Again to my loyal reviewer randaroo32, thank you very much. Your words are always appreciated.

Chapter 38: Varsity

As the Ducks' history class ended, Linda showed up and handed her clipboard to Lizzy. "1,250 names. Most of them say they don't care what it's changed to, 20% say they'd prefer the Ducks, and 10% say as long as it's not related to the Native Americans," Linda said.

"Thanks Linda. I'll make sure Tom hears this out soon. The best I can do is sometime in the next three weeks," Lizzy said.

"As long as you try." They headed to Art and an arm slipped around Lizzy's shoulders.

"So did Reed mean Joe Larson?" Riley asked.

Lizzy looked up to see Riley on her left. "You heard him?" Lizzy asked.

"At lunch. The whole cafeteria heard him. So ...?"

"Yeah." Lizzy nodded.

"How do you know Larson?"

"Better question, how do you know Larson?" Lizzy asked. "Or do you just know him from the last game?"

"Joe Larson, Todd McGill, Parker Preston, Kyle Riley, and Adam Banks." Riley said it like it was supposed to mean something to Lizzy. She thought hard, trying to come up with something.

They stopped outside the Art room and she leaned against the lockers next to the door to look up at him. Riley reached out and twirled a strand of Lizzy's hair around his finger. Finally it hit Lizzy. "That sounds like the starting line-up for the Hawks two years ago."

"'Cause it was. Though Adam was younger than the rest, I can't count the number of times those four boys were camped out on my brother's bedroom floor. They were close until Adam joined the Ducks and Larson quit hockey to play baseball. Now tell me, how do you know Larson?"

"Joey and I bonded after the Peewee State Championships in sixth grade. Every time I talk about him or Fulton sees me hanging out with him, he gets upset because Joe's a former Hawk."

"It must be driving him crazy to see you with me then."

"A former Hawk and a Warrior? Of course, but I don't think that bothers him as much because Joey's my age and you're three years older."

"Oh, I get it." He figured it had something to do with Lizzy's love life. "You better get inside. We don't want you late for class."

"I'll see you at dinner then?"

"Seat is open if you want it." Riley cupped her cheek, smirked, and then walked away.

"So that's how you're going to get Mr. Riley to look at the petition," Linda said. Lizzy saw her standing just inside the door.

"All part of the plan. I've got a couple plans in progress that will make the rest of the year extremely easy on me and my team. I have yet to have a plan blow up in my face."

"Well best of luck with that," Linda answered.

At practice Orion noticed Lizzy was missing so he sent Fulton to find her, not accepting any of the boy's pleadings to send someone else. Fulton reentered the locker room where he had last seen Lizzy and found her staring at the set of pads in her locker. The look on Lizzy's face made Fulton question if he had gone too far voicing his concern about Larson. Now though, it didn't matter. He had to get that sad, longing, yet scared look off his best friend's face. He wasn't sure how Lizzy could feel both sad and scared at the same time but Fulton knew he had to help her.

"You don't have to do this. You're not ready. We'll figure something out."

Lizzy jumped at the sound of his voice. "How? I don't want Orion knowing that I'm scared. I just don't trust him yet. I thought you were mad at me."

"I don't like you hanging out with Larson, but I'm not mad," Fulton sat down next to Lizzy and took her hand in his. "I've already told you that I can never be mad at you. Upset and angry, yes but never mad."

"I don't know how to get over this fear."

"Have the Ducks ever physically hurt you in practice?"

"Not since I first joined in Peewees. Jesse and Peter were kinda mean. Then there's Connie. I just—"

"I know."

"I'm telling you right now though if someone comes at me I'm going to freeze."

"Liz, you can't think of it that way. You know and have bonded with this whole team. Each and every single one of them knows exactly why you don't want to be out there on that ice. Not a single one of them is going to hurt you. Not even Connie; that's a promise."

"Okay." Lizzy nodded. She squeezed Fulton's hand and he left the room so she could change. Then he noticed they had missed half of practice. That was probably better for her anyway.

"Nice of you to join us, Jacobs. Give me 10 laps for being late and 5 more for disrupting practice," Orion said when Lizzy and Fulton joined the team on the ice.

"That's not fair, Ted," Lizzy snapped.

"Do you want to give me five more?"

Lizzy bit her tongue and skated the 15 laps. When she finished her laps, Orion motioned for her to join the game. Lizzy shook her head.

"And why not?" Orion asked stopping in front of her.

"Forgot my hockey stick," Lizzy shrugged, grinning.

Orion sighed and looked around the ice. He had come to care for these Ducks but this girl was definitely not making it easy on him. Had this been any other team, any other student, he would have given up weeks ago. As he turned back to Lizzy he saw Adam talking to her. He held a hockey stick in each hand. After a few minutes and a very hushed conversation, Lizzy nervously took the extra hockey stick from his hand.

For the rest of practice they ran drills and no matter which drill he ran, Lizzy did it perfectly the first time. Orion was surprised how well she actually performed. Though he was running drills any Peewee player could do, her movements were sharp and precise. She was very good. To see how good she really was he'd have to get her to play in a real scrimmage. Before he could do that though, it was time to end practice.

"Don't be late tomorrow, Jacobs. We have to get you trained up for the game next week."

"Don't get your hopes up, Ted. Your rule is a B average to compete. I still have seven weeks to bring my average up that high."

Orion sighed and dismissed the team.

At dinner Lizzy sat down at the varsity table and though a few of them gave her dirty looks, Riley made sure not a single one of them said a word.

After dinner Lizzy headed back to the rink dressed in her practice gear and began to practice some of her favorite moves. Several times she had to stop and calm herself down as the fear began to take over but she worked through it and by the end of her practice Lizzy's breaks were nearly 20 minutes apart. That would do her well when she had to practice with the team.

This time she knew varsity wouldn't say anything at breakfast with them the following morning. The floodgates opened, however, as she walked to her science class with Dwayne, Portman, Adam, and Fulton. Dwayne curiously asked if it was different having meals with varsity and Fulton began peppering her with questions; questions Dwayne hadn't expected and both Portman and Adam thought he should be asking her in private. Both had different reasons though. Portman was wary of Fulton making a scene and Adam didn't want him going too far.

Lizzy took a deep shaky breath and continued to walk with her head down.

"Fulton, stop!" Portman demanded. He pressed a hand to Fulton's chest then used that to gently push Fulton up against a locker. Dwayne wrapped an arm around Lizzy's shoulders and led her to class, continually apologizing for bringing it up. Lizzy waved him off when they reached the classroom. Yes, Fulton's words had stung a little but Lizzy knew 95% of it was for show and five percent was genuine care of her getting hurt by varsity. Lizzy just wished he wouldn't make such a big deal in public. During Science Lizzy passed a note to Fulton in their made up language explaining how she had to up her game if she was going to win the bet and get the petition passed through.

Fulton replied that he understood that but at the same time she had told him that he had to make it look like her hanging out with varsity was the ultimate betrayal.

"I meant to the other Ducks, not in front of me," Lizzy's note answered.

Fulton apologized for misunderstanding and they went back to paying attention.

When Lizzy sat at the varsity table for lunch she could tell Fulton wasn't happy about it and Riley was surprised. Fulton didn't say anything but he did glare at varsity before going to sit with the Ducks. "Hey Riley, when's the next school board meeting? I need to speak with them and your dad."

"It's not for two weeks unless there's some kind of emergency."

"Oh I see."

Riley sat quiet for a few moments observing the disappointed look on her face. Lizzy was shocked by what he said next in French. He told her if it was that important she could always come over the following night for dinner. That meant that she would have to break her plans with Matt and Bombay. Since she couldn't do that she asked about coming over Thursday instead. Riley suggested Friday after the varsity game because his dad had a meeting on Thursday. Lizzy agreed.

"I like your jacket," Lizzy said in English, seeing the look Scooter was giving her. It suggested that he didn't think she was winning the bet as for all he knew she and Riley could have been insulting each other in French.

"Thanks," Riley answered, running a hand down the front of his jacket and looking down at it fondly.

"I bet I could make it look ten times cooler than you do."

"Oh, yeah right." It was obvious Riley didn't believe her.

"Like I said I'm willing to bet on that. Scooter can even pick which table to survey."

"If I look cooler then you have to eat lunch with us the rest of the week."

"If I do, I get to keep your jacket for a week."

"Deal," Riley answered. There was only one way he was going to lose the bet and that was if Scooter picked jv's table. He really hoped his roommate hadn't turned that far against him.

Scooter looked around the cafeteria and swallowed. Picking the Ducks would be obvious but so would picking the varsity cheerleaders. He had to choose wisely as not to seem like he was favoring either. Then it hit him as his eyes landed on the former jv table. Kyle Riley and his friends. They had been booted by the Ducks and Rick hadn't been able to get their spots back. They could go either way. "Two tables that way, one table that way," Scooter told them, motioning in front of him then to the right. Lizzy and Riley spotted the table at the same time and they both smiled.

Rick pulled off his varsity jacket and handed it to Lizzy, who put it on. His jacket felt softer and warmer than Seth's had been when Lizzy had borrowed that one, though it could be warmer because Riley had just taken it off. She knew she had to win this bet if she was going to make Riley fall for her or at least make it look like he had fallen for her. When they reached the designated table of 11, Lizzy got their attention. "We need you guys to give us your honest opinion. Raise your hand if I look cooler in this jacket than Rick does." Lizzy took a quick head count. "9-2. You lose Riley. Thanks for the jacket, babe." Lizzy smirked then walked back to the varsity table, collecting her empty lunch tray and backpack.

"Did she just ..." Kyle trailed off, looking past his older brother and hoping he was not going to say yes. The two Rileys were on different pages though.

"Get me to give her my jacket? Yeah," Riley answered.

"Call you babe?" Kyle clarified.

The older Riley shrugged and walked back to his table almost in a shocked disbelief. That wasn't supposed to happen.

"So?" Scooter asked.

"Did I just see a freshman wearing your varsity jacket, Rick?" Cindy, Cole's girlfriend, asked.

"Yeah and her name is Lizzy." Riley sat down in his chair, still at a loss as how that had just happened. Scooter grinned to himself. It looked like his bet against Cole was in the bag.

"You never let Mindy wear that jacket and you dated her," Cindy pushed.

"She never asked," Scooter answered. Riley only nodded.

Meanwhile at the Ducks' table Adam turned to his captain. "You know how I told you yesterday that I would let you know if you should be concerned about Lizzy and varsity?" Adam asked.

"Yeah?" Charlie asked suspiciously.

"Consider this me letting you know."

Charlie's eyes combed the cafeteria but Connie found the other brunette first. "Is that a varsity jacket?" Connie asked.

"Has she forgotten everything varsity did to us?" Guy added.

"Do we really think she's fallen for that jerk or is she just luring him in for the kill?" Kenny asked, looking around at the Ducks.

"Fulton can find out," Adam said.

"Remember: time bomb," Portman warned Fulton.

Fulton sighed but followed her to her locker as the bell rang. "Nice jacket," he whispered in her ear.

"All part of my master plan," Lizzy answered, not turning to look at him so Fulton leaned against the locker next to hers.

"What is this master plan of yours?"

Lizzy sighed and glanced at him as the hallway filled with students. "The day after I got here Linda told us that she needs 1,000 names for the board to consider her petition. Mindy told us that Rick had to be on our side if we wanted it to pass because his dad does what he wants. That's also when I found out varsity was still bothering you guys."

"Right."

"I realized then that there was only one way to guarantee that Riley would back off; the only way I knew–blackmail. His brother told me the only way to get blackmail on him was to get close to Riley. Then when Scooter bet me, it was perfect. I win a bet, I get him to back off, and my Ducks are mostly happy for a year. Kill two birds with one stone. On top of that I can get this petition passed."

"How?"

"Easy–get close enough to Riley to get invited to his place for dinner on Friday, then put him on the spot in front of his dad. He said I could come over Friday after the varsity game for dinner."

"You think his dad will accept the petition?"

"Hopefully. I mean he will protect his son. I don't think he will let Rick embarrass him."

"I really hope this works," Fulton said.

"Me too, otherwise I'm going to have to pull off an epic prank that he won't like."

"I love your pranks."

"Who's pranking?" Kenny asked.

"Lizzy might," Fulton said.

"You any good?"

"Maybe," Lizzy asked.

As everyone found their seats in History, Charlie looked at Fulton. "So, do I got to worry?"

"I'd worry a little. She's having dinner with his family Friday after the varsity game."

"How can she do this to us? We're supposed to be her friends."

"I don't know, Charlie." Fulton went quiet. He felt terrible. No matter what had happened in the past, Fulton had always stuck by Charlie. When everybody had turned on Bombay and they had to forfeit the game, he had stuck with Charlie and showed faith in his coach. Any time the Hawks tried to pick on them Fulton had always stuck up for the boy and his friends. Then on the other hand Fulton had never betrayed Lizzy. She had been his best friend forever. He wasn't sure what to do so he sat down and stared at his history book.

"Hey, you okay?" Portman asked as he and Fulton headed for their math class.

"Yeah, fine."

Portman only stared at him.

"Why won't you just believe me?" Fulton asked as they reached the classroom.

"Possibly because I know you and Mav. The last time you were this bothered it was because you had to lie to her about Matt. Calm down. Nothing's going on between her and varsity or her and Rick. She doesn't like him like that," Portman said, throwing an arm around Fulton's shoulders.

"What makes you say something like that?

"I know about the bet. I spent enough time with her this summer getting to know her and building a relationship with her. I know the kind of look she gets when she likes a guy. At least I'm pretty sure I know. She did like me. I thought she liked me. Anyway, I've seen the way she looks at Riley. She just wants to get something out of him."

"She has a bet against Scooter to get Riley to fall for her but is also using that to get blackmail on him so he and his team will leave us alone for the rest of the year. I know you and I can take on varsity but what about Kenny? We can't be with him all the time. And Averman? Goldberg? They gang up on the weakest one; you know that."

"I just wish Lizzy didn't feel like she had to take this all on her own. Then again she did tell you and Adam," Portman said.

"She said couldn't lie to us anymore. How did you know she told Adam?"

"The look in his eyes."

"As soon as Mr. Portman and Mr. Reed are done we'll get started," their math teacher said. Both boys apologized and went quiet.

Thank you all for reading. Review on the way out, please?