Disclaimer : Me own no Ducks, yada yada yada. Or the Nottingham Panthers.

Author's Note : I SUCK at getting the chapter breaks right.

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"Did you know that a group of twelve or more cows is called a flink?"

"Shut up Averman."

"Did you know that in Singapore its illegal to chew gum?"

"Shut UP Averman."

"The surface area of the earth is 197 000 000 square miles. Isn't that interesting?"

"NO!" the lunch table full of Ducks yelled, exasperated.

"Jeez, Averman, tell all this to someone who actually cares will you?" Guy asked.

"He can't. Cos no-one does," Russ replied. He and Averman started to bicker. Adam rolled his eyes and turned back to his hockey magazine. He felt a nudge in his side.

"Hey, Banks, looks like you got your wish."

"What?" Fulton nodded toward the doorway.

"The new girl in a hockey shirt."

-

Melissa walked into the dining hall the next day, trying to quash the butterflies that had taken flight in her stomach. She wasn't sure whether it was because she was going to see Adam again or the prospect of eating lunch with a group of strangers who had known each other for years. All she knew was that she hadn't been able to stop thinking about Adam since their encounters the day before.

She found him quickly – the table he was seated at was undoubtedly the rowdiest in the room. He was facing her but looking down, and she had a second in which to drink in his delicate features, clear blue eyes, and sweep of fair hair. The guy sitting next to him made some comment and he looked up, his eyes finally making contact with hers. A smile spread across his face, and her knees gave way. She may have only known him 24 hours, but she already knew that all she wanted was to earn as many of those smiles as possible. She signalled to him that she was going to the lunch line, and after grabbing some pasta made her way over to him.

Adam stood up to greet her, and made room for her on the bench. She sat down as Adam introduced her.

"I'm not going to bother telling you all their names," he told her.

"Mine's the only one you need to know babe." Portman gave her a sleazy wink. "I'm Portman."

"Nice to meet you," she replied politely.

"Leave her alone Port." Charlie had arrived just in time to hear him trying it on. "Hey, I'm Charlie."

"Melissa," she returned. "Or Mel. Whatever."

"So you're from England?" Julie asked. "I went there a few years ago with the team I played with before the Ducks, I really liked it." Melissa looked around the table. She had already taken in Charlie's Duck jersey and suddenly realised what she'd walked into the middle of.

"You all play hockey?" Charlie nodded, indicating the C on his jersey proudly.

"We're the JV team. I'm the captain."

"And an arrogant ass because of it," Portman commented, revenge for the captain's earlier remark.

"So I'm guessing you're a fan," Ken interrupted in his usual peacemaker manner. She looked down at her shirt and smiled proudly.

"Yeah, I love it. I don't play, just watch. This is my teams jersey, the Nottingham Panthers."

"What skill level is it?" Adam queried.

"Not that high, lower than the AHL. But they play at the highest level in Britain and I love it. It's more hard-working and gritty than pure talent, but there are a few stars thrown in there."

"If it doesn't take talent maybe Averman should play over there," Guy commented. Averman screwed up his paper lunch bag and threw it at him. Again his aim was poor, and again hit the Varsity goon. This time he didn't bother hiding – he ran. "You run like a girl Averman!" Guy yelled at his retreating form.

The conversation deviated from hockey to one about, inexplicably, the mating habits of kangaroos. Adam followed it vaguely, but concentrated more on watching Mel. She had thrown herself into the conversation head first, and was exchanging banter easily even with Russ, the resident King of quick talking. But he could see the nerves in her eyes, the slight shake of her hand as she raised her fork to her lips.

The lunch break passed all too quickly, but a quick exchange of timetables showed Adam and Melissa had Biology together next period. As they trod the corridor together on the way to the lab Adam gave her a sideways look. "Congratulations."

"For what?"

"Handling those guys. They can be a bit much." She laughed.

"No they're great. I really enjoyed it. And I'm used to it, they remind me of my step-dad's friends."

"Step-dad?"

"Yeah, my parents are divorced. For the best though. It's my step-dad that got transferred over here. And hey, I handled them OK, didn't I?"

"You sure did Lis." She stopped dead.

"What did you call me?"

"Lis...I'm sorry, is that not OK?"

"No, its fine." They started walking again. "Its just my grandma was the only person who ever called me that. We were really close, but she passed away last year."

"I'm sorry, I'll stop, I'm just so used to everyone having nicknames!"

"No, its fine. Cake eater." She smirked and he groaned.

"Averman?"

"Russ. But honestly, its fine." She saw he needed more convincing. "You saying it feels right." He blushed and they arrived at the lab, now in awkward silence.

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The Biology professor was far more easygoing than Ms. Wallis, and the students could sit where they liked. Adam and Melissa shared a bench toward the back of the room. There was still a silence between them until Adam broke it with a safe topic – hockey.

They whispered and giggled the hour away, their intelligent but dozy teacher paying no attention. They both preferred the NHL Eastern Conference to NHL West, thought Wayne Gretsky was a living legend, and liked white stick tape better than black. Both were tempted to skip the next period to hang out together, but agreed they'd better stay in their teachers' good books.

As they left the classroom they paused before departing in opposite directions. Adam extended an invitation to watch their practise that afternoon, but she had to decline – she was going to see Ms. Wallis about an extra curricular poetry class. After wishing her luck with "the Witch" he fell silent, staring at the floor and scuffing the tiles with his toe. "So...it's our first game on Saturday, you want to come?" She grinned.

"Hockey? You couldn't keep me away."

"And maybe..." The bell rang. She looked up in panic.

"Crap! I gotta dash. Later Ads!" She spun on her heel and dashed off. Adam watched her go with a sigh.

"...you'd like to go out for something to eat afterwards." He spoke to air and sighed again, then headed downheartedly to his next class.

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Author's Note : I've gone through the chapters and changed the format of them slightly, and fixed the mistakes. But the content is the same.

YAY more reviews. They make me so happy!!

Anne918 - I've been updating quickly because I already had quite a bit of this written, it was just a case of typing it up. And hey, anything to avoid revising for my exams!! It may slow down a bit now though.

Emily Henson - I looked on Amazon and in the UK the only one I can get is a used copy of the first one!! Grrr. I'm trying my hardest to make her less Mary Sue. Does being bad at some subjects and not a morning person help?

Ktbeanz - I've never moved, and am really glad! But that's cool if you've got loads of mates everywhere!! And ramble as much as you like...I do!!

Meme-Ann - Oh. My. God. YOU read my story? AND reviewed it? AND like it? AND think I have skill? I love your stuff so much! Its amazing! I SO agree with you about their crushes, it got a bit out of hand! At first they were supposed to just gradually fall for each other but it went a bit wrong. I have no control over my characters...! I think it was partly because I'm SO bad at starting stories; they always start really slowly and get v. boring, so I just kinda jumped straight in with it. I do have plans to slow it down though...and then maybe speed up again...and then perhaps change it...and then maybe even again? So yes, in answer to your second question, there will be some twists in the tale!

Shara2007 - I have read some of yours! Not all of it though, I have about 15 fics on the go! (As in reading them) My wish is your command...you just got more !!

In a nutshell, THANK YOU to everyone who is reading and reviewing! Hugs for you !