10:

Things are Just Ducky

Ever wonder how quickly things can change despite looking and feeling like nothing has changed at all?

"This is boring," Cole groaned for the umpteenth time since he, Rick, Scooter, and Adam arrived at the Ducks practice. "Can we go?"

They Ducks hadn't done much at practice apart from skating laps and working on some drills. Everybody knew not to go all out before a game, but it seemed like Coach Orion, whose loud yelling was on the verge of making Adam's ears ring, was doing his best to make sure his team didn't do anything at all.

"Looks like their practice is winding down, anyway," Scooter said as he stretched his legs out, resting his heels on the seats in front of him. A smile of amusement came to his face and Adam followed his gaze to Danielle, who was trying to hide behind Dwayne. Adam felt a frown come to his face, his eyebrows knitting together.

"Fulton," Danielle was saying in a warning tone, pointing a finger into his face. "Don't even think about it." She skated away from him. "I'm not kidding."

"How are you going to learn to take checks if you don't practice them?" Fulton asked with an evil laugh. Danielle let out a whimper before she turned and started skating away from him.

"Fulton!" she shouted as he skated after her, cackling. "Leave me alone!"

"Come on, it won't hurt one bit," Fulton replied, swinging his arms in time with his skates, trying to speed up to keep up with her.

Adam felt a smile come to his face as he watched his former teammates make their way around the ice, slowly winding down after practice. He was surprised they even had an ounce of a sense of humor left in their bodies. Coach Orion was as straightforward as Coach Wilson; however neither of the Varsity coaches ever really raised their voices at the Varsity players.

Then again Adam felt like the Varsity didn't need much direction at all. It all came easy for them. Maybe it was just the years they had spent on Varsity; they understood how practices were to go. He felt like he was just trying to catch up to them, like he was always trying to catch up to them.

Not unless his father was involved, anyway. If it were up to him, he would've been second line center-like he usually was—with no question about it and not third. He was happy to know he got on the team for his own merit, but wondered if that really was true. It was like his dad said; he would've gone to Eden Hall that year whether or not he had a scholarship.

"Come on, I'm bored," Rick commanded, elbowing Adam in the side. "They'd be lucky to get a single goal against the Bears. I don't think they've improved at all since they got here."

"And they're supposed to be champs?" Cole asked with an over the top eye roll followed by a snort so hard he started to cough. Scooter clapped him hard on the back once, twice, three times until Cole elbowed him hard in the ribs. Scooter laughed, wrapping one arm around his chest, using the other to put his hand up defensively.

"They haven't played a game yet," Scooter said as he got to his feet, tugging on the end of his coat. "We don't know how things will turn out. I wouldn't rule them out just yet." He gently nudged Adam's back with his foot. "Right, Banksie?"

"Right," Adam replied with a nod of his head, getting to his feet. He rubbed his hands together, trying to block out the cold before stuffing them into his pockets. "We always tend to surprise people."

"What do you mean 'we'?" Rick asked with a laugh, his eyebrows shooting up. "You're not one of them anymore, you're one of us."

"Right, that's what I meant," Adam replied, forcing a laugh himself. "It's just taking a little while to—" He cleared his throat. He had to agree with Rick, though.

It didn't look like they had improved at all since they had Coach Orion start running their practices. Coach Bombay did a lot; he managed to integrate Adam into the team, helped Goldberg stop being scared of the puck, helped Fulton with his slap shot, and even allowed Julie to show her true potential as a goalie. From what he could see, and hear, all Coach Orion did was yell. It was like Captain Blood times two.

"You coming, Banksie?" Rick asked. "We're going to get some pizza. I'm tired of school food, just need to ask the old man for some money."

"Ummm," Adam trailed off, glancing back out at the ice. More of the Ducks were chasing after Danielle now. A pang of sadness hit him as he watched his friends goof off each other, talking and laughing. He missed that while on the Warriors team. It was either follow Riley or suffer the consequences. Whenever he decided it was your turn to suffer, anyway. "Yeah, I'm coming."

"Cool," Rick replied with a nod of his head. "Oh, and you should with us at lunch, too." He thumped Adam on the back, between his shoulder blades. Whether it was affectionate or as a warning, he wasn't sure, but he wiggled his shoulders, trying to get rid of the feeling of Rick's knuckles hitting his spine.

"Cool," Adam repeated. He scratched at his forehead before following the other Warriors out of the hockey arena.

"Hey," Scooter said, stopping to stand beside him. "Don't take what Rick says personally. He thinks he's the best player since Gretzky." He gave Adam a smile. "He's just got this superiority complex to him, but he's not that bad."

Yeah, right, Adam thought, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. His actions don't indicate that.

Scooter seemed to have read his mind. "I know, it doesn't sound like him," he said, his lips twitching upwards into a brief smile. "But, he really helped me out here. Eden Hall's not as bad as you all might think it is." He shrugged his shoulders. "It took me a bit to get used to it, too, but now I love it here."

"Yeah, well, I didn't really have a choice," Adam said with a sigh. "I was going to come to Eden Hall, anyway." Scooter gave him a confused look. "My dad basically had my enrollment form filled out before I even got back from LA."

"So what do the other Ducks have to do with it?" Scooter asked.

"Only way my dad could convince the dean to let me in was by pitching the Ducks as the new JV team," Adam explained, lifting his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "They had been looking for a way to build up the JV team to be as good as Varsity, so…"

"I see," Scooter replied with a nod of his head.

"Don't take any offense to the Ducks either," Adam said, waving a hand in the air. "They're just…" There wasn't a single word he could use to describe him as "crazy", "chaotic", "entertaining", "stubborn", and "challenging" would all work. He decided to just end his sentence there, giving a shrug of his shoulders.

"Yeah, the Warriors, too," Scooter said with a laugh. "See? You'll know how to fit in, in no time. Everything will die down once the Showdown is over." He slid his hands into the pockets of his coat. "Hey, so win or lose, we're hosting a party after the JV game tomorrow if you and your friends want to stop by."

"I don't know…" Adam replied. "The last party didn't really end well." That was an understatement. Although if he could just keep an eye on Luis the whole time, it probably wouldn't end in a blood bath, or a chocolate bath as the case may be. He was the only one who had even a slight chance at keeping up with the fast skater on ice and off.

"There won't be a chocolate fountain, promise," Scooter replied, lifting his hands defensively. "It's being held at the country club. I convinced my dad to let us have a room or two." He gave Adam a curious look. "Have you been there?"

Adam held back a snort. Had he been there? About 20,000 times if he had kept tally correctly. Brunches, golf games, tennis, swimming, there were plenty of reasons for him to go for "family outings" which generally consisted of his family heading out to spend the day at the club, splitting up to do whatever it was that they wanted to do. For Adam, it just meant sneaking off to hang out with his friends before sneaking back.

"Yeah, I know where it is," Adam replied with a nod of his head.

"Awesome," Scooter replied, offering Adam his hand. Adam slapped his hand into Scooter's, giving a nod of his head. "I'll see you there and invite the Ducks, too." He started walking backwards. "I'll make sure the guys don't give them a hard time."

"Yeah, thanks," Adam said. "Oh, wait."

"Yeah?" Scooter asked.

"Rick said he was going to go talk to the Dean about my friends getting off the hook for the party," Adam said to him. Scooter slowly nodded his head. "Did he actually talk to him?"

"Yeah, he did," Scooter replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "Why?"

Adam paused for a moment, not sure how to ask his next question. "You don't think it was weird…that only some of us got out of detention…and the others didn't?" he asked. Scooter stayed silent. "Why am I on Varsity?"

Scooter's eyebrows knitted together. "Did my dad…did he have something to do with me being put on Varsity?" he asked quietly. He bowed his head slightly as he waited for the answer. He knew his dad would've talked him and his talent up to anybody to give him a shot, but that was the extent of it. Everything else was up to him. Until now. Maybe.

"Not that I know of," Scooter replied. He cleared his throat, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "You'd need to ask Coach Wilson about that." Adam wasn't sure if he believed Scooter at all, but decided not to press on the subject, just in case he was told something he didn't want to hear. Scooter seemed to sense this. "Hurry up, Banks. Pizza's calling."

"I'm coming," Adam replied, following after him. He paused on the last step, glancing back out at the emptying ice. He stepped out into the hallway when he heard his name was called.

"Hey, Banks!"

Adam turned back towards the ice, smiling as his friends waved him down. Adam took the stairs down two at a time before his feet hit the flat of the floor. He lifted his hand in a wave as Charlie skated over to the side of the rink.

"Yikes," Adam commented. He raised his voice hen Charlie lifted his gloved hand to his ear, a confused look on his face. "I can feel your anger from over here." He walked around to the opening in the rink, Charlie skating beside him on the other side. "What's up?"

"What's not?" Charlie replied with a sigh. He used his arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "It's just hard to play for Orion. Fulton says to do it for the Ducks but…" He trailed off letting out a laugh. "I don't even think we're that anymore."

"Come on, Charlie, the uniforms don't matter," Adam said with a shake of his head. He reached out a hand and shoved Charlie's pad covered shoulder. "You know that. The team all stayed to do the extra laps with you, didn't they?"

"Yeahhh." Charlie gave a smile before hitting Adam back. "What's up with you?" His lips pulled back to reveal a smile. "What do I owe the pleasure of being accompanied by Eden Hall royalty?" He gave an exaggerated bow.

"Come on, Charlie," Adam rolled his eyes, although he laughed with his friend. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

"No, you're molting feathers isn't an indication for anything," Charlie said with a teasing smile. He ducked hen Adam swung a hand at him. "It's different without you on the team but…we're trying."Adam's lips twitched. "What?"

"Is Orion really that bad?" Adam asked him.

"You have no idea," Charlie replied, shaking his head back and forth. He let out a bit of a laugh. "Oh, well, I guess you do, you guys were watching."

"Yeah, we're, uh, coming to your game tomorrow," Adam said and Charlie gave a half smile of thanks. He shifted his weight from foot to foot before rocking back and forth on his heels. "So…" When did it become so weird to talk to him? It's Charlie. I'm still a Duck, uniforms don't matter. We're still friends. "There's a party at the country club afterwards, win or lose. Scooter's hosting it, I think. He wanted me to invite you guys."

"I bet he did. I'm surprised it's not on a yacht," Charlie replied, an eyebrow lifting. "I don't know, Adam."

"We could just go for a little while," Adam replied. "I don't know, try and get rid of the tension for a little while. Plus, I haven't had any time to hang out with you guys, so…"

"I just don't think I'd be comfortable there, that's all," Charlie replied with a shrug. "I mean, it's not like you haven't been there before, right?"

"So?" Adam asked, his eyebrows slowly inching towards each other. "What does that have to do with anything?" Charlie gave another shrug. "Just because I'm rich—"

"I didn't say anything, Adam," Charlie said, putting his hands up defensively. Silence fell between the two of them. Charlie took that moment into removing his gloves from his hands, tucking them underneath his arm. He lifted his head and gave a smile. "It's not a party without the Ducks there and it'll probably be the only time we can actually get into the country club."

"It's not as great as people make it out to be," Adam replied, scratching the side of his jaw. "Anyway, I've gotta go, I'm getting some pizza with the team. I'll…see you back at the dorm."

"Sure," Charlie replied with a nod of his head. He started walking away from Adam. "I'll see you then."

"See ya," Adam replied. "Charlie."

"Yeah?" Charlie asked, turning around to face his friend.

"You want to be a hockey coach, right?" Adam asked. Charlie slowly nodded. "Well…if you were the Coach, and you were put in charge of a team that has been together for a long time, and your team wasn't too happy with any changes you've made, how would you deal with it?"

"That's easy," Charlie replied with a grin. "I'd sick Portman and Fulton on them." Adam laughed along with Charlie for a moment. A serious look crossed Charlie's face. "Seriously? I don't know."

"Change isn't always bad, Charlie," Adam said quietly. "We wouldn't have Kenny, or Julie, or Portman, Louis, or Dwayne on our team if things didn't change."

"Yeah, but we'd still have Karp, Jesse, Terry, Tammy-"

"And you would still have your old coach that had the heart attack," Adam pointed out to him. "And I wouldn't be here, either." Charlie trailed off, a muscle in his jaw twitching. "You say you hate change, but you were the first to really accept me and Bombay onto the team."

"Now look where you two are," Charlie replied. Adam felt his jaw drop slightly. Charlie blinked, seeming to be just as surprised as Adam that those words came out of his mouth. "I'll see you back at the dorm."

"Yeah." Adam watched Charlie for a moment before hurrying up the rink stairs, taking them two at a time.

His shoes squeaked along the floor as he made his way towards the lobby, slowing when he heard hushed voices. He peered around the corner and instantly spotted Rick and his father in the middle of the hallway. They stood facing each other, arms crossed tightly over their chests, feet planted on the floor.

"Dad, it's not a big deal," Adam heard Rick say.

"Wrong, son," Tom Riley said, pointing a finger in Rick's face. Rick swallowed audibly."This is a huge deal. If we want your brother to be brought onto the JV team, we can't have you making trouble around here."

"Yeah, yeah," Rick said with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm serious," Tom spat. If any spittle landed anywhere on Rick, he didn't make a move to wipe it away. "I was outvoted on bringing in this new team, but I won't have you besmirching the name of the Varsity team. Not only that, but I won't have you besmirching my good name. I've done a lot for you since you got on the team."

"I know," Rick said as if he had heard his father's words so many times, which me most likely had.

"Do you know how much money has been put into this school from our family?" Tom continued. Rick turned away, but Tom grabbed his arm, forcing his son to face him again. Adam was surprised at the strength the shorter man had. Rick towered over him, he was stronger, and yet he was letting his dad push him around. "Eden Hall wouldn't be flourishing if it wasn't for us. The JV team's precious coach wouldn't have been a successful lawyer if it wasn't for this school." He let out a laugh. "And we couldn't even convince him to come back to coach. He's not a Warrior; not anymore. None of them are Warriors."

"Trust me, I know," Rick replied. He reached out his hands and put it on his dad's shoulders. "Their new coach hasn't been helping them that much and it'll be evident at the game tomorrow. That Charlie kid talks big, but I don't think he can back it up."

"Just keep winning, Richard," Tom said, reaching up to adjust his tie. "That's all that matters. Leave everything else to me if you can't figure out how to get things done around here."He rolled his shoulders, angling his head back just slightly to look up at his son. "I heard rumors of how…rambunctious the JV team had acted in LA." He slowly shook his head back and forth as if it was a tragedy. "I knew it was only a matter of time before they acted out here, but the board thought it was a good idea."

Tom reached out his hands and grabbed Rick's arms, shaking him just slightly. "Keep your eye on the prize, son," he said in a tight voice. "Bring home another state win. With that Banks kid on your team, it'll be no problem, I'm sure. But, a win is important to not only your career, but this school, and to me. As a member of the board, everybody's looking at you. I'm in talks for some scouts to come out for you, we have to show them a good game. Alright?"

"Got it," Rick replied, lifting his hand to give a mock salute.

Tom sniffed before adjusting his tie a second time before making his way down the wall, walking with purpose. Adam watched as Rick's jaw tightened before he turned and kicked the wall, his hands curling into fists at his side. If it hurt, he didn't show it save for briefly closing his eyes, slowly sucking in a deep breath of air before releasing it in one breath. He started to pace, turning in Adam's direction, freezing when he spotted him.

Adam gasped, feeling his face burn at being caught. He stepped out from around the corner, sliding his hands into his jeans pockets, shaking his hair out of his face. He bowed his head for a moment before looking up at Rick through his bangs.

"What are you looking at?" Rick demanded, letting out a heavy sigh. Adam shook his head back and forth shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothing," he replied.

"Yeah, right," Rick muttered under his breath.

Adam moved to step around him, but Rick stepped in his way, stopping him. Adam tilted his head back slightly to look up at his new captain. "I get it, OK?" Adam commented. Rick hiked an eyebrow. "Having a dad that's hard on you. I understand; it sucks."

"No, you don't understand anything," Rick said, jabbing his finger into Adam's chest. Adam silently lifted a hand to rub at the spot on his chest. "Got it? You saw nothing." Adam stumbled, reaching out to catch himself on the water fountain after Rick shoved him, this time with both hands. "You don't repeat this to anyone, Banksie. You understand that?"

Adam slowly nodded his head and Rick gave a smile. "Good," he said, clapping Adam on the shoulder. "Hey, great time at practice today. You really are proving that you're a Warrior." His smile grew a little wider. "Don't take anything personally. We're all just under a lot of pressure; from the school, our parents. We were known as the best and now you guys were suddenly brought in. It's great that the Warriors have another team to get a state title, but we all aren't Goodwill Games champs." His eyebrows lifted as the corners of his lips turned down slightly. "None taken? No hard feelings?"

Adam pressed his lips together, letting out a sigh through his nose. Maybe Rick was actually a bully or maybe he was acting out because of his dad, Adam wasn't too sure but he couldn't have that many hard feelings anyway. After all, he was just like him when he was on the Hawks…or he was getting to that point.

Maybe becoming a Duck had changed him more than he actually imagined.

"Thanks for coming with me, guys," Charlie said as he adjusted his heavy hockey bag on his back as he, Jesse, and Terry made their way around the side of Hans' house. "Terry, good to have you back. How's your mom?"

"Fine," Terry replied with a shrug of his shoulders before reaching a hand up to try and flatten his big, curly hair as they walked through a group of low hanging branches. "It's weird, though…being at her house without dad there."

"Having to call it his house and her house," Jesse said, kicking at a rock. "Divorce sucks, man."

"At least you get to see both your parents," Charlie muttered.

"At least your dad split when you were too young to really remember," Jesse shot back. Charlie paused, his heart giving a sharp thump against his rib cage before he turned around to face his friend. Terry looked back and forth between the two of them, as if waiting to see if they would lunge at each other. "Sorry, man."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too," Charlie replied. "Divorce does suck."

"Speaking of, how are things with your mom and Kyle?" Terry asked, quickly changing the subject.

"You think they're going to get a divorce?" Charlie asked.

"Jesse told me you guys saw him with some lady from work, and that they've been fighting a lot and stuff," Terry said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Mom and dad fought a lot about how much dad worked and devoted to our hockey."

"They're fine," Charlie replied, coming up to the door. He put his hand on the door knob before turning back to face his friends. "Could you two do me a favor?"

"Sure, man," Jesse replied, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets.

"Anything," Terry agreed. "What's up, Charlie?"

"While I'm at school could you just…make sure things are OK with my mom?" Charlie asked in a low tone. "You know, just until I come home on the weekends…and when I'm undoubtedly going to get in trouble." Terry let out a small laugh, but nodded his head.

"Yeah, man," Jesse replied, holding his hand out towards Charlie. Charlie gave him a smile of thanks, clasping Jesse's hand with his own before rapping his knuckles on the window pane.

Charlie twisted the door knob, opening it. "Hey, Hans. I brought Jesse and Terry, too." He gave the older man a bright smile, but on the inside he started to worry. Kyle was working a lot, and he was spending less time at hockey games and he and his mom were spending more time arguing about hockey. He shook the thought away.

"Charlie," Hans said as he turned away from the counter to give the boys a smile. He slowly made his way towards the three boys, opening his arms to give them a quick hug. "My you three have come a long way." He ruffled Terry's hair, chuckling. "Still fuzzy headed boys, I see."

"Very funny," Terry said with a roll of his eyes despite keeping the smile on his face. "How are you Hans?"

"I should be asking you boys that," Hans replied, shuffling over towards the small refrigerator sitting against the back wall behind the counter. "How are your parents? Your friends? School?"

"Parents: fighting," Charlie replied.

"Friends: OK," Jesse added.

"School: dull," Terry said with a short laugh. "I can't wait for summer break to come back."

"Summer just ended. Now's a time to learn," Hans said, waving off Terry's comment. "To learn all you can inside the classroom and to learn about yourself outside the classroom." He set three glass bottles of Cola on the counter. "Your mother tells me you're struggling at school, Charlie. Getting into some trouble, I hear."

"Now, why does that sound familiar?" Jesse asked, a dimple appearing in his cheek as he smiled, using his hand to twist the cap off of his soda. "A Zamboni doesn't have anything to do with it, does it?"

"It's nothing I can't handle, Hans, don't worry," Charlie replied, tapping the top of the bottle against his bottom lip. "It's the Varsity that's causing all the trouble, not me." He took the bottle opened Hans held out to him and popped off the top. "I just retaliate, it's not my fault."

"Oh, Charlie you know better than that," Hans said with a sigh, a look of disapproval crossing his face. Charlie cringed. His mom was right; Hans was always there to look out for him which entailed getting lectures and unsolicited advice all without the constant arguing. "Retaliation just brings more trouble."

"Not if you have Fulton on your side," Jesse pointed out before letting out a loud burp. Hans shifted his gaze over towards Jesse, narrowing his eye slightly."Sorry. I mean, excuse me." He tapped his fingernails on the side of the bottle. "Sir."

"Boys, boys, boys," Hans said, leaning heavily against the counter. He let out a heavy sigh, bowing his head slightly.

"Hans?" Terry asked quietly, putting a hand on the older man's shoulder. "Are you OK?"

"Yes, yes," Hans replied, standing up straight, nodding his head. "Just a little tired, that's all. Have to sharpen all these skates by myself you know."

He gave the three boys a pointed look and they all quickly brought their bottles of soda to their mouths, making a show of drinking the carbonated beverage. Terry whistled to himself and Jesse took the time to look around the place with sudden fascination. Hans shook his head, chuckling before lifting a hand to his mouth, letting out a small cough.

"I have a lot of skates stacked up, waiting to be sharpened," Hans pressed.

"Alright, alright, don't twist our arms, we'll do it," Charlie said as he set his glass bottle down onto the table, licking his lips.

"We will?" Jesse and Terry asked in unison.

"Yes, we will," Charlie replied, putting emphasis on his words. He frowned as he watched Hans make his way through the store and into his sitting area. He kept one hand out to lean his weight against as he walked. "Hans…" He jumped to his feet and hurried over to his friend, grasping his arm to help him over to his chair. "What's wrong? Are you ok?"

"Just tired, Charlie, it's been a long day on my feet," Hans replied, patting the top of Charlie's head with a shaking hand. Jesse moved to start a fire, bringing warmth and more light to the dark room as Terry grabbed a couple of pillows from the couch, setting them into the chair before helping Charlie lower Hans into his chair. "Thank you, boys, thank you."

"Hans, are you sure you're OK?" Terry asked.

"Yes, yes," Hans said with a bit of an edge to his tone, waving his hand in the air. "Don't worry about me. I'm OK."

"Will you come to our game tomorrow?" Charlie asked the older man. "First game of the semester; we're playing against the Blake Freshmen Bears. It should be a cake walk; they haven't had a promising season in a couple years from what I've seen."

"Never underestimate your opponents, Charlie," Hans said, waving his hand in the air. "After all, you Ducks used to be looked at the same way and look where you are now." Charlie felt himself smile and turned to see Jesse and Terry doing the same. "Pee Wee Champs, Goodwill Games Champs, and soon to be state champs representing Eden Hall Academy."

"It's all thanks to you, Hans," Terry said, placing his hand on top of the older man's."Thank you."

"No, no, I should be thank you," Hans replied with a brief shake of his head. He slowly sucked in a breath of air, his chest rising and falling as he breathed it out, a wheeze rattling in the back of his throat. "I've enjoyed watching you all grow into fine young ladies and gentlemen." His eyes suddenly widened. "You boys must be hungry. I'm sure I have something you all would like around here."

"Don't worry, we can find something," Terry said, getting to his feet. "Don't get up, you should rest." He headed out of the room, stepping carefully past Hans' chair.

"Oh, I'm not that old," Hans replied, waving his hands in the air. He put his hands down onto the arm rests, leaning forward to pull himself to his feet, but Jesse gently pushed back on his shoulders.

"It's OK, Hans," Jesse said, giving him a gentle smile. "I'm not that hungry anyway."

"Why do you have so much pudding?" Terry 's voice floated over towards them. He came into the room with a pudding cup in his hand. "These aren't old are they?" He removed the foil top and gingerly sniffed it.

"Ugh," Charlie groaned, making a face.

"Old or not, you know he'd eat it either way," Jesse said to Hans, making a face. Hans grinned, a chuckle rumbling in his throat. His laughter turned into a hard cough. Hans leaned forward in his seat, his coughing and wheezing. "Go get him some water."

Charlie hurried to find a cup before filling it with water. Some water sloshed over the sides of the cup and onto the wooden floor as he hastily shoved it into Hans's hands. "Are you OK?" he asked, moving to kneel down beside him. "That was a nasty cough."

"Oh, yes, yes, it's just a bit dusty in here," Hans replied before lifting the cup to his mouth. Charlie gently pushed on the back of the cup, helping him tip the water into his mouth. Hans closed his eyes as the cool water slid down his throat. He let out a sigh, smiling happily as he set down the cup. He reached into his pocket for a handkerchief and dabbed at his lips. "I haven't gotten around to cleaning just yet. I've been putting it off for a while, Charlie, that's all."

"Well, we could clean it for you," Charlie offered.

"We could?" Jesse and Terry asked in unison, exchanging glances. Charlie gave them a pointed look.

"I mean…I'd be happy to help, Hans," Jesse said, forcing a smile to his face. "Just say the word." He elbowed Terry in the side who quickly agree.

"We can start with this pudding," Terry said. "Do you have a spoon lying around anywhere?" Hans chuckled, closing his eyes.

"Awww, Ducks," he muttered. He patted Charlie's hand before giving it a gentle squeeze. Charlie smiled, placing his hand on top of Hans'.

"Hey, Hans?" Charlie asked. Hans made a humming sound in the back of his throat. "How much pudding do you actually have? I might know a place that might take it." He looked over at Jesse and Terry, raising his eyebrows. "You guys in the mood for a party tomorrow night? I have the feeling it's going to be pretty sweet."

A/N: The next chapter starts more instances of the Julie/Scooter pairing. Thanks for checking out this story.