worth the risk • dean portman

chapter eighteen

dean

I'm really afraid that Morgan is going to break up with me.

She's been avoiding me for this entire week, and I really don't know why.

As far as I know, I haven't done anything. I've basically been the best boyfriend I can be. I treat her well, make sure that she feels loved and appreciated, buy her nice things, and always try my best to make her happy.

Where did I go wrong?

The only thing I want to do is talk to her, but I know that it's probably a bad idea. There's clearly a reason for this entire situation, and I'm obviously not supposed to know anything.

So fun, am I right?

During lunch, I barely pay attention to the easygoing conversations floating around me from my teammates. I'm too busy going through my options on what I can do to find out exactly what's going on. And if there's one thing you need to know about me... it's that when I set my mind on getting something, I will not stop whatsoever until I get it.

I'm a stubborn son of a bitch. And that's never, ever changing.

I quickly run through my options and list the pros and cons in my head. Talking to Ella and Sadie could help, but they value their friendship with Morgan more than me. I obviously understand that, but it's always worth a shot. I could ask Adam or Charlie to find out from Sadie or Ella, but I'm sure the girls will become suspicious that they're bringing up the topic so randomly. Maybe, Connie or Julie could get it out of Morgan.... that's it!

I smile to myself as I settle on an idea. I'll ask Connie and Julie to get it out of Morgan, and then figure out what to do from there. Perfect. Operation "Get Morgan To Tell Me What's Wrong" is in the works.

"Yo Portman, why are you smiling to yourself like that?" I suddenly hear Teddy call from across the lunch table. "You look like a creep right now. Who sits at a lunch table full of people and smiles to themself unless they're planning a fuckin' murder or something?"

I shake my head as I let a laugh slip out, and look up to meet Teddy's eyes. "I'm actually planning your murder, as a matter of fact. Better watch out bud, you're next on my list.

"Oh shit!" Mason says from next to Teddy, putting a hand over his mouth to muffle his laugher. "You just got owned dude!"

Teddy narrows his eyes at Mason and starts to argue with him, and I look up to see an amused look on Charlie's face. "Sophomores." I mouth, watching as he tries to hold back his own laughter. The reason for that is because we were just as immature as Mason and Teddy last year, maybe even more.

The twins stop their bickering when they see Charlie's face, which causes them to narrow their eyes at me. "What's so funny?" Mason asks accusingly.

"Yeah, what's so funny?" Teddy adds, which makes Charlie completely lose it.

The rest of our team looks completely lost as we all watch Charlie have a laughing attack. I of course, find this whole thing hilarious. Being the instigator of the team definitely comes with its perks, because I get to make things like this happen. It's a hard job according to most people on our team, but no one else is better fit for it than me.

"Nothing boys. Everything's great." I answer easily, adding what Fulton likes to call my "FM Grin". Otherwise known as the grin that used to get girls to... I'm sure you get it.

"Portman! Stop giving the twins your FM Grin." Fulton calls to me, almost on cue. "Nobody wants to see that!"

"Don't pretend you don't love seeing it in the dorm!" I retort immediately, which causes Fulton to stick up his middle finger at me.

Mason sticks his head out from the other side of Teddy again and looks at me in confusion. "What the hell is the FM Grin?"

I give him a smirk and cross my arms. "It has to do with girls. Use your imagination, James. You aren't that stupid."

He thinks for a second before I see the realization dawn on him. "Portman, I aspire to be you one day. You're my idol."

"Focus on your girlfriend, young grasshopper." I tease, watching as his face pales slightly. "Make sure that she comes first. Trust me dude, you don't need to have a hoe phase."

He nods and goes back to his lunch. I really should listen to my own advice, because I need to focus on my girlfriend. This whole situation is a complete mess, and I need to stick to my plan. Ask Connie to help me get it out of Morgan.

After the bell rings and everyone is starting to leave the dining hall, I take my opportunity and pull Connie to the side. "Hey. I need to ask you something."

She smiles and flips her long braid behind her. "Sure! Ask away."

I take a breath. "Can you please, please, please help me with Morgan? She's been avoiding me for a week and I don't know what's wrong. I know you're basically everyone's therapist, so I was wondering if you could possibly get the reason why out of her."

Her face takes on a worried expression. "Wait, what happened? I didn't know she was ignoring you."

I shrug and swallow the lump in my throat. "Yeah, I have no idea why. I was thinking that if you were able to find anything out, you could tell me and I could make a plan to fix it."

She places a hand on my shoulder and gives it a small squeeze. "Don't worry Dean. I'll see what I can do. I promise I'll help however I can so you'll be able to fix this."

A smile immediately forms on my face as I walk forward and give her a hug. "Thanks Connie. You're the best."

Even though she's squished against my chest, I hear her giggling nonstop. "I know I am."

**a/n**
hi guys. i'm so sorry for the shorter chapter and the bad quality of it. i have midterms/finals this and next week, so i've been super busy. after that, my writing should become more normally scheduled again. i've also noticed quite a few spelling/grammar mistakes in the earlier chapters, so i'm sorry about that and i'll get around to fixing it soon. thanks for being patient with me and i'm so happy to be back. see you all very soon <3