Chapter Seven: Push or Pull

Yes we are a bullet in the heart
and the message is sent
Always dragging your feet on the sand and the hot cement
Make a list of your favorites, write it down, make it legible
A problem we're always facing, we never rest
You either push or pull

-Brand New, "Flying at Tree Level"

Disclaimer: The Ducks and any reference to the past movies are property of Stephen Brill and Disney. Alex and any new characters are property of me! Any songs I use are credited, and this obviously never took place. Read, Enjoy, and Review!

"What's up?" Alex called out in response to the knock on her door. It was well past 9 pm, so she figured it was probably just her brother.

"Hey." Fulton replied, coming in and sitting on her bed. Alex could tell he was exhausted from both the tone of his voice and by the way he looked. She had never seen him look so run down or defeated; Fulton always had the tough guy aura about him, as if nothing in the world could beat him,

"You ok?" Alex asked him, her brow furrowed in worry as she stirred sugar into her tea. "You look kind of upset."

"Yeah, I'm fine." He brushed it off looking at his hand. "It's no big deal. Look, I'm sorry for blowin' up on ya today."

"Don't worry about it." She pointed to a stack of index cards on her nightstand. "Those are yours."

Fulton picked the stack of cards up and flipped through them. "What the heck are these?"

"Study guides. The term's on one side and the definition's on the other." Alex explained, sitting down next to him.

"Did Mr. B give you like a list or something?"

Alex shook her head and grabbed one of her books off the floor. "Nah, I went through the two chapters and picked out the important stuff for you. I have to study too, so just look over the cards and then I'll go over them with you and we'll work on what you don't get, alright?"

"I'm never gonna remember all this stuff." Fulton mutter, leaning back against the wall and beginning to look through the cards.

"It's not that hard, we've been over this before." Alex told him, her patience wearing thin. Both Fulton and her brother were always claiming that academically, the weren't able to meet Eden Hall's standards. Alex, however, knew that both of them were more the capable of getting good enough grades to stay on the team. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"I'm fine, ok?" he replied defensively. "Just let me study these stupid things, but it's not gonna help."

"This has nothing to do with that girl….Amy? Was that her name?" Alex asked lightly.

Fulton face tightened immediately. "Just shut up and let me study. I'm done with that chick."

"Whatever." Alex shot back, ready to give up helping Fulton altogether. "But I'm stopping at midnight to watch Aqua Teen."

"What was that all about?" Fulton asked, nodding his head in the direction of Brian's retreating back.

"Him?" Alex said without looking up form her locker. "He asked me to that stupid semi-formal thing. Where the fuck did I put my Algebra II book?"

"What creative and sarcastic comment did ya shoot him down with?" Fulton leaned against the lockers and crossed his arms, waiting for Alex's witty comeback.

"I told him I'd think about it." She replied with little interest in the subject as she continued to rummage through her locker for the missing textbook. "I can't believe I lost it again."

"Would you seriously go out with a dude like him?"

"Fulton, will you stop critiquing every guy that asks me? It's getting slightly old. If I don't go to this stupid thing, my mother will never let me hear the end of it."

"Dude, everyone that asked you so far is a total dickhead. I told Portman I'd keep a look out on you when he can't.'

"I don't need anyone to keep a look out on me." She shot back angrily, grabbing the elusive textbook and a bagged lunch from the bottom of her locker. "And if you're so god damn worried about who I go to this ridiculous thing with, then ask me yourself." She slammed the locker door and stalked by him without a second glance.

"Where the hell are you going?"

"I have Algebra class." Alex hissed back in reply. "And I'm not waiting for your ass."

The bell rang barely two seconds after Alex entered the classroom, meriting a sharp look from Mrs. Sgroi, her always on time Algebra II teacher. Visibly scowling, she plopped into a seat next to Julie in the back center of the room.

"I didn't think you were gonna make it." Julie muttered out of the corner of her mouth as Alex scrambled to find her homework. They were the only two who were smart enough to make it into Algebra II, a subject usually reserved for Juniors and select Sophomores.

"Yeah, well thank your friend Fulton." Alex muttered back nastily. "He gave me the third degree about who I'm going to that stupid dance thing with.

"So you're going?"

"I have no choice, my mom's making me. She thinks it will be good for me socially." Alex made a face as she said the last part. "And the weekend before it, I have to go back home to go to some gala or something with my dad, so he's not dateless."

"And the issue with the dance? What five guys have asked you, right?" Julie whispered.

Alex saw Mrs. Sgroi watching them out of the corner of her eye. "Dean and Fulton don't like any of them." She whispered hurriedly in a reply.

"Well, Portman can care but it's not his choice, and as for Fulton he should butt out or ask you himself."

"That's what I said!" Alex exclaimed a little too loudly.

"What exactly did you say, Miss Portman?" Mrs. Sgroi interrupted. "I'm sure everyone is as eager to know what you and Miss Gaffney find so important that you feel you can interrupt my class." Alex saw Julie's face go immediately red.

"I was just telling Julie how number four was a really good problem, Sgroi-dawg." Alex covered quickly. "Tricky, but really simple."

The teacher surveyed Alex doubtfully through her glasses. "I see…so you wouldn't mind showing everyone else how easy the problem really is then, would you?"

Alex's face fell. "No, piece of cake." She said, her voice wavering as she went up to the chalkboard.

"…and then she makes Alex go up to the board and explain the problem to the whole class." Julie laughed, recounting the story. Alex guessed Julie wasn't used to causing classroom disruptions, so this was a big deal for her.

"Nice one, Alex. Did you get it right, or just go up there and spout out some bullshit?" Charlie asked, his mouth half-full of whatever processed meat the cafeteria was serving that day.

"I did it, and Sgroi-dawg was shocked. She thought I was bullshitting, too." Alex replied with a smile as she unwrapped a sandwich. "My brother may have gotten the brawn, but I obviously got the brains."

"Yeah, where is Portman?" Guy asked.

"He had a meeting." Alex replied shortly, not wanting to tell everyone that the meeting was with her therapist. "I lost my fork."

Guy and Charlie both shot her weird looks. "What about Fulton? Doesn't he have this lunch today?" Charlie asked carefully, thinking Alex's shortness meant something was going on.

"Who cares?" She muttered in reply as she tore apart her lunch looking for the missing fork. "Aha! I knew I had one."

Charlie opened his mouth but Julie shot him a look and shook her head, warning him not to press Alex any further. Giving in, he looked back to his lunch and started talking about the impending hockey game and today's practice. "So, I was thinkin' we really need to practice the Flying V, cause it really seems to confuse everyone."

Guy nodded in agreement. "I think we gotta give Goldberg more time on the ice too, he's still a little iffy on defense….now that Portman's back, he's not playing as much. And then Alex, you play defense too so…"

"Yeah, I think he really needs the practice before the game. I'll—" she stopped as she saw Fulton enter the lunchroom. "—uh, I'll volunteer to sit out or something." She glanced hurriedly over at the clock and downed her soda. "I'm late." She said, getting up from the table and hoping that she could get away before Fulton saw her.

"What?" Guy asked with confusion as the rest of the table looked at her. "We still have like fifteen minutes."

"Yeah, um, I gotta see a teacher about a grade. I'll see you guys at practice." She lied and rushed away, bee lining for the row of trash barrels by the tray return. She would just spend the extra ten minutes in the library.

"Hey, Alex!" Fulton called to her from across the room, waving a white piece of paper in the air.

'What, does he want a truce? Waving the surrender flag at me?' She though bitterly, walking through the mania that was lunchtime as quickly as possible, her head down. She pretended she didn't hear his calls and left the lunch room.

"ALEX! Hey! Wait up!" Fulton persisted and Alex could hear the slamming noise his boots made as they hit the tiled floor. "Al, c'mon, dude!"

"Fulton, I'm in a hurry." She said, grabbing a few books from her locker and shutting it. "Can this wait?"

Out of breath, Fulton grinned at her cheesily and held out the peace-flag paper to her. "Dude, look at it! I wanted you to be the first to know."

Alex looked down at the paper, ignoring the messy scribble that was Fulton's handwriting and focusing on the grade circled in red at the top. "A 96? Fulton, that's amazing! You're still on the team!"

"I know!" He practically yelled, his face breaking into a full-on grin. "Thanks, Al."

"Thank yourself." Alex said, smiling back and giving him a hug. "You studied your ass off for it."

Fulton hugged her back tightly. She was so short he could practically rest his chin on top of her head. "I'm sorry for earlier."

"Don't worry about it."

He cleared his throat. "So that dance thing? It's really stupid but….wanna go with me?"

"I dunno." Alex replied, trying not to grin and Fulton pulled away slightly to look at her. Against her will she started laughing. "I gotta check with my brother's best friend….he doesn't want me going with a complete dickhead. He's got high standards."

Fulton grinned and hugged her again. "And you're gonna go to that party on Friday night, right?"

The bell rang and they separated before the cafeteria emptied out for lunch. "I'll be there." Alex winked at him.

"You seem like you're in a better mood today." Tom commented as Alex sat down in front of him.

"Yeah, well this office brings out the best in me. So homey and fake." Alex snarled back.

Tom continued his smile as thought he hadn't heard her nasty remark. "I heard about your little stunt in Algebra today. Impressive."

Alex stared back at him for a few seconds, her jaw set firmly. "You're the one who claims I'm so smart."

"What makes you think you're not smart?"

Alex leaned forward and put her elbows on his desk. "What makes you think you know everything about me? A stupid file that they sent you from Chicago?'

He leaned back in his chair and laughed. "You know what's great about you Alex?"

"No, but I'm sure you're gonna enlighten me."

"Unlike most of these stuck up rich kids, you have real problems. And I want to help you. I hate it here as much as you do, trust me. It's get tiring listening to people whine about Daddy not loving them enough to buy them a new Ford Explorer everyday."

"Welcome to Eden Hall, Tommy."

Tom looked down at his empty coffee cup. "You want some something to drink, coffee?" he offered as he got up.

"Got any vodka?" Alex said with a straight face, waiting to see how much trouble that statement got her into.

Tom sat back down slowly. "Ah, that." He said with a condescending grin. "I know all about that one, too."

"What one, Mr. Shoup?" Alex asked innocently and Tom shot her a look.

"Your drinking habits in Chicago."

Alex paused, her mouth half open. How could everyone violate her trust and spill all her secrets to this guy that she didn't trust? "You don't know anything about Chicago." She said angrily, her face growing red. "So stop pretending you get me." She got up so quick that the chair toppled over. "Fuck this, I'm outta here."

"Fine. But take that notebook by the door with you. If you won't talk to me Alex, you're gonna talk to someone. If you want to keep playing hockey that is."

She shot him a look, grabbed the notebook and haphazardly threw it into her bag.

"Thank you." Tom replied calmly as the slamming door caused one of his pens to roll off his desk. Somehow, he knew that girl was more trouble then anyone expected.