New York • Sean & Kaycee

The Last Day

"I'm Dylan."

Kaycee felt Sean freeze next to her, his arm instinctively tightened around her waist. Unsure of how he would react, she reached up and fisted the back of his shirt in her hand, ready to hold him back in case he decided to do anything stupid.

Sean's eyes flitted from her to Dylan, assessing the situation.

"Dylan as in..." He trailed off, seemingly trying to choose his words carefully. "Bistro and spoken poetry Dylan?"

He kept his eyes on the blonde boy, but his tone implied that the question was very much for Kaycee. Tucked under his arm, she carefully hummed her affirmation, feigning nonchalance. But she knew he could feel her stiff as a board next to him.

Sean's free hand went up, and Kaycee choked on a breath.

Then he extended his hand out to the blonde boy, offering a handshake.

"Nice to meet you, man." Sean said. Kaycee glanced up at him, relief flooding her system when she found him genuinely smiling, eyes warm and dimples popping. Dylan eyed Sean's hand and hesitantly took it, unsure if the olive branch he was being offered was real. Kaycee nodded her assurance, and he took it.

"It's good to officially meet you too." Dylan replied, shaking Sean's hand and giving a friendly smile of his own.

"Thanks for being there for Kaycee." Sean continued. Kaycee's eyes widened at him, surprised at his comment. She just barely caught the gasp in her throat. "She told me you're a good guy, and I believe her."

Dylan laughed and shook his head. "Man, I really wanted to find a reason to not like you, but you really are as nice as everyone says you are."

The two boys shared a laugh, and Kaycee's heart swelled. She had wanted to introduce Dylan to Sean but she wasn't sure how he would take it. Their relationship was still new, the memories of their falling out fresh.

Running into him by the water dispenser, she told Dylan about her reservations, not wanting him to feel awkward with Sean's reappearance in their rehearsal. He had made a joke about how his insurance probably won't cover being beaten up by the new boyfriend of a girl he took on a date, and she giggled. That was when Sean found them, sharing a laugh in the hallway.

The two boys continued to engage in some small talk, not needing her to mediate at all. By the end of the conversation, Sean had given Dylan a slot in his class with Melvin and Tre, while Dylan made a phone call to swing Sean and Kaycee a reservation at this fancy exclusive restaurant uptown.

"Were you worried back there?" Sean asked her, humor lacing his voice, as they exited the rehearsal hall hand in hand. It was already late in the afternoon, and the campus was relatively peaceful. The sun was beginning to set, turning the sky a darker tint, and the autumn chill had settled over the city.

"With Dylan?" She looked up at him, squinting against the late afternoon light.

"Yeah," He chuckled, swinging their joined hands around. He hummed an unknown tune and spun her in circles around him. It was stupid really, and cheesy too, dancing together to some unknown song that no one else could hear. But he was Sean and she was Kaycee, and together, they made stupid look good.

"A little," Kaycee answered once Sean steadied her again. She stood in front of him, held in place by his firm, sure hands on her waist. "I wasn't sure how you would react to meeting Dylan. We never really talked about him after you came back."

"But you did tell me that you guys are still friends," Sean recalled. "And that he encouraged you to be honest with me."

"Yeah, I know, but still." Kaycee pouted. "I didn't really know if you'd be jealous, or mad, or something like that..."