Until that moment I could've never imagined spending a Saturday night reading inside the

cafe

. In fact reading a book without it being required for a class already felt foreign enough to me. But watching Sarah talk about her cozy plans for the night rubbed off on me. For a moment my Italian Soda felt extra cold in my hand. And Shawn's house felt like it was across a national border.

But you couldn't miss the autumn formal. You prepared basically the entire school year up until this point for this. There would be weeks worth of inside jokes on repeat. I would be missing out on all of it. And years later I wouldn't be able to look back on this event in the same manner as everyone else who had been part of it. 

I casted off any thought of skipping the formal away and left the cafe without looking for my mystery date. Outside he walked briskly through the suburban blocks. I could hear Shawn's from a full block away. The noise of rap bassline. Before taking what I thought were irreversible steps into what would be the remainder of my night I checked my phone one last time.