I don't own the Ducks, reviews are lovely and thanks for the review I have.

"Okay, I know there are no scouts here this time, so you must have a girl in the stands," Charlie said, noticing Adam searching the stands with his eyes.

They were on the lightly dewed ice, warming up before they were to start the game. Charlie had looked up to find Adam not paying attention. He had already figured out who the girl was Adam had in the stands, but he couldn't help but tease him.

"McGill's coming today," Adam confessed, going back to warming up.

"Really?" Charlie faked astonishment. "Are you going to score any goals for her?"

Adam raised an eyebrow at Charlie and tried to stop the blush slowly making its way onto his cheeks. "Why would you say that?"

Charlie smiled a cheeky smile and made Adam dread the answer. "Your mobile is in my bag."

"You prick!" Adam exclaimed, realizing what Charlie had done. At the thought of what the messages said, Adam blushed furiously.

Charlie laughed at Adam's embarrassment. "I liked her slave comment. Smart girl! I like her, not the way you do though."

"We're friends," Adam dismissed, skating over to where their coach was. Just as he got to the little door to the Ducks section, he saw Esmeralda walking along one of the top stands. She was wearing a white corset like top with pale pink flowers on it and a short white skirt, not to mention a pair of white arm socks and a white handbag dangling from her arm. She had popcorn with her, her hair up in a messy but stylish ponytail, and, when she turned to talk to the person behind her, he realized she hadn't came alone.

Esmeralda said something to her friend before smiling, popping some popcorn in her mouth and sitting down. Looking at Esmeralda's friend, Adam saw a blond hair, green eyed boy around his own age. Adam didn't have time for his face to fall since Esmeralda spotted him watching and smiled and waved.

Adam returned the gesture before noticing the boy lean over and whisper something in Esmeralda's ear. Whatever the boy said, it made the girl blush and hit him in embarrassment.

Adam shook off the feeling of disappointment as Esmeralda smiled at him again as she munched on popcorn. He then had to turn away and listen to Coach Orion as he gave instructions. After, he skated out to face the Bear that was going to steal the puck off of him. Adam, however, got the puck and sent it to Averman. The first goal was scored by Adam and when he did, he quickly looked up to where Esmeralda sat to see her clapping and cheering.

"Hey, Essi's here," Connie acknowledged, looking to where Adam was looking.

Adam just nodded and went back to skating. This would have to be his best match he'd ever played. Back as a Hawk, he had enjoyed the game mainly because he knew Esmeralda was in the stands watching him, not her brother, but after becoming a Duck, she no longer watching his games. He defiantly played better when he knew she was watching, except when he made a deal with David.

He was pleased to notice that Esmeralda wasn't paying any attention to her male friend but focusing on Adam and the game. He had never played so well before. By the final buzzer, the score was 12-1, seven of those goals scored by Adam. All for Esmeralda.

After the game, Adam didn't have a chance to talk to Esmeralda since he had to get into the changing room and get cleaned up. Once he had and the coach had given his opinion of the game (modestly praising Adam for his contribution), he left the changing room.

He walked down the corridor and saw the girl leaning against the wall waiting for him. When she saw him, she ran over and threw her arms around his neck, a large smile on her face. Adam hugged her back and gave her a kiss on the cheek as she drew back.

"Banks, that was amazing, you've improved so much since the last time I watched a match of yours," Esmeralda said, smiling up at the boy, not noticing his arm was still around her waist comfortably and that her arms were around his neck loosely.

"Hey, Love, if you don't hurry up, I'll leave you here," someone stated from the end of the corridor.

Looking over, Adam saw the blond boy Esmeralda had sat with during the match. Esmeralda just looked at him and rolled her eyes as she dropped her arms. "Leo, I'm talking to a friend."

"More like receiving a kiss from said friend." Leo seemed to have an attitude towards Adam. The hockey player didn't know what was causing the attitude but he had a sudden dislike towards the boy named after a zodiac.

"Shut up, Leo," Esmeralda muttered as she blushed.

Adam smiled down at her, finding her rosy cheeks adorable. Lovingly, he pushed hair off of Esmeralda's neck, making her look up when his fingers brushed the sensitive skin. She looked up at him with that unwavering, ecstatic smile and Adam responded with one of his own soft smiles.

Their actions must have been making Leo uncomfortable because he cleared his throat, making the two look over at him and Adam to drop his hand.

"Love, ride home, you want one?" Leo asked exasperatedly before running his fingers through his hair.

"Oh, umm, I, arr," Esmeralda stammered, shooting Adam a look. "I was kinda hoping Banks would give me a lift later."

"Yeah, sure," Adam agreed heartily.

"Of course," Leo scoffed, rolling his eyes again and going to turn, right before…

"Leo! I see you and Esmeralda are still… friends!" One of the McSon twins exclaimed, appearing around the corner with the Ducks. The Ducks shot Adam a 'sorry' expression as the two insufferable girls hugged an unwilling Leo.

"What are you talking about?" Esmeralda asked.

"Oh, nothing,: the two girls stated, clearly hiding something.

"Okay, well, we have plans, and Leo's heading back to Cutlan, so, see ya," Esmeralda told them, indicating she and Adam had plans. Esmeralda took Adam's hand and led him passed the twins and the Ducks. They walked out of the Rink quickly and quietly. Once they were out of the building, they let go of each other's hands and started laughing.

"Thanks for that," Adam said through breaths of laughter.

"It's alright, they are so… grrr!" McGill growled in explanation before turning around when she heard footsteps behind her.

The two turned to see the Ducks running towards them, all looking amused. They crashed through the door, making Esmeralda step into Adam's arms out of fear of the door hitting her as it was forcibly swung open. The blond boy snaked his arms around his sister's best friend as the Ducks caught their breath.

"That was so funny!" Julie exclaimed. "You should have seen their faces!"

Esmeralda, sensing the danger was gone, stepped away from Adam and Adam let his arms slide off her. The sixteen-year-old laughed and suddenly, Connie and Julie grabbed her and started leading her away from the boys. Talking imitable as they did.

"Hey, where so you girls think you're going?" Russ asked in confusion.

"Well, didn't you boys want to go to Mickey's?" Connie questioned stopping and looking over her shoulder. "You know me and Julie prefer to just hang out in non-crowded areas after a match."

"Yeah, but what about Essi?" Dwayne turned his attention to the younger girl.

"Sounds fun." Esmeralda's smile was more for Adam than anyone else. "Come on, girls, live a little!"

The two girls grudgingly agreed and they headed off to the bus stop, not seeing the sense in taking cars seeing as there was so many of them.

"So, Essi, you have you license?" Charlie asked the girl as they hopped on the bus.

Esmeralda looked at Charlie then Adam before seeing Adam's blush. She, too, blushed, realizing what Charlie had done. "Um, yes, I do."

"Hey, Essi," Charlie started again after a short silence. "What do you think about slaves?"

Esmeralda's blush deepened. "I… I don't know. It's bad to make people do what they don't want to."

Thankfully Charlie stopped the questioning there, mainly because Adam had discreetly given him a dead arm. Unfortunately for the girls, the bus was rather full, so the girls had to sit of the boys lap. Connie sat on Dwayne's lap and Julie sat on Goldberg's lap. Esmeralda decided to stand, seeing as she knew she would end up on Adam's lap if she wanted a seat and that would just add Charlie's amusement. It was miss fortune that the street they were going down happen to be full of pot-holes and the shows she was wearing weren't the studious. When one of the wheels of the bus fell into a particularly nasty one, Esmeralda lost her footing and landed on Adam's lap. It was lucky he had reacted in time and moved his hands, since he had been checking a message he had received from his brother and Esmeralda had been moments away from landing on his mobile.

"I guess I'm sitting," Esmeralda stated sarcastically, crossing her legs as she sat sideways on Adam's lap.

"Guess so," Adam agreed, going back to his message and trying not to notice how long Esmeralda's legs were.

"Hey, Banks," Esmeralda said, drawing her attention away from the conversation she was having with the Ducks in the seat behind.

"What?" Adam asked distractedly, having been texting his brother.

"How protective are you of Phoebe?"

"I don't know, depends I guess," Adam replied, looking up at the Aphrodite sitting on him, well, that's what she looked like to him, or maybe an Angel because of the white. "Why?"

"Just asking," Esmeralda trailed off.

"What is it?" Adam pressured, ignoring his phone.

"Okay, let's say Phoebe started dating a guy she really likes and you know and therefore, know they're a nice guy. Would you get overprotective and use him as a hockey puck?" Esmeralda questioned vaguely.

"Only if he hurt her," Adam assured the brunette. "What do you know that I don't?"

"About your siblings?" Esmeralda looked at him in false disbelieve at him not knowing the answer. "A lot."

"I doubt that!" Adam rolled his eyes, not realizing all the Ducks were listening to the exchange between the two.

"Really?" Esmeralda decided to test it. "Who's Maria dating?"

"She's not dating anyone," Adam answered simply.

Esmeralda snorted, it clearly wasn't the answer. "Where and what is Jason's tattoo?"

"He doesn't have one."

Again, it was the wrong answer. "Who was Kelly's first crush?"

"I don't know."

"Who or at what age was Phoebe's first kiss?"

"She's kissed someone?" Adam asked in disbelieve, never thinking of his little sister being with someone like that.

"Yes and breathe easy, it wasn't a Hawk," Esmeralda assured him, mainly stating that, unlike them, she had not kissed her siblings best friend. "See? I'm betting you also don't know Malinka's preg either."

"Mal's pregnant?" Adam exclaimed in shock.

Esmeralda just nodded at him as though he was a very slow child. "Why do you think she's been taking it easy and has been asking for help? Trust me; it's easy for pregnant woman to get fatigued."

"Oh." As Adam uttered that, the bus pulled up at their stop and Esmeralda slid off of Adam's legs.

The large group headed into Mickey's and sat at a booth with extra chairs near it. Esmeralda noticed Dwayne politely pull out a chair for Connie before shyly sitting next to her. The dancer then smiled at Adam who was waiting for her to sit in the booth before him.

The group all looked at menus to work out what they wanted and then waited for someone to come over and take their order. It was Charlie's mom that did.

"Hello, Mom, this is Esmeralda McGill," Charlie introduced the only teen his mother didn't know.

"McGill, I know that name." Casey Conway's face turned pensive as she tried to figure out where she had heard the name from, not noticing the Esmeralda had dropped her head in shame.

Adam gave Esmeralda's hand a gentle squeeze before addressing the woman that was like a second mother. "David McGill was the… "

"Wanker?" Esmeralda added for Adam who clearly didn't want to swear in front of the woman.

"Yeah, thanks, McGill, the, yeah, that almost broke my neck in the Hawks – Ducks match. This is his little sister. She's best friends with Phoebe."

"Oh, well, it's nice to mean you," Mrs. Conway said with a polite smile. Although she had remarried before the Ducks had attended the Goodwill Games, they still called her Mrs. Conway. The older woman's eyes rested briefly on Adam's hand on Esmeralda's before asking for their orders.

After Esmeralda said she just wanted fries and a mango smoothie, she went to get money out of her wallet but Adam stopped her. "I'll pay," he told her.

"You don't have to, I have a job, therefore money," Esmeralda informed him.

"I know, but I invited you to the game, which means I'm the reason you're at the diner, so I'll pay for it," Adam explained simply. Esmeralda couldn't argue anymore because Adam had already handed over the money to pay for them both.

"You know, I've been here a lot but I've never noticed that there were mango smoothies on the list," Connie confessed.

"I love mangos. I have them all the time. So it's not surprising I saw it. Phoebe swears I smell like mango's cause I eat them so much," Esmeralda said.

That explains it! Adam thought, remembering how Phoebe had used all of Esmeralda's produces but had not smelt like mangos. He had known that mango's were Esmeralda's favored food out of everything, but he never thought that was the reason behind her scent. He couldn't help but chuckle at the memory of a little girl with brown hair and eyes and mango over her hands and face. When his amused sound was heard by his friends, he had to tell them what he was laughing at, which make Esmeralda blush.

"Shut up," she mumbled.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Ducks had gone their separate ways after a few hours of chatting. Some had taken an early bus back to Eden Hall, others had gone to the Mall and some had gone home to have dinner with their family's. Adam and Esmeralda, however, were walking back to Eden Hall instead of getting a bus, from there, they were going to take Adam's car to Cutlan.

"So can I drive to Cutlan?" Esmeralda asked with an excited bounce to her step.

"I actually want to live to see tomorrow," Adam jibed, ignoring the fact that Esmeralda was swinging their conjoined hands like a little girl who had only just gotten over the 'boys are icky' stage and was in the 'first crush' stage.

"I'm not a bad driver," Esmeralda yelped in offense. "Leo actually said I was really good."

At the boys name, Adam decided to agree. "Okay, you can, but you can't change the station to something crap."

"Deal!" Esmeralda squealed in excitement. As they continued to walk, Esmeralda calmed down a little and asked a question in a soft voice. "Did you score all those goals for me?"

It took Adam a moment to register what he had heard, when he did, he looked sideways at the girl. "Yeah, I did."

A smile tugged on Esmeralda's lips as she looked down shyly. "That's probably the sweetest thing someone's ever done for me."

"Oh really, well what do I get in return?" Adam asked with a cheeky tone to his voice.

Esmeralda seem to think for a moment before stopping her steps and making Adam halt. Stepping closer to Adam, she whispered in his ear, "One of two thinks. I'll either tell you what I was talking about on the bus…"

"Or?" Adam asked when Esmeralda hesitated.

"I won't bite."

Adam drew back just enough to look into Esmeralda's eyes, their noses almost touching. God, you're so tempting, he thought. The moment Adam had seen Esmeralda walk into the stands, he had wanted to kiss her, but held back for three reasons: one, he had to play, two, he couldn't get into that section of the stands from the ice, and, three, if he started, he wouldn't stop kissing her. And that was his dilemma now. She was standing right in front of him, waiting for him to decide if he wanted to kiss her like she was letting him. Groaning softly, Adam dropped his head. "I want to say two, but… the first one."

Esmeralda turned away from Adam and started walking down the street, her hand still intertwined with his. She was good at hiding her pain of being rejected from her face as she bit her lip. "Don't tell Phoebe!"

"I won't," Adam promised, walking along side her.

"I think Phoebe and Jesse like each other, but don't do anything, okay?" Esmeralda shot him a look and for the briefest moment, Adam saw the emotions inside the mute girl.

"I won't," Adam said half distractedly, trying to interpret what he had saw in her eyes before she looked away. It was turmoil of emotions and was undecipherable.

They continued to walk in silence and when in the car, only the music from the stereo could be heard. It wasn't an awkward silence or anything; it was just that neither of them had anything to say. When they pulled up at Cutlan, they both got out and Adam walked over to the other side of the car to get in the driver's side.

"You actually are a really good driver," Adam admitted to the girl before him.

"Thanks," Esmeralda mumbled. Next think Adam knew, Esmeralda had stepped towards him and planted a soft, swift kiss on his unexpecting lips before turning and walking off.

"What was that for?" Adam yelled to Esmeralda's retreating back.

Turning, the girl continued to walk backwards towards the building. "You scored seven goals out of twelve, you deserved to rewards!" she yelled back with a smile before spinning and sprinting off to the dormitory building.

Adam smiled and shook his head as he got back in his car. He drove away, happy that Esmeralda had been the one to initiate and end the kiss. If it was him to start it, he doubted he'd have ended it and he hated being pushed away from Esmeralda. He hated that school separated them. He'd have to see her ones a week so that he didn't miss her so much. If he had to go through the whole of the school semester without seeing her, he'd probably confess his feeling to her the moment he saw her.

Hope you liked it and yes, I know, I was mean by what I did to Adam but, all well.

…o0Black-Sand0o…