A/N Finally! An Update! I've felt sooooo guilty over the last week or so for not keeping my promise made in the last chapter's A/N. The truth is, and I'm kinda ashamed to admit this, that I have writer's block already! It's appalling! I reckon it's got something to do with the pressure of having so many luverly people out there wanting me to update – I can now sympathise with J.K. Rowling!
But, in a bit of a strange twist, it was re-reading my reviews that made me write this tonight! Not only did I feel extremely guilty at leaving WeBuiltThisCityOnRockAndRoll as a shapeless blob but it was all of your great encouragement and pleas to do more that made me handcuff myself to my computer to make me finish this chapter!
It's finally here so enjoy!!!
PS Thanks and stuff are down the bottom as before…
Charlie was slumped in the brown plastic chair next to the locked door of Reily's office when the man himself, fresh and unhurried, walked around the bend in the corridor.
Charlie immediately, and subconsciously, stiffened, and straightened in the low chair, wincing once from the subsiding pain in his back and left leg, as he watched the blond man make his way towards him.
Reily ignored him, took out a key and opened the office door wide.
"In," he commanded to the boy, gesturing into the darkness of the small room.
Charlie wanted to refuse, wanted to tell the man exactly where he could shove it, but as soon as the Coach's cold blue eyes met his he sighed angrily and stood, admitting defeat. Cautiously he made his way into the dark room, his wet hair making him shiver in the chill air, and stood, waiting for his Coach to follow him. Two conflicting fears were fighting for dominance in his tired mind: he wasn't sure whether he should be more scared of Reily actually being in the room with him, or the idea of the man locking him in again – last night was still fresh in his mind.
A bright light flickered on and Charlie stood blinking in the glare, his eyes accustomed to the dimness of the corridor. Light footsteps stepped across the threshold of the room and an unpleasant feeling settled in the bottom of his ribcage when the door shut behind him, leaving him to face Reily on his own.
The tall man moved to the desk which took up most of the room in the small office. He pulled out his chair and settled down into it, all the time his eyes fixed on Charlie's face. Charlie swallowed and looked down, keeping his eyes glued on the old, worn trainers he had refused to allow his mom to chuck out.
There was a silence, then –
"I'm not like your other coaches, am I, Conway?"
Charlie's head jerked up in surprise at the casual question.
He grimaced wryly, "Not exactly."
"Did you know I talked to them both before I took over the team? They wanted to know what I was like, whether I was good enough for you. They wanted to make sure I could handle the Ducks." His voice was scathing, and Charlie hated the man for feeling such contempt for his two former coaches.
"I don't think I've had any problems there, do you, Conway?" Reily's icy blue eyes met his.
Charlie was defiantly silent, his teeth gritted. He lowered his eyes once more.
"Conway?" The Coach's voice was hard; he wasn't satisfied with the silence that greeted his question.
"No," Charlie muttered ungraciously.
"No, what?"
"No, Sir."
Charlie could feel Reily's icy glare on him.
"That's your problem, Conway, you're too damn stubborn to see what's best for you."
Charlie was stubbornly silent.
The Coach continued, "I wondered what the famous Captain Duck would be like after hearing so much from Orion and Bombay."
Charlie glanced up from the floor, a glimmer of fear in his eyes. He wasn't comfortable knowing that his two former coaches had discussed him with the man he hated so much. Reily smiled, satisfied at the reaction.
"Oh yes, they both warned me about you, Conway; they told me all about your confrontational attitude."
Charlie shook his head, refusing to believe his words. Bombay and Orion would never betray him.
Reily's mocking tones filled the small room, "I was hardly surprised at your refusal to bend a knee to me when I first met you. I'd thought I had got off pretty lightly: considering your track record, I thought you'd run off crying."
The boy in front of him clenched his fists, anger flickering over his countenance.
"Refusing to cheat for a fully-grown man when you're only an eleven-year-old kid seems pretty impressive when you look at it," Reily's voice was soft. "Hell, Bombay certainly thought it was! And even Orion was grudgingly proud of you for refusing to give up your Ducks' jersey, though he'd never admit it."
He paused.
"But I want to make one thing straight, Charles Conway," his voice was harsh. "I do not find your precocious ideals in anyway admirable. You are a disgrace to yourself, to your team and especially to me if you ever even consider disobeying me for any of your sentimental bullshit," he spat the words out. "When I ask you to do something, you damn well do it, a concept I don't think you've fully grasped as of yet." He paused, a smile forming on his thin lips, "But don't worry, you'll learn."
Charlie stood shocked for a moment as the man's words filtered through his mind. His breath came quicker as the anger that had been pent up since being locked up last night finally broke through his control.
"Do you know what that "sentimental bullshit" is?" his voice trembled with fury, "It's me! Whether you like it or not, I am what I bloody well am! If I refused to cheat for Bombay, a guy I admire more than anyone else in the world, do you seriously think that I'd consider cheating for you? That I'd do anything for you?"
"You'll do what I tell you," Reily's voice was soft, laced with a deadly warning but Charlie ignored it.
"You're wrong! I'd rather quit hockey than spend the rest of the year at your beck and call! I'm not like Banks! I love hockey, not because I'm good at it, but because of the feeling I get when I play, the feeling of belonging I get when I'm with the team!
"And you know what? Ever since you've become Coach I'm not enjoying playing hockey like I used to. I'm not enjoying being around a team that are constantly scared to be what they are just because some angry little Coach has a few control issues!"
"Are you finished?" the Coach's voice was cold.
"No, one last thing." Charlie paused, wanting to make sure that the decision he was going to make was the right one, but he already knew in his mind that it was his only remaining option. He took a deep breath, "Go screw yourself. I'm not playing for you and your version of the Ducks anymore."
There was a silence. Charlie let out the breath he had been holding and, with it, the anger he had been clinging onto for so long. He knew there was no going back and it was a great burden off his mind.
He expected the Coach to scream at him, to threaten him, or something just as pleasant so he was astounded when all he heard was a throaty chuckle.
"You are so amusingly predictable, Conway. Did you ever consider that I might not allow you to quit?"
An icy tingle moved slowly down the boy's spine. "You can't stop me!" he said, defiantly.
"True, I can't physically stop you, though I might want to at times," the Coach smiled. "No, I won't be stopping you from quitting, your lack of balls will be."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Let me spell it out for you, Conway. If you quit the hockey team, it's like you're ripping up your scholarship for Eden Hall. You won't be able to come here anymore."
Conway was relieved. If that was all the Coach had to threaten him with then he might as well go and pack his bags now.
"Do you think I care for a load of preppies?"
"No, but I do think you care for your team," the man's voice was smooth and unhurried. "If you willingly leave this school then it will be in my power to remove all of the Ducks' scholarships, whether they wish it or not."
There was a silence in the room.
"You see," the Coach continued, softly, "there is a clause in the terms of your scholarships which states that if the Captain willingly leaves Eden Hall then, if the current Coach wishes, all the team's scholarships can be dissolved immediately."
"You can't do that!" Charlie was scared. He thought desperately, refusing to admit the possibility that he might have to stay at Eden Hall, "They tried before to remove our scholarships and they failed!"
"Ah, but this time things are different. This time the law is on my side."
Charlie shut his eyes as realisation dawned on him.
"You kept me as Captain so I couldn't leave?"
The Coach smiled, nastily, "Very perceptive of you, Conway. I took certain precautions because you are so predictable." His voice became hard, "If you leave, I'll make damn sure that the rest of the team follow. You have no choice in the matter, Conway."
Conway stared at the man for a moment in total disbelief. The one card he thought was all his to play whenever he wanted had been snatched from him. He was not going to make the entire team leave the school just because he wanted to. Cold realisation washed over him – he had no control over his life at Eden Hall anymore. It had all been relinquished to the man he despised, sitting a few feet away from him.
"I'll see you at practice tomorrow, Conway. Don't be late," and the man signalled casually towards the door, as if he didn't know he had just shattered the life of the boy standing in front of him.
A/N I hope you all liked it. I'm thinking that the completion of this has cured my block but in case it hasn't I'm not going to make any promises of when I'm next going to update – just in case!
I watched D1, D2 and D3 a little while ago and it struck me that they left some huge gaping holes! For example, when the hell did Charlie actually become Captain?? That Icelandish dude just called him "Captain Duck" at the end of D2 and then, suddenly, he has been since like forever, in D3?!? I don't get it...
Review me and I'm sure I'll get loads of inspiration and the chapter will be up sooner! Hee hee – God, I'm annoying!
So here's all the "thanx your great" babble…
Also, I am well aware that the resulting page and a half makes my story look a lot longer than it actually is. I hope I didn't get too many hopes up at the length of this chappie! Sorry if I did!
Nygoldfish54: Thank you! You always seem to be the one who reviews first – I am eternally grateful! You felt real emotion?!? My God, that's a compliment and a half – makes me feel like a real author. Ooo the thrills!!!
Nellie2: Will you ever forgive me for taking so long to update?!? I feel so incredibly bad knowing that you probably switched on your PC after patiently waiting a week only to find that I hadn't, in all my selfish stupidity, updated! Feel free to slap me in your next review – that's if you do review again!
Adriana: Thanx – short and sweet and to the point and so worth the effort!
WeBuiltThisCityOnRockAndRoll: Do you have any idea how hard your name is to keep writing?? That can be my punishment for leaving you a blob for the last 2.5 weeks. I hope it hasn't in anyway messed with your head! Tell HP from me that he was a mean, nasty worm for not turning you back straight away!
Flat*Out*Crazy*: You're right about Adam but I'm gonna have to string that storyline on a bit because it will give my story… wait for it… SUBPLOT!!! Ooo I'm sooo excited! Bombay does need to hurry up but I feel that he might be delayed or something…
C-Chan: Oh My God… (I would just leave it like that to give it more dramatic effect but I gotta thank you so…) You are AMAZING! How you manage to find so many great things about my humble little story I will never know and I would love to find out! Your ESP might not have worked but your updating of your story certainly did! Not only do I love it but it reminded of what I was neglecting. I love you and I hope you will continue reviewing for my ego's sake more than anything!!
xomegsxo: Thanx for reviewing again! Sorry there isn't any of Portman getting tense and angry in this chappie but there will be plenty of bash bros action in the near future – looking forward to writing it myself!
Tonianne: Thanx!
Kar-Chan: Engish essay hey? I know the feeling! Screw Coach Reily, it's the English teachers out there who are the real sadists…
Denverhockeygirl: Thank you, I do so like my story being referred to as "genius". And thank you for the offer of help. None needed at the mo but hey – you watch out for that email! It might be coming soon – or not, knowing me…
Eh_Man: Kinda told you everything in the email. No probs about reviewing twice – makes it seem as if I have more reviews! Just wanted to give u a big hug and tell you that you are one of the bigger reasons why I am writing this!
Krista2: I'm glad you like both me angsty stories! They are fun hee hee! I dunno when I'll be updating Love And Hate Are Such Close Things… but maybe soo – just for you!!