Chapter Dedication: the holy see: You're wonderful. Thanx so much for your review. It was inspiration for me to get my muses off their asses and back to work!
AN: Just a little note for those of you who watch the movie more often than I do. I have been mondo busy with school (finals suck), work (don't even get me started), and household duties (okay, since when is decorating for Christmas mandatory?). Also, I have been flooded with a new obsession in the form of violent anime (Yu Yu Hakusho is solely to blame! Bishonen are so fun to play with!) But I just wanted you to know that I haven't forgotten; I've just had to regularly bludgeon my mind awake in the morning, so I'm not totally mentally aware…yeah, and I have an 8-page research paper due tomorrow that I haven't started researching for yet. This just shows how much I love you all!
BIG NOTE: Once again, I am sorry for messing up exact dialogue!
"Fighting Made Acceptable"
"I'm going to be sick," Maurae moaned as she sat on the bench in front of her locker. She was fully suited up for the game, her Ducks' jersey covering her pads proudly, her name on the back. It was as good as the old days. And that was why she was bent over double, despite the added bulk, her forehead resting on her knees. Even ever-flexible Ken was watching her with amusement. No one should have been able to even reach that position in hockey gear, let alone hold it as easily as she seemed to be doing.
"Pre-game jitters?" Charlie demanded. "Since when do you get pre-game jitters?"
"I don't," she replied, straightening, much to her teammates' relief. She looked all right, save for a bit pale and peaky.
"You didn't eat this morning, did you?" Adam asked, knowing the answer, as he'd avoided breakfast as well. But he'd had lunch, and now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen her there. "Ro! Have you eaten today?"
"What do you think I am, stupid?" she snapped. "Of course I ate. Carrie forced a sandwich down my throat at lunch."
"Well, at least one of you has some sense," he shot back. She opened her mouth to retort, and then grinned at him.
"So glad you noticed."
"Come on, lovebirds, we're ready," Charlie teased. Adam and Maurae glared at him, but got up, grabbing their gloves, helmets, and sticks and following their captain-in-all-but-name out of the locker room and into the crowded rink. He stepped out onto the ice first and stood for a moment, watching the Varsity boys skate in circles. Then, in a moment of leader-esque maturity, Charlie turned back to his team. "This," he said firmly, solemnly, in a voice loud enough for them all to hear, barely. "Is for Hans." And like that, something lifted off their shoulders. Not visibly or completely, but they all shared a bond with their deceased teacher and inspiration. Whether they won or lost, they would play their best, the way only they knew how: with all the heart they could muster.
One by one, they skated onto the ice, dropping their gloves, forming a circle. And then, almost in eerie unison, they bent sideways, still skating smoothly, and touched the ice, letting their bare fingers brush through the ice shavings churned up by their passing. Maurae found herself praying as she skated, tears glitering as they fell to the ice and freezing instantly.
Lord, thanks for Hans' influence in the team. Without him...we wouldn't be inspired. And God? Help us kick butt today!
She almost laughed at herself. Maybe that last bit had been a little disrespectful, but it had just come out. And she'd meant it the way she'd said it. She straightened with the rest, stopping her amusement at her own prayer, and began warm-ups with the others.
A warm feeling of contentment rose in her chest. This is what playing was supposed to feel like. Grinning, she took a shot that Julie easily caught, and smirked, skating to the back of the line to wait her turn again. After a few more shots, the whistle blew, announcing the beginning of the game. The two teams skated over to their benches and gathered into a huddle. Orion read off the names of the night's starters (Adam, Guy, Luis, Fulton, Charlie, and Julie in goal) and motioned them closer.
"On three…quack." Trading gleeful looks, they obeyed as he counted. "One, two, three, Quack, Quack, Quack…"
They joined in eagerly, "Quack, Quack, Quack…"
As did their fans, "Quack, Quack, Quack…"
Until the rink rang with the shouts. Parents, friends, and fans of the Ducks eagerly joined in the cacophony that was the sweetest music Charlie, or any of them, had heard in a long time.
"Gooooo Ducks!" they finally shouted. Cheers took the place of the insane quacking and both teams took to the ice. Adam had regained his former spot of front line center, and went out to take the face-off against Riley. Their helmet plates couldn't have been a centimeter apart, and their lips moved, but they were the only ones who heard whatever it is they said.
"You're gonna wish like hell you'd stuck with us," Riley sneered.
Rolling his eyes, Adam replied, "Save the trash talk." The referee dropped the puck and in a flash of movement, Adam went down and Riley tore down the ice with the puck, weaving through the Ducks like a needle through cloth.
It wasn't the game they had hoped for, but it was definitely the one they'd trained for.
"My head…" Maurae moaned as she dropped onto the bench and wrenched her helmet off. She shook it a few times to stop the ringing, but nothing happened. At least it wasn't echoing anymore. Orion was watching her for a sign of reassurance, so she flashed him a thumbs-up, and then dropped her head onto Russ's shoulder.
"Next time, try not to stop the puck with your head," was all he advised. She stuck her tongue out, but his eyes were fixed on the game. Julie had just crawled from behind the net to- barely- stop the puck that had come within an inch of entering the goal.
"I didn't try to stop it with my head, jerk," she muttered.
"Sure looked like it from here," he shot back. She stayed silent. Now that the ringing had faded somewhat, her head had started to pound fiercely. That was okay. The second period would be over in about two minutes, and she could pop some Tylenol in the locker room.
It was an exciting two minutes. Despite her head, she was on her feet, cheering with the rest of them when Adam jumped in front of an airborne puck that would have gone into the net cleanly. Julie scrambled to her feet and skated out in front of it, thanking him vigorously. He grinned, embarrassed at the praise, and skated after the puck, now in Charlie's hands.
The buzzer went off, and the Ducks relaxed with a collective sigh of relief, both on and off the ice. Skating out of the rink, they trooped to the locker rooms and sat down, sweating and exhausted.
Maurae hugged Adam before sitting to hunt for some Tylenol. "That was a sweet save, Ads," she commented, head buried in her hockey bag. He grinned and fished a small bottle of pain-killer from the side pocket.
"Not so bad yourself, Ro," he replied, shaking it to get her attention. "Though when we say 'use your head,' I don't think we mean it quite like that."
"Ha ha," she deadpanned, snatching the bottle and quickly uncapping it. Tossing two back, she picked up a random water bottle and washed them down, then took a few extra swallows to wash down the bitter taste. "You're a funny guy. I never knew." Her dry monotone made him laugh, and they both looked up when Orion walked in, smiling, but in no way enthusiastically.
"You're working hard. I'm proud of you team."
"They're cheap-shotting us to death," Ken complained, nursing a sore shoulder.
"I know they are. I know they are."
"At this rate, we need a miracle," Guy sighed, leaning back. He, along with everyone else, jumped when the door banged into the wall.
"Dean Portman is awarded a full scholarship to the Eden Hall Academy," called out that familiar, but sorely missed voice. He looked up, that same cocky grin on his face, eyes sparkling with mischief. "I had this lyin' around the house in Chicago; my attorney thought I should sign it. I agreed. It's official, boys, I'm back!" Fulton was the first on his feet to welcome his fellow Bash Brother back. The others weren't far behind. Only Maurae, Adam, Charlie, and Orion stayed out of the melee.
Charlie smirked and rolled his eyes at their friends' flair for the dramatic. "Bombay," he murmured simply. The other three nodded, and the two boys went to greet Portman. Only Maurae stayed back, frowning. Then she shook her head and walked forward to join the group greetings.
Needless to say, the mood was decidedly more cheerful as Dean Portman stepped to the only available locker and started to pull off his leather jacket.
"You are such a show-off," she muttered, knowing he could hear her, even over the cheers and chatter of the rest of the team. He turned a cheeky grin on her, noting that though her arms were crossed, her eyes were twinkling, and she was fighting a smile.
"What can I say?" he replied nonchalantly, leaning forward slightly, his voice low. "I couldn't stay away from you." With that, he darted forward and pressed his lips to hers for one shocking moment. When he pulled back, grinning, her face was the picture of stunned disbelief. Then her eyes cleared and she scowled.
"Think highly of yourself, don't you?" she asked, keeping her voice low and controlled, glancing around to check who had seen.
"Yeah, actually, I do."
Sighing in frustration, she turned away and dove into a conversation with Julie and Russ about how the rest of the game might go.
"You've been wanting to do that," Fulton's low voice accused form the other side. Portman looked at him, grinning cheekily.
"Do what?"
"Oh, don't play stupid with me," Fulton chuckled, punching his arm lightly. "I saw the look on your face when she gave you a hug."
"Okay, yeah. So I wanted to do that. Before, she was with Dwayne. Now she's not, from what your…one email told me. So I tried it."
"And?"
"And I liked it. I might go back for seconds after we win," he shrugged, pulling on his pads.
"Be careful, man. She and Adam…they've gotten closer."
"So? The rich boy has everything already. I'm sure a little disappointment will be good for his character." Fulton shook his head at his 'bro's' stubborn refusal to admit that Maurae might not choose him.
"All right, dude. But watch how you handle her. She's not the soft, shy little thing she appears to be."
"When was she ever soft?"
"You might be surprised."
"That'll be the day, Fult, man. That'll be the day."
"Are you ready?" shouted Orion, voice carrying over the muted roar of their locker room chatter. Portman pulled his jersey on over his pads, checked his skate laces one more time, and then gave the thumbs-up. They filed out of the locker room and back onto the ice, where Portman immediately set aside all thoughts of anything but the game. He started cheering, rousing the crowd, and prompting Josh to give him a shout-out.
Maurae sat on the bench, her head aching fiercely, her thoughts in knots. 'He kissed me. He kissed me. He kissed me.' Then she shook her head. 'Get over it, girl. It's just Portman.' Then why, oh, why, were her hands shaking hard enough to make her body shiver? And why was that little kiss the only thing she could think about? 'I don't like Portman,' she insisted to herself firmly. 'I like Adam. I'm going to kiss Adam after the game.'
That settled, she looked up and grinned. Cole was out on the ice, facing off with Portman, who was smiling cheerfully, while the former looked confused.
"So, you're the big enforcer, huh?" Portman said, hiding his smirk behind a pleasant smile. Fulton's one email (man, that boy needed to work on his communication skills!) had talked about his new girlfriend, his very brief stint as a school-less wonder, and the Varsity hockey team, namely the enforcer, Cole Aaronson, who had the I.Q. of a cabbage. "You know, we've got something in common-"
"Shut up!" Cole snapped, refusing to let this walk-on confuse him further. "Let's play hockey!"
Now he let himself smirk. Pulling down his face guard and slipping on his glove, he got into a crouching position. "Whatever you say, Sunshine," he murmured. Across the ice, he noticed Maurae sitting in the box, staring at nothing, and his smirk intensified. He'd given her something to think about, then.
As soon as the puck hit the ice, he backed up and spun out of Cole's way, skating off to one side. "Let's see what you got, Bash Brother!" Cole called, then he started skating for him. Illegally, to be precise. So Portman knew he'd be completely justified in…
Crouching a little, He let Vole hit his back, then stood up fast, sending the Varsity enforcer flying headfirst into the glass. Even Plexiglas will shatter if hit with the right amount of force. And, it seems, Cole's flying tackle was just the right amount of force.
The fans who were unlucky enough to be hit by the now-concussd Varsity player, were actually still cheering, more upset about the interruption of the game and the blocking of their view than by being hit by the runaway train. Trying once, unsuccessfully, to get up, Cole stayed down until a medical team came and lifted him onto a stretcher.
"Now that's clearing the garbage," Fulton said, slapping his friend's shoulder cheerfully.
"Hey, man, we're just getting warmed up!" Portman replied enthusiastically.
Oh, yes, in this case, Dean Portman could fully be considered a miracle. They were skating better, avoiding cheap shots, and throwing more weight around than they'd thought they had.
Still, renewed spirit went only so far. As Portman was suddenly thrown into the penalty box for 'hooking' Riley, the extra energy they'd burned began to tell on them. "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak," Maurae muttered. Averman, the only one who heard her over the noise of protest, looked at her strangely.
"Since when are you given to quoting Scripture?" he asked.
"That was Scripture?" Maurae retorted. "My grandma says it all the time when she wants to do something, but her body can't keep up with her."
"Yeah, Ro, that's Scripture. Can't tell you exactly what until I get back to my room, but it's Scripture. True, in this case." Maurae only shook her head at her friend.
"Full of surprises, that one," she murmured to herself.
Turning her attention back to the game, she jumped when the whistle blew. "Too many men, ref!" shouted Coach Wilson. "Too many men!" Blinking, she did a head count. True enough, there was one too many players on the ice.
"All right, all right. Luis! Luis, back to the bench! Wu, go to the box!" Blinking, she shivered.
'We're going to lose!' she wailed silently. Now Varsity had a power play, five on three. After Ken went to the box, throwing a disappointed fit, she wasn't the only one who could see their doom approaching. 'Oh, God! Riley's never going to let us hear the end of this!'
Still, even with the power play, no one managed to score. At last, with only a minute or so left, Orion called a time out to rearrange players one last time. Having not played most of the game, but still in possession of one massive headache, despite the drugs, Maurae crossed her fingers that Orion would stick someone else in. There were lots to choose from, after all.
"All right," he said, concluding his short speech. "I want Conway, Banks…and Goldberg. We're going with you."
Everyone looked at the stunned once-goalie, who looked panicked. "M-me, Coach?"
"You, Goldberg. You've earned your spot out there." They put their hands in enthusiastically, and those three on the ice started climbing into the box so those three going onto the ice could get out.
"Come on in, Guy," Charlie said, holding the gate open for his friend, who grinned wearily at him. Orion stopped Charlie before he could leave.
"We hold them for a minute, and we've got ourselves a tie," he remarked casually, as though merely observing.
Confused, Charlie nodded. "We're up to it, Coach."
"I know you are…but you deserve the win." Charlie's eyes brightened slightly. "Don't be careless, but don't be too careful, either." He took something form his pocket and slapped it onto Charlie's jersey. Intrigued, the captain-in-all-but-name looked down. When he looked up again, his grin could have lit the rink. "Go get 'em, Captain," Orion added, squeezing his shoulder.
Nodding, Charlie pulled on his helmet and leapt onto the ice, landing in motion. Facing off against Riley, he almost went down as Riley brutally battered him aside. Everyone was on the edge of their seats as Adam took a dive towards the puck, trying to slow Riley. He managed it, enough to give Charlie time to catch up and get in front of the Varsity captain.
In the box, everyone was, figuratively, biting their nails. "Make him make the first move, Conway…" Orion moaned, clenching his fists and his teeth. The suspense was almost painful. Then Riley darted forward, Charlie crouched, and Riley was suddenly flying through the air. "That's what I'm talking about!" Orion shouted. Charlie, with the puck, took off down the ice with Goldberg hot on his heels, Adam serving as a distraction for three of the five Varsity players scrambling towards his captain.
Still, it was gut-wrenching, watching Charlie and Goldberg skate in almost slow motion. Charlie reared back to shoot and Scooter dove for the aimed-at spot, falling heavily as the puck…sailed backwards into Goldberg's possession. The shock felt by the team was nothing to that of the terrified former goalie as he looked at the puck in his possession to the two Varsity players getting to their feet to come after him, to the puck, to the goal…and he completely blanked.
Until, "SHOOT, GOLDBERG!" echoed through his mind. He did so, the puck sailing from his possession into the open net, as the two massive players collided with him and both buzzers went off. The goal buzzer and the time buzzer. Simultaneously. Goldberg shot to his feet, his face a mask of expectation and horror. Charlie, joyfully throwing his helmet aside, collided with him, not hard enough to knock him down.
"Goldie, I knew you could do it!" Charlie exclaimed, grasping the chubby face.
"Don't you ever do that to me again," Goldberg deadpanned.
"You did it! You scored! We won!" At this last shout, Charlie threw his hands up. With a joyful crash, the rest of the team, including the two in the penalty box, joined their celebration.
Fulton collided with Portman first, which was fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on who you asked), because as soon as Adam had touched Maurae's shoulder, she spun and threw her arms around him, eagerly pressing her lips against his in a breathless kiss that she meant.
For a moment, the roar of celebration faded as they kissed for real, for the first time, deliberately. Then they broke apart, and neither could help grinning. "We won!" she suddenly shouted, latching onto his ribs again. Adam grinned silently, and hugged her, the smile on his face telling anyone who cared to look, that he could die right now and do it happily.
Charlie grinned and skated over to Averman, who was cheering his head off. He punched him in the shoulder and held out an expectant hand. "You owe me twenty bucks," he said cheerfully. Averman grinned, grabbed Charlie around the neck, and squeezed. Then he skated away. Looking up, Charlie spotted his mother, and skated over.
"I'm proud of you, Charlie!" she cheered.
"I love you, Mom," he replied. She kissed his sweaty cheek.
"Go have fun!" Then she faded into the crowd. Charlie sneered and shook his head at Luis, who was oblivious to the world around him as he made out with Riley's cheerleader girlfriend. Then he felt another pair of lips collide with his cheek. He snapped his head around.
"Charlie," Linda said, brown eyes glittering. "Thank you."
He nodded and leaned down slightly to capture her lips in a real kiss. Watching him, his two best friends traded grins. "So," Maurae said to Adam, who still had an arm around her waist. "I think Jesse owes us both money."
"I would say so," he replied, resting his cheek on her sweaty hair. She grinned and hugged him one-armed.
"We don't have to figure this out right now, do we?" she asked in a sigh. He grinned and lifted his head.
"It can wait at least until after we eat," he replied cheerfully. A flash of movement caught his eye and he turned, just as Charlie shouted and pointed. They all turned to look, and grins covered their faces.
"Well…I'll be damned," Orion said. The Eden Hall Warriors logo had been covered with a new banner, proclaiming to the world the new Eden Hall logo.
"Russ was right," Averman chuckled, throwing his arm around said boy's shoulders. "After we beat them, the Warriors die, and the Ducks fly."
A resounding cheer went up from them all. It was a good day to be alive.
AN:I have decided...not to end it here. I may continue the story through the end of the Homecoming chapters. If I continue it after, I may post it under a new fic entirely, like a sequel. I might not, though. Maybe 66 chapters of this would be good for me. I do have other stories that I want to update, so we'll just have to see. After finals, I may have more time to play around with my characters.
Again, Emily, I'm telling you, the characters are in control of the story now. The angst you see in the figure of Portman is beyond by control (yeah, like anyone could control him!)
Love to all my reviewers! Happy Thanksgiving (even if it is a little late!)!