The plane ride to Minnesota was fairly uneventful.
There was the one incident when Buzz spilled coffee on one of the flight attendants. That hadn't gone over well. And at one point Jannie fell asleep with his seatbelt off. When the plane hit a patch of unexpected turbulence he fell out of his seat, knocking over the same attendant.
All in all, not a bad flight.
Except in the case of one slightly bruised, coffee stained stewardess.
The next bit of excitement occurred when most of the team entered the baggage claim. "Mike! Mikey!"
Both Rammer and Rizzo turned at the sound of their first name being called. "Val?" That was all Rammer got out before he and the tall golden haired girl, the one who'd launched herself at him, hit the ground. Hard.
"So? What happened? Did you make it?"
Rammer coughed, the fall and the fact that Val was still sitting on his stomach had knocked the wind out of him. "Val… off…" The grasped the tall girl's waist and removed her from where she was sitting on his abdomen.
"So?"
Rammer sat up slowly and glanced around at his teammates. Everyone not from the University of Minnesota, so basically anyone who didn't know Val, was staring at them with a look of curiosity and apprehension. "I made the final 26."
"You did?" The big 19 year-old nodded and, laughing, Val threw herself at him again. "I knew it! I knew you would!"
"Val," Rammer grunted as he landed flat on his back again. "You're scaring the team."
Val looked up at the rest of the team, some of them had expressions of puzzlement a few others seemed a little fearful of how easily she had taken down Rammer. He was one of the biggest guys on the team, after all. "Oops." She blushed. She stood up and swiped a hand over her shorts and tank top, the airport floor wasn't the cleanest place, then she held out a hand to her best friend.
Rammer accepted Val's hand and let her attempt to pull him up; he chuckled at the strain on her face and finally pushed himself up off the floor. He ran a hand over his own clothes before wrapping an arm about Val's shoulders. "Guys- and girls," he corrected himself when Ava shot him a warning glance, "this is my best friend, Valerie Dean. Val, the team."
"So," Ava asked Erin quietly as they waited for their respective boyfriends' luggage. "Rammer and Val… Are they- you know…"
Erin shook her head. "Seems like it, doesn't it?" The two girls turned to watch the couple interact.
Val laughed loudly at something Rammer said to her and punched him lightly in the shoulder, he smiled wickedly at the golden haired girl and pulled her tight against his side. Their conversation resumed as Val started gesturing wildly, obviously excited about her topic, and Rammer nodded periodically, clearly enthralled, all the while the girl was securely wrapped in her best friend's arms. "She's so in love with him."
Ava and Erin looked at Ashleigh, not at all surprised by her observation. "She is, isn't she?"
"Are they still watching us?" Val asked her friend.
Rammer looked behind them discretely. Ava, Erin, and Ashleigh were openly staring at them. "Yep. What do you think they're talking about?"
"Same thing everyone's always talking about when they stare at us like that."
Rammer shook his head and squeezed his friend lightly. "So how's the little one?"
Val smiled radiantly at the mention of her niece, Tanner. "She's beautiful. Missed her Uncle Mikey, though." She grinned and bumped her hip against his lightly.
Rammer shook his head and blushed. "Don't call me Mikey around the guys, Val, I'm already the youngest…"
His voice trailed off and Val rolled her eyes. "What should I call you then?"
The brunette shrugged, "Rammer. It's what everyone else calls me."
Val wrinkled her nose in distaste, "I'm not calling you Rammer, Mikey."
"Valerie…"
"Not gonna work, Michael." She shook her head defiantly.
"Come on…"
Val shook her head as he grabbed his luggage off the carousel. "Nope. No can do."
"I won't give you your present."
"Present?" Val asked, perking up. Rammer nodded. She pursed her lips and tapped a finger against the side of her face. "I'll agree to Mike."
Rammer sighed, realizing that was the best he would get from her. "Deal."
"So, what'd you get me?"
Ava was leaning so far forward in her seat that her friends thought she might just fall out of it. "What are you doing, Ava?" Erin asked her fellow Minnesotan, barely suppressing her laughter at the look of adoration on Ava's face as she watched Johnson skate.
"Did you see him skate?" The raven-haired girl asked, leaning back into her chair, looking euphoric.
Ashleigh shrugged and exchanged glances with a highly amused Erin. "Yeah, he's pretty good."
"Pretty good?" Ava leaned forward again; Mark was back up. "He's fan-bloody-tastic." She let out an excited yell when Johnson scored on Jimmy. Then she blushed and shrank back into her seat when everyone turned to look at her. Ava's relief was evident to the other girls when Coach Brooks drew the team's attention away from her. Her relieved sigh turned into a frown though, when she heard what Herb was saying.
"Johnson! That coast to coast stuff may work here, but it won't against the teams we'll be playing."
"What!"
"He's telling the truth, Ava." Erin commented.
"But-"
"He's good," Ava glared at her, "terrific even, but he's going to have to learn to pass if we even want a chance at beating the Soviets."
"What's he doing?"
"Huh?" Ava and Erin turned away from each other and towards Ashleigh, who was staring intently at the ice.
"Jack. What's he- Shit." Ava and Erin stared at the blonde in shock. She'd never sworn before…
Then Erin noticed OC skating straight at her brother, with no signs of stopping. She winced when Robbie hit the ice. "Robbie!"
The three girls started down the bleachers, towards the ice. "Nice hit OC." Ashleigh shook her head at Silk's comment. Real mature.
"Why isn't he stopping them?" Ava wheezed, referring to Herb as he held Coach Patrick back.
Erin watched the fight earnestly, cringing every time OC landed a blow. Finally, Herb allowed the fight to be broken up. Erin let out a sigh, "Thank God."
"Well, how about it, boys, look like hockey to you? Looks more like a couple of monkeys trying to hump a football to me. What do you think, Craig?"
"Yeah." Coach Patrick nodded slowly, he looked incredibly confused.
Ava snorted, it was her attempt at not laughing. "What?"
"You want to settle old scores, you're on the wrong team. We move forward starting right now!" The crazy man struck the ice with his hockey stick,"Skating… passing… flow… creativity. That is what this team is all about, gentlemen."
Erin looked anxiously at her brother. "Is he okay?" The question was quiet; she probably never even intended to say it out loud. The next question, however, was more of a shriek. "Is that blood?"
Robbie winced when he heard his sister yell. Erin didn't handle blood very well… He was so wrapped up in his memories; chasing Erin around with a bloody nose, while she screamed frantically for their mother, that he almost didn't notice Herb talking to him. "You. Who are you?"
Robbie looked at the coach, puzzled. "Rob McClanahan."
"Who do you play for?"
Now he was just downright confused. Was Herb losing it? "For you, here at the U."
The coach nodded and turned to OC. "Jack?"
"Jack O'Callahan. Charlestown, Mass. Boston University."
Ava rolled her eyes; obviously, she thought to herself, the Boston accent was unmistakable. Ashleigh was clearly thinking the same thing, as she placed a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Ava almost laughed herself, when she saw the expression on Erin's face. It was hard to describe. It was somewhere between worry, fear, anger, and wanting to throw up.
Herb pointed his stick at Coxie. "Over here."
Ralph smiled somewhat nervously. "I'm Ralph Cox, and I'm from wherever's not gonna get me hit."
Ashleigh smiled wryly. "Good answer."
Erin, who clearly hadn't heard anything since the fight, was staring at her shoes. "I wish he would just clean off his face." Ava and Ashleigh watched in shock as the younger McClanahan turned away from them abruptly and stomped out of the rink.
Val leapt out of the way as Erin stormed past her, muttering darkly to herself. She watched the petite girl go, before turning and hurrying over to the other girls. "Hey, sorry I'm late." She glanced around, confused by the tense silence enveloping the arena. "Did I miss something?"
Ashleigh and Silk cringed as they heard Erin and Robbie going at it in the next room. "How long have they been fighting?" Silk asked tightening the hold he had about his girlfriend's waist.
"'Bout 20 minutes." Ashleigh said, tucking a blanket around both of their legs. She sighed contentedly as he propped his chin on the top of her head, this was definitely one of her favorite places to be.
"How long do you think they can keep going at it?"
The blonde shrugged, "They've grown up doing it. My guess is a long time."
Silk looked down at his girlfriend; that simply wouldn't do. He balled one of his hands into a fist and pounded on the wall. "Mac! Knock it off!"
"-And fighting?" Erin screamed at her brother, who was holding a cold washcloth against one of his eyes. "What the hell were you thinking?" Robbie stretched out on his bed and tried to ignore his younger sibling. "-You answer me right now, Rob McClanahan!"
The forward glared at her with his good eye. "Leave me alone Erin."
A strangled sound escaped her throat and her eyes bugged out a bit. She ripped the covers off the bed she was standing next to and grabbed several pillows. She chucked them at her brother as hard as he could. "I can't believe you! You-" She was cut off by someone banging on the wall.
"Mac! Knock it off!"
Erin looked Robbie curiously, her anger almost completely gone. That was the thing about her temper; it was over almost as soon as it began. "Whose room is that?"
Robbie shrugged. "Silky, I think."
Erin smirked. "Do you know who his roommate is?"
Ava stood in the middle of the crowd gathered outside of Silk and Rizzo's room, but she wasn't too caught up in the mob mentality to be oblivious to Jimmy Craig rushing down the hall after Coach Brooks. She made a mental note to talk to him later.
"You guys ready?" Her attention went back to Erin, who was waving Rizzo's room key around with a markedly evil grin on her face.
"Should we really be doing this?" Rizzo whispered furiously. The look on his face was the exact opposite of the one on Erin's.
Erin looked at Rizzo exasperatedly "Come on, Eruzione, man up! Besides, it's only Silk, you can take him."
"Yeah…" Rizzo answered slowly. He rubbed his shoulder subconsciously. He wasn't so sure. Sure Silk was smaller than him, but he could be vicious on the ice.
Erin unlocked the door quietly and flung it open. She grinned the crowd wouldn't be disappointed.
Silk was shirtless, and fortunately for Ashleigh, his large calloused fingers were having trouble with the tiny buttons of her shirt. "Hey guys!"
"What the hell?"
"Erin!" Ashleigh blushed. "What are you doing?"
Erin leaned against the doorjamb, barely holding back a smirk. "Robbie and I heard you knocking on the wall earlier and thought you guys wanted us to come over and play. Rizzo was kind enough to lend us a key."
Most of the guys were laughing and catcalling the embarrassed couple. But not Rizzo, he was backing away from the door more than a little afraid of the expression on Silk's face. The incensed brunette hopped from the bed,dressed in only his boxers and glaring at his teammates. "Rizzo, McClanahan, I'm counting to 3…"
Rizzo and Robbie exchanged glances before breaking into a run. Everyone, but Erin and Ava, chased after the three hockey players, eager to see what would happen. Ashleigh wrapped a blanket tightly around herself, despite being fully- mostly-dressed. "Erin!"
"I'm sorry Ash." The brunette laughed. "It was just a joke."
Ava was about to comment when she saw Jimmy walk by, looking a little dazed. "I'll be right back."
Neither Ashleigh nor Erin got a chance to respond before the gray-eyed girl was gone.
"Jimmy!"
The goalie turned as the black haired girl called his name. "Avery, right? Bah's girlfriend?"
"Ava." She smiled andheld out her hand tothe Bostonian.
"What can I do for you, Ava?"
Ava scratched the back of her neck nervously. "Look, I don't mean to be rude or pushy or anything, but I saw you leaving earlier… I was just wondering if you were okay…"
Jimmy looked thoughtfully at her, trusting her for some reason. "You wanna come in?" He gestured to his room, which was at the end of the hall.
Ava smiled at him. "Sure."
OC tapped his fingers, impatiently, on his bedspread as the phone rang for the fourth time. "Hello?"
"Natalie?"
"This is she. Who may I ask is speaking?"
OC rolled his eyes; he could hear the smirk in her voice. "It's Jack."
"Jack?"
"I'm on to your game Natalie, please just get Marissa."
"You're no fun."
"Yeah, well, rough day."
His girlfriend's roommate sighed, "I'll get her."
Jack waited in silence for a few moments, before the voice he'd been longing to hear came over the line. "Jack?"
"Hey, Mare."
"Hey. What's going on?"
"I love you."
"I love you too. Now, what's going on?"
"I hit him."
"McClanahan?"
"Yeah."
"And?"
"And what?"
"Do you feel better? Can you survive the next 7 months with him?"
"A little and I don't know yet."
Marissa sighed. "Jack."
"I know. I'm trying. Honest."
"I know you are." There was a moment where the two were silent; just listening to each other breathe. "I've got some news for you." Marissa said, breaking the spell.
"What's that?" Jack started to grin; his girlfriend's excitement was contagious.
"Well, I talked to the band, and we decided that we all need a little time off… So whenever you want me in the next few weeks I'm yours."
"Really?"
"Truly."
"I love you."
Marissa laughed at OC's fervent declaration. "I love you too."
Alright, I decided to do my author's notes down here this time. I don't know why... probably because I never have before... Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay. I was having some doubts about this chapter. I'm not one hundred per cent happy with it... But let me know what you think...
And I have to say, about Ava... I know what you're thinking. First Bah, then Coxie, then Johnson, then Jimmy? She's not a slut, I swear! She's just... friendly. Don't worry, she's 100 faithful to her Conehead.
wakingbear: Thank you so much.
darkdestiney2000: I'm glad you like Marissa. She's definitely one of my favorites, I know I probably shouldn't say that... but she's easy to write, she's based on one of my best friends.
vickitori: I'm glad you liked the phone conversations. I like writing dialogue, for me it's easier than descriptions...
trblmkr831: Thank you. Some of the girls are based on people I know, so I'm happy you like them.
Lia06: Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Klinoa: I'm glad you like the list. I know there're a lot of characters, but I'm honestly trying to integrate them slowly. As for Mark and Sara, I figured that he's usually portrayed as shy, or quiet, which I suppose he may have been... but I wanted to do something a little different with his character. I needed Sara, a definite instigator, to bring that out in him. And I have to say that I love your story!
killerkeanegirl: I'm glad you love it. I'm working on the next chapter as we speak!
BellaLou: Wow! I love getting reviews from you. I've definitely been in Mark's situation before, with the phone yelling and the being embarassed and all. Nothing like using real life experiences, right? I thought Marissa telling Jack to hit Robbie would be a different way to explain things... I'm trying to be as original as I can, but stay as true to the movie as possible too... I hope it's working. Thank you so much for your review. I'm looking forward to the next chapter of your story!
meadow567: Thank you. I'm glad you like it.
