I own nothing! I'm poor as dirt, with only rent money to my name...


MARISSA JENKINS

They had been together their entire lives. Well, there was that one recess when they had been convinced that the opposite sex was fatally contaminated with cooties, but that had passed… Hell, there was no way they couldn't be together. Not only were they neighbors, they were born in the same hospital, on the same day… And even as they grew older wherever you found Jack O'Callahan you found Marissa Jenkins.

They were each other's first everything: first friend, first kiss, first date… First love.

It happened after a few failed attempts at dating, on both ends. Everyone said it wasn't working because Marissa and OC belonged together. It was true. They did.

When Marissa's dad died Jack was her rock, and when he broke his ankle and had to re-learn how to skate she was his shoulder to lean on. When he was accepted to Boston University it was assumed she would go with him. But she didn't.

They all said it wasn't going to last when Marissa declared she was going to New York to further her music career.

But it did. It had to.

They were soulmates.

SARA PALMERS

No one could infuriate Sara Palmers the way Mark Johnson could. Ever since their first meeting, when he literally ran into her and knocked her flat on her ass, they tried to make each other's lives miserable.

It was unusual, all her friends said, for Mark Johnson to make anyone angry. He was nothing but quiet, thoughtful, polite…

Sara disagreed.

When the summer of their freshman year arrived it was hard to say who was more relieved. During said summer it pissed off the fiery business major that she constantly thought of the bane of her existence during their few months apart.

When sophomore year began it was clear that their relationship had changed. Instead of avoiding each other like the plague they would now 'accidentally on purpose' run into each other. Of course each of their encounters ended in an argument. But the real change came when, after one of their more heated exchanges, Mark finally worked up the nerve to kiss the red head.

They didn't start dating until their junior year and even after the dating began the bickering continued. That was one of Sara's favorite things about their relationship though.

Constant fighting meant constant making up.

ERIN MCCLANAHAN

Erin McClanahan had her first date when she was 18 years old. Unlike most girls she didn't blame this travesty on her parents. No, the blame landed squarely on the shoulders of her older brothers, Ryan and Robbie.

Though she loved them both dearly, especially Robbie who was only 10 months older than her, they were annoying as hell. She could admit that her brothers and their 'tests' had kept her had kept her from going out with some real losers; they had also kept her from experiencing a lot of life.

Luckily the first boy Erin really ever wanted to pass her brothers' tests was Robbie's best friend and teammate, Buzz Schneider.

The moment Robbie introduced the two he knew it was over. It was inevitable. As an overprotective older brother he had signed his own death warrant. But, Robbie decided, at least it was Buzzy.

It could have been worse.

VALERIE DEAN

She was the only who still called him Mikey, everybody else called him Rammer. Even now, when they were both 19, she still called him Mikey.

Val's family moved to Minnesota from Buffalo, New York when she was 7 years old. She and Rammer met in school, a few days after the move, he was the only one not to make fun of her accent. Instant friendship.

So many people over the years had commented on their friendship. How they were perfect together… How long had they been dating…

These comments had always been met with vehement denial. No way! They weren't dating… They were just friends…

The truth was Val lost her heart that fateful day in the second grade. But there was no way she could tell Rammer. Her Mikey.

There was no way he could feel the same way about her anyway…

ASHLEIGH BEAUCHAMP

She was supposed to go to Yale. Ashleigh's mother, Dominique, was adamant. And after Ashleigh's father died whatever Dominique wanted Dominique got.

Ash didn't want to go to Yale though, so Harvard it was. Her mother couldn't say much; it was still Ivy League after all.

It was another little act of rebellion that had caused Ash to go to a bar just outside the Boston University campus with her friends. And it was this act of rebellion that had caused Ashleigh to meet the brunette hockey player she had grown to love.

Dave Silk was a flirt. He knew it. Everybody knew it. He was also the kind of guy never to back down from a dare. So when he was dared to pick up the cute blonde at the bar, how could he say no?

He was thrown for a loop when he met Ashleigh Beauchamp. She was a brilliant, blonde French girl from Hartford, Connecticut. Her mom was rich, but she was working her way through school… She was an enigma.

She was just what Silk needed.

AVERY TYLER

Ava Tyler had 5 brothers; in fact, two of them were her triplets. Her mother and grandmother, Nana, had tried everything to make her their little girl, but as luck would have it she was a huge tomboy.

Hockey, baseball, and football were her passions, not the dance or piano lessons her mother had forced on her as a child. Motor oil ran through her veins… it's the way she was.

Her father and brothers were ecstatic when she decided to go to Duluth to study sports medicine, her mother… not so much. Both of her triplets went to Duluth. They were on the UMD Bulldogs, so her hanging out with the team was a given.

Bah was her favorite, besides Adam and Aaron of course. But the whole team was so sweet, her best friends, and they never minded when she asked to play hockey with them…

She'd never had a boyfriend before, she had 5 older brothers for God's sake, plus boys were just her friends. So when Bah kissed her randomly one day… well, it was a surprise to say the least.

Nana and her mother were thrilled when Ava finally came home with a boyfriend.

Even if he was a hockey player…

ANN-MARIE KENNEDY

Ann-Marie was a Texan, born and bred. Why she decided to leave Hard Luck, her family's ranch, and go all the way to Minnesota for school no one really knew. Not even her. But even though she missed her family and her horses and her friends… she was glad she did it.

She loved Minnesota, despite the cold. She loved the school, her classes, the people, and her job.

Erin McClanahan, a friend from her environmental studies class, had taken Ann-Marie under her wing, which included getting the blonde a waitressing job at Louie's, the campus bar. She loved people; so working at Louie's was perfect for her.

Robbie McClanahan fell for her the minute he saw her. She was serving Phil Verchota, Eric Strobel, and Buzz Schneider and was laughing at something Buzzy had said. When he got to the table Buzz and his sister, Erin, who had been in the washroom, introduced her. From that moment he knew.

Now, if only he could work up the nerve to talk to her…

LAINA KENNEDY

Laina didn't trust men. The reason? Lucas Harrison.

Luke, her ex-boyfriend, had always been a little bit scary. Her brothers and sisters, especially Ann-Marie and the twins, had never liked him. That should have been her first clue Ann-Marie liked everyone…

Luke didn't take their breakup well. In fact, instead of acknowledging it he attacked her. With a few of his friends.

Laina couldn't deal with the aftermath of the attack, so what she did was pack up and move to Minnesota. To be with her sister she said. But it wasn't true.

She just needed to get away.

So, she moved in with Ann-Marie and got a job, as chef, at Louie's. Things were going alright…

She didn't expect her sister to become 'best friends' with a hockey team, she didn't expect to meet Jim Craig, and she didn't expect her life to change.

She didn't trust men.

But she would trust him.

MERCEDES MONTOYA-CORTEZ

Mercedes Montoya-Cortez had always been a shy girl. When she moved to the states, from Spain, it was especially hard for her. She was 11, her mother had just died, and she spoke little to no English. Yes, life sucked for Mercedes.

Not only did her dad move her to the states, he moved her to Minnesota. A place where there were virtually no Spanish people whatsoever. So no one spoke Spanish and she barely spoke English, Mercedes' compensation technique: don't talk.

Juan Cortez tried everything to get his daughter to make new friends, talk to people, but she refused to speak English. Therefore he became her only friend.

Eventually, by the time she was 16, Mercedes did learn English, though she tried to use it as little as possible.

When she was 21 Juan got the job of the University of Minnesota's caretaker. And Mercedes developed a new passion. Figure skating.

Juan, in an effort to encourage Mercedes' new love, often gave his daughter the keys to the U of M arena.

She used the rink, everyday, that's how she met Herb Brooks and most of the Gophers. None of them understood her though; she refused to speak in English…

She never anticipated Mike Eruzione, a hockey player who spoke Spanish…

How was she to know one of her greatest loves would lead her to the other?

CATALINA DOMINGUEZ

Catalina Dominguez grew up in a small town called Lincon in the Andes. It was a poor, rustic, Peruvian town, but she loved it. It was all she knew. Then her parents died. No one knew exactly what happened…

The last thing Cat wanted was to leave her whole world behind. But no one ever listened to distraught six-year-old girls…

So Cat was sent to Canada to live with her only living relative, "Uncle Sol".

Solomon Riviera took Cat in without a second thought, he had no experience with kids, but the little Peruvian tugged at his heartstrings. With her dark, soulful eyes and long black hair… how could he say no?

He taught her all he knew: right from wrong, don't talk to strangers… and most importantly how to skate.

She loved skating. Something about the cold air on her face as she whipped around the rink as fast as she could… it reminded her of home. When she was 13 she switched from speed skating to figure skating.

She was good. Really good.

Sol was so proud when she was invited to go to the Olympics. His little Kitty Cat.

Representing Peru was something Cat was very passionate about, she didn't remember much about it. But it was home.

Nothing was going to stop her, not even a quiet Conehead by the name of Mark Pavelich.