Four Ninjas and a New Duck

by princess-sunshine2003

3 NinjasMighty Ducks crossover. Alice has been best friends with the Douglas boys since they were born and now her father is sending her to Eden Hall. Will separation destroy her? Surprises abound. R&R

"Come on, Kenny!" Tumtum shouted up the stairs. He rolled his eyes at his two older brothers. "Honestly, why do girls take so long to get ready for everything?" he asked rhetorically as Kenny, aka Alice Kensington, slid down the spiral banister to land lightly on her feet at the bottom.

"I heard that, Douglas," she said as she straightened. "And for your information, I was only in the shower for ten minutes. You were in for longer. So stop complaining, I'm ready." She tapped him on the head and raced outside into the California sunshine. The boys shook their heads and followed their best friend outside, where they all stood around, waiting for Grandpa to come out. They were headed into town for groceries and pizza.

"I can't believe that the summer's almost over," Rocky sighed, leaning against the gardening bench. "Nothing happened this summer. Something always happens. Remember that one summer, when we went to Japan?"

"How's Miyo, Rocky?" Alice teased. He shot her a look, which only made her laugh. "Or that time when we helped Jo's dad shut down the waste dumping?" she added.

"Oh, remember the summer when we helped Dad catch a mad criminal?" Tum asked enthusiastically. Rocky smacked his younger brother as Alice's face fell. That had been the only summer she hadn't spent with the boys since she was two. Her mother had been sick that year, and she'd stayed home to help around the house. It was over before anyone had a chance to blink. Her mom had gone in for surgery and before they'd even opened her up, she'd died in her sleep.

Her father had been late to the funeral. She shook her head, pushing the memories away. That was five years ago, and Alice was happy that her mom's suffering was over. She smiled. "Remember that time when we got sent to camp? You three were in the martial arts camp, and I went to hockey camp, and it turned out that we were in two halves of the same compound?"

All four teenagers laughed at that. They'd been very upset about being separated that summer, and during free time, the whole camps would go to the lake. One day, Alice had been dared by a particularly nasty boy to swim all the way to the other side and back. So she'd agreed and when she got to the other side, had discovered that she wasn't as far from her best friends as she'd originally thought. The pranks the three boys pulled on the boys in hockey camp, with her help, were too numerous to mention.

"Yeah, something happens every summer. Too bad nothing happened this summer," Colt said, picking apart a leaf.

"Don't say that just yet," Rocky muttered. He motioned behind Alice's shoulder to the black limo pulling up the driveway. Her eyes widened. "What's your dad doing here, Kenny?" he asked as her father, Bradley Kensington, stepped out of the car.

"I don't know," she replied, as confused as he was. "Daddy?" she called. "What are you doing here?" He walked across the bridge towards them.

"Alice, I have wonderful news!" She waited patiently. "You're going to attend Eden Hall Academy this year! Isn't it wonderful?" She stared at him, horror-struck, her mouth wide open.

"You can't be serious," she said. "Daddy, I...I don't want to go to school halfway across the country!"

"Nonsense, young lady. I went to Eden Hall, and it is a wonderful opportunity for you! The education is wonderful, and the people are superb. I've made all the arrangements; you'll be staying in the dorms, and the hockey coach has agreed to give you a try-out, even though that goes against most of the rules. You'll make a lot of new friends that will stay with you throughout your life."

"Daddy, you aren't listening to me," she said, shaking her head vehemently. "I don't want to go. I belong here, with my friends."

"You can come home on holidays," he replied. "There is no point in fighting me about it, Alice. You're going. In fact, your plane leaves tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!?" the four teenagers cried in unison, horrified. He nodded. Alice continued to stare at her father. Her cerulean eyes were starting to harden, a good indication that her temper was rising. The three boys recognized the signs, but her own father was oblivious. Rocky reached out a hand and rested it on her forearm. She shook him off and her whole body started to shake. He tried again, with the same result. That was new; she'd never shaken him off once before, let alone twice. She also rarely lost her temper. Colt slung an arm over her shoulders, causing her to shoot him a murderous glare. He raised an eyebrow, and she frowned. Then he rolled his eyes and the tension left her shoulders. The closeness of the four teens was so complete that they could almost read each other's minds.

"All right, Dad," she said quietly. She shrugged off Colt's arm. "I'll just go and get my stuff." She turned around and started back towards the house, followed by the three boys. Apparently, Grandpa knew what was happening because he only nodded his silent support as the four teens climbed the stairs to the loft to help Alice pack. "I don't want to go," she said while she folded her clean clothes and placed them in her sports duffel. "I want to stay here."

"We know," the three ninjas chorused. All of them were silently swearing that they wouldn't cry when she left. They helped bag the dirty clothes and stuff them in the duffel with the rest of her stuff. She sighed when they were done and sat on her sleeping bag, between Rocky's and Tum's. Rocky put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her. She buried her face in his shoulder and hugged him back. Next was Tum, who tried bravely not to cry. Colt couldn't keep from crying, which startled his brothers. But Alice hugged his head to her shoulder and smoothed his hair while he sobbed. She began to cry too, which set off Tum. And finally, Rocky let his own tears fall.

They sat that way, huddled together, crying and hugging, for a long time until Grandpa stuck his head over the top stair. "Wave," he said softly. Alice looked up. "Your father is ready to leave." He said nothing about his grandsons' tears, knowing it would embarrass them. She nodded and Rocky let go, pulling Tum with him. She lifted Colt's head and smiled weakly. Using her sleeve, she dried his cheeks before seeing to her own.

"I'll miss you," she whispered, kissing his cheek. Tum kissed her cheek, and so did Rocky. "I promise I'll write, too," she said. "Every day, if I can swing it." She brushed Colt's hair back from his forehead. "I promise, I'll be back as soon as I can, even if I have to deliberately fail all of my classes." That brought a smile to his face, albeit a tiny one. She shouldered her duffel and started down the stairs. She handed it to her father's driver, saving herself a book for the ride home. Standing on the wooden porch that she and the boys had helped build when they were younger, she bit her lip to keep from crying. She hugged them all again. "I love you, guys. I'll see you soon. Promise." She held out her hand and the three boys grasped her fingers. "Four strands of rope," she said softly, before pulling away and going to the car.

Who was she kidding? She was coming unraveled as she spoke.

The plane ride was uneventful. Her father had flown to Paris the night before, so she had the jet to herself. She pulled out her sketchpad and curled up in one of the armchairs, drawing from memory. She ignored everyone and everything, hoping against hope that her cell phone would ring. She longed to hear one of the boys' voices, even for a second. She was more homesick than she'd ever thought possible.

"Miss Kensington, we're going to be landing in a few minutes," came the announcement over the intercom. "Your hockey coach, I'm told, will be meeting you at the airport. All of your things have been sent ahead to your dormitory." She sat in silence after putting the pad away in her messenger bag. Sadly, she stared out the window as Minneapolis grew larger and larger until it surrounded her. She sighed as they touched down. The captain himself came out to see her off. "Your father says that we are at your beck and call. Whenever you wish to go back to California, for a weekend or something, let us know. We'll have the plane in a hangar here." She nodded as she shouldered her bag, and climbed down the steps, following a guide into the terminal.

A good-looking, older man approached, his sandy hair flopping in his eyes. She swallowed hard and pushed away the thought that he looked like Colt might in a few years. "I'm Ted Orion, Alice," he said, offering his hand. She nodded. "It's nice to meet you. These are some of the Ducks. I'd like you to meet..." She caught all of the names and she would remember them, but she wasn't very interested at the moment. "Do you have any bags?"

"No. My father sent them all ahead of me, except for this one." She had her sketchbook, a copy of The Lord of the Rings (hers and Rocky's favorite), and her photo album in it. "I suppose..." She shook her head. "Thank you for coming to fetch me, sir," she said instead. "You really didn't have to go to the trouble."

"Oh, no trouble at all. I thought it would be better for you to actually meet the team, so you'd have some familiar faces once classes start."

"Thank you."

Jesse offered to take the messenger bag, but she shook her head, drawing it closer to her body. "No, thanks." He shrugged as they got into the van. They all noticed that she didn't say much. She didn't seem to be all that thrilled about being there.

Her first sight of the school dropped her jaw, but she didn't say anything. They helped her move into the dorm room, which she was sharing with Julie. She ignored the boxes strewn across the floor and threw herself facedown on the bed and began to sob into her pillow. Julie backed out of the room, surprised. None of the Ducks particularly liked Eden Hall, but it hadn't broken them down yet.

Alice jumped when her phone rang and sat up, wiping streaming eyes. "Rocky?"

Try again.

"Hi, Colt. I was hoping one of you would call. I'm thoroughly miserable, and I've only been here for twenty minutes. I want to come home. I want to be with you." She was starting to sob again.

Hey, we miss you too. I don't think any of us have cried that much on a long time. Ali, are you sure you're going to be okay? I mean, if you're really that miserable, won't your dad let you come back?

She snorted. "Let me come back? Are you serious? No, he won't let me come back. He went here, and my grandparents went here...it's a family tradition. I suppose I should have expected it, but...I never thought he'd pull me away from you guys. I really didn't. I mean, for the first time since my mom died, I am thoroughly depressed. I...I don't know what I'll do without you and Rocky and Tumtum." Her voice was sad. He hesitated a minute before answering.

Wave, do you think you can come back sometimes? Like on weekends?

"I dunno. They said I could use the jet whenever I wanted, but I don't know what the practice schedules will be like yet. I hope I can. I don't know how long I'll last without you three. I'll go crazy within the week."

Wave, I gotta go, okay? One of us will call you later. Grandpa says since we cried through practice yesterday, we have to work all day today.

She sighed. "Okay. I'll talk to you guys soon. I love you."

Love you too. Bye.

She sighed again and put the phone on her bedside table before flopping onto her back on the mattress. "I hate you, Dad," she said to the ceiling. "I will never speak to you again! My life was just getting back to being perfect, and you had to ruin it!" She felt the tears sliding into her ears, but she kept crying and she kept railing at the ceiling. "You didn't even care that you tore my heart to pieces, or that you ruined my existence. I hate Minnesota. It gets cold here. I hate this school. I hate you, and... and..." Her sobs were getting out of hand. "You ruined the best part of my life, you arrogant, self-centered bastard," she said. "All you care about is family tradition. All I care about are my friends. All I want is to go home. I hate you." She rolled over then and buried her face in her pillow once more, sobbing like she had the day before, like the boys had.

"Are you all right?" asked Julie, having come back in after hearing Alice go silent. Alice sat up, wiping her cheeks.

"I'm fine," she said slowly. "I mean, I'll be fine. Thank you."

"You know, you can talk to me. We're going to be roommates, and all. I think we should be able to talk to each other."

"Julie, you really don't want to know."

"I do."

"All right. Just remember that you asked for this. For almost seventeen years, I've lived in California. My three best friends are three brothers; Sam, Michael and Jeff Douglas. Their grandfather has been teaching us martial arts since Sam and I were...I think four. Of course, Michael didn't start until he was three, so he's a year behind Jeff, Sam and me. We've been best friends since Sam and I were babies. Jessica Douglas, their mom, and my mom went to high school together, so they were really good friends. My mom died about five years ago, which meant that I spent almost every waking moment of my life, and a lot of sleeping moments with the boys since then. My dad's not around much.

"Yesterday, my dad shows up at Grandpa's cabin, where we train and spend our summers, to tell me that I was coming here. In the past few years, and even before that, I've never been away from my friends for longer than it takes to sleep at night. Needless to say, there were a lot of tears. From me, but mostly from them. I won't get to see them for a while, and I miss them more than I thought I would. I can't stop thinking about them, like what are they doing right now, and what are they going to have for dinner." She sniffed. "Tonight...tonight was my night to cook." She took a deep breath to steady herself as Julie waited patiently, a look of deep sympathy on her face. "Anyway, those three are more than family. In a way, they're literally part of me. I don't know how I'll survive without them. I never had many friends but them."

"You have a team now, and we're all willing to be your friend, Alice," Julie said kindly, putting a hand on her arm. Alice nodded. "I know what we can do. We'll go and get you acquainted with the ice. You'll be so tired that you won't have any energy to miss your friends. At least not tonight. Come on." Julie stood up and grabbed her skates and bag and stick from their place at the door. Alice rummaged around, looking for the bag she'd stuffed her hockey gear into before sending it off the night before. She pulled it free and followed her new roommate.

Julie led her into the team locker room and pointed her to an empty locker with her name on the door. Alice stowed her stuff and began to change. A few minutes later, the two girls were out on the ice, skating laps. Alice was cheering up very slowly. She went through a series of maneuvers and tried to score against Julie, but the girl was fast.

At center ice, Alice set up for another run. "Come on, girl. You can beat up Rocky, you can do this. They don't call you Wave for nothing." She steadied herself and pushed her friends out of her mind, concentrating solely on her surroundings. The goal jumped into sharp relief as she started off. She deked twice, and started to deke a third time, but saw her opening and shot. The puck hit the net and thumped to the ice. Alice smiled.

"Nice job," Julie commented. "Not many of the guys can score against me anymore. Want to give it another go?" Alice nodded, accepting the puck and returning to center ice, unaware of the audience watching from behind the Ducks bench. She took a deep breath and fell into concentration. She sent the puck off, following faster than before. She didn't bother to deke, she just skated and shot. Again, it sailed past Julie and into the net. This time Alice pulled her helmet off. A small smile teased the corners of her mouth. "I'm impressed, Alice. I don't know many people who can do this so easily."

"Thanks." Alice pulled her sweat-damp hair off her neck and shook her head. "I need more. But I don't think I'll get it here. I need to fight." She pulled off her gloves too and stuck them under her arm. "This was great, though. Thanks a lot for helping. I'm just not used to working out my frustrations on the ice. Usually, I end up in a fight with either my pillow or one of the guys." She laughed suddenly. "The last time I lost my temper, Colt royally trounced my ass. And then Tum sat on me until I calmed down." She smiled wistfully. Julie laid a gloved hand on her arm.

"Try not to think about it. It'll only hurt worse." Then she turned and skated off, headed for the showers. Alice stayed, still oblivious to the silent group watching. She tossed her stuff into the penalty box and started skating laps again. As she skated, she started pulling off layers. First came her jersey, the Minneapolis Waves (a joke from Rocky after she'd been named Wave by Grandpa), tossing it in the box as she passed. Then came her shoulder pads, then her arm pads and chest padding. She had to sit down to drag off her padded pants, but finally, she was down to her skating pants and sweater, a birthday gift from Tum in her favorite color blue. She was wearing hockey skates, but that would have to suffice, seeing as she had no idea where her figure skates were, or in what state. She pushed off, going to center ice again. She started with slow moves, stretching her body easily. She knew that she needed a sparring partner to make her feel better, and she needed one soon, but maybe skating could help her get herself under control.

So she spun and twisted in ways that most people thought were impossible. She jumped and turned with the ease of long practice. And she slowly, very slowly, worked out some frustrations on the frozen surface. After an hour of hard skating, she was winded, but not bad. She retrieved her stick and a bucket of pucks. Dumping them out on the ice, she stood, her face stormy. And she shot every single one straight into the empty net, sending her tears and anger with them.

When she was done, she swiftly gathered them up and replaced the bucket, retrieving her gear from the box, and leaving. She changed in record time and practically ran back to her room, where she took a long, hot shower. Coming out with her hair wrapped in a towel, she stopped dead. The team was gathered in her room.

"What's going on?" she asked, slightly miffed at the invasion of privacy.

"Hey, Alice. The rest of the guys wanted to meet you, and I told them to..." Julie trailed off, seeing the look on her roommate's face. The cerulean eyes were darkening, and Julie took that to be a danger sign. "You don't mind, do you?" Alice bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying what she wanted to say. She knew she'd regret it later. Instead, she shook her head and Julie sighed in relief. "So, this is Russ. You've already met Charlie and Adam and Jesse. This is Averman and Goldberg; you already know Fulton and Connie. That's Portman and Guy and Luis and Dwayne. Oh, and this is Kenny." Alice suddenly grinned at the Asian boy approximately her size.

"Kenny?" she asked, trying not to laugh.

"Most people just call me Ken," he replied. She nodded.

"My friends call me Kenny," she said. They looked puzzled. "From my last name. When I was little, Rocky used to call me Kenny when I called him Douglas." She was determined not to sink back into her melancholy.

"Cool. Hey, we saw you out there with Julie. You're good," commented Jesse. She nodded, thanking him. "Where did you learn all that?"

"My mom was a skater. She taught me a lot when we were little, and the rest came from lessons after she died. I joined a hockey team a few years back, but playing on the street wasn't the same, so I made my dad sign me up for an ice hockey team. It was a blast for a while, until it started to interfere with summers at the cabin. There was no contest. I quit hockey last year so I could spend the summer with the boys and Grandpa."

"Quit hockey?" exclaimed a number of incredulous voices. She merely nodded.

"It isn't near as important to me as my friends," she replied simply. "Not even near as important to me as martial arts. Douglas times three always comes first, just like I do to them." She shrugged easily. "That's just how life works."

"Who are these people you keep talking about?" asked Ken. Julie shot a glance at Alice, but the other girl seemed to be doing fine.

"My three best friends in all the world. Rocky, Colt and Tumtum. Of course, those aren't their real names, just like Wave isn't mine. Rocky, aka Sam, is my age. He's got a few inches on me, but I can still beat him in a fair fight. He's usually the stabilizing influence between Colt, Tum, and me. Colt and I have rows daily, it seems. He's the middle boy, a year younger. He and I are exactly the same size. I know because I had to wear his clothes once when all of mine were stolen. His real name is Jeff. He hates it. But he's a real sweetheart, too. And Tum... Michael, anyway. He's the youngest. I think he's about two and a half years younger than me. But he's got one hell of a right hook. Those three have been my friends since I was a baby. Well, Sam, anyway. Jeff and Michael since they were born." She trailed off with a sigh, only to be rescued by the jangling of her phone. She answered it with, "Colt?"

Nice try.

"Hey, Rocky. What's up?"

No much. I've been trying to call you for a while.

"Sorry, I was out, and then I was in the shower. And you know, I'm a girl, so..."

Yeah, so you were in there for a whole ten minutes. She could hear his smile.

"Naw. I took a long shower. I felt... well, I'm sure your brother filled you in on my feelings. Hey, how did training go? Grandpa didn't make you pull him up the mountain again, did he?"

No. We basically just did a lot of hand to hand. He knows we're all still upset about yesterday. He's not cruel and unusual, just unusual.

"Yeah. I'm sorry you had to do extra stuff because of me, though. I'd give anything to be doing it with you. How's Tum?"

Hungry.

That made her laugh, shortly. She absently pulled on shoes while holding the phone to her ear. "I miss you guys, you know." She sniffed and got up, pocketing her keys. "I tried to kill myself on the ice today because I don't think any of my teammates would take too well to having me come at them in a snit." She left. He laughed.

Last time it took both Colt and Tum to keep you down. I think it would take your whole team to stop you from beating something or someone up. I'm betting, though, that no one will sit on you, so that gives you a distinct advantage.

She knew he was trying to make her laugh, but she just couldn't. "Thanks, Sam," she sighed.

Whoa, hold the phone. We only use our real names when something's up. What's wrong? Are you okay, or are you still all bleh about yesterday?

"I don't know. I miss you guys like crazy. I don't think we've spent much time apart over the last five years, and this is all so... so fast and sudden. It's also painful. I wanted to kill my dad and I spent all of five minutes railing at my ceiling earlier. I would beat up something inanimate, but I don't want to injure myself. And I think that taking to my brand new teammates in a violent rage wouldn't sit too well. It would be a good way to get myself kicked out of school, but if I did that, Dad would forbid me from seeing any of you again. So that plan's out too. I'm all out of ideas, Rock."

Don't worry, Wave, we'll figure something out. After all, you do have your dad's jet. There was some scuffling on the other end of the phone. Let go, Tum! I'll give you the phone in a minute. So yeah, I've got to go, but Tumtum wants to talk to you, and I think Colt's trying to tell me that he wants to talk to you too. So I'll talk to you later? Love you, Wave.

"Love you too, Rocky." She waited until Tumtum had chirped his greeting. "Hey, Tum. How're you?"

Not as bad as Colt says you are. I miss you. Grandpa made me practice with him today, and you know I always feel stupid when I do. I like practicing with you better, because you screw up as often as I do.

"Yeah. But think of it as a learning experience. You'll get better faster with a partner that doesn't make mistakes than with one that makes as many as you do. Besides, you're best with Rocky because you're the same size. Just like Colt and me are well matched. So, see, fighting with Grandpa is good for you." She waited, but there was only silence. "Tum? Michael?"

Huh? Yeah, sorry. Colt was talking and being an ass, so I didn't catch that last part.

He was lying through his teeth, she could tell. Something was going on. "Put him on the phone a sec," she demanded, and suddenly the phone was in Colt's possession. "What is going on over there?" she asked. When he replied, she could discern two things: that he'd gone into another room and shut the door, and that he was blushing. She loved it when he blushed. He was so cute- wait a minute! Where was that thought coming from?

Nothing. Rocky and Tumtum were just teasing me again.

The truth, but not the whole truth. "About what?" she pressed. "And don't lie to me, either. Even over the phone I can still tell if you're lying."

He sighed. I know. That's what I was afraid of. I am never telling secrets to my brothers again. There's no point because all they do is tease me about them.

"A girl?"

Yeah. He was blushing again. She smiled.

"And?"

No big deal, Wave. They were just giving me hell about it. He didn't mention that if he hadn't hit his younger brother on the head when he did, said brother would have flapped his lips about his secret crush to the last person he wanted finding out. I just don't want to talk about it. Remember all the hell we used to give Rocky about Emily? Well multiply that by like ten, and you've about got it right.

"She must be something special, huh?" she asked, running through her mental list of Colt's type of girl. Not many people fit that list. "Like Jo?"

He snorted. No, she's a lot more special than even Jo.

"I don't know, Colt, you did give Jo a Malibu Ninja doll," she teased. He laughed with her, a sound she loved hearing, more because it was so rare. She couldn't help remembering what he looked like when he laughed, how his sandy hair flopped onto his forehead, and he would try to shake it back, only to have it fall in his eyes again. Then she bit her lip. Why was she thinking about that? She'd known the kid since he was born! Granted, she couldn't remember that far back- she had only been one, after all- but she still knew him far better than anyone else.

Wave? Hey, Ali, are you there!? ALI!!!

She snapped back to the present with an intake of breath. "Yeah. Sorry, I zoned out for a minute there. Don't know what that was." She was lying and he could tell. She sighed. "All right, so I know. I got distracted as my thought train plowed into a wall and I had an epiphany," she said. He remained silent. "No, it wasn't all that big a deal. I just got distracted. So, go on. Tell me about the new love of your life," she teased. She could hear him grin.

No, I'd rather talk about you and how you're doing.

"Don't make me insist you tell me," she said warningly. He sighed.

Really, it's no big deal. Maybe I'll tell you next time I see you.

"Jeffrey..." she growled.

I can still hang up on you, you know.

"Fine, don't tell me. I'll just ask one of your brothers," she threatened. She'd never go through with it, and he knew it, just like she knew he'd never hang up on her, but this was one of their usual tactics when dealing with each other. He sighed. "I'm just kidding, Colt. You've got it bad, my friend, if you're taking a threat like that seriously." He sighed again.

Look, they're banging on the door to make me come out. I gotta go.

"Where are you?" she asked, but the line went dead. She stared at her phone, then pushed end. He never hung up on her. None of them did. It was just something that in the Douglas-Kensington world was simply NOT DONE. There weren't many things that were NOT DONE, but hanging up on one another was one of them. So was kissing in front of one of the others. It was NOT DONE. Especially since most often, Rocky and Colt ended up liking the same girl. At least since Colt had decided that girls weren't really the enemy out to snare him in a web of torture and mischief.

She continued to stare in shock at her phone, wondering what the hell was going on.

Colt dropped his head in his hands, letting the cordless slide to the floor. He was such a hopeless moron. Rocky yanked open the door to the closet and looked down. "Dude, you are such a hopeless moron." Colt glared halfheartedly up at his older brother, then shrugged. Rocky walked into the closet and sat, pulling the door closed behind him. "Want to talk about it?"

"I've known her since I was born and only figured out yesterday that I love her, Rocky," he said, as if that explained everything. "I sobbed into her shoulder yesterday!"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Do you want to listen to it?" Colt retorted. Then he sighed.

"Colt, she's my best friend too. We all know the way she thinks. And I can tell this is something you really can't share with her."

"No, you think?!" Colt replied sarcastically.

"Look, I may not act like it all the time, but I'm still your big brother, and I'm still here when you want to talk." He started to get up. Colt pulled him back down. "You want to talk?"

"What am I supposed to do?"

"That's an open-ended question, Colt. I'm all for the direct approach because you know I hate skulking. But, I don't know, you're better at being subtle. I may be strong and cool as stone, but I'm also as blunt as it. You, on the other hand, are not like me in that respect."

"She's older than me."

"Moot point. You act our age, and sometimes older. Besides, it's only a year."

"She's my best friend."

"That's a little tougher to get around, isn't it? I could say that she's my best friend too, but I'm not the one that's in love with her. I love her, but that's different." He paused to think for a minute. "I just don't know, Colt. Maybe you should try telling her. See if she feels the same. Maybe you should try forgetting that you're in love with her. Maybe it'll go away,"

"You're not helping."

"I'm sorry. I'm not any good at this sort of stuff."

"I know. Ali's the one who's good at stuff like this. Maybe I should ask her." His face slowly brightened. "I will ask her!" he exclaimed. Rocky stared at him.

"You've gone mental," he muttered, using one of Alice's favorite expressions.

"No, look, if I start asking her for advice on girls, she won't know it's me until I start using her own ideas on her! See? It's perfect."

"You're nutters," Rocky said. "I'm standing by that story." He climbed to his feet and hit his head on the low shelf. "But you're going to do it anyway, so I suppose I shouldn't say anything else." Instead, he opened the closet door and left.

Colt dialed Alice's cell phone and listened to it ring.

This had better not be who I think it is, Alice growled. Colt winced. She was pissed.

"Jeffrey Andrew Douglas, you hung up on me!" she shouted, causing several heads to poke out of doors.

I'm sorry.

"Sorry? SORRY!? You hung up on me! This is almost as bad as the time you kissed Jo in front of me!" she screeched. She was on a roll. "YOU hung up on ME!"

"I think you've established that fact," declared a voice behind her. She turned. A tall brunet stood behind her, towering over her by a good foot. His hazel eyes sparkled down at her and she almost dropped the phone when a slow smile spread over his face. Her own started to heat.

"Sorry. I-I didn't mean to be so loud."

"Don't worry about it. It's not like it's curfew or anything. There aren't even many of us here. Just try and keep your yelling at your boyfriend restricted to your own room."

"He's not my boyfriend," she replied automatically. "But I'll remember that. Sorry." She turned and walked off, back the way she'd come. And Rick Riley grinned to himself. That little hottie was going to be his. No matter what it took. "I don't know whether I should hang up on you, or listen to your excuses as to why you did it," she said, returning to the conversation at hand.

Who was that? He asked instead.

"Colt, don't do this to me. Why did you hang up on me?"

I'm sorry. It's just that... I wasn't really willing to talk about it. I don't know how to talk to girls about girls.

"Well, when your best friend happens to be a girl, who better to talk to about girls?" she replied, suddenly intrigued. "Come on, if you can't talk to me, who are you going to go to? Rocky? He'd just make an ass of himself walking up to a girl and asking if she had a boyfriend. Girls like it when you're sweet and subtle. Rocky is sweet but not subtle. Tum is subtle but not near as sweet as his candy. You, my friend, are both. And charming, too, when you want to be. Or would you go to Grandpa? That would be an interesting conversation. If you went to Tum, you'd only get yourself laughed at. I would never laugh at you, I happen to be a girl, and I know you, so I know what you can and cannot do in terms of wooing."

Please tell me you did not just say wooing. Well, basically...she's a girl like you in a lot of respects. She's... okay, hypothetically, let's say I wanted to...woo... a girl exactly like you. Essentially, you. What would I do first?

"If you were trying to woo- all right, different word, that one's too weird. If you were trying to, shall we say, hit on a girl exactly like me? I'd say introduce yourself first."

Taken care of.

"Then next... well, strike up a conversation, about common interest."

I'm way past the preliminaries, here, Wave.

"Oh, you're going to be difficult. You already are difficult. I've got a short list in my head of your types of girls, and only two names pop into my head when I focus on that list."

Who?

"Miyo...and me. Colt..."

I'm not trying to steal Rocky's girl, Wave.

"All right then. Because I think that trying to steal the girl your brother likes but claims not to would be a heinous offense to all brotherly... never mind. So, have you asked her out yet?"

She isn't, in fact, aware of the fact that I...ahem, like her that way. She's just a friend.

"Okay, just a friend. Geez, no wonder you didn't want to talk to me about girls. You managed to stumble through the preliminaries just fine on your own. Why do you need my help now?"

It's gotten a bit...complicated.

"Okay... um...have you tried taking her out for pizza?"

Been there, done that.

"Don't be a smart ass, Colt. I can still pay you back for hanging up on me. Okay. Let's see...how about flowers? I remember when Rocky-"She bit off the end of her sentence. Colt didn't know about the time when Rocky gave Jo a bunch of flowers. "Rocky succeeded marvelously when he sent flowers to Miyo."

Rocky sent flowers to Miyo? When was this? I don't remember.

"It was just after the baseball game that one summer. The time you missed my game to get to yours." She paused. "Flowers are good. Never give a woman chocolate- this is important!- because chocolate does nasty things to weight and to complexion, and the woman will end up blaming everything on you somehow."

But you love chocolate and it doesn't do anything to you.

"You're right, it doesn't. But I assure you, I am a rare breed. You can send me as much chocolate as you like, and I'll enjoy all of it. But flowers tend to last longer than food. Um... you know, I don't know what else to tell you," she added, approaching her own door, still open. "You're probably the last person I would expect to ask for advice on girls. Not that I have much experience with what works and what doesn't. You three were far better at chasing off guys for me than I ever was."

What are you talking about?

"Oh please. Don't give me that. Rocky's patented death glare. Tum's amazing verbal threats. And you. You, with your 'touch her and I'll rip your arm out' growl. Honestly, I think I'd have had more boyfriends if I didn't hang around you three as often as I did. It didn't help my social life to be constantly in your company. Although, it may be, also, that I can kick butt of my own that throws them off," she added, smiling. "I'm back at my room, and I still have unpacking to do. I'll call you later, okay?"

Okay. Hey, thanks, Ali. I love you.

"I love you too, Jeff," she said, surprised. "Wait a minute."

What?

"Like Rocky said to me earlier, we don't use our real names unless something is up. You aren't in trouble with some girl right? You're not...I'm not even going to ask that. Please tell me you're not trying to get back into someone's good graces."

No. I'm not, I swear.

"Good. You're not going to cry again, are you?"

No.

"All right then. I love you, Jeff. I'll see you soon, okay? Say hi to Grandpa for me. Bye." She hung up and walked into the room that, fortunately, had been vacated by the team. Julie was sprawled across her bed, reading a fat novel or some such thing. Alice went to the first big box and pulled it open. Inside were some of her clothes piled on top of her bedding. She set about making her bed, throwing a sleeping bag and a mattress pad over the actual mattress before she started to put her sheets on it. The sheets were a pale blue and matched the scene of a rainy day that was hand-painted on her bedspread. She'd done the painting herself, though the ocean was entirely the work of the boys. Next she tossed two normal-sized pillows at the head and a square pillow with a pocket that held her journal and a pen.

There were two bookshelves for her: one hung on the wall over her bed and the other sat on her desk. She put all her valuable books (first editions, signed copies, hardcovers) in a row on the shelf above her bed. She had a first edition Alice in Wonderland, a signed copy of Lord of the Rings, a hardcover copy of Dante's Divine Comedy, all five hardcover copies (two of them signed) of Harry Potter, and all the books written by Tamora Pierce. She tossed paperbacks haphazardly onto the shelf on her desk until she could get there to organize them. She unpacked the rest of her clothes and then dove into the box of extras. She put up plenty of posters. Since her bed was against the right wall, she put up a giant picture that she'd drawn and inked and colored of the three boys sparring in Japan, a poster of Aragorn, Eowyn, and Arwen from TTT, and a photo of her, the boys, Grandpa, and her mom from six years ago on it. On the wall at the head of her bed, she stuck a poster of Orlando Bloom as Legolas and around it put her Christmas lights. On the ceiling, she put up her glow-in-the-dark sheep and galaxy stickers.

She set up her alarm clock and her computer and the boxes were empty, save the small one that held her toiletries. She took her towels to the bathroom and stowed her shampoo and stuff in the shower/tub. When she came out, Julie had left. Alice shrugged and set about organizing her paperback collection. She left enough space on the shelf for the textbooks she was sure to collect soon.

She threw herself down on her bed and pulled LotR off the shelf, flipping open to her page. When Julie came back, she had fallen asleep. The other girl gently drew a blanket to Alice's shoulders and moved the book. She felt a certain amount of protective instinct for this small girl who'd literally had her life yanked out from under her. And she was handling it quite well.

'Besides,' Julie mused, 'she can miss dinner. We have to get up early for practice anyway.' She flicked off the lights and closed the door gently behind her when she left, a small smile on her face. 'I sure hope she's a morning person.'

Alice woke, per her genetic programming, at four the next morning. Most days, she slept until six, but this morning, she was still a bundle of tension and she needed some martial arts to alleviate that tension. She pulled on soft shoes and swapped her jeans for a pair of loose pants and left the room, taking her keys with her. As she walked down the stairs to the dorm's rec room, she pulled her hair back into a tail, not bothering to braid it.

It was deserted, and the light from street lamps outside gave her enough light to work by without turning lights on. Normally, she hated working by herself, but she needed this time to get herself under control before she exploded. Her conversations and discomfiting thoughts from the night before had only added to her sense of detachment from her friends, and that didn't sit well with her.

She launched into a kata designed to warm her up, both her flexibility and her muscles. She was fast and smooth, from years and years of the same warm-up routine. She could literally do it in her sleep, so she had to practice a meditating technique to quiet her raging mind while she kicked and punched, spun and chopped. After five minutes of it, she shifted into heavier work. Her blows came faster and harder, with more strength behind them. She used the whole length of the room and flipped, cartwheeled and leaped in all directions, swinging her legs out into expertly executed roundhouse kicks aimed both high and low.

She hadn't realized how much noise she must be making until the lights were flicked on. She stopped and turned towards the door. It was the same guy from the evening before who'd teased her about screeching at Colt. "I was loud again, wasn't I?" she asked sheepishly, brushing back a strand of hair that had come out of the ponytail and fallen in her eyes.

"Not at all," he said, eyes twinkling with mirth. "I usually get up at four in the morning during the summer." She grinned and ducked her head. "It's all right. I was watching you a while before I came in. You're amazing."

"Thanks."

"I'm Rick Riley."

"Alice Kensington," she replied. She took his offered hand and grasped it firmly.

"Do you want some help? Someone for you to actually hit?" She shook her head.

"I don't know if that's a good idea. Do you know how to spar?"

"I hold pillows for my little brother to practice on all the time," he said with a casual shrug. Her face lit up. "And I figure that as long as I'm awake, I could do something productive." Her smile made him smile.

"All right then." She tossed him the hand pads and he strapped them on. "Ready?"

"Whenever you are," he replied. She nodded and offered him an honor bow. He bobbed his head and held up his hands. She launched into a series of punches that he blocked well. Her kicks hit dead on and even staggered him back a step. She grinned ferally and launched a left hook that he only barely managed to catch. Her mind had cleared and she stopped, panting slightly, her hair all but undone in a red-gold cloud around her face. She helped him get the pads off and offered him another bow.

"Thank you, Rick," she said, putting them away. "That was a great help."

"Anytime," he replied with a casual smile. He held the door open for her and walked her to the stairs. "Next time, let me know before hand and I'll meet you here." She blushed as he walked away, hands shoved into his pockets before she climbed up the stairs and walked to her room, unlocking it quietly.

To her surprise, Julie was awake, sitting on her bed, braiding her long blonde hair. "Good morning," she said. "Hurry up, we've got practice in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes? It's only five!"

"Exactly. Coach is a Nazi when it comes to getting to practice on time. So let's go, or we'll both be in deep." Alice shook her head and grabbed her hockey bag and stick. Julie led the way to the rink and into the locker room where the rest of the team was already gathered. Several of them seemed affronted that she was so wide awake. A couple of the guys dared to ask why she was already sweating. "Because she got up at four this morning to go out," Julie answered for her. "I'm a light sleeper," she explained with a shrug when Alice turned to look at her.

"What were you doing?" Charlie asked, curious. His locker was next to hers.

"Bleeding tension," she replied. "I was kicking and punching the air for a while. Then Rick came and held blocking pads for me."

"Not... Rick Riley?" Charlie asked carefully.

"Why?"

"He's bad news."

"He was really sweet to me," she replied with a shrug, sitting on the bench to pull off her shoes. "But don't worry. I know his kind." Over her tank, she pulled on the long-sleeved undershirt that would prevent pads from sticking to sweaty skin. She pulled off her loose training pants and pulled on skin-tight skating pants over her boxers. Then she pulled on all her pads and the same Minneapolis Waves jersey she'd worn the day before. She laced up her skates and grabbed the rest of her gear before leaving the locker room. Only Jesse and Portman made it out before her. She set her helmet and gloves down on the bench so she could pull her hair up. Then she pulled on the helmet and gloves and skated out to join them in skating laps until practice started.

"Were you really sparring with Riley this morning?" Portman asked as she skated past him. She turned easily and skated backwards.

"Yeah. He offered to help. If it had been you, I'd have accepted the same help." She shrugged again. "I don't see why it's such a big deal to you guys."

"He made our lives a living hell two years ago. He hates us, we hate him. It's a cycle."

"I don't hate anyone," she replied, turning back around and skating off, leaving Jesse and Portman behind. She skated lazily, not really pushing herself, until Orion blew his whistle and called them all in.

"Grab a knee, everybody. Assuming you've all met Alice, let's get this practice started so Varsity can have the ice." Several soft growls reached her ears. "Gaffney, Banks, Reed, Averman, Hall, Robertson, and Kensington against Conway, Moreau, Germaine, Portman, Goldberg, Wu, Mendoza, and Tyler. I want to see a serious scrimmage, too!" Alice smiled and took her place to Banks' left at center ice. Charlie got the face off, but she intercepted it and took off towards Goldberg, guarding the opposite goal. Fulton and Jesse followed, covering her from assault. Fulton took Portman down, but Luis managed to knock Jesse over and came after her. She shot the puck to Adam just as Luis smashed into her, sending them both sliding a few meters to thud into the boards. She scrambled up first with a wry grin and took off to help Adam out. He scored and the rest of their team gathered in a celebratory huddle. Alice stood to the side, contemplating Adam's goal. She was interested in the deke quad he'd done. She'd only been able to manage three.

"Hey, teammate, why the frown?" Jesse asked, skating over to her. "We scored. Usually that makes people happy."

"Sorry. I am happy. I was just thinking."

"Right. Come on, rookie, let's get back in the game." She smiled wanly and took her place at center ice. Practice was going in their favor, despite the fact that they were playing with one less player. When Orion finally blew the whistle, the sun was shining through the high windows and the score was 7-5, in favor of Alice's team.

"Good practice, all of you. Now hit the showers and get some rest." Obediently, the team skated off and returned to the locker room, where they started to change for their showers. The boys were in the habit of not looking at the girls while they changed, but it was harder now that there was a new body to stare at. And what a body. She was slim and wiry, but her musculature rivaled that of some of the guys. And every move she made was graceful enough to make any of them drool, especially half-naked.

She changed quickly, taking no notice of the eyes that kept straying to her, including Connie and Julie. She was used to changing in front of the boys, and so she paid their attention no mind. She stared at the inside of her locker for a minute, gathering the courage to talk to Adam about his move. When she did, she crossed the locker room to stand behind him.

"Adam?" He jumped a foot in the air and whirled.

"Geez, Alice!" he said.

"Sorry, I thought you knew I was there. Um... I was wondering... about the move you made to score the first time." His face softened. "I may not be very good at stuff like that, but I can only usually manage three."

"Oh, that? I was practicing that move because most goalies only expect three, and so they'll dodge after three and you can score with a fourth." She nodded thoughtfully. "Hey, next time, make some noise, will you? You scared the crap out of me." She blushed slightly, but nodded, returning to her locker and retrieving her stuff.

Then she left the locker room, still thinking. She was halfway across campus before someone started tugging on the shoulder strap of her bag. She looked up and smiled. "Hi, Rick." She let him take the bag from her. "What's up?"

"I was on my way to practice and I saw you coming out. Thought I might give you a hand." His smile was friendly. She grinned.

"How very gentlemanly of you. Thanks."

"My pleasure. You want to maybe get a burger or something for lunch?"

"I was thinking of exploring this new world. That sounds like fun. I'd love to."

"Noon?"

"Sounds good."

"Great. I'll be by your room at noon, then." He handed her back her bag as they reached the dorm building. "Here you go. See you at noon, Alice."

"See you," she replied, typing in the unlocking code and opening the door. She disappeared inside and he grinned. His plan was working well.

Fulton, Portman, Jesse, and Ken watched Riley walk away with a smug grin on his face. "He's going to be trouble for her," Jesse commented. "He's got that predator's look on his face." The other three nodded.

Alice grinned. She knew that Rick Riley was a phony. Acting the gentleman, offering to take her to lunch. All the things she'd told Colt on the phone the night before. Besides, his eyes were cold and calculating. He gave her the creeps when he smiled at her, but he was a very good punching bag. And he was going to buy her lunch. She lugged her stuff up to her room and tossed it down next to the door in the alcove designed for coats and cleaning supplies.

Once done, she flopped onto her bed and pulled out her journal. She hadn't written for a couple of days, so she filled herself in on everything that had happened over the past two days. Halfway through, Julie and Connie tracked in, Julie with her hockey bag. They sat on Julie's bed.

"The guys told us you were talking to Rick Riley again," Julie said at last. Alice looked up from her writing, frowning slightly. "Were you with him?"

"He offered to take me out to lunch," she replied, turning back to her journal.

"He, what!?" Connie shouted, leaping to her feet. "You didn't say yes, did you?"

"Well of course I did. I've never been in this city before and I need someone to show me around. I didn't want to bother one of you guys unless you asked, and he offered, so I said yes. Why is that such a big deal to you?" She was getting defensive and struggling to keep from shouting. "It's not like I like him, or anything. He does make a really good punching bag, though," she added slyly. Connie and Julie stared at her a minute before cracking up.

"You don't like him then?"

"Heavens no! He's cold and...shrewd. He saw a new face and figured he could manipulate me. I recognized the look in his eyes."

"What look?"

"When he learned my name. He got that look in his eyes, thinking he could manipulate his way into my life, thinking I'm a stupid little rich girl."

"Who's a stupid little rich girl?" Jesse asked as he walked into the room, followed by Adam, Fulton, Portman, Ken, Russ, and Charlie.

"I'm nowhere near stupid, but I'm rich. Or rather, my Daddy's rich. Anyway, he had that look on his face that people get when they only want to be your friend because of who you are and where you stand in society. That's one of the main reasons I stuck with Rocky, Colt and Tumtum so long. They knew me before they knew my money." She paused and sighed. "Have you ever heard of Kensington International Rarities?"

"Your dad owns that?" Adam practically shouted. "KIR is a Fortune 500! My dad owns some of the stocks. That's like a multi-billion dollar company!"

"Yeah. That's it."

"Whoa." The statement was filled with awe and came from several people at once.

"Yeah. I've never really had any friends who looked past all that to see me, except for the Douglas boys, who lived next door to me my whole life. I know that look. Riley has it. None of you really do." She shrugged and sat up, putting her journal away. "But he wants to buy me lunch and pretend he's my friend, so what? He's not. And I harbor no illusions, no matter what he thinks." She just seemed to notice that they were once again lounging about in her room. "Do you guys do this often?"

"Do what?"

"Just camp out in people's rooms?"

"Yeah. Why?" She shrugged.

"Just wondering, is all. Nothing wrong with it, I was just curious."

"Yeah. We're going to rent a movie or something. Maybe order pizza. You want to join us tonight?"

"Sounds like fun. I'd love to. Oh, Julie, I almost forgot. My dad thinks we need a TV. I think he's trying to get me to forgive him, but do you want it?" Julie's mouth flopped open a few times. "Because I'll tell him to shove it otherwise."

"Sure. Um, should I ask how big it is?"

"I dunno. But knowing my dad, it'll be as big as can fit in this room." The room was pretty large for a dorm, seeing as it could comfortably fit fifteen plus people and furniture for two. "And then he'll offer me all sorts of gaming systems that I won't ever use, and kitchen stuff and soon he'll be wanting to install laundry stuff... I suppose it would make it better to hang out in if we had some technology." She nodded thoughtfully. "It would give you all something to do when you came to visit."

The room phone rang then, cutting off further words. Alice was closer to it than Julie, so she picked it up. "Hello?"

Hello, Alice.

"My name," she retorted coldly, "is Wave."

Why do you insist I call you by that ridiculous-"

"Mom never thought it was ridiculous. She was always proud whenever she called me Wave. She said it was a mark of respect that Tanaka-san thought enough of my skills to actually give me a ninja name."

All right. I'll call you Wave, then.

"How did you get my number so fast, anyway?" she asked.

I was the one who put you there in the first place. I got you my old room, so you would have plenty of space for all the things I'm sending you.

"Right. Well, Julie says she thinks a TV would be great."

Who's Julie?

"My roommate." Her voice had a duh tone behind it.

You have a roommate? What do they think they're doing, putting my daughter, a Kensington, in the same room as someone else?!

"They were probably thinking economy, Dad. Besides, I like having a roommate. Especially one that's a girl. Anyway, so how about that TV? And could we get a DVD player? And maybe a fridge and a microwave?"

Yes, yes, of course.

"Oh, and about my car?"

What about it? Did you want it left in California, or did you want a new one?

"Yeah. To both. Don't worry, Dad, I trust you to make a suitable decision. If not, I'll just have to deal with it, won't I?"

All right, Alice. I will have everything sent to your dorm room, and I'll have Jessie bring you the car she feels is suitable.

"Jessie? You're letting HER choose what car I drive!? I'd rather drive the Douglas' minivan like Colt and Rocky than drive any car that...she-demon thinks is suitable for a teenage girl. Good Lord, Dad, she'd probably make them paint it pink!"

How about James, then? Her father asked snappishly. Would James be a suitable car-chooser for you?

She giggled. "I can handle Jazz' unusual taste in cars," she assured him. "At least he wouldn't make me drive something pink." She made a few more comments and concessions over the phone and then hung up. "We will be fully loaded. Our room will be the official party room."

"What did you get us?" Julie asked, curious at Alice's dealing skills.

"A TV; a DVD player; a fridge; a microwave; several different gaming systems, along with games; organization for the bathroom, like shelves and stuff in the shower; and a new car. The car's for me, essentially, but you're welcome to drive it if you want."

"What kind?"

"Knowing Jazz, something silver, fast, and sweet."

"Jazz?"

"Short for James. He works for my dad, a personal assistant or something, but he's sort of like a cousin. He used to carry me around on his shoulders when I was little. He'll probably pick out the games for the systems. He'll probably buy me a stereo system as well, even though I left my CD's in California. He's like that. He's probably out buying the stuff as we speak." She smiled. "My dad knows I'm still mad at him. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't know me well enough to know that giving me all this stuff isn't going to help him. No, books are the way to this girl's good graces, not mechanics." She leaned back against her headboard.

The phone rang again, but it was her cell phone. "Do you mind?" she asked politely. She received their nods, picked up the phone and slid off the bed. "Hello?"

Hi, Wave.

"Oh, hello, Mrs. Douglas. Is something wrong?"

No, dear. We heard about what your father did. My dad was very upset, and he said the boys couldn't concentrate, so he brought them home early. I was wondering, while we're on the subject of the boys, if you would mind if they came out to spend this next week with you, before school starts.

Alice was struck dumb for a moment. "I don't know where they would stay, Mrs. Douglas. I mean, I would love it, and they probably would too, but... I don't know how good it would really be for any of us."

You're right of course. I just thought... maybe, since Tumtum is entering high school this year, that spending his last week of summer with you might do him some good. And Colt and Rocky are arguing so much more lately...

Alice sighed. "It would be too hard to say goodbye," she said sadly but firmly. Then something registered in the back of her mind. "Where are they, anyway?"

Oh. They're...outside. Alice didn't buy it for a minute, but it was one thing to call her friends liars, and quite another to call her friends' mother one. Well, I suppose that you'll hear from them later today. I should probably let you go. I'm sure you have plenty of things to do today.

"Thanks, Mrs. Douglas. And thanks for calling. It was good to hear from you." She hung up, and stared at the phone with a thoughtful look on her face. "It's almost as if she... but she wouldn't... would she? She couldn't..." It took them a moment to realize that she was mumbling to herself and not to them. "It isn't possible," she finally concluded. That decided, she put down the phone. "Sorry about that," she said, sitting down again.

"No big," Jesse replied with a shrug as the rest of the team sauntered in, freshly showered and changed. "So, what's everybody going to do until lunch?" A round of shrugs and a chorus of "Dunno" filled the room. Alice shrugged too, but she thought she might finish journaling her escapades of the past two days. She pulled out her journal and started where she'd left off, at that morning's ninja katas. She grinned as she wrote.

"Oh," she said suddenly, looking up. "That stuff should be here by noon. I'll call Jazz in like an hour to let him know where it is that I live so he can bring it all here." Then she went back to the journal.

The team slowly dispersed until she was once again alone in her room. She finished writing thirty or so minutes later, and started to read. She was cruising through The Fellowship of the Ring (she'd actually started on the plane), and she was just debating with herself whether to get up and get a drink of water when Julie and Connie sauntered in again. It was like a cycle. One of the team members would show up and the rest would trickle in. One would leave and they would trickle out. So she soon had the entire team of fourteen (plus herself) in the large room once more.

Fortunately, she was not required to play hostess. The guys were content to sit on the floor or various chairs and chat, while Julie and Connie sat on Julie's bed and talked or giggled. Alice went back to her reading. "Hey, Charlie. Toss me one of those water bottles you're sitting next to, will you?" she said a few minutes later. He tossed it and she caught it without looking up. Which is why she didn't catch their stares. What about those ninja reflexes, huh?

Talk started to die down at about eleven when stomachs started rumbling. Alice marked her place (Book Two, Chapter Three, "The Ring Goes South") and put it back on the shelf. She was about to suggest they go outside or something, when Jazz' familiar voice rang through the door.

"Where is she!?" he called in a singsong. "I've got presents for the prettiest girl here!"

"Jazz!" she cried in delight, hopping over outstretched legs to run out the door and into her friend's arms.

"There you are. How are you doing, ninja bean? I haven't seen you in a long time."

"I'm doing great! How are you? How's Dina? How are the twins? Is Adrian walking yet?"

"Slow down, ninja bean. I'm fine, Dina's fine. Alex and Adam are fine. Alex got sick last week, and Adam broke him arm falling out of a tree, but they're boys. Boys will do that. Addy hasn't started walking yet, but he called Dina mama two weeks ago, and me dada about two months ago. Did I get everything?" She giggled and led him into the room. He raised an eyebrow. "Not much in the way of decoration," he teased, meaning the sprawled teenagers. "I've got all that stuff you ordered downstairs. Along with some stuff you didn't order and your new car." He handed her the keys. She hugged him again. "Come on, you lot. Help me unload." He left the room, taking for granted they would follow.

They did follow, curious about this odd man that Alice seemed so fond of. She was grinning ear to ear as she trotted down the steps and out the front door and around the building to the parking lot, chatting up a storm, asking all sorts of questions about his family or his goings on during the past few months.

They reached the car and she finally looked at it. She went dead silent and still, staring at the three boys lounging against it. Her face drained of color and her eyes got huge. Jazz put a hand on her shoulder which she didn't seem to feel.

Several people began to wonder if she was going to faint, so long did she stand there staring. Then she screamed and launched herself at the car. The three boys laughed and grabbed her in one giant group hug.

She was crying so hard, and hugging them so tight, one might have thought they'd been apart a year instead of a day. The boys were laughing and crying and refused to let go. It was she who pulled back first. "Rocky," she whispered, cupping his face and kissing him. Next, "Tumtum," who made a face that made her laugh. Last, "Colt," who hung back slightly. She kissed him too and threw her arms around his shoulders. "I missed you guys so much. Jazz, what are they doing here?"

"I think your dad knows you better than you might think, ninja bean," he said, gray eyes twinkling merrily as he watched the reunion.

"He convinced Mom to let us come out," Rocky explained, slipping an arm around her waist and kissing her cheek. "And Dad. Of course, it wasn't too hard, considering that all four of us were miserable."

"But I told your mom not to. It'll be too hard to say goodbye."

"What goodbye?" Tum asked cheerfully. "We're staying." Alice's jaw dropped. Tum laughed. "Yeah, your dad paid for us too. Not that Mom and Dad wouldn't have, but he did it anyway." She smiled, happy enough to burst.

"I am so glad you're here," she whispered, hugging them all fiercely again. "Oh, and this is my new team." She introduced them. "I suppose we should get stuff moved in and all that?" Jazz heartily agreed and started unloading stuff and handing it to heavy lifters. Soon everyone had carried a box to Julie and Alice's room. "Wait, what about you guys? Are you moving into the dorms?"

"Well, yeah, but we're waiting for most of our stuff. We've just got clothes and bedding and a few things until Mom sends the boxes."

"Are you sharing a room?"

"Yeah. Sort of, anyway. We're sharing two rooms, but in the same quad. Tum and Colt share one and I'm sharing with some guy named James Riley." Alice nodded, then turned to her new car.

"Wow." The 2004 black Acura was still spotless. She grinned. "I was going to tell your mom you guys could use the Porsche while I'm here. I guess that's a moot point now, huh?" Rocky slung an arm over her shoulders.

"However nice it was of you, we still need rides. Mom wouldn't let us bring the minivan." She snorted and they all turned to go back inside and help unpack all of the stuff. It was a party, and one of the most joyous any of them had ever experienced. The team was obviously impressed with the three ninja boys and the boys were obviously impressed with the team. And Alice was brimming and overflowing with joy, so everyone was smiling to see her flit from one project to another.

They were occupied with it so that when Rick appeared at noon on the dot, no one really noticed. Alice was in the process of helping Goldberg set up the Playstation2, so she had skeins of wires in her hands. "Oh, hi Rick," she said, looking up. "Um..." She glanced down at her hands again. "Give me a minute and I'll be ready to go."

"Sure, take your time." He leaned against the door, watching in amused distaste. Colt watched him from under his eyelashes and started to growl. Above him, Alice tapped his head.

"That is the growl I was referring to last night," she said, handing a cord to Goldberg behind the TV. "Knock it off." She looked around. "Rocky! Stop it." He looked at her. "No glaring. Tum, close your mouth," she added, not even looking at him as he opened it to deliver a threat. Goldberg grabbed a handful of cords and wires, relieving her of her burden. She dusted off her hands. Colt grabbed her arm and pulled her down.

"Where are you going?" he asked slowly, keeping his temper under control. Barely.

"Just out to lunch. Don't worry. It's not like I'm dating him or anything." She kissed his cheek, totally missing the pained grimace he shot to Rocky across the room and the deep glare Rick sent at the back of his head. She stood and grabbed some shoes from under her bed. "Hey, you three. You remember passing the rec room on the first floor? Meet me there at like...three or so, okay. I need to go over some stuff with you."

The three ninjas nodded, their upset at seeing Alice with a guy fading. When they said they wanted to 'go over stuff', it usually meant that they wanted to spar. She grabbed her keys on the way out. Jazz was coming up the stairs bearing pizza boxes.

"Where are you off to, ninja bean?" he asked cheerfully.

"Just lunch. Thanks, Jazz. Will you be here when I get back?"

"I'll wait until you do. We have to talk."

"Good." She kissed his cheek too and followed Rick down the stairs and out to his car. He opened the door for her, then slid in on his own side. He drove them out to a little diner off the main stretch where he said they served the best burgers. She looked at it and smiled. It was rustic. Mickey's Diner, declared the fading lights above the door. He led her in and sat.

"Hi. What can I get you to drink?" asked a waitress. She had honey-brown hair and gray eyes, and her face reminded Alice of someone, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Yes. I'll have a coke," Rick said, not even looking at her. Alice glanced at the woman's name tag.

"Casey, I'd like an iced tea, please," she said. The woman smiled and started to turn when Alice recognized her. "Wait! Um... I don't really know why I'm asking this, but are you... by any chance related to Charlie Conway?" Rick's head snapped up and around, while the woman looked surprised.

"Yes, I am. I'm his mother." Alice grinned. "How do you know Charlie?"

"I'm on the team. I joined yesterday. I'm Alice Kensington." She held out her hand. Casey Conway smiled and took it.

"It's very nice to meet you, Alice. How did you know?"

"Your smile, and his. They're the same." She shrugged. "I have a knack for recognizing faces." She smiled again and Casey nodded, turning to go and get their drinks. Rick stared at Alice. "What?" she finally asked.

"I just realized how much I don't know about you. All I really know is your name. And that you study martial arts and play hockey." She nodded and unrolled her silverware, placing her napkin on her lap. "Where did you live before you moved here?"

"I lived in California, in the mountains. My dad was never around much, because of his business, but I lived with my mom, within biking distance of the Douglas house, of course. After my mom died, Jessica Douglas converted her guest room into a bedroom for me and asked me to live there while my dad was out of town. So I moved in. Every summer I spend with Grandpa Tanaka, my martial arts trainer, at his house in the woods with the boys. My life's pretty simple. I spend time with my dad every time he's in town, of course, but it isn't the same as growing up with him always around." She glanced up at Casey as she set their drinks in front of them.

"What can I get you to eat?" Alice opened her mouth to order when Rick cut her off.

"We'll have two cheeseburgers with fries," he said shortly. "And a plate of onion rings to share." Casey glanced at Alice and smiled tightly before walking off. "So, you were saying?"

"Actually, I have to go to the bathroom. Do you know where it is?" she asked sweetly. He nodded and pointed over his shoulder in the direction Casey was walking. "Thanks." She got up and trotted after the departing woman. "Casey!" She turned. "Could you make mine just a hamburger?"

"Don't like cheese? Or do you just not like him ordering for you?" the older woman asked with a wink.

"Well, I don't like him ordering for me without asking, but I am also lactose intolerant. I can't eat cheese." Casey nodded her understanding and changed the order. "Thanks." Then she disappeared into the bathroom. Her cell phone was vibrating violently. "Hello?"

Where are you?

"Why do you want to know? I told you already, Colt, it isn't a date."

How do you know he doesn't think it is?

"Just because he thinks it is doesn't mean it is," she retorted. "He ordered without asking me, and he ordered a cheeseburger. It isn't a date."

You can't eat cheese.

"I know that. I caught up with the waitress and asked her to change it to a regular hamburger. Don't worry, I'm not going to get sick. Do me a favor?"

Sure.

"Tell Charlie I like his mom."

Okay... There was a pause as he did just that. Then he apparently handed Charlie the phone.

Hey, Alice. So, you're at Mickey's huh? How did you know she was my mom?

"Your smile and hers are identical. I asked, and she confirmed. Rick wasn't too happy, believe me. He's not a very polite person." Charlie snorted and handed the phone back to Colt.

I suppose I should let you get back to your date-that-is-not-a-date-even- though-he-thinks-it's-a-date, right? Have fun, and we'll see you when you get back. Oh, and Jazz says to tell you that he's got your stereo hooked up. She grinned.

"Thanks, Colt. I'll see you guys in a little while." She hung up and left the small bathroom, stuffing the phone back in the pocket of her cargos. Rick had been joined at the table by another guy; tall, blonde, and thick. "I'm back," she said, sliding into her seat. Rick smiled at her as his friend's eyes traveled up and down her body, which she deliberately chose to ignore.

"This is Cole," he said by way of introduction. "He's on the Varsity team too." She nodded.

"It's nice to meet you," she said politely, though she thought it was anything but. The creep wouldn't stop staring at her. She managed a small smile. Cole got up and her smile grew slightly. "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, I got...stuff to do." And then he walked off, hands shoved into his pockets. Casey appeared then, bearing plates of food.

"That was fast," Alice said, beaming at the woman. "Thank you."

"My pleasure. Can I get you anything else?"

"No, thank you," Alice said, cutting off Rick. Casey winked at her and walked away. Alice picked up a fry and stuck it in her mouth. Rick watched her. She pulled the top bun off the burger to put ketchup on it.

"They messed up your order," he commented. "That's just a normal burger."

"I asked for a normal burger," she retorted. "I can't eat cheese." He went silent and she mashed the bun back on the patty before picking it up and taking a bite. He started to eat slowly.

Alice plowed through her meal silently; it was all she could do to keep from screaming at him for being such an ass. She scooped up some ketchup with an onion ring and shoved it in her mouth. Her eyes had gone nearly midnight blue with anger, and as long as she had something in her mouth, she couldn't explode.

Casey came back as she was finishing and set a milkshake down in front of her. "Thanks," Alice said, surprised. "But I can't-"

"Soy," the older woman said with a cheery smile. "It tastes pretty much the same." Alice did grin then, and some of her anger drained, bringing her eyes back to normal.

"Thank you, Mrs. Conway."

"Call me Casey." Then she left. Alice dipped into the milkshake- soy milkshake- and tasted it. Strawberry, her favorite. Eagerly, she spooned another mouthful in.

"I didn't order that," Rick said, finally finished with his burger. She looked up.

"I know. I didn't either. She's just being nice."

"I'm not paying for it," he declared. Alice struggled against the urge to roll her eyes.

"It's okay, Rick." She got up again, with the excuse of going to the bathroom. As she went, she pulled a twenty out of her pocket. As Casey passed her, she slid it into the older woman's pocket. "For the shake, for your thoughtfulness, and for putting up with him," she whispered. Then she went into the bathroom. When she came out, Rick was paying at the register. Casey was cleaning the table and Alice did roll her eyes when she saw that the ass had left no tip. She pulled a ten (she had nothing smaller at the moment) and stuck it on top of the glass Casey was holding. "And that's your tip," she added, turning and walking out of the diner.

The ride back was silent, so Rick turned on the radio. He pulled into the parking lot and made to open her door, but she beat him to it, hopping out. He led her back to her room, hoping that the Ducks wouldn't be there.

"Thanks for lunch, Rick," she said when they got to the door. The team plus three were scattered about the room, playing with the various technologies arrayed there now. He sighed and smiled.

"You are most welcome. I'll see you later." She went in and didn't look back. He shrugged and walked away, down the stairs to his own dorm room.

"Good Gracious, that boy is an ass," she said, crossing the room and kicking off her shoes. She sat on her bed next to Colt. "Charlie, your mom is awesome."

"Isn't she? What did she do?"

"Besides putting up with him for upwards of an hour, she made me a soy milkshake when I told her I was lactose intolerant." She put her phone on the nightstand and lay down lengthwise, her head in Colt's lap at the end of the bed. He combed his fingers through her hair automatically, the way any of them did when they watched a movie. "But the burger was awesome. I liked the setting, too." She looked up at her friend and grinned. He smiled too. He'd always loved playing with her hair. It was so soft and silky, and it usually smelled good too. "So, what did you guys do while I was gone?"

"Hooked up the rest of the stuff, devoured pizza, and tried to beat Goldberg at Smash Brothers Melee on the Gamecube," Adam replied, trying and failing again to beat the game master.

"I rule at this game, you guys. No one can beat me." Colt snorted and started to braid a small section of Alice's hair. She grinned. Rocky and Tum were also looking smug.

"No thanks," she said. "I don't feel like moving." She'd taught the boys to braid three summers ago, and they were actually pretty good at it. Colt was even better than her at it; he could separate the pieces almost exactly even. "I wouldn't mind a movie, though." She indicated the shelf that was apparently stocked with every movie she'd ever seen. "Looks like you guys brought the whole collection," she commented.

"Yeah, Jazz told us to pack your CD's too. They're over there," Colt said, indicating it with his elbow. She nodded. He shook a lock of hair out of his blue eyes and went back to work on her hair. Someone popped in a random DVD and turned it on. She closed her eyes and tried not to groan when the opening sequences of Bring It On flashed across the screen. The ultimate movie for teenage boys. Colt caught her groan and grinned at her. She looked up and smiled too.

She jerked her head away from him suddenly and sat up. He looked startled, about to say something, but stopped. "Wave?" Rocky asked instead. "You okay?"

"Oh, just peachy," she said, sliding up to the headboard and drawing her knees to her chest so she could wrap her arms around them. She rested her chin on her knees with a faraway look in her eyes. No one else seemed to notice anything. When Jazz appeared in the doorway, she got up silently and left with only Colt, Rocky, and Tum the wiser.

"Hey. What's wrong?" Jazz asked as they went down the stairs.

"Nothing," she replied. "Why would something be wrong?"

"You've got that dreamy, faraway look in your eyes that you only get when you're dreaming about something. Usually when something is wrong." Alice shook her head, slightly regretful that he knew her so well. "So what's up?"

"How did you know you were in love with Dina?" she asked instead. Jazz' feet stopped moving as he turned to stare at her.

"What?"

"How did you know you were in love with Dina?"

"Why? Have you met someone?" His eyes sparkled. "Ali, you're only seventeen."

"I didn't say anything. I just wanted to know." She stuck her hands in her pockets and kicked a rock on the path.

"I don't know really. We were friends for a while, though sometimes we would drive each other crazy. Then I just looked into her eyes once, and it hit me, hard enough to knock my breath out. It was powerful. I don't really know how to describe it to you."

"Did you ever rebel against the feeling?" she asked softly. "Did you ever think it might ruin your friendship with her or something?" Jazz' eyes softened and he smiled inwardly. Now he knew what was really bothering this dear little girl he loved like a sister. "I mean, well, were you ever afraid that your relationship would become strained if you spoke up about your feelings?"

"Once. The first time I talked her into going to a movie with me, I was afraid that she'd laugh at me and stop being my friend." He tilted her face up to him. "Darling, I love you, and I can tell you're beating yourself up inside about something. What is it that makes you ask?"

"Nothing," she sighed, removing her chin from his hand and turning away. "It's nothing. I'm fine." She sighed gustily and turned around. "No, I'm not. It's just... I've known him since he was born and I only figured out two days ago that I'm in love with him." This last was whispered. Jazz struggled to keep from bursting into laughter. Her voice was so hopeless.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Do you want to listen to it?" she retorted, not realizing that she was having the same conversation with Jazz as Colt had had with Rocky the day before. "He's younger than me."

"Moot point. He acts your age and sometimes you act a bit younger than you are. Besides, it's only a year."

"He's my best friend."

"That's a little tougher to get around, isn't it? I just don't know, Wave. Maybe you should try telling him. See if he feels the same. Maybe you should try forgetting that you're in love with him. Maybe it'll go away."

"I can't tell him," she protested. "That would ruin everything. Sixteen years of friendship, down the tubes. I can't do that, to any of us."

He shook his head amused. "All right, then, ninja bean. You'll figure it out and I'll see you soon, all right?"

"Leaving?" He nodded. "Bye, then." She hugged him and drove her hands back into her pockets as she went back into the building. Her shoulders were hunched and her face pensive as she walked down the hall towards the stairs. She stopped abruptly outside the rec room when she heard the sound of someone furiously pounding on a dummy. She eased the door open and leaned against the wall, watching Colt punch and kick fiercely, his eyes blazing hotly. Her eyes followed him hungrily; since her realization, she couldn't get enough of watching him. "What did that dummy ever do to you?" she asked softly after he'd kicked it in the crotch six or seven times in a row. He whirled, set to accept an attack. Then he relaxed and his face softened.

"Hey, Wave," he said, swiping a hand across his forehead to get the hair out of his blue eyes. "I was just practicing." She raised an eyebrow and he laughed. "Okay, so it was a little bit more than practice. But it was a good workout." She smiled.

"Want a hand?" He smiled.

"Any time." They set up and bowed. As they sparred, Alice couldn't help thinking, again, that they were perfectly matched in size. He was slim and wiry like her and only about a centimeter taller. His knuckles, like hers, were rough and calloused, but her hands were smaller, with longer fingers. Their hair was a similar color, with a little more red in hers, and a little more curl. Her eyes were a clearer and deeper blue. Both of them smiled somewhat sideways, with one side curling up faster than the other. His arms were slightly longer and larger than hers, but her legs were longer and more muscular than his.

He caught her punch and held onto her wrist while he punched at her side. She danced out of the way, but he held her fast by the wrist, so she twisted and lashed out with her foot. The only way for him to avoid her would be to let her go and back up.

To her shock, he yanked her towards him, throwing her off balance. Then he turned and she went up against the wall; not hard, because he was being gentle, but she was pressed up against the wall with one of his hands gripping her wrist and the other arm pressing against her chest to keep her there. She stared at him, impressed.

"You've never done that one before," she commented. He smiled and backed up, releasing her.

"We never fought indoors before, so it was never of any use," he replied with a casual shrug, shaking his hair out of his eyes again.

"If you would cut it, it would stop flopping in your eyes, you know," she said, combing it back with her fingers. He froze and she sighed. "I am so glad you guys are here," she managed before she started to cry. He looked alarmed and pulled her into his arms, where she proceeded to sob into his chest.

"Then why are you crying?" he asked. If it had been any other girl, he'd have been uncomfortable. Despite knowing he loved her, there was no tension, complete comfort. He remembered all the other times they'd cried on each other, especially after her mom had died.

"I don't know. I thought my dad was out to ruin my life, and I was so depressed. And now you're here instead of there." She sniffed, but didn't move, just let him hold her. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to act like a girl." He pushed her back and wiped her cheeks with his sleeves.

"But you are a girl, Ali," he said softly, smiling gently. "You're a beautiful girl with a mean right hook and a roundhouse that never fails to dump me on my ass. And you're my best friend." He kissed her forehead. "I missed you too, you know. We all did. Grandpa gave up on us having any concentration for the rest of the summer."

"I still can't believe my dad did this for us. I didn't think he cared, or even that he knew me well enough to know that you were all I needed." She hugged him, burying her face in his chest again. He wrapped his arms around her waist and tucked her head under his chin. They stood like that for a while. "You stink," she said softly after a few minutes had passed. He laughed and she felt it in his chest, making her smile.

"And you, of course, smell so much better," he retorted.

"Of course I do," she replied loftily, still pressed against him in a hug. "I'm a girl." He took a deep, silent breath through his nose, inhaling a mix of scents he always associated with her: sweat, ice, clean linen, and citrus. He didn't realize she was doing the same: linen, dirt, sweat, and sandalwood soap. She grinned and pulled away from him. "I'm up for one more round, how about you?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Rocky's voice said from the door. Tum and he were leaning against the doorjamb, watching them. The two boys came in and the four ninjas squared off.

"Wait! We should do this outside, where there's more room."

"You just don't want to get pinned to the wall again," Colt protested with a laugh. She nodded.

"You're right. But I always liked fighting outside. Let's just go, okay?" She took them outside and tossed her keys under a tree where Rocky tossed his shoes. Shrugging, they all followed suit and stood in the grass barefoot. After four polite bows, the three boys ganged up on her. Laughing, she ran away, towards the tree, them hot on her heels. So she ran up the tree and flipped over backwards, landing a roundhouse that dumped Colt on his backside. She blocked a kick to either side from Rocky and Tumtum while Colt flipped to his feet and came at her from the front. Unfortunately, Rocky managed to grab her arm, so she couldn't dodge, though she did manage to sweep Tumtum's feet out from under him. Colt's punch glanced off her side as she twisted instead of hitting full on, but now she had one arm twisted behind her back. Panicking slightly, she tried to turn, but Rocky jerked her wrist up towards her neck, cutting off that plan before it was formed.

And then she was on the grass and Rocky was flying through the air towards the tree, followed by Colt, protesting loudly. Alice shot to her feet and spun to see two angry enforcers and Jesse. She started to laugh. "Guys, stop! Stop!" Jesse lowered the fist he'd raised to deck a shaken Rocky and Portman looked over from where he'd lifted Colt in the air by his training tunic. "Please, guys." She went past Jesse and Rocky to Portman and gently eased his hands open. Colt dropped and landed easily on the balls of his feet before darting backwards to hide behind her. "It's okay."

"They were beating the crap out of you," Fulton protested.

"No. We were sparring."

"Three against one!" Portman cried, outraged that she was defending them.

"That's how we practice," Colt said. "She's good. You had to have seen that part." He rubbed his wrist where Fulton had grabbed and thrown. "She can take all three of us. Sometimes," he added. She turned a mock-glare on him.

"Guys, they're my best friends. They wouldn't hurt me deliberately."

"I don't know. That punch looked pretty deliberate." Jesse's voice was low; it was plain he was still angry.

"You know, you're awfully protective for only having met her yesterday," Rocky hazarded.

"She's a Duck now. And Ducks fly together." The three large boys shrugged. The three smaller ones grinned.

"Duckie bean," Tumtum said slowly, his smile growing to encompass his ears. Alice sighed in a long suffering way and leapt on him, taking them both down. "No fair!" he cried as she sat on his chest. "Rocky! Colt! Help!" His brothers only laughed. Then Rocky grabbed her and pulled her up, keeping her arms pinned behind her back. She twisted out of his hold and winced when Colt's fist connected with Rocky's gut instead of hers. She grabbed Tumtum and threw him over her hip into the grass in time to swing out of the way of another of Colt's punches. Then she backed away slowly, the three of them pacing her.

Of course, when they ran at her at once, she had to flip over their heads, which she just managed. But she landed wrong and had to roll. Flipping to her feet, she blocked two punches and caught the third full force just below the cheekbone. And she dropped. Colt dropped with her, the other two following close.

"Oh, Lord," he whispered, pulling her hand away from it. "I am so sorry."

"It happens," she said sweetly, ignoring the fact that moving her mouth hurt like hell. She was hauled to her feet by Portman, who shot a dirty look at Colt. "Really, Jeff. Stop it. You've hit me before."

"Yeah, but not so hard, and not right on your face like that."

"Oh, and I suppose that time when you broke my wrist doesn't count?" she asked, gently probing the throbbing bone. "Or when you lashed a good left kick to my ribs and cracked one? Or-"

"Okay, okay. I get it. You're not porcelain."

"Thank you. Portman, let me go." It was agony every time she moved her lips, but she wasn't letting on. He obeyed. "I am going to take a shower. Maybe I'll go for a walk first. I'll see you guys later." She slipped on her shoes and pocketed her keys and trotted off towards the other side of the grounds. Her cheek ached and burned and she knew that she'd have one very handsome bruise there within the hour. But something was nagging at her heart and she needed to sort it out.

She'd never really had any friends her own age except the boys. Jazz was her cousin, for all intents and purposes. It felt odd to have the three Ducks stand up for her like that, so honestly and effortlessly. It felt so weird... she hadn't felt at all strange, alone with Colt in the rec room, sobbing into his chest. She would expect to feel awkward or something if their friendship was taking on a new hue. She wanted it to, didn't she?

Alice shook her head and sighed, looking up at the sky. The blue sky. Well, it was blue in the rare places where thick clouds weren't boiling over it. It was going to rain. She loved rain, especially in the mountains. It would hit the tree leaves and make a pattering sound. It would come all in a rush, absent one minute, there the next. Wonderful. She smiled and immediately winced in pain, which didn't help.

"I need to get some ice." She turned to go back and found she'd wandered quite far away from her original course and was now near a lake that she knew to be at the back of the Eden Hall property, about a mile from her dorm building. So either she'd walked faster than she thought, or she'd been walking for a long time. She glanced at the watch. She'd been walking for a long time. So she trotted back to the dorm building, making it just shy of an hour that she'd been gone.

Julie let out a scream when she walked into the room, causing people to turn and look. "Good Lord, what happened to you?" she asked, leaping off her bed.

"I got into a fight with a horse," she replied, trying not to smile. Jesse snorted. "I came back to get ice." Then she caught sight of herself in the mirror and let out a low whistle. "He was right, this one is prettier than all the rest." She gently probed the swollen, black and purple flesh under her eye. "I like it," she declared, crossing the room and stepping over several pairs of legs to get to the fridge for some ice, which she placed gingerly against the cheekbone, sighing in relief.

She sat down on her bed and slid out of her shoes. "Weren't you watching this when I left?" she asked, leaning back against her headboard.

"This is a good movie," Averman said defensively. Alice smiled. The three boys arrived, showered and clean and came to sprawl on her bed.

"You don't want to sit by me," she said. "I stink."

"How bad is it?" Colt asked, ignoring her comment. She pulled the ice away and he hissed in sympathy. Rocky whistled in awe. "Did I say before how sorry I am?"

"Yes you did. I'm fine. It's just a bruise." He reached for it. "Leave off. I'm going to take a shower. Stop acting like a mother hen." She got up, tossing the ice to Averman, sitting next to the fridge. "Put that away for me, will you? Rocky, I'm going to use your shower." She went into the bathroom and grabbed towels, clothes and shampoo before leaving to trot upstairs to the quad that the three boys shared with an as yet unknown fourth party. She sighed. She wasn't really in the mood for people right now.

She walked in as if she owned the place and his jaw fell to the floor. Red- gold hair fell in sweet waves down over her shoulders and back. Her cerulean eyes were framed by long dark lashes. Her chin was slightly pointed and a handful of freckles splashed across her pert nose. She was slim and wiry, but her legs were to die for and she was about as tall as one of his roommates. The shorter one, what was his name? Oh yeah, Colt. Her body was sheer perfection. And she had a huge bruise painted across one cheek. He winced slightly in sympathy.

She blinked. "You must be James," she said, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks.

The front legs of his chair hit the floor with a think. She knew his name. The goddess (with a big bruise on her face) knew his name. "Um, yeah. James Riley. And you are?"

"Alice. Alice Kensington." Her blush deepened. "Sorry. Rocky told me I could use his shower. Is that okay?" For the first time, he noticed that the hair at her temples was sweat-soaked. He nodded dumbly. "Thanks." She disappeared into the bathroom and he heard the lock click. A moment later, he heard the water start. Was she Rocky's girlfriend? He wondered.

Rocky walked in after she'd been in the shower for five minutes. "Hey James," he said casually. "I see she actually did get in the shower."

"How'd she get the bruise?" Damn. Didn't mean to ask that so bluntly.

"Training accident. She blocked two punches and missed the third."

"She's pretty sweet looking even with the bruise," James hazarded. Rocky looked at him, struggling not to glare. Colt had told him what Alice had said about their being too overprotective. He shrugged. "Come on, man. You can't honestly tell me you don't see it."

"It would almost be like thinking that about my sister. She's been my best friend since Colt was born. Almost sixteen years. That's just..." He trailed off as the water stopped. Both boys waited until she opened the door and came out, fully dressed and a towel wrapped around her head.

"Oh, hey, Rocky," she said, leaning over to pick up the bottle of shampoo she'd dropped. "Thanks for the loan." She trotted out into the hallway to descend to her own room. James was left speechless for a minute after she left. Rocky sighed.

"Look, James, I'm going to tell you now. I love her like she was my sister, a twin even. I have been known to get overprotective. You like her, that's fine. It's hard not to. But you hurt her and I swear, you won't survive life with the Douglas brothers. Get it?" Unperturbed, James nodded. He had to tell his brother about the goddess who'd walked into his room. Rocky shook his head and left, closing the door behind him.

He strolled in to find Alice in her own bathroom, combing out her wet hair. She emerged a few minutes later with it all slicked back straight. Then she flipped it over and shook it before flipping it back. Now it cascaded in waves that were drying slowly. "You made a conquest," he remarked. Colt dropped the box of pizza on Goldberg's head with a splat as he looked up.

She sighed. "You threatened him, didn't you? For Heaven's sake Rocky, he's your roommate. And Alice is a big girl now." He shrugged. "You're an idiot. An overprotective one, but an idiot." She sat down on her bed and pulled Lord of the Rings into her lap. And so she started to read, blocking out the room.

Rocky had to throw a shoe at her to get her attention. "What!?" she shouted, looking up. He started to laugh.

"What kind of pizza do you want, duckie bean?" Tumtum asked in a singsong.

"Don't care, but if you call me that one more time, we'll be having Michael bits on our pizza," she growled. Her three best friends stared at her in amazement. She never said things like that to them. Then she sighed. "Sorry, Tum. I didn't mean it. I guess I'm just a little off." He shrugged. She went back to her book with a little frown on her face. It was Rocky, ever-observant best friend Rocky, who noticed she hadn't turned a page for ten minutes.

He slid onto the bed next to her, gently tugging the book from her hands and putting it back on the shelf. "Come with me," he said softly. She obeyed without a word and he led her back upstairs to his room. Fortunately, James was still gone. "Sit," he commanded, pointing to his bed along the far wall. She sat. He pulled up his desk chair and sat facing her. "What's up?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You and Colt are acting dodgy. What's up?"

"You're far too suspicious for your own good, Sam," she replied quickly, her mouth dry. Did he know?

"No. But Colt has never been that concerned about you in training before, even when he cracked your rib. He's never stopped in the middle to see if you were all right. Usually it was me. I know what's up with him, but I'm not quite sure I know what's up with you. Now, either you tell me now, or I lock you in here until you go crazy and then make you tell me. Which is it?"

"No, Sam," she said firmly. "I won't tell you. I can't tell you. It would ruin everything."

"Our friendship, you mean. You can't tell me a secret because it will ruin the perfectly symbiotic relationship that the four of us have had since infancy. Nothing you tell me would ruin that relationship. You're my sister, my twin, a big part of who I am. Nothing will change that."

It was a big speech, for him. Or for any of them. Normally, they didn't need words to express feelings like that. She gaped at him. "Sam..."

"Tell me you're in love with him," Rocky whispered, his brown eyes boring into hers. She gasped. He did know. "I need to hear it from you. Tell me you're in love with my younger brother." He watched her eyes, never blinking for a second. She sighed and broke the staring contest first.

"I don't know, Sam. I honestly don't know. I...think I am. I just... he-you- I have three best friends and I happen to have realized that maybe I'm in love with one of them. And if that isn't a confession, I don't know what is." He reached across the space between them and squeezed her arm gently.

"It's hard, isn't it? Loving someone, or thinking you love someone, but not willing to tell them for fear it will screw up the perfect relationship you already have with them?" He moved to the bed and took her hands in his. "You know the first memory I have is of you and Colt. You were trying to teach him how to walk, even though you weren't very good at it either. You were using one hand to hold yourself steady and you were holding his hand with the other and calling him Jeffey. And he came to you and collapsed into your arms and you both tumbled to the floor, but you were both thrilled with your accomplishment. Maybe my toddler mind knew it then, but somehow, you two were going to be different than me and you or me and him." He laced their fingers. "I love you, Wave. God knows you're my best friend. And he's my brother. I want you both to be happy."

"I am happy. I mean, I will be happy. Just as soon as I figure out what it is I want." She kissed his cheek and he pulled her into a hug. "It's nice to have someone to have big kid conversations with," she sighed, letting him pulled her head into his lap. "I could have talked to Tum, but he'd go off on an unrecognizable tangent if I tried to get serious with him. And I can't exactly tell things like this to Colt." He snorted as he started braiding little sections of her hair.

"No, you'd end up offending each other within five minutes and both stomp off in a huff only to apologize twenty minutes later. We each have our own personalities, thus our own unique friendships with each other. I'd be thoroughly creeped out if you had the same relationship with each of us." He continued to braid her hair as they talked. The door banged open and slammed shut and suddenly Colt and Tumtum walked into Rocky's alcove. "Hey, guys." Alice sat up and grinned, her still-damp hair hanging in waves but also braids down the sides of her face.

"Let me guess, the pizza's here?" Tumtum nodded and held out a hand, into which Alice shoved a fifty. He nodded thanks and ran off to pay the pizza guy. Colt came and sat on the bed next to his brother.

"You guys have been gone a long time. What are you talking about in here?"

"We were remembering," Alice replied, pulling the damp hair, braids and all, into a ponytail, which she tied off with an elastic. "Rocky was telling me about his first memory. I was responding with mine when you guys came in for money."

"So what was your first memory?" Colt asked, curious.

"Remember when- well, no, you probably wouldn't. You were like two, and Rocky and I had just gotten Big Wheels. Ah, a three-year-old's dream. Anyway, you were sitting really dejected on the front porch, watching us ride around in circles, so I told you to hop on the back. And I drove you around in circles until you rolled off, giggling."

"And then you and Rocky tickled me," he added softly, his eyes distant. "I remember that." She smiled at the memory. He turned onto his stomach and spread out.

"How about you? What's your first memory?"

"I think that one you just described."

"What's this I hear about memories?" Tumtum asked, bouncing onto the bed with them.

"We were sharing our first memories. How about you?" Alice asked. She leaned her elbows on her crossed legs and put her chin in her hands.

"I think..." He looked thoughtful for a moment and then a grin spread over his face. "I was about four or so, and we had just started sharing a room. I had the bottom bunk then, too. Rocky and Colt were talking, even though Mom had tucked us in. I remember that they were talking about you, and Rocky said that you were just like having a twin sister. And Colt sighed and said-"

"Tum!" both boys shouted at once. Tumtum only grinned and continued.

"-that he was going to marry you some day." Alice choked on her spit and sat up. Colt fell off the bed backwards and Rocky tackled Tumtum. Alice's face was slowly paling.

"I was five at the time!" Colt said, popping up over the side of the bed. "I didn't know what the hell I was talking about!" He was far too red and sounded far too panicked for her to take his words at face value. She only smiled. She had a similar memory. Hers when she was six; she had declared similar words to Rocky when they were on the playground at kindergarten. Rocky was looking at her with a knowing grin on his face.

"Go ahead," he said, releasing the choke-hold he had on his youngest brother. Alice shook her head and uncrossed her legs, sliding off the bedspread.

"Nah. I think I'm going to go hang out with my new team. Besides, the pizza is here, and I'm hungry." She knew she was talking faster than normal, but she didn't care at the moment. She went out into the main room and opened the door. James was standing outside, his keys in hand. "Um...hi!" she said brightly. "You're probably wondering why I'm in your room again."

"No...well, yeah. Kind of."

"You and me both," she said. She glanced back over her shoulder. "You coming or not?"

"Not!" they chorused. "I think we've spent far too much time in your room for one day," Rocky added with a significant look. She sighed and shook her head again.

"I'll get to it, okay? I'll get to it when I get to it, and probably without sleep tonight. I'm going to eat pizza!" She had worked herself up to a shout and she stormed past James and down the hall.

"Rocky, what was that all about?" asked three different voices simultaneously.

Alice walked in, her face pale, her hair cascading from the ponytail at the back of her head. "Please tell me it's almost time for bed," she groaned, dropping gracefully to the floor to lie along the line created by Jesse, Adam, Charlie, Guy, and Averman's feet. She grabbed a slice of pizza from the half-empty box and tore into it. The guys watched in amazement as she inhaled that piece and reached for a second. And a third. And then a fourth. Then she sat up and squeezed herself between Jesse and Charlie. "What are we watching?"

"We are watching..." Portman checked the case. "Ah, we are watching Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone." Alice stared at him and he shrugged. "I just picked one at random, okay?" he said defensively.

"Sure. It's fine," she said, leaning up against the bed situated in front of the TV. She started to eat her fifth piece of pizza much more slowly than the previous four.

"Alice Kimberly Alexis Anne Marie Elizabeth Kensington, get your ass out here now!!" She winced at his tone, but stood slowly and put down her pizza and climbed out of the tangle of bodies.

"You forgot Adrianna and Nadine," she said softly. Rocky grabbed her arm and yanked her out into the hallway. He spun her around to face him, fury radiating from his eyes.

"You are playing with hearts here, Alice," he spat ferociously, but quietly. "Namely, my brother's. You may be my best friend, but he is my brother."

"I love him too!" she screeched, tears pooling in her eyes. "What the hell is wrong with you? Five minutes ago, you were tackling Tum for being an idiot, and now you're-"

"I told him to give you that opening!" Rocky hissed. That shut her up fast. Her face drained and hardened.

"You did what?" she asked frostily, her voice dead calm. "Thought you'd give me a push in the right direction? Well I'll tell you what, Samuel Matthew Douglas, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself and my feelings. So bugger off." With that, she stalked back into her room, muttering French obscenities under her breath. The whole room was staring at her and she suddenly realized that they'd probably heard her outburst. She shoved herself onto the bed hard enough to make it jump off the floor and move a little bit. And she buried her head under a pillow.

Julie at first thought she was sobbing and started to get up and go to her. Then she recognized the muffled sounds coming out from under the pillows. Alice was laughing. She suddenly sat up.

"ROCKY!" she shouted joyfully, getting up and running out, mercifully managing not to step on anyone. Julie shook her head. She had definitely clicked with her new roommate, but that didn't mean Alice wasn't insane. Too much male influence in her life.

She came running into the room and grabbed him around the waist, spinning madly. "I've done it," she exclaimed, startling them all with her enthusiasm. He grinned. She backed up and slapped him across the face. He looked shocked and pressed his own hand to the fast-blossoming red mark on his cheek. "And if you ever do that again, I'll disown you," she added, still grinning. He managed a small smile. "That goes for you too, food for brains," she shot at Tumtum. He held up empty hands as if to prove his innocence. She only shot him a glare and he backed up. "Now, are you going to come and eat, or stay up here all night like the losers you are?"

"We're coming." They filed out.

"James, do you want to come too?" she asked sweetly. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She smiled. He nodded and got up so fast, his chair went tumbling. She pretended not to notice and he rushed out the door in front of her. She followed them downstairs. "I'm back," she said, dropping to the same position at the feet of her five new teammates.

"Hey, aren't you Rick Riley's brother?" Goldberg said suddenly. James grimaced.

"I take it you've met him then."

"Don't worry, we won't hold it against you," Julie said sweetly from her bed. James' smile grew and he took a seat, accepting a piece of pizza from Portman, whose eyes were glued to the screen.

"This doesn't look much like HP, Portman," Alice said, looking at it for the first time. He shook his head.

"Naw, now we're watching Remember the Titans." She shook her head and caught Julie's eyes over the bigger boy's head.

'Boys,' they mouthed to each other at the same time. Alice smiled and sighed in relief. At least she'd straightened out that tangle in her life. The rest of it would wait until tomorrow.