Disclaimer: Don't own a thing, so sad.
A/N: Hey guys, this chapter is definitely on the angst side. There's the slight sarcasm that Julie has, but it's not the play around type of chapters that this story has. I hope you guys like it, Julie has some serious talk time with Adam, and … Portman! I missed him in the story, so I just had to put him in. Anyway, on to the chapter, and reviews please.
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Off the team. Charlie and Fulton are off the team. Off the team. No matter how many times I say it, I just can't believe it. How are we a team without our captain? How are we a team without Fulton? And without Portman? And without Banks? Suddenly my two favorite boy Ducks were the ones I wanted to punch in the face. Too bad one was too far to physically hurt. But one was right here.
"Adam!" I yelled, banging on their dorm room. Poor Guy. Actually, screw Guy, since he's been hurting Connie lately. Boys. They should all just punch themselves in the face right now. "Open up the-" I yelled, throwing a fist towards the door, Adam's face suddenly appeared in front of it, as he opened it. His eyes grew wider than I've ever seen them, and he backed away, putting a hand in front of his face. Yeah, that's right, be scared. "What do you think you're doing?!" I yelled, my fists clenched, walking towards him.
"Julie?" Guy asked, popping his head out of the covers, eyes barely open and dirty blonde hair all over the place.
"Guy, get out, I have to talk to Banks," I ordered. My poor kids would have to deal with this brutality.
"But Julie-"
I pointed out the door, not taking my glaring eyes off Adam, "Out."
"All right, all right," He mumbled, taking a pillow, and his blanket. "Good luck, man," He said to Adam, who gave him a nod. I turned to look at Guy. He smiled, "Bye, Jules."
"Do you know what you did?" I asked him, my voice quieting down a little, as Guy closed the door behind him. "Charlie and Fulton are gone."
"How is that my fault?" Banks asked, and I had the urge to slap him. But in the back of my mind I was thinking, is it his fault? Too bad, because he's getting my wrath, anyway.
"Did you know about what Varsity was going to do?" I asked, and his face melted in disappointment. "That night, did you know?"
"No," He said sternly. "You know I would never do that to you guys."
"So, why were you playing so hard against Charlie at the game yesterday morning?" I asked, my eyes begging for an excuse, because I wasn't sure if I wanted the truth.
He looked down, "I don't know. I just got so mad that Charlie didn't believe me, and he was just set on thinking that I was against him, that I kind of just exploded."
I shook my head, walking past him, sitting on the bed, "I can't believe what's going on right now." He turned around, and sat next to me, "Look at us, Adam. We're not even a team. No Portman, that jerk for leaving us. No Charlie, he's the captain, what the hell are we supposed to do without a captain? No Fulton to be there and protect us here?" I could feel my eyes start to water. The more I fought, the more it showed, "And you," I looked down, embarrassed, wiping a tear away. "You're not there. We needed you. As much as we thought it was going to be okay with you gone, but we need everyone. We're not the Ducks if all of you guys gone. We need you, Charlie, Portman, and Fulton. If Jesse could come, God, we'd need him to. We need to stick together." I gave one unwanted sob, and put my hands over my eyes. This wasn't happening. I wasn't letting Adam see me breakdown. It's different to breakdown on the phone, than in person. It's also a different story when you're broken up with this person. But he wrapped his arms around me, anyway. He pulled me closer to him, and I wrapped my arms around his body. And there we were. It felt like it was when we first met. It was great. But it wasn't going to last.
We simultaneously let go, and both looked down, "What do we do?"
I shook my head, getting it together. "I don't know," I whispered, and he put an arm around me. And we sat there. In silence. For an hour, with his arm around me. Both of us thinking on what we could do. But in that hour, we found nothing.
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"Answer, please," I told myself, with the phone in my hand closely held against my face.
"Hello?" He answered, and my back straightened sitting on the edge of my edge.
"Portman!" I yelled.
I could hear the smile on his face, "Hey Jules, how's it goin?"
"You jerk!" I yelled, suddenly changing the tone of the conversation. "How could you not come? Now Fulton and Charlie are gone. It's your entire fault." I really was blaming everyone around me.
He was silent. Oops. He may have taken it seriously, when I already knew that he was feeling bad about it.
"Portman," I started, "I didn't mean-"
"I know," He mumbled. "It's okay."
You're a great friend, Julie.
"I'm sorry. It's just so much is going here, and I just don't know what to do anymore," I whispered, and Portman stayed silent. "What do you think I should do?"
He sighed, "What can you do?" He asked back, and I frowned. He was right.
What could I possibly do right now to fix all of this? How could I get Charlie and Fulton back? How could I reunite the team? How do I get Adam back on the team? How do I convince myself that I'm not still hung up on him? This was way too much, even for me. Too much run away from.
"You're Ducks, Gaffney." Portman said, louder, serious, and more confident. "It'll be okay, I promise."
I smiled a little. An assertive Portman, I miss that. "You sure?"
"Positive," He said, and I knew he was grinning. "Just keep your head up, keep strong for the team, okay?"
"Okay," I replied, lying back onto the bed. I let the silence marinate a little, and then confessed, "I freaked out on Adam today. Guy, a little bit too. I mean… Freaked.Out. Then I freaked him out even more by crying like a little girl."
"Did he hold you?" He asked, with a 'hah'.
I scrunched my nose, hating that he knew without me telling him, "Yeah."
He laughed louder. Yeah, just rub in the fact that you know what goes on just by knowing us too well, "Still the old Banks."
I gulped, "You really think he's the same Banks?"
"Well, I'm not there, so I'm not positive," He said, pausing. "But he's definitely in there somewhere. I mean, you can't be as dorky and awkward as he was, and it just go away. You're little weirdo is still in there somewhere. Now he's just a boy your rich parents would approve of, and covered in red and black."
"Red and white," I corrected.
"Yeah, whatever, same difference," He said, quickly. White and Black. Ah. Yes, the similarities.
"I miss you so much, Port. Please come here," I asked, sitting up, hoping I would hear an 'Oh yes, Julie, I'll pack my stuff right now, get on a plane, and beat the crap out of all of Varsity guys. See you in a few hours.'
"Julie," He groaned, in annoyance.
"I know, I know," I mumbled. "I'm just saying. I'm gonna keep asking until I see your ass in this school. Just wanted you to know."
He laughed, "Okay." He sighed, and I could tell he was rolling his eyes, "Miss you too, Gaffney."
Maybe if I jumped out of the third story window, the Ducks would come a runnin'. We'll call that 'Plan B.'