Striker (Christen Press x fem reader)

Chapter 6 | Sweden

"Yes coach?" You asked, leaving Abby and Midge to talk to Vlatko. You kept a straight face and took a couple deep breaths.

"Why don't we go over to the side," he started. The two of you stood face to face as the team slowly started packing up from practice.

"I think you've improved since last time we talked, and I saw you on the bench last game and saw how anxious you were to want to play," he smiled. You nodded, not knowing where he was going with this. The way he was saying this was either you would be able to play, or not yet.

"Coach, whatever you have to say, I can take it," you said anxiously. You just wanted to hear what was to come next, good or bad. It wasn't fair he was keeping you in the dark.

He gave a sigh, "(y/n), I'm obviously starting Press again, but I'm not sure whether to put you in quiet yet. I knew recruiting you was a good decision, but- "

"You're not sure if I'm ready," you finished his sentence. He gave a blank look at you. You could feel your insides shrivel up inside and your chest becoming heavy. It wasn't the fact you were most likely not going to play that hurt, it was the fact coach didn't see enough potential in you. You felt like you were wasting time and were really just here for the practices.

"I promise you that you'll play (y/n)," he rested his hand on your shoulder.

"Yeah, okay... thanks coach," you gave a weak smile before walking away and grabbing your bag before heading onto the bus. You saw Abby and Midge, and as soon as they saw you, their eyes gleamed and gave a look of question to see what Vlatko said. You shook your head and sulked.

"What? Why?" Abby hissed so only her, you, and Midge could hear.

"He said he's not sure if he's ready for me to play out there," you huffed.

"What?! That's bullshit," Midge exclaimed, "we've seen you play (y/n), and you're more than ready," she tried to help comfort you.

"I feel at this point I'm wasting time here. Maybe I should have just gone to the NWSL, played with them for a while and then go to the next year's December camp," your voice sounded defeated.

"No, don't think like that. Vlatko is just blinded to not see what you can give this team. Just give it time. Hey, who knows, maybe a miracle will happen," Abby suggest optimistically.

"Now I feel like a bitch," Midge suddenly said.

"What, why?" You lifted your head, furrowing your eyebrows.

"Because I told you I'm playing and made a big deal out of it, I shouldn't have said anything," she sighed.

"Midge! Don't say that. You deserve the spot. And it is a big deal, I'm glad you celebrated. Don't worry about me, honestly. I'll be fine," you reassured her. She looked at you with a light smile and you rubbed her arm, "congrats Midge," you added at the end.

You turned your head to look back and saw Christen watching from afar, most likely watching everything that happened. She probably knew you most likely wouldn't be playing next game. You gave her a blank stare before turning to face the front of the bus, ignoring Christen because she had won yet again.

After a couple more days of training, it was finally game day, and you groaned as the sunlight snuck into the room and hit your face. You looked at the time and saw it was 7 in the morning. The game wasn't until 6 at night, and on gamedays the team doesn't do a full practice. Just some resting, stretching, and mentally prepare. But you didn't really need to worry because you'd be sitting on the bench. Again.