Chapter Title: Defining the Word Friends

AN: I just realized that I made the last chapter sound like that they would never see each other again. I'm sorry so sappy, but obviously I did something right if you liked it. That happened at my high school graduation too. I didn't know when I would see most of my friends again. So yeah it was a little emotional.

Charlie stared out the window watching Connie skate down the street. She had been going up and down the street pausing out front of his apartment for half an hour. Sometimes she could be really subtle. He grabbed his skates then made his way outside. Connie was coming back up the street when he met up with her. She smiled at him before putting her head on his shoulder. They skated in silence through the neighborhood. He had always been there for her. It didn't help that it had always made Guy jealous when she would tell Charlie things about their relationship. The three of them had known each other since preschool. Fulton and Jesse couldn't even say that. It also didn't help that Connie was constantly putting Charlie between her and Guy when the fought. But Charlie wouldn't give it up for anything in the world. His best friends meant the world to him.

"He still hasn't called." Connie said breaking the silence.

"Maybe that's a good thing. Take some time to just be yourself. You've been 'Connie, Guys girlfriend' for six years." He said trying to reason with her.

"Maybe you're right. I mean, it was good while it lasted."

"And who says it won't happen again?"

"I'll never date him again. We both know that." She said taking her head off of his shoulder to look up at him.

"I don't mean with Guy. You could meet some guy tomorrow and fall in love with him."

"It's nice to think about. But it sucks ya know? He's all I've ever known."

"I know." Charlie said draping an arm over her shoulders.

They fell back into silence again as they skated down Main Street. They saw Goldberg sweeping out front of his parents Deli and he waved as they passed him. They waved back not saying anything. They had always been like this, always comfortable with the silence. Connie didn't have to explain herself to Charlie. And he knew she would except that he would rather just be with her than talk. They would eventually tell each other what was wrong. No one else understood that.

XXXX

Julie was bored. After her first week back everything had gone back to normal. Her dad was hardly at home. He meant well, but he was never there when she needed him. Her mom had died when she was a baby, so it had always been her dad, her brother Jason and her. She was used to it, but she wished she had someone to talk to. Being in the house alone was starting to get old. Her dad had suggested that she go out with friends. But most of them of them had plans of their own. And she wasn't as close to them as she used to be. She logged on to her computer to check her e-mail when she heard the ping that someone was instant messaging her.

HockeyStud21: Jules!

GoalieBabe83: Hey buddy! I haven't heard from you.

HockeyStud21: Yeah, well I haven't heard from you either.

GoalieBabe83: True, how have you been?

HockeyStud21: Bored. I miss you already.

GoalieBabe83: Aww, back at cha. Thanks for the earrings btw.

HockeyStud21: You like them?

GoalieBabe83: I love them! But you didn't have to get me anything.

HockeyStud21: I wanted to. Listen, I've gotta go. But I'll call you later.

GoalieBabe83: Okay, ttyl.

Julie smiled as she closed her IM screen. She was glad she had talked to him. He was the only one she hadn't talked to yet. She had talked to Fulton three times yesterday. And she had talked to Jesse minutes before she talked to Portman. She sighed plopping down on her bed. She wished she talk to him in person, she didn't like being away from him. She didn't know when it happened, but it had.

XXXX

Portman had been putting off talking to Julie for a reason. He always hated telling her goodbye. Even when they were in school he would wait until the last minute before lights out to leave her room. Her opinion on things mattered. He always took what she had to say to heart. Just like with Fulton, but with Julie it was different. He couldn't explain it. They were so much alike, they had both lost a parent at a early age. He hadn't taken losing his dad easy. Granted he wasn't as young as Julie was when her mom died, but he still dealt with all the stress she had to. He became the man of the house at thirteen. He had held off going to Eden Hall because his mom was having trouble with his brother and sister. He always worried about them; he would be the last person to admit that though. He had a reputation to protect.

He knew he was being stupid and he needed to tell her what was going on. But he didn't deal with rejection well. No girl had ever rejected him. But there was a first time for everything. His phone rang breaking him from his thoughts. He grabbed running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah?"

"Hey man."

"Fulton."

"I just talked to Julie."

"Yeah? What did she have to say?"

"That you haven't called her. But that you talked on the computer."

"If you have something to say just spit out man." Portman said knowing where this was going.

"You need to tell her."

"I do not, I don't like her like that."

"Yes you do, stop lying."

"I'm not!" Portman sighed, he knew his best friend was right.

"Do I need to knock some sense into you?" Fulton asked when he heard a sigh.

"You can't take me on. I know you're not that crazy." Portman said laughing.

"Don't change the subject. You need to be honest with her."

"I know. I just don't know how to tell her."

"I thought you were getting somewhere when you gave her the earrings."

"You know about those?" Portman asked letting it sink in.

"I saw you give her the box. Then I asked if I could see them. I didn't tell her what they were."

"It would easier if she were here." He said flopping down on the couch.

"Nothing in life is easy." Fulton said before he heard a grunt.

Portman pulled his six-year-old brother off of him. The little boy ran away laughing. He got off the phone with Fulton a few minutes later. He hated it when Fulton was right, and he always was.

XXXX

Charlie was at the skate shop working when Connie came in. She hoped up on the counter and looked down at him.

"You want some help?"

"Yeah. Jess was supposed to come in. But he called in at the last minute." Charlie said not looking up from the blade sharpener.

"I'm not using that." Connie said pointing to the machine Charlie was using.

"I don't expect you to. You can set up the display. We got a new shipment of sticks in yesterday." He said over his shoulder.

They worked in silence until the bell above the door rang. Charlie looked up to see Guy come in.

"Jesse called and asked me to take his shift." He said stopping just inside the door.

"I've got it taken care of." Charlie waving him off.

Guy still hadn't seen Connie yet. She had ducked behind a shelf so he wouldn't see her.

"You sure?" Guy said walking up to the counter.

"Yeah, I'll call you if I need you." Charlie said nodding his head.

Connie let out a sigh of relief when he left. She got out of her hiding place as Charlie started clucking like a chicken. She threw a puck at him and he ducked at the last second. He laughed as she climbed over the counter.

"Thanks Charlie." She said hugging him.

"What would you have done if I had told him he could stay?"

"I would have snuck out the side door." Connie said laughing.

Charlie shook his head as he held onto her. He didn't know what he would do without her sometimes. He depended on her just as much as she depended on him. When he had broken up with Linda the year before Connie was the one who had been there for him. The rest of team hadn't known what to do when they found out Linda had cheated on him. Not even Adam and Russ could get through to him. But Connie had been persistent, she never gave up on Charlie. And then one night he had broken down and cried for half an hour while Connie held him and rubbed his back. She had never told anyone. It wasn't their business, that's how she saw it.

He knew she would be okay, once the shock wore off. He didn't plan on leaving her alone with Guy anytime soon. The poor guy would probably end up dead if that happened.

XXXX

Later that night Julie was watching TV when the phone rang. She looked at the Caller ID and smiled when she saw Portman's number.

"What Dean?" She said knowing he hated being called that.

"You are one of the only people that can get away with that." He said knowing she could call him 'asshole' and he would still answer. But she never would.

"So do you have a reason for calling?"

"I can't call just to talk to you?"

"I guess." She said smiling.

"What are you doing?"

"Absolutely nothing." She said turning off the TV with a sigh.

"You alone again?"

"Yeah."

"It's better than babysitting." He said as his brother threw a ball at his head.

"I feel so bad for you." She said laughing.

"Liar." He said smiling.

"Okay yeah, I don't." She said teasing him.

"Thanks a lot!" He said sounding hurt.

"Aww, poor Portman has to baby-sit his kid brother. Where's Hannah?"

"On a date. I don't like the guy either."

"You never like any of her boyfriends. It's the brother thing. Jason has never liked any of my boyfriends either."

"He didn't like Scooter? He was a total brown noser, he even reminded me of Jason."

"That's why Jason didn't like him." Julie said rolling his eyes.

"You need to date a guy you know he'll hate. Just to make him freak out."

"A guy like you?" She asked teasing him again.

"What's wrong with me!" He asked laughing.

"Nothing, he actually likes you."

"See, Jason doesn't hate everybody." He said being serious.

"It's late here, I'm gonna go to bed. I'll talk to you tomorrow okay?"

"Yeah, get some sleep."

"I'm gonna try."

"Night Catlady."

"Night Port." She said yawning.

She hung up the phone with a sigh. She hated cutting him off like that. But the conversation was getting too real for her. She wished he was there for the fifth time that day. She walked into her room and got ready for bed. She drifted off to sleep thinking of a certain tall, dark haired, very good-looking enforcer.

XXXX

Connie helped Charlie clean up after the shop closed. She didn't want to be alone, but yet she wasn't ready to talk. She knew Charlie would understand that. They walked home without saying a word. They stopped in front of her house and Charlie turned to her. He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck wondering why he was being so nice. If it had been anyone else he would have told them to go somewhere else.

"Why are you being so nice?"

"Because you need me." He said looking down at her.

"You're not like this with anyone else."

"I haven't known them as long as I've known you."

"Thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. Call me if you need anything."

"I will." She said nodding.

"G'night."

"'Night Charlie." Connie said before pulling away.

Charlie watched as Connie walked up the stairs. She stopped just before she opened the door and looked over her shoulder at him. She gave him a small wave before opening the door. He smiled at her just before she walked inside. He made his way down the street with his hands in his pockets. No one had ever understood their friendship. He had known her the longest, and since they lived so close to each other they had never gone a day without seeing each other. He could remember walking to school with her when they were kids. They would laugh and joke and pick on each other relentlessly. They still did that, but not as much as they used to.

AN2: I'm really bad about IMing people. Everybody thinks I'm weird for not using the lingo and everything. I do, but I have serious issues with using the letter u for the word you. I always type it out. And I've never understood the whole 'l8er' thing. But I don't mind if people use them. It's just a habit of mine. I do use some of them though. Let me know what you think. BTW I know Julie's jersey number isn't 83. I used the used the year I'm guessing she was born. I didn't want to confuse you guys.