AN: You guys get two chapters in less than twenty-four hours. I wanted to start the new story next week and I won't have time to it do this weekend. Hope you guys like it.
Charlie didn't want to leave Connie without letting her know the whole truth. He had lied to her and he knew she would more than likely kill him when she found out. When he had gone over to her house the other day he had planned on telling her everything. But when she had been relieved and not mad at him he didn't have the heart to tell her everything. He made his way up the stairs to her dorm room. She had said she wanted to be settled in before classes started.
He had hoped he would have thought of something to say on his way up the stairs. So far he had nothing. He stood outside her room still debating if he should knock.
"Charlie?"
Charlie turned his head and saw Tammy walking towards him.
"You're in this building too?" He asked acting like nothing was wrong.
"No. I live in Alden Hall. Connie's not there, she went to see Jesse." Tammy said standing next to him.
"Oh, I'll come back then." He said starting to walk away.
"Okay." Tammy said nodding her head.
Charlie made it to the top of the stairs before Tammy called his name again. He turned to face her and she gave him a worried look.
"Try not to forget who your real friends are when you get to Canada."
"I won't." He said giving her a reassuring smile.
XXXX
Julie had almost unpacked all of her things by the time her roommate got to the room. Her name was Karen and she seemed nice, a little shocked that she was rooming with Julie though. She had been a fan of the Ducks ever since the Goodwill Games. Julie hadn't met any fans in a while. It was nice, hopefully the girl wouldn't give Julie special treatment.
"So are any of the other Ducks here?"
"Kenny goes here. And you knew Russ is from here right?"
"I've met Russ. He's the only I've met. And Kenny Wu goes here? No way! He's my favorite."
"I'll introduce him to you sometime."
"Thanks." Karen said smiling in appreciation.
"Portman lives around here too."
"That's cool. So you're still friends with them?"
"Yeah, I couldn't get rid of them if I tried." Julie said being sarcastic.
They talked for a little while longer before they had to be at orientation. She saw Kenny wave her over to where he was. He had saved her a seat. She saw Karen out of the corner of her eye and waved.
"Who's that?" Kenny said noticing Karen.
"My roommate."
Kenny nodded as the Dean started to give his speech. Julie tuned him out after he had said welcome for the twentieth time. She could deal without long-winded speeches. She'd dealt with that enough with Dean Buckley.
Kenny nudged her bringing her out of her thoughts. The Dean was done speaking and everyone was heading towards the exit.
"Why didn't you do that after the Dean was through?"
"I didn't realize you had spaced out. You were supposed to take notes. Here." He said handing her his notebook.
"What would I do without you?"
"I have no clue. You've been spending too much time with Portman. You're turning into him."
"You should talk Baby Bash Brother." Julie said playfully pushing him.
"You have a point." He said giving her a sly grin.
Julie was glad that Kenny was there with her. She didn't know if she had to go through it alone. She needed someone to vent to when the Professors or one of the Frat Boys got on her nerves. She was glad that Connie had Tammy and Jesse to lean on when things got too hard. And with Portman with her things would be more bearable.
XXXX
Charlie had been trying to call Connie for the past half an hour. He would
pick up the phone and dial the first six digits before hanging up the phone again. He had the phone in his hand when it rang. He jumped three feet in the air before sighing in frustration.
"Hello?"
"Hey."
"Hey Cons."
"Tammy said you stopped by earlier."
"I did. I needed to talk to you."
"You can still come over if you want." She said sounding worried.
"I can be there in half an hour."
"Okay, come on over. Is everything okay?"
"I have something I need to tell you."
Charlie hung up before Connie could ask him if anything was wrong again. He had told her he needed to tell her something. That threw up a warning flag for her. What could he have to tell her? She hoped it wasn't about Canada. If she heard the word Canada ever again she would scream. She had spent half an hour consoling Tammy because she thought her relationship with Fulton was over.
Connie had finally calmed her down and convinced her to call Fulton to talk things out. Even if she didn't think that was the best thing to do it was all she could think of. Maybe she could talk Jesse into coming over. That way if it were bad she would have someone between her and Charlie if she came after him. She hoped that wouldn't happen though.
XXXX
Portman stood outside of Julie's building waiting for her. He had promised her that he would her there after her orientation. He saw her walking across the quad with Kenny. Julie saw him and she smiled in greeting. Kenny waved at him before walking off.
"Hey." She said before kissing him.
Portman wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her to him. She pulled away from the kiss and rested her head on his chest.
"How bad was it?"
"I don't remember much. I tuned everything out twenty minutes in."
"That's my girl."
"We actually had to take notes. I've gotta copy Kenny's later."
"You've got time for me don't you?" He asked tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
"Always." She said before pulling out of his reach.
"Come on." He said knowing what she wanted.
Julie jumped on his back and he grabbed hold of her legs. She rested her chin on his shoulder and sighed. He turned his head to look at her before brushing his lips against hers.
"I love you." She said smiling at him.
"I love you too." He said as he started walking back to her room.
XXXX
Charlie ran into Jesse as he was walking into Connie's building. Charlie gave him a weird look when he stopped outside Connie's room too.
"You've made her paranoid. Thanks a lot!" Jesse said rolling his eyes.
Connie opened the door and they both walked in. Connie sat on her bed and Charlie sat at her desk. Jesse stood in between them fearing the worst.
"So what do you need to talk to me about?" Connie asked folding her hands in her lap.
"Jess could you go outside? If you hear her screaming you can come in."
Jesse didn't have to be asked twice. He was out the door before Connie could protest. Charlie didn't want to get too close just in case she started swinging. Connie sighed in frustration before glaring at him. Why was he stalling?
"I didn't tell you everything that happened in Canada. You were so happy the other day I didn't have the heart to tell you."
"What didn't you tell me?" Connie asked gripping the edge of her bed.
"I won't have any time to see you for the first three months that I'm in Canada."
"Why?" She asked giving him a weird look.
"Because I'll be coming in the middle of their training season."
"And you can't come on the weekends?" She asked folding her arms over her chest.
"Connie you how important this is to me." He said hoping she would understand.
"And I'm not important?" She asked rising from off the bed.
She crossed the room and opened the door. Jesse was sitting on the floor across the hall. He stood up knowing something was wrong.
"Get out Charlie." She said not looking at him.
"Connie--" Jesse said trying to reason with her.
"Don't stand up for him!" She said glaring at him.
Charlie stood frozen where he was. Connie looked him in the eye and he winced when he saw the fire there.
"I said leave." She said jerking her head on the door.
Everything felt like it was going in slow motion. It was like he was walking in quicksand as he walked out of the room. Connie shut the door behind him locking it to make sure Jesse didn't try to come in. She stood against the wall for support. She should have expected this. Hockey had always been the most important thing in Charlie's life. She had hoped she would fit in somewhere too.
It was dark when she finally pulled herself together. She heard someone knock on her door pulling her from her thoughts. She ignored it and moved to lie on her bed.
"Connie? Open up." Tammy said from the other side.
"Now's not a good time Tammy. I don't want to talk to anybody."
"I just wanted to tell you that I talked to Fulton. You were right."
Great. Fulton can commit to a long distance relationship but Charlie couldn't? What was going on?
XXXX
"You told hockey was more important than her? Are you crazy?" Jesse asked giving Charlie a scared look.
"I couldn't lie to her."
"You should be lucky she didn't kill your ass! She must really love you." Jesse said shaking his head.
"I know she does."
"Look, give her a few months. You'll be home for Christmas right?"
"I had planned on it."
"Leave her alone until then. By then maybe she'll talk to you. And that's a big maybe!" Jesse said still not believing what had happened.
Jesse was right. Charlie would leave her alone for a couple months. Let things cool down, and then maybe she would talk to him again. But could he live without her until then?
AN2: Okay, that's the end of this one. I should have the new one started Monday or Tuesday. I don't want to keep you guys hanging too long. Take care.