Author's Note: Excuse my tardiness, I had to kill a man. School equals homework. Suffered a small writer's black. Went and saw the Red Wings beat the Oilers last week. Tetris took my focus. I hope you like the chapter.

HeartsAndLies: Yes, yes. I'm trying to get the guys who are barely mentioned in other stories. Chapter 6 is here. Go read what happens.

Emador: Here's chapter 6! I'm surprised I haven't heard from Trella about chapter 5 yet. Danny and Aurora are taking up her time.

surfer-kel: Yay! It was funny. I was trying to go for that. : ) I hope this chapter makes you smile.

Flowersc781: It will be sweeter. They'd even take their time in the relationship. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last.

Misha: Hey there. I can't wait to read the other two stories you've posted. It is different, which is a good thing. There's way to many OC stories out there, Mac stories, somebody has to change it up.

Ralph picked up his beer mug and took a drink. He surveyed the scene before him. Bah was in the corner talking to his friend, Danielle. Rizzo, OC, Jannie, Christian, Silk and Verchota were sitting near the bar, laughing up a storm. It was Friday night and some of the guys decided to head out on the town. Ralph tagged along, wanting to do something instead of sitting in his room thinking about the date with Avery tomorrow. He was sitting with Steve Christoff, Bob Suter, Mike Ramsey, and Jimmy.

"Ted Nugent is coming to town soon," Steve said. "I would kill to get the night off."

"Herb would kill you for trying," Rammer replied, "The tour schedule is brutal."

Suter nodded. "It's worth it though."

Ralph was half listening. He was deep in thought about the schedule and Avery. He wasn't worried that she might end up angry with the fact that he'd be gone most of the time. Most girls would probably complain to their guys for not being there. Avery, she was determined to get her masters, her focus would be on that, not always wanting to be around.

"Coxie… earth to Coxie," Suter said breaking into his train of thought.

Ralph looked over at the guys. "Huh?"

"You zoned out," Rammer said.

Jimmy smiled. "Avery."

"Do you have a date tomorrow?" Steve asked.

"Yes we do."

"How's everything?" Suter asked. "Are you in the friend's zone?"

Ralph didn't answer right away. He has heard Suter's theory on the whole friend's zone before. The friend's zone to him is where the girl keeps her distance, but keeps fooling the guy into thinking she wants to be more. If you don't eat dinner, and you're always eating lunch, then your friends only… period. "No."

"You hesitated."

"Suter… they're taking it slow," Jimmy told him.

Ralph took another drink of his beer. "I'll admit… I would like to move things further along. I really like her…"

"But she's treating you like a girlfriend."

"No. When we go out, we have fun. I'm being patient. I guess I'm waiting for her to make a move. I tried to kiss her, but…" he trailed off knowing that the guys wouldn't understand. "I don't wan to mess it up."

"I have a question for you. After this whole experience is over with, do you see yourself with her still?" Suter asked. "It's a disaster waiting to happen, man."

Ralph sighed. "Just because some girl did this to you, doesn't mean it's happening to me. I'm a big boy. I like her enough to respect her wishes. Like I said, I would like to be more, but if it doesn't happen… I'll live with it."

Suter nodded. "I understand, but it could happen."

"I'm well aware of it."

"In the meantime, they can have fun," Jimmy replied.

Steve and Rammer both agreed. "What's so wonderful about her?"

"I like the fact that she's focused on getting her masters. There's a few things she's not good at, but the main thing is she tried her best to do it. Se has great taste in music," Ralph told him.

"That's all that's important," Jimmy said.

Dave Christian came by the table laughing because he was being pulled by the hand by a blonde. Dave was also looking back at the other group. When Ralph turned to look, OC had drowned the last of his beer, shaking his head. Ralph smirked knowing that OC was let down and the girl chose Christian instead. "Besides, I'm getting a better chance with a girl I like than OC is."

"Oh burn!" Rammer shouted.

The guys laughed and then went on to talk about something else. Ralph hoping the two of them would take the relationship to the next level. Maybe he shouldn't wait for her to make the move, but he wanted to let her do it. He just hoped it happened soon.

vvv

Meantime…

Avery opened the jar of peanut butter, but didn't pick up the knife on the counter. "I don't think you should worry about Kevin," she said into the phone. "Mom, they adore one another."

"Last week he got a C on his math test," her mother argued. "When she comes over, all they do is sit around either watching TV or playing cards."

Avery smiled. "Hey, at least they're doing that. They're not in his room, making out."

"I like Sam, don't get me wrong. I just would like him to concentrate more on school work," Mrs. Lucas stated.

Avery told her, "Not all of your kids are going to be A students. He's young, thinks he's in love. Let him have fun."

Mrs. Lucas sighed into the phone. "He's my only boy. I just don't want him growing up too fast."

Avery smiled. "He won't." She picked the knife up, stuck it into the peanut butter, and then spread the gooey substance over the bread. "How's Rice?"

"Like any thirteen-year-old can be. She's discovered makeup. I blame Candace."

"Your baby is growing up," Avery cooed to her mom.

"I swear it was yesterday that she was in diapers," Mrs. Lucas said. "Your dad and I were thinking about coming up to see you in a few weeks."

"I'd love that."

"Is that hockey player going to be around?"

Avery put the lid back on the jar. "Let me guess. Kim told you."

"Is he nice?"

"He's a sweet guy, total gentlemen."

"Should I be worried about you instead?"

Avery smiled. "No."

"Good."

"We've been taking it slow."

Mrs. Lucas asked, "Slow. How slow?"

Avery hesitated. "Slow enough… we haven't even… kissed yet."

"Why? What's wrong with him?"

Avery chuckled. "Nothing."

"Are you two getting along?"

"Of course. If we weren't we wouldn't be together."

"Then what's the hold up?"

Avery sighed. "A few minutes ago, you were worried that Kevin was spending too much time with Sam."

"Kevin doesn't have a diploma."

"Nice excuse there, mom."

"Av, sweetie, you deserve some happiness. You've been studying way too long."

"Yes, I've been told that lately," Avery said while rolling her eyes.

Mrs. Lucas said, "I'll get off the subject. How's school?"

"Fine. I have a project coming up."

"Don't go crazy. The project is supposed to be fun."

"I know."

They kept on talking for about another half an hour before hanging up. Avery and her mom have always had a great relationship. She could talk to her about anything.

vvv

Avery and Ralph waited for the sidewalk light to say they can walk. The date started of at the apartment. Avery made them sandwiches, and upon Ralph's request, Val joined them because Ralph wanted to get to know her. An hour later, the two left to go on with their plans. Julia was up ahead, already playing a song on her violin. A tiny crowd stood by listening, others walked by going on with their lives.

When the light finally changed, they looked both ways to make sure it was safe and then headed over. Julia ended the song, nodded and smiled at the crowd before going into another. She started to play a slow song, which made a couple start to dance. Avery got out a dollar and placed it in the violin case. She looked over at Ralph and wasn't surprised that he was paying attention.

"She's really good. Why isn't she in New York trying out for an orchestra?" he asked whispering.

Avery replied, "Julia loves to play. She just doesn't want to pursue it." Avery reached out and patted him on the back.

Julia played for another half an hour before she decided she played enough. The crowd applauded and then went their separate ways. Avery and Ralph stuck around to help Julia. Avery counted the money for Julia because the bills were scattered around the case, and she didn't want Julia to put the violin down on the ground.

"You made thirty-two dollars not bad."

"People are out and about, some on dates," Julia replied while putting the money in her pocket. She turned to Ralph. "It's nice to meet you."

"You're really good. Why aren't you trying out for an orchestra?" Ralph asked after shaking her hand.

Julia laughed because she always got that question. "It's a passion of mine to just play for fun. I could go to New York or LA, but I'm not that interested. I want to be a nurse. I want to help people. That's my true calling."

Ralph said, "You could play for the patients as they recover."

"Sure," Julia replied while chucking. She started to take down the music stand. "Have you always played hockey?"

Ralph nodded. "Hopefully for the rest of my life. I would love it if it happened."

Julia smiled before lifting the stand up and the case. She walked with Avery and Ralph back to the parking lot where their cars were. Julia asked them what the rest of the night for them was and she told them to have fun. They waved bye when she passed them in her car, and once they got into Avery's station wagon, they headed to the rink. Out of pure coincidence, at one of the lights they pulled up next to Silk, Jannie, Rizzo, and Neal. The guys made the two laugh before they went off to wherever they were headed to.

For a Saturday night, the rink was busy. Ralph paid for Avery's skates and so they went over to the benches near the ice to skate up. Of course, Ralph brought his. Avery at first watched the skaters and then started to put her skates on.

"What's with the jaws on the front of the skates?" she asked him.

Ralph looked over and shrugged. "They're figure skates. I guess it has to deal with something with the way the skaters skate."

Avery smirked and went back to tying the skates. "I just hope I don't fall."

"Well, you got my hand to help you," Ralph replied.

Avery smiled. "Thanks. I'm ready."

They stood up, went over to the bench door. Ralph stepped out onto the ice first, and then went to help Avery, but Avery shook her head. "It can't be as hard as roller skating." When she stepped out onto the ice, she stood still for a second before she started to skate. They went slow, just circling the boards.

"How long have you had that moustache?" she asked looking over him.

Ralph answered. "A year."

"Why did you want to grow one?"

"Because I wanted to. I did try to make one looking like Jannie's, but it didn't look good," he told her.

"Is it hard to keep up?"

"No," Ralph replied smiling.

Avery smiled, but didn't ask anymore questions. She's been wondering about it for a while. They picked the pace up a little bit more. They talked about the tour that the team was going on. Avery asked questions about that. Eventually they ended up going into twenty questions.

"Best vacation you've been on?" she asked him.

"New York City, two years ago, I went with a couple of my buddies. We saw the Sox play the Yankees."

"I want to go there sometimes," Avery replied. "I want to see the world from the Empire State Building."

"What's yours?"

"Always going to visit my grandparents."

Ralph smiled. "Major crush?"

Avery replied, "Leif Garrett." She looked over at him.

"Maureen McCormick."

Avery giggled. "Marsha… Marsha… Marsha. Poor Jan." It took a minute, but she came up with one. "All time favorite teacher?"

"Mr. Roberts, junior high shop teacher."

"Mrs. Samuels, junior year history teacher."

Ralph chuckled. "Why doesn't that surprise me? You really love history, don't you?"

Avery nodded. "History is important, but it's fun to learn to learn about cultures and how they lived."

Ralph smiled. "What kind of car was your first you've driven? Mine was a VW van."

"Mine is still the car that I drive, but what would you like to drive?"

"A mustang. I would love to get my hands on one of those," Ralph said while sounding like he was in pain. "You?"

"A beetle. I blame Herbie."

Ralph laughed. "Have you seen all the movies?"

Avery nodded. "Do you have any pets?"

"We have a six-year-old black lab named Midnight. She's a really good dog, smart and protective."

"We don't have any pets. One day I will go and buy a car or a dog."

They skated for a while before Avery came up with a question. "What's your most horrible embarrassing moment?"

Ralph made a face. "It's not appropriate."

"What is it?"

"It's… I can't believe I'm going to say this. It's bad, though."

"Nothing will shock me."

Ralph looked over at her and still wasn't sure. "Don't think badly of me."

"Never…"

Ralph rubbed his chin and sighed. "My most embarrassing moment…" his voice went into a whisper, "…my mom walking in on me while I was…" he didn't finish it.

Avery's eyes widened and her mouth turned into an oh, but she started to laugh. "How… old… were you?" she continued to laugh.

"I was fifteen." Ralph was beet red.

Avery stopped laughing after a minute. "Well, mine was nothing like yours." She let out a few more hehe's before calming down. "My PE teacher in high school was a neat freak, liked the gym clean. A class before brought in dirt from the field and well… he blamed me, nobody else. I had to take a push broom and sweep the floor." Avery made a face. "It actually pisses me off now, but still."

"PE teachers are weird," Ralph said. "Have you ever killed a man?"

"What?" Avery chuckled. "No."

"I haven't either."

Avery chuckled. "Greatest moment you've ever had?"

"This whole experience, otherwise I wouldn't be here with you," Ralph replied smiling.

"Aw… thanks. Unfortunately… it's my time with my grandma. She's the one that made me realize my calling card was to teach history."

"If it wasn't, you wouldn't be here with me."

Avery smiled, leaned in, and bumped his should. "True."

"Have you seen Star Wars?"

"Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill… two good looking guys right there. Princess Leia is one lucky girl."

"Do you want to come over tomorrow night and watch it?"

"I have Angie's baby's baptism tomorrow afternoon, but after that I'm open," Avery told him. "Do you believe…" she didn't finish her question. She had tripped without knowing how it happened. "Ow."

Ralph came back over, bent down, and helped her sit up. "Anything broken?"

Avery shook her head. "My side hurts, but other than I'm fine." She winced and brought her arm up, uncovering her elbow, she had a small cut that was bleeding a little.

"Let's get you a band aid," Ralph said while helping her up.

After they got off of the ice, an announcement was made to the crowd that they wanted to resurface the ice. So Avery was watching the zamboni while holding a napkin on her elbow. Ralph went to get a band aid, but it's been like five minutes.

"Here you go," Ralph said when coming back.

"I want to drive that." Avery pointed to the zamboni with her head.

"The zamboni." Ralph chuckled. "It's not that hard to drive." Ralph opened the band aid. Avery took the napkin off of the cut, and he placed the band aid on the cut. "It's a small cut, but I think you'll live." Avery laughed and looked up. When Ralph looked up, they were only a mere centimeter away from one another. Both actually wanted to lean in, but it was Avery who went for it. The kiss was only for a second.

"When I kissed you, your moustache tickled me," she told him.

"Well, I hope you don't mind it because I'm going to kiss you," he said before leaning in. The kiss was respectable, but it lasted a little longer. "I've wanted to do that."

Avery nodded. "Me too." She smiled before giving him a peck.

The zamboni went back to the tunnel and the skaters went out. The two stayed there for a half an hour before heading out. When they got back to her apartment, he walked her to the door, kissed her goodnight before leaning. Avery actually didn't want to end the night, but some things must end sometime. Ralph… when he got back to the campus, he gave Pav's car keys back to him, and told him what happened. Pav was happy for him.