PLEASE READ BEFORE STARTING THE STORY: Here's the thing. Riley and Jackie are Connie and Julie, for the most part. When I had started to put story ideas together, I realized that I liked having a back history line like Connie and Guy, but I didn't like Connie's character too much. Nor did I like Julie's. So, Riley and Jackie have their back history, but their personality and appearances are different. Sorry if this ruins it for you!
I don't own the Mighty Ducks. Damn. I don't even really own Riley and Jackie considering they're modeled after the history that was created for them in the movies. Anyway, carry on!
PROLOGUE: The Team.
The rink had become home; had been home for quite some time. After all, home is a place where you find your family, the people who support you in everything, who never let you down. The Ducks are my family, and I didn't realize it much till I got older – but even before we were the Ducks they had always been my family. Back then though, we were too consumed with what game we were going to play next, who was pulling whose hair, and whom ate who's candy bar. You don't realize how much a group of people; your family mean to you until it's threatened to be taken away. There were times in the past where I myself have been divided from the team, but when you look back on it – it had been my own choice. It didn't seem like it then, of course. I know better now.
Hockey had always made things better. Fights that brewed between us, here and there, never serious but we were a stubborn group of people – some of us more so than others. However, once practice rolled around it never seemed to be an issue anymore. Problems, altercations, arguments seemed to melt away into the ice once our skates started to glide. Though, problems never went away that easy, right? They were just bottled up for next time. Maybe that's where we all went wrong.
My team; my family, were gathered on the ice as per usual. A lot of the time we called our own practices, which was really just an excuse for us to mess around. Without Coach Orion around it was easier to have more fun; the kind of fun we had when we were kids and all we had to skate on was a frozen pond. Don't get me wrong our coach was awesome, but when we had our practice time he wanted us to, you know, actually practice.
I'm not going to lie; it's pretty hard to break into our Duck circle. It was pretty easier when we were younger, before we were really known internationally as the Ducks; before they named the pro team, Anaheim Ducks after us. A handful of us grew up together, and the other five joined up with us about five years ago now. There was really no letting anyone else in, not by choice, but no one else could break through the walls. Mainly, it was they who had gotten frustrated not being able to break through the Mighty Duck barriers. Girlfriends, mostly. I don't blame them for getting frustrated. Especially having Riley and Jackie on the team – our two females. The two toughest girls I've ever met. The Ducks on the team they were closest to never seemed able to keep a girlfriend, myself included.
The two girls were currently at the opposite end of the rink from me, gearing up for practice. This included them strapping up their skates, while laughing wildly at God only knows what. They'd been best friends for five years now; since Jackie Collins, number 6, joined the team. Riley Parker, number 8, on the other hand had been on the team from the beginning. She was my sister, considering I don't have a real one – the girl has known me since I was in diapers. We probably took baths together, a fact we don't really bring up now that we're eighteen years old and in our senior year of high school.
While Jackie on the other hand, we didn't share the innermost, embarrassing secrets of a childhood friendship, but she'd still turned out to be one of my best friends. I could talk to her about anything – it was always easier to talk to a female, they seemingly being the more sensitive type. Jackie also seemed to have a good grip on reality, which led to her being able to give me the best advice possible. Naturally, I'd always reciprocate my own advice for her if need be.
Moving on from the girls to the rest of the team; the rest of my buddies. The guys. Luis Mendoza, number 22, the resident speedster hailing from Miami, Florida. Not one of the Ducks I was closest to, but still a Duck and a very good friend. The kid was girl crazy, and hanging around Riley and Jackie never seemed to have an effect on his romantic life. Or, more appropriately his sex life. Luis didn't do girlfriends, and back in our freshman year is when I'd lost count of all his conquests. Jackie had been one of those said conquests, though I'm not sure how many of the other team members knew of this. It didn't show because Luis and Jackie had always retained a friendship despite this fact.
As Luis slipped a skate onto the ice, he immediately whirled around to face the two girls making their way onto the ice as well. Jackie had headed in the direction of the goal, while Riley lingered toward the center – with Luis close by. I wasn't sure at first if they were just dawdling around their positions or if Luis had now shifted his attention to her. Though Luis had always shown attention toward Riley, despite his fling with Jackie. Jackie didn't care either way. Though, the thing with Riley is simply the fact that her name was synonymous with Guy Germaine, number 00. Another Duck I grew up with; whom I was close with.
Guy and Riley were inseparable and have been since they were kids. Though they were my two best friends, truth was they were more each other's best friends. At least, in that weird sort of romantic relationship way. They were ten years old and already holding hands, for crying out loud. I don't think they ever went though the 'boys have cooties' and 'girls are icky' stage. Then again, for Riley, all her friends were boys and she played on a hockey team with them. She really couldn't think of them as having cooties, she was one of us.
In any case, Guy was skating figure rights down on my end of the rink. He had always been head over heels for Riley. When they were fourteen and here in Eden Hall, they had actually split up. An awkward time for the rest of us Ducks, because we didn't know Riley without Guy. They were practically Siamese twins. Being roommates with Guy, and being his best friend next to his ex-girlfriend at the time, of course he confided in me. Then again, anytime he had anything important to talk about he confided in me. Told me that the reason for the break up had been Riley. She didn't think their relationship was real, or something. Maybe it was a test for him or even just a test for herself. Needless to say, Guy had passed with flying colors and I suppose she did, too, because this split didn't last too long. They had gotten back together, forming a more 'real' romantic relationship now that they were older.
Apparently they had broken up (again) a week before school started. That was two weeks ago. This time, however, neither one confided in me so I was in the dark as to the reasoning. I didn't even know they were having problems, but they were pretty quiet about their relationship. PDA wasn't really a big thing with the two, which really was delightful for the team. Anyway, so they two had broken up and it was just common knowledge. Either it wasn't mutual, or they still had that longing for each other. In my opinion, the two idiots are meant to be so I don't know why they're wasting time with this break-up. They didn't ask for my opinion, though, so I kept my mouth shut. For now.
The rest of the Ducks had finally made their way out onto the ice. Things hadn't changed much for them. Les Averman, number 4, and Greg Goldberg, number 33, were still the comic reliefs on the team. Though over the years their jokes had gotten a hell of a lot more inappropriate. Seems only fitting now that we're getting older though, I suppose. Dean Portman, number 21, and Fulton Reed, number 44, were still Bash Brothers, though Dean had gotten a lot angrier in general, it seemed. Especially after him and Jackie had stopped… doing whatever it was that they were doing. It was clear that they were hooking up for a few weeks there, and let me tell you they were nothing like Guy and Riley who did things behind closed doors.
I watched in front of me now as Adam Banks, number 99, slapped the puck around back and forth with Guy. Banks, probably now equivalent to Guy in the friendship department with me and it seemed he ranked pretty high on Guy's best friends' list. Those two could make it into the NHL for sure, and would most definitely go onto play college hockey. Simply common knowledge and they've mentioned it more then once. At least they knew what they wanted to do in life.
My attention shifted to the resident puck hog, Dwayne 'Cowboy' Robertson, number 7. He and I didn't have meaningful talks so I wasn't too sure what he really wanted to do. Not to mention, even if I had tried to ask him he'd start talking Texan and I'd be completely baffled. He had that effect on the team still after five years of being apart of us. Russ Tyler, number 56, and Kenny Wu, number 16 rounded up the rest of us. What's to say? Russ still had the biggest mouth of us all and Kenny was still doing spins in the air.
I laughed when Banks had started to cheer for himself after he hit the puck into the empty net, and then proceeded to cheer as his skates glided along the slick surface. I noticed Guy laughing, too. Jackie said something along the lines of him being a chicken shit for shooting at an unattended goal instead of at the goal she was in. We all laughed again.
It was funny how some things were exactly the same, but at the same time it amazed me at how much we'd all actually really changed. I guess I don't notice it right away because I've changed so much myself. I mean, I knew these people when I was twelve years old when it was all just about Hockey, playing around, and innocent pranks. Well, maybe not so innocent but you know what I mean. Now, it's all about finding a girl (or guy, for Jackie and now Riley), hooking up, having sex, and where we're all going to be next year. When did we all grow up so fast?
I'm Charlie Conway, number 96 and I had no idea that senior year was going to be as hard as it would prove to be. That life was going to be as hard as it would turn out to be.