Title: More Than You'll Ever Know
Summary: All Adam's dad wants is for Adam to make pro-hockey. All Adam ever wanted was a friend. A friend to stick by him. He'd lost one before, and when she comes back, sparks fly, but not for the better.
Main Duck: Adam Banks
Rating: PG-13 for language and later violence
Time frame: After D2, before and during D3 maybe after D3 if I feel like it and if you give me reviews =p
Author's Note (more like plead): Thanks for all your reviews: Emma Conners (Your story is awesome!), and duckslover99 (lol…your story is hilarious!) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own 'em. I just own Jessica, Ethan, Sally, Jason, and Andrew.
This chapter: Jesse finds out what the real problem is.
Jesse
After Banks left, I swallowed, "Well all I have to say is that's the most I've heard him say at one time." Everyone nodded in agreement. Even after four years of hanging out with us, he was still pretty quiet. Even when the rest of our friends weren't there, Banks wouldn't talk unless I forced it out of him. But really, he was a good guy who cared about all his friends. I just don't think the others pried enough to get him to talk, that's all.
"What went on with him and that amazingly hot girl anyway?" Averman asked. Guy nodded, "Yeah, he never mentioned her in pee-wees." I had to laugh,
"If you don't remember, we didn't talk to him much in pee-wees. We didn't like him very much."
"True."
"But man was he mad! I have never seen Banksie so worked up over something before!" Charlie said what we were all thinking. Banks was generally a really laid back guy and it was hard to get him mad, even the slightest bit. We used to have this game where we'd see who would be the first to get him mad, but nobody ever won. That must have meant that the girl meant something to him and they had a huge falling out, or she did something horrible to him. We all shrugged and decided to go our separate ways. Charlie and I skated out of the area last. Bombay was walking towards us.
"Hey guys!" he greeted us.
"Hey!"
"Listen, when's the good-bye party for you, Jesse?"
"Tomorrow at Banks' house. It's the only house big enough for all of us," I responded. Charlie was quieter. Although he forgave Bombay for not coaching the JV hockey team at the Ducks' new high school, he was still a little uncomfortable around him.
"Great!" Tonight go to this address and we'll welcome Ethan and Jessica to our Duck family. Tell everyone." Bombay, obviously oblivious to the troubles between Banksie and Jessica, handed each of us a card that said:
642 Columbus Lane, Edina
Edina was Banks' neighborhood. Come to think of it, Adam lived on 661 Columbus Lane. Did that mean that she lived down the block and across the street from Banksie? Charlie and I looked at each other, shrugging. We thanked the Coach and went out separate ways.
Before I headed over to the party, I called Banksie. The housekeeper picked up the phone, "Banks residence."
"Hi, may I please speak to Banksie…I mean Adam?" I asked politely.
"Sure, Jesse. Hold on a minute, I think he's in his room." The housekeeper knew my voice and Charlie's voice by then. I also knew that the Banks' took the housekeeper in like family and insisted that she not called them Mr. or Mrs. Banks. "Hello?" Banksie's deepish voice came onto the phone.
"Hey cake-eater!"
"Hi Jesse. What's up?"
"Do you happen to know where 642 Columbus Lane is?"
There was a slight pause before I heard him say, "Yeah, why?"
"I need to know how to get there."
"It's down the block and across the street from me," I smiled slightly before he continued, "why?"
"I'm going to a party there."
"Who invited you?"
"Bombay. So are you coming or not, cake-eater?"
"I don't know Jesse. I have to do some stuff around the house. Maybe later."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I have to do a few more things for your party tomorrow night."
"Okay…if you're sure."
"I'm sure. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"
"Sure."
"Have fun. Bye."
"Bye." I hung-up and started out the door, still feeling uneasy about Banks. For most of the way there, I worried about him. First of all, the party for me was tomorrow night so why couldn't he drop a few hours from his oh so vigorous planning to come to this party? Something was definitely bothering him and I was going to find out before I left. I had to.
"Hey Jesse!" Guy called out. I waved and followed him to a house, not too much smaller than Adam's, which is huge by the way. From what I had heard, this was the house Bombay was moving into. Man, I'd definitely have to visit Cake-eater territory more often. Of course, Banksie and Bombay were the only nice people I knew in this neighborhood, well maybe Ethan too, but I didn't know him too well. Still, it was a nice place.
We walked into the house right into an entrance hall. Coach Bombay stood there, beaming with pride (for his new house or for his new children, I wasn't too sure), "Hey guys. I just found out that they live here in Edina! I never thought Nancy lived so close…" he muttered the last part to himself.
"Man Bombay! You're becoming a regular cake-eater!" Guy joked. Bombay smiled and showed us to the big living room. Ethan was on the couch, watching football. He looked up when he heard us come in, "Hey." We all acknowledged him in one way or another. A few minutes later, the doorbell ran and the rest of the Ducks arrived.
I sat on the couch, watching football with Ethan, not understanding any of the terms except for 'touchdown' and 'tackle'. A few people came into the room and they looked pretty big and scary to me. Ethan high-fived them and turned to us, "Hey Ducks1 This is the Eden Hall Varsity football team." I assumed Ethan was a player on that team.
"Yo, Mor- I mean, Bombay! Where's you sister?" a big burly brown haired guy called out. Ethan threw him a half amused, half menacing look, "Upstairs, but keep your hands off of her, Kyle. She's not interested." I sent the team a raise of an eyebrow as Kyle sat down, disappointed. Jessica came down at the moment and mumbled a hello to everyone before plopping herself down onto the floor, focusing on the football game.'
"Hey Jess!" someone called from the door. We all looked up to find a tall dirty blond haired guy standing there. He looked kind of familiar.
"Hi Shane, what's up?" she got up tiredly, though much more animated towards him.
"Do you want to play some street hockey tomorrow with some of the guys?"
"Why?" she looked confused.
"Just a last game before we all leave for high school."
"Man, Ryder," she laughed, "You talk as if we're going to college, never to be seeing each other again, instead of high school. But yeah, I'll come play. It's got to be in the morning though. I have a gig in the afternoon with Tori, Danny, Aaron, and Jordan." That's where I'd heard of his name! Ryder was an ex-Hawk too! By the time the pizza arrived, the football team had explained football terms and rules to us. We kind of got it, but it wasn't too clear for us, being that we've played hockey for most of our lives.
Throughout the rest of the party we, meaning the Ducks, took notice of how quiet Jessica was. She was either too why or too snobby. Taking it that Banksie hated her, we believed the latter. Besides, I knew what shy was and Banks was the perfect example. Jessica, on the other hand, was nothing like Banks in the sense of shyness. She was pretty, yeah, but she was snotty so that ruined all her appealing qualities.
"I don't know how Banksie put up with her for so long," Fulton complained about Jessica as we started skating away from the big house.
"Yeah what was up with her 'I'm too cool for you' act?" Connie rolled her eyes. We all laughed and said good-bye. I really wished I could go to Eden Hall and be there for Banksie. Well I could go, but I wanted to go to public school and be there for my grandma. Besides, we were moving anyway. I just hoped nothing bad would happen while I was gone.
*I know this chapter is short and kind of dry, but it builds up to what I need to say later. Please review!*