Months had passed now since the tragedy.
Emma and Sean had been better than ever. Since returning from Wasaga, the couple were virtually inseperable. Things were mended between him, Jay and Alice following JT's funeral. The four - and Manny and Craid when he was in town from Vancouver - went on double - and triple - dates often. It was everything Emma ever wanted for her and Sean. She had given him everything now and she couldn't imagine a life without him.
But now, winter break had come and gone, and before she knew it, Emma found herself thinking of her options for college; her future.
"I'm seriously considering U of T," she began rationalizing outloud to Sean as she was putting away laundry, "since you'll be staying here, working at the garage, I want to be close."
Sean nodded, seemingly spaced out, as he passed her her things.
"...Unless you're planning on going to a technical high school in the fall. Then you could go to college with me and be a real mechanic."
"Ahh," Sean goaned, "if you think high school wasn't my thing, college really isn't."
"A-and," he swallowed hard, "I'm not so sure being a mechanic is really what I see myself doing forever."
Emma stopped in her tracks and whipped around to face him now, "what do you see for your future?"
Suddenly, she realized she'd never even asked him that before. She was so engulfed; so sure of what she wanted, she forgot to even see if her vision for the future was even reciprocated.
Sean sighed contently, grabbing her hand in his and guiding her to sit next to him on the bed, "I see you, of course."
Her worries were put to rest, but she suspected a but coming.
"But," there it is, "although I know who I want in my life, I'm still not sure about the where."
Emma raised a brow, "you're not planning on going back to Wasaga, are you?" She chuckled, "they aren't really known for their colleges."
Sean remained stone faced, "no."
Worry flood her eyes and translated to her voice, "then what do you mean, Sean?"
He stood up hastily, "now's not the time."
"Then when is the right time?" She stood up right after him.
He turned to her and placed a hand on her cheek, pressing his lips to hers, then resting their foreheads together.
"Forget I said anything," he whispered, "please."
"I'll tell you everything you need to know when the time is right, okay? You just need to trust me."
She nodded rapidly, her eyes locked on his.
He kissed her once more and let go of her cheek, "I've got plans with Jay tonight."
"Are you going to come back later?" Emma raised a brow.
"Of course," he smiled, suddenly lightening the mood, "it's Friday; who else would bore you with a new episode of his favourite crappy car show?"
She rolled her eyes, "oh boy!"
"I love you," he paused at the bottom of the stairs, "please don't forget that."
Before she could respond, he disappeared up the dark stairway, "I love you more!"
Suddenly, her room felt cold, empty and quiet; the way it did back when Sean left for home. All that was left was the faint smell of his collogne and the weight of the offputting encounter they just had.
Meanwhile, at Jay's, Sean was practically pacing waiting for him to open the door.
"Hey, man..." Jay's greeting sounding confused in response to Sean's odd behaviour. "Come in."
"Where's Al?" He asked, hoping his sister wasn't home.
"Her, Liberty and Manny went bowling or some shit." He chuckled at the fact he couldn't even remember where Alice said they were going. All he knew is that they borrowed his car.
"Good, good," Sean's pacing continued throughout the living room. He was biting at his thumbnail now.
Jay disappeared into the kitchen and returned seconds later with a cold beer for each of them.
"Sit the fuck down," he chuckled, handing the bottle to his friend, "you're making me nervous."
Sean sat on the loveseat and took a big swig of his drink before saying anything, "I'm thinking of enlisting."
"You mean like the army?" Jay asked cautiously, sitting up as the conversation suddenly grew tense.
"Yeah," Sean sighed, "enlisting in the army."
Jay blew air from his cheeks, surprised by Sean's sudden revelation.
"What do you think?"
"Well, I mean, it's pretty noble, I guess."
"No, jackass," Sean rolled his eyes, "for me, what should I do?"
The corner of his mouth formed a small smile, "I think it's a huge decision. Does Greenpeace know about this?"
Sean shook his head, "I didn't have the guts to bring it up to her."
"Well," Jay cleared his throat and adjusted his seating on the couch, "I think the garage is a dead-end job for a guy like you. You're capable of so much more than a deadbeat like me."
Sean smiled at Jay's quirky little way of telling him to go ahead with it, "you can't be calling yourself that, though. As an older brother, I'm not allowed to let my sister date a deadbeat."
The boys shared a brief smile before silence fell on them. It wasn't an uncomfortable one; rather, Sean was just searching for the right words.
"Thank you for looking out for Alice," Sean's voice was sincere now, he stared at the floor in front of him as to not make things all sappy, "I know I gave you two a hard time at first, but I can see how happy you make each other. And if I really am enlisting, someone has to look after her for me. You know, in case..."
"You can count on me," Jay spoke to stop him from finishing that sentence, "I've never loved a girl as much as I love Alice."
Sean nodded, "I know."
"What'll happen with you and Emma?" Jay changed the subject.
"I hope we can still be together," Sean admitted, "but I guess I wouldn't blame her for not wanting to wait."
"If she really loved you, she'd wait. This is a great opportunity for you, man."
Another silence fell over the two. This time, Jay spoke, "for what it's worth, I wouldn't trust anyone else with fighting for this country."
Alice walked in suddenly, putting an end to their conversation almost instantly. He couldn't help but wonder if this would be one of the last times he would get to see his sister before shipping off for basic training.