Forever and Always | Adam Banks

Welcome to the Ducks!

Adam and Ellie could hear the commotion coming from the Ducks locker room. They looked at each other, nervous to go in. The Ducks' reaction to them walking in was either going to be good or terrible, and there was no in between. Ellie knew Adam was twice as nervous as she was. He already had bad blood with the team, especially since he was coming from the Hawks and had been picking on them all season. 

"Hey, it's going to be okay," Ellie reassures her best friend, giving his hand a quick squeeze before the two entered the locker room. The noise they had once heard became dead quiet as soon as the Ducks noticed them walk into the room. Well, this was certainly going to be awkward. Ellie could tell that they weren't really expecting either of them to show up. They both stood their awkwardly, as no one had said anything to them. At that point, the floor was the most interesting thing to look at.  

A few seconds later, Coach Bombay walks into the locker room. "Hey, I wasn't sure if you guys were going to show up," the Coach greets the kids. He knew this was a tough decision for the both of them, moreso Adam than Ellie. Adam coming from the Hawks was a big deal to the team and Gordon just hoped the Ducks would welcome him with open arms.

"Yeah, whatever. I just want to play hockey," Adam responds. He figured that playing for the Ducks was better than not playing at all. Plus, if the team hated his guts at least he wouldn't feel alone on the team. With Ellie here with him, he was bound to have a little bit of fun. All he could hope is that he would eventually be welcomed by the team. 

"Good," Bombay says, putting his hand on Adam's shoulder. "Ducks, you all know Adam Banks. Also, joining the team is Ellie Sparks." 

"On behalf of the Ducks, I'd like to say welcome." Ellie recognized the kid from around town, pretty sure his name was Charlie. He was in the alley the day Adam had gotten thrown into a pile of garbage. He started making his way toward the two new members of the team, but was stopped by his own teammate.

"Cake-eater. And cake-eater's girlfriend." Ellie opened her mouth to clarify that she wasn't Adam's girlfriend, but she knew it would be no use. It was clear the team obviously had formed their own opinions of the two. And the red head with glasses had started speaking before she even got the chance. "Shut up, Averman!" 

"It was just a joke," the red head said, although no one was laughing. The locker room was so tense, you could cut it with a knife. Ellie had gotten the feeling that she wasn't going to be well liked by the rest of the team, despite them knowing nothing about her, other than maybe Charlie. The association to Adam was enough for them to hate her. 

"Putting on a Ducks jersey doesn't mean you're a real Duck," Jesse says, walking up to Adam and Ellie. It seemed the Ducks were always going to view Adam as a Hawk, deeming him not worthy of being a Duck. Some of the Ducks didn't agree with the way Jesse was treating Ellie, though. They knew nothing about this girl, most of them never seeing her before. There was a chance she might be a good person. 

With that, most of the team had followed Jesse out of the locker room and to the ice, but not before bumping shoulders with Adam and Ellie on the way out. No one said a word to them. A few of the players wouldn't even look at them. Coach Bombay watched the two kids, noticing the sad looks on their faces. He was hoping his team would be more welcoming to them, but they weren't even going to give the two new players a chance. The three watched as Charlie walked out the door last, in the hopes that he would say something nice, but alas he walked out silently.

"They're a good group once you get to know them," Coach Bombay says. He felt bad for the two kids, imagining how difficult this was for the two of them. Coming into a new team, just to be treated like total scum. However, he had faith that the team would change their opinion on the two and welcome them to the team.

"I bet," Ellie mumbles quietly, disappointed that she didn't even get to say anything. These people had no idea who she was, yet they didn't even give her a chance. She was hoping she would make friends with the other girls on the team, but instead they walked right by her, not a single word spoken. Just because Adam and his old teammates decided to pick on them, doesn't mean she deserved to be clumped into the same catergory. 

"Well, suit up. We'll see you guys on the ice." Coach left the two in the locker room to change and gather their thoughts before joining the team on the ice. The kids stared at the two green jerseys hung next to each other. Banks #99. Sparks #98. At least they were given similar numbers. Ellie knew putting on a Ducks jersey was going to be harder on Adam than her. He was used to his Hawks jersey, but now being on a new team that didn't want him, he was starting to wonder if quitting hockey would have been the better option. 

"You okay?" Ellie asks, checking in on her best friend. The two had been silent as they changed into their new gear. Ellie wasn't used to wearing all this padding, let alone a team jersey. It had always been her and Adam, now she had to deal with playing with other kids who hated her. 

"I guess," Adam shrugs as he tugs on his new jersey. In this moment, Adam didn't know how to feel. He didn't expect sunshine and rainbows when he walked into the locker room, but he also didn't expect them to treat him like he had murdered their new puppy right in front of them. "Let's just go play." 

There was a little less than nine minutes left in the second period, the Ducks down 0-1. Ellie watched as her team cleared the puck away from their goal and passed it up the rink. Charlie currently had the puck and she could hear Adam telling him to pass it to him. He was open and had the perfect opportunity to score. Instead, the team was passing it to everyone but Adam. She let out a sigh, knowing that they were purposefully doing this. The team would rather exclude Adam completely than win a game. 

"Pass it to Banks," Bombay and Ellie yelled at the same time, tired of watching their team pass up the opportunity to score a goal. If they lost this game, they weren't going to make into the playoffs, and Ellie really wanted to be in the playoffs. She's had the chance to show the team what she could do, Connie and a few other players complimented her on her skill. It was nice that they were starting to talk to her, but she still felt bad for Adam. 

Eventually somone passed it to Adam and he was able to score their first point. He celebrated, everyone on the bench cheered, and even a few players on the ice went over and hugged him. Seeing that made Ellie smile. Maybe the two of them were going to be okay after all. Ellie was starting to get a good feeling about their time on the Ducks.

They had made into the third period with the sixteen seconds left on the clock, still tied 1-1. "Goldberg, you're gonna sit this one out." Everyone on the bench was losing their minds over Coach's decision. They had all started talking at once, telling coach they couldn't play without a goalie. "A tie won't help us. We need the win. Fulton, you're our extra man. Everybody get the puck to Fulton, that's your job." 

The puck got loose and a player from the other team had started skating toward the empty net. Luckily, Fulton had got to him on time and shoved him to the ground. Ellie let out a sigh of relief from the top of the ice. She knew what was about to come, so she and the rest of the Ducks that were on the ice started skating toward Fulton, wanting to get out of the way. Eight seconds left on the clock. Fulton takes the shot, the other team quickly dives out of the way, not wanting to be caught in the crosshairs. Even the goalie jumps out of the net, knowing that this slapshot could give him a concussion if he got hit. The net was wide open and the puck went in, ripping a hole through it.

The Ducks win! This win meant the Huskies were knocked out of the playoffs and the Ducks were continuing on. The bench cheered and the players on the ice skated to Fulton, giving him a hug. Once the hug from Fulton disbanded, Ellie immediately hugged Adam. She couldn't believe they were actually going to the playoffs. Their team actually had a chance at winning the championship.