A/N: Sooo, guess what I've got for y'all?! Another update! A reward for having waited so long for the last one. :) It didn't take me as long to edit this chapter.

Shoutout to Amelia, bobcatwriter, and Batman12 for you guys' support and sweet, honest feedback! To Batman12 I just want to say, I completely agree about other Adam/OC pairings – I, too, have noticed they all seem to involve some relative of another player or old childhood friend of Adam's who ends up playing hockey with him.

I hope I don't overuse 90's references, btw. I use quite a few in this chapter, but ahhhh, good ol' nostalgia…

By the way…you guys may all hate me after you read this one. But as they tell writers, "trust the process"! Also, to whip out another overused one, "Everything happens for a reason." :)

The once ornately-carved doors transformed from rotted wooden framing into their former glory, and the corridor Rose traveled down was turned once again into a white-washed, polished wood-floored hallway. Then, when the final set of doors to the dining room were opened by stewards, the mournful music reached a crescendo and there, standing in formation on both sides of her, was each person she'd lost aboard the sinking ship. Her beloved friend Thomas Andrews stood at the very end, and when he moved, that's when Halen lost it, covering her face to sob.

"Oh no. Just no," Darlene reached up to bat at her eyes with a crumpled Kleenex as Leo DiCaprio's Jack awaited his long lost love in his third-class clothes, facing away from her and toward the clock that read 2:20am - the time the ship sank. Slowly, Rose mounted the stairs wearing a beautiful white dress, and as she was reunited with Jack, the entire cast of characters plus half the movie theater erupted in applause. The kiss scene panned upward to the ship's glass dome as the screen faded to white light.

And all four of them were crying.

They made their way silently out of the movie theater into the freezing cold night air after having thrown away two popcorn buckets and four huge drink cups.

"That was sooo dumb," Ariel hiccuped, wiping tears from her cheeks.

"You're not kidding, but damn was it good," Darlene did the same.

Halen was still sobbing, and Lacey felt…

… like just killing everybody. Including and especially the people who thought it a good idea to make a movie that romantic and heartbreaking while she was feeling like this.

She swatted away her own tears as she pulled her keys out of her purse, unlocking Mom's car.

"Wait, and does that mean she died at the end?!" Halen finally cried out.

"Well, yeah," Ariel replied. "Wasn't it obvious?"

"Don't be bitchy, Ariel," her mom scolded. "I don't know that it was. I mean… was it that, or was it a dream? Hard to tell."

"Sadie Birgoff said her sister's boyfriend looks exactly like Leo," Halen swooned as she slid into the backseat.

Thus kicked off the commentary on the way back home on New Years' Eve.

"Tell me my boobs will be that big when I'm seventeen, Mom."

"You WISH your boobs could be that big. Lacey's aren't," followed by a snicker.

"Stop talking about boobs or your dad will kill me for taking you to that."

"Can you believe that guy shot himself?!"

"And he shot that cool Irish guy, too!"

"Well, I think the Irish guy was why he shot himself."

"I bet whoever owned that car's glad they didn't get it back."

"They're probably dead anyway."

"Mom, was it true the whole thing was filmed in a swimming pool?"

"What was that song she was singing while she was floating out there looking up at the sky?"

On and on it went, but as entertaining as some of it was, Lacey just wanted to get home and go to bed. Powerful romance stories were not her friend right now.

Christmas had been good. Her parents had been able to buy each of them about three gifts plus a "family present" which Stuart had been far more excited about than any of the girls - a Sony PlayStation with a game called Final Fantasy VII (Lacey wondered why that was the starting number). They'd also each gotten full stockings and Stuart spent all day working on his traditional Scottish Christmas dinner of prawn cocktail, smoked salmon, coriander soup with a steamed Christmas pudding afterward. Mom loved the new bathrobe Lacey and the twins had gotten for her, and Stuart was likewise happy with his Billy Idol's Greatest Hits CD for the CD player Darlene had bought him. By the end of the evening, the floor was strewn with a mixed up amalgamation of wrapping paper, bows, tissue paper, Tomagotchi's, Beanie Babies and Hanson memorabilia and everyone's heart was full. It had been a good day, but Lacey couldn't seem to get her mind off Adam and the way he'd rebuffed her a couple nights before. She'd stuffed up all her fears and tears for after the lights were out, but when a few more evenings went by with no phone call, she just became angry.

He'd made his position perfectly clear. Was he just trying to add insult to injury by not even resuming their usual 'friendly' activities?

The last few months had been so good. What was happening? Lacey wasn't sure, but just because she was frustrated with him, she'd decided to use her gift certificate from Alice on taking her mom and sisters for a Girls' Night to see Titanic.

"Earth to Lacey! Slow down or you'll miss the road," her mom pointed.

"Oh. Sorry," Lacey shook her head slightly, turning on the signal light as her sisters sat in the back arguing over whether Jack could have fit on the bed frame beside Rose.

"It's the holidays." Her mom looked over at her. "He's probably just busy."

Darlene hadn't asked Lacey what had transpired during her evening at the Bankses, but she'd evidently deduced enough not to pepper her with questions about it. However, the fact that Adam wasn't calling at night apparently hadn't escaped her mom's notice.

"It isn't that, Mom, it's… I…" Lacey began, wishing she could really talk to her mom about this. Or if nothing else, wishing she had an actual girl friend to talk to.

But either way, now wouldn't be the time, as her sisters' ears were sharp, and already Halen was asking, "Who's just busy?"

"Nobody, Halen, just mind your own business," Lacey shot back, but felt instantly remorseful.

"Okay, sorry…"

"Alright, listen. Everybody dry up your tears, it was just a movie. And cheer up, because Dad promised pizza and Twister at ten o'clock. Head on in and wash your hands," her mom commanded as Lacey pulled in the driveway.

She dejectedly made her way to the front door behind her exuberant little sisters, Mom behind her, when Stuart opened the door. "'Ey 'ey! T'was it a good film, Lasses?"

"See, what did I tell you?!" Davy leaned out the doorway from behind his dad. "He dies at the end!"

"Ah, there were a phone call fer ye, Lacey. Adam, I b'lieve. I told 'im ye were at the cinema wi' Mum."

Before she could stop herself, Lacey let out an angry snort. "Nice. Thanks for the message Stuart, I'll give him a call in about three hours."

"Well, tis a'ready been that," Stuart scratched the back of his head. "Wha' in the world took ye s'long?"

"The movie was three hours long, Babe," Darlene pushed past him. "I told you it would be."

Lacey took off her snow boots and started upstairs, trying to figure out how she could get away with bypassing pizza and Twister when she heard huge footfalls on the steps behind her.

"Hey!" Davy hissed, as though he wanted to either tell her a secret or ask a private question.

"What is it?" she yawned.

"Emergency rendezvous, eleven o'clock," he mimicked dictating into a walkie talkie. Lacey rolled her eyes and headed toward "eleven o'clock," her room.

"Fine. Come in but don't touch anything."

Davy promptly closed the door after she turned on the lamp. "Didn't know if your mom knew. Are you seriously seeing Adam Banks?!" he whispered animatedly.

"Davy," she sighed, so sick of repeating the line about them being "only friends," especially now. "I've told you everything there is to know about that situation. Why?"

"Because he called here again, and you know what Max is saying don't you?"

Lacey groaned. "Can't even imagine." She took her coat off and flopped down on her bed. "And he's been calling here. You just haven't been here to know."

"Well Max is saying you and Adam have been… you know, doing it… for six months, behind his back."

Lacey slapped her hand onto her forehead and laughed loudly. "Are you kidding me?! Wow. That's the best he could come up with. And you seriously believe that, Davy?"

"Course I don't believe it, but I just thought you should know what he's saying. He's kind of been whipping the team up into a frenzy to try to really come down hard on Banks on the ice. I mean and they probably will, because you know what happened with Thomas Hensley."

Davy was referring to Driskell's goalie who was supposedly cheated on by his girlfriend last Spring and had been so broken up about it he told everybody he'd been so angry he'd punched the drywall at his house repeatedly before going out and hammering the offending guy in the nose–all of which resulted in a broken wrist. "But it had been worth it," he bragged to his team at practice one day. "The bastard cried for three hours." But Lacey had also heard he broke his wrist while entertaining his younger cousins on a see-saw at an Easter picnic, which was far more likely. She couldn't believe how quickly a bunch of high school hockey players with anger issues could start a campaign to "Avenge Thomas" by leaving hate mail in Thomas's former girlfriend's locker, calling her every lewd thing in the book–like a bunch of snotty, butthurt children. So now they wanted to take revenge on Adam, who had supposedly lured the true blue love of their team captain's life into being unfaithful to him? If this was how a 'team' was supposed to band together, Lacey was happy not to be in one.

"You know Davy, if I were your team, I'd be pretty careful about where I stepped since the whole fiasco with the cars at Halloween. And they definitely don't want to cross Mr. Banks again, I'm sure."

Davy snorted. "You try telling them that." He pulled out Lacey's desk chair and sat down, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

Lacey sat up, regarding him silently for a moment. "Davy, let me ask you something. Do you actually like anybody you play hockey with?"

Davy was quiet as he looked around Lacey's room absently. "I mean, I don't know. I've been playing with a lot of those guys since we were on the Hawks in the Pee Wee league."

"And are you actually friends with them? I mean they never seem to ask you to go do anything, you never stick around and hang out with them after games. And Davy," Lacey paused, proceeding carefully, "they're not all that nice to you. They've teased you since we were kids. Is it really that you love hockey that much?"

Taking a deep breath and letting it out in a gust, Davy replied, "No. Not really. As a matter of fact, I'm kind of done with hockey. I've been done for a long time. But if I don't play hockey, then," he shrugged, "what do I do? I mean you know what a big freakin' deal it is around here. I just don't really know who I am without it, you know?"

Lacey definitely knew. More than he realized. After all, who was she?

"I'm just saying, you shouldn't be loyal to them if they're not loyal to you."

"Oh I'm not loyal to them," Davy looked her straight in the eye. "If I was, I wouldn't have told you what I just did. And trust me, if they do anything to Adam, then I'm out."

Lacey stared at him for a moment. "Really?" She'd always known Davy was a pretty loyal guy, but she'd mostly supposed him to be loyal just to his hockey team and actual family. She had no idea he'd be this loyal to her, as a not-official-stepsister.

"Really. It was all I could do to stay on after what they did to the Eden Hall kids at Halloween, but I guess I just tried to let that one go. I mean, it was the first time they'd ever done something that crazy. But if they do something to one of your friends, and it seems a lot worse to me for somebody to actually get hurt than for a bunch of cars to get banged up, then I'm not having any part of it."

Lacey's eyes darted around as she tried to find something for them to rest on while she processed the information Davy had just told her. "One more thing you can do for me. Please promise me you'll let me know if anything crazy gets planned, okay? I mean, anything that would be harmful to Adam."

"Sure," he shrugged. "I mean all I know so far is that they want to play rough with him at the next game. But from what I know of Banks, he's tough enough to handle the worst."

"He can, for sure," she agreed. "But just in case it sounds like it's going to be any more extreme than that."

Davy stood up from the chair. "You got it. Okay, so you coming down for Twister and pizza? Dad made sure to order a veggie, just for you."

Lacey smiled wryly. "And who am I to pass that up? Alright, I'll be down in just a minute."

Davy clucked his tongue and pointed toward her with both hands, walking out and closing the door behind him. When he was gone, she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before reaching over for the phone and punching in Adam's number.

It didn't take but a ring and a half for him to pick up. "Hello?"

"Hi." Lacey attempted to muster a cheerful tone, but it fell flat. "Stuart said you called. Sorry, we were out watching Titanic."

"Yeah, he told me. So, who dies at the end, the guy or the girl?"

"Like I'm telling you," she rested back on her pillow, finding herself falling back into easy conversation with him. "You might watch it."

He snorted. "I highly doubt it."

"Hey. I can think of one reason you would want to," she rolled her eyes.

Adam chuckled shyly, pausing for a moment. "Okay, well maybe. But anyway, I wanted to just say Happy New Year. Sorry I haven't called in a few days, it's just been busy."

"Yeah, it has been here, too. But Happy New Year. I'm surprised you're not out tonight."

"You're surprised? Really?" he laughed. "I'm such a social guy and all."

"Well you do hang out with the team a lot," Lacey replied, examining her fingernails and their desperate need for the acrylics to be replaced.

"Yeah, usually I do, but I don't know. I didn't feel much like it tonight, so I'm just going to stay in with the parents, lame as that is."

Lacey thought for a moment about inviting him over for Twister and pizza. But her pride stopped her, so she switched topics to something else. "I put my snowglobe out."

"Oh yeah? On your windowsill like you'd planned?" his tone lightened.

"Yup. Halen comes and shakes it every hour. You'd be proud."

He laughed. "I can always count on Halen, can't I?"

"Absolutely," Lacey replied, just before hearing Stuart call up that the pizza guy was outside. "Um… well, I gotta go. Pizza's here."

"Oh okay." Did he sound disappointed for just a second? "Well, have a good rest of the night. Just wanted to say hi and tell you I'd see you next year, haha. Isn't that the most overused joke ever?"

"It is," Lacey smiled, turning onto her side and wishing more than anything she could say… something. But she couldn't figure out exactly what. Especially because she noticed he wasn't making any of the usual plans for them to get together. No "Did you want to grab food tomorrow?" or "I'm coming by the cat shelter Tuesday," or "You coming to the game?"

Nothing but a "See you next year".

Maybe he needed time and space. She was beginning to think she needed it, too.

"Happy New Year," she finished simply.

After hanging up with Adam, she jumped up from the bed, determined to throw herself into Twister like she never had before in order to stop thinking about him and how she wished the almost-kiss had never happened. Things had been a lot simpler before.

Despite her conflicting feelings about how Adam and she had left things, 1998 started out pretty good.

Lacey had only a couple of classes left before graduation, having crammed all her difficult subjects into Fall semester on purpose. She'd limped out with B's and C's, which was her standard and something she considered an accomplishment in light of Statistics, Mid-Century America, and U.S. Literature II. Her easiest class, even if the most frustrating, had been Sewing.

Now she had Yearbook, Study Hall, Physics, and a free period she was going to spend answering phones in the school office. Then she would be finished. Graduation would happen. Then glorious summer vacation before she started at St. Paul College in order to… what?

"I just don't know yet" was the answer she'd been giving everyone who asked. And she didn't. The issue was, Lacey couldn't think of what she would be any good at or what she was interested in enough to spend two to four years studying. Sure, she liked cats, but she didn't have what it took to be a vet. And sure, she liked history, but she didn't want to teach it. So, what was left that she could manage to do? Physical therapy was the trending career choice at the moment, but she wasn't sure she was cut out for that, either.

So, she was just going to take one thing at a time. That meant work, make it through the semester, and try not to think so much about Adam.

And she expected to have only varying measures of success with that last thing.

Every love song reminded her of her feelings. She'd refused to let Halen listen to "At the Beginning" by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis on the radio on the way home from school one afternoon, and every TV show she used to enjoy seemed saturated with romantic content. This meant goodbye, Ally McBeal and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

And why couldn't she ever succeed in getting Titanic off her mind? Because if there ever was a guy who would give up his place on a headboard to keep a woman from freezing to death...

He couldn't even manage to kiss you. Don't go quite that far.

Lacey figured if she could just get her head straightened out, she would be okay, and maybe eventually pursue him herself to go for coffee again at The Daily Grind. After all, would she be so bothered by her pride and sensitivity once she was past the frustration from this whole thing?

Then it could be friendship as usual.

It was this determined attitude that Lacey carried with her into the first couple weeks of January. She tried to stay busy enough with work and school to fill the gaps in her time that had previously been filled by time with Adam. The issue seemed to be, however, that the more she gained control over her thoughts of Adam, the less control she had over thoughts of her dad and his approaching court date.

Nightmares began happening, and with them came the hair pulling. On more than one occasion, Lacey woke up and put her feet on the floor to feel the sickeningly familiar texture of hair beneath them. She looked down and saw the blonde hair that surrounded her.

It was on the third such morning that her mom and Stuart approached her after breakfast about going back to see Dr. Hemby. Realizing they were right, Lacey called first thing after school that very day, and also made a hair appointment. A "Rachel" cut was probably a little more suited to pulling out chunks of hair without it being so readily apparent to everyone else what was happening.

More than once, she wanted to call Adam and tell him she just really needed to talk. But then, he wasn't calling her either, which fueled her determination to leave him alone for now. However, despite making progress on her preoccupation with him, she did miss going to his hockey games-ironically, not just for him, but because she'd come to actually enjoy them. And besides, this was his senior year hockey season, and she wanted to support him as much as she could while it lasted. So she resumed going to Eden Hall games, usually allowing her giggling sisters to tag along.

Lacey hoped he knew she was there, even if she didn't want to pull out all the stops to hunt him down before and after the games, because he might not want her to. But the twins usually took care of that for her, bringing posters they'd made with glitter pens to hold up for the Ducks and rushing down to congratulate the team on their winning streak in person as the players emerged from the locker room. It only took the second game before the players began spotting Ariel and Halen-their new biggest fans-in the stands and waved to them. She had been afraid her siblings were making a nuisance of themselves until she saw this, and had to smile.

"Why weren't you down there with us?" Ariel asked as she climbed into the car one night. "Adam was asking about you."

"Oh?"

Maybe she was going too far out of her way to avoid him after all. Damn. This was impossible to figure out.

The next game found Lacey standing outside the locker room with her sisters, watching in amusement as the girls interacted with the Ducks like they were old buddies. As much as it humiliated her that the players moved on past her without acknowledgement, except for Julie and Connie, who were always friendly, she was grateful to the seniors for humoring a couple of googly-eyed twelve-year-olds.

After a few minutes, Adam came out, eyes widening as he caught sight of her standing there. "Hey!"

Lacey couldn't suppress the smile that rose to her lips at the sight of him. But before she could speak, Halen jumped in front of her. "You did an amazing job tonight," she beamed at Adam, tossing her mass of blonde curls over her shoulder with a flourish.

He chuckled. "Thanks. You guys are great cheerleaders." Then he looked up, regarding Lacey with a smile. "You cut your hair!"

"I did. Do you like it?"

"Sure," he studied her, and she was sure she could see traces of light in his eyes. "When did you do it?"

"Just a few days ago. It's easier to maintain shorter, I guess," she lied. If ever there was a style that required waking up extra early to make look just right, it was this Friends-inspired mess. It used to be that she could just sweep her hair back into a ponytail if she overslept.

"Um…" Adam paused, and Lacey was afraid he was about to call her on her hair-pulling. Was it that obvious? "Do you guys mind if I steal your sister for just a minute?"

Ariel shrugged. "Nah, go ahead. Oh, here comes Portman!"

The girls' attention was pulled back to the locker room door as Adam turned back to her. "Walk outside with me?"

"Well I will, but won't you catch your death standing out there for long with a wet head?" she questioned in a lighthearted tone.

But he didn't say anything else until they were outside and safely away from the bustle of foot traffic. "Lacey, I'm sorry if I've been quiet."

Wow. Right to the point. She hadn't been expecting this quite yet.

"Adam-"

"Just hear me out, okay? I've had some things on my mind, and practices have been really intense lately... " he trailed off for a minute. "I just haven't been able to reach out as much as I'd like."

Lacey watched him for a moment, feeling an unexpected surge of anger rise within her. It was one thing for Adam to blow her off like he was, but it was another thing entirely for him to come up with excuses for it. And no, she hadn't kept up with him either, but she wanted him to make no mistake in realizing he was the one who pulled away first.

"How about not reaching out at all? But it's okay, I get it. And this, in no way, is related to the thing that happened at Christmas, right?"

Something flickered in his eyes. "I mean, not-"

"Adam, don't lie. It's not a good look for you," she snapped before she meant to.

He shifted, glancing off. "Lacey, I've just got to work some things out in my head, alright? And it's not easy to do with Coach breathing down our necks right now. We're deep into the season, and this is senior year. Plus I've been training hard. The talent scouts are making their rounds, and I want to be ready."

"Right. The talent scouts. How could I ever forget? Because hockey is life." She shook her head, then caught herself. She was showing her true feelings about the whole thing when she'd promised herself she would just deal with her emotions on her own and resume the friendship without letting this get awkward. Well, she'd blown it now. Was it too late to backpedal? But before she could do so…

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" he retorted. "You knew this. You've always known hockey is my life. It's my dream, it's what I've always worked for. Now you suddenly have a big problem with it?"

"Look," she sighed, rubbing her forehead as she registered the baffled and somewhat hurt look on Adam's face. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I know it's your dream to play in the NHL, and I know it isn't fair for me to get in the way of that. Since we're friends, I can respect that. It's just that I…"

Lacey bit her lip, frustrated. Did she absolutely have to go from being snarky with him to revealing too much about how she felt? "...I know things got weird, probably because it was Christmas and we'd just watched that romantic movie," she tacked on hurriedly, "but that's not what this is about. And you know what? I think you're probably right, we just need a break. You have hockey stuff, and I have this thing coming up with my dad. You don't owe me any explanation. Let's just try to focus on what's going on in our lives right now, and I'll see you when I see you."

It was everything she could do to keep from adding "Good talk," seeing as it was the line he'd used so dismissively with her a few months ago. But, trying to keep it mature, she flashed him a small smile and turned around to walk away before he said anything else. He seemed at a loss, anyway. Winding her way back through the fans and players clustering in the hallway of the ice complex, she found her sisters, unceremoniously told them they were leaving and barely waited on them to follow her, then drove them all home silently.

They had homework to do, and she had a distraction to find.

"So I see you've cut your hair. Is that due to pulling?" Dr. Hemby sat cross-legged on a floor cushion across from Lacey, who was sitting much the same way.

Dr. Hemby had put Lacey at ease immediately when she started seeing her at age ten. The therapist didn't believe in putting on airs. She always wore jeans into the office, and preferred her and Lacey to sit on the floor informally, as though they were just hanging out for an hour.

"It is," Lacey sighed. "I didn't want it to be noticeable to people."

"What do you feel brought this on?" Dr. Hemby tilted her head.

Lacey spilled to her the entire story about her dad's parole hearing, the trauma she had undergone with Max, and the fact that she was unable to talk to her best friend about any of it right now.

"So this deal with your dad," Dr. Hemby began, and Lacey felt herself tense up. "What do you think might help you process it better?"

"Well," she tried to think. "I…don't know. I mean, I guess talking to you is the best thing I can come up with. But I feel a little stuck, because it's been almost ten years. I mean, what's it going to take for me to get past this?"

Dr. Hemby was quiet for a moment, allowing her to digest her own thoughts and feelings.

"I have a suggestion, and I just want you to think about it." Dr. Hemby stood up and went to her essential oil diffuser, adding more lavender before coming back and sitting down. "Have you ever gone to see your dad in prison?"

Lacey felt her throat constrict, and she had to immediately grab her cup of water, downing half of it before she was able to talk again. "No. Why would I ever do that?"

"I can think of a good reason. To face your fear of him," Dr. Hemby replied. "You see, you're still stuck in that place you were as a little girl when he loomed large that night, and held your life in the balance. That's a big deal. I would never downplay that. But if you went to visit him and really faced the person he is, what if that helped you get closure?"

Lacey began shaking her head. "No. No, I couldn't ever do that. And I can't even talk about it right now."

Dr. Hemby nodded. "Perfectly understandable. We'll move on from there. I just wanted to plant that idea for you to do what you want with it. Now, tell me more about Adam."

But Dr. Hemby's words continued to echo in Lacey's head for days after her appointment.

What if? Could facing her dad actually be the beginning of her healing process?

No. I just can't.

The nail-biting came back. Some nights, Lacey's fingertips were covered in blood. She wanted to talk to someone about this and process what Dr. Hemby had said. But she didn't dare mention it to her mom, because she knew the guilt her mother already carried about the entire topic.

So she decided to swallow her pride and call Adam one night when she woke up from a nap in tears. Taking a shaky breath, she dialed his number and waited for an answer.

"Hello?" Yvette's cheerful voice eased her spirit already.

"Hi, um, Yvette? It's Lacey. Is Adam home?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry Lacey, he isn't. He's out training. Shall I tell him you called?"

"No," she answered quickly. "I just wanted to check in. I can call back later."

Silence on the other end. "Lacey, is everything okay?"

Lacey covered the mouthpiece of the phone, heaving a sob before getting it back under control. "It is. I'm okay."

"I was hoping you would come see us soon. Stella's been doing great, and Phil's turned into a real sucker for her," Yvette chuckled, then paused again. "I know Adam's been very busy, but I can promise he still cares about your friendship."

Lacey smiled. "I'm sure he does. I know he's focused on practice right now. We'll get back to talking soon. But thank you. I'll try to catch him later."

"Alright, Lacey. Please take care, alright?"

"I will. Thanks."

Lacey ended the call and rolled over on her bed, curling up. She felt like she could sleep around the clock.

"Lass? ye alright?"

She jumped, shrieking. "Stuart, you scared me!"

Stuart was standing in the doorway, having approached soundlessly. Or maybe Lacey had just been too lost in her thoughts to notice.

"Och, I'm sorry. I wouldna done it on purpose." He came over and sat on the edge of her bed. "Ariel's made pigs in a blanket. D'ye wan' some?"

"I'm not very hungry. But thanks." She rolled back over. "I'm just really tired."

"Aye, ye've been right knackered lately. Anythin' wrong?"

Lacey appreciated the fact that everyone was so concerned, but what she wanted to do when they asked her that question was just hide. How could she even give words to her roiling emotions?

"No. Just, you know. School and stuff."

"I see. Well ye know I'm here, Love, if ye ever need t'talk."

Stuart's warm voice and lilting Scottish accent soothed her in much the same way Yvette's voice had. She turned just long enough to give him a smile. "Thanks, Stuart."

"Aye." He stood up. "I'll save ye some pigs jus' in case."

He closed her door gently, and she yawned, tugging the covers out from under her and covering up, reaching over to turn off the lamp. She would get up early tomorrow to finish her Physics homework.

The next afternoon, Lacey was walking out to the car, in a hurry to go pick up the twins when Davy was suddenly beside her. She jumped.

She was sick of being so jumpy lately.

"Hey, what is it?" she glanced over at him, irritated.

"Um… I need to tell you something." Davy's usually cheerful demeanor seemed dampened.

"What?" she began walking more slowly, feeling her heart kick into high gear. Nothing good ever followed a statement like that.

Davy stopped walking and faced her. "I think something's being planned. Regarding Adam."

Lacey froze.

"I know I mentioned the guys roughing him up at the next game," Davy continued, shifting feet. "But I just think it's going to be more than that. I can't get a good grasp on what it is, but there's a lot of whispering, a lot of mentioning 'Banks', and I just have a bad feeling. You need to warn him to watch out."

Lacey shook her head, blinking. "Are you serious? I mean, what do you think it is they're planning?"

"I really don't know, Lacey. I'm just saying, tell him to be careful." Davy's eyes bore into hers for a few seconds, then he looked away. "I gotta go to practice. I just needed to tell you that."

With that, Davy walked away, leaving Lacey to stare after him.

Anger began to simmer inside of her. Why couldn't Max just leave them alone? And why did he hate Adam so much? Was this really just about hockey? Granted, he seemed to think she and Adam were together, but what made him think she ever would have cheated on him? She didn't even officially know Adam six months ago.

Lacey was stuck to the spot, knowing she needed to go to her car, but unable to move. What should she do about this? Part of her wanted to find Max, all guns blazing, and tell him to step off. But that likely wouldn't do anything but make him more angry.

She needed to see Adam.

"I'm just saying, you need to be careful," Lacey whispered into the phone.

She had opted to try calling Adam again, this time waiting a little later at night to ensure he was home. She hadn't felt ready to talk to him again after their argument outside the Eden Hall ice rink a couple weeks ago, and from what she could tell by his stiff tone with her, he wasn't ready either. But this was important.

"Lacey," he sighed. "Hockey's a tough sport. You have to have thick skin and be able to take all the threats, all the rough playing. I'll be fine. I'm not afraid of Max, never have been."

"But I think this is more than that. Davy said he thought it might be something beyond just rough playing," she continued to keep her voice low, not wanting to wake anyone up. It was nearly eleven o'clock. "Just keep your head up and your eyes open."

"Thanks. I appreciate you warning me, but you really shouldn't worry. I can hold my own."

Lacey felt taken aback, unused to Adam being so curt with her. Had she really angered him that much when she had made the comment she'd made about his hockey obsession?

"Fine, well… just wanted you to know. Goodnight, Adam."

With that, she hung up the phone, wondering why she'd even bothered.

And now Ariel was standing at the doorway. Terrific.

"What is it, Ariel?" Lacey pretended to be busy, picking back up her Physics textbook.

"I wanted to talk to you for a minute."

The shy tone of her sister's voice took her off guard, and she looked up. "Talk?"

"Yeah…" Ariel wandered in wearing familiar plaid pj's that were too big for her.

"First, where did you get those?" Lacey questioned.

Ariel hesitated. "Your drawer. I needed something warm!" she protested.

"It's fine," Lacey waved off the question. "Sit down here." She began to stack up the mess of notebooks and papers she had scattered all over her bed.

Ariel sat down tentatively. "How did you know you liked Max?" she landed in immediately.

Lacey blinked. "Max?"

"Yeah. Or… or whoever," her sister shrugged.

Lacey's eyes drifted toward the ceiling as she thought about how to answer this question. "Well… I knew I liked Max when I found out he liked me, and since he was nice looking and charming, I thought 'Why not?' He was my first boyfriend and I was curious to find out how the whole dating thing worked."

Ariel's face immediately fell, and Lacey could tell she was disappointed.

"Now," Lacey continued, "let me follow that by saying, that was a great example of what not to do. You always want to date someone you'd like to be with because of who they are-how they treat other people, what their priorities are. That's what should always drive you, not how good looking they are or what they've accomplished."

"Like being a star hockey player?" Ariel smirked, but not meanly.

"Yeah. Exactly like that. So… you asked me for a reason, didn't you?"

Ariel reached up to twirl a finger around a messy strand of her now-shoulder-length hair, a mannerism Lacey hadn't seen out of her tomboy sister before. "There's a guy in Health class I like. And he asked me to go with him on a church youth group bowling trip next week. I think I really do want to go, even though," she made a face, "it's church, but... is it because I like him? Or because he's just nice?"

Before Lacey could respond, Ariel went on. "I keep getting messed up with my words when I'm doing projects in front of the whole class and stuff, and Cameron is the only one who doesn't laugh at me. I said the wrong word for 'deltoids' on Monday when I was showing off my muscle groups poster, and when I looked over at him because I was embarrassed, he just smiled at me." Color tinted Ariel's cheeks.

Lacey smiled, "He does sound very sweet, Ariel. But do you want to know my recommendation?"

Her sister nodded, eyes wide.

"I say, go on the church bowling trip with him and get to know who he is. Be friends. Because being friends is the best way to find out who someone really is. And then, as you come to know him and know yourself, you'll figure out how you feel. The best part is, you'll still have a friend, even if you decide he isn't boyfriend material."

Just don't act on anything until you're absolutely sure how he feels, Lacey wanted to add, thinking of her own snafu.

"Yeah?" Ariel soaked up the words eagerly. "I'll go with him then. As long as he doesn't try to convert me!"

Lacey chuckled. "Something tells me you're not going to be the easiest person to convert to anything, Ariel."

She almost picked back up her textbook, assuming the conversation to be over, as talks with Ariel so quickly were. But her sister lingered.

"The friend thing you just talked about. Is it that way with you and Adam? I mean, I know you like him and all," she gave a secretive smile. "And he is really cute. Forget about Halen. He'd never be her type, even if she was old enough."

Thinking how to answer the question, Lacey realized she was complicating matters even for herself. Shouldn't she just be honest? Forget pride, forget fear and anxiety…

"Yeah," she returned Ariel's smile. "It is. I've come to know Adam as a great listener. Somebody who takes his commitments seriously. And even though he's a little quiet most of the time around people he doesn't know, he has a good sense of humor and we laugh a lot. Plus, we both like Weezer, so hey." She shrugged. "How can you get better than that?"

"Oh!" Ariel jumped to her feet, shifting her weight back and forth for a second, bashfully, before finally saying, "I made something for you."

She dashed out of the room just as Lacey was opening her mouth to ask what it was, and returned with a cassette tape. "This song is for you. In honor of your breakup with Max." She made another face. "The worst boyfriend you will probably ever have."

"Let's hope so, anyway," Lacey took the tape from Ariel, popping it into her stereo's cassette player and turning the volume up.

Soon, the very recognizable beginning chords of "Your Woman" by White Town filled the room, and Lacey burst out laughing.

Ariel grinned. "Isn't it all so true about him?"

Lacey stood up and took her sister's hands. "You can say that again. Come on, let's have a dance party without Stuart!"

Giggling, Ariel jumped up on the bed and began playing air guitar, despite there being no actual guitar in the song. Lacey chuckled and joined her, using the mattress for a stage as she sang along loudly:

Well I guess what they say is true,

I could never spend my life with a man like you.

I could never be your woman.

They carried on singing and dancing without abandon, and it felt so good. Lacey threw all thoughts of Max, Adam and her dad out the window and just enjoyed acting crazy with her little sister-at least until Mom banged on the wall for them to cut down the music.

As the melody faded, Lacey grabbed Ariel and hugged her close for the first time in ages.

"Aww… what was that for?" Ariel threw her arms around her in return.

"Just for being you. And for making me laugh."

"Thanks for doing this with me, Stuart. You could have dropped me off, though, I didn't mean to drag you to a whole hockey game."

The last week in January found Lacey riding shotgun as Stuart pulled his old station wagon into the high school parking lot. Lacey had intended to be at this game-between her school and Eden Hall-if she went to no other. Adam might not be taking Davy's warning seriously, but she was.

Not that she knew what to do if something bad did happen, but she just felt like she needed to be here. Even just thinking about what Max was capable of caused her heart to hammer uncontrollably.

But Mom was taking the twins clothes shopping and needed her car. When Lacey had asked Stuart to borrow his, deciding she'd rather drive a beat-up station wagon to a high school hockey game than miss keeping an eye out for Adam, he'd surprised her by asking to tag along.

"Well, ye know, Davy's playin'."

"Or not," Lacey turned to him. "I thought that's why you stopped coming to hockey games a long time ago? Davy never plays, and he seemed to stop caring if you came."

Stuart shrugged. "I ken."

Lacey blinked, then remembered that 'ken' was the Scottish slang for 'know.' Stuart tended to lapse in and out of thick Scottish slang, so she was sometimes taken off guard.

"But tis 'is senior year, an' truthfully I've no' been as active in Davy's life as I needed t'be. 'E's lived wi' 'is mother so long that I think I take it fer granted 'e'll tell me if 'e wants me t'do somethin', fer 'im. But I dinna need t'think o' it that way. I need t'be there fer Davy whether 'e wants it or no." Stuart looked over at her, the sincerity very present in his expression.

"I know Davy knows you love him."

"Yeah, bu' I could do a better job showin' it, couldn't I?"

Lacey just gave him an understanding smile as he parked the car in a surprisingly close parking space. "All right, ye ready, Lass?"

They got their tickets and popcorn and made it into the game just in time to find a seat in the nosebleed section. Despite their distance from the rink, Lacey could pick Adam out instantly from his movements. She smiled. His pain-free streak had seemed to continue through the month.

Lacey barely ate popcorn and picked constantly at her nails, refusing to let them enter her mouth, but also unable to leave them alone. But after a couple of periods, she was able to relax and just enjoy the game-it seemed like only the usual amount of aggression was going into the Rockets' play against the Ducks', Adam in particular.

Maybe Davy hadn't gotten this right. The Rockets, including Max, all seemed to be remarkably well-behaved tonight. Could Coach Rhinehardt have found out about the mischief and squelched it before it could take place?

Lacey and Stuart had just begun chuckling together over a particularly clever move made by Dwayne Robertson to snag the puck away from the Rockets' Left Wing when a tall, skinny girl with curly red hair, metal-rimmed glasses and a face covered with freckles approached them.

"Lacey Primmer…?" she bagan in a mousy voice.

"Yes?"

The girl heaved a sigh of relief. "Great. I've been looking for you. Um… I'm Davy's girlfriend, Rebecca," she smiled sheepishly.

"Wha'? Girlfriend, ye say?" Stuart perked up, peering over at her. "I dinna ken Davy 'ad a girlfriend!"

"Me either, actually," Lacey spoke up, though remembered Davy had been wooing a nameless girl at some point. "But nice to meet you. Did you need something from me?"

"Actually, yes," the girl hesitantly handed over a note. "He told me you were probably coming tonight. I remember you from Homecoming," she grinned in awe. "And he wanted me to keep an eye out so I could give you this."

Lacey took the note, written on yellow steno pad paper. "Thank you," she replied, wondering what this could possibly be about. But she didn't want to read it in front of anyone, and crammed it into her purse, trying to turn her attention back to Rebecca. "You should come over sometime. We have a lot of fun at our house," she nudged Stuart, smiling.

The girl let out a high, wispy giggle. "Thank you, I will. Well…" she stood there awkwardly for a moment. "I'd better get back to my mom. Have a good night." She hovered a second longer as though forgetting what she was doing, then made her way back down the bleacher stairs.

"Well imagine tha'!" Stuart grinned from ear to ear. "Davy, finally pullin' in lasses! And' wasna she a right beaut?"

"Sure," Lacey smiled back, not sure if she'd have made that much of a fuss over Rebecca. But the more she thought about it, the better of a match her and Davy seemed to be. "I'm going to the bathroom. Need anything?" she questioned Stuart, fully intending to use the opportunity to read the note.

"Nah… but 'urry back! We're aboot t'catch up wi' 'em!"

Lacey smirked, knowing it was only once in a deep blue moon that anyone won against the Ducks, particularly Driskell. But she let Stuart have his fun, and she headed to the ladies' restroom.

Once safely tucked in a stall, Lacey pulled out the yellow piece of paper that had fallen between her wallet and her bubble gum. Opening it up from its many folds, she read:

Adam needs to look out tonight. After the game.

Something's going to happen, don't know what.

Lacey's brow furrowed as she read the note one more time.

Something really was planned? By Max? Involving the whole team, or who exactly? And was Davy just being irrational? There hadn't seemed to be a problem on the ice, yet at least.

Stuffing the note into her back jeans pocket, Lacey leaned against the stall door, digesting the information and hatching a plan.

Better safe than sorry. She would walk with Adam out of the locker room and to his car. If she was with them, then if there was indeed something planned against him, whoever was involved might be deterred by her presence, including Max. He had never been cruel in any way to her, and surely he wouldn't be so even now. Besides, what on earth could they be planning that they could get away with on school grounds?

The rest of the game, for Lacey, was spent sitting on her hands to keep from pulling or biting. She kept going back and forth in her mind, assuring herself that Davy was being overly cautious, then wondering what could be perhaps happening to Adam. She could barely stay in her seat until the last whistle blew, the announcer proclaiming Eden Hall's victory over Driskell, nine to seven.

"Stuart," Lacey turned quickly as people began filing out of the bleachers around them. "I need to catch Adam for something. Do you mind waiting for me? I promise it won't take long."

"'Course I dun! 'Sides, I'll be wantin' t'ear all aboot this Rebecca fro' my lad. We'll meet back at th'car."

"Thanks." Lacey didn't wait for Stuart to stand, pushing past him to make her way down the stairs. She didn't want to be rude, but she weaved in and out of the crowd where she could find a break in it and zipped up her coat, slipping her hands in its pockets to keep warm as she rushed outside to the guest locker room exit. Catching Adam immediately was her safest bet against any threat. But he tended to be one of the last to come out of the locker room on most occasions-he was a meticulous after-shower primper, she always jested him-so she figured she'd better settle in for the long haul, leaning against the building as she'd done back at the beginning of the preseason scrimmages when hoping to catch him to discuss going to the doctor. So much had changed in just a few short months.

A locker room door opened briefly a few yards away, but Lacey realized it was the home team's. Max had often said they were so hot after having skated so hard that they cracked open the door to the outside, even on the coldest of nights. So she turned back to the Ducks' door.

Team members streamed out in scatters, mostly ignoring her even though several had seen her standing there. Connie and Julie, each walking out separately, did give her a warm greeting in passing, which was nice, but Lacey didn't particularly care tonight whose opinion of her had changed. As a matter of fact…

The next Duck that came out after Connie and Guy left was Jesse, whom she knew for a fact didn't like her. But she still felt compelled to do something she didn't want to, just in case.

"Um… Jesse, right?" She stepped out in front of the player who was still running his hand through his damp hair.

"Yeah?" He brought his hand down slowly, crossing his arms to give her a definite indication of his chagrin.

"Listen, I just need… um, I want…"

Damn. This was no time to stammer.

"C-can you just stick around? I mean you don't need to stand right here necessarily, but don't get on the bus yet."

He looked at her as though she had something growing on her face. "What? Why?"

"Because I'm afraid there could be trouble for Adam. From my home team."

Jesse rolled his eyes, turning to point. "Our bus is just over there. If something happens, we'll see it. Trust me." He began to walk away. "Not that Banks couldn't whip every ass on the team."

"It's just…" Lacey boldly stepped in front of him again. "My stepbrother thinks there's a chance the Rockets might do something. Something really serious."

"Oh, and why's that? Because of the drama with your boyfriend?"

"Ex-boyfriend. And yes, that's the short answer," Lacey steeled herself against his open dislike of her.

Jesse finally hesitated. "Look, I'll be at the bus if Adam needs me. I won't get on, but I'll be over there."

He pushed past her, and Lacey closed her eyes in relief. She was pretty sure the guy was was taking her at least semi-seriously. Meanwhile, she wasn't going to worry. Find the balance between assuming the worst and assuming the best, Dr. Hemby had told her. Usually neither scenario was what usually happened in life.

Finally Coach Orion emerged, followed by Adam, who paused his stride, staring at her. "Lacey?"

"Banks, let's go," Orion called back as he continued to walk.

"Yeah, I'm coming," Adam replied, then looked back at her. "What are you doing out here? It's freezing. Have you been waiting for me this whole time?"

"I have," she stepped forward. "I, um… just wanted to see if you wanted to go to dinner this week sometime? Around practices and all."

He peered at her curiously. "That's what you waited to ask me?"

"Yeah. I mean, I've been thinking, and…" she shook her head, trying to process words clearly despite the pull to constantly gazing around them. There was just something she could feel in the air, and she wasn't sure why. Was it just a product of her own crazy brain? Or should she trust her instincts?

"Well… yeah," He gave her a half-smile, setting the end of his stick on the ground, seeming to settle in for a chat. Which was the very opposite of what she wanted him to do. "Where d'you want to go?"

Lacey began to walk toward the bus, which was parked a good distance away, hoping he'd follow her. But he didn't.

"Um, Twin City Slice. They have the best pizza of anybody, and I've been craving ham and pineapple."

She craved no such thing, but the idea was to keep him in conversation so he wouldn't suspect anything until they made it to his bus.

"Come on," she finally turned and gestured to him. "Stuart's waiting on me. We can talk while we walk."

"Actually, I wanted to say something to you, Lacey." Adam visibly swallowed hard. "I wanted to finish what I was telling you at Christmas, when you cut me off. About-"

"Hey Banksie! Ready to party?"

Suddenly someone jumped out of the cracked open Rockets' locker room, wearing a black ski mask and carrying a hockey stick, followed by two more. One of them she knew from build and movement was Max.

It happened so quickly. Lacey instinctively jumped in front of Adam just as Max rushed at them, his stick raised. But she felt Adam shove her away roughly.

"Go!" He shouted to her just before the stick came down hard over his left shoulder. She heard it crack as it broke off, and Adam cried out in pain. He fell to the ground, clutching his shoulder.

"That's what you get, fooling around," one of the guys snickered as he and the other one closed in, Max continuing to whale on Adam with his broken hockey stick. Lacey heard thunder deep in her ears as she watched Adam take blow after blow. She felt her blood run hot and thick through her veins, giving her what she needed to run as hard as she could toward Max, jumping on his back and trying to get him in a headlock. Adrenaline on her side, she choked him hard enough to cause him to drop his stick before he shook her off him and she landed hard on the ground.

"You thought you could get away with this didn't you?" Max turned back to her, roaring through gritted teeth before leaning down and slapping her hard enough to knock her head back onto the ground. Lacey immediately tasted blood and her face stung.

She tried to sit up again, the smell of alcohol thick as Max leaned over her again. "Why do Homecoming night with me when you already had something on the side?"

Lacey wanted nothing more than to pound him into the ground, impossible though it may be, but she instead found herself screaming "Help!"

She no more had the word out of her mouth than she heard a familiar voice shout at the top of his lungs, "STOP RIGH' THERE!"

Lacey was able to turn her head just enough to see Stuart standing by, a baseball bat in his hands, raised and ready to hit home.

"I said stop an' I mean it! Who wan's t'test me?!"

The two boys accompanying Max laid one more blow each on Adam before jumping up and running off past Stuart, despite his dropping the bat and attempting to catch them.

Max, apparently slow from having been drinking-was he drunk the entire game?!-didn't make it past Stuart fast enough before he grabbed the front of the younger man's shirt, jerking him up close to his face. "I ken who ye are, an' If I ever see yer ugly face again anywhere-I mean anywhere t'all that I am-ye'd better b'lieve ye'll be sorry." He let go of Max then and shoved him til the boy stumbled away.

Lacey, sobbing, crawled over to Adam who barely moved, bleeding from a couple of deep gashes on his face. "Oh no. Oh, oh oh," she moaned. It was the only sound she could make as she rubbed her hand through his hair, feeling for head wounds or lumps.

"Yes, we have an emergency at Eden Hall Academy," she heard the projecting voice of a nearby woman who evidently carried a cellular phone.

People began crowding in, but were dispersed quickly by the pushing and shoving of a few Ducks' team members, Jesse first.

"What happened?! Oh man, oh man…" Jesse looked around crazily, as though he could find whoever it was responsible for Adam's injuries. Coach Orion plus at least half the team were running over to join him.

But Adam's eyelashes only fluttered slightly, indicating his consciousness, but probably a pain level that wouldn't allow him to do much more. Lacey grabbed his hand, rubbing it with her other as she attempted to keep warmth in it.
Stuart came over quickly. "Lacey, Love, 'twill be a'right. Th'police an' the ambulance are comin'," he informed her breathlessly.

"What the hell is this?! Oh my God…" Phil was the next face Lacey saw bending over Adam. "Who did this?!" his eyes flashed at Lacey.

"Rockets," was the only word she could speak, looking back down at Adam, helpless to do anything else.

"Don't move him. I'm a nurse," the woman with the cellular phone appeared. "We have to be careful of possible head injuries."

Lacey bent over him, great sobs heaving her shoulders. After everything she'd done to try to prevent this…

Dr. Hemby was wrong. The worst would, and could, happen.

"Lacey, who specifically did this? Tell me everything," Phil urgently pressed her. "

She repeated the story to him in broken, halting words. It was the same story she later had to repeat to the police as Adam was carried off in a stretcher to be taken to Abbott Northwestern. As she told it, she could barely breathe.

"Try to stay calm," the police woman lectured as though she were patiently tutoring a child.

"I-I… knew something was going to happen, but I…" she trailed off, feeling Stuart's arm around her shoulders.

In the distance, she saw Phil's silhouette as he seemed to be on his own phone to someone, talking frantically. Coach Orion was shouting something angrily to the Rockets' coach who had emerged from the locker room finally and stood in front of him, and reached out to shove his shoulder before the other man unleashed a barrage of heated words back at him. Clusters of people, students and parents alike, stood talking excitedly. Chaos ensued.

"Now there, she's tol' ye all she knows. Let's get 'er t'the 'ospital also. She's 'it 'er 'ead an' she's traumatized," Stuart was speaking to the interviewing officer firmly.

Davy was on her other side, hugging her to him as Stuart went over to talk to the EMT.

"I tried," she whispered. "I tried to stop it. I didn't know it would… that…"

"Don't talk right now, Lacey. You can't," he shushed.

After a few moments, she was given a Valium by the EMT to calm her down enough for her to breathe normally. He said she was in serious danger of passing out. From there, Lacey fell into something of a dream state as she stared around at the scene, unable to register all the people who were watching.

But she did recognize Jesse's voice as he approached her. "Damn, Lacey, I'm so sorry. I stayed outside the bus but I wasn't really paying attention. I didn't think… I didn't know…"

"Oh, don't worry." Lacey glanced up briefly to spot Portman and several other Ducks clustered around. "When we catch those mother******s, I've got a check coming to 'em."

"It all just happened so fast," was all Kenny Wu seemed able to say, a crazed expression in his eyes.

"We heard yelling and a couple of women screaming, but by the time we even got off the bus, it was done," Guy supplied as he continued to look around, as though the assailants were hiding in plain sight.

But all Lacey could manage was to hold her spinning head.

And all she could think of was Adam's bleeding face and visibly dislocated shoulder.