "I didn't even have time to change my suit."

"You left early?" queried Michaela, her eyes alight with curiosity, "but what about Abby? Weren't you going together?"

"I broke it off" replied Sully blandly, dropping his gaze to the floor.

"I'm sorry," whispered Michaela, reaching out to take his hand.

"Don't be," assured Sully, glancing up with a slight smile, "I'm not. Abby's sweet and she'll be a great girlfriend, to someone else. I couldn't go to college still dating her. It wouldn't be fair."

"College?"

Michaela's eyes snapped up to his, all traces of sympathy vanishing as her gaze burned into his. Sully had been resolutely dodging her questions over the last few months about which colleges he'd applied to. He had consistently changed the subject whenever she had sought to discuss his options and had flat out refused to pore over the maps she had amassed that highlighted the various cities within commutable distance to Harvard. Although he had joined in her exuberance at her own admission to Harvard in May, he had never reciprocated with news of any acceptances and Michaela had grown disheartened. Eventually, she had simply stopped asking.

"Sully?" she repeated steadily, her heart racing in her chest.

"I didn't think you'd believe me if I didn't bring this with me," continued Sully, the laughter dancing deep in his eyes. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a folded sheet of paper and held it out expectantly. Michaela fairly snatched it from his fingers and flipped it open, her eyes impatiently scanning the letter head.

Several couples looked up in alarm as her cry broke out over the crooning ballad issuing from the expensive sound system.

Michaela however, was completely oblivious to the disapproving glares cast in her direction as she flung herself at Sully and buried her face in his shoulder.

"I take it you're happy about this," teased Sully, as he gently returned her fierce embrace.

"Harvard, Sully!" she exclaimed in his ear, before pushing back from him, sheer delight illuminating her features, "why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, I wasn't sure I'd get in," chuckled Sully, "I didn't want you getting your hopes up."

"Of course you'd get in, you're the smartest person I know," broke in Michaela breathlessly but Sully merely shook his head and grinned.

"I couldn't have you going off to college without me," he finished, "so I decided to come along for the ride. Hope that's ok?"

"More than ok," laughed Michaela, wrapping her arms fervently again around her best friend and ignoring his mock sounds of pain. "Now, everything is perfect."