Love in the Shadows ~ Dean Portman x OC

Ch. 9: You Need to Tell Her Somehow

Pov: Dean Portman, July 6th, 1994, Los Angeles CA
Me and the team have just gotten back from playing some street puck. It was fun not gonna lie. It felt great to not worry about scouts or a score board. Especially to take a break from Captain Blood.

Me and Fulton walk up to our dorm and we notice a letter in our P.O. box. Odd
Fulton picks it up and it's for me, from Morgan.
I snatch the letter from his hand and walk inside our dorm.

"What's it say?" Fulton asks peaking around my shoulder like a little kid.
"Oh would you quit that" I say as a I swat the pest away

I open the letter and begin reading it out loud so Fulton doesn't pester me later.
"Dean Portman,
When I first met you, I thought you were gross and annoying. And you are."
"Rude" I say. Fulton urges me to keep reading.

"But you are also the strongest and most thoughtful guy I've ever met. I saw what you did for me after I got a concussion. No one has ever stuck up for me like that. I honestly didn't think you cared enough to risk your own health to avenge me. Thank you Popsicle."
"She called you Popsicle. That's a good sign" Fulton assures me.
"Yea but what do you think this is about?"
"I don't know. Keep reading"

"I know we had a really long talk the night of the accident but I'm going to be honest, I don't remember much of it. What I do remember is your handsome smile."
"Girls don't just tell guys they have a handsome smile dude. You're so totally in"
"No chance. I was kinda a dick to her"
"Girls dig that sometimes. Plus she's right. You did pummel those Iceland dudes for her. That's top tier chivalry in my book"
"Yea well I'm not trying to get in your book, I'm trying to get in hers"
"Fair"
I continue reading.

"It lit up the room and it's a shame you don't smile like that more often. That smile, you in general make me feel safe."
"She's so totally in love with you"
"Shut up"

"Like I don't have to pretend around you. I don't know why but I get the sense that your "tough boy act" is just a rouse, much like Maple Hart.
If I'm being truthful, I'm a little hurt that you didn't come to visit me after that first night. I kinda miss you."
"Why didn't you visit by the way?"
"If I tell you you can't say a peep about this to a single soul"
"I swear"
"Her dad threatened me to stay away from her because she 'doesn't need a punk like me in her life'"
"Fuck that guy. You're awesome. He should know, he picked you"
"Out of a jail cell Fult"
"Righttt. Still though. You're a nice guy and you'd never do anything to hurt her"
"Her dad doesn't see that"
"Well her dad is an old sack of shit who needs to step out of the way"
I laugh. I needed that after that night. I wanted to go visit her. Every damn second. But his words kept rattling in my head. Whether or not I'm a nice guy or whatever, I'm still a criminal. She's an international sensation.
"Ok ok, keep reading dude or I'm just gonna read it myself" Fulton complains impatiently.

"Plus I never got to hear one of your songs. Hopefully I get to hear them on the radio one day. I haven't heard you play but I can just tell you have big things ahead of you. I know it. We'll always have that strawberry milkshake.
If the tour continues, which it most likely will, I should be in Chicago for New Years. If you wanna hang out just let me know. I'll miss you Dean.

- Yours, MT

"She's so in love with you man it's painful"
"You really think so"
"Nobody signs a letter 'Yours' with a heart next to her name"
"Maybe that's how she signs all of her letters"
"Maybe but she wrote you a letter. I didn't get one"

Fulton then walks out the dorm and knocks on Kenny, Luis, Dwayne's dorm
"Howdy! What can I do you for?" Dwayne answered
"Did you get a letter from Morgan?" Fulton asks
"No, why? Did she send Dean a letter?"
"How did you know I got it?" I interject
"You two are more in love than a mama hen and her little chicks"
"See? Now come on, we need to get you ready for a classic airport proposal" Fulton practically drags me back to our dorm and slams the door
"Get off me" I push him back "I'm not going to the airport man"
"Why not?"
"She's a celebrity dude. If I told her how I feel, which is never gonna happen, not only would I be telling her but the whole world. She's constantly under a camera lense"
"You need to tell her somehow"
"She's already half way gone Fult. I may never see her again"
"Didn't she say that she was gonna be in Chicago for New Years"
"Yea so? She'll be busy and crowded"
"Yea but she said" He grabs the letter from my bed, "'If you wanna hang out just let me know'"
"So?"
"So?! Call her you dingus" He smacks the back of my head
"I don't have her number genius"
"Yea but the girls might"

We pause and then both bolt out the door, letter in Fultons hand as we race down the hallway. Fulton basically knocks their damn door down.
"Do you have Morgan's cell number?"
"Yea why?" Julie lets us in
"Dean is gonna call her and tell her how much he loves her-"
"I do not love her" The whole room (girls + Fulton + Guy + Kenny) looks at me with a "sureeee" type a' look.
"I like her that's all calm down"
"Dean I like Julie enough to get her a matching bandanna and share a milkshake. You love Morgan enough to beat 3 guys within an inch of their lives" Fulton argues
"Wait you like me?" Julie blushes and looks at Fulton

Barf

"No shit Gaffney I'm crazy bout you wasn't that clear?" He grabs her hands
"I'm crazy about you too Fulton" They lean in for a kiss and everyone says "awwww" while I, a rational person, pretend to hurl.
Julie looks at me and smacks me on the back of my head "You two are made for each other" I remark
"Back to the mission here people, Morgan's number?" Guy gets us back on track
As the girls start searching their phones for it I wonder "What mission?"
"Operation: enemies to lovers aka 'Mean'" Kenny dramatizes
"Whats 'Mean'?"
"Your ship name. Morgan + Dean: Mean" Guy clarifies. I swear if he wasn't dating Connie I'd be convinced he's dating a man
"Gross. Never say that again"
"Here" Julie finds her number, "828-456-8220"
Fulton types it into his phone and hands it to me "Call her"
"I can't"
"Why not?" Connie asks
"I don't know. Every time I hear her voice my brain gets all fuzzy and I can't think straight" I sit down on one of the beds.
"So write it down. That's what I do" Guy proposes
"I technically have"
"What do you mean?" Fulton asks
"Don't laugh. Any of you. Seriously" They all promise and gather round "I write music to get out my feelings and ever since I met her I've just been writing love songs for her"
"Awwwww" The group looks at each other than back at me
"Don't patronize me"
"Well great so just play her one of your songs" Kenny says
"When? I'm not gonna see her until maybe New Years which is months away. By then she'll forget about me"
"One I highly doubt that but whatever. Second of all over the phone. Sure it won't be as romantic but she'll get the message and then you two can finally be together and stop being so stupidly blind" Julie jumps in
"I'm not doing it over the phone, I guess I'll just have to wait till New Year's eve..."
WC: 1379
A/N: The formatting for this chapter and the last one was so unnecessarily hard I fucking hate writing on my phone.