Disclaimer: I don't own the ducks, sadly, Disney does.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVEIWS!!!
"Jesus H. Christ! We gotta get up! I've got a paper to write!" was the first thing Portman heard that morning. He groaned and turned to squint at his alarm clock. The flashing lights read, "10:00 a.m."
"You need to chill, it's only a paper," Portman shrugged, running hand through his greasy hair. He needed to take a shower very badly.
"JUST A PAPER?" Fulton screamed at him. Fulton had gone on 'hyper' mode that morning, "Just a PAPER?" he screamed again, racing to jam his notebook into already-overcrowded school bag. "That PAPER is going to have to get me an A plus to pass Science!" he yelled, putting a pen in his mouth. Fulton started rooting through his desk.
"Remind me to never let you drink coffee again," Portman said, grabbing a handle on his chair and pulling it to him. When he hadn't managed the task of actually getting himself into it by himself, he recruited the help of Fulton. "Dude, will you hold my chair still for me?" he said, watching Fulton pull a shirt over his head.
"Isn't that why they put brakes on it?" he called from the bathroom.
"Fine! I don't need your help!" Dean said with a sudden burst of anger. Couldn't his best friend understand?
"Damn!" he heard Fulton curse from the bathroom.
"What's wrong?" he said, trying to pull himself into his chair again.
Fulton walked out of the bathroom, a line of thick, oozing, blue ink dripping from the side of his mouth onto his shirt. Then he turned and walked out the door, forgetting his things.
Portman couldn't help but laugh. Fulton was so pathetic at times.
It took him an hour and a half to get in and out of the shower, so by the time he was dressed and ready to go eat breakfast; it was already time for lunch. He rolled down the corridor, stopping to grin at girls and hi-five his fellow teammates. "Good luck with your game on Tuesday," he had said to Guy.
He had shrugged, "We only have to more days to practice and it's getting us nowhere, I wish you were still on the team," he had said honestly.
Portman thought that Guy had just stabbed him through the heart. Didn't he know that he would give anything to play? He would've killed to play, strangled everyone within a fifty-mile radius in a heartbeat. He felt his face going red with frustration, "Yeah, well, I'll see you," he said, rolling off. What a great way to start a morning off…having one of his friends shove the best thing in his life, the only thing he couldn't have, right in his face.
"Bye!" Guy called after him, clearly unaffected. Dean decided to skip lunch altogether.
Dwayne sat right across the table from Julie in the library, trying to get through a book on physics. It was hard, but he had gotten through some of the tough parts to the amazement of everyone else. He wasn't THAT dumb. He sighed and closed his book, giving up. No one should have to study on a Sunday - or ever. He looked over at Julie and noticed a fresh scar on her arm.
"Ow, that looks like a doozy of a cut," he commented.
Julie threw her head up to look at him with surprise. She glanced at her arm and tried to hide it under the table, "It's no big deal," she said quietly.
"No, here let me see it, I've gotten my share of them when I was trying to help with the birthing of the cows," he said, extending his hand, expecting for Julie to hand her arm over for closer inspection.
"No, it's no big deal, really Dwayne," she said more loudly that time.
"What's no big deal?" a booming voice called to them at the end of the table. Dwayne looked to the right quickly and saw Portman in his wheelchair. He still hadn't gotten over the shock of it. Just three years ago he had been totally intimidated by the large, bulky boy who inflicted bad music on his ears and poundings on his muscles. Now, what was the worst he could do? Run him over? He shouldn't be thinking that, it wasn't very kind at all.
"Nothing Portman, just go away, alright?" Julie whispered. What was with her? Things were strange and confusing.
Dwayne didn't want to be disrespectful, and butting in was no exception, but he had no idea what was going on, "Howdy Portman, watcha doing over here in the library?"
"I'm allowed to be in the library, aren't I, cowboy?" Dean snapped at him. Typical Portman behavior.
Dwayne just nodded.
"What's wrong with Julie?" Portman asked. "What's with the cut, Jules?"
"Nothing is WRONG!" Julie said, slamming her book shut and standing up. She walked self-consciously out of the library, trying to cover up her arm with her sleeve as fast as she could.
"God, what's wrong with her?" Portman hissed, reversing his direction so he could turn around.
Dwayne thought it very apparent, "Nothing," he said.
"Shut up, Dwayne," he said, rolling away.
Dwayne sighed; it was amazing the effect Portman had on people. He did the polite thing and waved to him as Portman left the library. No wave was returned. "Okay, I'll see ya'll later then," Dwayne sighed, returning to his book.
Portman rolled down the hallway quickly, trying to catch up with Julie. It wasn't that hard, she was weighted down by all of her books. "Hey, Jules, what's up?" he called, trying to sound friendly.
She did a double-take before slowing down and allowing him to roll beside her. "Nothing, Portman," she said, her eyes downcast at the floor.
"You know you're going to run into a wall if you keep walking like that?" he joked, hoping she'd laugh. He hadn't heard her laugh since he arrived at the airport, it was sort of depressing.
"Thanks for the warning," she mumbled, looking up slightly.
"So, where are you headed?" he asked patiently. Wherever she was going, he was going to make an excuse to follow her. He had spent a lot of time with all of his other teammates, trying to re-discover them in a sense (he had taken Julie's angry words seriously), but he hadn't spent time with Julie. She kept making excuses to go to the library or her room or somewhere where she couldn't be bothered.
"Oh, no place special, maybe the rink or…" she trailed off; making it apparent that she could no longer hear or see Dean. She shook herself physically and stuttered, "Maybe I'll just go back to my dorm, nice and safe, I mean quiet," she corrected herself hastily.
"Good, I'll come with you," he announced.
"No, you'd better not," she said, rubbing the place where her cut was under her sleeve. "Ada...I mean, Connie might get mad, you know how she likes her privacy," she shrugged, stopping in front of her door.
"Connie's somewhere with Guy arguing," Dean said, opening the door and heading into her room.
She stepped in behind him awkwardly; he knew she was very uncomfortable. "Listen, you can't stay, okay?" she said quickly, shutting and locking the door behind her.
Julie was acting extra-freaked out, it almost scared him. Julie never locked doors, was she trying to hide him? "Okay, okay, I just wanted to talk to you, Julie," Dean shrugged, watching her make her way over to her bed.
When he had finished his sentence, Julie stood rigid in the middle of the floor, only a footstep away from her bed. "Fulton told you, didn't he?" she asked, on the verge of tears. "That creep, he told you!" she whispered, throwing herself down on her bed. "It was supposed to be MY secret, no one was supposed to know!" she cried softly into her pillow.
"Whoa, Fulton didn't tell me what?" Portman said, wheeling himself over to her side of the room, right next to her bed where she laid with her head facing the other way, refusing to look at him. His heart was going at a faster pace than it normally was and his hands were trembling for some odd reason.
"What, he didn't? You don't know about…," Julie said, wiping a tear away.
"Know about what? What's such a secret? Is it something bad?" he asked, reaching out to touch her hair. He had no idea what he was doing.
She side-swiped his hand away from her head, "Nothing, it's nothing, I can deal with it."
Portman gaped at her, what in the world was going on in her head? Julie Gaffney, where did she go? There was a prolonged pause that hung in the air; he was trying to come up with something to say. Was he supposed to just drop the subject? Or add on to it? What?
Before he had time to say anything, Julie's arms were wrapped around his shoulders, clinging to him. What had just happened? Apparently he had just done something good. It felt good to have Julie in his arms, she smelled like lavender. It took him an awkward second to figure out that he should hug her back.
It felt wonderful to Julie; it was like being swept away from it all, all the problems. She didn't hurt, she was protected. This was a feeling Fulton had never given her, but Fulton felt more like her brother. Dean didn't. She grasped more tightly.
"I'm really glad you're back," she whispered.
"You're glad, I'm glad!" Portman smiled, releasing her. "Good night," he said, wheeling backwards toward the door.
She gave him a strong smile, "Night Dean," she said, waving a little.
He left with the imprint of her smile stamped on the middle of his cranium.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVEIWS!!!
"Jesus H. Christ! We gotta get up! I've got a paper to write!" was the first thing Portman heard that morning. He groaned and turned to squint at his alarm clock. The flashing lights read, "10:00 a.m."
"You need to chill, it's only a paper," Portman shrugged, running hand through his greasy hair. He needed to take a shower very badly.
"JUST A PAPER?" Fulton screamed at him. Fulton had gone on 'hyper' mode that morning, "Just a PAPER?" he screamed again, racing to jam his notebook into already-overcrowded school bag. "That PAPER is going to have to get me an A plus to pass Science!" he yelled, putting a pen in his mouth. Fulton started rooting through his desk.
"Remind me to never let you drink coffee again," Portman said, grabbing a handle on his chair and pulling it to him. When he hadn't managed the task of actually getting himself into it by himself, he recruited the help of Fulton. "Dude, will you hold my chair still for me?" he said, watching Fulton pull a shirt over his head.
"Isn't that why they put brakes on it?" he called from the bathroom.
"Fine! I don't need your help!" Dean said with a sudden burst of anger. Couldn't his best friend understand?
"Damn!" he heard Fulton curse from the bathroom.
"What's wrong?" he said, trying to pull himself into his chair again.
Fulton walked out of the bathroom, a line of thick, oozing, blue ink dripping from the side of his mouth onto his shirt. Then he turned and walked out the door, forgetting his things.
Portman couldn't help but laugh. Fulton was so pathetic at times.
It took him an hour and a half to get in and out of the shower, so by the time he was dressed and ready to go eat breakfast; it was already time for lunch. He rolled down the corridor, stopping to grin at girls and hi-five his fellow teammates. "Good luck with your game on Tuesday," he had said to Guy.
He had shrugged, "We only have to more days to practice and it's getting us nowhere, I wish you were still on the team," he had said honestly.
Portman thought that Guy had just stabbed him through the heart. Didn't he know that he would give anything to play? He would've killed to play, strangled everyone within a fifty-mile radius in a heartbeat. He felt his face going red with frustration, "Yeah, well, I'll see you," he said, rolling off. What a great way to start a morning off…having one of his friends shove the best thing in his life, the only thing he couldn't have, right in his face.
"Bye!" Guy called after him, clearly unaffected. Dean decided to skip lunch altogether.
Dwayne sat right across the table from Julie in the library, trying to get through a book on physics. It was hard, but he had gotten through some of the tough parts to the amazement of everyone else. He wasn't THAT dumb. He sighed and closed his book, giving up. No one should have to study on a Sunday - or ever. He looked over at Julie and noticed a fresh scar on her arm.
"Ow, that looks like a doozy of a cut," he commented.
Julie threw her head up to look at him with surprise. She glanced at her arm and tried to hide it under the table, "It's no big deal," she said quietly.
"No, here let me see it, I've gotten my share of them when I was trying to help with the birthing of the cows," he said, extending his hand, expecting for Julie to hand her arm over for closer inspection.
"No, it's no big deal, really Dwayne," she said more loudly that time.
"What's no big deal?" a booming voice called to them at the end of the table. Dwayne looked to the right quickly and saw Portman in his wheelchair. He still hadn't gotten over the shock of it. Just three years ago he had been totally intimidated by the large, bulky boy who inflicted bad music on his ears and poundings on his muscles. Now, what was the worst he could do? Run him over? He shouldn't be thinking that, it wasn't very kind at all.
"Nothing Portman, just go away, alright?" Julie whispered. What was with her? Things were strange and confusing.
Dwayne didn't want to be disrespectful, and butting in was no exception, but he had no idea what was going on, "Howdy Portman, watcha doing over here in the library?"
"I'm allowed to be in the library, aren't I, cowboy?" Dean snapped at him. Typical Portman behavior.
Dwayne just nodded.
"What's wrong with Julie?" Portman asked. "What's with the cut, Jules?"
"Nothing is WRONG!" Julie said, slamming her book shut and standing up. She walked self-consciously out of the library, trying to cover up her arm with her sleeve as fast as she could.
"God, what's wrong with her?" Portman hissed, reversing his direction so he could turn around.
Dwayne thought it very apparent, "Nothing," he said.
"Shut up, Dwayne," he said, rolling away.
Dwayne sighed; it was amazing the effect Portman had on people. He did the polite thing and waved to him as Portman left the library. No wave was returned. "Okay, I'll see ya'll later then," Dwayne sighed, returning to his book.
Portman rolled down the hallway quickly, trying to catch up with Julie. It wasn't that hard, she was weighted down by all of her books. "Hey, Jules, what's up?" he called, trying to sound friendly.
She did a double-take before slowing down and allowing him to roll beside her. "Nothing, Portman," she said, her eyes downcast at the floor.
"You know you're going to run into a wall if you keep walking like that?" he joked, hoping she'd laugh. He hadn't heard her laugh since he arrived at the airport, it was sort of depressing.
"Thanks for the warning," she mumbled, looking up slightly.
"So, where are you headed?" he asked patiently. Wherever she was going, he was going to make an excuse to follow her. He had spent a lot of time with all of his other teammates, trying to re-discover them in a sense (he had taken Julie's angry words seriously), but he hadn't spent time with Julie. She kept making excuses to go to the library or her room or somewhere where she couldn't be bothered.
"Oh, no place special, maybe the rink or…" she trailed off; making it apparent that she could no longer hear or see Dean. She shook herself physically and stuttered, "Maybe I'll just go back to my dorm, nice and safe, I mean quiet," she corrected herself hastily.
"Good, I'll come with you," he announced.
"No, you'd better not," she said, rubbing the place where her cut was under her sleeve. "Ada...I mean, Connie might get mad, you know how she likes her privacy," she shrugged, stopping in front of her door.
"Connie's somewhere with Guy arguing," Dean said, opening the door and heading into her room.
She stepped in behind him awkwardly; he knew she was very uncomfortable. "Listen, you can't stay, okay?" she said quickly, shutting and locking the door behind her.
Julie was acting extra-freaked out, it almost scared him. Julie never locked doors, was she trying to hide him? "Okay, okay, I just wanted to talk to you, Julie," Dean shrugged, watching her make her way over to her bed.
When he had finished his sentence, Julie stood rigid in the middle of the floor, only a footstep away from her bed. "Fulton told you, didn't he?" she asked, on the verge of tears. "That creep, he told you!" she whispered, throwing herself down on her bed. "It was supposed to be MY secret, no one was supposed to know!" she cried softly into her pillow.
"Whoa, Fulton didn't tell me what?" Portman said, wheeling himself over to her side of the room, right next to her bed where she laid with her head facing the other way, refusing to look at him. His heart was going at a faster pace than it normally was and his hands were trembling for some odd reason.
"What, he didn't? You don't know about…," Julie said, wiping a tear away.
"Know about what? What's such a secret? Is it something bad?" he asked, reaching out to touch her hair. He had no idea what he was doing.
She side-swiped his hand away from her head, "Nothing, it's nothing, I can deal with it."
Portman gaped at her, what in the world was going on in her head? Julie Gaffney, where did she go? There was a prolonged pause that hung in the air; he was trying to come up with something to say. Was he supposed to just drop the subject? Or add on to it? What?
Before he had time to say anything, Julie's arms were wrapped around his shoulders, clinging to him. What had just happened? Apparently he had just done something good. It felt good to have Julie in his arms, she smelled like lavender. It took him an awkward second to figure out that he should hug her back.
It felt wonderful to Julie; it was like being swept away from it all, all the problems. She didn't hurt, she was protected. This was a feeling Fulton had never given her, but Fulton felt more like her brother. Dean didn't. She grasped more tightly.
"I'm really glad you're back," she whispered.
"You're glad, I'm glad!" Portman smiled, releasing her. "Good night," he said, wheeling backwards toward the door.
She gave him a strong smile, "Night Dean," she said, waving a little.
He left with the imprint of her smile stamped on the middle of his cranium.