Disclaimer: Do I own the Mighty Ducks? Of course not!

– Chapter One –

And so the story continues…

"Charlie, look out!"

It was too late. Charlie Conway sprawled out on the floor, several overturned boxes next to him. Rubbing his head ruefully, he glared up at the stone pillar that had suddenly introduced itself to his person.

"Charlie…" A pretty brunette, about three inches over five feet, sighed. "When you offered to help me move in, I thought exactly that. You'd be helping me. Not knocking into stationary objects."

He scowled at her and reached for the boxes he'd dropped. "Well, I'm sorry, Constance. I just thought that you'd appreciate the presence of some extra arms."

Hiding a grin, Connie leaned down and touched her boyfriend's pouting face. "I do." She murmured before giving him a small kiss.

Charlie's face immediately softened and he grinned. "Let's get these boxes inside. Adam and Guy are probably looking through your stuff."

"No, they wouldn't dare. They're too polite, unlike some people." Connie stated snootily, with a meaningful glance at her boyfriend. And picking up her suitcase, she strode off towards the entrance doors.

Charlie just snorted as he followed her into the Eden Hall upperclassmen residence complex.

Dean Portman tossed a duffel bag over his shoulder and grinned at his best friend."This place is totally wicked." He breathed, looking around the Upperclassmen Complex.

Fulton Reed whistled in agreement and handed Julie Gaffney her suitcase from his dad's car.

The three friends looked on with wonder at the view in front their eyes. Eden Hall always separated the lowerclassmen from the upperclassmen and so had different residence complexes for the respective grades.

It went without saying that the upperclassmen had gotten the better deal.

Large red brick buildings were accented with white pillars and were located on one of the campus's rose gardens. The gorgeous Georgian style architecture was complemented by the slightly wild and untamed nature of the arboretum.

It's beautiful, Julie thought contently, her shining blue eyes turning to her two friends. "You're right. This place is absolutely breathtaking."

"Yeah, I know! Check it out, we have our own parking lot! And no curfew guards!" Portman cheered.

Fulton grinned excitedly, his enthusiasm showing bright. "Look, Port! There's a satellite dish!"

"I know! But you know what the best part is?" Portman asked, with an ear to ear smile.

"Coed floors?" Fulton asked innocently, his face adopting a clueless expression.

"No! Guess again!" Portman laughed.

The two friends looked at each other before bursting out "The Suites! We're living the suite life, baby!"

Julie stared at them, her mouth dropping open at their obvious disregard for aesthetic beauty. "That's what you guys are excited about? This place is gorgeous! It's an architectural masterpiece not to mention a nationally acclaimed arboretum!"

"Uh…oh…oh yeah. Look, flowers! Pretty!" Portman floundered, awkwardly pointing at a purple colored cluster of blossoms.

"Here, Jules! For you!" Fulton said gallantly, reaching over and plucking out a couple of the blossoms.

"Fulton…these are weeds."

"Oh…well…they're pretty weeds!" Fulton grinned before skipping off towards the entrance with Portman in tow.

Hearing a chuckle behind her, Julie turned to look at Fulton's father who was unloading the rest of her and Portman's items. "Come on, Julie. I'll help you with all of these. I suspect those two will be too distracted to be much help." He said kindly.

Julie gave a small laugh. "Thanks, Mr. Reed."

"Hello? It's me…you know, your daughter…I'm alive…whatever…oh I beg your pardon, was that out of line…I'm going to hang up now…don't call me, I won't call you. I'll see you at Christmas." Carmen Rivera hung up, her amber eyes burning irritably.

"Things didn't get better, I take it?"

Spinning around, she focused her eyes on Julie Gaffney. For the first time in a month, Carmen felt herself relax. "Hey, you."

The hockey player grinned and rushing over, hugged her fiercely. "Aarrgh! You look nice and tanned! Puerto Rico with the grandparents was nice, I take it?"

"Great. Except for Howard calling me drunk from London. Him and Maddie had quite a time." Carmen's lip curled. "Is everyone back?"

Julie sat down on her bed and bounced on it experimentally. She looked up at the composed Hispanic girl and cocked her head. "Mostly. Russ and Ken's flights come in tomorrow morning and I don't think Maddie or Dylan are here yet. He was supposed to pick her up right?"

"Yeah. That's strange, he lives barely fifteen minutes away." Carmen murmured, catching the sheets that her roommate threw at her. Unfolding the blue floral sheets, she helped the other girl make her bed. "Well…Connie was just here. I think she left to go pick up some more of her stuff."

"Yeah, I just ran into her outside." The goalie then fixed her with an inquisitive look. "I suppose you wouldn't want to tell me how all of us got the best suites with our choice in roommates? I mean, who would put these boys together?"

"Just know that it was Hell." Carmen shuddered, remembering her time as lowerclassmen president. Maddie had called her a natural born leader and Charlie had translated that to mean that she was excellent at bullying people around.

She couldn't help but feel that Charlie was more on the dot than Maddie on this one.

Ever the realist, she knew she was unapproachable and rather intimidating but she couldn't help it. Before settling down in Philadelphia, she had moved from big city to big city. The constant changes had accustomed her to the way the world worked at an early age, and left her more cynical and businesslike than she wished.

However, it was only in this tiny suburb of Minneapolis that she had finally found comfort in an amazing group of friends. And while she stayed in the small oasis of seclusion, her faith in human nature was restored, even if temporarily.

"You hungry? Dad said to buy you dinner." Julie grinned, holding up a shiny credit card.

Turning around from one of her suitcases, Carmen smiled at her, holding out a white sundress. "Present from Puerto Rico. And who am I to say no to Dr. Gaffney?"

Adam Banks could've sworn both his ear drums popped.

His eyes wide as saucers, he sat up wildly in bed and looked around. He noticed the door to his and Charlie's room was wide open and tried to remember in his sleep fogged brain if he had closed it last night.

"What the fuck is that, Banks! It's eight in the morning!" Charlie howled in annoyance, covering his ears.

It sounds like…drums. Adam thought, clambering out of his bed and heading to the small living room that connected their room to Guy and Dylan's. He felt, more than heard, Charlie's muffled thud as he got tangled up in his sheets, trying to get out of bed.

And as he stopped in his doorway looking out into his living room, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Dylan Howard sat in the midst of a drum set, his shaggy blond hair spilling out over his forehead as usual, and his hands a blur as they pounded over his drums. Just dressed in a pair of pajama pants, a pair of bright silver dog tags glinted off his neck.

Adam met Guy Germaine's amused gaze from across the room and shook his head. Then his attention was focused on a small, slender hand that was raised from the back of his armchair.

Abruptly, the pounding stopped and the soccer player's steely gray eyes opened and fixed upon Adam and Guy's disheveled appearance as they stood in their respective doorways. "Hello! Did you miss me?

"Isn't he absolutely brilliant?" A familiar voice piped up, its owner sitting up in the armchair. Madison Kim looked over at the two boys, her eyes shining with glee. "Aren't you going to give me a hug before you yell at us?" She pouted, holding out her arms.

Typical.

Adam snorted before going towards her. "Come here." He said, picking her up in a tight embrace. "How was London? Your sister is safely married, I hope?"

Turning to plant a quick kiss on Guy's cheek, Maddie let out a squeak and almost toppled over. "Yeah, she's hitched! But it was awesome! Dylan came over after his Brazil thing was done-"

Dylan bounded over. "We almost got arrested-"

"Apparently we were causing a public disturbance-"

"Those British people really need to learn how to speak correctly-"

"Dylan got drunk and called Carmen-"

"Maddie fell into a public pond! And she wasn't drunk!"

Guy leaned over and grinned at his roommate. "You got drunk?"

An extremely vehement "No!" coincided with an equally vehement "Yes!" from Maddie.

"It was an accident actually. He ate some really spicy noodles and chugged a whole bottle of this awfully potent cocktail mix thing without realizing."

"It wasn't my fault. Besides, Carmen was dying to hear my voice anyway." The other boy declared sulkily, shaking his hair out of his eyes.

As they continued to tell Guy of their adventures in England, Adam sat back and took a closer look at Maddie.

A ballet dancer since she was four, she retained the natural grace and willowy frame that all dancers seemed to share. She was rather tall for a girl, not to mention an Asian girl, standing a little over five feet seven, and had come to be adored by all the Ducks. An airy, warmhearted girl from New York City, she had definitely made life more exciting for them. Meeting her, Dylan and Carmen for the first time last year, the three had slowly embedded themselves into their lives.

With a wail, Maddie suddenly scrambled to her feet. "Oh shit!"

Guy started. "What's going on?"

"I forgot about Bagel! He's probably still outside! See you guys at breakfast!" She yelled, already halfway out the door.

Shaking his head, Adam stretched out on the sofa, running his hands through his hair. "When'd you guys get in?"

"Late last night. Mom and I picked Maddie up from the airport and by the time we got here, it was around one in the morning. We didn't want to wake you so we bummed out here." Dylan said, gesturing to the couch and the blankets on the floor.

"Well, that was nice of you to give her the couch." Adam complimented him.

The soccer player snorted. "Who said she slept on the couch? I slept on the couch, she took the floor. My bones can't handle hard surfaces."

His roommate rolled his eyes and then asked the question that had been plaguing his mind. "When did you learn to play drums?"

"I've always known how, I took lessons since I was five. I just got really into it this summer after I got back from England. Dr. Kim suggested I take up a hobby where I can channel my full attention in a tactful manner." He said, flipping over in his armchair so the blood rushed to his brain.

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Meaning pound out your one sided sexual frustration over Carmen until you feel better?"

Flipping over, Dylan glared at him. "She does to love me. She just doesn't know it yet."

Guy snorted, absently scratching at his chest before he looked around. "Hey, where's Charlie?"

Adam frowned. "He was coming out with me…" Getting up, he walked back to their room. "Oh come on! Charlie!"

Ambling over, the other members of the suite gazed at the peacefully slumbering Charlie, who was curled up on the floor amidst a tangle of sheets.

"My cymbals detach from the set." Dylan offered solicitously.

Adam's answering grin was positively evil.

"Welcome to the start of a new school year!" Dean Buckley beamed at them from the podium.

"God, could this be any more boring?"

Carmen shifted her head slightly to see Guy Germaine slip into the seat next to her. "Hey, Guy. You're looking crankier than usual."

The blond boy sniffed. "Well, you would be too, if your lover boy had woken you up by banging on his drums. Did you know he plays? He's good, too!"

She raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "It figures that his talent lays in making as much noise as humanly possible."

"Hey, easy, Car. The kid worships you!"

"And he probably eats mud. It's not saying much."

"Now that all of you are entering your junior year, you must take consideration-" Dean Buckley droned on.

"Hot girl, two o' clock!" Averman jerked his head towards a gorgeous dark blonde that was sitting a couple rows away.

Fulton leaned back to get a closer look. "I haven't seen her before."

"Me neither. I would've definitely noticed a girl like that." Luis frowned, giving her a cursory glance.

Maddie popped her head over. "What are we ogling?" Her eyes then widened as the girl in question was pointed out. "Holy shit! Hey, Dylan-"

"OW!" The whole auditorium turned to see the blond jump out of his seat, clutching his right leg.

Raising an eyebrow, Dean Buckley surveyed the boy over his glasses. "Is there a problem, Mr. Howard?"

"Um…well, uh…um, there was a bug. A big one. Sorry. By all means, continue with your sermon, sir. I'm hanging on to every word." Wincing slightly at the lame excuse, Dylan sat back down before huffily turning to his best friend. "Did you have to pinch me that hard?"

"Oh shush, you big crybaby." Maddie sniffed before pointing at the dark blonde, who was staring at Dylan with speculative eyes. "Isn't that Draper the Raper?"

The blond's eyes widened. "Oh no."

Smelling a story, Averman leaned over eagerly. "Draper the what?"

"Laura Draper. She used to go to Ridgewood Prep. What the Hell is she doing here?" He moaned, slinking down into his chair. "I'm dead."

"I guess she transferred." Maddie shrugged before turning to the redhead with a grin. "Dylan hooked up with her at a party and apparently, she tried to 'rape' him. He's been scared shitless of her ever since. Although, I didn't know she was that hot."

"Yeah, too bad she's crazy!" Dylan snarled, trying in vain to hide his face.

Luis pouted. "How come all the girls likes the blondie when he doesn't even like them?" He complained.

Fulton shrugged before turning back to the lecturing Dean who was gesturing emphatically.

"Work hard and I guarantee Eden Hall will help you on your way to success. Junior year is extremely difficult. It is a year that will test every measure of strength in your mind and body-"

Goldberg snickered at the statement. "I'll bet ten bucks that Charlie flips out first."

And the first installment of The Way We Roll is done. Have a great summer, peeps!

R&R, please! Have a nice day!