Chapter Five: Tell me where it hurts

a/n: Well, here's another chapter. I'm soooo sorry this took longer than it should have. I got caught up in some school work. Anyway, hope you enjoy! ;P

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own 'em.

"Connie, get outta there!" The whole team seemed to be screaming at her. She looked to see what the commotion was about. Oh, shit! What she saw made her blood freeze: Clayton and another Blake player were rushing after her. Fifteen feet… ten feet… five feet away. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Next thing she knew, the two players were crushing her to the boards with tremendous force. The strong impact caused the boards to shake. Gasps were heard all around. It was like being ran over by a truck, and she literally saw stars.

The buzzer sounded, indicating the end of the game. Ducks won, 4-1.

Connie tried to stand up, but almost immediately fell back to the ice. She clutched her ribs, wheezing, as a blinding pain took over her body. She shut her eyes as blood furiously pounded in her ears. She could barely hear her teammates fussing around her.

Is she okay?

I am so going to maim that big fucking goon!

There he is, let's go!

Come on, let me see if she's alright!

Wait, stop pushing me, Dwayne!

She's not moving…

Oh no, is she dead?!

Shut the hell up, Goldberg!

Out of the way, out of the way!

Come on guys, give her some room to breath.

Connie felt two people flank her. There was a light tapping on her shoulders.

Cons… Hey Cons, can you here me?

She slowly opened her eyes, completely dazed. Blinking a few times, she then noticed Guy and Adam kneeling beside her. The whole team was crowding behind them. Well, not exactly everyone. Portman and Fulton were missing.

Concern was etched all over their faces, especially Adam and Guy.

"Come on, back off. Don't crowd her." They parted like the Red Sea, letting Coach Orion pass.

Guy cupped her face and looked at her in the eye. "Cons, you okay?" His voice was full of anxiety.

She nodded weakly.

"Moreau, are you sure you're fine?" Orion probed.

"I'm fine, coach. Just a little winded, that's all." Okay, so that one was a lie. Her side was hurting, terribly… but she wasn't going to admit that, not yet. At the locker room, maybe. Assuming, of course, that she could even make it there.

He seemed to consider her answer for a moment. "Alright, but let's get you check just the same. Banks, Germaine," he motioned to the two.

Without further being told what to do, they each took an arm and carefully helped her stand up. Her knees wobbled slightly. She quickly grabbed on to Guy's arm for support. "Hey, easy there." He whispered, steadying her.

"Thanks," she mumbled back.

"Hey, hey, stop that! Fulton, Portman, let's go!"

They all turned to see Fulton and Dean involved with a scuffle with Clayton. Both of them did not seem to hear Orion.

"I said let's go!" Orion repeated.

Finally, the two heeded his call and left the guy alone. Well, not without a last powerful shove that sent Clayton on the ice. Dean and Fulton skated away, muttering threats as they go.

"You all right, Connie?" Fulton asked her.

She gave him and Dean a weak smile. "Yes, I'm fine." The two were like the big brothers of the group. They have taken it to themselves to protect anyone from the team, especially Julie and Connie.

"Don't worry, Connie," Portman announced, cracking his knuckles. "We'll make sure we'll get him the next time."

Julie scoffed at his showing of testosterone. "You do realize that there won't be any game until the next school year starts, don't you?"

"So what, I could wait."

Connie laughed, a little. Oww, that hurts! She then saw something that made her stop. There, just past Portman's shoulder, was Clayton. He was sneering at her. It made her blood boil. That son of a bitch.

"Hey Cons, you sure you're okay? You look a little pale." Her best friend asked.

She answered without even looking at Julie. "Yeah, I'm fine, really." Quickly, she let go of Guy and Adam's arm and skated towards the locker room. There was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had hurt her.

As soon as they got off the ice, she followed the rest of the Ducks, ambling her way to the locker room. Guy and Adam were walking right beside her, and every so often would glance at her worriedly.

Connie's teammates were excitedly chattering about their upcoming trip as she trudged her way to her own locker. Every inch of her body screamed at her in pain, most especially at her side. She started to take off her jersey, but paused and clutched her chest. That's funny. I don't remember putting my pads on so tight. It was so tight it was suffocating her… or at least she thought. She tried to suck in some air and almost cried out in pain.

Something was stabbing her chest!

She tried again, breathing deeply this time, but the pain was still there. In fact, the more she tried to breath, the more painful it became. Connie frantically frisked herself, trying to find anything that might have explained the stabbing she was feeling. There was none. Not even a single trace on her jersey was present. By this time, breathing has become very laborious. Hardly any oxygen was entering her lungs. The room was spinning and darkness was slowly eating her vision.

"Connie, is there something wrong?" She wasn't sure who asked her that.

Her arms flailed as she tried to grab something, anything, to keep her from falling. Must be Luis, or Ken… That was her last thought before everything went completely black.

She woke up with a start.

It took a moment for her to realize that she was in an unfamiliar room. The interior was completely white and almost bare, save for a chair and a side table. Connie looked around, before finally recognizing her surroundings. She was inside a hospital room.

How exactly did she get here?The last thing that she remembered was that something stabbing her chest. From there, everything just went fuzzy. She wrinkled her nose, and unexpectedly found something stuck to it. Her hand automatically went up to grasp it.

"Don't take it off. You need it to help you breath."

Her head snapped towards the door, startled. Guy was leaning against the doorway. He had a serious expression on his face.

"How are you feeling?" Guy strolled over and sat on the chair.

"I don't know…I guess my sides kinda hurt," she answered hesitantly, letting out a sigh. Connie touched her sides and quickly withdrew her arm. Yup, there was no doubt it hurt. "How did I get here in the first place?"

"You don't remember?" She shook her head slowly in response. "You collapsed inside the locker room, so we rushed you here. The doctors told coach that you suffered from a pulmonary contusion… courtesy of Clayton and his teammate, of course, when they checked to the boards. It was the reason why you suddenly had difficulty breathing."

"Oh." Connie looked at him blankly.

"'Oh'?" Guy echoed her. "That's all that you could say?" He asked, visibly annoyed at her stoic reaction. "How could you be so… indifferent about this?!"

"About what exactly, Guy?" She shot him a puzzled look.

He gave her a knowing look.

"Fine, what do you want me to say?"

"Oh, I don't know. How about 'sorry for acting incredibly stupid'?"

"Excuse me?" Connie glared at him. Now she was starting get annoyed. What the hell is his problem?

"What you did this afternoon was totally stupid. You should have immediately told coach that you were hurt. Jesus, Cons, you could have died!" He exclaimed. "You were barely even breathing! Who knows what might've happened if we found you a couple of hours later than that. Good thing Luis was right there to catch you."

She let out a grunt. "We all know that these things are part of the game. Don't be so dramatic about it."

Everything had been part of the game. Her game… pretending that she wasn't jealous of the fact that everybody else on the team had grown bigger, stronger, and better than she had… pretending that everything was fine every time another player checks her, even during practices. Even the once scrawny Ken had grown, a lot. Now she was the scrawniest Ducks of them all. Julie would have been the exception since she was the goalie, but she was still a good couple of inches bigger than she was.

Yes, it was her game – she had been playing it since they entered Eden Hall Academy almost three years ago.

"I'm not being dramatic. I'm telling you how it is."

Connie smiled at him sarcastically. "I think this new version of 'I'm-glad-you're-fine' speech of yours needs some serious tuning, Guy."

"That stunt you pulled could have cost more than just bruises, Cons." He had an angry expression on his face. "I was worried sick! Everybody was!"

"Well, if worrying was too much for you, maybe you shouldn't have even bothered in the first place." She shot back.

"You know that's not what I meant." Guy responded quietly.

"Really? Well, you could have fooled me."

"That's not fair," he sighed. "I was just afraid I was going to lose you, Cons. It's not a great feeling, believe me."

"I think that little speech earlier kind of blew it for you." A look of hurt flashed in Guy's eyes. Almost immediately, she regretted saying that. "Look, I'm getting tired; let's not play this game right now, please."

"Right, whatever." He responded coldly, and shrugged.

Typical Guy…That's great. Freeze me anytime now. He would always freeze her up every time she would try to calm down the argument.

Connie bit back a retort when she noticed some movement behind him.

"Hi. I'm sorry, I-uh, didn't mean to interrupt." Adam was awkwardly standing by the doorway, holding the most beautiful bouquet of flowers she had ever seen.

Please, don't forget to write a review! thanks!

Anna: hey there, thanks! i'm sure connie will be fine... for the moment. ;P

Emily: hi, emily! thanks! tell bruno it's okay, really. portman and fulton already had it covered! ;P