Wildest Dreams OCxAdam Banks

7. Goal

"C'mon pass it to me!" Adam shouted for what seemed like the hundredth time. Both of the former Hawks had been open for the entire game and not once had they touched the puck. Adam was getting fed up with the Ducks and it showed. He was huffing and puffing and waving his arms, desperate to get ahold of the puck. It was an absolute shit show.

Just before the third quarter ended, Flora intercepted the puck. She skated toward the goal with the puck right in front of her. Flora noticed two players from the other team gunning for her. She wasn't sure if she could make it to the goal.

"Adam!" She called. The boy faced her and she shot the puck in his direction. He got a grasp on the puck with just seconds left. Adam turned around and pushed it into the goal. He held his breath, wondering for a split second if it would go it. The timer on the scoreboard and the buzzer in the net went off at exactly the same time, scoring a point for the Ducks. 

"Yeah!" Adam yelled with joy, throwing his arms up. Flora sprinted over to Adam and jumped into his arms. Surprisingly, almost every Duck on the ice joined in their celebration.  They patted Flora and Adam on the back while cheering for their success. Flora noticed Jesse as he skated back to the bench, looking down at his skates. She wasn't surprised that he didn't care to join in.

The rest of the team skated back to the bench to get ready for the final quarter while Flora and Adam hung back. They were so close to each other. Adam could feel her breath coming out in spurts. The way Adam looked at Flora gave her butterflies.  His smile, the glimmer in his eyes, everything. She loved everything about that boy.

"You ready to win this game?" Adam asked softly.

"Let's do it"

With the whole team back on the bench, Coach Bombay began instructing them on how to score another point so they could break the tie.

"Goldberg, I want you to sit this one out." Several groans and what?'s were heard from the bench.

"You're pulling the goalie right when we're tied?" Karp questioned.

"A tie won't help us. We need the win." Coach started. "Fulton, you're our extra man. Everyone else, get the puck to Fulton. That's your job." Bombay could not have stressed that more.

"Are we pulling the Statue of Liberty Play?" Fulton asked. Several teammates nodded their heads, agreeing it was the safest bet.

"No, take your shot. You may only get one so it's gotta be good." Bombay said, looking Fulton in the eye. He seemed unsure.

"Coach, one outta one?

"Soft hands, Fulton. Concentration, not strength." Guy told Fulton before turning to Connie and winking. Flora thought it was cute how obvious it was that they were in love.

"Exactly. Now, let's get the Huskies! Let's go!" The team cheered as they got off the bench and onto the ice. All the Ducks were ready to win the game.  Adam and Flora got into their places in the line with the rest of the team following. The Huskies were staring everyone down, making Flora very nervous.

Adam took the face-off and won. He passed the puck to Fulton. He was about to shoot when a player from the Huskies slid down the ice to move the puck away. Fulton followed, pushing the boy down and taking the puck back. He circled back to the net and took the shot. The clock was counting down.

8...7...6...5...4

Flora had never seen a puck go that fast before. It shot right into the net, breaking through and hitting the boards behind it just as the clock hit zero. Cheers erupted from the entire rink. Parents, players, coaches, everyone was cheering for Fulton and the Ducks. Flora, Adam, and the rest of the Ducks on the ice skated into a group hug.

"We're going to the playoffs!" Bombay shouted from the bench. To say they were excited was an understatement. The whole team was over the moon, Coach Bombay included. The Ducks were headed to the playoffs!

A few days later...

Flora was sitting in her room listening to music on her walkman. She had recently gotten into Don't Stop Me Now by Queen, even though it was almost 15 years old. She heard a faint knock on her door and pressed pause while taking off her headphones.

"Come in!" She called. The door opened and Adam entered the girl's bedroom. He had a folded-up newspaper in his hand and an excited grin on his face.

"Flora, check this out!" Adam held the newspaper out to her. Flora had no idea what could be this exciting in the newspaper. She took the crinkled paper and looked at the front page. Her eyes widened and a smile crept onto her face when she saw it.

"Oh my god, that's us!" She marveled. It was a picture of the team and Bombay hugging on the ice after their win with the headline "Ducks Make Playoffs" followed by an article titled "Fulton Reed's Herculean last second goal rips net and propels Ducks to win." Flora started reading the article. Her face lit up even more when she saw her name. "The first goal of the game for the Ducks was made by #99 Adam Banks and assisted by #14 Flora Jackson. These two players are new additions to the Ducks roster and have proven to be assets to the team for the playoffs." 

"This is the first step in our major league career!" Adam cried.

"Having our names in the newspaper?" Flora questioned, very confused.

"Everyone starts in their local newspaper. Next thing you know we'll be in state-wide papers and magazines that people all over the country will read. 

"Hold your horses. All we did was score a goal. As confident as I am that we'll be playing pro someday, I don't think it starts here." She laughed.

"I guess we'll have to wait for the scouts to come knocking down our doors." Adam joked. Flora could picture it. She and Adam with dozens of coaches from all the over country standing outside their houses, desperate to recruit her and Adam. It was an incredible image.