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: I know I got Adam's address wrong…sorry! Too lazy to change it though…PLEASE REVIEW!

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own 'em. I just own Jessica, Ethan, Sally, Jason, and Andrew.

This chapter: A toching moment.

Adam

            The next morning, the housekeeper Teresa woke me up at ten, "Mr. Banks, get up!" she called. I hated when she called me Mr. Banks and I knew Andrew hated it when she called him Mr. Banks too. I groaned and rolled over, muttering drowsily, "Teresa, please don't call me Mr. Banks. Call me Adam or even Banks of you want. For that matter, you can call me Banksie too!" I was rambling.

            "Okay Adam. Just get up. You mother wants to take you shopping to buy food for Jesse's party."

            "But why?" I whined.

            "What's wrong Adam? You never sleep this later and I never need to wake you."

            "Nothing," I sighed, "Just too tired. Thanks though, Teresa." She smiled and left. I got out of bed and pulled out the first shirt and pair of pants that I saw, slipping them on quickly.

            Jesse was moving because his grandma needed someone to stay with her; she was really sick. Plus, Jesse never really wanted to go all the way in hockey. He liked it as a past-time, but he didn't want to go to Eden Hall and have scouts watching after him every time he stepped onto the ice. Besides, he said that he wanted to lead a normal life instead of going pro in hockey. I understood and respected his decision, but still, I wanted a friend. We had already resolved to stay in tough, obviously, and to visit each other too. But still, I had to wonder, what was it going to be like alone? Sure, there was Charlie, but he suddenly became very interested in hanging out with Guy and Connie, especially after they broke up and got back together again, getting off to a rocky start. So what were the chances of him hanging out with me when he was with Guy and Connie all the time? Not many, I know.

            For the rest of the day, my mom and Teresa set up the house. The both knew how hard Jesse's departure would be on me and consistently told me to go outside and have fun. But you see that was impossible for me to do because I had no clue where the others were and when I called them, nobody was home at anyone's place. By the time lunch was over, I could see that my mom was getting pretty tired of me moping in self-pity so I put my sakes on and went outside. In my driveway, the goal and the fake goalie is always set-up so that I can practice whenever I want to, so my dad says. So, for the next hour or so, I kept myself content with shooting the puck at a standstill goalie. It was actually getting to be fun and I was becoming more and more absorbed with my pretend game and my own personal commentaries.

            "Banks, do you enjoy shooting at a wooden person?" someone called out. I looked up and saw Jesse smiling at me.

            "Actually…" I tried to look serious, but soon broke into a small smile.

            "So do you wanna hang-out or something?" he asked after a short pause.

            "Sure, what do you want to do?"

            "Let's just skate around."

            "Okay." I yelled over my shoulder that I was leaving. I'm pretty sure there was a small celebration at that announcement.

            Jesse led the way and we skated in silence. I wondered what he was thinking about and figured that something was definitely wrong. By the time we reached our favorite spot (five minutes later), still in silence, I decided to speak up.

            "Is something wrong, Jesse?" I asked quietly.

He sighed and sat down, "Not really, Banksie."

            "Are you sure?" I sat down too.

            "Yeah."

            "Hmm…In the three years that I've known you, I've learned that when you lie, you look away and run your hand through your hair."

            "So? What's your point?"

            "You're looking away and running you hand through you hair." He gave me a look between relief, anger, and amusement. I didn't know how he combined all three, but he did.

            "Do you wanna talk about it?" I asked. He nodded slightly, "I guess."   

            "So talk. I'm here to listen."

            "Well, okay. Look I don't want to go to school without you guys. It will be weird, but at the same time, I'm excited. I want to know what else I can do with myself when I give it a chance. But I can't help feeling a little guilty for leaving you guys behind. I could have gone to Eden Hall too, but I want to be there for my grandma."

            "I know. Jesse, we've had this conversation already." Yeah, I was a little confused.

            "But that's not the point," he shook his head, "I don't know. Maybe I should just stay and keep you company."

            "No, don't you even think about doing that! Not only would I feel so guilty for making you stay, you'd end up regretting your choice, I know it," I sighed, "Look, I'm not the happiest that you're not coming to Eden Hall or even staying in the same area as me. But at the same time, I would never let myself just not let you go. Besides, you'll be happy there. At Eden Hall, you'd have to hang-out with preppy, rich, snooty cake-eaters like me!"

Jesse smiled a genuine smile then laughed, "You know, I take it all back."

            "What?"

            "Yesterday, I commented on how much you said at once when you and Jessica were having a yelling match. But this topped it. Besides, it's more touching than a yelling grudge holding contest." I laughed. I knew I was quiet and Jesse made fun of me by keeping track of how much I said in each conversation (we actually have a little pad on this).

            "You know, Adam," he got serious, "You're a great friend. Don't be afraid to step out of your shell at that prep school. People need to see you for you. Open up to the Ducks. And don't forget to report back to me on your progress. I'll be keeping track that way."

            "Thanks, Jesse. I don't know what I did to deserve a great friend like you."

            "Well you transformed from a Hawk to Duck." He smiled. We laughed and started skipping rocks, seeing who could skip the farthest.

            It's corny, that conversation, but it was one of the most meaningful ones I've ever had. I knew I'd miss Jesse, but hey, what were weekends for?

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