Boss Teal: Yes sir, but there were some complications with Soph, so I had to retype it in way where Soph wasn't involved

Flenners fanfics: Probably because I'm uploading the first chapter for the second time, there were some… complications with the first

Not Ponytails or Cottontails: LMAO, it's better not to ask

Lilbree: Yeah, I was worried a lot of people wouldn't care for it now that Soph has removed her name from it, but there's a swarm of support, so thank you, this review made me really happy :)

Imagine Coldplay: LMAO, I love your username! And thank you :)

Enjoy chapter 2!

ooo

3 Years Ago…

The gang had all come home to McDuck Manor for Winter Break, and Webby had decided to bring Max along with them. Sure enough, Max had managed to charm everyone, including Beakley, who was hard to please. Dewey had suggested watching a movie, but he regretted that decision immensely—he already felt like a third wheel with Huey and Violet snuggling on one couch, and Louie and Lena on the other. Webby and Max on the other hand? Well…

"Aren't they just adorable together?" Lena commented dryly, gesturing to the couple currently making out on the couch, obviously not caring much about the PDA.

"I could live without it," Dewey muttered, his vision staying firmly fixed on the movie he was pretending to watch. He didn't need to see them making out. They'd been doing it a lot these last few weeks, and each time cut deeper than the last. Why couldn't he move past this, get over her, and be happy for them?

"Me too," Louie piped up. "Do you really have to do that here?"

Webby pulled away from Max, rolling her eyes as she glared at him.

"As if you and Lena weren't going at it in your bedroom just an hour ago." she pointed out.

Louie blushed, and Webby giggled. Dewey risked looking at her then, trying to ignore how thoroughly kissed she looked, how happy and glowing she was. He watched as Max leaned forward, and murmured something in her ear. Dewey couldn't tear his eyes away as she giggled, nodding, and pressing another firm kiss to Max's willing face.

They both abruptly stood up, Max's arm around her waist.

"Fine, we'll do it somewhere else," Webby naughtily smiled as the pair made their way to the door. "We wanted some privacy anyway."

With that, they left the TV Room, and headed for Webby's bedroom. Dewey swallowed hard, his heart clenching as he tried not to think about what they were going to do upstairs.

"Gross!" Huey pulled a face, just realizing what Webby had implied.

"You guys are just lucky you don't share an apartment with him. Try listening to it through the wall." Dewey muttered, as he tried to refocus on the movie.

"Ew!" Louie protested. "No thanks. It's like hearing my sister doing it!"

"Agreed," Lena piped up. Lena and Webby were roommates, and lived in front of Dewey's and Max's apartment. "Do you find it's weird because it's Webby?" Lena asked nonchalantly, as she took a handful of popcorn. "Like, it's our sweet, innocent Webbigail all grown up. The same girl who loves unicorns and the colour pink. I thought it would be icky when they got together, but honestly, I've gotten used to hearing it, and seeing him in the morning."

Dewey wished it was different for him. Wished it wasn't a big deal. Wished he could move on, and pretend that his crush wasn't getting worse. It made no sense. Webby had plenty of boyfriends, and he'd always managed to keep himself together, push his feelings to the side. But now it was Max? His friend and roommate? Now that he saw them every day—every morning, every evening, and heard them most nights. It was a horrid nightmare he was living, and everyday seemed to get that little bit worse.

"Dewey?" Violet prompted, and he blinked.

"Yeah, 'weird', that's the uh word I was looking for," he murmured.

"Well, if she's happy, we should let it go," Huey muttered, grabbing the popcorn bowl from the table, helping himself to a few handfuls before offering it to Dewey.

He declined, he hadn't had much of an appetite lately.

"So, how's things at the new job, Lena?" Violet asked her sister, who had just landed a job at McDuck Enterprises.

"Meh," Lena shrugged. "It's okay. It's taking a bit of time to get used to it."

"You should treat her, Lou," Huey suggested, grinning. "Surprise her with a nice home-cooked dinner, a hot bubble bath, petals on the cover, and a night full of se—"

"Okay, Huey!" Louie hollered, blushing. "That's enough."

"That doesn't sound so bad." Lena said, snuggling deeper into Louie, making everyone snicker. Louie turned to Dewey for help, and he managed an empathetic smile.

"Especially that last part." Lena added, smirking.

"W-wait… really?" Louie asked her, still skeptical.

"Mhm." she grinned.

"You know what, guys, I think we're done for tonight! We'll see you guys tomorrow." Louie nodded, dragging his girlfriend to his bedroom.

Dewey let out a sigh as they left, and returned his attention back to the film.

"You okay?" Violet asked, noticing his behaviour.

"Yeah," Dewey lied. "I'm just tired."

"If Louie and Lena are going to keep you up, you're welcome to come over to my house. My dads are gone for the weekend. Huey will be there too." Violet offered as she stood up, stretching.

"No thanks, Vi. I'll just sleep on the couch." Dewey murmured.

"Are you sure?" Huey asked his brother.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Alright. Night Dew." Huey nodded, teasingly ruffling up his zoosh, and Dewey swatted it away with a small smile.

"Goodnight, Dewey." Violet added, swiftly kissing his cheek, making him smile.

"Night guys," he laughed softly, watching as they headed out the front door. "And then there was one." he murmured to himself.

Grabbing a pillow, he moved to the couch stretching out and hugging the pillow to him. He swallowed, clutching the soft pillow tighter: it smelled like Webby, which both comforted and mocked him. Of all the people to fall in love with why did it have to be her? And of all the people that she could fall in love with, why did it have to be Max? Dewey sighed at his self-pity. He'd get over it, over her.

He had no choice.

The TV Room door suddenly opened, and in walked Lena. He quickly tried to compose himself, blinking away any tears that were threatening to fall. She came out in her night clothes, heading to grab something in her bag. Dewey smirked when he saw that it was a box of condoms. Lena paused as she took him in.

"You sure you're alright?" she asked.

He nodded quickly. "Sad bit of the film," he lied again, having no idea what was happening in the movie right now.

Lena glanced at the screen, and then back to her friend. "Jim Sterling putting Negaduck in prison is upsetting?"

"What can I say, I'm a deep person," he tried to joke, knowing in reality he was desperately screwed up.

Lena shut her eyes, and purple wisps of magic swirled around him. "The atmosphere around you keeps getting darker," she commented. "I know I'm not Webby, but if you want to talk about anything, you know I'm here for you, right?"

She left the offer hanging, and Dewey tried to look as confused as possible.

"Nothing's wrong, Lena. I'm good, really." he reassured.

She sighed, disappointed, but luckily didn't push it. "Well, the offer still stands, Bluey," she informed him as she stood at the doorway of the TV Room.

"I know, Lena. Thanks." he called.

She seemed satisfied with that answer, and thankfully didn't try to restart the conversation. Instead she bid him goodnight, and softly closed the door. He closed his eyes, annoyed that he was letting this get to him, and even more so that Lena was starting to notice his mood. Sure, she always seemed to pick up on this sort of stuff because of her magic, but he couldn't let her know. She was Webby's roommate, and one of her best friends. No, he couldn't afford for this to get out.

Besides, it was going to pass.

It had to.

With a deep breath he collapsed back onto the couch, lying across it, and tucking his feet under a cushion. Dewey was determined to watch the film, desperate for anything that could distract him from his thoughts. After the film had ended, he squinted at the clock, the tiny digital numbers telling him it was after 2AM. It should've been safe to go to his bedroom, assuming Lena and Louie were finished. He forced his tired limbs from the couch, and shut off the television, before switching off the light, and wandering upstairs.

He quietly opened the door to his old bedroom—it was dark and silent, and he heard both Louie and Lena snoring softly.

Grateful, he used the bathroom. Just as he was about to brush his teeth, he heard them—no, it wasn't Louie or Lena, but Max and Webby.

Dewey squeezed his eyes shut in pain, trying to block out the noise but further sounds came through the wall taunting him. How was he meant to move on when he could hear her in her most intimate moments? He dropped the toothbrush, and scurried back to his own bedroom.

Despite knowing that the tears were finally falling down his cheeks, he ignored them. He grabbed his phone, and placed his earphones over his ears, firmly pressing down on the play button, listening as the song roared to life. He turned it up, pulling the pillow over his head, trying desperately to block out the soul-destroying sounds, and block out his life. It just hurt too much.

He needed to get over this, over her before it killed him, but how? God he wished he knew.

Present Time:

Dewey left the beach, and went in search of some lunch. Lunch was good. Lunch involved thinking, and going somewhere. The best thing was that it guaranteed to take up some of his seemingly endless time. It also gave him something else to concentrate on beside his screwed up past, complete with his stupid mistakes. The memories were only intensifying since he'd returned.

As he walked, the streets started to become more and more familiar. He faltered slightly before sighing heavily. Maybe coming back really hadn't been a good idea, he just wasn't ready. Maybe he could just leave? Give up, pack it all in, and just return… to what though? It wasn't like he had anyone there waiting for him to come home to Cape Suzette

No family.

No girlfriend.

No real friends to occupy his time.

Not like he used to.

Hating that his thoughts had once again gone full circle, he tried to get his focus back on food. Dewey looked around, easily spotting a small sandwich shop, and decided it was as good a place as any to kill an hour or so. Crossing the street, his head still full of doubts and memories, he pushed open the door, not really paying attention to much around him.

"Watch out!" a voice cried desperately.

Too late.

Something hard slammed into him. Dewey flew back—it was as if he had been hit with a ton of metal. When Dewey opened his eyes, however, there was no metal, but a man maybe around his age, rubbing his head. He had grey hair that stuck up all over the place, but Dewey assumed it had been neatly combed up until the impact. He had piercing blue eyes, and thick, defined eyebrows. He wore a clean, light yellow collared shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and khaki dress pants. The business-casual outfit definitely didn't correspond with the ridiculously bright red knee pads, elbow pads, roller skates, and helmet he sported.

"Ever so sorry!" he shouted, hastily kicking off his roller skates, and helping Dewey up. Dewey's arm felt like it was being ripped out its socket—the man had a startling amount of strength despite his thin arms.

"Jeez," Dewey muttered, rubbing his shoulder. "What are you on?"

"Roller skates," he said plainly. Then he frowned. "Oh, you used it in a humorous manner, indicating that I was on a drug, right?"

Dewey stared at him for a moment, before swallowing. "Uhm, right… listen, I'm sorry for getting in your way—"

He vigorously shook his head. "No, no! You were just heading inside the sandwich shop! I'm at fault. I'm really sorry," he apologized again. "Say, uh, let me buy you lunch to make up for it? Please?"

Dewey bit back a retort. "No thank you, I'm all right."

"Please! It's the least I can do." the blue eyed man pleaded.

Dewey glanced at his bruising shoulder, and begrudgingly accepted, "Okay, fine."

"Aww man, look at the queue." the man groaned.

"Are you in a rush to be someplace?" Dewey asked, kind of hoping he was, "If so, you can just give me the money, if you'd prefer…"

"No, no. Rule 87 of the guidebook states that I have to be respectful to others." the man said, like it was obvious.

"Right, of course, what was I thinking?" Dewey muttered under his breath, as they joined the back of the line.

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Dewey rocked back on the balls of his feet. The silence stretched, and soon became awkward—he despised awkward silences. Desperate to make some sort of conversation, he went for an obvious starting point.

"Do you like sports?" he asked lamely.

"Yes, I do. Do you like basketball?" he asked politely.

"Yeah, kind of," Dewey shrugged.

"Kind of?" the guy echoed

"I… uh..." Dewey swallowed, his mind suddenly, and without permission, taking him back to the last basketball game he'd attended.

3 Years Ago

"Yes! Go!" Max shouted, punching his fist in the air with the rest of the home crowd.

Dewey merely faked a smile as the cheers rang through the stadium.

"They're playing awesome tonight!" Huey commented enthusiastically from the other side of him.

"Yeah," Dewey muttered, watching disinterestedly as the ball got bounced, and hurled around the court at a ridiculously high speed.

He hadn't wanted to come here, really hadn't but he'd forced himself to. He needed to keep up the pretense that he was fine, because he would be. Soon. Plus, he'd hoped it might take his mind off things… off her; but he'd been wrong, very wrong. Even his favorite basketball team was failing miserably to raise his spirits. What was wrong with him? He should be getting over this stupid crush by now, and getting into things like this. He usually loved having the chance to see them play, and to hang out with the guys.

"Ah, I can't believe he missed that!" Max complained, and Dewey simply nodded, not even sure who had missed what.

Why couldn't he get into it? He was at a stadium filled with thousands of over excited basketball fans, and yet he wasn't the slightly bit interested, not at all, all he could think about was Webby. Which made no sense, as she didn't even really like basketball. Maybe if they were dating he would have taken her to a game, bought her a sweater, taught her the rules, and no doubt laughed as she tried to keep up. She'd get that competitive gleam in her eye as he teased her, and he'd smile at her, leaning down before placing his lips to hers. And she would smile brightly, kissing back, and…

The buzzer sounded, jolting him out of his inappropriate daydream, and back to reality: the crappy reality where she had chosen the man beside him, the man happily cheering with the rest of the crowd. He sighed, hating that he was still having these kinda thoughts about his roommate's girlfriend. Why couldn't he just move on? Find someone else? It seemed the harder he tried to forget her, the harder it pushed back, and the worse it became.

Why did it have to be her?

"Anyone want a drink?" Max asked, gesturing vaguely towards the direction of the drink stands.

"Sure, beer," Huey nodded.

Both eyes went to Dewey.

"Oh," he blinked. "Uh, yeah same… thanks."

Max threw him an odd look, but thankfully didn't comment as he got up to join the large queues. He'd been getting quite a few odd looks lately. He really had to get over this or at least stop being so…distant, and vacant towards people. It wasn't their fault he was miserable. It wasn't their fault he was so wrapped up in his own pain, and suffering that it felt like it was slowly consuming him, slowly turning him insane. No, none of this was their fault, it was all on his own shoulders, and he had to make more of an effort. Focus.

Maybe if he could act happy, act that he wasn't hurting so much inside, that he'd eventually believe it, and the smiles would become genuine again.

"You okay?" Huey asked, and Dewey winced.

Fuck.

"Yeah, I'm good," he lied. Dewey hated lying to his older brother, he really did but he had no choice. "So," he tried to steer the topic of conversation away from himself. "Are you enjoying the game?"

"Yeah, it's nice doing something just us guys… besides, Lena wanted me to have an ulterior motive behind tonight."

"Really?" Dewey frowned, a little uncomfortable.

He was in no mood for surprises. He was in no mood for anything recently.

"Yeah," Huey lowered his voice, glancing over his shoulder to ensure there was no sign of the other man. "She wanted for all of us to have the 'protective' talk with Max."

"What?" Dewey asked. An uneasy feeling started in the pit of his stomach.

"They've been dating for over a month now, and it seems pretty solid, so I think it's time he knows that he can't mess with her." Huey said sternly.

Dewey's frown deepened as his heart sunk a little. It was going well enough that everyone felt a talk was needed? Didn't that kind of thing wait until marriage or at the very least the bachelor party?

"Isn't it a little too soon?" he tried, desperately not wanting to be thinking about this, not tonight.

"Oh come on, this is Webby. Max might not know it, but she's friends with the wildest, most overprotective people alive. Lena said it's time he knows not to ever mess with Webby."

"Oh…" he replied dumbly, feeling his heart drop.

"Violet thinks it stupid, because she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but it's Webby. We all have to be looking out for each other, and that includes her, right?" Huey continued, oblivious to Dewey's inner turmoil.

"R-right," he swallowed. That had been one of the reasons he'd never tried anything with her in college or high school. Because she was connected. If something ever did happen between Dewey and Webby, his brothers and friends would be watching him like a hawk, making sure he didn't slip up. They'd all, his own brothers included, would all be ready with pitchforks if Dewey ever broke her heart, and vice versa. But, if there hadn't been so much pressure on him, he would have built up the nerve to tell her that she was the most beautiful woman alive.

"Good, I knew you'd be on our side. You're just as protective as I am when it comes to Webby."

Dewey's heart sank further as Huey patted his shoulder.

"Sure," he muttered.

He sighed, one of the reasons he'd agreed to come tonight was because he thought at least there would be no Webby talk. He'd thought Max wouldn't say anything, and there would finally be a whole evening of not talking about her, or not seeing her. He hadn't even considered the possibility that Huey would want to start a conversation about her.

At that moment Max returned, unaware of his fate as he balanced the drinks in his hands, laughing about some guys he'd met. As he talked, Dewey could feel Huey start to fidget beside him. God, was he going to do it here? Now? Dewey didn't want to be sat in the middle of them during a conversation like this. Maybe he could excuse himself, and…

"Max, I uh," Huey cleared his throat, and Dewey grimaced, looking away uncomfortable as he realized he was too late. Trapped. "I wanted to, uh chat to you about Webby."

"Yeah?" he seemed unfazed, nothing ever seemed to faze him; that was another thing Dewey envied about the man. "I'm afraid if you like her, she's already taken," he joked. "Right?" he nudged Dewey, who obediently faked a laugh on cue as Max's words echoed in his mind.

She was taken.

Taken.

So why couldn't he still accept that?

"Look," Huey pursed his lips, continuing unperturbed. "You've been dating for a while now, and I just want you to know that… I mean… just don't hurt her, okay? Or you'll have us to deal with."

"No sweat, I won't hurt her," he easily promised. "Besides, no offense but if I ever screwed her over, which I wouldn't," he added to Huey's pointed look, "But if I did, I'd be way more scared of Webby's revenge than of all of you guys, Lena included."

"Hey!" Huey protested.

Max chuckled. "Come on, man we're friends. You know I'll look after her and treat her right."

Dewey closed his eyes, trying to push down the feelings of unfairness, knowing just how good he would have treated her if he had been given the chance.

"Yeah, I know, and well, she does look really happy." Huey smiled.

"She is."

Dewey tried to block out the conversation. Despite being his friend, and knowing that he should be thrilled, and over the moon about the fact that they were happy, he still wasn't in that place, and desperately didn't want to hear about it. Not tonight. He had to put up with both of them sharing how good it was constantly. He had just wanted one night off.

"In fact," Huey continued, sounding thoughtful. "She looks a lot happier than I've seen her in a long time, hasn't she Dewey?"

He tried to nod.

"She must be this way because of you," Huey concluded.

Dewey really wished he could put his hands over his ears, and start humming, or at the very least run away, screaming. Neither was a plausible option just now.

"Yeah?" Max sounded pleased, "I'm pretty happy too, it's going great between us." Dewey knew that. Hell, he shared a wall. "It's going better than I imagined."

But he hadn't imagined it, not like Dewey had. He hadn't spent nights, years, longing to be with her. The lucky son of a bitch hadn't had to go through any of that, and yet he still got to be with her. It wasn't fair.

"Good, look I'm sorry I said anything," Huey apologized, "I mean you're a good guy, a great guy in fact, and you know what, I couldn't ask for a better guy to date her."

Dewey sat there, trying to ignore the words, ignore what the conversation meant. Ignore the truth, that even his brother agreed she'd picked the right guy. That everyone was happy, and there was no place for him. His eyes snapped open as Huey barged him, leaning over him to slap Max on the shoulders.

"Thanks buddy," his roommate smiled. "I'm glad I have the official seal of approval."

"Who knows, maybe you'll be living with her full time one day," Huey joked, not realizing how much that hurt. How much it ripped this younger brother into two.

Marriage?

Max laughed, "Marriage?" he repeated Dewey's silent thoughts, but in a much more light-hearted tone. "Nah, we aren't stupid enough to get married so young," he teased.

As they laughed around him, Dewey swallowed, trying to shut it all out: the conversation, the pain, the fact that he still couldn't get over the woman. He had to block it all out, forget about it all, and just force himself to concentrate on this game.

Because this would pass, his feelings would pass.

He'd get over Webby, it was just a phase.

This painful horrible time would get easier.

It had to.

Present Time:

"Are you okay?"

Dewey blinked, shaking his head, snapping back to the present to find himself still in the sandwich queue, the roller skating guy frowning at him like he was the weird one.

Crap.

"Sorry, I uh, I was miles away. What were we saying?"

"We were talking about basketball," the man looked at him suspiciously, "Are you sure you're alright? The collision may have disturbed your—"

"I'm alright. About the basketball thing, I used to be a fan of Duckburg actually, went to a fair few games, and stuff," he ensured his mind didn't go back to that last game. "But then I moved to Cape Suzette, and well, there was this one team there that I—"

"You can't just swap teams!" he looked appalled, and Dewey swallowed, taking a step back.

"I still support Duckburg," he held his hands up in defense, "I just haven't seen many games lately, that's all."

"Oh. That's okay then," the man nodded, satisfied as Dewey rolled his eyes. "So, are you back in Duckburg permanently, or are you heading back to Cape Suzette?"

"Back for good it seems," Dewey nodded, still wondering if it was strictly true. There was still the real possibility of his past catching up with him, and he sincerely suspected that if that happened there would be only one outcome. "I just got to find somewhere to live now. Staying in a hotel really isn't my style."

He noticed the guy perk up, and instantly Dewey frowned in response, "What?"

"You're looking for a room?" he suddenly asked, and Dewey nodded cautiously. "I'm actually looking for a roommate at the moment… if you're interested?"

"Really?" Dewey asked.

"Yeah, look why don't we talk over lunch, get to know each other, and if we get on then you can come see the place? It's not too far from here."

Dewey studied him for a moment. Surely it was worth a try, and he had nothing better to do right now.

With a polite smile he nodded, "Okay, sure why not?" he stretched out his hand, "I'm Dewey by the way."

The man smiled back, shaking his hand firmly, "I'm Boyd."

ooo

And there's chapter 2! Hope you guys enjoy this fic! :)

Jordan :D