I know the last one was short and I'm sorry, and NO I'm not telling you who Kevin is. I don't own the Ducks, reviews are lovely and thank you for the reviews.

Phoebe dug in her handbag as she walked down the street. She was looking for her phone that seemed to allot her. She wanted to call Esmeralda and see if she could come over and see Kevin. He was like her nephew, even if there was no blood relation.

The girl suddenly sensed danger and looked up. There, not far up the street, was Esmeralda's brother and a few of his friends. As she starred at them in shock, they noticed her. The moment they did, she turned and ran off, with them following.

She ran down the pathway, using her dancer reflexes to dodge people. As she turned the corner and kept running, she came to a crashing stop. Strong arms stopped her from falling on the ground. She looked up with panicked eyes and saw Jesse. Relief spread through her and a smile graced her face.

The smile disappeared however, when she looked over her shoulder and say McGill and his friends still following. She looked back at Jesse and swept her eyes over his build.

"You're not threatening enough, come on." Phoebe grabbed his arm and pulled him into a run. They didn't run long before they skidded into a shop. The shop turned out to be a diner. Quickly, the two teens went over to a booth and sat on the floor, hiding their forms from the window were a group of boys stood looking for their prey.

"So what was that about?" Jesse whispered softly.

"That big ones McGill, you know, Essi's brother. He's not happy with Essi staying with us," Phoebe whispered back, her heavy panting mixing with Jesse's lighter ones, seeing as they were huddled close together.

"He beats her, doesn't he?" Jesse asked tenderly.

Phoebe diverted her blue eyes from his chocolate brown ones. "C…can we change the subject, please?" Phoebe pleaded.

Jesse looked at Phoebe softly and did as she asked. "What did you mean by 'you're not threatening enough'? Don't you think I'm tough?" Jesse tried to flex but their close proximity made it look comical.

Phoebe giggled at his antics. "No, I just meant that you wouldn't have much luck scaring McGill's group. They're five strong guys after all. Dean or Fulton would have better luck," Phoebe reassured him.

"I would take offence to that, but there's no denying that they're scary." Jesse then bravely put his head up to look over the booths seat. When he saw that the coast was clear, he and Phoebe got up and sat in the seats. "Well, since I can't scare off threatening boys, I can at least buy you a drink and some lunch."

Phoebe was hesitant to agree but then Jesse put the puppy dog pout on and Phoebe gave in with a sigh. The two sat talking for a while before Phoebe asked the question she had always wondered about. "Why didn't you go to Eden Hall with the rest of the Ducks?"

Jesse sighed and put down his drink before turning back to his food. "My brother didn't go to the JGG so he didn't have a scholarship to the school. I refused to attend a school he wouldn't be at. Then Terry got me into soccer, so I'm happy. So what school do you go to?"

"Cutlan Hall," Phoebe answered simply, sipping her coke.

"No way!" Jesse said in astonishment. "I go to Cutlan, why haven't I seen you there?"

"Essi and I spend most of our time in the dance room and I'm easy to miss." Phoebe smiled at Jesse, not caring that he hadn't noticed her.

"I doubt that, but then again, I spend all my breaks on the soccer field. I don't notice much besides the soccer ball." Jesse laughed as Phoebe snorted at him.

"You're hopeless."

"Well, at least I can't complain that there's no good-looking girls' at my school, with a sense of humour to boot."

Jesse's complement caused Phoebe to blush modestly.

"So tell me what the deal is about Essi and Cake-eater," Jesse said before taking a bit out of his burger.

"Oh, umm, well, did Coach Bombay tell you guys that my dad and Bombay's old boss were going to re-draft the lines so Adam would stay a Hawk?" When Jesse shook his head, Phoebe went on, "Adam asked dad to let him stay on the Hawks. It wasn't the team, it was Essi. Adam was the only thing that Essi had to be… a dampener, I guess you could say. He stopped McGill from hurting her too badly, and in turn, dad's pressure on Adam didn't seem as bad. Essi would make jokes like, 'You should be the best on the team, that way the other team will want to hurt you'. Looking back they're kinda silly jokes but when we were kids it was good."

"If you ever hear Essi and Adam talking about Adam leaving, it was not actual leaving. When Adam became a Duck, he tried to stay her friend, but he saw McGill at the North Stars game and he did a gun sign…"

"Yeah, I saw that, what was that about?" Jesse questioned when Phoebe faltered.

"A gun shot stood for violence. He was telling Adam that he was going to hurt Essi; that Adam was going to hurt Essi. If he didn't stop talking to her, her life would be worse then it already was. He didn't not wanted to be a Duck; he just knew that being a Duck meant that he'd have to leave Essi behind. Leave her life."

"When he entered the Ducks changing room, I gave him a hard time and when we were versing the Hawks, I told him to remember what team he was on," Jesse confessed, feeling guilty.

"How could he forget, he gave up Esmeralda for the team." Phoebe sighed and turned back to her food. "You hurt him, saying the team line."

Jesse sighed. "I know. I apologized when I saw him in the hospital, but I don't think he was listening. He looked sad, I thought he was going to cry but I didn't know why. When the team asked what was wrong, he said nothing was the matter but when we came in we saw him touch his lips."

Phoebe nodded. She wouldn't tell anyone, not even Adam and Essi, but she knew what had happened that day. They had said goodbye and both of them were hurting deeply because of it.

After spending more time talking, laughing and getting to know one another, Jesse offered to take Phoebe home.

Esmeralda opened the thankfully unlocked door. She wanted to get in, have a shower and go to work without having to deal with anything else. She was drained and she barely had enough energy to sustain her the rest of the day.

Sighing, she made her way into the kitchen to get a drink. Pouring herself a glass of water, she let the cool liquid return some of her energy. She loved Kevin but he could be a handful at times and make her wonder if she was any good at looking after him. He had listened to her story but when she put him down to sleep, he started crying. Some say children could remember things from the woom and Esmeralda had a feeling he didn't like what he had hear whilst in there. It haunted him in his sleep. Poor boy!

Esmeralda felt a comforting hand touch her tense shoulder. She didn't turn to see who it was. The hand was male and Mr. Banks would never enter a room without saying hello and Justin was in Boston. Adam moved closer to her and slid his hand down her back, resting it on her hip.

"Something wrong?" Adam whispered in her ear. The house was empty but the atmosphere called for quiet voices.

"Just exhausted." Esmeralda sighed, leaning back into Adam.

"That's no good, why don't you go rest?" Adam advised, pushing back Esmeralda's hair so he could see her face.

Esmeralda closed her eyes for a moment before turning around, leaning against the edge of the island behind her. "Do you think my family's cursed to either be horrible people or to have bad life? What if I have kids one day and end up being like my father? He was taught to be the way he is. My grandfather was a great man but his brother wasn't. What about if I learnt something off my father? Ke... never mind," Esmeralda finished, not wanting to bring Kevin into the conversation. She looked up into Adam's eyes, silently begging him to say something.

Adam's hand had never left Esmeralda's body as she had turned and now it rested on her opposite hip. He removed his hand and ghosted her cheek. (Not touching her but mimicking the motion). "McGill, you are nothing like your father. Your mother was a kind woman, the sweetest person I've ever met. You are her daughter, McGill, through and through. You're sweet, kind, funny and always wanting to help. I don't know what's made you get these stupid thoughts in your head but if you want my opinion. You'd make a great mom. You'd never do anything that could hurt your child."

Esmeralda closed her eyes for a moment as a stray tear fell from her eye. She didn't know herself why she thought this. Seeing Kevin already knowing emotional pain made her worry; made her think she was no good with kids.

Opening her eyes, she looked up the short distance to Adam's face, unconsciously moving closer to him. He was watching his hand as he raised it to Esmeralda's forehead, gently brushing a few strands of hairs away. The touch made Esmeralda gasp and raise herself up slightly.

Adam stroked Esmeralda's cheek with the back of his fingers before following the curve of her neck, all-the-while watching his hands movements. When Adam brushed her collarbone, she gasped and closed her eyes, turning her face up to his. He lowered his face to hers, he was so close he could feel the heat radiating off of Esmeralda's parted lips.

"Hey… guys."

Adam jumped and looked over at the doorway as Esmeralda's eyes snapped open and followed the noise.

There, standing in the doorway looking uncomfortable, was Phoebe.

Esmeralda ducked her head and moved out from between the island and Adam. She then quickly left the kitchen and the awkward scene, going upstairs.

"Hey, Sis," Adam said, running his fingers through his hair.

"Hey, Jesse said hi," Phoebe responded, feeling a little more comfortable now that Esmeralda and Adam weren't in such close contact. To anyone else, that would have been a situation to question, but Phoebe knew her brother and best friend. They were so comfortable around each other that they sometimes didn't realize that their behavior was surpassing friendly till after.

"You were hanging out with Jesse?" Adam asked, putting Esmeralda's empty cup in the sink.

"Yeah, I almost had a run in with Essi's brother and his friends but then I ran into Jesse and he pulled me into a diner to hide and we ended up having lunch and talking. Did you know he goes to Cutlan?"

"Oh, yeah, I did, I just never thought to mention it. Terry does too." Adam was clearly forcing conversation. His mind was preoccupied with thoughts of what almost just happened.

Phoebe noticed this and took the hint, walking off, up to her room. She knew that Esmeralda had to work so she didn't bother to go talk to her. She would be getting ready. She just hoped Adam could focus before the Ducks came over to go to the movies. If he didn't they wouldn't question him, they would question Phoebe to get the answers as to what was wrong. God, that was going to annoy her, although, she would probably tell Jesse.

A wide smile appeared on Phoebe's face at the thought of the handsome boy. Only Esmeralda knew that Phoebe had had an on and off crush for the boy since Adam had joined the Ducks.

Jesse grinned as the Ducks stood at the Banks front door. He had had a fun time talking to Phoebe and he couldn't help but grin at the thought. Connie rang the doorbell and who should answer it but Phoebe.

"Hey, come on in, Adam's… doing something, not sure what." Phoebe stood back and the Ducks walked in.

They all sat in the lounge and listened to the commotion upstairs. Just as they heard the faint sound of a male groan, Esmeralda came pelting down the stairs with a large smile on her face. She was wearing her work clothes that consisted of jeans and a t-shirt. The t-shirt was white with short, dark green sleeves and the word 'Vibe' printed on the front in the same dark green.

"What's going on?" Fulton asked her.

"Yeah, we heard a groan, most likely from Adam. What have you been doing to him?" Portman added with a suggestive wink.

Esmeralda rolled her eyes at the Bash Brother's insinuation and answered, "He can't find any shirts."

"What did you do to them?" Phoebe asked her best friend suspiciously.

Esmeralda raised her hands in surrender. "Nothing, I swear. Maria thought it would be funny to hide all his tops since he came down stairs this morning without one. I didn't do anything."

"Have you told him where they are?"

"No."

"Then you did do something."

"No, I didn't!" Esmeralda defended herself against Phoebe's accusations. "Telling him, would be doing something."

Phoebe rolled her eyes at her friend but couldn't think of a valid argument. Thankfully, Fulton made it so she didn't have to.

"Vibe? You work at Vibe?" the boy asked.

Esmeralda looked down at her shirt before answering, "Yeah, and I have to go before I miss my bus. If you must know, Banks' shirts are stuffed into Mr. Banks' file cabinet."

"I live a street over from Vibe," Fulton told her before frowning at her. "That's where I've seen you from! I go into the music shop all the time, you work there. I thought you looked familiar."

Esmeralda looked at him for a moment before replying, "Oh, yeah, I remember seeing you. Alright, gonna go. And, Bash Boy's, get your minds outta the gutter. Me and Banks are friends."

After Adam had found his shirts, with help from Phoebe who told him where to find them, they went to the movies. On their way home, they decided to visit Esmeralda at work.

They walked into the music store to see her sorting CD's. Averman was the one to walk up to her.

"Hey, could you tell me were to find a picture of you in those jeans, I would like one for my room."

Esmeralda looked up in anger only to see who it was. When she did, she snorted and rolled her eyes. "Sorry, it costs two of your own eyeballs, no use for it if you can't see it."

"I can always get a friend to buy it for me," Averman argued good naturedly.

"Yeah, but it will still cost your two eyeballs so they may as well keep it for themselves," Esmeralda joked fluidly.

Russ raised his hand. "I will."

Esmeralda giggled before walking passed the group to another genre and sorting that.

"Soooo, whatcha up to?" Terry asked, following her.

"Work, and if you guys are here to only annoy me, you can leave." Esmeralda smiled at them.

"Well that's not very nice, we might have to talk to your manager," Connie threatened.

"Okay," Esmeralda replied before calling, "Ace, some people want to talk to you because I refuse to give them my number."

A tall boy with curly blood-red hair and piercing blue eyes looked up from two rows over. The female Ducks let their jaws drop in shock, before melting at the handsome boy's appearance.

Ace smiled cheekily, obviously having heard the banter between the group. "Give them a picture of you in those jeans and they might not say anything to me." He then winked at Esmeralda who smiled in amusement. He walked off into the backroom before the group talked again.

"I like him," Averman said. "Alright, go get the camera."

"I think he likes you, Essi," Julie told the girl who was playfully shoving Averman.

"That's what Phoebe says." Esmeralda laughed as Averman played wounded.

"So? Do you like him?" Adam questioned, his eyes twinkling.

"Like I'm going to tell you!" Esmeralda exclaimed. "You'll go tell him either way."

Adam considered this for a moment before nodding and going to walk passed her in the back room. "Then I'll just go and tell him that you do."

"Don't you dare." Esmeralda giggled, putting her hands on Adam's chest to stop him. "Now get out and let me work." Laughing, she pushed Adam towards the exit and pointed for the other Ducks to go as well.

The Ducks grudgingly obliged and left with Averman shooting over his shoulder that he wanted the picture soon. Esmeralda coolly replied that it would end up to sticky if she gave him one before going back to her work.

Hope you liked it and it didn't seem too rushed. This is like my third update and I'm only halfway through my holidays. I might only update once more before school since I am going to my grandfathers and will probably have no internet there.

…o0Black-Sand0o…