Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in this story. I have made every effort to ensure that facts are correct, but I may have inadvertently missed a fact. Some facts may be modified to fit my plot line.
Setting: Two years after high school graduation, the group is ending their second year of college at various universities. The main setting is Chicago with some time spent in Minnesota and Texas. Julie, Connie, and Charlie attend Loyola University in Chicago, and Portman and Fulton attend Texas A&M.
Characters/Ships: Julie/Portman, Guy/Connie, Charlie/Connie, Luis, Fulton, and many other Ducks team members.
And now, on to the story…
Chapter 1: DP9521
In her best Meg Ryan voice, Julie said aloud, "What will DP9521 say today?" The dorm room was empty, but the sun shone through the window, filling the room with bright sunlight; Spring had arrived. The glare on her computer screen was unbearable, so she unplugged her laptop and carried it over to her bed to surf the internet wirelessly. On her screen was a message from Connie, who was most likely in the computer lab.
IceQueenM: Jules, if anyone calls for me, I'll be in around 5. I have to finish up this lab report with my lab group.
Autoresponse from MaineSqueeze: In lab, be back at 3pm – last class of dead week! Finals start Monday!
Julie laughed at Connie's poor attempt to sound cool. The only person that would be calling Connie would be Charlie, and he was at practice for his club hockey team. Closing the first window, Julie found an additional message on her screen.
DP9521: Remember how we were talking about a reunion of sorts after finals? Well, I talked to Fulton and a few others about it, and they are up for it. Will you be on tonight so that we can talk about plans? We could get a group IM going.
Autoresponse from MaineSqueeze: In lab, be back at 3pm – last class of dead week!. Finals start Monday!
Dean Portman… her new IM buddy. Several months previous, he had IMed her out of the blue, saying that he had found her IM name on her facebook . com page. It had been quite a while since she had seen him; there had been a reunion the summer before which he did not attend, but she had seen him at the Goldberg's Christmas party in Minneapolis this past Christmas. Their conversations there had been brief due to Connie's issues with Guy that had required Julie's undivided attention. After the break up of the century was completed, it had been time for Julie to travel back to Maine to be with her family. But now, in late April, she and Portman had been IMing for almost every night in the past two months. Julie found it strangely hard to sleep without an IM conversation with Portman. They even managed to IM each other late at night on the weekends. The IM conversations had not crossed over into telephone calls, but they had taken to text messaging each other on their cell phones. She knew Portman would be out of his room; she knew his class schedule as well as she knew her own. She decided to leave him a message to contact her later.
MaineSqueeze: Hey, I'll be here at my computer all night finishing up a research paper on Vitamin Overdoses. IM me when you get back from class and dinner.
Autoresponse from DP9521: Power hour of English Lit. BB 5:15.
Julie set to work on her research paper for Toxicology. Her major was nursing, and she was finishing up her second year in the Loyola School of Nurising in Chicago. Connie was also studying Nursing at Loyola, and was Julie's roommate in the upper classmen dorms. Charlie also attended Loyola and had taken a liking to Political Science; Law School was in his future. Portman was attending Texas A&M along with Fulton. Portman was studying Business Management but was considering a switch to Sports Management after working with the varsity athletics staff as an internship. Thankfully, he had gotten over his "grunge" period and was starting to act like a responsible adult. Well, sometimes. An IM window popped up just as Julie was beginning the section of her paper discussing iron overdoses.
DP9521: Hey, I got out of lit early. That class makes me want to hurt someone.
MaineSqueeze: Please, not me! I still have to use my hands to finish up this paper for my final exam!
DP9521: I'd never hurt my cat-lady!
MaineSqueeze: J So, about the reunion… dates?
DP9521: How about the first week after finals? That way, you could go home with Connie.
MaineSqueeze: That's going to suck for you though.
DP9521: eh, it's okay. My parents irritate me, and the more I'm out of the house, the better off everyone is. You know that.
DP9521: I'll just fly up to Chi town since I have the ticket already. I'll grab my Camaro and then drive to St. Paul. My finals are over on Wed, so it will be cool.
MaineSqueeze: Mine are over Friday. I'll probably ride with Connie and then catch a flight back to Maine the next Sunday. She and I are putting a bunch of stuff in storage for the summer.
DP9521: Man, it's been months since I've seen you! Have you changed?
MaineSqueeze: I've gotten even hotter than before! jk
DP9521: I'll be the judge of that. Any new pics on your facebook? I've got a couple from the final basketball game of the season.
MaineSqueeze: Yeah, a couple from the ATO frat party we went to last weekend. Connie has them on her facebook.
DP9521: k, hang on.
While Portman checked out her new pictures, she pulled up facebook . com to check out his new pictures. Amazingly, he was wearing a navy blue sport jacket, a tie, and khaki pants. His hair was styled with gel and he was smiling next to a couple of the players on the men's basketball team. Although he was just over 6'2", Portman looked like a shrimp next to the seven foot tall players. He was holding a cell phone in his hand… Julie recalled that night and remembered that he had been text messaging her to say that they had one the conference championship. She had no idea that he had still been at the game and was texting her from the arena!
DP9521: DAMN! Guys were falling all over you that night, weren't they?
MaineSqueeze: Oh yeah, they were lined up around the corner to talk to me. (sarcasm)
MaineSqueeze: The only person who had anyone falling all over her was Connie, and I'm not sure that Charlie even counts as a guy. I felt like a hoe in that shirt. My boobs were all hanging out.
DP9521: No…it looks great. You look really happy and beautiful. Seriously.
DP9521: Still there?
MaineSqueeze: Just wondering who you are and what you have done with the real Dean Portman. Fulton, is this you?
DP9521: I'm hurt L Ask me something only the real Portman would know.
MaineSqueeze: Okay… what is my favorite romantic movie and why? And also, what sad movie can I not stand to watch?
DP9521: Princess Diaries II because you always wanted to be a Princess, and you can't stand to watch Armageddon and you cried for hours the last time you watched it.
MaineSqueeze: Okay… it's really you.
Their conversation continued late into the night, but they did not discuss the pictures again. They invited a few other ducks into a private chat room and they discussed the activities for the reunion week and the out of towners agreed to stay at the St. Paul Marriot closest to Fulton's house. A party at Fulton's was planned for the first night of the reunion, Saturday, and a pool party at Adam's was planned for the following Tuesday, when his parents would be out of town. Around 3 am, Julie and Portman said goodnight in a separate window.
DP9521: Night cat-lady. Keep your head up. The semester's almost over. And then, you'll get to see me! ;)
MaineSqueeze: I'm counting the seconds. (sarcasm)
DP9521: Again, I'm hurt! L
MaineSqueeze: You'll live. ;) Night Portman, ttyl
DP9521: Talk to you tomorrow, J. Bye!
Julie's weekend consisted of copious amounts of studying interrupted by IM conversations with Portman and meals with Connie. "Jules, I don't know what it's going to be like seeing Guy again," Connie frowned, playing with her fries.
"MMph," Julie said, stuffing fries in her mouth and chewing. Swallowing hard and taking a swig of Coke, she said, "Yeah, Portman was asking about you guys last night. No one really knows the whole story, and I didn't know if you wanted people to know that he cheated on you, so I didn't say anything."
Connie shrugged, "Well, I figured he wouldn't run around telling people that he cheated on me repeatedly."
Julie nodded, taking a huge bite out of her hamburger. She had skipped lunch to study for a biology class, and was now starving. Connie sighed as Julie continued to stuff herself. "Well," Julie said between huge bites, "You could always convince Charlie to pretend to be your boyfriend. That always works in the movies." Her mouth was too full for Connie to see the smirk on her face.
"No, there's no way he'd do that," Connie frowned, pushing the ketchup around on her plate. Julie rolled her eyes; Connie had no idea that Charlie was madly in love with her despite his obviousness.
"Well, Connie, I guess you'll just have to handle it the old fashioned way – ignore him," Julie concluded. Connie continued to frown in deep thought until Julie leaned forward. "Look," she said softly, "I know that you're still in love with him, but I also know that you're not willing to forgive him for cheating on you a bunch of times. Connie, you have to make a decision and move on with it. Either you take him back or you move on. It's been over 4 months now!" Connie's eyes filled with tears and she nodded, swallowing hard. "Listen," Julie said, putting down her hamburger and checking her watch, "it's 4:30. Let's go back and get dressed to go to the Snu party. That should cheer us up."
Several hours and many beers later, Connie was grinding on a hot frat guy while Julie had a loudly drunk conversation with Charlie. "Dude, you should just go for it!" she yelled above the music, patting him on the shoulder. She had a tendency to say "Dude" a lot while drunk.
"But Julie, I know she's still hung up on Guy, and I don't want to be some rebound guy for her," he said, clutching his cup tightly.
"Well, convince her she's better off without him, and then you can go out. You going to finish that?" Julie asked, pointing to his full cup of keg beer. He shook his head and dumped it into her empty cup, his gaze traveling to where Connie was grinding on a different frat guy.
After Charlie walked them both home around 1 am, Julie felt wide awake… and still drunk as a skunk. Connie was asleep in her clothes and was snoring loudly on her bed. Julie had the bright idea that she should call Portman to see what he was doing. She hadn't ever called him before, but she had his number, and now seemed like an appropriate time to say hello. As the phone rang, she pouted. Why wasn't he answering? On the last ring before voicemail, he picked up, loud voices talking and laughing in the background. "Julie?" he said loudly, obviously surprised to see her number on his phone.
Hey! I called to tell you how drunk I am!" she said, laughing loudly as Connie snored on.
"Oh really?" he chuckled, "Fulton is playing in a pool tournament, and I'm here watching and getting pretty drunk too. Are you in your room?"
Julie flopped down on her bed and said, "Yeah. Hey, Connie made out with some random guy tonight. It was funny. Charlie was really mad and made us go home."
"You didn't make out with anyone, did you?" Portman asked, almost immediately.
Sinking down in drunken sleepiness, Julie said, "No." And before she could stop herself, she said, "But you should come party with us so that I could make out with you."
He paused for a second, trying not to laugh, and said, "So if I were there right now, you'd make out with me?"
Closing her eyes drowsily, she continued, "Of course I would, you're hot."
"So as long as someone is hot, you'll make out with them?" he asked, stepping outside of the crowded pool hall to get some fresh air. His heart was pounding and his stomach was feeling a little funny. Not good, but not bad.
"No," she said, nearly whispering as she tried to stay awake, "No, just you. I have to go to sleep now, Portman. I'm so tired." He smiled a strange type of happy and sad smile.
"Good night Julie," he whispered.
"G'night Deeeeeeeeeean." He listened as she yawned, ending the call.
"…dude, you know what I always say," Fulton said as they dressed the next morning in their dorm room.
"I know, I know, a drunk chick never lies," Portman repeated, rolling his eyes, "but she was sooooo trashed."
Fulton looked over at him, "Dude, she was awake enough to pick up her phone and call you, wasn't she?"
Portman frowned. "Dude, they don't call it a drunk dial for nothing," he said, tying his shoe.
"Oh Connie, why did I say that? I can't believe I told him that I wanted to make out with him!" Julie moaned, pulling her sheet over her face.
Connie rolled over on her side to face Julie. With a smirk, she asked, "Well, do you?"
Julie paused for a second and groaned, "Yes!"
Connie screamed, launching a pillow over at her roommate. "You like Portman!" she screeched, launching another pillow.
Julie pulled the sheet off her face and looked over at Connie. "Don't tell anyone, please?" she begged.
"Of course I won't. You have too much dirt on me," Connie replied, smiling.
In an effort to do some damage control, Julie touched on the subject of the phone call later that night in an IM conversation with Portman.
MaineSqueeze: BTW, sorry for the drunk dial last night.
DP9521: Don't worry about it.
MaineSqueeze: And about what I said…
They both paused. "Should I tell him I meant it?" she asked herself. "Do drunk chicks always tell the truth?" Portman pondered.
DP9521: Like I said, don't worry about it.
DP9521: Besides, I thought it was cute.
MaineSqueeze: You did?
DP9521: Yes, I did.
DP9521: So, how's studying going?
And with that, the Drunk Dial fiasco was over before it even started. They both allowed the subject to change and sadly continued on with the topic of final exams. Nothing could really ever happen between a bash brother and the cat-lady, could it?
To be continued…