𝔟𝔯𝔲𝔱𝔞𝔩 | 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗮𝗻

two: "you wish"

"Gate F7 right?" I glanced over at Dean who was squinting at his plane ticket and the sign above us which read GATE F1-F9.

"Yeah," I mumbled and dragged my suitcase over to a bench and sat down in a huff. The sun wasn't even up and Dean and I were already at the airport. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 7:10 am and it was almost 6. Dean took a seat next to me and paged through one of the pamphlets Tibbles had given us about the Junior Olympics.

"You seen the hotel we're staying at?" Dean shifted his weight and faced a page towards me which highlighted our hotel's main features. Complimentary breakfast, a pool, all the works.

"Saw it yesterday." I rubbed my face with my hands and let out a sigh. I could barely keep my eyes open much less keep up a conversation with Dean.

"Alright then." Dean scooted away from me and we remained silent. After about an hour I started to doze off when I heard our plane begin boarding. I slowly got up and followed Dean to the gate.

He turned around to me as we waited in line. "Aw, I was hoping you'd stay asleep and miss the flight." He smirked and I just rolled my eyes. I was way too tired for his shit.

A nice older woman checked my ticket and smiled at me as I passed. "Good luck Ms. Callahan."

I was a bit taken aback by her comment but quickly thanked her before walking to board. I turned my ticket over in my hand, checking to see if it said something about Team USA on it. Of course, it didn't, but I couldn't figure out how she knew who I was.

I caught up to Dean who was nearly on board already. We shuffled on and back to our seats. Once seated, I begged Dean to switch with me so I could be next to the window. He refused and I wondered why I had even tried.

After takeoff, I looked around the plane for a few moments, and my eyes landed on a newspaper that the man two rows ahead and to the left was reading. I sucked in a breath when I saw what was on the cover. PORTMAN AND CALLAHAN TO JOIN TEAM USA was printed on the front above a picture of Dean and me celebrating a goal from our last game.

I leaned over and shook Dean's shoulder in excitement. He pushed me off and removed his headphones from his ears. "What?" He snapped, clearly irritated.

"Look!" I whispered and pointed to the man's paper.

Dean leaned over for a better look until he was nearly on top of me. Then the plane suddenly jolted and his hand slipped off of the armrest and onto my leg. I tensed up and he quickly moved away. "Cool." He muttered and put his headphones back on.

I could feel the awkwardness and decided it would be best to just try and sleep. I shifted around uncomfortably for a few more minutes until finally drifting into an uneasy sleep.

_

"There it is!" I sped up slightly towards a coach bus, sporting the Hendrix Hockey logo as well as Team USA stickers on the bumper and windows. Tibbles had left us specific instructions on what bus to look for and where it would be.

I stopped at the door and it swung open a few seconds later. Dean joined me from behind, breathing heavily.

"What's the matter Portman? Can't keep up?" I smiled and stepped onto the bus. I heard a dejected "You wish," from Dean as I moved towards the back and sat down. The bus was empty and I assumed we were either the first or last of the new team members to arrive. When the bus pulled away from the airport, I decided last.

It was a surprisingly fast trip and soon we were parked next to an arena door with arrows leading us towards the locker rooms. Dean and I shuffled through the long hallways and down a few flights of stairs before reaching the door. I pulled it open and Dean pushed past me and inside.

"Ladies first," I mouthed to his backside and stepped in behind him. Looking around, I was relieved to see hockey bags and gear scattered along the benches and floor. After not seeing anyone yet I was afraid we were in the wrong place.

I sat next to an empty locker and pulled my shoes and sweatshirt off. I dug around my bag before grabbing my skates and jersey. I put those on along with my pads and stood up. I glanced in Dean's direction and saw that he was also ready. I held my helmet and stick and we nodded to each other before walking out.

I took a few deep breaths, trying my best not to be nervous. But when my eyes landed on the players on the ice, all my nerves skyrocketed.

"Are we late or something?" I hissed at Dean as we quickened our pace towards the group.

"If we are it's your fault." He said back.

"My fault? Are you kidding? You're the one who-"

"Oh great, here they are!" I was cut off by the cheerful voice of Don Tibbles who stood next to a group of other players. I counted three other guys besides Dean and one other girl. I made eye contact and she smiled at me. I returned it.

"Alright everyone, today is going to be a good one! In a few moments, I'm going to introduce you all to Gordon Bombay and his Mighty Ducks. You should already be in order so when I call your name, show us what you got." Don clapped his hands together and walked to the middle of the ice where Coach Bombay and the other players stood. They all looked nice enough.

While Tibbles said a few things over there, I began to think of the different moves I could show off. I was pretty good at puck handling and a great shot. I also could move very well on the ice, weave around players, and change direction in record time. I figured I could come up with something when my name was called.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard "Tell me about my new kids."

_

alright now it's gonna start getting good hehe