Life's Full of Little Surprises
Disclaimer: I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.
Summary: Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!
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PrincessH- I wanted Tammy and Fulton to get back together in a sweet, yet strange way. Getting locked in a supply shed seemed to fill the requirements. I am glad that you liked it. Glad you didn't hurt yourself falling off of your chair, this is good.
Bad Best Friend- Yeah, it's strange how wrapped up in some things a person could get. Actually, even I forgot a little about Linda, and I'm writing the story. I had planned on Charlie having his particular feelings earlier, but I think it worked out better this way.
mickEmousina- I wanted something kind of love-y and fluffy, but I didn't realize that I had updated so near Easter... Good timing (YAY). As for the Julie/Portman deal, all of that will come nearer to Christmas in the story. But that won't be a terribly long wait.
Ton Ton- Thank you for the review. I am glad that you like what I am writing.
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A simultaneous groan came from all three members of the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team as a loud and obnoxious alarm clock rang out. The ring, however, was set to radio and the radio was set to a Techo station. "Oh, God! It's Rave music!" Tammy called out as she slammed her hand on the off button. She sighed as she sat up, "Is it Saturday or Sunday?"
"Sat..." Dani sat up to answer her, but the right word left her mind, replaced by, "Holy crap, Tammy. Is Fulton a freaking blow fish or something?" Tammy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "It was the first thing I thought of..." Dani continued as she walked over to Tammy and handed her a portable mirror.
"Wow. I didn't realize that." Tammy said as she bit her lip. Ever since Dani had gotten her and Fulton together, they spent as much time as possible with each other, and the purple-ish/red marks that speckled her neck showed it.
"Damn, girl." Gia piped in, "How long have you two been together... Like a week?"
"A week tomorrow..." Tammy admitted. "Oh, God... Coach is going to be pissed. He is totally going to give me the third degree about this."
"You... Chill, and get dressed." Dani replied as she rushed into the bathroom and dug through the drawers. Tammy complied, "Gotcha." Dani exclaimed triumphantly as she found what she was looking for. "You see, Tammy," Dani added as she walked into the room with a bottle of concealer and a tube of foundation, "when you love to figure skate, but can't pass up the opportunity to play a little hockey with your brothers... You learn how to cover it up." She beckoned Tammy over to her bed, "Now sit."
"Dani... I don't think I have ever seen you in make-up other then at competitions and exhibitions." Tammy said confused. "And defiantly not enough to cover bruises or hickies."
Dani laughed, "Poor Tammy. Poor, poor naïve Tammy." Dani shook her head as she pressed a little of the concealer onto an applicator wedge and lightly covered Tammy's neck. "If you do if right, you can apply a lot of make-up and still make it look natural." She brought a new wedge of foundation to Tammy's face.
"Hello... My neck is the problem, not my face." Tammy exclaimed.
"Do you want to look like you have more pancake then IHOP?" Dani snapped. She was not really into make-up, but she knew the fundamentals. "If I don't put it on your face, your neck looks darker and it's clear that you are trying to hid something. You have to blend."
"Whoops." Tammy said sheepishly. Gia chuckled as she watched Dani cover Tammy's face, neck, and ears in foundation and blend it.
"Done." Dani said as she stood up and walked back into the bathroom to put the make-up away. While in the bathroom, Dani pulled three elastic hair bands out of one of the drawers and threw one of them at Tammy and at Gia as she walked back into the room. "Guys," Dani began as she pulled her hair out of her face, "is it just me, or has this place given either of you the creeps since the incident?"
"You've got that right, babe." Gia replied as she pulled her dreadlocks back into her hair band. "I'd stay with Dale, but he lives to far away for me to be able to practice here. I'm thinking of retiring after this Olympics."
"Gia!" Tammy exclaimed. Both she and Dani looked up to Gia. Olympic gold medallist, 5-time US medallist, and 7-time World medallist. It would be weird for both of them to not see her on the ice.
"Well, I'm getting married, hopefully starting a family, it just seems like the right time." Dani and Tammy pouted, "It's not like I have set this in stone or anything, I just am thinking about it." She looked over at the clock, "We had better go." Dani and Tammy followed her gaze and nodded.
As the girls walked out of their dorm, they huddled closer together. October in Minnesota, not the warmest time and place on Earth. Dani cast her gaze over to the side of the building that didn't lead to Eden Hall and she saw a black and white package laying on the ground. "Hey, guys... I'll be right there." She untangled herself from her friends and the shrugged their shoulders.
"Whatever, lunatic ice women." Gia replied, thinking that she wanted to stay in the cold. Dani shook her head as she watched Tammy and Gia walk off.
After they were a good distance away, Dani ran over to the side of the building where the package was. She hadn't noticed a white envelope was taped on the top of it. A few leaves were obstructing the envelope, but she could tell it had something written on it, so she brushed the leaves aside and read what was on it: Dani. Her name. That was it.
Was that for her? Well, it did have her name written on it, so who's else would it be unless there was another Dani around that she didn't know about. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Dani pulled the package (that was a white box with a black ribbon around it) off of the ground and pulled the envelope off.
The back of the envelope was taped, so it wasn't hard to open it. Inside was a sheet of lime green-fading-to-white paper that smelled like a very high quality cologne. Dani unfolded the paper and read what was written.
Dani,
The way you skate, your gracefulness,
Shows all of the ability of a classic skater
Yet you allow the smoldering and rebellious fire to show that it is hiding just under the surface.
Except this gift as a token of my affection.
I love you.
P.S. You look beautiful in the rain.
Dani raised her eyebrows. Rain? Love? Was someone playing a trick on her? She hadn't been out in the rain since she was with Adam on their first date, and they didn't know each other as well as they could, so he wouldn't tell her he loved her, would he? And if he did, why wasn't it sighed?
Still curious, yet hesitant, Dani pulled off the black ribbon and pulled of the top of the box. She immediately dropped the box and clasped her hand to her mouth in order to not lose what was in her stomach. Inside the perfectly white box was a dozen perfectly red roses, which would have been okay, except for the mealy worms and rotting rat carcasses that were occupying the empty spaces that they roses couldn't. Dani carefully picked up the box and threw it in a metal trashcan that was next to the football concession stand. "Oh, shit." Dani mumbled as she ran to get to practice, still attempting to not vomit.
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The wind was blowing a little harder then it had that morning, and it was getting a little colder, but that didn't bother the brunette sitting on a bench in an abandoned park. It had been around three hours since Charlie had been able to break away from his flock of friends, and he had done nothing but think, sigh, walk, and think some more. He planned on doing nothing but that. Fate, however, didn't agree.
"Charlie!" A female voice called. Charlie grimaced, it was Linda... Crap! 'Calm down, Conway. Just act natural. Right... That's never going to happen!' It was time to panic.
"Linda?" He asked, pretending to be happily surprised. He turned and saw his girlfriend running down some steep stairs, "Didn't expect to see you here." Linda smiled as she laced her fingers with his and kissed his lightly on the lips. Charlie noticed that there was something different about her, or maybe it was him. He was extremely nervous after all, but he didn't want to show it.
"Yeah, I was just walking. What are you doing here?" She asked.
"Thinking."
"Are you going to indulge me, or am I going to have to guess?" Charlie laughed. He loved how she did that, she was perfect. Then why was he having so many troubling thoughts about their relationship.
"It's nothing." Charlie responded, "Just thinking about life, really." Linda sat next to him and he went on, "My stepdad filed for divorce, and my mom is really broken up about it."
"He's knows about the baby, doesn't he?" Charlie nodded. Linda was one of the first he called after he found out about the new baby, second only to Adam who Charlie was begging for advice, "Why would he..."
"Because he's an asshole." Charlie responded bitterly, "He doesn't think that it is his." Linda put her arms around him and he put his arm around her shoulder. "So, now my mom has to deal with this on top of work and carrying a child. I have no idea what to do."
"Charlie, it's okay. You and your mom will get through this perfectly fine." Linda said. She kissed him on the cheek and hugged him tightly, now was not the time to do what she wanted, but she had to, "Look, Charlie, the reason I was walking was I called your place and your mom told me that you were out."
"So?"
"The thing is, I think that we need to talk."
"About?"
"Us?"
"What about us?" Charlie asked.
"Charlie, you're a great guy..." Linda said, trying to not ramble.
"You're a wonderful girl..." Charlie added, not wanting to hurt Linda, but having too much on his plate at the moment to have to worry about a relationship.
"I like you, a lot..."
"I really like you, too..."
"But I think we should take a break!" Both of them finished. After the words left their mouths, they just stared at each other until Charlie broke the silence.
"You do?" He asked, she was thinking the same thing he was. She smiled, he hadn't broken down or broken something, this was going good, "And we stay as friends."
"And if we ever want to, and neither of us had a significant other, we can get back together." Linda added happily.
"But for now, we are good friends who used to date." Charlie finished.
"Exactly..." Linda responded happily, "Charlie, I really care about you and I am glad that we're going to stay friends."
"Friends who used to date." Charlie corrected, "That means I know everything about you."
"Oh, yeah?" Linda said as she put a hand on her hip, "Like what?"
"Plenty..." Charlie replied with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, "Lindy-cakes, beanie-blossom, sugar-booger." He finished while pinching her cheeks.
"Don't you dare tell anyone those nicknames!" Linda demanded, pushing away his hands, "Or I will disclose to the Ducks what you never told any of them." Charlie raised eyebrows in skepticism, "My corn starch needing bubble butt."
Charlie's face turned to fear, "How did you find out about that?"
Linda laughed lightly, "You'd be surprised what a women will tell her son's girlfriend." Charlie clapped his hand to his head. "I know, aren't mother's that worst." Charlie nodded, "I'll see you around. Bye."
"Bye Linda." Charlie said as he watched her retreating back. All in all, that could have gone a lot worse.
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Breathing heavily and walking quickly, Dani was rushing to get back to her dorm without any farther incident. She hadn't told Tammy or Gia what she had found, because they would only freak out. But no where near how close Dani was to losing it.
She stopped and waited for the cars of parents bringing their children back to school to pass. Once they were all passed, Dani proceeded to her destination, until she heard her named called, "Dani!" She turned sharply and prepared to run until she saw that it was just Julie and Piper with two unfamiliar adults. The women had red hair and was wearing a tank top and a man with brown hair and was wearing a short sleeved shirt.
"Piper, Julie." Dani replied, relived, "Hi."
"Dani, I would like you to meet our mom, Jada Prince," Julie started. She held out her hand and Dani shook it, "and her fiancé Adriaan Reinier." Dani did the same with Adriaan.
"Mom, Papa, this is Dani Portman," Dani could have sworn she saw a gleam in Piper's eye, "my future sister-in-law." Julie smacked herself in the forehead.
"Please, please, please tell me that you aren't going to start that up again!" Julie sighed. "This is imaginative torture, Piper. Why must you do this?"
"What is she doing?" Jada asked.
"I'd like to know as well." Dani added.
"Okay, Dean and I had a joke against Julie that he and I were going to get married because of your families wonderful collection of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly." Piper explained before turning to her parents, "Her brother, Dean, is on Julie's team. And, hey, he's from Chicago, I love Chicago... Perfect match."
"Wacht een minuut..." Adriaan mumbled, "Dean Portman? The one that got kicked out of the hockey game against Iceland before you did, Julie?" (Dutch: Wait a minute...).
"That's the one." Julie replied.
"Now I must ask a question..." Dani said, "Why in the world are you two wearing those shirts in Minnesota, in October?"
"I'm from the Netherlands." Adriaan replied, "You could say that I am rather used to cold weather."
"More power to you." Adriaan looked confused.
"It's a compliment, dear." Jada said. "I just happen to be from Canada. Northern British Columbia to be exact." Dani nodded her head, noticing her extremely northern accent.
"Um, I noticed your tattoo." She said, "Could I..." She didn't need to finish her question as Jada turned around to show the rest of her tattoo. From the front all you could see was what looked like a hand with claws going into her neck with little red droplets that were suppose to be blood. On the back, however, it was much larger, taking up the right half of her back. The claw/hand belonged to a beautiful women with a seductive expression on her face, wearing a tube dress with a cut-out on the stomach. Her body seemed tense as if she was getting ready to pounce on something, and she had the word 'Siren' on her stomach, as if she had a tattoo herself. The whole tattoo was in black, white, and gray, except for the blood. "Wow, that is so cool."
"Yeah, I got that when I was 19." Jada said, "Right before I had my little cat over here." She ruffled Julie's hair.
"Mom!" Julie complained, "Um, Dani, did anyone tell you about what is happening on the 31st?"
"Halloween?"
"Well, yeah. But Dean Buckley is bringing back an old Eden Hall tradition for Halloween. Everybody wears costumes on the day of, or the Friday before Halloween." Julie explained.
"Point?"
"I was wondering if you could help me?"
"What do you want to be?" Julie leaned over and whispered her answer in Dani's ear. Dani smiled and looked up, "God, you do wonderful things. I'd love to help Julie. But right now, I really do need to go, I'll see you tomorrow." She waved, "And it was nice meeting both of you."
"Pleasure." Jada and Adriaan replied. Dani left the quartet and began to walk back to her previous destination, but the felling of fear and unease was coming back.
Dani heard footsteps behind her as she neared the football stadium and she began to walk faster. As she sped up, the steps behind her did as well. She was about to break into an all out run, but a hand caught her elbow and pulled her back, causing her to gasp out in fear, "Oh, sorry."
"Adam." Dani said, internally heaving a sigh of relief, "Please don't do that."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"You didn't." Dani lied, "I guess I'm just really stressed." Adam nodded in understanding, she did look pale and tired. "And a little sleep wouldn't hurt either."
"How about I walk you the rest of the way to your dorm." Adam offered. Dani smiled and nodded, taking his hand in hers and lacing their fingers together. "So, you do look exhausted, what has your coach been having you do?"
"Nothing out of the norm." Dani replied, "I guess the closer I get towards a big competition like the Olympics, the more stressed and nervous I become. But I'm sure that it's like that for every sport."
"Yeah, I can relate." Adam said, "Before I met the Ducks I would get so much pressure put on me. Not that it has changed much, but it's still better then it was."
"Rough dad?"
"How did you guess?"
"I have my sources." Dani told him cryptically. Adam stopped next towards the wall of her dorm building, "I'm not saying." She said as she leaned up against the wall.
Adam laughed and leaned on his forearm, which he had placed on the wall next to Dani, "I have ways of making you talk."
"Oh, really." Dani asked. "And just what might those be?" Adam leaned forward and placed his lips gently on hers. He started off slow and gentle, but slowly and surely he got more passionate. Dani ran her hand up his arm and rested it on his neck. He pulled away after a few minutes and smiled expectantly, "Nope." She said, knowing that he wanted her to answer his earlier question. Adam smirked and lowered his mouth to hers again, intent on getting an answer.