I wrapped my arms tightly around my knees and suddenly wished was wearing
more than a polo T-shirt and my light jacket. It was fine around campus
where I could just run in and out of building as I pleased; but here, there
was no protection for the bitter icy cold that whisked around me like a
cyclonic storm. I was so alone. The burning tears that slid down my cheek
were the only source of heat, and even they seemed to freeze after a few
seconds.
"Banks? What the hell are you doing here?"
I opened my eyes and looked up the hill from where I was sitting through blurry eyes. I wiped away the tears that stained my face with my sleeve. I didn't even have to ask who it was. I just knew. I tucked my chin into the collar of my jacket. Just because I knew who it was, I didn't want him to know everything.
The tall boy slid down the hill and stopped a few feet away from me. He walked toward me at a steady pace; his shoes crunching in the crisp snow that had fallen a few weeks ago but had yet to melt, creating a smooth calming rhythm. He knelt down beside me, his gloved hands on his knees. I could feel his eyes moving over my body nervously and his breathing seemed to get more and more panicked. "Adam, did something happen? Is it your parents? Is it Jay? Did something happen to the Ducks?" His last question was slightly quieter as if it would disturb my natural state of mind. "Is it you?"
A tear rolled down my cheek and I wiped it away hastily shaking my head, dismissing his pessimistic thoughts and worries. "No, my family is fine." I chuckled softly. "They don't even know I'm in town actually and they Ducks are probably worried about me, but their fine and physically I'm perfect."
I rubbed my eye and looked up at Ryan as his face became clearer as my tears subsided. His soft features were etched with worry as he watched me. His deep brown eyes moved erratically in a slight panic of not knowing what to do. I didn't like that. I didn't like knowing that I was worrying and causing yet another person pain. He licked his chapped lips as he chose his words carefully. "But you're not fine."
"If I were fine, why would I come here after McGill told me to never come back to this place ever again . . . twice?" I sniffed, letting out a half laugh that was completely fake. I looked around. This place always seemed to stay the same despite how much I, or the people around me, changed. The little river kept flowing in the same direction; always moving at the same brisk pace. It was a constant. It was safe.
He blinked. "I don't know Banks. Why would you come here?"
I looked up at my old team mate and gave him a half-hearted smirk. "I like it here Larson."
"Do you want to tell me what happened or do I have to guess?" He asked standing up pushing up on his knees and holding out his leather gloved hand to help me get off the ground.
I shook my head and pulled my knees tighter to my chest, much like the way I did when I was little after my father finished ranting at my brother. He always scared me. I would sit alone, under my desk clutching my jersey tight in two little fists while he raved about a coach, or a teammate or a parent from my hockey team. He could always find faults in someone.
Larson pulled his black winter coat tighter making the little cross and sword emblem on over his heart more noticeable. I wasn't sure why I noticed it, but I did. "Adam, you're going to freeze."
I swallowed. "I'm a hockey player. I'll deal. I just want to sit here." By the way here, was leaning against a tree staring at an icy river, sitting in the snow while it melted through my jeans. Now that I was 'here' I wasn't sure why I came here. I had a past here that I wanted to forget, I had one memory that basically haunted my dreams and her memory lurked all around here.
He rolled his eyes and held out his head to haul me off the ground. "Come on Banks. Get up and I'll drive you home."
I scoffed at him. "Oh yes. Go home where my father can chew me out about something or sit here in the cold." I looked up at him with utmost seriousness. "I'm staying."
"Fine." He replied. "Then you come home with me. My mom always liked you better and my sisters have been asking about you since your New Year's Eve party." He stopped and smirked. "But I guess you don't really have time to notice those things, seeing you're usually thinking about that girlfriend of yours." He laughed.
I groaned inwardly. Damn it. I forgot that Ryan knew Josie and liked her too. "I'm fine here thanks." I replied stubbornly. "You can go."
The smirk her wore was wiped off his face and replaced with a stubborn frown. "Get up. You're either going home or coming with me. Your choice."
"I guess I haven't talked to you since New Years." I sighed completely defeated. "Coming." I grumbled as I took his out stretched hand and wiped off the snow that was clinging to my jeans.
He nodded and began walking up the hill with me in tow. "Good because if I walk in with you, my parents won't flip when they find out I failed my last geometry test."
~*~
I walked into Ryan's house uneasily. I hadn't actually been inside his house since I was ten and the odd thing was that it had barely changed. New pieces of furniture and a new color scheme, but other than that it was welcoming and happy. The walls were decorated with pictures of him and his sisters from hockey, gymnastics and school.
"Ryan? Is that you?" His mother yelled from a separate room rather frazzled. A whizzing noise and splattering echoed through the rooms. "Ryan! Help!!"
Ryan and I exchanged looks and rushed into the kitchen after tossing our coats to the floor.
"Mom!" Ryan yelled over the noise of an electric mixture. The room was a complete mess with flour and egg smeared across the wooden cupboards dripping onto the tile floors. Ryan pulled the cord from the wall and shook his head and walked over to the other side of the counter helping his mother up from the floor.
Ryan's mother was completely beautiful in a motherly sort of way. My mother was the cliché 50's mother who in actuality didn't do anything. Ryan's mother was the worn out soccer mom who drove carpool and made homemade balanced lunches packing in special notes and would sit down and read a math textbook for over two hours to help her kids with homework that would only take fifteen minutes.
However, his mom had one quirk about her. When it came to cooking; she was completely klutzy.
Ryan laughed and dusted her shoulders off which were caked with flour. "Mom, what were you doing?"
"Baking cookies." She sighed shaking her head. "I was doing so well too!" She laughed and dusted off her nose only putting more flour on it. Her eyes locked on me. "My, my, Adam Banks!" She opened her arms to give me a hug but blushed. "Don't touch me, I'm a complete mess."
I smiled. "Hi Mrs. Larson." She hadn't changed a bit.
Her eyes widened. "Mrs. Larson? In all the time I've known you, you've never called me Mrs. Larson." She shook her head. "My you've grown." She said breathless. "It's been quite a while."
I nodded and looked over at Ryan who was beginning to clean up the mess. "Too long."
She nodded and looked over at the clock behind me and gasped. "Oh! Is that the time?" She yelped dusting off her arms and groaning. "I've got to go pick up Samantha and Lily from gymnastics." She looked over at Ryan pleadingly. "Ryan, sweetie, could you clean up this mess? You're father is coming home tonight and I don't want it to look like a disaster area. Please?"
Ryan nodded with a little smile. "No problem."
His mom broke out in a smile. "Thank you so much, you're my lifesaver." She laughed and eyed him. "But don't think you're off the hook. I know about that test of yours."
Ryan groaned. "But mom!"
She shook her head. "No but mom's. I am not a 'but mom'. We'll talk after dinner." She looked over at me. "It's nice seeing you again Adam. You're welcome here anytime." She made a panicked face. "Oh dear, I've got to change." She rushed out of the kitchen past me leaving a trail of flour.
I snorted. "Your mom hasn't changed." I laughed grabbing the broom that was leaning against the door frame and began to sweep the flour off the floor.
Ryan shook his head. "I swear every time I tell her I'm coming home for the weekend she tries to bake something and I end up cleaning up the mess. Either that or trying to choke down a rock hard muffin or spicy cinnamon rolls or something." He laughed filling up the sink with warm water.
I grimaced. "Spicy cinnamon rolls?"
"My mom mixed up Cayenne pepper and cinnamon. It was so bad because my mom thought we were just kidding her. She took a bite, ran to the washroom and came out crying and laughing. They burned your throat." He laughed throwing a couple bowls into the bubbly sink.
"Remember the time your mom made cookies for the Hawks banquet the year before I left?" I smirked. "And McGill took a bite and made his front tooth loose?"
Larson burst out laughing. "And he lost the tooth a day later and when everyone asked him what happened he said he took a puck to the mouth." He shook his head. "Of course I remember. McGill wouldn't talk to me for a month!"
I rolled my eyes. "It didn't help with you throwing cookies at him at lunch!"
Ryan shrugged with a smirk and began to scrub one of the dishes as our laughs subsided.
I blinked. "This is weird isn't it?" I asked nervously.
He looked over his shoulder and me and nodded. "Just a little." He whispered. "I don't know what you like anymore. I don't even know who you are anymore."
I nodded. "It sucks that we lost almost six years of being friends, especially after being best friends since we basically in diapers." I exhaled.
He nodded. "Well we could start again."
"I think we already have." I smiled weakly.
Ryan turned back to the sink and I grabbed a dish towel off the counter and began drying the dishes in silence.
I put down a spoon and chewed on my lip. "So what do we start talking about?"
"How about we start with why you were down at Hawk Creek." Ryan suggested. I opened my mouth to object but he continued. "We may not have been friends for a while, but I know that you wouldn't just go down there because it's pretty."
I sighed. I guess we still knew each other pretty well. "Josie broke up with me." I explained.
He looked over at me completely shocked. "That pretty girl who came up with the idea of tying me to a tree to stop McGill from beating you up?"
I nodded. "The one and only."
He mouthed a wow and handed me a bowl. "What happened?"
I groaned. Oh God. Not this again. "Can we just leave it at 'it was my fault' and drop it?" I sighed. "I don't want to think about it because I begin to think I'm a huge jerk."
Ryan shook his head. "You aren't a jerk. You're a teenage guy. We do dumb things." He explained. "Some guys are just really good at hiding it."
I nodded. "Thanks."
"No prob." He looked over at me and shrugged. "You need cheering up or something, so how about we finish cleaning this up and you tell me what it was like going to the Junior Goodwill Games."
I jerked my head toward him. "You saw me at the Goodwill Games?"
He nodded. "Yeah! I taped every single one of the games. I clipped out every article about you guys! I mean how many times can a guy say that he played against the gold medalist team in hockey and was this close to beating them?" He smirked bringing his soapy fingers up to his face strengthening his point. He scoffed. "And we would've beaten you if McGill didn't trip Charlie."
I smirked. "Glad to hear that you've learned his first name."
Larson shrugged. "It's kind of hard calling him a scrub when he went to the Goodwill Games and is going to an awesome school with a kick ass team."
"You never called them scrubs. That was McGill."
Larson shrugged. "So I was just as bad as him. I didn't stop him. I was like a freaking sheep. I did everything that he told me to do. I stayed in line and didn't ask questions and he was like that with Coach Reilly." His shoulders slumped. "If I could I'd take everything back."
"You could always say that your sorry." I replied back. "I could make sure that the Ducks listen to you. I mean they forgave me."
Larson rolled his eyes. "It's kind of late. I could picture it now. 'Hey Ducks, I'm sorry for saying that your mom was a slut when we were in the 5th grade, and I'm sorry that I've made your life a living hell until high school'." He shook his head. "They would pummel me with hockey pucks."
I shrugged. "Better late then never." I smiled. "Besides, half of them you don't even know."
Ryan nodded. "Maybe. Let me think about it."
I bit my lip. "Where's your dad? I thought he worked at home or something." I always liked Ryan's dad. He was interested in hockey, but he never pressured Ryan into playing. He would always allow Ryan to come to his own conclusions about things and would gently suggest things to Ryan and let Ryan decided if he wanted to do it.
Ryan shrugged. "He's working for some big company now. He sold that one design he was working on before you left for the Ducks to some big shot and now he travels, pitching it and presenting it to the branch plants." He sighed. "He comes home every other week, but he's usually traveling."
I blinked. "Oh, I didn't know."
"It's not a bad thing or anything." Ryan explained trying to sound happy about it. "It kind of stresses out my mom and sure it sucks that he isn't around but when he's home it's cool and during the summer we sometimes go with him. Like we've gone to Mexico and we've gone to Europe. It's not so bad."
I nodded. I could tell he was miserable. Ryan always was the type to hide the fact he was upset or comfortable for good of the group.
He smiled. "And he said that he's going to try and get time off so we can see the Stanley Cup game together because the last couple times he's been out of town and we watched it together over the phone." He looked down at the sink and pulled the drain. He looked over at me. "And he promised that if my team does really good in the season and it like really close to the state championship he'll definitely take time off, so you better watch your back Banks." He laughed flicking his wet fingers at me spraying my face with soapy water.
My jaw dropped as I wiped my face off with my hand. "Oh your dead Larson!" I laughed twisting the towel and whipping it at him. "Prepare to die!"
He yelped and laughed, jumping over the counter to the other side. "Hey! No fair! I'm unarmed!"
I grabbed a towel and threw it in his face. "Prepare to taste my wrath!" I yelled.
"You're going down Duck boy!" He smirked getting ready.
~*~
"Ryan! I'm home!"
Ryan and I exchanged glances and got up, rushing towards the front door. Knowing Mrs. L, she bought dinner.
"Burgers. . ." Ryan sighed sniffing the air.
I laughed. "Ten bucks it's pizza." It was just like when we were ten . . . except we were fifteen, in high school and not planning the demise of the District 5 hockey team. . .
"You're both wrong!" His mother yelled from the hall as we rounded the corner. "Chinese." She shook her head. "You two are still really bad at that."
"Where are Sam and Lil?" Ryan asked looking around. "I don't hear anything breaking. . ."
Mrs. L made a quick face. "Be nice to your sisters Ryan. They went upstairs to change." She bit her lip. "And it does worry me that I haven't heard any noises-"
A pair of high pitched screams and a crash followed by tinkling broke the quietness of the house.
"-yet." Mrs. L sighed. "That sounded expensive."
Ryan shook his head. "Adam and I will go investigate; you set the table and don't try to heat anything up."
"I am not that bad at cooking!" His mother replied defensively.
"Yes, yes you are." Ryan replied jokingly. "But don't worry, I love you that way."
His mother rolled her eyes. "I'm glad you do." She focused on me quickly. "I didn't know what you like now, so I just bought what you liked when you were ten." She blushed. "If that ok?"
I nodded. "It's great." I gave her a thousand watt smile as I climbed the stairs behind Ryan.
"Samantha Anne and Lillian Cecilia get out here right now!" Ryan howled as he reached the top of the stairs. I shivered. I guess with his dad traveling all the time Ry had to become their father figure.
Two girls rushed into the hall in a flash biting their lips nervously; guilt flashing behind their eyes.
It took a second for me to recognize them but everything flooded back to me. The older one was Sammie or Sam. She had dark brown hair that was cut short and dark brown eyes. Sam when I last saw her was four; the little girl that was constantly following McGill, Larson and I. The little gymnast that was trying to convince her mother to allow her to play hockey. Now, she had morphed into a nine year old that was slowly getting too old to be ordered around by her older brother.
The second was still a little girl her bright blue eyes flashing with adrenaline. That was Lillian; little Lily. She had a lump of golden curls that resembled her mother's hair. In years to come, she would be quite the heartbreaker. Last I had seen her she was two, and now she looked like the perfect little seven year old girl, with a mischievous streak. They were complete opposites.
Ryan looked down at the two girls accusingly. "What did you two break?"
Both girls shook their heads. "Nothing!" They echoed each other shooting each other glares, probably threatening each other not to talk.
I smirked. It was too funny watching them. I tried to make my smile into a frown, but it was impossible.
"Ok, I'll give you until the count of three to tell me what you broke." Ryan sighed. "If you don't tell me, I'll look for it and I've been living in this house longer than both of you put together, I know all the hiding spots. If I have to look, you're going to have to deal with Dad when he comes home."
I snorted into my fist. This was too funny. Ryan was such an easy going guy. It was so not like him.
"One. . ."
The girls exchanged looks and bit their lips nervously.
"Two. . ."
They both eyed Ryan wondering whether or not her were serious or not.
"Thr-"
"It was Sam!" Lily yelped. "She was playing with one of your hockey sticks and knocked a picture off your wall!"
Sam's eyes shot to Lily. "You little two-timing fink!" She looked over at Ryan. "She dared me prove that I could do a slap shot!"
"But I didn't tell you to knock a picture off the wall!" Lily yelped back and turned to Ryan. "It was all her!"
Ryan pushed past both of them rushing toward his room and sighed. "Damn it!" His voice echoed through the halls.
Both girls gasped. "Ryan said a bad word." They hissed to each other.
I shook my head and walked between them and walked to his room.
He groaned. "They had to hit the picture of us at hockey camp." He grumbled pulling at the picture getting the glass off of it.
I took the picture out of his hands and smiled down at it.
***
"We're going to be awesome this season."
I looked up from taping my hockey stick and smiled at McGill who was lounging at the top of my bed while I sat at the foot. I nodded silently. Dan always was the louder more boastful one of us three.
"Those District 5 kids are going to wish their mother's never got knocked up by the mailman." He continued his rant.
Larson sighed from his bed which was parallel to mine. "Dan, stop it." He whispered, running his finger over the blade of his skate checking to see if they needed sharpening. They probably did.
"We're going to knock 'em dead." McGill replied completely ignoring Ryan, as usual. "Or at least Banks and I will."
"Dan, you could at least talk give them a chance to defend themselves." I replied. "Besides, you're boring when you rant about them. Can we just focus on hockey?"
McGill rolled his eyes. "Man, it sucks that I'm on a different team at this stupid camp. Their breaking up the best thing the Hawks have ever come across, since Jay and my brother. Don't these stupid people know anything?"
Larson shrugged. "It'll be over in 2 days."
McGill grumbled. "Don't remind me. Stupid school. I can't believe the summer is almost over."
"Yeah, but it means the hockey season is right around the corner." I smiled. I loved the winter for that reason and I loved the summer because I got to go away from my dad for three weeks and go to a hockey camp with McGill and Larson.
McGill smiled. "Nothing is going to split up us three."
I looked up and locked eyes with Larson and turned toward McGill who grinned widely.
Someone whipped open the doors. "Pictures!"
***
Larson looked over my shoulder. "That was a good summer."
I nodded. "Our last summer."
Ryan took the picture from my hands and flipped it over. He looked over at me licked his lips as he frowned.
"What?" I asked.
I showed me the back. In McGill's writing a single word was scrawled across the back.
"Forever."
Ryan blinked and raised his eyebrows. "Weird."
I nodded. "Kind of ironic."
Ryan agreed. "Just a little."
We stood in silence for a few seconds looking down at the image of our child selves. What ever happened to that?
Ryan frowned some more and sniffed the air. "Adam, is it me, or does my house smell like burning?"
I sniffed lightly and bit my lip. "Yes Ryan, your house does smell like burning."
Suddenly the fire detectors went off, shattering the silence.
"Ryan!!!!"
~
*
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*
~ A/N: Ok, I have no comments about this chapter. I'm not sure why, I just don't. Uh. . . Ok I'll think of something. Um . . . ok, I am going to add onto the Larson-Banks friendship thing, and Larson's family is going to be a plot thing in here too so . . . watch out ok? Ok Shout outs!
Beaner- I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Yeah I was worried that you missed that! Ok, well, it was really crappy foreshadowing (and kind of obvious) but whatever. I couldn't figure out how to end that chapter. lol! I guess I have to ask Shakespeare if I can use that line then . . . too bad he's dead. Do you think he has any relatives to speak of? Do you think their listed? lmao! Yeah. Kind of ironic though. I wrote a basically wrote a whole story about how they got together and such, and it took less then ten chapters to break them up. I'm a walking irony. I've been thinking sad stories lately. I'm so evil. Yeah I know I have been listening to No Doubt. I should stop, but I'm only listening to the songs that inspire me for THIS story which are . . . *finds CD* Bathwater (tee hee), Sunday Morning, Ex- girlfriend and Simple Kind of Life. If I listen to anything else, I get inspired to write another story. I have to be careful. Yeah, the inspiration gnomes are lurking. I've got Adam Charlie and Fulton on duty outside of my computer room with hockey sticks to fend them off. I'll be ok. 3 hockey players against hundreds of inspiration gnomes. I think I should be ok for now. Later!
Rach- Hey you! Ok, my first line, I came up with that in my careers class. Ok, in my careers class there is like a few separate groups of guys and then one huge group of girls. The problem- I hate with a passion every single one of them. HATE. And I'm pretty sure they hate me. So I sit with my friend's brother's friends (didja get that?). While I'm there, I pick their brains without them knowing it. The awesome thing is in the group I have the perfect group. I have a jock. I have a joker. I have a completely random guy. A serious guy and a guy who is fairly quiet. So basically I mix parts of these guys and I get a Duck! Its amazing! I always thought Charlie was a little crazy but that's ok. Ok, last chapter was a little dramatic, but I'm a dramatic person *does dramatic pose*. lol! I'm also a crazy person! Thanks so much for the compliments and I'll tone down the drama just a tad. Ok? Later!
SqUiDsLiLpYrO- Hey you! *puts hand over heart* I promise not to become Little Miss. Waits-for-an-entire-week-to-post-to-annoy-her-reviewers, unless I become a) really sick b) go on a vacation (*snorts* as if that'll happen) or c) my computer like craps out on me. *blinks* However I might be going to Guelph on a school trip which is like an overnight thing, so it might happen. I would inform you guys though. I wouldn't just leave you hanging. That's mean. Yeah, they broke up. It's sad. *blinks* Ok. Don't hurt me. *cowers* Please don't. Keep reading ok? Ohhh!! That quote is amazing! I love it! Yup the little black disk (just as inside info) was in the jacket of Adam's coat and Josie found it and popped it into her computer thinking that Adam left it in there for her. Yup. It was nothing but trouble. But Adam did get it from Will so . . . what did he expect? A bunny screensaver? I wrote I wrote! I actually wrote a really long chapter! Ok! Later!
OreoLine00- My shoes are red 'No Surrender's I think. I'd have to check, but that's all the way upstairs and I don't want to go do that. I love them. I also have big black boots, but they hurt my feet after a while. My sneakers are so much better! *stops and blinks* Ok, I swear this conversation was about the Ducks a while ago. *shakes head* Anyways. Thanks! I've been waiting forever to post that chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Emily Henson- So it makes sense. When you marry Garette you better invite me to the wedding! lol! You'll have to keep reading to find out if Adam will be ok! If I told you I'd give away my story! Yeah Adam was a little silly. I would be a little angry that my boyfriend read my diary. However my diary is really stupid. It doesn't really mean anything. Actually I stopped using my diary. *laughs* I started writing fan fictions instead to take out my stress and anger! So in a way, this IS my diary. Oh, my classmates think I'm weird. I carry around my Duck notebook to all my classes. After my science test on Friday I wrote most of this chapter. The guy in front of me turned around after we handed it in and was like 'Did you get number. . . What are you writing Katie?' I like yelped and grabbed my notebook and hugged it. I don't like my friend's reading my writing. *looks down* I'm afraid they'll hate it or something. I'm insecure. I know. I'm glad you liked last chapter and I hope you like this one! Later!
OK that's it!
REVIEW
~Toodles!
KatieGirl!
"Banks? What the hell are you doing here?"
I opened my eyes and looked up the hill from where I was sitting through blurry eyes. I wiped away the tears that stained my face with my sleeve. I didn't even have to ask who it was. I just knew. I tucked my chin into the collar of my jacket. Just because I knew who it was, I didn't want him to know everything.
The tall boy slid down the hill and stopped a few feet away from me. He walked toward me at a steady pace; his shoes crunching in the crisp snow that had fallen a few weeks ago but had yet to melt, creating a smooth calming rhythm. He knelt down beside me, his gloved hands on his knees. I could feel his eyes moving over my body nervously and his breathing seemed to get more and more panicked. "Adam, did something happen? Is it your parents? Is it Jay? Did something happen to the Ducks?" His last question was slightly quieter as if it would disturb my natural state of mind. "Is it you?"
A tear rolled down my cheek and I wiped it away hastily shaking my head, dismissing his pessimistic thoughts and worries. "No, my family is fine." I chuckled softly. "They don't even know I'm in town actually and they Ducks are probably worried about me, but their fine and physically I'm perfect."
I rubbed my eye and looked up at Ryan as his face became clearer as my tears subsided. His soft features were etched with worry as he watched me. His deep brown eyes moved erratically in a slight panic of not knowing what to do. I didn't like that. I didn't like knowing that I was worrying and causing yet another person pain. He licked his chapped lips as he chose his words carefully. "But you're not fine."
"If I were fine, why would I come here after McGill told me to never come back to this place ever again . . . twice?" I sniffed, letting out a half laugh that was completely fake. I looked around. This place always seemed to stay the same despite how much I, or the people around me, changed. The little river kept flowing in the same direction; always moving at the same brisk pace. It was a constant. It was safe.
He blinked. "I don't know Banks. Why would you come here?"
I looked up at my old team mate and gave him a half-hearted smirk. "I like it here Larson."
"Do you want to tell me what happened or do I have to guess?" He asked standing up pushing up on his knees and holding out his leather gloved hand to help me get off the ground.
I shook my head and pulled my knees tighter to my chest, much like the way I did when I was little after my father finished ranting at my brother. He always scared me. I would sit alone, under my desk clutching my jersey tight in two little fists while he raved about a coach, or a teammate or a parent from my hockey team. He could always find faults in someone.
Larson pulled his black winter coat tighter making the little cross and sword emblem on over his heart more noticeable. I wasn't sure why I noticed it, but I did. "Adam, you're going to freeze."
I swallowed. "I'm a hockey player. I'll deal. I just want to sit here." By the way here, was leaning against a tree staring at an icy river, sitting in the snow while it melted through my jeans. Now that I was 'here' I wasn't sure why I came here. I had a past here that I wanted to forget, I had one memory that basically haunted my dreams and her memory lurked all around here.
He rolled his eyes and held out his head to haul me off the ground. "Come on Banks. Get up and I'll drive you home."
I scoffed at him. "Oh yes. Go home where my father can chew me out about something or sit here in the cold." I looked up at him with utmost seriousness. "I'm staying."
"Fine." He replied. "Then you come home with me. My mom always liked you better and my sisters have been asking about you since your New Year's Eve party." He stopped and smirked. "But I guess you don't really have time to notice those things, seeing you're usually thinking about that girlfriend of yours." He laughed.
I groaned inwardly. Damn it. I forgot that Ryan knew Josie and liked her too. "I'm fine here thanks." I replied stubbornly. "You can go."
The smirk her wore was wiped off his face and replaced with a stubborn frown. "Get up. You're either going home or coming with me. Your choice."
"I guess I haven't talked to you since New Years." I sighed completely defeated. "Coming." I grumbled as I took his out stretched hand and wiped off the snow that was clinging to my jeans.
He nodded and began walking up the hill with me in tow. "Good because if I walk in with you, my parents won't flip when they find out I failed my last geometry test."
~*~
I walked into Ryan's house uneasily. I hadn't actually been inside his house since I was ten and the odd thing was that it had barely changed. New pieces of furniture and a new color scheme, but other than that it was welcoming and happy. The walls were decorated with pictures of him and his sisters from hockey, gymnastics and school.
"Ryan? Is that you?" His mother yelled from a separate room rather frazzled. A whizzing noise and splattering echoed through the rooms. "Ryan! Help!!"
Ryan and I exchanged looks and rushed into the kitchen after tossing our coats to the floor.
"Mom!" Ryan yelled over the noise of an electric mixture. The room was a complete mess with flour and egg smeared across the wooden cupboards dripping onto the tile floors. Ryan pulled the cord from the wall and shook his head and walked over to the other side of the counter helping his mother up from the floor.
Ryan's mother was completely beautiful in a motherly sort of way. My mother was the cliché 50's mother who in actuality didn't do anything. Ryan's mother was the worn out soccer mom who drove carpool and made homemade balanced lunches packing in special notes and would sit down and read a math textbook for over two hours to help her kids with homework that would only take fifteen minutes.
However, his mom had one quirk about her. When it came to cooking; she was completely klutzy.
Ryan laughed and dusted her shoulders off which were caked with flour. "Mom, what were you doing?"
"Baking cookies." She sighed shaking her head. "I was doing so well too!" She laughed and dusted off her nose only putting more flour on it. Her eyes locked on me. "My, my, Adam Banks!" She opened her arms to give me a hug but blushed. "Don't touch me, I'm a complete mess."
I smiled. "Hi Mrs. Larson." She hadn't changed a bit.
Her eyes widened. "Mrs. Larson? In all the time I've known you, you've never called me Mrs. Larson." She shook her head. "My you've grown." She said breathless. "It's been quite a while."
I nodded and looked over at Ryan who was beginning to clean up the mess. "Too long."
She nodded and looked over at the clock behind me and gasped. "Oh! Is that the time?" She yelped dusting off her arms and groaning. "I've got to go pick up Samantha and Lily from gymnastics." She looked over at Ryan pleadingly. "Ryan, sweetie, could you clean up this mess? You're father is coming home tonight and I don't want it to look like a disaster area. Please?"
Ryan nodded with a little smile. "No problem."
His mom broke out in a smile. "Thank you so much, you're my lifesaver." She laughed and eyed him. "But don't think you're off the hook. I know about that test of yours."
Ryan groaned. "But mom!"
She shook her head. "No but mom's. I am not a 'but mom'. We'll talk after dinner." She looked over at me. "It's nice seeing you again Adam. You're welcome here anytime." She made a panicked face. "Oh dear, I've got to change." She rushed out of the kitchen past me leaving a trail of flour.
I snorted. "Your mom hasn't changed." I laughed grabbing the broom that was leaning against the door frame and began to sweep the flour off the floor.
Ryan shook his head. "I swear every time I tell her I'm coming home for the weekend she tries to bake something and I end up cleaning up the mess. Either that or trying to choke down a rock hard muffin or spicy cinnamon rolls or something." He laughed filling up the sink with warm water.
I grimaced. "Spicy cinnamon rolls?"
"My mom mixed up Cayenne pepper and cinnamon. It was so bad because my mom thought we were just kidding her. She took a bite, ran to the washroom and came out crying and laughing. They burned your throat." He laughed throwing a couple bowls into the bubbly sink.
"Remember the time your mom made cookies for the Hawks banquet the year before I left?" I smirked. "And McGill took a bite and made his front tooth loose?"
Larson burst out laughing. "And he lost the tooth a day later and when everyone asked him what happened he said he took a puck to the mouth." He shook his head. "Of course I remember. McGill wouldn't talk to me for a month!"
I rolled my eyes. "It didn't help with you throwing cookies at him at lunch!"
Ryan shrugged with a smirk and began to scrub one of the dishes as our laughs subsided.
I blinked. "This is weird isn't it?" I asked nervously.
He looked over his shoulder and me and nodded. "Just a little." He whispered. "I don't know what you like anymore. I don't even know who you are anymore."
I nodded. "It sucks that we lost almost six years of being friends, especially after being best friends since we basically in diapers." I exhaled.
He nodded. "Well we could start again."
"I think we already have." I smiled weakly.
Ryan turned back to the sink and I grabbed a dish towel off the counter and began drying the dishes in silence.
I put down a spoon and chewed on my lip. "So what do we start talking about?"
"How about we start with why you were down at Hawk Creek." Ryan suggested. I opened my mouth to object but he continued. "We may not have been friends for a while, but I know that you wouldn't just go down there because it's pretty."
I sighed. I guess we still knew each other pretty well. "Josie broke up with me." I explained.
He looked over at me completely shocked. "That pretty girl who came up with the idea of tying me to a tree to stop McGill from beating you up?"
I nodded. "The one and only."
He mouthed a wow and handed me a bowl. "What happened?"
I groaned. Oh God. Not this again. "Can we just leave it at 'it was my fault' and drop it?" I sighed. "I don't want to think about it because I begin to think I'm a huge jerk."
Ryan shook his head. "You aren't a jerk. You're a teenage guy. We do dumb things." He explained. "Some guys are just really good at hiding it."
I nodded. "Thanks."
"No prob." He looked over at me and shrugged. "You need cheering up or something, so how about we finish cleaning this up and you tell me what it was like going to the Junior Goodwill Games."
I jerked my head toward him. "You saw me at the Goodwill Games?"
He nodded. "Yeah! I taped every single one of the games. I clipped out every article about you guys! I mean how many times can a guy say that he played against the gold medalist team in hockey and was this close to beating them?" He smirked bringing his soapy fingers up to his face strengthening his point. He scoffed. "And we would've beaten you if McGill didn't trip Charlie."
I smirked. "Glad to hear that you've learned his first name."
Larson shrugged. "It's kind of hard calling him a scrub when he went to the Goodwill Games and is going to an awesome school with a kick ass team."
"You never called them scrubs. That was McGill."
Larson shrugged. "So I was just as bad as him. I didn't stop him. I was like a freaking sheep. I did everything that he told me to do. I stayed in line and didn't ask questions and he was like that with Coach Reilly." His shoulders slumped. "If I could I'd take everything back."
"You could always say that your sorry." I replied back. "I could make sure that the Ducks listen to you. I mean they forgave me."
Larson rolled his eyes. "It's kind of late. I could picture it now. 'Hey Ducks, I'm sorry for saying that your mom was a slut when we were in the 5th grade, and I'm sorry that I've made your life a living hell until high school'." He shook his head. "They would pummel me with hockey pucks."
I shrugged. "Better late then never." I smiled. "Besides, half of them you don't even know."
Ryan nodded. "Maybe. Let me think about it."
I bit my lip. "Where's your dad? I thought he worked at home or something." I always liked Ryan's dad. He was interested in hockey, but he never pressured Ryan into playing. He would always allow Ryan to come to his own conclusions about things and would gently suggest things to Ryan and let Ryan decided if he wanted to do it.
Ryan shrugged. "He's working for some big company now. He sold that one design he was working on before you left for the Ducks to some big shot and now he travels, pitching it and presenting it to the branch plants." He sighed. "He comes home every other week, but he's usually traveling."
I blinked. "Oh, I didn't know."
"It's not a bad thing or anything." Ryan explained trying to sound happy about it. "It kind of stresses out my mom and sure it sucks that he isn't around but when he's home it's cool and during the summer we sometimes go with him. Like we've gone to Mexico and we've gone to Europe. It's not so bad."
I nodded. I could tell he was miserable. Ryan always was the type to hide the fact he was upset or comfortable for good of the group.
He smiled. "And he said that he's going to try and get time off so we can see the Stanley Cup game together because the last couple times he's been out of town and we watched it together over the phone." He looked down at the sink and pulled the drain. He looked over at me. "And he promised that if my team does really good in the season and it like really close to the state championship he'll definitely take time off, so you better watch your back Banks." He laughed flicking his wet fingers at me spraying my face with soapy water.
My jaw dropped as I wiped my face off with my hand. "Oh your dead Larson!" I laughed twisting the towel and whipping it at him. "Prepare to die!"
He yelped and laughed, jumping over the counter to the other side. "Hey! No fair! I'm unarmed!"
I grabbed a towel and threw it in his face. "Prepare to taste my wrath!" I yelled.
"You're going down Duck boy!" He smirked getting ready.
~*~
"Ryan! I'm home!"
Ryan and I exchanged glances and got up, rushing towards the front door. Knowing Mrs. L, she bought dinner.
"Burgers. . ." Ryan sighed sniffing the air.
I laughed. "Ten bucks it's pizza." It was just like when we were ten . . . except we were fifteen, in high school and not planning the demise of the District 5 hockey team. . .
"You're both wrong!" His mother yelled from the hall as we rounded the corner. "Chinese." She shook her head. "You two are still really bad at that."
"Where are Sam and Lil?" Ryan asked looking around. "I don't hear anything breaking. . ."
Mrs. L made a quick face. "Be nice to your sisters Ryan. They went upstairs to change." She bit her lip. "And it does worry me that I haven't heard any noises-"
A pair of high pitched screams and a crash followed by tinkling broke the quietness of the house.
"-yet." Mrs. L sighed. "That sounded expensive."
Ryan shook his head. "Adam and I will go investigate; you set the table and don't try to heat anything up."
"I am not that bad at cooking!" His mother replied defensively.
"Yes, yes you are." Ryan replied jokingly. "But don't worry, I love you that way."
His mother rolled her eyes. "I'm glad you do." She focused on me quickly. "I didn't know what you like now, so I just bought what you liked when you were ten." She blushed. "If that ok?"
I nodded. "It's great." I gave her a thousand watt smile as I climbed the stairs behind Ryan.
"Samantha Anne and Lillian Cecilia get out here right now!" Ryan howled as he reached the top of the stairs. I shivered. I guess with his dad traveling all the time Ry had to become their father figure.
Two girls rushed into the hall in a flash biting their lips nervously; guilt flashing behind their eyes.
It took a second for me to recognize them but everything flooded back to me. The older one was Sammie or Sam. She had dark brown hair that was cut short and dark brown eyes. Sam when I last saw her was four; the little girl that was constantly following McGill, Larson and I. The little gymnast that was trying to convince her mother to allow her to play hockey. Now, she had morphed into a nine year old that was slowly getting too old to be ordered around by her older brother.
The second was still a little girl her bright blue eyes flashing with adrenaline. That was Lillian; little Lily. She had a lump of golden curls that resembled her mother's hair. In years to come, she would be quite the heartbreaker. Last I had seen her she was two, and now she looked like the perfect little seven year old girl, with a mischievous streak. They were complete opposites.
Ryan looked down at the two girls accusingly. "What did you two break?"
Both girls shook their heads. "Nothing!" They echoed each other shooting each other glares, probably threatening each other not to talk.
I smirked. It was too funny watching them. I tried to make my smile into a frown, but it was impossible.
"Ok, I'll give you until the count of three to tell me what you broke." Ryan sighed. "If you don't tell me, I'll look for it and I've been living in this house longer than both of you put together, I know all the hiding spots. If I have to look, you're going to have to deal with Dad when he comes home."
I snorted into my fist. This was too funny. Ryan was such an easy going guy. It was so not like him.
"One. . ."
The girls exchanged looks and bit their lips nervously.
"Two. . ."
They both eyed Ryan wondering whether or not her were serious or not.
"Thr-"
"It was Sam!" Lily yelped. "She was playing with one of your hockey sticks and knocked a picture off your wall!"
Sam's eyes shot to Lily. "You little two-timing fink!" She looked over at Ryan. "She dared me prove that I could do a slap shot!"
"But I didn't tell you to knock a picture off the wall!" Lily yelped back and turned to Ryan. "It was all her!"
Ryan pushed past both of them rushing toward his room and sighed. "Damn it!" His voice echoed through the halls.
Both girls gasped. "Ryan said a bad word." They hissed to each other.
I shook my head and walked between them and walked to his room.
He groaned. "They had to hit the picture of us at hockey camp." He grumbled pulling at the picture getting the glass off of it.
I took the picture out of his hands and smiled down at it.
***
"We're going to be awesome this season."
I looked up from taping my hockey stick and smiled at McGill who was lounging at the top of my bed while I sat at the foot. I nodded silently. Dan always was the louder more boastful one of us three.
"Those District 5 kids are going to wish their mother's never got knocked up by the mailman." He continued his rant.
Larson sighed from his bed which was parallel to mine. "Dan, stop it." He whispered, running his finger over the blade of his skate checking to see if they needed sharpening. They probably did.
"We're going to knock 'em dead." McGill replied completely ignoring Ryan, as usual. "Or at least Banks and I will."
"Dan, you could at least talk give them a chance to defend themselves." I replied. "Besides, you're boring when you rant about them. Can we just focus on hockey?"
McGill rolled his eyes. "Man, it sucks that I'm on a different team at this stupid camp. Their breaking up the best thing the Hawks have ever come across, since Jay and my brother. Don't these stupid people know anything?"
Larson shrugged. "It'll be over in 2 days."
McGill grumbled. "Don't remind me. Stupid school. I can't believe the summer is almost over."
"Yeah, but it means the hockey season is right around the corner." I smiled. I loved the winter for that reason and I loved the summer because I got to go away from my dad for three weeks and go to a hockey camp with McGill and Larson.
McGill smiled. "Nothing is going to split up us three."
I looked up and locked eyes with Larson and turned toward McGill who grinned widely.
Someone whipped open the doors. "Pictures!"
***
Larson looked over my shoulder. "That was a good summer."
I nodded. "Our last summer."
Ryan took the picture from my hands and flipped it over. He looked over at me licked his lips as he frowned.
"What?" I asked.
I showed me the back. In McGill's writing a single word was scrawled across the back.
"Forever."
Ryan blinked and raised his eyebrows. "Weird."
I nodded. "Kind of ironic."
Ryan agreed. "Just a little."
We stood in silence for a few seconds looking down at the image of our child selves. What ever happened to that?
Ryan frowned some more and sniffed the air. "Adam, is it me, or does my house smell like burning?"
I sniffed lightly and bit my lip. "Yes Ryan, your house does smell like burning."
Suddenly the fire detectors went off, shattering the silence.
"Ryan!!!!"
~
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~ A/N: Ok, I have no comments about this chapter. I'm not sure why, I just don't. Uh. . . Ok I'll think of something. Um . . . ok, I am going to add onto the Larson-Banks friendship thing, and Larson's family is going to be a plot thing in here too so . . . watch out ok? Ok Shout outs!
Beaner- I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Yeah I was worried that you missed that! Ok, well, it was really crappy foreshadowing (and kind of obvious) but whatever. I couldn't figure out how to end that chapter. lol! I guess I have to ask Shakespeare if I can use that line then . . . too bad he's dead. Do you think he has any relatives to speak of? Do you think their listed? lmao! Yeah. Kind of ironic though. I wrote a basically wrote a whole story about how they got together and such, and it took less then ten chapters to break them up. I'm a walking irony. I've been thinking sad stories lately. I'm so evil. Yeah I know I have been listening to No Doubt. I should stop, but I'm only listening to the songs that inspire me for THIS story which are . . . *finds CD* Bathwater (tee hee), Sunday Morning, Ex- girlfriend and Simple Kind of Life. If I listen to anything else, I get inspired to write another story. I have to be careful. Yeah, the inspiration gnomes are lurking. I've got Adam Charlie and Fulton on duty outside of my computer room with hockey sticks to fend them off. I'll be ok. 3 hockey players against hundreds of inspiration gnomes. I think I should be ok for now. Later!
Rach- Hey you! Ok, my first line, I came up with that in my careers class. Ok, in my careers class there is like a few separate groups of guys and then one huge group of girls. The problem- I hate with a passion every single one of them. HATE. And I'm pretty sure they hate me. So I sit with my friend's brother's friends (didja get that?). While I'm there, I pick their brains without them knowing it. The awesome thing is in the group I have the perfect group. I have a jock. I have a joker. I have a completely random guy. A serious guy and a guy who is fairly quiet. So basically I mix parts of these guys and I get a Duck! Its amazing! I always thought Charlie was a little crazy but that's ok. Ok, last chapter was a little dramatic, but I'm a dramatic person *does dramatic pose*. lol! I'm also a crazy person! Thanks so much for the compliments and I'll tone down the drama just a tad. Ok? Later!
SqUiDsLiLpYrO- Hey you! *puts hand over heart* I promise not to become Little Miss. Waits-for-an-entire-week-to-post-to-annoy-her-reviewers, unless I become a) really sick b) go on a vacation (*snorts* as if that'll happen) or c) my computer like craps out on me. *blinks* However I might be going to Guelph on a school trip which is like an overnight thing, so it might happen. I would inform you guys though. I wouldn't just leave you hanging. That's mean. Yeah, they broke up. It's sad. *blinks* Ok. Don't hurt me. *cowers* Please don't. Keep reading ok? Ohhh!! That quote is amazing! I love it! Yup the little black disk (just as inside info) was in the jacket of Adam's coat and Josie found it and popped it into her computer thinking that Adam left it in there for her. Yup. It was nothing but trouble. But Adam did get it from Will so . . . what did he expect? A bunny screensaver? I wrote I wrote! I actually wrote a really long chapter! Ok! Later!
OreoLine00- My shoes are red 'No Surrender's I think. I'd have to check, but that's all the way upstairs and I don't want to go do that. I love them. I also have big black boots, but they hurt my feet after a while. My sneakers are so much better! *stops and blinks* Ok, I swear this conversation was about the Ducks a while ago. *shakes head* Anyways. Thanks! I've been waiting forever to post that chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Emily Henson- So it makes sense. When you marry Garette you better invite me to the wedding! lol! You'll have to keep reading to find out if Adam will be ok! If I told you I'd give away my story! Yeah Adam was a little silly. I would be a little angry that my boyfriend read my diary. However my diary is really stupid. It doesn't really mean anything. Actually I stopped using my diary. *laughs* I started writing fan fictions instead to take out my stress and anger! So in a way, this IS my diary. Oh, my classmates think I'm weird. I carry around my Duck notebook to all my classes. After my science test on Friday I wrote most of this chapter. The guy in front of me turned around after we handed it in and was like 'Did you get number. . . What are you writing Katie?' I like yelped and grabbed my notebook and hugged it. I don't like my friend's reading my writing. *looks down* I'm afraid they'll hate it or something. I'm insecure. I know. I'm glad you liked last chapter and I hope you like this one! Later!
OK that's it!
REVIEW
~Toodles!
KatieGirl!