Forever and Always | Adam Banks

Why Are You Knocking at My Window so Early?

With the sun glaring through her window, Ellie rolled over and looked at the clock that was sitting on her bedside table. She let out a soft groan as she read the numbers glowing in front of her, 7:12AM. It was a Saturday morning and all she wanted to do was sleep, but she didn't have the ability to go back to sleep once she opened her eyes. Much to her dismay, she was up for the day. 

Ellie hopped out of bed and looked out her window, in hopes that her best friend also happened to be up this early. However, she was greeted with disappointment as she noticed his curtains were still closed. It was in that moment, she decided to give him the time it took her to get ready to be up or else she was going to wake him up. She knew Adam had no idea that she was giving him this timeline, but she was his best friend and this was something that has happened on more than one occasion. 

Awaiting her downstairs were both her parents, who were sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee and her dad reading the daily newspaper. "Morning, mom. Morning, dad," Ellie greets her parents as she grabs herself a box of her favorite cereal, Lucky Charms. Quickly pouring herself a bowl, she joins her parents at the table. 

"Good morning, Ellie. You're up early," her mom comments, noticing her daughter was up earlier than normal. Her parents weren't used to seeing their daughter come down the stairs until 8:30, at the earliest. 

"Just couldn't sleep anymore," Ellie shrugs, shoveling the cereal into her mouth. Her goal was to eat as fast possible, giving Adam less time to sleep. She was already bored and the only thing she wanted to do was hang out with her best friend, which she couldn't do if he was sleeping. 

"Any plans for the day?" Her father asks, not looking up from his paper. He knew he really didn't have to ask this question because Ellie is one of the most predictable people he had ever met once she and Adam had become friends. However, as a father he knew it was important to know what his ten year old daughter was going to be doing during the day.

Ellie rolls her eyes as she takes the last bite of cereal. Her parents ask her the same question every weekend, and every weekend she has the same answer. It's not like she didn't have other friends, but she only saw them at school since none of them live nearby. Though if she was being honest, she enjoyed spending time with Adam the most. He was the most fun to be around and never once did they have to deal with awkward silences. Adam knew her better than anyone else, including her family. He was the person she was most comfortable around and knew that he would always accept her for who she is. 

"Adam and I are probably going to go down to the pond and play some hockey. I'm not sure what else after that. But, he does have a game later today. Can I go? I know you guys are going to John's game, but Mrs. Banks said they could take me and drop me back off. Please," Ellie pleads as she places her bowl in the sink. Her parents had never said no in the past to letting her go to Adam's games, usually because at least one of his parents are there looking after her. 

"That's fine," her mom agrees. Ellie smiled, thanking her parents in a rush as she runs up the stairs to get ready. There was still snow on the ground from the snowfall that happened a few days ago and it was Minnesota in the winter, so Ellie knew how to dress. She threw on a pair of leggings with sweats on top, throwing a pair of jeans in her bag that held her wallet, skates, along with a few other things. She was sure she and Adam would go into town to get something to eat after they were done, so she wanted to be prepared. On top she wore a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt that she had secretly stole from Adam, that he still hadn't noticed was missing, and a thick jacket. 

She opened up her window and hopped onto the tree that was rooted between her room and Adam's room. The tree came in handy quite often as the two used it to get back and forth between each other's houses. She noticed his curtains were still closed, meaning Adam was still asleep. That however was about to change. Once she got across the tree, she started knocking on Adam's window, in hopes that it would wake him up. It didn't take long until Adam had woken up due to the persistent knocking he had heard at his window. 

Adam opened up the curtains and was greeted by his best friend, who happened to be sporting a devilish smile on her face. She signaled for him to open up the window so she could come in. 

"It's not even 8:00AM, why are you knocking at my window so early?" Adam grumbles tiredly, as Ellie hops into his room. As much as he loved his best friend, sometimes he didn't appreciate the early morning wake up calls. However, he was always happy to see her, no matter what time of day it was.

"I woke up early and was bored. And... since we're best friends, I decided that you needed to be awake too." Ellie plops herself on his bed, a smile on her face, as he just stood and stared at her. "Well, go get ready. I figured we could go down to the pond and practice before your game today, which by the way my mom and dad said I could go to."

"I get to choose where we eat afterward," Adam tells her as he goes through his closet, picking something to wear. Ellie nods in agreement, not really caring where they ate. All she wanted to do was spend time with her best friend. Once Adam was ready, they said goodbye to his parents and walked to the pond down the road.   

Playing hockey together had created the best memories for the two kids. Originally, Ellie had no idea how to play hockey, but thanks to Adam she had become one of the best he had ever seen. However, she always refused to play for a team. Adam begged her to play on the Hawks with him, but she knew she would never be accepted on that team. The Hawks were the best in the league and never once did they have a girl player. Ellie knew Coach Reilly would have her sitting on the bench the whole game, despite being better than some of the boy players. 

Adam was the best player on the Hawks team and since he taught her everything she knows, she knew she could outplay almost any other player that was playing in the peewee hockey league. She would love to play peewee hockey with Adam, but she just knew it would never happen while he played for the Hawks. 

"It's still not too late to join the team, y'know," Adam hints as she scores another goal against him. He already knew the Hawks were going to be district champions, they were every year. He enjoyed playing with his teammates, but it would be better if Ellie was playing along side him. The two had amazing chemistry on the ice, and anyone who watched them play together would agree. 

"Adam, we already talked about this. You know Coach Reilly would just have me sit on the bench the rest of the season. It wouldn't even be worth it," Ellie responds, letting out a disappointing sigh. Adam loved living in this district because he got to play for the best team in the league. Meanwhile, Ellie hated living in this district because she knew she would never get a chance to play. 

"He doesn't know how good you are, Ellie. If you would just show him, I'm sure he would put you in over Morgan or Ser. Those guys don't do much for the team." Those were the two boys Adam got along with least on the Hawks team, spending most of his time with McGill and Larson. He didn't always agree with how McGill and Larson treated players on other teams, but he went along with it just to feel included. 

"Haha, real funny, Banksy," Ellie faked a laugh as she once again skated past Adam and scored another goal. She appreciated his kind words of encouragement, but she knew it just wouldn't happen. With that, she decided to change the subject. "Next point wins?"

"I'm already up by three," Adam laughs, but agrees to the terms that were laid out. They had been playing for a few hours already and Adam didn't want to overexert himself before his game. They were playing the District 5 team, who were the worst in the league, but he still wanted to impress Coach Reilly and his dad. They expected a lot out of him, despite only being ten years old, but he had yet to let them down. Nine games into the season, and Adam was playing the best he ever had. 

"I win!" Ellie cheers as she slides in one last goal, defeating Adam in a scrimmage for the very first time. There were times where it was close and there were times she had to tell Adam to stop going easy on her, wanting to play fair. 

"That was a lucky shot," Adam smirks at her, before skating over to her and picking her up in his arms. He spun the two of them around, both laughing as Ellie was swearing up and down that he was going to drop her. Secretly, she knew that he wouldn't drop her. Adam was very protective over her, never letting anything or anyone hurt her. 

Author's Note:

I love their frienship and I feel like at some point everyone had an Ellie friend. Just randomly showing up and dragging you out of the house. And her being so supportive of Adam *chef's kiss*