Chapter One : 1979, Colorado Springs.

"Hey, sorry!"

A tall, muscled man with a large hockey bag over his shoulder jostled her, knocking her off balance a little. She scowled a little, opening her mouth to tell him to watch it, before she sighed. The man had already hurried off with that simple apology. She couldn't pinpoint the accent; it certainly wasn't a Minnesotan accent, like hers - she couldn't even see his face as he disappeared into the crowd that were heading inside the rink.

Why had she decided to come to Colorado? Right, her uncle. Craig Patrick was the newly assigned assistant coach to Herb Brooks - officially the coach of the 1980 Olympic USA Men's Hockey team. It was a huge honour, and unfortunately her uncle's immediately family couldn't get away for the week-long tryouts, so he'd invited Audrey along to keep him company. Luckily, she also knew Herb - being best friends with Rob McClanahan, who played for Herb at the U, meant that she knew him somewhat. So, he was okay to have her sit in the stands and watch for the day - she liked people watching, and she had her sketchbook and a couple of books.

She was suddenly pushed forward a little, before warm, strong arms wrapped around her shoulders - her face immediately broke out in a grin. She knew exactly who was behind her,
"Dree, you ready to watch my skills?"

She had to laugh, rolling her eyes even if he couldn't see it,
"Sure, Mac. I'm just glad to be out of that car. You boys smell after a few hours."

There was brief sounds of protests as Phil Verchota, Mike Ramsey, and Neal Broten came up behind the pair; they'd all driven here together, and while she'd sat in the front seat, trying to ignore their off-key singing and smells. Mac released her, picking up the hockey bag he'd dropped to grab her, before nudging her to walk with them, soon met by Bill Baker, Steve Christoff, Steve Janaszak, Buzz Schneider and Eric Strobel, who'd all squeezed into Bill's car to get here with the rest of the Minnesota players; some others had piled into a third car. A lot of guys from Minnesota were here, they definitely dominated the landscape.

While she'd been a little stiff and apprehensive around the strange hockey players, as soon as she was around the Gophers, she immediately relaxed. They were a good group of guys, and over the past six months she'd become close to Mac again, after being distant for a few years. And, although the guys would never readily admit this, it was nice to have a girl around, that wasn't trying to flirt incessantly with the players. She had no interest in any of them, although there was playful teasing between them, they didn't see her that way.

She thought it probably had something to do with her appearance - she'd certainly changed since she was 16. Six months ago, when everything changed for her, she'd decided to hell with what girls should look like in 1979, with their Farrah Fawcett hair. She no longer wanted long hair, it was a reminder of the past. So, she'd cut her flame-hued hair into a messy pixie cut, inspired by Mia Farrow and Twiggy. She'd also gotten bold, and had her nose pierced. That, combined with her mass of freckles and hazel-green eyes, made her stand out. But surprisingly, most people ignored her. All the guys wanted girls with the long, luxurious hair, usually blonde, giggling, outgoing. That wasn't her. She was happy to hang out with Mac and the boys and just have a laugh. She was just one of the guys when she was with them, and that was the way she liked it.

So here she was, Audrey Kathleen Buchanan, all 5'4" of her, making her way with a mass of tall, muscly, jovial ice hockey players into the rink. She was dressed simply in a pair of dark blue jeans, slightly worn boots, a bright blue, long sleeved top with a tight-fit, knitted cardigan; along with a dash of mascara, lip gloss, and a small swoop of eyeshadow that made her eye colour pop. She was dressed comfortably, she never put much thought into how she looked to other people; she just dressed for herself. Mac gave her a quick squeeze around her shoulders, winking at her as all the Minnesota players walked by, ruffling her hair which made her scowl. She just got it sitting right!
"Alright, wish me luck. You're only going to have eyes for me today, right? Watch the master at work?"

Audrey groaned, which made Mac grin widely, and she elbowed him, adjusting her shoulder bag as she walked off,
"Good luck, and no, I'll watch everyone. You're not that special!"

That last part was called over her shoulder, as she headed into the rink, heading up into the stands, ignoring a couple of stares from some of the players who were already milling around, getting ready to head out onto the ice. She spotted Craig and Herb up in the booth, and gave a small wave - she got a small wave from Craig, and a nod from Herb. She settled herself down on the far side, away from the entrance, so she wouldn't get in the way. She then got her sketchbook out, deciding to do a few brief sketches before everyone started.

A/N: My first ever story on here, so please be gentle! I just had to get this out of my head and onto paper - I was going to make a completely normal character but then she totally turned in my head. I do have a face in mind so if you'd like to see, let me know and I'll add a link to her face.