3 YEARS LATER

June:

Sully fidgeted restlessly in his seat, shifting first one way then the other.

"Why are these cushions so damn soft", he grumbled angrily to himself, before getting up again and moving to stand at the bottom of the stairs. He knew what he had to do. The truth was, he'd known for a long time now. He'd just kept putting it off and now, he'd run out of time. It was now or never. Taking the stairs two at a time, he followed the familiar path along the corridor and knocked on the door. A moment later it opened and his breath caught in his throat.

"Hey, Sully," smiled Michaela warmly, the long skirt of her dress rustling slightly as she stepped aside to let him in, "I wasn't expecting to see you tonight, I thought you had plans. Does Mom know you're here?"

"Sully?" she repeated uncertainly, as her best friend remained frozen in the doorway, "are you ok?"

"You look….beautiful," breathed Sully, swallowing hard and stepping forward, "really beautiful."

"Thanks," replied Michaela quietly, the corner of her mouth lifting in a half smile even as the colour rose in her cheeks, "it's a big night after all."

'Well sure," continued Sully, wrestling to keep the emotion from his voice as she turned away from him, the bare skin of her back gleaming amidst the folds of deep green silk, "you don't graduate from college every day."

"No, I guess not," laughed Michaela as she reached for the simple, gold bracelet on her dresser, "hey, can you help me with this, the clasp is really stiff."

Sully reached wordlessly for the bracelet and slowly secured it around the slender wrist.

"Thanks," offered Michaela again, yet as she made to pull her hand away, Sully tightened his grip.

"Michaela," began Sully, his gaze rising to meet the puzzled expression in her eyes, "I need to tell you something."

"Can it wait?" queried Michaela, gently but insistently pulling her hand free and turning away, "Danny's going to be here any minute and I need to get my stuff together."

"He's going to ask you to marry him. Tonight."

A silence so profound followed this pronouncement that Sully could almost feel the tension between them like a physical force pushing against on him, constricting his chest and stuttering his breathing. Michaela stood as a statue before him, her back to him and her arms frozen in the act of retrieving her purse. Even her breath seemed stunned and for several moments, he simply watched the folds of her dress, smooth and motionless against her chest.

Yet just as suddenly as the tidal wave had washed over them, it dissipated. With an almost audible crack, Michaela whipped round and fixed Sully with a vicious expression, her eyes blazing.

"Why would you do that?" she spat at him, "Why would you tell me that now and ruin tonight for me?"

"Because I can't just sit by anymore and let this carry on," retorted Sully, his already frayed emotions bleeding into a blur of anger and frustration, "I can't watch you marry him."

"Let this carry on?" repeated Michaela slowly, her tone deadly, "Since when do I need you to sign off on decisions that I make about my life?"

"That's not what I meant," retorted Sully furiously, "I've never tried to control you or influence your decisions. I've always been there to support you, no matter what."

"Well, it sure doesn't look like you're supporting me now," snapped Michaela "in fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say that you're jealous."

"You're damn right I'm jealous," rejoined Sully, glaring fiercely back at her, "because I love you."

Michaela's pent up breath escaped her in a small gasp; her mind was in disarray, her thoughts incomprehensible. The sincerity in his voice was so pure it was almost palpable and yet she couldn't comprehend what was happening. This was Sully, her best friend; he couldn't be in love with her.

Stepping forward, she felt her feet stumble yet the strong arms reached out and caught her, raising her up. She could feel his eyes burning into her face as he searched her expression, willing her to raise her gaze to his.

"I love you Michaela," he repeated softly, "I always have and I always will."

"I know you Michaela," he continued when she remained silent, "I know you better than anyone. I know how you like your coffee and that you'll never say no to a jelly doughnut. I know that you wear your hair up when you want people to take you seriously and that you listen to Chopin when you're feeling stressed out. I know that the half smile means you're silently agreeing with me and that you'd rather die than let anyone see you cry.

"But more than that, I know that you're strong and you're smart and you're beautiful and I am not going to let you go without a fight."

Taking a deep breath, Michaela pushed away from him and straightened up. Turning away before he registered the tears in her eyes, she murmured quietly, "Danny is going to be here any minute. I suggest you leave, now."

"Michaela, please," urged Sully, his voice breaking slightly as he registered her austere stance, "didn't you hear what I said?"

"Leave, now," repeated Michaela fiercely, crossing her arms across her chest and staring determinedly out of the window, "I have nothing more to say to you."

His ragged intake of breath seemed to reverberate in her ears as he turned away and walked steadily to the door. Even as he gained the door and turned the knob, he couldn't help but turn back one last time.

"I've always been there for you Michaela, since that first day in junior high when you forgot your lunch, I've always had your back" he stated firmly. "Truth is I've always done everything for you, that you wanted, never mind what I wanted. You think I wanted to go to an ivy league school, to leave my mom all alone? But Harvard was your dream and so I came here too, for you. But I'll be damned if I'm going to stand by and watch you marry someone else."

"Sully," breathed Michaela yet even as she turned back, the tears finally escaping her control, the door flew open and he disappeared, slamming it shut behind him.

Anger blew threw his mind, wiping out his thoughts and reverberating in his ears as he pounded down the stairs. All he knew was that he wanted to run, to get away from the memories, the hurt he was knew was coming before it overwhelmed him.

"Hey, Sully," called Becky cheerfully as she emerged from the kitchen yet he bowled past her and shot through the door, letting it slam closed behind him.

Becky's eyes widened in shock and she glanced up towards her sister's room.

"Oh god, Mike," she whispered to the empty hallway, "what did you do?"

The chill night air caught in his throat and as he rounded the corner, he slowed his steps, struggling to catch his breath. Slumping down on the kerb, he dropped his head into his hands. How had everything gotten so messed up? He had been so sure that once he finally told Michaela how he felt about her that everything else would simply fall into place He'd waited for her for so long and now?

The thought that he might have lost her forever clawed viciously at his heart and it was almost a relief when the insistent buzzing broke the silence around him. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out his cell phone and flipping it open, he frowned at the display. He didn't recognise the number but the area code was horribly familiar.

719 - Colorado Springs.