Once again thanks to all of you who continue to read. It means a lot. A chapter with the same number as Connie's jersey, and one that she is mentioned by name only once but appears more than once.

Chapter 18: End of the Year

Monday was a very long day with most of their teachers reviewing for their upcoming exams. Exams that would take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, then they had until Saturday to pack up and leave. After classes, the Ducks headed to the locker room to pack up their stuff. "I hate to say this, but I'm going to miss this place," Julie said.

"Miss it? Julie, we still have two days of school left," Charlie said, looking up from the bag he was packing.

"I meant the locker room. We've had such good times in here. Plus it's nice to have an open ice rink we can use at any time," Julie said wistfully.

"We're going to be juniors next year and some of us will never use this locker room again," Connie added.

"You know what we should do?" Lizzy asked after a moment of silence. "We should all go skating. Right now. One last time before we're bogged down with exams and packing and leaving. A last hurrah." As she looked around the locker room, everyone was smiling and nodding. Soon skates were laced, jackets or jerseys were pulled on and they followed the old familiar path to the ice.

Tuesday, Lizzy woke up stressed. Exams. The last thing she wanted to deal with, especially since she felt like she hadn't studied enough. Just as she was looking for something to wear, there was a knock on her door. Lizzy sighed but walked to the door and pulled it open. To her surprise, Fulton was standing there. "I know that you're worried about your exams, even though you've probably studied harder than anyone else, so I brought you a good luck charm," Fulton said.

"Good luck charm?" Lizzy asked. She took the black cloth from his hands and unrolled it. Fulton pushed her back into her room and mostly shut the door. "A black Nirvana t-shirt? How is that good luck?"

"Smell it, genius. 4.2 GPA my butt," Fulton scoffed.

Lizzy held it to her nose and inhaled deeply. "This smells like ..." Lizzy swallowed hard. "Like Port."

"I know you've been sleeping in his t-shirts and I can understand why. You miss him. I get that too. You were in love with him, might still be. There's nothing wrong with that. Just get dressed. I'll see you at breakfast."

Lizzy smiled and Fulton left the room. She walked back over to her dresser and dug through it until she found the perfect shirt. A tank top that read "Don't mess with the best!" with a picture of the Texas flag on it. Over that she pulled on the black Nirvana t-shirt then one of Matt's Detroit jerseys. After that she headed to breakfast. Lizzy felt really good all day and attributed it to the fact that she was wearing t-shirts from both Portman and Dwayne. They were like a good luck charm. Fulton had been right. Wednesday felt much of same though this time she chose her old high school's tank top and Fulton's red, white, and blue Hendricks' hockey, Team U.S.A. jersey with the sleeves rolled up.

Aly sat down beside her at breakfast. "Nice jersey," Aly said.

Lizzy slowly looked up from her breakfast and over at the girl, hoping she wasn't too upset. She honestly couldn't tell. "Uh ..." Lizzy trailed off speechless.

A tray came down across from them and they both looked. "Wait, why are you—" Fulton motioned between the pair looking as speechless as Lizzy felt.

"You get my point dude?" Portman asked as he sat down next to Lizzy.

"Your point?" Lizzy asked, turning her attention to Portman. "What did you have a point about?"

"For the past couple of weeks or so, since I met Aly really, I've maintained that the two of you could be twins front the back or from a distance from the front. He's always disagreed, stating you two look nothing alike. Since you were already seated when we paid for breakfast, I asked him to prove it by telling me which was which. He got it backwards," Portman explained.

"How was I supposed to know that my best friend had my team U.S.A. jersey and not my girlfriend?" Fulton asked.

Lizzy and Aly looked at each other critically. True, they both had long, dark brown hair, but Aly's was a few shades darker, and while they both had a slim build, Lizzy had more muscle from sports. Aly was also taller. "I don't see it," the girls said in unison. Then they turned back to Fulton.

"I get your point, but I'm telling you, they aren't that similar," Fulton said.

"Fult, did you forget you sent me this two years ago?" Lizzy asked, pulling at the jersey.

"Of course not. Aly, are you alright?" Fulton asked, turning to look at his girlfriend as he sat down across from them.

She pursed her lips and looked at Lizzy who slowly looked at her. "I'll say again, nice jersey," Aly said.

Lizzy swallowed hard, noticing the girls face was still unreadable. "How do you do that? That neutral, poker face."

"I have an older brother; it's about thinking about anything but what you really feel."

"What do you want me to say, Aly? That I'm sorry? Fulton's my best friend and I will never, ever apologize for that," Lizzy answered.

"Peacee be noma," Fulton said, asking Lizzy to be nice. He seriously doubted Lizzy would ever intentionally ruin one of his relationships but knew that Lizzy could come off a bit brash and that could hurt his not completely stable relationship with Aly.

"I am," Lizzy answered not taking her eyes off Aly. "I don't expect you to ever understand my relationship with him—"

"But you want me to respect it." Aly narrowed her eyes at Lizzy. Lizzy only stared right back. Though she felt nervous, and really didn't want to ruin a good thing, she couldn't let Aly hurt Fulton. After a moment Aly smiled. "And I do, very much. I know that the two of you have a very deep friendship and the last thing I want to do is come between that. I also know that he will never be any more than your best friend or brother."

"Thank you. You know, if more girls were like you, I'd worry about my team less." Lizzy grinned.

"You two aren't going to fight?" Fulton asked, motioning between the two of them hesitantly.

"Not today," Lizzy said as Aly answered, "not over this."

"Good," Fulton told them.

"That's rare. Your girlfriend and sister not fighting. Dude, I think you should be more worried than you are," Portman threw in.

"How often did I fight with your sister?" Lizzy asked, turning towards the other Bash Brother.

"Well, never, but we should get to class," Portman said as the bell rang. Lizzy rolled her eyes knowing he had just wiggled his way out of whatever he was going to say. The day passed quickly and soon Lizzy was in her room packing. As she did, she realized that she still had like five of Portman's t-shirts. The only way she could think of to give them back was to see if the boys had any shirts she could add to a load of laundry. She didn't want to run them with her stuff and then try to sneak them back and be caught. There wasn't much she could say to explain herself so she went to Fulton's room but found Fulton alone. "Hey Fulton," Lizzy said slowly.

"What's up?"

"Do you have anything that needs to be washed?"

"I'll just have Mom do it later; after I get home," Fulton answered.

"Fulton," Lizzy said carefully, "do you boys have anything, specifically dark, that needs to be washed?"

Fulton sighed as he looked up at her. Seeing the way she was looking at him, he realized exactly why she was asking. "That stuff in the corner, it's got my stuff and his in it. I was about to sort it after I finished this article," Fulton told her, holding up the magazine he was reading.

"Thanks," Lizzy said. She gathered up the clothes, got hers, and then rushed to the laundry room to run a load.

As she came back with the clean ones, she ran into her cousin. They had a short conversation then Lizzy continued to her room. She dropped off her stuff then went to Fulton and Portman's room. This time both boys were in but only Portman was packing. "Tell me again why you're not packing?" Portman said, looking at Fulton who was still reading his magazine.

"Because Dad has the SUV and he's at a game. They aren't coming to get me until tomorrow," Fulton said. "Why are you leaving so soon?"

"Tony is coming home this weekend and my parents want me there for that."

"Hey, boys," Lizzy said, stepping into the room. "I've got some clothes for you. Port, some of your shirts got mixed in and I didn't notice until I was folding them. I hope you don't mind."

"Sure, just put them in the suitcase," Portman said. He took that a lot easier than she had figured.

She did as he asked then put Fulton's on his bed. "Uh, Charlie's having a little get together in his room in about 10 minutes or so. He was hoping we'd all be there."

"We'll be there," Portman promised.

"Good." Lizzy smiled softly then left the room.

"Dude, take my advice. Go after her," Fulton told Portman, looking up from his magazine.

"And do what?" Portman answered, looking expectant.

He turned the chair and looked at his best friend seriously. He could see the answer in Portman's eyes but it was obvious the boy didn't see it. Or just didn't want to act on it. "Tell her how you feel. I know that you both have feelings for each other. Tell her, before you lose her for good."

"I—"

"Do it," Fulton said.

Portman looked at him but took his advice, catching her just outside her room. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked softly.

"Sure, what's up?" Lizzy answered. They entered her room and left the door open a crack. Lizzy looked up at him to see his hazel eyes darting around the room, focusing on anything but her.

"I ... Have you seen my Nirvana t-shirt?"

"The black one?" she asked confused.

"Yeah."

"It was in the wash. So it'd be in your suitcase."

"Okay, thanks." He felt terrible. He had just chickened out. He wasn't sure how to bring it up. He swallowed and turned to leave but found himself hovering by the door as Lizzy stared at his back. He took a deep breath then on a whim, he spun around, strode over to her, and cupped her face. Their eyes connected and sparks flew just like it had the first time they met. Swallowing hard at the notion that maybe he was about to ruing something really good, Portman leaned down and kissed her. Lizzy stood in shock for a moment then responded. She had forgotten how good kissing him had felt. Then the more sensible side of her brain kicked in causing her to pull away. She licked her lips and stared up at him.

"I know that I—that we shouldn't. It may feel right but right now ... I can't," Lizzy said. Her hand still rested on his broad shoulder as she couldn't bring herself to pull it away.

"I know and I will never push you to. I'm not sorry and I don't regret it," he answered.

"I'm going to miss you this summer, Goose."

"I'm going to miss you, too," Portman answered. "Are you coming to the end of summer bonfire?"

"End of summer bonfire?" Lizzy asked slowly.

"Right, you weren't here last year. About a week or two before school starts we spend a couple nights together. The last night we have a big bonfire. It's kinda a tradition we started after the Junior Goodwill Games."

"Where?"

"Last year it was at Julie's place, this year I'm not sure."

"Oh, okay." They stood in brief silence before Portman smiled finally dropping his hands from her face. She felt a shiver at the loss of heat but knew she couldn't mention it.

"We should get to Charlie's room," Portman said. Lizzy nodded and followed him out of the room. When they arrived, they were the last to enter the room. "Let's get this party started."

"Not a party, Port," Adam said.

"Where have you two been?" Charlie asked.

"Packing," Lizzy answered.

He stared at his cousin but because part of him was still afraid of Portman, he moved on. "Before this becomes a teary mess like it does every year, I just wanna say that this was a good year and here's to hoping next year will be just as great," Charlie said.

"Charlie," Russ stated.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up before the pizza gets cold."

"Well, fine you non-sentimental jerks, go ahead and eat. Not like we can stop ya."

"Oh you could, you know were just teasing," Russ told him.

"Yeah, whatever," Charlie said but everyone could tell he wasn't really angry. They all dug in as they reminisced about their year and the times they had.

"A toast," Goldberg said.

"To what?" Charlie asked.

"To us. The Ducks. No matter how far apart we get, we'll always be together spiritually," Goldberg said, lifting his cup.

"Here, here," everyone cheered. Eventually the time grew short and everyone began saying their goodbyes. Like Charlie predicted it turned emotional and teary.

"Before we all go, end-of-summer bonfire will be at Dwayne's this year. I will send you all the info by email at the end of July and you can expect tickets in the mail by early August," Charlie said. No one asked how he was getting the tickets or where they were coming from but no one seemed surprised by the fact.

Before everyone went back to their own rooms to finish packing, Luis and Goldberg pulled Lizzy into the hallway and presented her with a card. Lizzy looked at them curiously but they only watched her. She opened the envelope and found a Thank You card inside. Inside the card were two handwritten messages thanking her for helping Luis with his skating and getting Anna to go out with him and for helping Goldberg get in better shape and his defensive training. Then she noticed the gift card in the card for $50. "Guys," Lizzy said shocked.

"We know that it seems like a lot but we really can't thank you enough for everything you did for us. Plus it's a gift card so you have to use it." Luis told her.

"Think of it this way, you can use it to buy birthday presents for Fulton and Charlie if nothing else," Goldberg added.

"There is always that."

Soon they were saying goodbye and then Lizzy was back in her room packing. Once she finished most of it, she sat down on her bed and watched some TV.

The following day, Fulton helped her finish packing, and then she helped him. Soon her car was packed and the Reeds were helping Fulton move out. She promised to drop by and visit them over the summer. By the time she made it home, it was closing in 8:30 at night. She knew at the very least Ben should be there. However when she walked in the door Ben wasn't the only one on the couch. He was joined by Matt and Seth. Their dad was in a big easy chair.

"Uh, hi," she said confused. Her dad and all three boys turned to look at her.

"Hey kiddo, need some help?" Seth asked.

"What are you all doing here?"

"Spending time with our favorite little sister."

"I'm your only little sister. And Matt, don't you have a game tomorrow? In Dallas?"

"I do, but I wanted to make sure you made it home okay," Matt said.

"Don't you trust me?"

"You're my kid sister and because of that I always see you as a six-year-old little girl excited about hockey and wanting me to teach you everything. I know that you're almost 17 and that you can take care of yourself but you are still little and I want to protect you," Matt answered.

"Thank you." Lizzy stared at him unsure if she actually meant it.

"Now, do you need any help?" Matt asked.

"Not tonight, I parked in the garage so I'll get one of them to help me tomorrow. For tonight, I want to enjoy having three of my brothers home." Lizzy grinned, plopping down between Matt and Seth shoving them both over a bit.

"So tell us about your life. What's new? What's going on?" Matt prodded.

"Nothing. Why do you want to know?" Lizzy asked.

"No reason." Matt shrugged.

Lizzy turned to her other two brothers but they too looked merely curious. "Because if they are focusing on your life then they aren't fighting with each other like they have been all afternoon," Rob answered.

"These guys don't fight. They never fight." Lizzy said in confusion. All of her friends who had older brothers had told her about the fights they had. Even Portman told her about Jeff and Tony fighting.

"Not true. They just don't fight in front of you," Rob said.

"Dad," Matt said. Lizzy could detect a hint of warning in his voice.

"When you were born, Matt promised himself he'd never fight with his brothers in front of his baby sister. When Chris turned 10, Matt brought him in on it. Then Seth and Ben when each of them turned 10. He didn't care if any of them fought with you, they just couldn't fight with each other in front of you."

"Come on, Dad, you didn't have to tell her that," Matt complained.

"You're right. I didn't have to but I did it anyway." Rob grinned and the subject was closed.