Author's Note: Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay, but it was the final week of first semester and I had two major papers and a poster due. First, thank you to everyone who reviewed and favorited the story. And, of course, for reading. Here we have the next chapter and I hope that you enjoy it!

October 31

Penny had begged off at the last minute, leaving Harlow to attend the hockey game alone, or at least as alone as she could be in a hockey rink filled with her fellow students and teachers. Her nerves still a bit on edge in the unfamiliar setting, Harlow was relieved when she saw Linda, Charlie's girlfriend, waving at her from the bleachers. Harlow weaved her way through the crowd and took the waiting empty seat next to the brunette.

"You looked lost." Linda grinned after they had greeted each other.

"I was." Harlow admitted, also with a grin. "So who are they playing against again?"

"Um, the St. Paul Badgers."

"Okay Badgers vs. Ducks. Awkward animals on ice." Harlow nodded. "Got it. So how many innings are there?" Linda burst into giggles.

"Innings are in baseball." She explained in between giggles. "Hockey has periods."

"Oh." Harlow blushed. "This is my first hockey game ever."

"Well I'm still a bit of a newcomer to the game myself – even though Charlie spent all summer talking my ear off about it – but I can explain the basics. There are three periods that are 20 minutes each. With me so far?" Harlow nodded.

"Yes."

"Okay, good. So in between the 1st and 2nd periods there are two 10 minute intermissions."

"How can there be two intermissions in between?" Linda shrugged.

"Like I said, I'm still learning." Linda turned sideways towards Harlow, tucking her leg underneath her. "If you aren't into hockey, why are you here?" Again Harlow blushed.

"I'm kinda here for Dean."

"Portman?" Linda asked skeptically. Harlow blushed even more deeply as she bobbed her head once, muttering an embarrassed 'yeah'. "So Charlie was right, you do like him." Harlow groaned and dropped her head into her hands.

"Seriously, does everyone know?" Linda shrugged, though Harlow couldn't see it.

"I wouldn't presume to know. Charlie just said that he thought you had a crush on Portman." Music filled the rink and Harlow sat up to focus her attention on the ice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together," Harlow looked around. The crowd had started making noise the moment the rock music had started so asking them to clap seemed redundant, "For your Eden Hall Ducks!" Even though she felt somewhat ridiculous and out of place (after all she was used to ballet recitals with polite clapping, no shouting, and quiet chamber music), Harlow clapped loudly with the rest of the crowd as the Ducks took to the ice. Given his height, Dean was easy to spot in the team. They skated to the box right in front of the bleachers where Harlow and Linda were sitting. Charlie turned around to greet his girlfriend with a wave; he instantly noticed Harlow and nudged Dean. Dean turned around and it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was thrilled to see her. Flushing, Harlow gave him a little wave. Dean responded by climbing up and popping his head over the plastic divider.

"What are you doing here?!" He shouted over the music even though they were only a couple feet apart. All around them people were staring. Harlow sunk a little bit in her seat from the attention.

"To see you play." She replied loud enough for him to hear. Dean grinned and opened his mouth to say something else, but the coach (Orion, Harlow would be told later) grabbed the back of his jersey and yanked him down. Several people laughed as Harlow shook her head. Dean just shrugged before slamming his helmet down onto his head. The Badgers were introduced and minutes later, the game was underway.

~*~BREAK~*~

Harlow was surprised to find herself completely transfixed by the hockey game. Only minutes into the game, she found herself jumping up and cheering along with the crowd and even louder than Linda. Admittedly she cringed whenever someone was bashed into the wall (many of which were caused by Dean and/or Fulton) and she wasn't completely sure of all the rules, but she enjoyed herself immensely regardless. The Ducks won 3-1.

Before returning to the locker room, Dean once more jumped up to speak with Harlow.

"Meet me outside the rink in 15 minutes!"

"Okay." Harlow agreed with a quickness that surprised even her. Just like earlier, Dean was pulled down by Coach Orion who sent Harlow a disapproving glare as though she was encouraging the behavior. She mouthed a 'sorry'.

"We can wait together." Linda said as they stood. Given the crowd, it would take them several minutes to make it outside. "So you seemed to enjoy the game." Linda commented as they joined the queue to file out of the rink.

"I did." Harlow confirmed with a nod. "A lot actually. I feel like I've been missing something my whole life." Linda smiled, though it didn't meet her eyes.

"Portman will be happy to hear that. Well, all of them will actually." There was something about Linda's tone that made Harlow look at her.

"You sound less than enthusiastic about that." Linda shrugged.

"Look, I love Charlie, and hockey is fun to watch, but for them it's a lifestyle; for me, well, I'm just there every game because I know it would hurt Charlie if I wasn't."

"Well at least you go to support him. That makes you a pretty decent girlfriend." Linda smiled.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." They were almost outside the rink.

"I heard that your ballet club is going to be performing Peter Pan in December." Harlow nodded. She was incredibly excited about the performance choice because Peter Pan had been her favorite story growing up. Every girl was gunning for either Tinker Bell or Wendy; Harlow herself wanted to play Wendy.

"Yeah. We start auditions next Tuesday."

"What part are you trying out for?"

"Wendy, but I probably won't get it."

"Why not?"

"Penny said that the lead will probably go to Angela because she's a senior."

"Well you never know."

"True. Penny said I should audition for Tinker Bell too because of my pixie cut."

"You should." Harlow shrugged.

"I probably will." They stepped outside and both girls instantly shivered. "It must've dropped like ten degrees."

"I think it did." Linda agreed as they simultaneously pulled their coats more tightly around themselves. "Are you and Portman going to the Halloween dance?"

"I hadn't planned on doing anything with him." Harlow admitted. "I was gonna go to the dance, but now I don't know. Are you and Charlie going?" Linda nodded.

"He's going as Mario from Super Mario Brothers; I'm going as Annie Hall. Charlie wanted me to go as Princess Peach, but I put my foot down." Harlow giggled.

"I was going to go as Athena."

"Goddess?" Harlow nodded. "Nice."

"Ah well I can always go as Athena next year." The sound of multiple voices approached them and it wasn't long before the troop of Ducks came around the corner of the building. Harlow felt butterflies appear in her stomach as she laid eyes on Dean.

"Great game." Linda exclaimed as they neared. Charlie bowed dramatically.

"Thank you, thank you." Averman clapped dramatically as well, his nose turned up in a snobbish manner. "It was a team effort." Charlie added before wrapping his arm around Linda's shoulders.

"Who's ready to dance?" Russ asked, doing a little spin. Cries of 'yeah!' and woots went around the crowd, save for Dean and Harlow. As the others continued talking excitedly about the Halloween dance, Dean maneuvered himself over in front of Harlow.

"Are you going to the dance?" He asked.

"I was, but now I don't know." At this, Dean grinned.

"You wanna go for a walk? Get a hot chocolate at the shop nearby?" Harlow smiled shyly and nodded as she brushed some hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, I'd like that." Dean nodded and turned to the group.

"We'll catch up with you guys later." He announced casually, as though he and Harlow had been an item for awhile. Without waiting for them to acknowledge the statement, Dean put his arm around Harlow's shoulders – whose blush deepened considerably – and started walking away. Their friends watched them disappear with smirks on their faces.

"It's about time." Fulton muttered with an eye roll.

"Maybe she'll calm him down." Connie suggested. Everyone was silent for a moment before saying in sync:

"Nahhhhhh."

~*~BREAK~*~

Since it was Friday night and Halloween, the streets were busy as they strolled towards a nearby coffee shop. They hadn't spoken since leaving the others and Dean still had his arm around Harlow's shoulders. She wasn't entirely unhappy about the contact.

"So did you have a good time at the game?"

"It was awesome!" Harlow exclaimed honestly before launching into all that she had liked about it. Dean watched her with a smitten grin. "I hope that last player you bashed was okay after they led him away." Harlow mused as she chewed at her lip worriedly.

"He'll be fine. I didn't hit him that hard." Dean assured her. "I'm glad you came." Harlow turned her face up to his with a smile; Dean resisted the urge to kiss her. He knew – after harassing Julie for details – that Harlow had never really dated before so he didn't want to move too fast. Normally he wouldn't go for such an innocent girl – he preferred teenage girls with at least some experience – but there was something about Harlow that just drew Dean to her. Really, and he hated to admit it even to himself, she was the first girl that he had ever actually liked as more than just a possible one-time date (or, in the case of Julie and Connie, teammates and friends). All in all, it made it very hard for him not to kiss her. He had never been one for resisting urges; especially of the female kind.

"Dean?" He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Sorry. What?" Dean hadn't even realized that they had stopped walking.

"We're here." He looked up and saw the sign for 'It's Never Too Latte for Coffee'.

"Oh." He removed his arm from around her shoulders. Harlow smiled and thanked him as she entered; Dean followed behind her. They got into the short line, their eyes focused on the order board.

"Wow. I didn't even know there were this many different types of hot chocolate."

"I couldn't believe they had ten different types of hot chocolate when I first came here either."

"Do you take all your dates here?" Harlow teased. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Only a couple." Harlow's jaw dropped. Dean grinned and put his arm back around her shoulders. "I'm kidding. Connie dragged us here." Harlow elbowed him.

"Jerk."

"Babe." Harlow giggled as they moved forward in line. "So what are you getting?"

"I'm torn between the Aztec Hot Chocolate or the Mexican Vanilla Hot Chocolate." Harlow turned her head up to him and once again Dean had to resist kissing her. "What are you getting?"

"Same thing I always get – the Salted Caramel." They moved up to the register. "You ready?" Harlow nodded slowly.

"Think so." Dean waved his hand for her to order first.

"I'll have the Mexican Vanilla Hot Chocolate please." The barista wrote it on the cup while the cashier punched in the price.

"And you sir?"

"Salted Caramel."

"$9.75 please." Harlow started to reach into her pocket, but Dean shook his head.

"I got it." He paid the woman before leading Harlow over to the waiting counter.

"Thank you." Dean shrugged.

"I'm the guy; I'm supposed to pay on the first date." Harlow's cheeks tinged pink again.

"So is this a date?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"I don't know. I've never really been on a date before." Realizing how pathetic that sounded, Harlow rushed to add jokingly, "But I've seen them a lot on TV." Dean chuckled as he handed her coffee cup with a 'thank you' nod at the barista.

"Well," He wrapped his free arm around her shoulders, "Stick with me and I'll show you the ropes." Harlow smiled into her cup. They headed back towards the school at a leisurely pace. "So now that you've seen me play a game, you need to come watch me practice."

"I wish I could, but I have ballet at the same time that you have practice remember?"

"Damn, that's right." Dean took a sip of his hot chocolate. "Mmm, always hits the spot." He glanced down at Harlow. "How's yours?"

"Delicious. I think it's the best hot chocolate I've ever had." Dean grinned, pleased.

"Told you it was good."

"You did." Harlow admitted. "When's your next game?"

"Next Tuesday at Rochester; against the Rochester Rockets. They're a tough team, but not tough enough." Harlow giggled at his confidence.

"Well while you're bashing the Rockets into walls, I'll be auditioning for Wendy Darling and Tinker Bell." Dean shot her a frown.

"Huh?" Harlow smiled.

"We're putting on a production of Peter Pan and we start auditions for it next Tuesday. Those are the parts I'll be trying out for."

"So Tinker Bell, huh?" Dean asked a few minutes later with a little smirk playing on his lips. Harlow nodded.

"And Wendy."

"I always had a thing for Tinker Bell." Harlow giggled.

"You're kidding."

"I am not. It's that little green dress." Harlow continued to giggle. "I hope you get the part of Tinker Bell."

"But I want the part of Wendy." Dean shrugged.

"I still hope you get the part of Tinker Bell." The school was slowly coming into view. "Julie said you have a job." Harlow nodded.

"I do. At my dad's motorcycle shop slash garage and I'm subbing for a yoga instructor who just gave birth at my mom's gym on the weekends." Dean grinned.

"Yoga and motorcycles, an interesting combination that I completely approve of." Harlow giggled.

"You would."

"I want a motorcycle." Harlow nodded thoughtfully.

"I can see you on a motorcycle." Dean puffed out his chest a bit; Harlow smiled behind her cup. "Hey, what are you doing tomorrow night?"

"Well I usually have dinner with my parents, but why?"

"You wanna go bowling?"

"Yeah, sure. That sounds like fun."

"You know it will be."

"Is anyone else going?" Harlow asked, trying to sound casual and un-invested in his answer. In reality, she was hoping that it would just be the two of them.

"Fulton, Goldberg, Averman probably…Charlie is probably doing something boring with Linda…I don't know, maybe Russ." Dean shrugged as best as he could with one of his arms around her shoulders. "Whoever shows up shows up. I don't really care as long as you're – "He sent her a roguish grin with a wink – "there." Harlow flushed and elbowed his gut gently. Dean cringed playfully as he danced away from her towards a trashcan. He made a jump shot and his empty cup landed perfectly in the bin. He did a dance as Harlow approached and threw out her own cup. "We'll take the 6 o'clock bus to the bowling alley. That good for you?"

"Yup." Dean turned towards her, his face screwed up in a strange combination of determination and nervousness. Harlow's heart began to beat faster. She had a feeling that she knew what he was about to do. He took a step towards her. Harlow felt paralyzed by both fear and exhilaration. Dean reached out a hand, placed it on her lower back, and pulled her up against him. Harlow's breath caught in her throat as Dean licked his lips and lowered his face down to hers. Dean knew that he was potentially rushing the situation, but he just couldn't resist kissing her any longer. Just as he was about to press his lips to hers, a loud scream of 'Harlow!' ruined the moment and pulled Harlow's attention away from him. Dean scowled as they both turned and saw Penny rushing towards them. She was in tears. Harlow frowned.

"Penny, what's wrong?"

"Tyler broke up with me!" She exclaimed in a sob before collapsing into Harlow's arms. Harlow glanced up at Dean apologetically.

"I'm sorry, I have to get her back to the dorm." Dean forced an understanding smile onto his face.

"Of course. I'll make sure you get back alright." The walk back to the girl's dormitory was awkward and silent, save for Penny's sobs and sniffles. It wasn't that Dean didn't feel sorry for the girl, because he did, but she had interrupted their date and that aggravated him.

"Thanks for walking us back." Harlow said softly once they reached the doors. "I had a really good time. I'll see you tomorrow." Dean watched them enter the dorm before sighing and turning on his heel.

~*~BREAK~*~

"I didn't know that you liked Portman." Penny said once they were settled in the common room. Harlow's eyes widened in disbelief.

"You have mascara running down your face and that's what you want to talk about?!" Penny giggled around her sniffles. "Well at least you're laughing."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but he's kind of weird." Harlow frowned.

"How am I not supposed to take that the wrong way?" She asked. Penny's tear-stained cheeks flushed, but she didn't answer. Harlow rolled her eyes. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"Tyler said that he needs to focus on school and that his grades were slipping because of all the time that we were spending together." Penny explained, clearly glad that the conversation had taken a different turn.

"Well you can't blame him for wanting to focus on his grades, but that really sucks. I'm sorry." Penny nodded, sniffling as a fresh batch of tears started to fall.

"I love him, Harlow. How am I going to bear not being with him?" Harlow was spared from answering by Penny collapsing into her arms in a fresh round of sobs. Harlow made soothing noises and rubbed her back. That was how Julie and Connie found them a few minutes later.

"What's wrong?" Julie asked.

"Like you care!" Penny snapped bitterly as she pulled away abruptly from Harlow and tried to hide evidence of her breakdown. Harlow glared at her in shock.

"Penny!" Julie rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I was trying to be nice." She muttered a good night to Connie and Harlow before heading back towards the dorm room.

"I'm going to bed." Penny announced as she stood. "Night Harlow, sorry for ruining your date." Harlow watched as her friend made a mad dash out of the common room. Connie whistled.

"What was that about?"

"Her boyfriend broke up with her." Connie made a sad face.

"That sucks."

"Mhmm." Harlow nodded. But just as quickly as she had made a sad face, Connie was grinning and sitting next to Harlow on the couch.

"So? You and Portman? Details, women, details!" Harlow laughed.

"There's not much to tell, I'm afraid. Penny interrupted it before that happened." Connie groaned.

"Not cool. What did you guys do?"

"He took me to that café? You know, It's Never Too Latte for Coffee?" Connie nodded.

"Yup! And?"

"And he bought me a hot chocolate, we talked and walked, and then he was going to kiss me and Penny came running over to us in tears." Harlow ended with a shrug. "And that was it."

"Well, it's a start." Connie smiled. "Did you have a good time?" Harlow nodded.

"I did. We're supposed to go bowling tomorrow night. Will you and Guy come along?"

"Sure! But we can get a bit competitive so sorry in advance!" Harlow laughed.

"Thanks for letting me know." She stood with a stretch and yawn. "I think I'm going to try and get some English reading done before going to bed." Connie also stood.

"Sounds like something I should be doing too."

~*~ BREAK ~*~

Thanks to a test in Economics, Harlow's good mood from the date was a bit deflated as she exited the dorm the next morning.

"Harlow." Harlow- as well as Julie and Connie – spun around in surprise to see Van Feldman, Angela's on-again, off-again boyfriend, leaning up against the brick wall of the dorm building. Seeing that he had her attention, Van jogged over. "Mind if I walk you to class?" Caught off-guard, but not wanting to be rude and really not having an excuse to say no, she replied,

"Sure." As they walked towards the main building, Harlow shared a bewildered look with Connie and Julie, who looked just as surprised as she did.

"You have Economics first, right?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"I asked Penny."

"Ah."

"So, I saw you at the hockey game last night. I didn't know you liked hockey."

"I'm a new fan." Connie and Julie excused themselves to give the couple some privacy.

"Portman looked happy to see you. You guys dating or something?" Harlow shrugged because she wasn't sure how to respond to that. Van flashed her a roguish grin, pleased by her lack of a 'yes' response.

"Awesome!" Harlow couldn't help but laugh as his goofy enthusiasm. "You have a really pretty laugh." Harlow flushed and lowered her eyes. He was flirting with her, but she couldn't figure out why. "You want to go out for dinner Sunday night?" Harlow stopped walking abruptly, completely caught off-guard.

"Aren't you dating Angela?" Van shook his head.

"We broke up a couple days ago for good. She has a new boyfriend who's in college and works as an intern for some ballet company." Van shrugged. "He can have her; doesn't matter to me at all. All she does is talk about how she's going to study ballet in France next year. No offense to you, but I am really not interested in ballet." Harlow couldn't stop a small smile from coming over her face.

"No offense taken." They started walking again.

"So, what about Saturday? Are we on for dinner?" Harlow chewed at her lower lip.

"Um…"

"No strings attached. If we have fun, we can do it again; if not…" Van shrugged. "Give me a chance." Shyly, Harlow nodded.

"Okay." Van grinned.

"Great. Are you staying here for the weekend or going home?"

"Going home."

"So I'll pick you up there. What's your address?" The first bell rang. Harlow rushed off her address to him before they parted. She made it into Economics just as the second bell rang. She fell into her seat next to Connie who leaned across the space to demand an explanation about Van. Harlow blushed.

"He asked me out." She whispered back. Connie's jaw dropped.

"Quiet please. And clear everything off your desk. We have a test to take." Despite what the teacher said, Connie leaned across once more.

"You are so telling me what happened as soon as we get out of class."

"Miss Moreau!"

~*~ BREAK ~*~

The minute they left Economics, despite the mind numbing test, Connie grabbed Harlow's elbow and yanked her into the nearby girl's bathroom.

"Spill, now!" She demanded excitedly. Harlow told her everything Van had said before adding,

"I think maybe I should cancel."

"Are you crazy?!" A girl from next to Harlow exclaimed. Harlow blinked in surprise. She hadn't realized that they had gathered an audience. Connie sent her an annoyed look, but echoed her sentiments.

"He's the most popular guy in school." Connie pointed out.

"He's captain of the football team and the star quarterback." Another girl chimed in.

"Plus he's gorgeous." Yet another girl chimed in. Harlow felt hemmed in and was grateful when the bell rang. They all filed out of the bathroom, but Connie refused to let the subject drop.

"Harlow, you have to go out with Van. Why would you cancel?"

"Dean." Harlow pointed out. Connie thought for a moment before waving her hand dismissively.

"You two aren't dating. And besides Portman is great; I love him like a brother, but Van Feldman is, well, Van Feldman. Portman probably won't even care."

~*~ BREAK ~*~

"She told her what?!" Furious, Dean punched the door of his locker. Guy grimaced as the other guys backed away slightly. "Why the hell would she tell her that I wouldn't care?" Guy shrugged.

"I don't know. I mean, I guess, well look at your history with girls. You date 'em for awhile before ditching them for someone else. I guess that Connie was worried you might do the same to Harlow and she really likes Harlow. So does Julie."

"I really like Harlow!" Dean snapped. He flushed a bit at the admission which surprised the others in the locker room. "Son of a bitch!" He fell onto the bench and began to lace up his skates furiously. "Tell your girlfriend to stay away from me, Germaine." Cursing again under his breath, Dean stalked out of the locker room.

"He is really pissed." Charlie commented with wide eyes as they watched their teammate slam the door shut.

"Yeah. Man, I wouldn't want to be in Connie's shoes." Goldberg added with a shake of his head. He glanced at Guy who was frowning. "You might wanna give Connie a head's up." A panicked look came over Guy's face as he high-tailed it out of the locker room. Charlie shook his head.

"And here I was thinking that this year was just going to be about hockey."

~*~ BREAK ~*~

Harlow was confronted by an irate Angela as soon as she entered the ballet studio.

"Just who do you think you are?!" She demanded, shoving an accusing finger into Harlow's face. Harlow jerked her head back, but otherwise remained where she was.

"I assume that you're talking about Van."

"Duh."

"He asked me out; I said yes."

"He's my…"

"Ex-boyfriend." Ricky interjected. "You dumped him for Aaron and you can't be surprised that Van moved on, especially not to Harlow." Ricky gave Harlow a once over. "She's cute." Harlow blushed.

"Thanks."

"He's taken." Janice giggled as she slipped her arm through his. Harlow sent her a grin.

"Will you people please focus?" Angela snapped in annoyance.

"Oh Angela," Amanda sighed as she flipped her hair, "Get over it."

"Excu—"

"Alright ladies and gentlemen." Karina, the ballet instructor, interrupted loudly, clapping her hands twice. "Let's get this started." Angela tossed Harlow another harsh glare before moving to her standard position at the front of the barre. Penny sent Harlow an encouraging grin and a thumbs up as they moved into their positions. "And first position."

~*~ BREAK ~*~

Connie was close to tears when Harlow entered their dorm room several hours later. Julie sat on the bed next to her, telling her that it was all going to be alright. Harlow frowned as she closed the door behind her.

"What's going on?"

"Portman's been cursing at everything that can talk since he found out that you're going out to dinner with Van on Saturday." Harlow grimaced.

"Oh no."

"Oh yes." Julie continued. "And when he found out that Connie said you should go out with Van, he decided that she was going to feel his entire wrath."

"Oh my God…Connie, I am so sorry." Harlow sat on the other side of Connie. "I really need to go talk to Dean." She sighed and got back up off the bed. "But first I'm going to call off my date with Van." Connie lurched forward and grabbed her arm. Harlow turned around to look at her.

"Are you crazy?!" She exclaimed. "No! You can't cancel that date! I'll survive anything Portman can throw at me." She rubbed her face. "Besides, he has a short attention span." Connie smiled at Harlow. "See? I'm fine. Forget Portman." She started towards the closet. Harlow glanced at Julie who shrugged. "Let's figure out what you're going to wear on your date with Van."

Author's Note: I'm sort of in the middle of revamping my initial ideas for this story and would love any input/ideas for you guys, should you have any. Again, sorry for the delay, but hopefully this longer chapter made up for it. Next chapter I get to try my hand at writing bowling. That could go one of two ways, lol. Thanks for reading!