E is for Ecstatic
Characters: Adam Rove and Joan Girardi
Rating: PG
Genre: Het
Summary: Joan receives an acceptance letter from college and goes to tell Adam
Character Age: 17 or 18
Joaniverse: post-TV show
"Adam! Adam!" Joan called out, approaching his shed.
The shed door opened very quickly and the alarm on his face quickly changed to relief when he saw she was smiling and waving a letter in her hand.
"Adam," she said breathlessly. "I got in!"
"Really? Wow! Congratulations."
She still had a big smile on her face as she approached him. "Yeah, the letter came this morning."
"So, Rhode Island? Really?"
Her face fell. "No. Marquette."
"Marquette? Isn't that..."
"... in Michigan, yeah."
"I thought you applied for Rhode Island University," he said, the disappointment readable on his face.
"I did. The rejection letter came yesterday. I meant to tell you, but then things got kinda crazy, and- But, look, Marquette has a great Physical Therapy program. I can get a Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree if I want to." She looked at him. "Aren't you happy for me?"
"I am." He tried to sound upbeat, but she could hear that it wasn't real. "It's great. It sounds great."
"But you wanted me to be in Rhode Island with you," she said out loud what he was merely thinking.
"Would that be so bad?"
"No. No, I would have liked that, but, you know... we can still see each other."
"Yeah, twice a year."
"Come on, Adam. Don't spoil this for me."
He was silent for a moment, then he lowered his head and, in a low voice, said, "I'm gonna miss you."
For a moment she wasn't sure how to react. She didn't think he still felt that way, he certainly hadn't made any kind of advances on her in recent months. She thought they were friends. Just friends. That was it.
"Adam, I..." she stammered. "You're gonna be all busy at RISD. We both would have been wrapped up in our studies, in our new lives. Do you really think it could have worked out?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I kept hoping..."
"... hoping what? That we'd get back together?"
He shrugged again, wordlessly this time.
She let her hands sink to her sides, the letter still in one of them. "You do realize that your timing to bring this up is incredibly out of whack, don't you?"
"What?" he asked, suddenly confused.
"We're both off to college after the summer. How would this work?"
"It wouldn't, I guess," he said quietly.
"Yeah," she answered, then fell quiet.
The silence that hung in the air became uncomfortable. After about a minute, Adam lifted his head and looked at her. "So... let's celebrate," he said with a small smile on his lips. It broke the ice.
She smiled back at him. "Let's celebrate."
Rating: PG
Genre: Het
Summary: Joan receives an acceptance letter from college and goes to tell Adam
Character Age: 17 or 18
Joaniverse: post-TV show
"Adam! Adam!" Joan called out, approaching his shed.
The shed door opened very quickly and the alarm on his face quickly changed to relief when he saw she was smiling and waving a letter in her hand.
"Adam," she said breathlessly. "I got in!"
"Really? Wow! Congratulations."
She still had a big smile on her face as she approached him. "Yeah, the letter came this morning."
"So, Rhode Island? Really?"
Her face fell. "No. Marquette."
"Marquette? Isn't that..."
"... in Michigan, yeah."
"I thought you applied for Rhode Island University," he said, the disappointment readable on his face.
"I did. The rejection letter came yesterday. I meant to tell you, but then things got kinda crazy, and- But, look, Marquette has a great Physical Therapy program. I can get a Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree if I want to." She looked at him. "Aren't you happy for me?"
"I am." He tried to sound upbeat, but she could hear that it wasn't real. "It's great. It sounds great."
"But you wanted me to be in Rhode Island with you," she said out loud what he was merely thinking.
"Would that be so bad?"
"No. No, I would have liked that, but, you know... we can still see each other."
"Yeah, twice a year."
"Come on, Adam. Don't spoil this for me."
He was silent for a moment, then he lowered his head and, in a low voice, said, "I'm gonna miss you."
For a moment she wasn't sure how to react. She didn't think he still felt that way, he certainly hadn't made any kind of advances on her in recent months. She thought they were friends. Just friends. That was it.
"Adam, I..." she stammered. "You're gonna be all busy at RISD. We both would have been wrapped up in our studies, in our new lives. Do you really think it could have worked out?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I kept hoping..."
"... hoping what? That we'd get back together?"
He shrugged again, wordlessly this time.
She let her hands sink to her sides, the letter still in one of them. "You do realize that your timing to bring this up is incredibly out of whack, don't you?"
"What?" he asked, suddenly confused.
"We're both off to college after the summer. How would this work?"
"It wouldn't, I guess," he said quietly.
"Yeah," she answered, then fell quiet.
The silence that hung in the air became uncomfortable. After about a minute, Adam lifted his head and looked at her. "So... let's celebrate," he said with a small smile on his lips. It broke the ice.
She smiled back at him. "Let's celebrate."