Sorry it took me two months to update my comp just got fixed and before that I guess I was just procrastinating. First I own nothing and I hope to update quickly after this. Now enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 22: Impromptu game and a lot of information

Charlie's PoV
Fulton, Portman, Adam, Julie, Goldberg, Dwayne, and I got up around six on Sunday morning for a little early practice. One everyone got there it was about 6:15. "It looks like we're not the only ones who wanted to practice this morning." Adam said.

"Let's just sit and watch, they look pretty good." Portman answered.

"You have a girlfriend." Julie scolded.

"I meant as a player, I don't even know if that person is a female." Portman clarified.

"Hey Fulton?" Goldberg said.

"Yeah?" Fulton asked.

"Do you still have your Pee-wee Ducks jersey?" Goldberg questioned.

"No I think, no I know I sent it to a friend of mine after the first Team U.S.A. game why?" Fulton answered.

"No reason." Goldberg said with a shrug.

"Hey Portman, speaking of Lizzy, do you know where she was yesterday?" Adam asked. "I tried her room, but she wasn't in there and the baseball team said they hadn't seen her since she ate breakfast with Bastian."

"No idea where she was." Portman answered.

"She went to Taylors Falls with Bastian." Julie said. The person on the ice had moved to shooting goals by now.

"Bastian?" Portman asked.

"Bastian Johnson he plays third base and is a junior." I said. Portman looked ready to explode. Then something clicked. "Portman, Bastian would never date Lizzy."

"Why not? She not preppy enough for him?" Portman accused.

"Wait did you say Johnson?" Fulton asked. I nodded. "Doesn't Matt use that last name when he plays for the Redwings?"

"Yeah." Adam said. "But I never understood why he would use that last name, it's so common."

"Because it's special to him, it has sentimental value to it."

"Sentimental value?" Portman asked.

"The only thing my mom told me about Lizzy's mom when I asked over break was that Rebecca's last name was Johnson. Give's Matt a reason to use Johnson, it was his mom's maiden name."

"Her mom's name was Rebecca?" Dwayne asked.

"Yeah and Lizzy's dad said that Rebecca gave Lizzy that middle name because Rebecca knew she wasn't going to make it." I said.

"So where's this going?" Fulton asked.

"I think what Charlie means is that Bastian and Lizzy are cousins." Julie said.

"Yeah, in a round about way because I'm not supposed to tell anyone about that." I said. "Chris told me over break when she took Aaron back to the airport that they were, and the thing is Bastian knows and she doesn't. Her brothers want to keep it that way as long as possible so that he can keep an eye on her and report back to Matt honestly. They would have asked Fulton to do it but they know he's more loyal to her than he is to them."

"Alright." Portman sighed.

"Port, what did I tell you last night?" Fulton asked.

"That I need to stop acting like a green eyed monster before I lose her to the only guy who will ever be a threat to me." Portman answered dully.

"And just who did Lizzy tell you that guy was?" Fulton asked.

"Cowboy." Portman sulked watching the girl on the ice. I don't know why I didn't figure the person on the ice was a girl with her hair up in the first place.

"No way Cowboy still has a chance with his ex?" Adam asked.

"Only if Portman screws up and gets too jealous and accuses her of cheating again." Fulton explained.

"Again?" Julie asked.

"Yeah last time it was because she went to dinner with Riley..."

"She'd never date Riley either." I stated.

"How do you know that?" Portman asked.

"Chris told her if she ever dated Riley let alone kiss him, Chris would skin her. Riley would never put the moves on her where he knew he could have the chance of getting hurt." I explained.

"They went to McDonalds."

"You know how we go to Mickey's whether we win or lose?" Julie said.

"Yeah."

"Well Varsity has the same kind of tradition." Julie explained. "If they win they go to the Minnesota Club downtown but if they lose they go to McDonalds."

"So Lizzy knew they were going to lose?" Port asked.

"Probably not, but she did know about the tradition. Scooter's in her Civics class and apparently they've been getting close. She knows that she can count on him to protect her when you and Fulton aren't around. My guess is that if Varsity had won she would have asked him to take her to the Club so Scooter could make sure he didn't hurt her too bad. I talked to Scooter about it last night and he said nothing happened. They just talked and ate." Julie said.

"Oh." Port sighed.

"Who did he accuse her of cheating on him with the other time?" Adam asked.

"Well the time before that he's insinuated it with her friend Aaron." Fulton said.

"LOOK OUT!" The girl on the ice hollered. We looked up and saw the puck hurtling toward some kids on the other side of the rink. They all scattered and one brought the puck back down to her after it landed. Now I know why Goldberg asked about Fulton's jersey. The girl was wearing it. Then it clicked. 'Lizzy, but she said she'd never touch a stick again.' I thought as she took the puck back and talked to the guy for a bit. When they finished she started showing off again.

Dwayne, who was right next to me, leaned over and whispered "You know who that is right?"

"Yeah," I whispered back "But she said she'd never play again."

"I know and that's what scares me." Dwayne answered. I looked at Goldberg and I knew by the look on his face he was stunned but he knew who she was. I looked at Portman and Fulton who both seemed to be interested in Lizzy but I couldn't tell if they recognized her yet or not. Julie didn't seem to know her nor did Adam. But then Lizzy started what we knew to be her trade mark move, that would definitely clue both Adam and Fulton into who she was.

"Damn that girl is a good puck handler." Julie said as ER bounced the puck off her stick.

"Good? She moves better than I do." Dwayne said. Julie's eyes lit up. She looked from me to Lizzy and then back to me. She jerked her head toward Lizzy and I smirked. Lizzy let her stick miss the puck and it hit her skate before bouncing back into the air. After a few more times off her stick she let the puck hit the ice. When Lizzy started dibbling the puck back and fourth recognition passed over Fulton's face.

I leaned down to where he was sitting and whispered "Yes that's Lizzy. We all know what she's said but we've got to let her do what she wants."

"I know but why is she doing this? If any of the team saw this they'd crank up their efforts to get her to play."

"That's probably why she's doing it this early."

"Yeah, we all know that the only time Lizzy really shows off her full ability is when she doesn't think anyone's watching her." Goldberg put in. I nodded and watched her finish out her shot.

As soon as the puck hit the blue line she iced it and sped ahead of it. Once reaching her position down the ice she made a ramp out of her stick and that launched the puck into the air. Adam's face lit up and I knew he finally knew that move. Lizzy watched as the puck dropped back to a certain level and then keeping the blade of her stick below her waist she batted the puck into the net. Perfect goal.

"No one...that's Lizzy's signature...no one but..." Adam stuttered.

"We know Banksie." Fulton said standing and making his way down to the ice.

ER's PoV
After I made the shot I went to get the puck and decided it was time for me to get off the ice. Once I retrieved the puck and turned around, Fulton was right there.

"Now I see why you didn't want to play, you didn't want anyone to know you're besting Adam."

"I'm not besting Adam besides the entire old team knows I'm as good as Adam."

"Correction they know you were as good as Adam not that you still are."

"There's no difference and that's not the reason I don't want to play. How long have you been standing there?"

"A few seconds but we've been watching for long enough. Charlie told Matt that you might have lost a shot or two but I wasn't surprised to see fireworks. It's like riding a bike you never forget. I'll ask you one more time please join the team till Adam brings his grades up." Fulton said laying a hand on my arm.

"Two practices and I'll see how I feel that is if Coach will let me." I said. He pulled me into a tight hug picking me up clear off my skates.

"Thank you so much, wait till I tell the team."

"Whoa slow your roll there dough boy, you ain't telling anyone." I said. He put me down and looked at me.

"And why not?" Fulton asked.

"I just don't want you to, alright?"

"But..."

"Please Fult? I'm still shaky as it is."

"Alright."

I looked up at the stands and saw that the pro player, his brother, and friends had left and the only people watching were Adam, Charlie, Goldberg, Dean, Dwayne, and Julie. "How long have all of you been here?"

"Since about 6:15 this morning which was long enough for us to see how good you really are." Fulton answered. "We wanted to practice but it looked like we didn't get here soon enough. How long have you been here?"

"A little after 5 am."

"5 am?"

"Got to get up early if you want to hunt goose eggs." I answered smirking.

"Orion says that."

"That's what Charlie said." I answered skating to the edge of the ice.

"Please stay and play with us for a bit." He said motioning for his friends to come down. I thought about it.

"Alright I'll stay but I need some water and you owe me a foot massage."

He hopped over the wall to the players' bench and pulled out the bottles of water. He handed me one and put the other two on the bench. "Take a break while we warm up." Fulton said as the rest put their stuff down. After a while they were warmed up, so I skated to center ice where the seven of them were gathered.

"I'll play under the condition you remember Bombay's one scrimmage rule." I said looking at Charlie.

"You and Charlie are captains?" Adam asked.

"No, the reason why he always made us captains." I answered sweetly.

"Because you were always the best?" Goldberg asked.

"Nope as much as it pains me to say this about my own cousin Adam's better than Charlie." I answered.

"I thought that was the reason." Charlie said.

"You only wish." I muttered. "Let's put it this way if you put me and Charlie on the same team you have to put Dean and Fulton on the same team."

"That rule, Charlie and Lizzy are an unstoppable team together that's how we got 4 shutouts, they aren't allowed to be on the same scrimmage team to give each team a fair chance of winning." Fulton explained.

"Alright pick your team." Charlie said.

"Alright." I said smiling. "I want Tex...Goldie...and..."

"Your choice of enforcer Portman or Fulton." Adam said when I paused to think.

"Such a hard decision, my boyfriend or my best friend?" Dean looked a bit pleading and I looked over my shoulder at Tex. 'Best idea put them on the same team so Dean won't kill him.' "I'll take Dean." I said.

"Lucky Duck." Fulton mumbled. We played until Varsity came in dressed in full practice gear. Even though Adam made the last shot for Charlie's team they still lost 5-4.

"Looks like my team won again Charlie." I said as we skated to the bench.

"Yeah we'll get you next time." Charlie answered as we exited the ice.

"You always say that and we always beat you."

"There was that one time."

"That time doesn't count CJ."

"Alright if you say so."

"Why'd you pick Portman over Fulton?" Adam asked effectively changing the subject.

"Fult's my best friend and probably the best enforcer there is, no offense Dean,"

"None taken." He said cutting me off.

"But I just decided to play it safe today." I said glancing over my shoulder at Tex.

"Hey Lizzy, did I tell you mom's had it with Justin and they're getting a divorce?" Charlie asked.

"It's about time." I said.

"Lizzy." Fulton said stopping me from saying anymore. I dropped my head and literally bit my tongue.

"She's thinking about dating again." He said.

"That's good." I muttered and glanced up at him.

"Yeah." And then his smile got wider.

"No not him. CJ do not tell me he's asked her out."

"Fine I won't tell you." He said.

"Damn it CJ you know how I feel. I will not stand for it if they start." I said.

"There's nothing you can do." He said.

"We'll just see about that." I said walking quickly back to my dorm.

Fulton's PoV
"Charlie, I thought we agreed you wouldn't say anything." I snapped. Lizzy hated Gordon Bombay with a white hot passion and now that her aunt might date him she'd do anything to prevent it.

"I didn't say anything." Charlie answered.

"No, but your smile did. You know she hates Bombay."

"Our Bombay?" Dwayne asked.

"Yeah, ever since he left us to go play for the minors she's hated him." Charlie explained.

But it wasn't till after that. "No, she was mad when you got upset that he didn't stay in touch with your mom. She didn't hate him till you started complaining about the hard training we had to go through and you know why."

"At least I didn't tell her Mom might be serious about it this time."

"And you're not going to. Don't get your hopes up Charlie, Jesse's not here and even if he was and even with Adam, Port, and myself I don't think we'll be able to bring her back up if she falls this time. None of us want to go through that again, please don't do that to her. Promise me on your...your captain's C that you will not say anymore about your mom and Bombay, you have to promise me you'll let your mom and Rob handle this." I said stopping and taking ahold of his shoulders making him stop also.

"I promise on my captain's C that I'll let my mom and Uncle Rob deal with her if Mom and Bombay get any more serious than dating and I promise on my C that I will not say anymore to her about Mom and Bombay together." He answered looking me dead in the eye.

"Thank you." I told him walking down the hall to my room. When I got there I laid down on my back staring at the ceiling.

"Fulton?" A tiny voice asked from the doorway. I looked that way and say Lizzy standing there twisting the hem of her shirt around her finger.

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure." I answered staring at the ceiling again. I was pushed over onto my side then my stomach. "What was that for?" I asked looking at her. "Oh." I saw that she had lain down on her back so I flipped onto my side and draped an arm over her stomach.

"Fulton?"

"Yeah?"

"I need you."

"Need me?"

"Yeah I need you because you can give me the comfort no one else can."

"How so?"

"You're my best friend Fult, you give me comfort no one else can."

"That's good."

"Fulton?"

"Hmmm."

"Why does he have to do this?"

"Charlie or Coach?"

"Bombay."

"I don't know Lizzy-gator."

"I'm going to stop it."

"I know, but don't worry about that right now just lay down and rest."

"Fult...thanks."

"Sure now get some rest Lizzy." She nodded and then fell asleep. For some reason I was reminded of when we used to do this as kids. We'd lie up on her bed and talk until one or both of us had fallen asleep.

About twenty minutes or so later the door slammed open and Portman walked in. I held my breath and looked at Lizzy. She stirred gently but she didn't wake. I sighed and looked up. "What the hell is going on?" He roared. Lizzy shifted again but still didn't wake. I got up and placed and hand on Portman's shoulder and pushed him back into the hall.

"Would you shut up? You really don't want to wake her up." I said glancing back at our now closed door.

"What the hell is going on Reed? I though I could trust you." Portman said.

"And you can."

"No I can't, what's this crap about her needing you?"

"She needs me because I'm her best friend. Only four people other than her know why she can't stand Coach Bombay, Jesse, Adam, Charlie, and me. If her aunt is even contemplating getting serious about him Lizzy's going to need a lot of support for a while and it's the support that'll be hard for anyone to give if they don't know the exact problem. I'd love to tell you Port, really I would, but she'll never allow it and she'll hate me if I broke that trust. Please Port, I'm the closest friend she has don't take that away from her now." I tried pleading with him.

"Alright. I just feel...so..."

"Helpless? Like there's nothing you can do?"

"Yeah."

"When she wakes up give her a foot massage, I'm crappy at them and she said I owe her one. Other than that just trust her to come to you with certain things and know that no one will try to take her from you. She does love you even if she won't admit it, and she won't break your trust again." I explained.

"Alright, take care of her." He said.

"FULTON!" Lizzy hollered. I looked at Port and then glanced at the door.

"Go, she wants you and I can't do anything about it." Port said. I bit my lower lip. "You're her best friend and I know I'd get on her bad side if I tried taking that from her."

"Thanks and I'm glad you understand that there are going to be some things that she just can't talk to you about." I said.

"FULTON!" She called again. He nodded and I went back and opened the door. Lizzy flipped over squirming. I looked at Port.

"She's probably dreaming but I think she can tell you're not near her." He said.

"Fult please." She whispered. I climbed back into the bed and draped an arm over her. She stilled and scooted closer to me. Portman gave a small smile and walked out of the room leaving the door cracked. I looked at Lizzy and found myself falling into sleep.

"Awww they are so cute." I heard a male voice say from near the door.

"Yeah maybe they'll even win cutest couple this year." A female voice added. I felt Lizzy nuzzle into me and felt her breathing become controlled. I knew she was trying hard not to laugh.

"Yeah but some people are rooting for Jules and Scooter." Another male voice said.

"Guys, isn't that Fulton's bed?" A third male voice asked; a voice I could tell was Adam's.

"Yeah but why would Portman and Lizzy sleep in Fulton's bed?" A different female voice asked.

"Who knows, Jules." The first male voice said, and now I could tell it was Charlie and if the second female voice was Julie that meant the first one had to be Connie. After all that deduction it only left the second male voice unknown.

"You have to admit they are cute though." Connie said.

"I never said they weren't babe." The second male voice answered, the babe part identifying him as Guy.

"Glad you five think my girlfriend is cute with our best friend." Portman's voice answered. That's when Lizzy lost it and broke down laughing. I looked up and saw Adam, Charlie, Julie, Connie, and Guy standing in the doorway and Portman walking into the room. I sat up and pulled Lizzy into my arms as she shook with laughter. She froze and looked at Portman who gave a small nod. She relaxed and looked at the guys in the doorway.

"You should have seen your faces." Lizzy sputtered out, slightly shaking with laughter again.

"How long have you been up?" I asked her.

"Since about the time Charlie said 'Awww they are so cute'." She quoted. Port tossed me a candy bar and a bag of chips. I caught the candy bar and Lizzy nabbed the bag of chips out of the air right before it hit her in the face. She took one look at the bag before dropping them into my lap. "If you had to get him chips you could have at least gotten him the good kind."

"Those are his favorite type." Portman said slightly confused.

"I know and he probably only picked them so I wouldn't eat them." Lizzy said.

"No, they're my favorite because I like them. It's only a tiny factor that you don't like them." I told her. She wrinkled her nosed and shifted getting more comfortable in my arms.

"You brought him food but not me how inconsiderate, I'm going to cry." Lizzy said to Port and turned towards me pretending to cry.

"Last time I checked you already ate breakfast."

"Yes, but now it's past lunch and I'm starving." Lizzy whined. He rolled his eyes and leaned over her. He kissed her cheek and handed her a chocolate chip muffin he pulled out of one of his pants' pockets. "Love ya babe."

"Yeah right back at ya." He answered pulling back and sitting down on his bed.

"If you're going to stand there and eavesdrop you might as well come in and sit down to do it, you'll be a lot more comfortable." She said unwrapping the muffin.

Port flipped on the TV and we sat back to watch whatever was on. After a while everyone but me and Lizzy left, and we promised to catch up with them at dinner.

"Fulton," She said.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"What time's practice tomorrow?"

"4:30 pm."

"4:30 on the dot got it."

"Come ready to play, he might let you."

There's your chapter I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading and reviewing and paying some attention.