Alan knew hating Sean was childish. He'd played this scene before. Knew where it headed 99 out of 100 times, and still he couldn't escape his role.
Sad too. He liked Sean. Always had since they said hi while Alan moved in. They probably would be friends had they had something more than being neighbors as a reason to talk.
It wasn't until Alan's friends took him 50 minutes up to
Westcity
that he had a reason to be introduced to the Sean that lived down the hall. About 9 feet from door knob to door knob. All it took was
Imogen Howe
and Jack smoking a cigarette outside.
"Greetings, Alan." Sean would say when they caught each other in the hallway. Sean always remembered and used Alan's name. Alan only smiled and uttered a sound of agreement.
Sean would say old fashioned things like 'greetings' but somehow not sound stuffy. He was cool like that. Would smoke cigarettes and weed too but not come off as trashy. Alan didn't know what Sean did but it sounded like he had a good job. Sounded like a person who could be working in a big city ike
Boston
but chose to stay in Westcity. Maybe it was his girlfriend.
The girlfriend was nice. Alan thought she was pretty but he wasn't attracted to her. So why was Alan so jealous of Sean and Imogen. The girlfriend was right there. Wasn't like sean was trying to make moves. In fact he was just being himself it seemed. Nice. Friendly. somebody who listened.
Maybe Alan was self conscious for not being all that. He was stuck in his mind. Thinking of how Imogen thought of him.