Attached - Mallory Pugh/USWNT

Chapter 9

April 5th, 2022 8:45 am

Mallory's POV

"So you do like her!" Ashley Sanchez said. 

"I'll kill you Ashley Sanchez!" Morgana said, louder than anything else. 

They had been talking about me, and how everything we did together in the presence of Kelley or Ashley was all a setup to get us to become friends. 

"And Kelley also claimed she had a crush on me and it was obvious, and basically called me dumb to my face, so that's nice." Morgana said. My ear was pressed against the door, listening to their conversation. 

And that. I did have a big crush on her, I had since we were about 15 and she got a boyfriend. I realized it quick when I was jealous of him and I thought constantly about how pretty she had become. 

And then at 18, on her 18th birthday, when she got 2 of her tattoo's, I looked at her and thought 'damn it she's hot' and that's when I really started to think about it again. 

"Well it's kinda obvious. She's touchy with you but not with anyone else. She looks at you with pure admiration and her eyes light up when you talk to her." Ashley told her. 

Those things happen? I didn't know it was obvious! 

"I mean she's pretty and super nice and just a great person...but I don't know..." Morgana started. 

"You don't know if you're gay. I get it. Well I don't get what you're going through, but I get what you mean." Said Ashley. 

"Yeah. It's...weird." 

"It's okay. Well I'm going to go get my stuff-" Ashley said, and I started openng the door, and I ran back to my bed as fast as I could. 

"Hi Ash." I said when she walked by my bed. 

"I'm heading out. See you at media day later." She said. 

"Bye." I said. 

When Morgana didn't come in, I figured she went with Ashley or just went to breakfast, so I got changed and was going to go to breakfast and sit there quietly while I thought about everything I overheard. 

As I headed out the door, I saw Morgana just sitting on the ground outside the door. Her face was tear streaked and I felt bad. 

"Everything okay?" I asked, sitting down next to her. 

"Perfect. Fine." She wiped her  face. "Where are you off too?" 

"I'm heading to breakfast." She said. "But I'll stay if you want." 

Head over heels. I thought. I was completely starving but I stayed anyway. 

"You don't have to." She said. "I'm going to go inside and I will see you at media day. I'm just sitting out here like some dumb idiot crying in a hotel hallway..." She stood up and opened the door. I followed her in. 

"So what's wrong?" I asked as I stood next to her bed where she was laying down. 

"Nothing I can talk to you about." She sighed. 

"Well you can tell me anything." 

"But not this." 

"What do you mean, 'not this?' You can tell me anything and I mean it." I layed down next to her, almost falling off the edge. 

"Mal just give it up please." She said. 

"Alright fine." I rolled off the bed, then headed for the door. "I'm going to breakfast if you care to join." 

"I'm just going to stay here." 

"And be all mopey dopey? Whatever floats your boat,  buttercup." I winked at her as I turned and headed for the door. 

"Wait Mal." She said. When I turned around, she said: "I hope you know that was really hot and you should do it more often." 

"Well in that case..." I winked again and left. 

I imagined her giggling like a little kid like I had seen her do a few times. Once when she scored the game winner to win the state championship for our club team, another time with her little boyfriend or whatever but that time it was fake. 

My favorite time I saw it was the basketball state semifinals. My friend Jamie dragged me to the game because it was big game. I was never huge on basketball, but everyone in school was going and it was my senior year, so why not go right? Also Morgana LaRue was going to be there, and I got to watch her play basketball which was pretty hot. 

We got there early so we could get good seats on the bleachers because it was going to be packed. 

We were there so early that they were still warming up and hadn't even gone into the locker room for the team talk, which was usually pretty long. 

Well in the game, Morgana scored 22 points, her lucky number. My favorite play she made I still remember like the back of my hand. 

A girl was playing defense on one of her teammates, and she picked up the ball, so she couldn't dribble anymore. Morgana cut toward the basket, the back at her teammate and got the ball. She had a new defender on her, and she put the ball through her legs, behind her back, through her legs again, then she hit a stepback 3 pointer, and then they were up by 4 points with 2.2 seconds left in the game. 

The other team now had no shot of winning. 22 points and she hit the 3 with 2.2 seconds left. 

The look of defeat on the other team's face was insane, and the cheers from the stands were deafening. 

As the clock ran out, all her teammates ran to her. She was crying happy tears and giggling like a little kid. 

"Oh man she's hot isn't she?" I asked Jamie. 

"I have a boyfriend." She replied. "But she's very pretty." 

"Gosh. Why aren't any of my friends into the same things I am?" I sighed. 

"Does this girl know you're basically wrapped around your finger?" 

"Not at all." 

"And your parents don't know you are completely in love with this girl on your soccer team?" 

"Not a clue." 

"I'm not entirely sure how they don't know but..." 

"Only a select few people know. I don't need this to be a whole thing, and with the USWNT, ya know?" I asked. 

"I get it." 

"But I'm sick of the guys hitting on me because I'm a so called celebrity."I sighed. 

"Mal, this is a decision you have to make. Can you tolerate all the boys hitting on you all the time for them figuring out you're gay and telling the media?" Jamie said. "Because I really can't help you out here." 

"I get that. It's just tough, that's all." I sighed. 

That memory still comes to mind every day almost, almost every time I see her. The stepback 3 pointer, the conversation, the overwhelming feeling when she finally walked to the bench and grabbed her water bottle, and she looked up at me, her cheels all read and hair a bit messy as it would be after a soccer game. I waved, and she smiled a bit, trying to leave the bench quickly. 

It's just a random memory, but it sure means a hell of a lot. 

Sorry if this chapter was bad or confusing because the memory was not in a different font or anything. I wrote this chapter at like 1 in the morning after a long day too