worth the risk • dean portman

chapter sixteen

dean

This is weird. Really, really weird.

It's been three days since I saw Morgan, when she had her meltdown at my house on Friday night. And now, she's avoiding me.

I mean, maybe it's just because it's Monday and the first morning back from winter break. But still, this is really weird. She's never cold towards me, ever. I can't even remember the last time she's acted like this, or if she even has in the time we've been dating.

Like I said, this is really fucking weird.

We have first period together, and I can't lie and say I'm not annoyed with the fact that she ignored me when I said hello. I know it isn't her time to be all cranky and rude, so there's something different about this. I wish I could put my finger on it.

I can barely pay attention to this French lesson because of how much this is bothering me. I don't really pay any attention in this class anyway, because I'm not the smartest guy out there and I don't have a single reason in the world to speak French.

When the bell rings at the end of the period, I jump right up and head straight for Morgan. Apparently I'm too late, because she's already dragging Lily halfway down the hallway and leaving me in the dust.

Okay, this is getting really strange. I'm not one to usually be bothered with girls and their drama, but this is definitely something that's making me really annoyed. I haven't done anything wrong, yet I'm being avoided like I have a disease or something.

My head hangs as I round the corner, because I really don't know what to do. Within seconds, I feel an arm sling around my shoulder and a loud voice bringing me to attention. "Yo Portman, why are you so sad man?"

I look up to see Goldberg with his arm around me and Russ walking on his other side. They instantly bring a smile to my face, and I wave my hand dismissively regarding Russ' question. "I'm fine man, just tired. Had a late night last night."

"Yeah? Doing what?" Goldberg asks with a smirk.

I slap him across the back of his head and roll my eyes. "Not that, you dumbass. I was talking to my mom and my brother. Have you ever heard of Facetime?"

Goldberg laughs and shrugs. "Fair enough. How is your family by the way? I'm sure living far away from them must be tough."

"They're good." I reply, ignoring the feeling of sadness that washes over me. "It's definitely hard living away from them, but Fulton and his family have been awesome. They've treated me like a son these past three years and I'm so grateful for all that they've done for me."

"Hold on a second." Russ interrupts, poking his head around from Goldberg's other side. "You do go home over the summer and visit, right?"

I roll my eyes again and give him a playful shove. "No, actually. I just go the airport and pick a random place to fly to. Of course I go and visit them, you idiot. I'm like you, remember? Unless you don't fly home to California over the summer and pick some expensive ass place to go to instead."

Russ starts to laugh, and it's the kind of laugh that completely surrounds you. The entire hallway now has their attention on us, which isn't uncommon. We are the hockey team that's won thirteen straight state championships, which explains the staring most of the time.

The other times people stare at us is if we're bringing attention to ourselves, like now. Or if your name is Adam Banks, you get stared at because you're so disgustingly attractive to the point where it's scary. And I'm serious, it's genuinely scary. You should see the kid's face half the time he gets ogled by girls in the hallway, which is always a cross between confusion and horror.

It's like he has no idea how good looking he actually is, which is unbelievable considering he's a six-foot-two ripped hockey player with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. Oh, and don't forget about the three state championships he has under his belt. The kid has half the school in love with him, and somehow doesn't believe it.

I'm surprised Ella hasn't slapped some sense into him by now.

And speak of the devil, Adam comes walking down the hallway with Charlie at his side. I'm not even kidding when I say that girls are stopping their conversations just to watch him. He doesn't even notice, because he's deep in conversation with Charlie. Everyone else around him notices though, and I laugh in my head. This guy is something else.

He gives me, Russ, and Goldberg a nod as he passes by us, and Charlie does the same. Just then, I suddenly realize I'm being called by someone. "Portman? Hello? Earth to Dean something-or-other Portman!"

Goldberg's voice snaps me out of my thoughts and brings me back to reality. "What? What about my middle name?"

He looks at me with concern. "I was using it to get your attention. You've been spaced out for the past minute dude. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, we went through this already Goldberg." I respond, removing his arm from around my shoulder. "I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me."

"If you say so!" Russ adds in a sing-song like tone as I walk into my second period class. I make a mental note to give him a friendly little shove during practice, because maybe then he'll get off my back. Don't worry, I'm not going to actually knock him down or anything. A fun little push will be just fine.

For the rest of the day, Morgan gives me the same cold treatment. It bothers me more than it should, because it ends up affecting my performance at practice. Orion is constantly all over me, and I honestly just want to throw my hands up in defeat. I could punch someone too, because that would also work in letting some of my anger out.

When Fulton and I finally get back to his house, I go to my room immediately and shut down. This isn't good, because I'm not usually the one who gets shaken by someone. Usually, it's Charlie, Goldberg, Averman, and sometimes even Fulton who will react when something doesn't go their way.

After sulking for hours, I decide that I'm going to fix this. I'm going to find out what happened over the weekend, whether Morgan likes it or not.