Adam walked down the Eden Hall corridor a whirl wind of emotion, guilt, anger, loneliness. The only love he'd ever know was that of Carly Epson, the only lips he'd ever kissed and starry eyes he'd stared intensely into. There was an emptiness inside him, burning deep into his heart, still he said nothing to her.

"Banksie, are you gonna be ready for the game tonight?" Charlie asked as he came up along side his friend and threw an arm around the other boy's shoulder.

"Yeah, of course, I'm always ready when it comes to hockey. Why wouldn't I be now?" Adam shook the thoughts from his head and reentered the world of Eden Hall.

"You just look a little out of it and as the captain, I've gotta check these things out."

"Nah, I'll be okay, I just need to stop thinking about Carly, hopefully I can avoid seeing her until after the game."

"Then do me a favor and don't look down the hall." Charlie gestured with his chin to where Banks' ex was standing with Samantha and Delilah.

Adam felt a ball form in the pit of his stomach at the sight of her. Caroline was tossing her long reddish brown hair and her dark eyes were sparkling. She seemed to be having the time of her life, looking radiant. And all she was doing was standing against the outside of the newspaper office, talking to girls that had been her closest friends for years.

Banks' adjusted the strap of his backpack and sighed.
"Maybe I should go talk to her."

"Go for it buddy." Conway patted his friend on the back "I'll think I'll head over to the soccer field and find Cat."

"So Carly, how are you doin'?" Del asked pushing one of her light curls out of her eyes.

"Ugh, why does everyone keep asking me that? I've been dumped, not hit by a car or something." Carly smiled, then caught her ex out of the corner of her eye and added "Adam's over it, why shouldn't I be?"

Unfortunately for Banks the dean's office was right across from the newspaper office and just as he opened his mouth to say something to Caroline, dean Buckley's voice interrupted him.

"Mr. Banks, join me in my office please."

Banksie followed the headmaster past the secretary's desk and through the waiting area, straight into the dean's personal office. The boy was so nervous he was practically peeing himself. He hadn't been called in there since the first day of freshmen year when the whole team received a reaming over the assembly incident.

"Yes sir, what was it that you wanted to see me for?" He asked, waiting was causing his stomach to do summersaults.

"Well, I was hoping you could explain how this," The dean held up Banks' lettermen's jacket "came to be stuck in a tree near the girls dormitories. It caused Mr. Lincoln (one of the school's custodians) to have to get a latter to retrieve it."

Adam sighed and shook his head, Carly was getting him into trouble again
"My girl- I mean my ex girlfriend, she threw it out her window."

"Ahhh, Miss Epson." Dean Buckley nodded.

"Yes sir, um, how did you know that?" The young hockey player was curious

"Everyone knows that Adam Banks and Caroline Epson are 'the' couple, even the faculty. You two make quite the pair, I must say. But you look good together." The dean had this sort of dreamy look in his eye as if this was reminding him of some great aspect of his youth.

"We broke up sir, hence the ex part in my last sentence."

"Oh? That's terrible, the staff had a poll running on if you'd make it to graduation, I'm afraid I lost."

"It's nice to know you had so much faith in us dean Buckley. Uh may I have my jacket back please?"

"Right, right, here you go." The dean past the coat over his desk "Don't mind the footprint, it should wipe right off."

"Footprint?" Banks raised his eye brows causing them to vanish beneath his blonde bangs.

"Yes, when Mr. Lincoln was attempting to get it off the branch it was stuck on, he accidentally knocked it to the ground. Come to think of it. I believe he mentioned it was Miss Epson that had stepped on it."

'Damn you Carly.' Adam thought as he left the room and headed for the rink.

Later that same day

"Aren't you coming?" Emily looked over to her roommates side of the room rather surprised. Caroline was laying on her bed with the remote to their television in one hand and bag of pretzels in the other.

"Coming where? Oh the game, no I don't think so." Carly sighed, flipping through the stations on the TV.

"You're not seriously going to miss a game because you and Adam are fighting are you?" Em crossed her arms

"No, I'm missing a game because Adam and I broke up. Besides I don't like hockey that much anyway."

"Carly…"

"I'll be fine, just go to the game, wish the team luck for me okay."

"Fine." The blonde tossed her hands up with an exasperated groan an left the room.

As Carly sat only in the silence of the other wise empty bedroom, her memories began to take over. She drifted to another place in time, a place where she felt that everything in life was as perfect as could be. Little did she know that, that idealness would lead in the future to the twist of events causing her so much pain now.

~A tall fair-haired boy, dressed in an Eden Hall JV jacket, ran down the hallway after a swift moving Latino boy, the Latin boy holding an orange polo shirt and screaming.
"As your friend Banks I can never let you where this again!"

The new girl, a sophomore from Boston, stood at her locker and laughed at the racket.
'Boys will be boys' She thought taking out her binder and the books she'd need to study from. Closing the locker she turned to start in the direction of the exit, but missed judged the time she'd have before the two boys reached where she was and one of them plowed right into her. Her books and papers were cast into the air and she fell flat on her back.

"Excuse me, I'm so sorry, I'll help you pick all this up." The blonde boy offered his as the girl got up and his friend kept running. "You're Caroline Epson right?"

"Yeah that's me, but it's Carly please. No one calls me Caroline." The girl extended her hand to take a stack of notes "And you are?"

"Adam, Adam Banks." The boy smiled at her. He had an innocent grin, almost childlike, it drew Carly in and made her feel warm. She had been having that same effect on him for the week she'd been at Eden Hall, only it had been from a far. They didn't have any classes together, but the first time she'd walked into the cafeteria, he was lost. They highlights in her hair, the smooth chocolate color of her eyes, the subtlety of her makeup, everything.

"Well it's nice to meet you Adam, of course it would've been nicer if you hadn't knocked me on my butt, but what are you gonna do?" Carly stuffed the last of her things into her book bag and stood and upon noticing the way he was staring at her, she asked "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Huh? Oh no. I just wanted to welcome you to Eden Hall, I hope you like it here."

"Thanks, I'm sure I will. Well I better get going, I've got tons of homework." Carly turned and began toward the door once more, before he tossed a smile over her shoulder and said "Oh and Adam, you can call me Caroline, if you want to."~