-; finally falling

-; one

She was sweating.

Her eyes were burning holes at the table in front of her, the suit she had bought suddenly felt so hot and she felt like she was sticking out like a sore thumb.

I mean, she was. She's the only girl in here. And by here, I mean the draft.

Like, yes, there were mothers, sisters, girlfriends, wives or whatever the hell these women's relationships to the players are but she was here because... she was here because she was in the draft. She was here as a player.

And it was weird because she's 5'10" at most. She's again, a girl and she's convinced she and her family are the only British people here.

Plus, she's not even sure she'll get selected.

"With the 19th pick in the 2019 NBA draft, the Los Angeles Lakers select..."

The words hang in the air and she doesn't even bother listening. She'll never get on that stage. She'll never wear a hat and play for a team. She's only here because her dad got her in the draft. She was only here because of her name. Otherwise, she'll still be in college playing basketball because she wanted to.

"Perrie Edwards."

And just like that her world had turned upside down. At first she didn't get why her dad was suddenly hugging her so tight, why her sister was squealing and jumping up and down. She didn't get why her mother was seconds away from bursting into a sob.

She's... she was drafted. She was chosen.

"I'm proud of you." Her father whispers, still holding her close to his chest as the spotlight finally landed on their table. Then she was up on her feet, dazed with all of her senses heightened as she approached the stage.

She could feel the eyes on her. She could practically hear the grown men beginning to type shit about her online. She could feel the confusion some of the crowd was emitting. Most of all, she already knows that this was probably a publicity stunt with who her dad is and all, which sucks, obviously.

But then, she feels pride swell in her chest. She could see the little girls watching this with their dads thinking they could do this as well. She could hear the roaring crowd cheer her on as she put on the hat, shaking the commissioner's hand as they posed for the photo.

At that point, it didn't matter anymore. She didn't give a shit at what people were about to say. She was here, she did it not just because of her dad and she had a point to prove.

-

"Edwards! We don't pay you to hog the coolers!" Coach Vogel yells with a bit of mirth as Perrie stands by the coolers, still deciding what flavor she is going to get when she releases a chuckle, "I won Rookie of The Year, I can do whatever the hell I want!"

The coach laughs, then she hears footsteps approach her. Ruffling her hair was her teammate, who was, you know, obviously taller than her, giving her an impressed smile, "You grew a spine. Last year you barely even talked to us."

"I also averaged 20 a game last season. 27 on the finals." She adds, just to prolong the joke when Anthony laughs, "And you're being cocky now, too!"

You see, being a woman in a team full of men, hell, being a woman in a man's sport is a lot. If you thought the superstars who get consistently shit on had to work ten times as hard then she has to double that because she's also a woman.

It hurts, yeah, of course it does, but then again she knew she had a point to prove the moment she first stepped on court.

Her first game was against the favored Phoenix team. They were down by 21, their superstar was down and there was approximately 2 minutes left. They were expected to lose and to not even make the playoffs.