Incipient// Adam Banks 1

5.

Bombay decided to tie up the team for a bonding exercise. To her dismay, she was stuck between Dean and Jessie but was thankful Adam was behind her. Jessie didn't seem to thrilled to have her and her brother on their team and would make smart remarks every chance he could.

"Somebody better watch their hands." Julie threatened.

"Yea someone licked me." Averman added, wiping the back of his neck.

"Gross." Octavia muttered as she was shoved back into Adam by Jessie.

He caught her and set her upright. "Careful there, Tiger." He joked.

"Sorry." She apologized, glaring at Jessie who only smirked.

"Ah I smell something." Guy said aloud.

And that's when the stench hit her. A foul smell from someone's bowels had made her gag. She'd smelled bad scents before but this was too much for her nose to handle.

"Goldberg!" The Ducks accused the boy.

"It wasn't me!" He denied. Apparently he was one to own up to his ungodly creations.

"No. It was me!" Dean claimed the stench and raised his arms.

Jessie being Jessie, smashed Octavias body against Deans, her head landing in his armpit. She gagged out loud at the smell and tried to push away but Jessie pushed her into him harder.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." She announced, coughing and gagging from the smells coming from Dean.

Adam pulled her towards him and she breathed hard fighting for fresh air. He held a look of concern on her face but she nodded as if telling him she was okay. A whistle blew and everyones attention fell on Coach Bombay.

"I don't think I can make this any clearer. You are a team and to win this thing you have to work as one. Now as one, skate." Bombay ordered loudly.

The team skated all right, just all in different directions. They fell to the ground and it was a dogpile. Before Dean could land on the Russian girl, Adam pulled her on top of him so she wouldn't be squished.

"Thank you."

"No problem." He smiled.

"Everyone goes their own way, everyone falls down. Now get up and try it again." Bombay motioned for them to get up and they did.

It took about 5 tries for someone to speak up and tell each other what way to go. Each time they fell, Adam saved the girl from being flattened by the goon beside her.

"Alright. All of you move to your right." Dean ordered.

"Who makes you the boss? Everyone move to your left." Fulton countered.

The group moved again in different directions, them falling for the upteinth time.

"The toxic masculinity in this circle is infuriating." Octavia groaned.

"You can say that again." Connie replied

"You guys can argue all you want but I am not untying you until you move as one." Bombay walker away and they got up again.

After a few more tries, they were finally moving as a unit. Octavia stumbled over Luis skates a few times but Adam was right behind to catch her.

"Now you're learning. Communication that's it! Together. Move together. Charge!" Bombay skated in front of them, guiding them to the right.

After a few minutes of skating, Bombay finally untied them from each other.

"You guys are starting to look like hockey players. I'm proud of you team. You worked hard today. But hockey should also be fun. Rancher Dwayne?"

"Yes sir." Dwayne replied.

"Round me up some stray cattle there." He tossed him a lasso and the team stood up, all skating in different directions.

"My pleasure!"

The team skated around trying their best not to get caught. Octavia skated around Dwayne, using her speed to skate around him and tease him. Before long, all that was left was Adam, Luis, the twins, Guy and Connie.

Dwayne headed straight for Octavia and she stuck her tongue out, skating backwards to escape. Just as she was about to lead him to another player, arms wrapped around her body and locked her in place.

"Rancher Dwayne I think I've caught one." Adam teased with a thick country accent.

Octavia giggled and a rope wrapped around their bodies calling them out. Luis ended up winning the game but they quickly moved on to square dancing. Dwayne stood up front showing them movies but the twins struggled trying to listen.

They hadn't been in America long so their English wasn't even close to perfect but they still had managed for a while. When Dwayne started talking in country slang and his accent thickened, the two grew confused and ended up a few beats behind everyone else.

They laughed it off with the others and continued to dance, Octavia beside Adam and August beside Kenny. Soon, Coach Bombay stopped their practice and told them all to go home and get some rest. Tomorrow, they would take pictures and discuss their future as a team.
•••••••••••••••••••••

In the locker room, the team undressed and got ready to head back to the hotel and their homes. Octavia had just finished unbraiding her hair to get in the shower when Adam walked up next to her.

"How are you liking it here so far?"

"It's different." She replied truthfully. "But it feels nice to be away from my aunt and uncle. They mean well but they don't exactly know how to raise children." She laughed a little.

"Man. I'm sorry." He apologized. He didn't mean to step past any boundaries.

"No you're fine. It's nice to talk about it with someone other than my brother." She admitted.

"You don't talk about it with your friends?" He asked, pulling his pads off.

"No one wants to talk to Commies." She said rather sharply. When she saw the look on his face she apologized.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to say it so rudely."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for." He replied. "You have the right to be angry. I would."

She nodded and grabbed a towel, heading for the showers along with Connie and Julie.

"I'm going to have to give you my number to talk to you guys tonight." Connie started. "I've never seen Adam act that way with any girl, Octavia."

"He was just trying to make conversation." Octavia replied.

"No boy that's ever 'tried to make conversation' with me talks to me the entire practice and touched me everytime he could." Julie teased, earning laughs.

Octavia rolled her eyes but laughed along with the girls. What had she gotten herself into?