fine line, adam banks

FORGET AND MOVE ON

the loud cheers are overstimulating my head as the crowd roars for the eden hall hockey team. i'm sitting with ashlee in the non designated student section as we root for our favorite player. my original jersey with my last name on my back is replaced by banks written on the back. my brother still hasn't apologized and no way was i going to. 

after the whole adam talk, ashlee was basically shaking with joy. deep down, ash knew this was going to happen and had gotten used to the idea of sharing her best friend. that was relaxing for both adam and i to say the least.

he had taken me on a date a few days prior to this away game and it was picture perfect. adam reserved balcony seats to my favorite restaurant in down town edina and we finished it off with ice skating in a local rink. ad was more then pleased with getting me back onto the ice and stayed with me until i got my old rhythm back.

everything had been falling into place despite not being on talking terms with matthew or tristian. i was happier than ever. 

the whole rink was packed with edina hornets and eden hall warrior fans. the boys are less than worried about facing the hornets even though they have the home ice advantage. 

following the two periods, the warriors were up 6-0. scooter with another hopeful shut out and adam with another hat trick. you could tell by his excited body language that he finally felt at home with his new team. not to mention every time the boy scored, he point  at me making my cheeks fill to with red heat. 

anybody who watched my brother could tell that he was off. almost missing every single one of his shots. it was heartbreaking to not know what was wrong with him but at this point he hadn't been in my life. forget and move on.

my eyes trail to the ice where rick is skating rapidly down the ice to the hornets zone. he quickly passes the puck to adam, following it with cole and tristian to knock down three opposing players to the cold ice. my number nine, speeds past the last defenders, shooting the rubber puck into the back of the net with ease. the boys jump onto him as that was his fourth of the game. but not to miss, before the dog pile he glides to the student section pointing at me. the girls squeal around me.

"i can't believe she's dating banks."

"you can't? they are the power couple! i mean look at her and him. perfect."

i smile, looking at my boy on the ice.

just ten minutes out of the third period, both rick, xavier and adam had scored once more. 

9-0.

edina looked helplessly at the score board as fans left. soon enough red and white covered the whole arena, chanting the mascot all the way until the clock ran out. the boys skated around the ice, banging on the glass for their fifteenth victory of the season. ashlee hopped out of her seat, pulling me down towards the clear shield. a small gap was formed for the two of us. our the past couple months, our popularity had grown and boy was that amazing. i was no longer associated with my brother's name and was finally my own person. these next four years are going to be powerful for us two. my favorite blonde finally found us, smiling from ear to ear. as the rink was too loud for us to hear him speak, he simply pointed towards the locker run as we nodded. scooter skated up to him, pulling him to a quick head lock while winking at us.

coach wilson gather the whole group together, pushing them towards the visitors locker room. the students quickly dispearsed as only some went towards the hallway of locker rooms.

"can you believe adam? i haven't seen him play this good in ages.", ash smiles, "dad said he has already got some interests from colleges, illegally i might add."

"how could he not? this was his third hat trick against one of the highest teams in the state."

"really? edina looked awful out there."

"the power of private school designed for nhl stars."

"your boy toy's looking for you.", she shoots me a wink, pushing me into the crowd of well wishers.

ignoring the fact that my brother, xander and cole were walking out before adam, i sprint into his arms.

"hey rosie, i like your sweatshirt.", the blonde boy says cheekily, wrapping his arms around my waist. 

"i wonder who gave it to me?"

"quit your flirting, freshies.", scooter scoffs, " where's my hug? i got my eight shoot out of the season!"

chuckling, i give scooter a quick but tight hug, "good job unicycle!"

he gives a quick bow before ruffling my hair. riley peeks out of the locker room, heading straight towards me.

"hey nat, have you talked to your brother yet?"

i shake my head, "i'm not giving in first. tristian's in the wrong and he needs to get that through his thick head."

"look i love you both, but this not speaking thing is really messing with him. tj barely talks to anybody anymore and is playing like shit. i'm just worried that those colleges are going to loose interest in him."

"i think,", i begin, "he needs to learn to leave everything off the ice. it's not my problem. nobody is going to lose interest in him as he scored two times, playing the worst we've seen. you lack trust in him."

rick sighs, giving me a quick forehead kiss, "just think about it, okay? and congrats on getting in with banksie. i saw it coming a mile away."

"i think we all did!", scooter adds.

"you don't count, banks talked to about this."

i gape at the blondie, "so, you were talking about me? still a fan, i see."

his eyes roll before throwing an arm around my shoulder, "let's go. i'm hungry."

ash pipes in hearing his words, "so, i'm guessing you're driving with us?"

he nods before being called by wilson, "i need to talk to you, son."

adam looks between us both before walking to join his coach.

ashlee and i have small talk with scooter about julie as i couldn't help but not tell ash about the senior's crush.

"she likes you, scott! why don't you just talk to her?", she begs as scooter stands with a small smile on his face.

looking for a reason to get out of this conversation, he looks toward the locker room, "ah! banksie's back! what did coach want to talk to you about, bud?"

"the ducks scholarships are being taken away."

the senior's eyes go wide, "that doesn't include you, right?"

"it didn't if i was on varsity. but, i chose to move down with the ducks to stand with them. there is a board meeting tommorrow morning about the scholarships. and if it goes with the school boards plan, then we will be out. well, not me as i was already going to this school before the scholarships."

"that means julie's gonna have to go back to maine.", ash pouts, "and connie is going back to public school."

my healed heart just shattered once more.