Hey, y'all! This is my first Hardy Boys fic and the longest fic I've ever produced (out of the 3 I've actually written), so if you could be kind (and not flame me), that'd be great. This was semi-inspired by an episode of "2 1/2 Men" I saw a while back, so I don't claim complete credit, just most of it. Hehe. Hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hardy's, but this guy named Tommy says he knows where I can get 'em "real cheap." Hmmm...
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"Frank, please get in the car," Laura Hardy said to her son. "I'll be there in a minute. I have to talk to your father."
The brown-haired 9 year old nodded as he put his jacket on. "Just don't make me be late," he said as he walked out into a chillier-than-usual September day.
Laura chuckled to herself as she pulled her own coat on. Frank had been looking forward to going to the Science Museum in Bridgeport with Phil for too long. She was just glad he had a found a friend with common interests since they had only moved to Bayport last June.
Just then, her husband walked into the room. He looked at her in surprise. "Hey, I thought you left already."
She smiled at him. "I wanted to remind you that if you need anything I'll be at the Harper's. I left their number on the refrigerator; I'll be back around 9:30. Libby Cohen said she'll drop Frank off tonight when they get back from the museum, which'll probably be around 8:30 or so. Joe is at the Mortons' place and they'll bring him to the soccer game, since Chet's in it too. The game's at 3:00 and make sure I get a play-by-play tomorrow." She grabbed her car keys off the counter. "Joe's been looking forward to you see his last game since last week. He's been practicing with Frank all week, so if they lose he's going to need some cheering up."
Fenton laughed softly and wrapped his arms around her. "I'll take him out for ice cream, win or lose."
She kissed his cheek. "Sounds good. Now I have to go. Frank probably already notified the authorities that I'm missing." She untangled herself from her husband and left.
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Joe Hardy pressed his nose up against the backseat window of the Mortons' minivan, watching the cars go by on the highway. He was beginning to think they'd never get back into Bayport. Why did Chet's house have to be way out in the country, anyway?
Joe whirled around when he felt someone poke him in the ribs. Chet was sitting there, a big smile on his face. "What?" he asked innocently.
Joe rolled his blue eyes at the chubby boy. "I know it was you."
Chet shrugged. "Yeah, it was." He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back into the seat. Joe went back to looking out the window (without pressing his nose against it).
Only a few seconds had gone by when Chet whispered, "Hey, Joe."
The blonde boy turned around again. "What?"
"Are you scared?"
Joe was surprised at the question. He knew Chet scared easily, but over a soccer game? "No. What's there to be scared about?"
"Well...it's our last game. Everyone will be there watching us. And if we lose, they'll think we aren't very good. And then maybe they won't let us play next year."
"Everyone?" Joe gulped. If he wasn't scared before, he was now. But he wasn't going to let Chet know that. Then his expression brightened. "Hey, my dad will be there!"
Chet raised an eyebrow. "So?"
Joe rolled his eyes again. He found himself doing that a lot with Chet. "So, that means we can't lose! I don't want the first game he sees to be one we lose."
Chet grinned. "Who said we were gonna lose?"
Joe got that impatient look on his face. "You did!"
"Nuh-uh. I just said if we lose."
Joe was about to reply when he realized the minivan had stopped. He looked out the window again. "We're here!"
"Yeah!" Chet's little sister, Iola, piped up from the seat in front of them. "You two better stop fighting, or I'll tell mom!" she added, which would have been loud enough for her mother to hear anyway, if she hadn't already gotten out of the van. Joe just stuck out his tongue at her, glad he didn't have a little sister.
When they were finally out of the van, Mrs. Morton told them to put their sweatshirts on. After a little grumbling and an "Aww, Mom!" from Chet, they complied and were ready to play. "Come on, Chet," Joe said, tugging on his friend's sleeve, "we gotta go meet the rest of the team!"
Mr. Morton smiled at the boy's enthusiasm. "Alright, boys, you go on. Chet, remember to meet us at the usual place after the game."
"Okay, Dad!" he shouted behind him as the two ran off towards the field.
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There was only about 5 minutes left in the tied (2-2) game when the coach on the other team called a time out. The home team went back to their side of the field as well. Joe kept looking out into the bleachers which were full of people, just like Chet said they would be. One of his teammates, Allen Hooper, came up to him. "What's the matter? Lookin' for somebody?"
Joe nodded. "I can't see my dad anywhere," he said, somewhat sadly.
Allen smiled. "My parents are out there somewhere too, but I have no idea where. Don't feel too bad."
Just then the timeout ended and both teams went out to the field. Joe felt better knowing that Allen couldn't see his mom or dad either. He just knew his dad was out there.
He rushed up and down the field, following the ball with his eyes. Their opponents currently had control of it, but he knew that wouldn't last long. He was right. Chet suddenly stole the ball and dribbled it down to their goal. Joe ran after him, on the other side of the field.
Before Chet could attempt a goal, someone from the other team came up to block him. He knew the only chance was to kick it to someone else. That's when he spotted Joe across the field, but even closer to the goal than he was. He decided to chance it. Taking a deep breath, he kicked the ball as hard as he could towards his friend. His blocker was caught by surprise, not expecting him to do that.
Joe easily caught the ball with his feet. He continued to dribble it towards the goal. The other team was coming up on him fast. He'd have to kick the ball right away, but he didn't think he could make it. Then he thought of his dad up there in the bleachers watching him, and how proud he would be if Joe made this shot. With that, he kicked the ball even harder than Chet did. The goalie rushed up and jumped at it, but he miscalculated and the ball flew over his head as he fell to the ground.
Joe gasped. He had made the goal. In his shock, he could faintly hear his team running up to him, yelling and cheering. He was jarred out of his thoughts when Chet pounded his back. "You did it!" he yelled. Another boy, Tyler West, exclaimed, "That was a great last-second shot!"
Joe was dazed. "Last second?"
"Yeah!" Allen said. "The buzzer to end the game went off just after you kicked it. Didn't you hear it?"
Joe shook his head. His teammates half pushed, half pulled him to their side of the field. Coach Warren congratulated him, smiling. "That was a great shot, Joe. I'm glad you moved here to Bayport." Joe swelled up with pride, but only grinned.
After a little bit of celebrating, Chet said he had to go meet his folks by the concession stand. "I'll see you guys later!" he shouted as he ran off.
Joe glanced at the huge clock above the bleachers on the other side of the field. It was 4:30; his dad must be waiting out in the parking lot where his mother and Frank usually met him. "I gotta go too. Bye, Coach!" Then he rushed off to meet his father.
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Wow, this is going to be longer than I thought, so I'm splitting it into 2 parts. I want to see how y'all like this part before I post the other one. Thank you and good night.
