Something To Believe In [Dean Portman] ✓

𝗍 𝗐 𝗈

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗪𝗢

❝ waiting makes me antsy ❞

•••

SOPHIE and Kenny were driving to the rink where they would be meeting the rest of Team USA. Sophie was anxious due to knowing her brother would be there. She stared out the window while tapping her foot on the floorboard of the car. Kenny took notice and gently set his hand on her knee to stop it. Sophie glanced over at her friend making eye contact.

"Soph, it will be fine. You have nothing to worry about. He'll be happy to see you," Kenny spoke gently, trying to calm the older girl.

Sophie softly smiled at the boy and glanced back out the window. Kenny removed his hand from her knee and looked out his window. Sophie stole a glance at him and then back out the window.

"Thank you," Sophie muttered while intertwining their pinkies. Whenever one of the two were anxious, they would wrap their pinky finger around the others. It helped the two know that they always had someone there to hold on to.

"We're here. I'll take your suitcases to the hotel you'll be staying in and then come back when practice is done. Have a good time," the driver told the pair.

"Thank you Marcus," the two friends spoke in unison as they exited the car.

Sophie and Kenny went to the trunk and grabbed their hockey bags. They closed the trunk and walked past the passenger side window giving Marcus a thumbs up. The driver smiled at the two and pulled out of the parking spot. Sophie and Kenny looked at each other and walked up to the doors of the rink that was very familiar to Sophie. She softly smiled as she watched Kenny open the door for the two.

Sophie looked around the halls of the rink and led Kenny to the locker room Don Tibbles had told them the new team members would be in before introducing them to the Ducks. When the two walked in the other four new members were already there. Sophie softly smiled at them before going to a locker.

"Still feel the same, Soph?" Kenny asked as he stood next to her.

"Sure does loser," Sophie softly giggled.

Kenny rolled his eyes with a grin and walked to an open locker. Sophie opened the locker in front of her and saw that some of the old stickers from previous users still hadn't come out. She felt a pair of eyes on her causing her to glance over her shoulder. She caught eyes with a tall brunette boy with a bandana who smiled at her. She softly smiled before turning back to her locker. The boy, Dean Portman, turned back to his things to get ready.

Once the six teens were all changed and ready to go they sat and waited for them to be called out to the rink. Sophie glanced around the kids and decided to speak up. However she was beat to it by a boy wearing a cowboy hat.

"Hi y'all. I'm Dwayne and I'm from Texas. How about y'all?" The boy spoke.

"I'm Sophie. I'm originally from here but I moved to San Francisco about a year and a half ago I believe it was," Sophie anxiously smiled.

"Why'd ya move?" Dwayne asked, seeming interested.

"Oh my parents got a divorce and I left with my mom. My father and I didn't get along the best," Sophie replied with an awkward smile.

"Oh I'm sorry," Dwayne tried to apologize.

"Oh don't worry about it. It doesn't bug me to be honest."

"Anyway I'm Ken Wu but you can call me Kenny. I'm from San Francisco," Kenny said.

"I'm Luis from Miami."

"I'm Julie from Maine."

"I'm Dean Portman from Chicago," the boy who had been staring at Sophie said.

"Wait Kenny aren't you a figure skater?" Julie asked after a moment of silence.

"Oh yeah I was but when your best friend is a hockey player it's hard to not join in. Soph convinced me hockey would be fun and so far it has been," Kenny smiled.

After Kenny finished speaking, Mr. Tibbles came in and told the six to go to the ice. They left the locker room and got on the ice. Sophie stayed with Dean in the back to see how long she could wait to surprise her brother.

"Tell me about my new kids," Sophie heard Bombay say from the other side of the ice.

Tibbles introduced Luis first and he started skating showing off his skills. As soon as Luis fell to the ice, Sophie was on her way to help him up. Dean followed behind her wanting to make a good first impression with the girl and helped her help Luis off the ground.

"Hey are you okay?" All the new kids asked Luis as he got up.

"Yeah. I'm alright. I almost had it that time," Luis said looking at his new friends.

"We know buddy," Sophie laughed before skating away with Dean behind her.

Kenny chuckled at Dean and skated away with Luis and Julie as Dwayne went next. As Dwayne, Julie, and then Kenny got introduced, Dean started talking to Sophie.

"So Sophie what's San Francisco like?" Dean asked while leaning against the wall of the rink trying to look cool.

"It's nice I guess. There's so many homeless people. It's kind of sad to be honest. I enjoy having the piers there to hang out at though," she spoke to the taller boy.

"You know you're really pretty right?" Dean smirked at her.

"Yeah okay. Oh I got to go," Sophie smiled before skating away.

"Oh we have another player from San Francisco. They were a package deal pretty much," Tibbles said as Sophie left Dean's side.

"Sophie Reed had the highest amount of goals on her team in San Francisco after being there for only a month. She can play defense too. She was also the one who convinced Ken to join our team," Tibbles introduced the girl.

"Great! Another girl!" Jesse muttered only to be smacked on the head by Connie.

"Sophie, what are you, why are you, what?" Fulton said looking at his sister.

Sophie chuckled, "Don't leave your little sister hanging."

Fulton skated to her and crushed her in a hug. Sophie leaned her head on top of her brother's shoulder and smiled. Fulton pulled away and looked at her.

"It's good to have you back," Fulton said.

"It's good to be back," Sophie smiled.

"Wait weren't you a grade above Fulton?" Averman asked the girl with confusion written on his face.

"I guess I got the brains of the family," Sophie smirked up at Fulton.

"Hey I'm still twenty minutes older than you so you better watch it," Fulton said with fake warning.

Sophie chuckled at the comment as she looked over her shoulder. The girl saw Dean with some headphones on blasting music. She shook her head and skated over to Kenny. The girl got close to Kenny's ear and whispered into it.

"Showtime."