𝐦𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 | 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐦 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬

"adam banks was completely aware"

Rowan pulled the earbuds attached to her walkman out of her ears as the first period had begun. Right off the bat, McGill takes the face-off where he passed the puck quickly to Adam. He weaves around the defense until it's just him and the goalie. He skates around the goal, knocking the goalie to the ground, with an open net, he slides the puck in, scoring the first goal of the season. Rowan stands up to cheer for her best friend and the team. Adam looks towards the stands where he knew Rowan was sitting. When he saw her standing and cheering, he took his helmet off and smiled at her, holding up a #1 with his finger before skating into a group hug with Larson and McGill. The rest of the game continued this way, with a few occasional goals made by the other team.

By the end of the third period, the final score was 11-4, Hawks winning. Rowan rushed out of the crowded bleachers, saying a few quick hellos to some Hawk parents. When she reached the locker room, the door flew open, revealing three familiar boys. They quickly collided into the girl full force, almost knocking her over in a big hug.

"What a pleasant hello," She groaned, taking a strong whiff of the sweat that covered their bodies.

"Yeah, hi to you too," McGill sarcastically grumbled.

"Hm, you smell good," Larson said, sniffing the arm of her jacket.

"Yeah, new perfume?" Adam asked curiously.

"Yeah it is, wish I could say the same about you guys," Rowan answered with a slightly distorted look of disgust on her face.

"What?" Adam questioned. "Do we smell or something?" 

"That's exactly what it is."

"Can you believe this girl?" McGill scoffed.

"Oh, I almost forgot! I have a comp tomorrow. You guys gonna come?" She excitedly changed the subject. 

"Have we ever missed a game?" They all said at once, mocking the statement made by her earlier that day.

Rowan rolled her eyes at their blatant ignorance of calling it a game. "It's at 9:00 tomorrow morning, don't be late," She stated in response. 

"9:00 am? Why so early?" Larson dramatically asked -- as if 9 am was the crack of dawn.

"Oh please, 9:00 am is a late competition. You're lucky it's not at 6:00."

"We have to go to a 6 o'clock competition on the weekend?" McGill nearly shouted.

"Yes, don't act as if I wouldn't go for you guys," She responded simply, now hugging Larson goodbye, she pulled away after a few seconds to give McGill a similar hug. "You guys need to shower."

"Yeah yeah okay, we'll see you tomorrow at 11," Larson said with a small laugh.

"It's at 9, not 11!" Rowan yelled over her shoulder, walking down the hall alongside Adam. "They're gonna be late, aren't they?"

"They're just saying that. I know for a fact that they'll be there before 9 am. I mean, you know them, they're trying to mess with your head. Even if it was at 3 in the morning, they'd still be there," He said softly smiling at the girl.

"I hope you're right," She sighed.

"I know I'm right, I'm always right. Try and tell me a time I wasn't right," Adam cockily claimed.

"Hmm, well funny you'd say that, if I remember correctly -- just on the way here, you were wrong about the percentage of how well you knew me," She smartly said.

"Oh, I'm sorry for not being a math prodigy at 13 years old," The boy sarcastically remarked as the two approached the car.

"Apology accepted," Rowan declared, letting out a small smile.

"I wasn't-" He started but was cut off by her laugh. Adam just looked at her and grinned while letting out smaller chuckles.

Soon, the two were just standing in front of the car laughing hysterically. They weren't entirely sure what it was they were even laughing about, but they couldn't stop. Just being in each other's presence made them smile uncontrollably, but it was the other's laugh that made them repeat the same action.

"Okay, seriously stop laughing I'm getting a cramp," Rowan complained in between gasps for air and more laughs. The duo tried to hide their laughs as Adams's dad proceeded towards them.

"I don't even want to know," Phil Banks said, glancing at the two giggling wrecks in front of him. The laughter finally died out as they entered the car.

The ride home was quiet, a comfortable quiet. Only a few words exchanged between Adam and his dad about the game could be heard. Rowan looked at the familiar streets of Edina, Minnesota through the car windows.

After about 10 minutes, they pulled into the Banks' driveway. Rowan walked around to the other side of the car to give Adam a few words of praise for his playing. She strode back across the grass, giving a final wave before stepping inside her house. She quickly rushed up to her room after greeting her parents and brother on the way to the stairs.

It was only then she realized that she was still wearing a certain Hawks jacket. She snapped out of the thought as soon as possible in hopes of preventing any pink tint to fill over her cheeks. She had lots of things to do in preparation for tomorrow's competition. She checked her bag to find her skates, costume, skating team jacket, hair and makeup products, and tights. All she needed was her water bottle, snack, and walkman. After packing the final items, she zipped her bag up and started her night routine.

Unlike Rowan, Adam Banks was completely aware of the jacket. 

As the sun began to set -- painting its purple and pink canvas -- Adam went to fix his shades, stopping once he spotted the image of the girl on the other side. For what was most likely the thousandth time, he saw Rowan reading a book in her spinning chair -- different from the one she was intrigued by at the game. He watched as she lazily twirled around in the seat, biting the tip of her thumb. Only moments later, she looked towards the window to meet the blue eyes of Adam. She gave him a smile and a wave that he returned. She went back to the pages of her book as he scribbled in big letters: "Still reading The Outsiders?" 

He tapped on the window, which could be heard from her room. She looked out to see the note, grinning before getting up to grab a piece of paper.

"Yeah, almost done though. Finishing it tonight," She held it to the window so he could read it.

"Okay, I'll leave you alone now," He responded. She nodded her head and turned her attention to the current scene between the Greasers.

For the next hour or so, Adam laid in bed listening to music on his walkman. This was something he often did when unable to sleep. It was a playlist Rowan made him for his birthday last year. He listened to it almost every day, not just because she gave it to him but there were good songs on there as well. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the blonde girl turn her light out, in the same moment he paused the music on his walkman and put it on the bedside table. He quickly fell into a peaceful sleep, knowing she had finally finished her book.

a/n- Sorry for the short chapter, they will get longer within the next few parts. Ducks coming soon I promise! The story gets better just please bear with me <3