~* Not only Do I not own anyone but Tori, but I also don't own the songs in this chapter.*~
Biting his lip Banks rose from the grass, and without a word he started off across the campus. There were few things bothered the even tempered hockey player, but seeing a girl, any girl in tears was one of them. Swallowing his pride he looked on the mail boxes in the lobby of the girls' dorm, finding out which room Tori was staying in. Luckily it was one he was familiar with, the girl was rooming with Charlie's on again off again girlfriend Linda.
As soon as he reached the top of the stairs leading to her floor he began to hear loud rock music playing. Adam recognized it as Beck's single 'Loser', it wasn't the type of music the typical up tight, narrow minded, Eden Hall students listened to and it became evident it must have been coming from Victoria's room. Sighing he knocked, but the gentle wrap went almost unheard thanks in part to the earsplitting noise from the radio.
"I'm a loser baby, so why don't ya kill me?" Tori's voice rang out in a slightly off keyed rendition from inside the room.
Banks plastered on his friendliest smile and knocked again. Patiently he waited from the door to open, all while running through what he was going to say in his head.
"Oh, it's you." The girl groaned as she opened the door. "You didn't happen to run into the Domino's guy on the way up did you? I'm waiting for a pizza."
Adam shook his head.
"Nope, sorry. Can I come in?"
"If you feel the need." She walked back into the room leaving Banksie to enter and shut the door behind him. "So are you here to gather some more ammo for your group 'we hate the new girl' discussion ?"
"No." The boy answered uncomfortably, then quickly changed the subject when he noticed a large collection of hockey trading cards strewn about the floor and a shoebox containing more on the bed. "Wow, you've got tons of cards."
"Good observation Sherlock, no wonder they pay you the big bucks. But, don't change the subject on me. If you're not looking for stuff to take back your friends, then what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to check on you, you seemed pretty upset earlier, I dunno, I don't like to see a girl cry."
Tori rolled her eyes and plopped onto the floor, gesturing to a clear spot for Banks to sit.
"Spare me this bleeding heart crap Banks. Besides I'm a big girl, I can take it, if you guys wanna bad mouth me till you're blue in the face go ahead. Just don't do what you did today, don't make shit up. I have enough flaws that you don't have to lie to talk smack about me. That's what pissed me off."
"Why, who was making stuff up?"
"The girls, that conversation about Mike Madano, Paul Kariya and Adam Oates, never happened. At least not the way Julie said it did, they didn't ask me what person I thought was better looking, they asked who was a better player. If they'd asked who I thought was the hottest person in the NHL I would've told them PJ Stock from the Bruins. And even if I did say I thought Oates was sexy because he was good, so what? I'm serious about hockey, that doesn't make me a bad person."
"That doesn't sound like Julie to lie." Adam declared.
Tori shrugged.
"It doesn't really matter to me if you believe me or not."
"You can't be as cold and sarcastic as you try to come off."
"Sure I can, I hate to break it to you but after the way you people have been treating me I'm not about to just open my arms and be nice to you. Now I'm trying to sort out these cards so either help me out, or get out."
Dumbfounded Banks looked over at the piles Victoria had been separating the cards into and saw they were broken into groups by team. As the song switched from 'Loser' to Ace of Base's 'All that she wants', she certainly had a bizarre taste in music, he picked a stacked and shuffled through it. Neither said a word to each other for a few minutes and the tension in the air was pretty thick. Tori basically ignored Adam hoping he'd get the hint and leave, but he had no where to be at that particular point in time so he stayed.
"Whoa, you've got a Wayne Gretzky rookie card!" Banks' jaw hung open and he turned the thin piece of cardboard over in his hand.
"I do, in fact I've been looking for that." The girl plucked it out of his grasp.
"Do you know how much that's worth?"
"Allot, I have tons of valuable stuff in my collection."
"I'd like to see it some time."
Tori smiled and hopped up onto her feet.
"You don't have to ask me twice."
A second later she was gone in a flash of wavy brown hair and disappeared into her closet, rummaging for a box. It was while she was digging through the things she'd had to shove into the small closet to make them fit with all of Linda's junk, that the pizza guy finally arrived.
"If that's Domino's the money's on the top of my dresser." She called out from inside the wardrobe.
Adam walked to the door and opened it to the boy that looked no older then he dressed the usual red and blue Domino's uniform, with a medium pizza in his hand.
"Medium cheese for Farrell?"
"That's us, thanks." Banksie pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and handed the delivery guy a twenty dollar bill. "Keep the change."
"Thanks allot."
The hockey player turned and reentered the room as the other teen retreated down he hall with his eight dollar tip in hand. Banks walked the box in and deposited it on the desk, the bottom was hot and you could practically smell the grease. Coach Orion would have a heart attack if he saw them eating that pizza.
"Eureka!" Tori exclaimed yanking a box out from underneath the rest, causing the mountain to topple over with a crash. Quickly she slammed the closet closed "Haha, don't open that."
The girl brushed her bangs out of her eyes as she dumped the contents of the tote onto the bed. Buried at the very bottom had been something that caught Banksie's eye, a yellow rectangle cereal-box. The team Good Will Games, Team USA Wheaties box to be exact.
"Are you sure you're not stalking us?"
Tori shrugged picking up the remote to her stereo and skipping the CD to Meredith Brooke's song 'Bitch'.
"What can I say, I had a thing for number nine."
"You liked Jesse?" Adam stifled a laugh.
"Yeah. So?"
"He just doesn't seem your type."
"And what's my type?" The girl crossed her arms.
"I dunno, loud, pushy, moody, tough as nails. Okay on second thought he does seem like your type."
"I thought he was fine, plus he seemed like he'd fit in with the kids I went to school with."
Adam nodded.
"He's my best friend, I could maybe arrange for you to meet him if you'd like."
"Don't do me any favors, just eat your pizza. My roommate should be back any minute and I'd like not to have any thing she can flip out about going on, that includes having a jock in the room. She's already annoyed enough that she's stuck with me." The girl pealed the top of the pizza box open, letting the smell of the cheese circle the room and swirl up to her nostrils.
"I know Linda, she's Charlie's sometimes girlfriend."
"Figures. Speaking of my co-captain, do me a fave, if you see him before I do, tell him if it's going to cause problems I'll tell Orion to take my C back. The third line right wing shouldn't have one anyway. Still if all he's going to do is screw around when we're on the ice he shouldn't have one either."
"I'll do that."
After the food was gone the two teenagers cleaned up the memorabilia mess that had irrupted all over the room. Once it was clean Adam left the girl alone in the room, where she found the money she'd set out for the pizza still on the bureau. Shaking her head she stuffed it back in her pocket, it seemed there was one friendly Duck on the entire team. But the weird part was it was the one person she came expecting not to get along with. Not that it mattered, she didn't care who liked her, all that matter to her was hockey and she'd play the right way. If the rest of the team wanted to act like fools and goof off the whole time that was fine, it'd only serve to make her look better. Plus playing for the Ducks had it's advantages, like possibly meeting Jesse Hall.
Biting his lip Banks rose from the grass, and without a word he started off across the campus. There were few things bothered the even tempered hockey player, but seeing a girl, any girl in tears was one of them. Swallowing his pride he looked on the mail boxes in the lobby of the girls' dorm, finding out which room Tori was staying in. Luckily it was one he was familiar with, the girl was rooming with Charlie's on again off again girlfriend Linda.
As soon as he reached the top of the stairs leading to her floor he began to hear loud rock music playing. Adam recognized it as Beck's single 'Loser', it wasn't the type of music the typical up tight, narrow minded, Eden Hall students listened to and it became evident it must have been coming from Victoria's room. Sighing he knocked, but the gentle wrap went almost unheard thanks in part to the earsplitting noise from the radio.
"I'm a loser baby, so why don't ya kill me?" Tori's voice rang out in a slightly off keyed rendition from inside the room.
Banks plastered on his friendliest smile and knocked again. Patiently he waited from the door to open, all while running through what he was going to say in his head.
"Oh, it's you." The girl groaned as she opened the door. "You didn't happen to run into the Domino's guy on the way up did you? I'm waiting for a pizza."
Adam shook his head.
"Nope, sorry. Can I come in?"
"If you feel the need." She walked back into the room leaving Banksie to enter and shut the door behind him. "So are you here to gather some more ammo for your group 'we hate the new girl' discussion ?"
"No." The boy answered uncomfortably, then quickly changed the subject when he noticed a large collection of hockey trading cards strewn about the floor and a shoebox containing more on the bed. "Wow, you've got tons of cards."
"Good observation Sherlock, no wonder they pay you the big bucks. But, don't change the subject on me. If you're not looking for stuff to take back your friends, then what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to check on you, you seemed pretty upset earlier, I dunno, I don't like to see a girl cry."
Tori rolled her eyes and plopped onto the floor, gesturing to a clear spot for Banks to sit.
"Spare me this bleeding heart crap Banks. Besides I'm a big girl, I can take it, if you guys wanna bad mouth me till you're blue in the face go ahead. Just don't do what you did today, don't make shit up. I have enough flaws that you don't have to lie to talk smack about me. That's what pissed me off."
"Why, who was making stuff up?"
"The girls, that conversation about Mike Madano, Paul Kariya and Adam Oates, never happened. At least not the way Julie said it did, they didn't ask me what person I thought was better looking, they asked who was a better player. If they'd asked who I thought was the hottest person in the NHL I would've told them PJ Stock from the Bruins. And even if I did say I thought Oates was sexy because he was good, so what? I'm serious about hockey, that doesn't make me a bad person."
"That doesn't sound like Julie to lie." Adam declared.
Tori shrugged.
"It doesn't really matter to me if you believe me or not."
"You can't be as cold and sarcastic as you try to come off."
"Sure I can, I hate to break it to you but after the way you people have been treating me I'm not about to just open my arms and be nice to you. Now I'm trying to sort out these cards so either help me out, or get out."
Dumbfounded Banks looked over at the piles Victoria had been separating the cards into and saw they were broken into groups by team. As the song switched from 'Loser' to Ace of Base's 'All that she wants', she certainly had a bizarre taste in music, he picked a stacked and shuffled through it. Neither said a word to each other for a few minutes and the tension in the air was pretty thick. Tori basically ignored Adam hoping he'd get the hint and leave, but he had no where to be at that particular point in time so he stayed.
"Whoa, you've got a Wayne Gretzky rookie card!" Banks' jaw hung open and he turned the thin piece of cardboard over in his hand.
"I do, in fact I've been looking for that." The girl plucked it out of his grasp.
"Do you know how much that's worth?"
"Allot, I have tons of valuable stuff in my collection."
"I'd like to see it some time."
Tori smiled and hopped up onto her feet.
"You don't have to ask me twice."
A second later she was gone in a flash of wavy brown hair and disappeared into her closet, rummaging for a box. It was while she was digging through the things she'd had to shove into the small closet to make them fit with all of Linda's junk, that the pizza guy finally arrived.
"If that's Domino's the money's on the top of my dresser." She called out from inside the wardrobe.
Adam walked to the door and opened it to the boy that looked no older then he dressed the usual red and blue Domino's uniform, with a medium pizza in his hand.
"Medium cheese for Farrell?"
"That's us, thanks." Banksie pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and handed the delivery guy a twenty dollar bill. "Keep the change."
"Thanks allot."
The hockey player turned and reentered the room as the other teen retreated down he hall with his eight dollar tip in hand. Banks walked the box in and deposited it on the desk, the bottom was hot and you could practically smell the grease. Coach Orion would have a heart attack if he saw them eating that pizza.
"Eureka!" Tori exclaimed yanking a box out from underneath the rest, causing the mountain to topple over with a crash. Quickly she slammed the closet closed "Haha, don't open that."
The girl brushed her bangs out of her eyes as she dumped the contents of the tote onto the bed. Buried at the very bottom had been something that caught Banksie's eye, a yellow rectangle cereal-box. The team Good Will Games, Team USA Wheaties box to be exact.
"Are you sure you're not stalking us?"
Tori shrugged picking up the remote to her stereo and skipping the CD to Meredith Brooke's song 'Bitch'.
"What can I say, I had a thing for number nine."
"You liked Jesse?" Adam stifled a laugh.
"Yeah. So?"
"He just doesn't seem your type."
"And what's my type?" The girl crossed her arms.
"I dunno, loud, pushy, moody, tough as nails. Okay on second thought he does seem like your type."
"I thought he was fine, plus he seemed like he'd fit in with the kids I went to school with."
Adam nodded.
"He's my best friend, I could maybe arrange for you to meet him if you'd like."
"Don't do me any favors, just eat your pizza. My roommate should be back any minute and I'd like not to have any thing she can flip out about going on, that includes having a jock in the room. She's already annoyed enough that she's stuck with me." The girl pealed the top of the pizza box open, letting the smell of the cheese circle the room and swirl up to her nostrils.
"I know Linda, she's Charlie's sometimes girlfriend."
"Figures. Speaking of my co-captain, do me a fave, if you see him before I do, tell him if it's going to cause problems I'll tell Orion to take my C back. The third line right wing shouldn't have one anyway. Still if all he's going to do is screw around when we're on the ice he shouldn't have one either."
"I'll do that."
After the food was gone the two teenagers cleaned up the memorabilia mess that had irrupted all over the room. Once it was clean Adam left the girl alone in the room, where she found the money she'd set out for the pizza still on the bureau. Shaking her head she stuffed it back in her pocket, it seemed there was one friendly Duck on the entire team. But the weird part was it was the one person she came expecting not to get along with. Not that it mattered, she didn't care who liked her, all that matter to her was hockey and she'd play the right way. If the rest of the team wanted to act like fools and goof off the whole time that was fine, it'd only serve to make her look better. Plus playing for the Ducks had it's advantages, like possibly meeting Jesse Hall.