Romeo and Julie
Disclaimer - Not mine, but like always, Rebecca and Meredith are mine. I also claim Matt from this chapter.
Feedback - Sure, I adore it.
Notes - Hey, firstly, I am sorry that I didn't get this out yesterday. I tried to type, but my muse was gone, and then I had a group of friends come to stay the night, so it was all crazy. I also have to say that I have not slept in like 39 hours. I love this chapter, so maybe I should not sleep more often and then write more.
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Julie stuck to her corner of the dressing room as they prepared for that afternoon's practice. The team only had one locker room, and the girls found that in order to get an privacy while they changed, they had to isolate themselves from the boys.
Not that Julie minded. At that point in time, she could care less what any of the male ducks, or even Connie was doing. Julie could hear each of them, they had all gotten over their shock of seeing Julie and Dean kissing, and now they were breaking out the annoying jokes and comments. Julie would be happy if she never again heard the word 'Duckling'. But now she was trying her best to ignore them, she had other things on her mind.
Connie had put the thought in her mind. And now it was there, festering away. She wondered if festering was the right word to use, but realised it was, it had to be. There was no way Julie wanted to look on this situation with positive words. All negative from now on. Festering, painful, decaying.
How could Connie say that she was in love with Dean. There was no way in hell that she could be in 'love' with Dean Portman. He was…Portman. He was six foot three inches of dumb jock, he was annoying, he was disgusting sometimes. He was…a good kisser, but that was not the point.
He was her best friend. Well, best male friend anyway. From the day that they had met each other, the day before they had met the District 5 ducks, they had been friends. That was just the way things were. The team USA additions to the team knew that by joining a team with an already close bond, they would be on the outskirts for a little while, and the friendship that they had would be stronger. Julie had connected early on with Dean, and it had stayed that way for a long while.
Even when Dean had become the other bash brother, and she had decided that maybe Connie was not as bad as she had first suspected, they still knew they could go to each other with things. And they had been close, until this damn play.
This play had awoken emotions in her that she was having issues explaining. Her stomach was in knots when ever Dean was around, her heart would beat faster. Julie's palms would sweat when she thought of him, and she could not get her mind of off that kiss.
And she was not in love with him. This was just a common reaction to that kiss, yeah, that was what it was. Julie took a deep breath, secured her pads, and assured herself that it was all just a reaction to the kiss. The butterflies in her stomach, the sweating (which she could very easily do without), the increase in heartbeat, it was all just because a boy was paying attention to her. She had been like that with Scooter, and now she was like this with Dean.
If any boy was to kiss her, then she would react the same way. Julie was sure of it. It had nothing to do with the fact that it was Dean, and everything with the fact that she was getting some sort of attention from a member of the opposite sex.
Julie knew that she was not in love with Dean. Couldn't be. Wouldn't want to be.
…Besides, he was a hockey player, and she didn't date hockey players…
*****
"So, I decided to give Guy a second chance…"
Julie rolled her eyes and wondered how many times in the last few months she had heard those words from her friends lips. It seemed that every time she turned around, Connie and Guy had split up and then got back together. Julie didn't have to bother about watching 'Days of our Lives' and 'Young and the Restless', because the 'Guy and Connie Saga' always seemed so much more interesting.
But Julie had to admit she was happy, as long as they were talking about the newest drama in the world of Connie and Guy, Connie would not be hounding her about her feelings for Dean. Her completely non-existent feelings for Dean.
It had taken a while to make Connie believe that she did not have any feelings for Dean. No matter how many times Julie had repeated, over and over that there was nothing between the two of them but friendship, Connie would not believe her. It had taken Julie half the afternoon and most of dinner the night before to convince that her friendship with Dean, other then the occasional kiss due to the play, was purely platonic.
But Connie was off her back now, and back into her own issues. "I decided that it was not his fault, what happened, I mean, I guess it was a little my fault…"
"Connie, it was all your fault. You have got to learn to stop using Luis every time you want Guy to pay more attention to you." Julie replied, retrieving her advanced biology books and slamming her locker shut. "I actually feel sorry for Luis in this situation…Guy has some rage issues that he has to deal with when it comes to Mendoza…"
"I know, I know, I am a horrible, horrible person" Connie sighed and the girls made their way to their science lab. Julie rolled her eyes again as they entered the room and made their way to their desk. Ken was already there, reading through his notes from their last lesson.
"Hey Ken" they both greeted together. Ken nodded.
"Get to start our assignments today" Ken told them distractedly. "I wonder how Mrs. Patterson is going to partner us off." and then he went back to his notes.
The room began to fill, and soon the fourth seat at their lab station was filled by Adam. The four of them were the only Ducks that took advanced Biology, so they found it easier to stick together and help each other with it.
"I will have no talking!" Mrs. Patterson announced as she entered the classroom. "When I call your name, move to sit beside your partner. These are he partners that you will complete your next assignment with. Miss Abagnale, and Mr Banks"
The four ducks looked at each other. "Alphabetical" they sighed as Adam stood and pack his things, heading to the front lab station and sitting beside Lucy Abagnale. Usually, if they were allowed to pick their own partners, the four of them would split into groups. Each time they would slipt differently so that the teacher would not get suspicious.
But this time, it was all alphabetical. As Mrs. Patterson continued with the pairings, Julie quickly counted ahead in the alphabet. Matt Goddard. She could not help but smile. Matt was the smartest kid in the class, he seemed to have a complete understanding of things as soon as he began learning about it. Plus the fact that he was a kind and honest guy, she knew that this assignment would be an easy one to complete.
"Mr. Goddard, Miss Gaffney." Mrs Patterson announced, and on the other side of the room, Matt stood and made his way over to where she was sitting, taking the seat that had been vacated by Adam when he had moved to sit with his partner. Matt smiled at her, and Julie could not help but return the smile.
When the class had been split, Julie turned to Matt, and together they began to discuss their up coming assignment. It seemed that since it was a major assignment, that would be worth 60 percent of their overall grade for this class, Patterson was letting them make their own decision as to what each pairing did their assignment on, and how they decided to deliver the assignment.
"If it is ok with you" Matt began, turning to Julie, who was reading over the sheet that outlined their task. "I need a few more credits in Oral presentation. Would you have any objections to making our assessment as a presentation?"
"No, that is fine with me" Julie smiled. Matt would be easy to work with, he was not pushy like other people that she had been paired up with in the past "I could use a few more credits in that category as well."
"Do you have any ideas as to what we can talk about?" Matt asked. Julie had an idea, it was something that she had been fascinated by for a while now.
"Genetic coding, and the whole controversy of making an elite baby would be interesting." She suggested to him. Max nodded.
"Yes, I agree, it is a fascinating subject." He told her. Julie smiled and quickly wrote their idea on the overview sheet that they had to outline their preliminary research on. "Would you like to get together at some point, out side of class time, to work on this. Maybe we could meet at the library?"
Julie was just about to agree, when she realised that her week was already rather full. "I would have to find a time to fit you in." Julie paused as Matt began to laugh, and she realised how that must have sounded. "I mean, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sunday afternoons I have hockey practice. Every second Friday night is a game. Tuesdays I have a Play rehearsal…"
"You are in Meredith's English class?" Matt asked, and Julie noted he sounded a little jealous about it. Every one in the school wanted to be in Meredith's class "That is really cool, she is an extraordinary teacher. I heard that you get to act instead of writing 'A critical analysis of the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.'"
"Yeah, we are acting. I am not sure how great we will be at it though…" Julie smiled. "I am Juliet"
Matt's smile brightened. "Fair Juliet" he laughed. "You will be fine, I am sure of it. Who has the honour of playing your Romeo?"
"A guy from my hockey team actually. Dean Portman" Julie informed him, and Matt's smile fell away for a second or so. But he plastered it back on his face. He smiled so brightly that it all seemed fake. "Do you know him?"
"Sure. Enforcer. Jock. Sometimes forgets when he is on the ice" Matt told her. Julie looked at him, confused. Matt decided to elaborate. "What is it that hockey players say…He checked me into a bay of lockers once."
"Oh" Julie looked at her books, suddenly ashamed that Dean would do something like that to Matt. Matt was a nice guy, and he didn't need to be picked on like a big mean jock like Dean, who was a fair amount taller, and almost twice Matt's body weight. The common theory, for the ducks, at least, was that Dean and Fulton were harmless, they were all bark no bite. It was Charlie's bite that you had to look out for. Julie had never known Dean or Fulton to be purposely malicious to someone, but for some reason, she had no troubles picturing Dean slamming Matt into the lockers.
Julie felt the need to apologise to him for Dean's behaviour, but Matt cut her off before she had the chance. "So, what days would you have free to study and write this assignment?"
"Thursdays, Saturdays and Sunday mornings." Julie replied, content with changing the subject if that was what Matt wanted.
"Thursday is today." he observed, looking at his well set out study chat that he had tucked into the front of his binder. Julie could not help but grin and open her own binder, pulling out her study planner, set out almost identically to his. Hers was a lot more crowded then his. Matt's had a few extra curricular activities, French club, science club and Student council meetings, but these events did not meet as often as Julie's activities did. "I have Thursdays free, and Saturday mornings."
"Why don't we meet today, just to get a rough outline of what we want to cover. Then on Saturday morning, we can hit the library and begin researching."
"That sounds like a great plan to me." Matt replied. "But lets not meet on campus. Sometimes I just need to get away…"
"I agree" Julie replied. As she spoke, the bell rang, releasing them from their class. Both of them stood, packed their things and began to leave the room. "Do you know Mickey's Dinner. It is about four blocks from here, and I can tell you honestly that they have the best ice cream sodas this side of the boarder"
Matt smiled as he escorted her out of the classroom. "Yeah, I know the place. Lets meet there at about 4?"
"Sure, I will see you then" Julie replied, smiling at him one last time before heading off to her first break.
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"Are you ok?" Dean whispered, sitting behind Julie in the auditorium. Julie looked over her shoulder at Dean, who looked honestly concerned. In her lap, Julie was working on her study plan, rewriting it to fit in time not only to learn her play lines but to fit in times to meet with Matt to work on their assignment.
"I am fine" she assured her softly. On the stage in front of them was Luis and Charlie, or Tybalt and Benvolio, as well as a few others, blocked the sword fight at the beginning of the play.
Dean frowned and looked at her study schedule. Everyone was given a blank study sheet like that at the beginning of the year, and more often then not, they all ended in the bin by the end of the first school day. Fulton had placed his on the back of their dorm room door, and on each day, he had allocated five minutes to 'pretend to study' and the rest of the time to 'slacking off'. So far, Dean and Fulton had followed their study regime religiously.
But Julie had hers jam packed. Hockey practices, play rehearsals, library times, an allocated time each day to each of the subjects that she took. The girl would go out of her mind, she had no time for herself at all. She didn't even have a time allocated to sleep.
"Are you sure?" he asked her again. Julie shrugged.
"Just trying to find time to meet with my lab partner to work on this new assessment piece I have." She told him. "I guess I could meet him on Thursdays, but then I would have to rearrange all my other study times…"
Dean sighed and rested his hands on her shoulders. Julie felt her eyes slide shut as he began to massage her shoulders softly, working out all of the kinks. Julie let her study schedule be forgotten as he leaned forward a little, getting better access to her aching and tense muscles.
She could feel him close behind her, and the feel of his strong hands on her shoulders was heavenly. He seemed to be finding the spots where she was most tense, and working the muscles. Julie relaxed further into her seat, sliding down a little, but not enough to stop him from accessing her shoulders.
"You are so tense Julie" Dean whispered, Julie bit her lip. His voice against her ear was doing amazing things to her. "You push yourself way to hard, girl. You need to take a break…"
Julie protested weakly "I cant…"
"Jules, you are on the road to a mental breakdown" he told her, concerned. "Get a hobby or something, relax and find a way to not think about work. As much as I adore you, I don't want to have to be the one to try and put you back together when you fall apart…"
Julie bit her lip again. A mixture of his proximity, his concern and his strong hands on her were making her feel light headed. She relaxed into her chair again, allowing her head to fall back onto his shoulder. Dean's hands stilled, and then, slowly traced their way up her neck, massaging a point at the base of her skull.
Julie moaned softly, just loud enough for Dean to hear her, and he smiled at his accomplishment. Before he knew what he was doing, he turned his head and kissed her softly.
Like the kisses that they had shared so far, he had expected her to reciprocate, to respond. And as he always did when kissing her, he started off gently. Besides, as much as he felt he wanted to, he knew that this was not the time nor the place to engage Julie Gaffney in a make out session.
But he had been surprised when she pushed him off harshly. Her hand moved to her lips as though his had burnt her. Dean sat back, wondering if an apology while he was this confused would be a good thing. Julie just looked at him, amazed, her hand still pressed to her lips. She looked as though she was caught between screaming, hitting him and crying.
"Jules, I am…"
"It is only a play Portman" she whispered, dropping her hand away from her lips. "Just a play." she repeated.
Dean nodded dumbly as Julie stood, threw her things in her bag, and took off down the row of seats.
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For as long as he lived, Dean Portman would never understand women. Maybe that was the gimmick, they lured men into their traps and let them think that everything in the relationship, or friendship, or the, what ever it was that they had, was just perfect. Then, they would change, manipulate and kill. They would attack, leaving nothing but a shell of a man in its place.
It wouldn't have mattered that much to him if it was not Julie. Julie meant something to him, something that he was still having issues explaining. But he had always enjoyed Julie's company, she was good to talk to, she was a good listener, she would help without having being asked, and she would not let anyone be anything less then what they really were. Julie Gaffney brought out the best in people, she definitely brought out the best in him. And there was the fact that she was beautiful, and a good kisser.
And complicated.
Dean wondered if a phone call to his mother was in order. Or at least a phone call to his father. He knew that either of them would give an interesting opinion on his theory. His mom would tell him that it was 'so sweet that her little boy was finally spending time with girls instead of endangering himself on the ice.' (Insert Dean Portman eye roll here, and the exclamation of "Mom, I am the biggest guy on the team, no one will hurt me!") His father would be different. He would congratulate Dean on finally finding a girl that could hold his attention for longer then a minute, and then the sacred advice of 'Get out while you still can Son, Women will do nothing but hurt you. They will play their little mind games till you are in the palm of their hands, right where they want you' (Insert another eye roll, and the muttering of "Thanks dad, great help, as usual")
Nah, maybe consulting the parentals was not a good thing. Dean sighed, threw down his pen and collapsed onto his bed. He was not getting any work done anyway. Not while he was thinking about Julie.
She had just gotten up and left, no explanation as to why she was so offended by his kiss. The first night that he had kissed her it had been a surprise to both of them, but she had gone along with it, she had kissed him back, she had amazed him. Knocked his socks off even. And the kiss in class had been amazing, but now, today, when the time had felt right, better then any other time, she had pushed him away like he was diseased.
She had said that it was just a play, and that was probably the only explanation that he was going to get. With those five words, she had pretty much told him that she did not have feelings for him. 'It is only a play…'
And she called him Portman. If that was not a huge step backwards, then Dean had no idea what would be. There were only three people in the world that he would tolerate calling him Dean, his mom, his little sister Katie and Julie. He knew others did it, others called him by his first name, but not as regularly as Julie did.
His dorm door opened, and Fulton came in, throwing his bag to the floor. Dean rested his arm across his eyes to block out the light. This was also a classic 'Dean not happy' sign.
"Just so you know, I am not happy with you" Dean announced as his roommate sat on his bed. Fulton looked at his friend, thinking through all the things that he had said and done over the least few days. Nothing that Portman would hate him for.
"Do I get to know why you hate me?" He asked him. Portman moved his arm away from his face and sat up.
"You had to do it, didn't you man? You had to use 'the L word' in the same sentence as her name!" Dean sighed. Fulton took a few seconds to comprehend what it was that Portman was on about, when he remembered what had happened when he had returned from kissing Jules a few nights before.
"Umm, sorry" Fulton offered weakly.
"You were right" Portman sighed. "There is a slight chance that possibly, maybe I could have feelings for Julie…"
"'A slight chance that possibly, maybe?'" Fulton confirmed, smiling. Portman rolled his eyes. He could admit it now, or let himself be talked into a corner again.
"Ok, so I like her. She is really special" He sighed.
"Well?"
"Well what? Isn't my confession enough for you?" Dean asked, amazed. Fulton shrugged.
"Just wanted to know if you were going to tell her?" Fulton replied, collapsing back onto his bed and picking up one of the many hockey publications from the floor. They were kept there because they were easy in reach. Messy yes, practical, of course, and that was all that was important.
"I think I already have…" Dean admitted softly. Fulton dropped his magazine to his chest and stared at his friend like he had three heads.
"What? What happened?"
"I think I got rejected" Portman told his friend. Fulton could not help it, he burst out laughing. He never thought that he would live to see the day that a girl. A living, breathing, straight girl would turn down Dean Portman. "Thanks bro, real supportive."
He got his laugher under control. "So what are you going to do?"
"What can I do? Hold her hostage, make her date me. Kidnap her? Even if it would work, I would never do that to her. She is my friend…" Portman stopped and stood, clapping his hands and laughing insanely. Fulton would have been scared by his friends behaviour if he did not know Dean as well as he did. I seemed, Portman had just had an idea. A brilliant idea even. "Fulton, tell me I am a genius"
"Let me hear the plan first" he replied, watching as his roommate stood and shoved his wallet in his back pocket.
"No time for that. Come on!" Portman smiled to himself as he left the room. Curiosity got the better of him, like always and Fulton stood and followed him out. They made their way quickly across campus to the girls dorm, where Dean powered up the stairs two at a time,. He had knocked on Julie's bedroom door before Fulton had even gotten to the top of the stairs. Dean sure did seem excited, so it meant one of two things, there were high chances that this plan of his, what ever it was, would work out, or that Portman, as usual, had not thought through his options completely.
As always, Fulton found himself standing back, wondering what the world Portman was planning on doing.
The door opened, revealing Rebecca. She looked at Dean for a few minutes, and then smiled in recognition. "Hi, umm, Dean right?" she asked. Dean nodded, and Fulton moved little closer to the dorm room door. Just as Dean had been a few nights before, he was rather interested about what a girls dorm room looked like. Rebecca saw him and smiled softly. Fulton returned it.
"What can I do for you boys?"
"Jules. Is she here?" Dean asked. Rebecca shook her head.
"No, she said something about meeting her lab partner. They have some big assignment that they have to talk about or something…" Rebecca informed them, she noted that Portman looked strangely disappointed. "Would you like me to tell her that you dropped by?"
"No, thanks anyway Rebecca" Portman replied. Fulton gave the girl one last smile before he followed Portman out of the dorm building.
"Can you tell me what the plan was now?"
"I was going to kidnap her." At Fulton's shocked look, he continued. "She has been spending far to much time involved in schoolwork lately. I saw her schedule today, she has given herself no recreation time. I told her today she needs to relax, we…you and me, her concerned friends… were going to drag her to Mickey's for some one those legendary ice cream sodas"
Fulton smiled. "Lets go anyway, you owe me details of this rejection"
"Gossiping are we Fult? When did you turn into such a big girl?" Portman asked as they made their way across the campus to the gate. It was only a short walk to the diner, so there was no point in getting their blades. Besides, Fulton still had issues with skating sometimes. Most of the time it was safer for them to walk.
"I turned into a girl when the world turned on its end" he announced calmly as they walked out of the gate. "Dean Portman in love with The Cat, this is just classic…"
The rest of the walk was filled with the two of them joking as usual. Fulton realised, after his fifth dumb joke about Julie and him, that Dean really was taken with the goalie. Fulton also knew that he needed to get his friends mind of Julie, for his own sake as much as Dean's. It would be best for all concerned if Dean did not have the chance to dwell on the situation.
When they reached the diner, Fulton opened the door, and then paused. Behind him, Dean took a look around, and then pulled in a deep breath.
In one of the booths, was Julie, she was smiling, and she was sharing a soda with Matt Goddard.
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Well, did you like? Review!
Ok, quick random question, In D3, Ken always has a packed lunch that the varsity losers steal. Why does he have a packed lunch? He lives in the dorm. Who would pack his lunch for him?
Disclaimer - Not mine, but like always, Rebecca and Meredith are mine. I also claim Matt from this chapter.
Feedback - Sure, I adore it.
Notes - Hey, firstly, I am sorry that I didn't get this out yesterday. I tried to type, but my muse was gone, and then I had a group of friends come to stay the night, so it was all crazy. I also have to say that I have not slept in like 39 hours. I love this chapter, so maybe I should not sleep more often and then write more.
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Julie stuck to her corner of the dressing room as they prepared for that afternoon's practice. The team only had one locker room, and the girls found that in order to get an privacy while they changed, they had to isolate themselves from the boys.
Not that Julie minded. At that point in time, she could care less what any of the male ducks, or even Connie was doing. Julie could hear each of them, they had all gotten over their shock of seeing Julie and Dean kissing, and now they were breaking out the annoying jokes and comments. Julie would be happy if she never again heard the word 'Duckling'. But now she was trying her best to ignore them, she had other things on her mind.
Connie had put the thought in her mind. And now it was there, festering away. She wondered if festering was the right word to use, but realised it was, it had to be. There was no way Julie wanted to look on this situation with positive words. All negative from now on. Festering, painful, decaying.
How could Connie say that she was in love with Dean. There was no way in hell that she could be in 'love' with Dean Portman. He was…Portman. He was six foot three inches of dumb jock, he was annoying, he was disgusting sometimes. He was…a good kisser, but that was not the point.
He was her best friend. Well, best male friend anyway. From the day that they had met each other, the day before they had met the District 5 ducks, they had been friends. That was just the way things were. The team USA additions to the team knew that by joining a team with an already close bond, they would be on the outskirts for a little while, and the friendship that they had would be stronger. Julie had connected early on with Dean, and it had stayed that way for a long while.
Even when Dean had become the other bash brother, and she had decided that maybe Connie was not as bad as she had first suspected, they still knew they could go to each other with things. And they had been close, until this damn play.
This play had awoken emotions in her that she was having issues explaining. Her stomach was in knots when ever Dean was around, her heart would beat faster. Julie's palms would sweat when she thought of him, and she could not get her mind of off that kiss.
And she was not in love with him. This was just a common reaction to that kiss, yeah, that was what it was. Julie took a deep breath, secured her pads, and assured herself that it was all just a reaction to the kiss. The butterflies in her stomach, the sweating (which she could very easily do without), the increase in heartbeat, it was all just because a boy was paying attention to her. She had been like that with Scooter, and now she was like this with Dean.
If any boy was to kiss her, then she would react the same way. Julie was sure of it. It had nothing to do with the fact that it was Dean, and everything with the fact that she was getting some sort of attention from a member of the opposite sex.
Julie knew that she was not in love with Dean. Couldn't be. Wouldn't want to be.
…Besides, he was a hockey player, and she didn't date hockey players…
*****
"So, I decided to give Guy a second chance…"
Julie rolled her eyes and wondered how many times in the last few months she had heard those words from her friends lips. It seemed that every time she turned around, Connie and Guy had split up and then got back together. Julie didn't have to bother about watching 'Days of our Lives' and 'Young and the Restless', because the 'Guy and Connie Saga' always seemed so much more interesting.
But Julie had to admit she was happy, as long as they were talking about the newest drama in the world of Connie and Guy, Connie would not be hounding her about her feelings for Dean. Her completely non-existent feelings for Dean.
It had taken a while to make Connie believe that she did not have any feelings for Dean. No matter how many times Julie had repeated, over and over that there was nothing between the two of them but friendship, Connie would not believe her. It had taken Julie half the afternoon and most of dinner the night before to convince that her friendship with Dean, other then the occasional kiss due to the play, was purely platonic.
But Connie was off her back now, and back into her own issues. "I decided that it was not his fault, what happened, I mean, I guess it was a little my fault…"
"Connie, it was all your fault. You have got to learn to stop using Luis every time you want Guy to pay more attention to you." Julie replied, retrieving her advanced biology books and slamming her locker shut. "I actually feel sorry for Luis in this situation…Guy has some rage issues that he has to deal with when it comes to Mendoza…"
"I know, I know, I am a horrible, horrible person" Connie sighed and the girls made their way to their science lab. Julie rolled her eyes again as they entered the room and made their way to their desk. Ken was already there, reading through his notes from their last lesson.
"Hey Ken" they both greeted together. Ken nodded.
"Get to start our assignments today" Ken told them distractedly. "I wonder how Mrs. Patterson is going to partner us off." and then he went back to his notes.
The room began to fill, and soon the fourth seat at their lab station was filled by Adam. The four of them were the only Ducks that took advanced Biology, so they found it easier to stick together and help each other with it.
"I will have no talking!" Mrs. Patterson announced as she entered the classroom. "When I call your name, move to sit beside your partner. These are he partners that you will complete your next assignment with. Miss Abagnale, and Mr Banks"
The four ducks looked at each other. "Alphabetical" they sighed as Adam stood and pack his things, heading to the front lab station and sitting beside Lucy Abagnale. Usually, if they were allowed to pick their own partners, the four of them would split into groups. Each time they would slipt differently so that the teacher would not get suspicious.
But this time, it was all alphabetical. As Mrs. Patterson continued with the pairings, Julie quickly counted ahead in the alphabet. Matt Goddard. She could not help but smile. Matt was the smartest kid in the class, he seemed to have a complete understanding of things as soon as he began learning about it. Plus the fact that he was a kind and honest guy, she knew that this assignment would be an easy one to complete.
"Mr. Goddard, Miss Gaffney." Mrs Patterson announced, and on the other side of the room, Matt stood and made his way over to where she was sitting, taking the seat that had been vacated by Adam when he had moved to sit with his partner. Matt smiled at her, and Julie could not help but return the smile.
When the class had been split, Julie turned to Matt, and together they began to discuss their up coming assignment. It seemed that since it was a major assignment, that would be worth 60 percent of their overall grade for this class, Patterson was letting them make their own decision as to what each pairing did their assignment on, and how they decided to deliver the assignment.
"If it is ok with you" Matt began, turning to Julie, who was reading over the sheet that outlined their task. "I need a few more credits in Oral presentation. Would you have any objections to making our assessment as a presentation?"
"No, that is fine with me" Julie smiled. Matt would be easy to work with, he was not pushy like other people that she had been paired up with in the past "I could use a few more credits in that category as well."
"Do you have any ideas as to what we can talk about?" Matt asked. Julie had an idea, it was something that she had been fascinated by for a while now.
"Genetic coding, and the whole controversy of making an elite baby would be interesting." She suggested to him. Max nodded.
"Yes, I agree, it is a fascinating subject." He told her. Julie smiled and quickly wrote their idea on the overview sheet that they had to outline their preliminary research on. "Would you like to get together at some point, out side of class time, to work on this. Maybe we could meet at the library?"
Julie was just about to agree, when she realised that her week was already rather full. "I would have to find a time to fit you in." Julie paused as Matt began to laugh, and she realised how that must have sounded. "I mean, Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sunday afternoons I have hockey practice. Every second Friday night is a game. Tuesdays I have a Play rehearsal…"
"You are in Meredith's English class?" Matt asked, and Julie noted he sounded a little jealous about it. Every one in the school wanted to be in Meredith's class "That is really cool, she is an extraordinary teacher. I heard that you get to act instead of writing 'A critical analysis of the Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet.'"
"Yeah, we are acting. I am not sure how great we will be at it though…" Julie smiled. "I am Juliet"
Matt's smile brightened. "Fair Juliet" he laughed. "You will be fine, I am sure of it. Who has the honour of playing your Romeo?"
"A guy from my hockey team actually. Dean Portman" Julie informed him, and Matt's smile fell away for a second or so. But he plastered it back on his face. He smiled so brightly that it all seemed fake. "Do you know him?"
"Sure. Enforcer. Jock. Sometimes forgets when he is on the ice" Matt told her. Julie looked at him, confused. Matt decided to elaborate. "What is it that hockey players say…He checked me into a bay of lockers once."
"Oh" Julie looked at her books, suddenly ashamed that Dean would do something like that to Matt. Matt was a nice guy, and he didn't need to be picked on like a big mean jock like Dean, who was a fair amount taller, and almost twice Matt's body weight. The common theory, for the ducks, at least, was that Dean and Fulton were harmless, they were all bark no bite. It was Charlie's bite that you had to look out for. Julie had never known Dean or Fulton to be purposely malicious to someone, but for some reason, she had no troubles picturing Dean slamming Matt into the lockers.
Julie felt the need to apologise to him for Dean's behaviour, but Matt cut her off before she had the chance. "So, what days would you have free to study and write this assignment?"
"Thursdays, Saturdays and Sunday mornings." Julie replied, content with changing the subject if that was what Matt wanted.
"Thursday is today." he observed, looking at his well set out study chat that he had tucked into the front of his binder. Julie could not help but grin and open her own binder, pulling out her study planner, set out almost identically to his. Hers was a lot more crowded then his. Matt's had a few extra curricular activities, French club, science club and Student council meetings, but these events did not meet as often as Julie's activities did. "I have Thursdays free, and Saturday mornings."
"Why don't we meet today, just to get a rough outline of what we want to cover. Then on Saturday morning, we can hit the library and begin researching."
"That sounds like a great plan to me." Matt replied. "But lets not meet on campus. Sometimes I just need to get away…"
"I agree" Julie replied. As she spoke, the bell rang, releasing them from their class. Both of them stood, packed their things and began to leave the room. "Do you know Mickey's Dinner. It is about four blocks from here, and I can tell you honestly that they have the best ice cream sodas this side of the boarder"
Matt smiled as he escorted her out of the classroom. "Yeah, I know the place. Lets meet there at about 4?"
"Sure, I will see you then" Julie replied, smiling at him one last time before heading off to her first break.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Are you ok?" Dean whispered, sitting behind Julie in the auditorium. Julie looked over her shoulder at Dean, who looked honestly concerned. In her lap, Julie was working on her study plan, rewriting it to fit in time not only to learn her play lines but to fit in times to meet with Matt to work on their assignment.
"I am fine" she assured her softly. On the stage in front of them was Luis and Charlie, or Tybalt and Benvolio, as well as a few others, blocked the sword fight at the beginning of the play.
Dean frowned and looked at her study schedule. Everyone was given a blank study sheet like that at the beginning of the year, and more often then not, they all ended in the bin by the end of the first school day. Fulton had placed his on the back of their dorm room door, and on each day, he had allocated five minutes to 'pretend to study' and the rest of the time to 'slacking off'. So far, Dean and Fulton had followed their study regime religiously.
But Julie had hers jam packed. Hockey practices, play rehearsals, library times, an allocated time each day to each of the subjects that she took. The girl would go out of her mind, she had no time for herself at all. She didn't even have a time allocated to sleep.
"Are you sure?" he asked her again. Julie shrugged.
"Just trying to find time to meet with my lab partner to work on this new assessment piece I have." She told him. "I guess I could meet him on Thursdays, but then I would have to rearrange all my other study times…"
Dean sighed and rested his hands on her shoulders. Julie felt her eyes slide shut as he began to massage her shoulders softly, working out all of the kinks. Julie let her study schedule be forgotten as he leaned forward a little, getting better access to her aching and tense muscles.
She could feel him close behind her, and the feel of his strong hands on her shoulders was heavenly. He seemed to be finding the spots where she was most tense, and working the muscles. Julie relaxed further into her seat, sliding down a little, but not enough to stop him from accessing her shoulders.
"You are so tense Julie" Dean whispered, Julie bit her lip. His voice against her ear was doing amazing things to her. "You push yourself way to hard, girl. You need to take a break…"
Julie protested weakly "I cant…"
"Jules, you are on the road to a mental breakdown" he told her, concerned. "Get a hobby or something, relax and find a way to not think about work. As much as I adore you, I don't want to have to be the one to try and put you back together when you fall apart…"
Julie bit her lip again. A mixture of his proximity, his concern and his strong hands on her were making her feel light headed. She relaxed into her chair again, allowing her head to fall back onto his shoulder. Dean's hands stilled, and then, slowly traced their way up her neck, massaging a point at the base of her skull.
Julie moaned softly, just loud enough for Dean to hear her, and he smiled at his accomplishment. Before he knew what he was doing, he turned his head and kissed her softly.
Like the kisses that they had shared so far, he had expected her to reciprocate, to respond. And as he always did when kissing her, he started off gently. Besides, as much as he felt he wanted to, he knew that this was not the time nor the place to engage Julie Gaffney in a make out session.
But he had been surprised when she pushed him off harshly. Her hand moved to her lips as though his had burnt her. Dean sat back, wondering if an apology while he was this confused would be a good thing. Julie just looked at him, amazed, her hand still pressed to her lips. She looked as though she was caught between screaming, hitting him and crying.
"Jules, I am…"
"It is only a play Portman" she whispered, dropping her hand away from her lips. "Just a play." she repeated.
Dean nodded dumbly as Julie stood, threw her things in her bag, and took off down the row of seats.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
For as long as he lived, Dean Portman would never understand women. Maybe that was the gimmick, they lured men into their traps and let them think that everything in the relationship, or friendship, or the, what ever it was that they had, was just perfect. Then, they would change, manipulate and kill. They would attack, leaving nothing but a shell of a man in its place.
It wouldn't have mattered that much to him if it was not Julie. Julie meant something to him, something that he was still having issues explaining. But he had always enjoyed Julie's company, she was good to talk to, she was a good listener, she would help without having being asked, and she would not let anyone be anything less then what they really were. Julie Gaffney brought out the best in people, she definitely brought out the best in him. And there was the fact that she was beautiful, and a good kisser.
And complicated.
Dean wondered if a phone call to his mother was in order. Or at least a phone call to his father. He knew that either of them would give an interesting opinion on his theory. His mom would tell him that it was 'so sweet that her little boy was finally spending time with girls instead of endangering himself on the ice.' (Insert Dean Portman eye roll here, and the exclamation of "Mom, I am the biggest guy on the team, no one will hurt me!") His father would be different. He would congratulate Dean on finally finding a girl that could hold his attention for longer then a minute, and then the sacred advice of 'Get out while you still can Son, Women will do nothing but hurt you. They will play their little mind games till you are in the palm of their hands, right where they want you' (Insert another eye roll, and the muttering of "Thanks dad, great help, as usual")
Nah, maybe consulting the parentals was not a good thing. Dean sighed, threw down his pen and collapsed onto his bed. He was not getting any work done anyway. Not while he was thinking about Julie.
She had just gotten up and left, no explanation as to why she was so offended by his kiss. The first night that he had kissed her it had been a surprise to both of them, but she had gone along with it, she had kissed him back, she had amazed him. Knocked his socks off even. And the kiss in class had been amazing, but now, today, when the time had felt right, better then any other time, she had pushed him away like he was diseased.
She had said that it was just a play, and that was probably the only explanation that he was going to get. With those five words, she had pretty much told him that she did not have feelings for him. 'It is only a play…'
And she called him Portman. If that was not a huge step backwards, then Dean had no idea what would be. There were only three people in the world that he would tolerate calling him Dean, his mom, his little sister Katie and Julie. He knew others did it, others called him by his first name, but not as regularly as Julie did.
His dorm door opened, and Fulton came in, throwing his bag to the floor. Dean rested his arm across his eyes to block out the light. This was also a classic 'Dean not happy' sign.
"Just so you know, I am not happy with you" Dean announced as his roommate sat on his bed. Fulton looked at his friend, thinking through all the things that he had said and done over the least few days. Nothing that Portman would hate him for.
"Do I get to know why you hate me?" He asked him. Portman moved his arm away from his face and sat up.
"You had to do it, didn't you man? You had to use 'the L word' in the same sentence as her name!" Dean sighed. Fulton took a few seconds to comprehend what it was that Portman was on about, when he remembered what had happened when he had returned from kissing Jules a few nights before.
"Umm, sorry" Fulton offered weakly.
"You were right" Portman sighed. "There is a slight chance that possibly, maybe I could have feelings for Julie…"
"'A slight chance that possibly, maybe?'" Fulton confirmed, smiling. Portman rolled his eyes. He could admit it now, or let himself be talked into a corner again.
"Ok, so I like her. She is really special" He sighed.
"Well?"
"Well what? Isn't my confession enough for you?" Dean asked, amazed. Fulton shrugged.
"Just wanted to know if you were going to tell her?" Fulton replied, collapsing back onto his bed and picking up one of the many hockey publications from the floor. They were kept there because they were easy in reach. Messy yes, practical, of course, and that was all that was important.
"I think I already have…" Dean admitted softly. Fulton dropped his magazine to his chest and stared at his friend like he had three heads.
"What? What happened?"
"I think I got rejected" Portman told his friend. Fulton could not help it, he burst out laughing. He never thought that he would live to see the day that a girl. A living, breathing, straight girl would turn down Dean Portman. "Thanks bro, real supportive."
He got his laugher under control. "So what are you going to do?"
"What can I do? Hold her hostage, make her date me. Kidnap her? Even if it would work, I would never do that to her. She is my friend…" Portman stopped and stood, clapping his hands and laughing insanely. Fulton would have been scared by his friends behaviour if he did not know Dean as well as he did. I seemed, Portman had just had an idea. A brilliant idea even. "Fulton, tell me I am a genius"
"Let me hear the plan first" he replied, watching as his roommate stood and shoved his wallet in his back pocket.
"No time for that. Come on!" Portman smiled to himself as he left the room. Curiosity got the better of him, like always and Fulton stood and followed him out. They made their way quickly across campus to the girls dorm, where Dean powered up the stairs two at a time,. He had knocked on Julie's bedroom door before Fulton had even gotten to the top of the stairs. Dean sure did seem excited, so it meant one of two things, there were high chances that this plan of his, what ever it was, would work out, or that Portman, as usual, had not thought through his options completely.
As always, Fulton found himself standing back, wondering what the world Portman was planning on doing.
The door opened, revealing Rebecca. She looked at Dean for a few minutes, and then smiled in recognition. "Hi, umm, Dean right?" she asked. Dean nodded, and Fulton moved little closer to the dorm room door. Just as Dean had been a few nights before, he was rather interested about what a girls dorm room looked like. Rebecca saw him and smiled softly. Fulton returned it.
"What can I do for you boys?"
"Jules. Is she here?" Dean asked. Rebecca shook her head.
"No, she said something about meeting her lab partner. They have some big assignment that they have to talk about or something…" Rebecca informed them, she noted that Portman looked strangely disappointed. "Would you like me to tell her that you dropped by?"
"No, thanks anyway Rebecca" Portman replied. Fulton gave the girl one last smile before he followed Portman out of the dorm building.
"Can you tell me what the plan was now?"
"I was going to kidnap her." At Fulton's shocked look, he continued. "She has been spending far to much time involved in schoolwork lately. I saw her schedule today, she has given herself no recreation time. I told her today she needs to relax, we…you and me, her concerned friends… were going to drag her to Mickey's for some one those legendary ice cream sodas"
Fulton smiled. "Lets go anyway, you owe me details of this rejection"
"Gossiping are we Fult? When did you turn into such a big girl?" Portman asked as they made their way across the campus to the gate. It was only a short walk to the diner, so there was no point in getting their blades. Besides, Fulton still had issues with skating sometimes. Most of the time it was safer for them to walk.
"I turned into a girl when the world turned on its end" he announced calmly as they walked out of the gate. "Dean Portman in love with The Cat, this is just classic…"
The rest of the walk was filled with the two of them joking as usual. Fulton realised, after his fifth dumb joke about Julie and him, that Dean really was taken with the goalie. Fulton also knew that he needed to get his friends mind of Julie, for his own sake as much as Dean's. It would be best for all concerned if Dean did not have the chance to dwell on the situation.
When they reached the diner, Fulton opened the door, and then paused. Behind him, Dean took a look around, and then pulled in a deep breath.
In one of the booths, was Julie, she was smiling, and she was sharing a soda with Matt Goddard.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Well, did you like? Review!
Ok, quick random question, In D3, Ken always has a packed lunch that the varsity losers steal. Why does he have a packed lunch? He lives in the dorm. Who would pack his lunch for him?
