"Hey, Jess has a lot of good movies here. A whole bunch I haven't seen either, " Guy said, looking at the piled-up DVDs on the floor.

Parker chuckled. "Oh, no. I am Jess's Blockbuster. Those are all mine; the kid doesn't know how to pick out good movies. He'll pick up something boring about the Civil War or something. Not a good war movie, but like a movie about what the president did during the war. He's fucking hopeless with that stuff."

Guy laughed. "Oh, my mistake, then." He sat down next to Parker, who watched the TV as Guy watched her.

She looked over at him and he blushed profusely.

"Parker!" Jess yelled from the kitchen. "Get ready, we got a game today."

- - -

"Here, man, I'll help you out." Fulton gathered plates with Jess and put them into the sink.

"Thanks. Parker's usually the one that helps me out, but she's Sandlot-ing it right now."

"Heh, yeah, with Guy. Greenberg doesn't like Guy, eh?" Fulton asked Jess, who laughed.

"I'm sure Greenberg wasn't obvious with his growling and glares." Jess shook his head. "He's just got this… situation with Parker. He'll get over it, always does." Fulton nodded. "Just warn your friend, though. Parker's great. I love that girl to death, I would take a hockey puck in the head without my gear on for her. She's just a heart-breaker, can't help it, it's her biggest flaw… kind of. She's just like that, so, uh…" Jess looked at Guy and Parker walking into the kitchen, laughing, "warn your friend."

"Whaatttaaaap kiiiid!" Parker jumped in front of Jess, and looked back at Fulton. "Hey Fulton."

Jess shook his head, "You're such a fucking weirdo."

"Asshole," Parker responded, walking into the guest room.

"So, when are we gonna be able to practice with you guys?" Guy asked, sitting
on a stool.

"Well, you guys can bench it tonight in case we need you guys, we know you got experience and shit, but we have practice tomorrow morning," Jess explained. "It's the Tigers today." Jess rolled his eyes. "Last time we played them, Cooper and Parker got into fights like a million times that game."

"Cooper and Parker? They get into fights?" Fulton asked.

"Oh, yeah. Parker especially. If someone knocks her down and laughs, she skates after them just to knock 'em down back. The refs never kick her out, they just always put her in the box. She's too small to kick out. They feel bad, I guess." Jess shrugged. "It's good for the team, though."

"Man, I gotta see this for myself." Guy shook his head as he and Fulton smiled.

- - -

"Parker! You be good out there," Coach Rodriguez said before she skated onto the ice.

"Uh, sure." Parker skated onto the ice.

Coach shook his head. "Stubborn."

"Parker Haley Karlson, mm-hmm," A member from the opposite team faced Parker.

Parker groaned and knocked him over when the whistle was blown. He skated after her, knocking her against the wall, before quickly turning around and sliding the puck to his team mate.

"HEY!" Parker quickly got up and skated after him. "You asshole." She skated past the team on the bench.

"Parker, don't," Max yelled.

"Fucker, can't even fight a girl, gonna hit her and run, huh?!" Parker skated, pushing him flat on his face.

Max shook his head. "Parker, seriously, get some fucking anger management classes!" Max screamed while she skated towards the puck.

"Line change!" Coach yelled, and Cooper ran out as Parker came in.

Parker took her helmet off. "Hey, Coach! I didn't get boxed!" She smiled, and the coach smiled back.

"That's true."

"Nice job out there." Guy smiled at Parker. "You know, attacking the boys and all."

"Little girl Bash Brother!" Portman high-fived Parker, who laughed.

"Can't wait till you guys get out there. You guys were great when me and Coop used to watch you and Mendoza."

"You used to watch me?" Guy smirked.

"Uh, yeah. I mean, ya know, all of you. You're pretty awesome though." Guy smiled to himself and Fulton nudged him and shook his head.

"What?" Guy whispered to him.

"Don't do it," Fulton warned.

"Why not?" Guy's right eyebrow rose.

"'Cause she'll crush you." Fulton shook his head.

"I'm on her team."

Fulton rolled his eyes, "Not like that. I'll talk to you later about it. Stop whispering like we're little girls telling each other secrets." Guy's forehead creased, and he looked over at Parker, wondering what the hell Fulton was talking about.

--

After a won game, they decided to go to Times Square and find a movie to watch at Jess's place. The four newbies stared into an abyss of bright lights, as most tourists do. Guy turned to his right to see Parker sitting on a bench with her iPod on and her hood over her head. She took one of headphones out and smiled at Guy as he walked towards her.

"You like the city so far?"

"Oh, yeah, the lights and energy's awesome, way different from Minnesota."

"I'm sure. Ha, I love this place. I can't explain it, either. Just love it." Guy stared at her and she stared at the taxis passing by. She turned her head to face him, putting them in eye contact. Parker looked uncomfortable, and looked down.

"Wanna listen along? It's pretty mellow music, but you can play whatever you want." She tried to hand him the iPod.

"It's okay," he answered. "Whatever's good with me."

She smiled as he put it into his ear. "Oh, here, this is a song I listened to all the time when I first moved out here."

All the people and friends that forgot about me when I left
I'm finding home I'm finding my heart, my head, the reason's why I left
But this is for dreaming,
This is for leaving,
This is you picking up the pieces when I'm gone,
This is to drinking,
This is to living,
This is to packing all my shit and moving on, I'm moving on

Guy looked over at Parker, and she asked, "Does it kinda fit how you feel?" She looked hopeful.

"It fits exactly. You're good at that, the whole song-fitting-emotions thing." He stared at her.

"Yeah, it's one of my few talents." She smiled. "I'll make you a CD sometime. I got a shit-load of songs that you can relate you. I know how you feel around this time, I still do."

"Yeah, that'd be awes-"

"Guy, get your ass over here," Fulton yelled, interrupting the conversation. Guy glared and Fulton smiled, waving to Parker.

"Hold on." Guy gave her the headphone back and he stomped to Fulton. "What the hell is wrong with you? I would never interrupt your conversation with a girl." Fulton seemed to not pay attention to Guy but concentrated on the boy behind him. Guy turned around to Greenberg, who gave him a dirty look and walked away. "He hates me. Do you know why?"

Portman and Fulton looked at each other. "How can you not know?" Guy shrugged.

Portman pointed at Greenberg. "Watch him for a few seconds. Look who he looks at, look how he looks at her." Sure enough, Greenberg turned around to look at Parker with a sense of longing, loss, and disappointment. "You're gonna mess around with the person he's obviously shamelessly in love with."

Guy glared. "I don't mess around. I flirt, yeah. Mendoza does it way more than I do, and, and I think I could like her."

"Alright, just know what you're getting yourself into. Jess told me she's a total heart-breaker. She doesn't mess around or anything, she'll just crush you without knowing or wanting it. He was pretty serious about it. Just be careful with yourself, kid," Fulton said as Guy stared at the ground. "Crush you."

"I get the point." Guy gave him a dirty look.

Fulton shrugged. "Just making sure."

"Hey, bud." Jess plopped down next to Parker "How ya doin'?"

"I'm good. Maxwell got the movies yet?" Parker took a headphone out.

"Nah. He's still choosing; takes him a while, ya know," Jess explained.

Parker nodded. "So, the new guy likes you; you know, guy, Guy, ha-ha."

Parker laughed. "Germaine does not like me. It totally can't happen. He just needs a friend."

Jess smiled at her. "I love how you totally lie sometimes. I know you know what's goin' on; you just wanna be cute and pretend you don't."

Parker looked at her shoes. "Have you seen Greenberg these days? The whole 'I like you, but I don't like you back' thing is really not working out anymore. I'm done with it. I'm done and I'm telling you right now, that kid does not like me." Parker looked at Fulton and Germaine staring at the skyscrapers with tourists' facial expressions, the ones mixed with awe and confusion.

Guy glanced back at Parker, then quickly turned back to the skyscrapers with eyes wide and a look of guilt.

"Right, doesn't like you at all. He stares, he flirts, but it's only cause he wants you as a friend, who he flirts with by the way." Jess watched as Guy slowly turned back and smiled at Parker. Parker smiled back and the two were locked in eye contact. "You both gotta be careful then." Jess got up and walked over to Cooper. "It's over man. It's gonna be fucking chaos."

Cooper watched Guy smirk and walk over to Parker and sit on the bench. "Oh, hell, yeah, it is. Oh, and may I add, it's only day one."

"Hey, you guys, if you're gonna drink, make sure you don't get wasted, we got practice early tomorrow morning and if Coach finds out we're all hung over, he's gonna put a hockey stick up my ass, so no drinking too much," Jess announced to the group, who walked behind him, and Parker, who walked arm in arm.

"Yes, Grandpa," Parker replied.

"Sure thing, Pops," Max replied with his arm around Cooper.

"Hales, you still got clothes?" Cooper asked.

"Hales? Who's Hales?" Mendoza yelled from the back of group.

"Parker Haley and Elizabeth Cooper." Greenberg pointed. "Coop and Parker just like being called the masculine names, cause they got more testosterone than estrogen."

Parker and Cooper looked at each other and shrugged.

The guys laughed.

"Well, you still got clothes?" Jess looked down at Parker, since she was the shortest in the group - and the whole hockey team, actually. Parker shook her head no. "We'll go get some, then."

"Yeah, because I need to borrow some, too," Cooper yelled to the front.

"Oh, Parker, I need a new song book to learn from," Greenberg quickly said after.

"Hales, I want some new vinyls, " Max added.

Parker rolled her eyes, and Jess whispered, "Can I borrow movies, too?"

"Good God, you guys definitely need to stop mooching off me."

"Hey, Parker, by the way, are you ever gonna stay at your own place one of these days?" Max joked.

Parker smiled. "But I love you, and I shall share all my belongings."

--

Author's Note:
Reviews, please.
The lyrics in the chapter are from a song by Day At The Fair, titled 'Coda'.