Fran stood in the street, waving. Her best friends, her family were leaving. The Hanson Clan, as she referred to them as, were leaving. Taylor had his head out the window, looking back at her. Best friends forever, together forever. What had happened to all that?
Why was it that they took so much pride in their music? Of course they were insanely excellent, better than she could ever imagine, but why did that have to become between them?
Fran and Taylor were �together,� as together as two thirteen year olds could be. They spent all their time with each other, The spent their days talking and playing, they spent their nights cuddling under the stars. She went with him to his every performance, he went and sat in the stands at her every hockey game.
Now the performances would be filled with screaming girls and the hockey games would be missing their boy shouting for Frenchie. He seemed to be getting much farther than she was. Hockey was her sport alright, she�d been playing all her life, as music was Taylor�s niche. Their love for their own talents were immeasurable, but he was actually going somewhere with his.
"Come on, you have a game," said Sally Carlston, Fran�s mother and only family companion. Fran kissed her hand and blew it in the direction of the vehicle almost out of view now. She turned to the home she spent more time in then the one she rightfully owned. It was empty and dark, not bright and loud as it normally would be.
"Alright," she said. Sighing, she got into the old station wagon her mother basically spent more time travelling in than being at home with her only child. Sally drove her to the ice rink and dropped Fran off. "You�re not coming?"
"Fran, honey, you know I have a meeting to go to. I�ll be here after the game," Sally said, closing the door. Fran tapped on the window, and waited for it to be lowered.
"It�s the final game of the season, we�re going to Tyler�s afterward. I�ll walk home," Fran reminded her mother. Tyler lived two blocks away from Fran, so there was no need for a pick up. Sally nodded.
"Well then I�ll see you at home then, good luck. I hope you win." Fran turned around and rolled her eyes. Sally wouldn�t notice or even care if they win any game, and the final game of the regular season was no exception. Fran walked into the rink and into the locker room, her own personal locker room. Being the only female on the team, she often felt secluded yet they guys found a way to make her fit in.
After putting on her gear, she headed out to the main locker room where the team met to have any kind of conference, and for directions before and during every game. A few people were already there, sitting and talking, waiting for the rest of the team to show.
There were 16 people on the team, five wings, three centers, five defenders and three goalies. Fran played leading left wing. Despite the fact that she was female, she was often awarded MVP of the year for the team and once even in the league. Normally when facing a team she hadn�t faced before, Fran was often challenged by bigger and tougher men. Taylor had found out the hard way that bigger and tougher sucked compared to her.
The center, Kyle, walked in and playfully hit Fran on the side of the head. She smiled weakly and hit him in the leg as he passed. "Hey Kyle," she said. Kyle had to be her best friend on the team. Kyle and Tyler. Of course she was great friends with the others, but Kyle hung out with her the most.
"Hey Fran, you look out of it today. Where�s Taylor? I didn�t hear his chant when you walked in." Fran had to laugh. Taylor�s chant was notorious to the people on the team. She could just hear him in the halls�French�s gonna whoop some ass, French�s gonna whoop some ass. No one was allowed in the halls besides the players and the coaches when he came in, so he didn�t have to worry about the language. He�d been doing it for years now.
"I didn�t tell you?" Fran asked. "Him and his family�s off recording an album in LA." The players that were in the room stopped what they were doing and looked at her. "What?"
"Taylor can sing?" Kyle asked. "Since when does our little fan get a record deal?"
"I don�t know how it happened really. Mercury Records just signed him and his two brothers. They�re gonna be famous." The boys exchanged glances. "Would you stop doing that?"
"Hey Fran, hate to say this but I doubt we�re gonna be seeing Taylor around here anymore. Fame does that to people, they forget their roots and stick to the popular people," Kyle added, speaking for the rest of the guys in the room.
"No way, me and Taylor have been friends for years, he wouldn�t do that." More of the glances. "Stop it!"
"Fran, face it. Nothing�s going to be the same." Fran noticed the whole team was in the room now, and they were all thinking the same thoughts. "Out with the old, in with the new."
The coach, Coach Curtis, walked in and saw the upset face on his star player. "Dammit kids, what�d you do to her now? Don�t tell me it�s another one of those cracks about her complaining over that broken nail last game." Kyle snickered.
"Shut up Kyle!" Fran yelled.
"Save it for the game, Fran. Where�s Taylor?" Fran sighed and crossed her arms, looking away.
"He�s out in LA recording an album and we�re letting her know that he�s not gonna be with her all the time anymore," Kyle filled the coach in.
"No, you�re saying that he�s never going to be with me again. You know that�s not true," Fran said.
"Yeah, at the beginning he�ll be all excited to see you again, but then he�s going to be gone all the time and when he�s home all he�s thinking about is the music and that one fan he found in Michigan or something�" Fran got up and threw Kyle against the lockers with all her strength. There was a loud bang and a cry of pain from Kyle.
"Fran I told you to save it for the game!" Coach Curtis yelled, and pulled her away before she could punch him. Tempers normally flared with the teammates and Fran when Taylor was mentioned in a bad way. "I have every right to not let you play tonight but you�re good so you�re just going to sit out the first period."
"Whatever," she said, and turned away. "I�m going on the ice if anyone cares." Ignoring the rest of the talking going on in the room, Fran walked out and to the ice. There was no one else out there besides her. The people who normally came would be there a half an hour later when the game was scheduled. The other team was still getting ready for the game, so she would be alone for a while.
The ice was slippery from the recent cleaning with the zamboni, so at first she had to be careful. Fran skated slowly around the rink, thinking. What if they were right and I�m stuck with my own ego?
Fran hung her head, staring down at the ice. If she felt more up to it, she probably would have done ten laps by now, but her mood was sour. Her best friend was gone, her mother wasn�t at her final game, and her teammates were once again picking on her. She sighed and let her body fall onto the ice. From all the padding she didn�t have to worry about hurting herself.
Fran looked up at the ceiling of the small arena. It was her home, and had been for the past seven years, since this particular arena had been built. She had convinced Sally to fund for it, one of the few things that she had convinced Sally to do. Her mother didn�t want the hockey. Her mother wanted ballet and gymnastics. When she joined hockey, her mother stayed out and let her father be a fan. Well then her father died and Taylor came along.
"Hey Fran," Kyle said, from the other side of the ice. Fran looked over and groaned. She sat up and watched him skate around her, then fall to his knees and slide next to her. "I�m sorry." He held out her stick to her, and threw a puck onto the ground. "The game doesn�t start for another fifteen minutes. If I win then you have to forgive me." She shook her head and took the stick.
"And when I win what will you do for me?"
"I won�t throw you in the pool at Tyler�s." She gave him a look. "Hey, I planned for all the guys to steal your top and throw you in the pool." She let her mouth drop, appaled. "Fran we�ve been wanting to see your jugs for years now." She let her mouth drop lower.
"What the hell? You will do nothing of the sort and I�ll beat you bloody if you think about it. Top or no top you will die! It�s a good thing I decided not to bring a one piece." She saw Kyle smile. "You pervert!"
"I�m sorry Fran but you brought yourself up for that one. We�ve all grown up together. We�re fifteen horny guys and you�re a girl so obviously you�re the one who�s going to get picked on."
"Thank you for being honest with me but you�re not seeing anything. Sorry." She got up and stole the puck from the ground. "I will win." Kyle shook his head and stood up himself.
Well fifteen minutes and a whole lot of bragging later, Fran ended up winning. "How the hell did you do that?" Kyle asked. "I thought I had your moves down and you do all this?" Fran smiled and looked at the rest of the team, who had been watching the whole game from the bleachers. She turned to them and bowed. All of the guys clapped and cheered.
"I�m just too good for you," Fran told Kyle. She looked out to her teammates, and noticed the other team sitting on the bleachers, away from her team. They were in shock, mostly when she took off her helmet and shook out her hair. She could read their thoughts. A girl shut out him? Damn we�re in for a final game.
"Fran get over here, the game�s gonna start now. You can�t be on the ice till the second period," Coach Curtis yelled. Fran moaned, but didn�t budge. Not yet.
"Can�t I play now? I�m all prepped up!" she yelled back, but only saw the coach shake his head. "Ah shit!" Fran skated off the ice, taking her time. The other team was amused and shocked by the swear.
"I thought I told you to stop swearing," he said to her. "Get on the bench, you�ll go in the second period." She shrugged and took a seat on the bench. Relatives and friends of the team and anyone who wanted to see the game were now allowed to enter the arena. Fran looked at the bleachers placed behind her. A few rows up and a bit off to the side.
That�s where Taylor would be sitting, cheering for her and keeping silent when she wasn�t on the ice. French�s gonna whoop some ass� She let herself smile at the thought. He didn�t tell her how long he was going to be gone. It annoyed her to no end that she wouldn�t be able to know when he was going to be back.
She sat down and let herself watch the game. It was going to be a while before she was let in.
"Fran you suck, you know that," Kyle said, and sat down next to her. Everyone was soaked and in the pool, while she sat in the corner. The team won the game, which made it even harder for her not to join in. She was sulking, of course. Taylor should be there, along with them. Even though he wasn�t on the team, they all considered him the �second string water boy� and let him come to the team parties.
Fran looked up at Kyle. He was soaking wet, and she had a feeling she was going to be joining him soon. "Why?" she asked. He smiled and let himself sit down next to her.
"Well, to tell you the truth, it�s a party and you�re not partying. You�re thinking about Taylor, aren�t you?" She nodded. "Well knock it off." He picked her up and flung her over his shoulder. Immediately she started to scream and kick. "Hey guys get her top!"
As the rest of the team attacked her, her screams increased. "No! I�m going to kill all of you if you take that!!" Soon the bikini top was off. "Kyle you said you weren�t going to take it!"
"Too bad." He threw her in the pool. When she surfaced, Fran stuck her arms over her breasts. "Man, wouldn�t Taylor love to be here now?" Kyle grabbed her top from one of the boys and twirled it around on his finger. They were all gawking and laughing.
"Give it back!" There wasn�t much she could do without it. "Coach!!" she screamed. Coach Curtis came out, confused. "They took my top and there�s not much I can do about it without moving my arms." He contained his laughter.
"Give it back to her," he said, spoiling their fun. "I swear you boys are the worst." Kyle flung the top at Fran, who turned around and put it back on. Once it was on, she ran out of the pool and started to hit Kyle. Even if it was playfully, she was still hurting him.
"Ahh! Stop it, Fran! I�m sorry, I'm sorry!" he yelled, trying to protect himself from her fists. She left a few welts on his arms before stopping. "My God it was just a joke, ya didn�t have to hurt me so much."
"I know it was a joke, that�s why I�m hurting you." She punched him again and he yelped. "It�s bad enough all of you are picturing me without the suit on in the first place! Now it�s easier cause you�ve seen some of it all." Kyle put his arm around her.
"Now I was too busy throwing you in the pool, I didn�t get to see anything!" She smiled and turned to him, her back to the others. "Come on!" She let her smile grow as she flashed him, then quickly put herself back into the suit. Fran had to laugh when she saw his face. "Could you do that again?"
"Nope. Sorry, once is the limit without the pay." She ran her thumb over her fingers. "And I�m not exactly cheap, Kyle." He continued to stare at her chest. She smiled and turned away, breaking his stare. "Well are we going to continue or what? You all had your show, I�m ready to go back into the corner and think about Taylor."
"Fran, get over it! You got us right now," Tyler said. Tyler was cute, with tanned skin and brown hair and eyes. He was the only skinny boy on the team. Kyle, on the other hand, wasn�t fat but he wasn�t Tyler. Kyle had blond hair and green eyes.
"And you�re just going to lose us after today. We won�t see you for a whole month!" Kyle added, and stuck an arm around her. Tyler put his head in his shoulder, pretending to cry. It was hard enough to have Taylor gone, and now�the same day�she was losing her team. The season was ending and it wouldn�t start for another month.
"Go away, Tyler," she kidded, and threw him off her. He lost his balance and fell in the pool. She threw Kyle in the other direction, and he landed in a chair. She laughed at the both of them, and walked over to a table. She shook up a can of Ginger Ale and waited for Tyler to get out of the pool. It was a tradition that they all doused Fran with Ginger Ale after a victory, so she was constantly watching out. Tyler got up and walked over to her.
"You know what? You really suck!" Tyler said.
"Only some things." He smiled. Fran opened the can and let him get soaked with the Ginger Ale. He yelled out war, so the entire team grabbed a few cans of Ginger Ale and the war broke out.