Disclaimer - I do not own anything even remotely related to The Mighty Ducks. I only wish I had thought of them first…

Italics indicate character thought.

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"Goldberg, you missed a hell of a party last night." Jesse plopped down next to him on the couch, slapping his leg. "Where the heck were you?"

Greg looked over at him. "Ah man, I've got this English class…the teacher is crazy. We have a paper due Monday. Monday!"

Averman looked out from the kitchen doorway. "Goldberg, since when did you miss a good time for a paper?"

Their longtime friend and goalie turned sideways, able to face them both, but looked neither of them in the eye. "Well, I wasn't going to tell any of you but…" He looked up finally. "I failed two classes last semester. I thought I was getting by, but" he raised his hands helplessly.

"Geez, man." Jesse tossed a pillow at him lightly. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Goldberg shrugged as Averman walked into the room and propped his hip on the back of the couch. "Didn't seem like a big deal at the time. Turns out it was. My mother is still ready to shfitz."

"Are you still eligible to play?" This was from Less, quietly. He couldn't even imagine not playing with his best friend.

"Yeah. Barely. I can't get anything below a B this semester though or my GPA will be too low and I won't be able to play. I gotta focus, man."

They other two guys looked at each other, then back at Greg. "What do we do to help?"

-

"Are you sure we won't be bothering your roommate?" Charlie held her purse for her as she unlocked her door and looked back at him.

"Hailey? Yeah, she's up every morning running." She stepped aside to allow him in. "Welcome to our closet sized little room."

She tossed her jacket on her bed and bent over to read a piece of paper taped to her computer screen. She stood up, grinning. "Charlie, what are you doing tonight?"

"I have no plans." He still stood just inside the door, in awe of the racks and racks of shelves running along the wall with the girls' desks. There must have been 1000 CD's. Minimum.

She looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Hailey had to run home to get her sister because she just found out that one of our favorite bands is playing in town tonight. There are still tickets, only like twelve bucks. Say you'll come. We can ask the rest of the guys."

He couldn't help but smile at how excited she had gotten. He walked across the room, handing her her purse, and indicated her CD's. "I take it you're a big music person."

She nodded. "Oh yeah. My brother and I are obsessed. He probably has more albums than I do, but we are most definitely obsessed. Everything from Elvis to 80's to new stuff. You name it."

She was rambling. "Whoa. Slow down. Why don't you name this band you want me to go see tonight?"

She pulled out an album at random, thrusting it at his chest as she flipped on her stereo. "New Found Glory. Heard of them?"

He turned the album over, squinting at the block pictures of telephones, action figures, and condoms. "Um, vaguely."

The stereo started pumping, a brash blend of guitar and vocals, something about being dressed to kill. Not bad. She smiled at him, bouncing in place.

"You'll love them. Pop punk. Totally energetic and they put on an amazing live show."

As she sat down to order the tickets online, Charlie wandered over to the windowsill by her bed. It was so crowded with framed pictures that you had to move one just to see the next. There was a huge one of her with a hockey team. She was the only girl. No wonder she's so tough. There was another of her, six or seven girls around her, all wearing rollerblades, shorts, and sports bras, the sun shining down on them, the beach at their backs. At least one third of the pictures contained a guy, probably about the same height as Beau, his hair in various colors and various styles, the most prevalent being a short faux-hawk. He wore emo-glasses, dark and thick, and every outfit was something all its own. His smile was the mirror image of Beau's. Charlie held up the last picture he had been looking at. "Is this your twin?"

She spun around in the chair, squinting to see which picture he was holding up. Her grin grew by inches. "Parker. Yes." She got quiet, her brow furrowed. "Am I remembering incorrectly, or did you talk to him last night on the phone?"

Charlie laughed out loud. "I was wondering if you would remember that. Yes. I talked to him."

She flushed. "Oh geez. Charlie. Parker can be very…protective. Tell me I shouldn't be embarrassed!"

Placing the picture back carefully with the others, he grabbed her large throw pillow and propped his elbows up. "No need to be embarrassed. It's good to know you have someone watching out for you."

"What did he say?"

"Um, well, he introduced himself very nicely, asked me if my intentions were pure."

She gasped. "Pure? Oh God."

He continued, enjoying seeing her squirm. "Then I believe there was something to the effect of if I broke your heart, or hurt you in practice, he would break my legs and cut off my balls."

Beau dropped her head to her desk, pounding it gently. "It's a curse some days."