Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Explanation

I sat in stunned silence as I stared back at Julie. I glanced over at Adam and he was as stunned as I was. "Are my eyes deceiving me?" I asked, wanting to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

"If your eyes are, then so are mine," Adam told me. "How is this possible?"

"I don't know," I answered as Julie skated towards where we were sitting.

"Gunnar," she smiled. Oh how I have missed that smile. "I thought you were dead."

"We thought you were dead," Adam voiced.

"Yeah, I guess I have some explaining to do," Julie sighed. "Let me get changed and I promise I'll tell you guys everything."

Adam and I sat in silence as we waited for Julie to emerge from the locker room. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally did.

"Let me just start by saying that none of this was my idea. I didn't want to leave Minnesota. I didn't have a choice in the matter." Julie explained.

"What happened?" I asked.

"After you left my room, three masked me broke in and attacked me. They tied me to a chair so I couldn't move." She looked up at me. "All I heard about was how you disappointed them and how I helped you do that. They spat at me and called me vulgar names. Once their verbal assault was over, they stabbed me in the gut with a knife. Eventually, I blacked out and I guess they left, thinking I was dead."

Tears rolled down my eyes as I listened to her story. I never should have left her alone that night. "How did you survive?"

"Honestly, I don't know. My parents tell it like this. The police arrived at the dorm and called my parents. My parents wanted me away from the mess, so they asked the police to tell everyone that I had died. Apparently, I was taken to the Emergency Room and the doctors were barely able to save my life. Once I had been stabilized, my parents requested that I be transferred to a hospital back home. Their request was granted." Julie told us. "When I woke up, my parents were hovering over me. They told me what happened and ordered me not to try and get in touch with anyone. They told me it was too dangerous and that I had been placed into some kind of witness protection. I thought it was all BS. Anyway, my parents told me that you were dead and that if I tried to contact the ducks, the safety of the entire family would be put in jeopardy." She was now crying. "Why would they lie about you being dead?"

"I'm sure they were just trying to protect you." Adam told her.

"I'm sorry," I wiped the tears from her face. "This is all my fault. If it weren't for my father….."

"You're father?" She questioned, cutting me off.

"Yeah, he was one of your attackers." I told her, "along with Coach Wilson and the officer who helped me come to Eden Hall."

"Your own father was trying to kill you?" She asked, stunned.

"Fucked up, right?" I asked. "I never should have put you in harm's way."

She grabbed my hand. "I knew the danger. It was my decision to stick by you. Anyways, they already had it out for me for making that save. Besides, I was falling in love with you."

I smiled at her. She hadn't changed a bit. She was still the most beautiful girl I had ever laid my eyes on. "I should get going. I'm supposed to meet Vanessa. This is getting a little to mushy for me anyways." Oh, Banks is still here. "I'm glad you're alive Jules." Adam kissed her cheek and ran off to find Vanessa.

"You were falling in love with me?" I asked, giving her what had to be my goofiest grin.

"Yeah, I was," she sat down next to me. "There hasn't been a day that's gone by that I haven't thought about you."

"I've thought about you everyday too." I admitted. "I always wondered what I could have done to save you."

"You did everything could. You cared about me and that's what mattered most." Julie smiled at me. Have I mentioned how much I've missed that?

"Do you have any idea how much I've missed you?" I asked her.

"If it's as much as I've missed you, then yeah, I have some idea." Julie squeezed my hand. "Maybe we should get together and catch up. You're not seeing anyone are you?"

"No, the only one I want to see is you," I told her. "So, will it be like a date?" Please let it be a date. My stalkers are gone and we could have a chance at happiness this time.

"Meet me here at seven," she kissed me on the cheek and got up to leave.

"Sweet," I smiled to myself.

"Scooter," she turned back towards me. "It's a date," she told me before walking off.

Tell me what you think. I need some ideas on what they should do on their date.