All I'm Dreaming Of

The hamburger bun sailed by my face, and hit the guy sitting next to Gabe. Like in the movies, the bun slid down his face, leaving a trail of mustard.

I couldn't help it – I burst out laughing, along with everyone at the Cloverdale table.

Mustard face stood up and rolled up his sleeves. "You want some?" he yelled, raising his arms.

"Not from you!" one of the Cloverdale players yelled. "You're gunna be asking us for mercy when we beat your asses during the bucket game!"

"Ha!" a Bellport guy yelled, standing up with the rest of the team. The Coverdale guys followed suit. "Do you even know about our star player?"

"Oh you mean the one who's playing with us now?" Cloverdale countered.

The hockey players looked at Gabe with gaping mouths. "You... You're transferring?!" someone stuttered.

I looked over at Emily who had a smirk on her face. She's good... very good.

Gabe glared at our table, his hazel eyes flashing. Without a word, he stood up and left the food court. The rest of the Bellport team moved after him, trying very hard to ignore the victory cheers and whoops from our table.

"Hey wanna get outta here?" I asked Emily. Now that the fun was over, the mall seemed kinda boring.

"Yeah sure," she agreed, standing up. "I'll see you tonight Jeffery."

"Bye," he called at our retreating backs.

"How the hell did you find out about Gabe?!" I asked as we left the food court and headed towards the parking lot.

"Very carefully," was her reply. She didn't say anything more, that's just how she was. If Emily was secretive about anything, it was how she finds out her information or 'dirt' on people.

"Oh. Well the team will accept him right?"

"Probably," she said, unlocking her Honda. "He is the best, and they don't have a choice if they want to keep playing."

I nodded and buckled my seatbelt. "So where are we meeting Monday morning?" I asked after a few minutes.

"The usual place, our parking spots of course," Emily answered, turning onto my road. "Let's swim before dinner then head over to that party."

-x-

"Are you ready yet?" I yelled into my reflection, fogging the glass a little.

We were running late – as usual. I was swiping my eyes with black mascara as I waited for Emily to finish blow-drying her bangs. I decided on a pair of ripped A&F jeans and a plain dark green t-shirt, after all, it is the end of August – it does get kind of cool in the evenings.

Emily appeared over my shoulder and smiled. "I'm ready, but apparently you're not."

I stuck my tongue out at her and stuffed some cash into the front pockets of my jeans. I refused to carry around a purse. I either used my pockets for money or my wallet-thing... I don't know exactly what it's called.

"I'll be home by curfew," I called down the stairs before we reached the door.

"Okay, have a good time," my mother called over the water in the kitchen. "Drive safe!"

Emily and I both rolled our eyes before shouting "we will!" Then we moved out into the fading twilight.

-x-

Stones crunched beneath the tires of my navy colored Ford Focus as we pulled into a spot between a BMW and a beat up Chevy.

I opened my door carefully, making sure I didn't hit the BMW. The space was tight between the vehicles', but I made it through without damaging the more pricy one.

Emily and I followed the group of kids moving towards the huge bonfire in the middle of a clearing. I could see seven kegs already, and more kids were carrying various types of alcohol.

"Damn, I forgot the chairs," I mumbled. "I'm going to go back and get them. Don't wander off with any creepers."

"Ha," Emily snickered. I'll wait right here. Oh look there's Jeffery! I'll be with him!" I shook my head as Emily glided off towards Jeffery.

I hit the unlock button on my car keys then lifted the trunk the rest of the way up. The chairs were right on top and easy to pull out.

Moving back towards the party, I caught a whiff of the bonfire and smiled. Ever since I could remember, the smell of a wood stove or a campfire brought back fuzzy memories, as if from a past life. I shook my head. What nonsense. I've been reading too many fantasy books.

I spotted Emily's blonde head near the far edge of the fire and set the chairs up, relaxing back in one.

"Did you want anything?" Emily asked. I eyed the alcohol and debated if I wanted something.

"No, I'm driving remember?" I told her. Emily smacked her forehead. "Wow I'm so stupid. Sorry Lisa."

I shrugged and looked into the fire.

Gabe's Point Of View

"Wow I do not want to be here," Gabe Kellerman said with a grunt.

His parents were just so smart to send him off to Cloverdale. Did they not see what he had going for him at Bellport?!

"Relax man," Torin Culver said. "At least now we don't need to waste the gas to hang out eh?"

Gabe rolled his eyes and stared out the window of Torin's Ford. "Yeah well it's a good thing everyone her loves me right?" he said sarcastically. "I bet they can't even wait for the season to start."

Torin laughed. "Whatever, that's not your problem. If anyone on that team feels the same way you do about hockey, then they would keep playing even if they moved to Bellport."

"Well I still don't wanna stay here too long," he said, unbuckling his seatbelt and stepping out of the car.

"We won't, I just want to introduce you to a few people."

Gabe followed Torin into the party and nodded at the people Torin introduced him too. Everyone was nice, but a few 'hellos' he could tell were fake. Torin offered him a beer but he declined. Alcohol only slows him down on the ice.

"Hey man," Jeffery Gibson, the captain of the Cloverdale Eagles said, swinging an arm around Torin's shoulders. "Ah, Kellerman," he said, nodding in Gabe's direction. "Did your friend have any issues cleaning the mustard off his face?"

The rest of the Jeffery's team laughed that were sitting around nearby.

"Dude, relax," Torin said, patting Jeffery on the shoulder. "He's an eagle now."

Jeffery shrugged and held out his free hand. Gabe grasped it and met Jeffery's iron grip with his own. Unlike Gabe who played defense, Jeffery played forward.

"So, when's the next conditioning?" Gabe asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Thursday, after school," Jeffery replied, an easy grin sliding onto his face. "Make sure you're ready to run."

Gabe snorted. Running was nothing. He glanced around at the other guys, who now were his teammates. How exciting.

Lisa's Point Of View

"Look there's Gabe!" Emily squealed, nudging me in the ribs.

"Wow what is your deal with this guy?!" I snapped, and a bit too loudly because a few people looked over.

Emily looked hurt and stared into her beer can.

"Sorry Em, I apologized. "But it seems like everywhere I turned today it was Gabe, Gabe, Gabe."

She shrugged. "Sorry, I'm just excited for some odd reason..."

I let the silence hang in the air as I observed the exchange between Jeffery and Gabe. Unlike most of the guys in the school, Gabe wasn't the least bit intimidated by Jeffery.

I let out a yawn and didn't bother to cover my mouth. "Dude, let's get out of here. It's boring."

"Okay," Emily agreed. "I'll see you bright and early Monday Jeffery," she added flirtatiously.

I rolled my eyes. "See ya," I said to the people that gathered around our chairs. As I was folding them up, one of them popped open and I stumbled.

"Easy," someone said, catching me by my elbow.

"Thanks," I replied. Glancing up, I saw Torin's stormy blue eyes looking back at me.

He nodded and Emily and I walked back towards my car.

"Wow Lisa!" she exclaimed. "Torin Culver?! Damn."

I raised my eyebrows. "Yeah. Hardly." But his eyes were still in my head.