Chapter Eight: 'Friendly' Offer?

a/n: so sorry this update took so long. i got caught up with school work. anyway, here's the next chapter. enjoy! ;P

disclaimer: see chapter 1 ;p

"Hey, Connie, wait up," Adam called out after as soon as she charged out of the building.

But Connie didn't seem to hear him, much less care, actually. Who can blame her? There were too many things going in her mind right now to care. Everything just seemed to be falling into pieces... hockey, Coach Orion, her teammates…

She was half-expecting to see everybody jumping from behind a bush yelling 'Gotcha!', as if it was some kind of bizarre cosmic joke. Then they would all laugh it off.

Only trouble was, she still wasn't on the floor laughing her ass off.

Three days ago, her life was perfectly fine. Then everything just went into a tailspin after that last game. All of a sudden, she landed in a hospital, had a spat with Guy, the dean basically ordering her to ride the pine pony, and just a few minutes ago had a falling out with the rest of the team. She felt so… betrayed.

Yes, betrayed would be the perfect word to describe it.

Of all the people, it was the Ducks she expected to stand by her side – Ducks, as in plural, not just Adam. What was worse, Guy just stood there, and never said a thing. He never said a thing! Not one even one word.

She continued her furious stride, half-carrying, half-dragging her bag, and angrily brushed away the tears in her eyes.

Adam swung his hockey bag on his shoulders and frantically ran after her, bursting through the double doors, calling out again, "Connie!" He blinked a couple of times. The sudden flash of sunlight on his eyes blinded him temporarily. When his eyes adjusted, it didn't take him to see her marching angrily, albeit aimlessly, across the school grounds. Although Connie didn't turn around to face him, she noticeably slowed down a little, just enough for him to be able to catch up. He broke into a sprint, hurrying after her.

"Connie," he said breathlessly as he fell into a step behind her. "Look, I just want to say I'm sorry about what happened. The dean had no right doing that."

"I really appreciate your support, Adam," she continued to trudge, not bothering to look at him. "But I really want to be alone right now."

"Wait – "

"It's called a walk out, if you haven't seen one," she snapped at him, still without looking up.

"Yeah, but – "

"And its whole point," she cut him off again, "is being able to storm off, without the trouble of someone actually stopping you."

"But Connie, where exactly are you going?" He asked forcefully, finally stringing his sentence together.

His question made her stop for a moment, and Adam stepped beside her. "I don't know," she answered curtly, then continued walking. "Somewhere… anywhere!"

Now that Adam had mentioned it, where exactly was she going?

Connie again stopped dead on her tracks, turned around, glared at him and said, "I really hate you, Adam Banks." Adam abruptly stopped and looked at her, flabbergasted.

A couple of students was strolling nearby, gave them curious glances and whispered with each other. They were probably wondering why the two of them were arguing right there at the front gate of the Academy.

Adam and Connie stared silently at each other, seemingly oblivious to them. Her deep, rugged breaths punctuated their otherwise quiet surroundings.

Much to her dismay, Connie found her anger ebbing away, fading with each deep breath she took. It was a simple question. Yet she could feel its weight, bearing down heavily on her. I don't want to go home on an empty house… but I don't think I want to stay with the rest of the team. I'm not ready to face them…

"You really know how to ruin a walk out, you know that?" She finally said with a heavy sigh. She started walking again, this time slowly, towards the bench on the bus stop. Adam followed her, and both fell into a seat next to each other.

He looked at her and managed a nervous smile. "Sorry, it's just…I was…" he didn't bother finishing his sentence. "Well, where exactly?"

"I don't really know," she answered slowly. "Both my aunt and uncle are out of the country, and there is absolutely NO way I'm staying at their house for the summer all alone. But then after that scene at the locker room, I'm not exactly keen on staying with the rest of the team either." Connie stared off contemplatively. "I could stay in a motel, or something. I mean, they did leave me some money…" she trailed off.

Before Adam knew what he was saying, words were already spilling out of his mouth. "You could always stay with me, you know." As soon as he said those words, he wanted to smack himself. Adam knew he was treading on dangerous waters. Well, I might as well do. I can't take it back. He took a deep breath, mustering all the courage he could get. Let's just wish I wouldn't fall into neck-deep water on this one.

"You mean at your house with your parents?"

"Well, no. Both my parents are in L.A. on a business trip." He tried reading her face for any negative reaction, but there was none. "And I won't be exactly staying at the house, anymore..."

Adam noticed the curious look she gave him and hastily explained. "They just sent me the key to my very own apartment this morning. It was supposed to be a birthday present, but gave it three weeks earlier, anyway." He gave her look an encouraging look, but just enough so that he wouldn't appear too eager at the idea. "I mean, wouldn't it be fun? You get to stay in Minnesota. We could hang out… it'll be just like old times."

She went silent for a moment. His stomach gave a nervous jolt. Adam could she that she was seriously mulling over on his offer. "Well, I guess it's okay," a smile was slowly spreading on her face. "Sure! Why not? It does sound fun."

"Great! I guess it's settled, then," he exclaimed – barely containing his glee – just as a bus pulled over in front of them. They both boarded, bags slung over their shoulders. "The apartment's just downtown. We could pick up your things at Charlie's house on the way." Adam was grinning from ear to ear, his eyes shinning.

Summer wouldn't turn out to be so bad, after all.

"Did that just happened?" Averman asked stupidly. A couple of minutes had already passed and Orion had since gone out of the room, but the rest of the Ducks were still staring at the spot where Connie and Adam once stood.

"Unless you had your glasses off, yeah, that really happened." Goldberg answered.

"I've never seen her so angry like that," Julie quietly said from the other side of the room. "...Except that time when her parents died."

Everybody nodded in agreement, remembering what happened two years ago. During that time, Connie had been an emotional wreck, which – and they all agreed – was perfectly understandable.

"Have we really done the right thing?" Luis suddenly spoke up. All eyes turned to him. "Don't you think Adam was right, with what he said about Connie?"

"Yeah… but Orion had a point." Charlie countered. "With players like Clayton, she would be a sitting duck out there. Do you really want that to happen?"

"But Charlie," Russ said, looking at him then at Fulton, then back at him. "Isn't that being selfish?"

"So you'd rather her smashed up against the boards? Is that what you're saying?" Dean shot back. "How 'bout I smash you into one right now? See how you like that."

"That's not what he meant, Dean." Julie answered him, and flashed Russ an understanding look.

It was Fulton's turn to speak. "We're her friends, and we are putting our own personal concerns over her." He looked at them earnestly. "We want her to stop playing just because we're worried something terrible might happen to her. That's being selfish because, guess what, we don't have the right to do that."

"I guess we could have shown her support, like Adam did…" Ken said thoughtfully.

All this time, Guy had been sitting quietly in one corner. He bit his lip, showing no signs that he was even paying attention to the rest of them. Doubts were swirling in his head, and he was asking the same questions. Did he do the right thing? He knew, since they were kids, how much Connie loved hockey. And agreeing with Orion like that, wasn't he, in effect, taking away her happiness? Would he really like that? But I just don't want to see her hurt, he reasoned with himself. He let out a frustrated sigh.

"Hey, what do you think, Guy?"

Am I really being selfish?

"Guy?" Goldberg called again, pulling him from his thoughts.

"What?"

"Were you even listening to the words we said?"

"Uh, no. Listen, I'll catch you guys later, ok?" Guy suddenly stood up, grabbed his bag and dashed out of the room, leaving the rest of the team staring after him. He burst out of the building and made a mad dash for it. Where he was going, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that he had to find Connie and talk to her. They really need to sort this out.

His eyes furiously scanned his surroundings. He whirled wildly around, searching for her. Finally, he spotted a familiar-looking brown-haired person by the bus stop. It was Connie. He broke into a run. She was boarding the bus together with a blond person. She was boarding the bus with…

…Adam?!

Please, don't forget to write a review! Thanks, guys!

Emily: Lol! I'd do it personally, you know, shove a puck down his throat, but since I'm flooded with work as it is, I guess the dean just had to wait. ;P Wait, maybe bruno can do it.

antiIRONY: Oh please, do us the favor! I'm sure Connie will thank you for it. ;P

Dear Aunt Elladora: Aha! Up until now, everybody has been asking me to keep it Connie/Guy, but then you came along. Well, now that certainly changes things, doesn't it? P lol! anyway, thanks. i hope you keep on reading, because it can still go either way. P