Our Love || Karl Jacobs ✔️

-one-

Alex groaned, her alarm blaring from beside her, reverberating behind her eyes. The sound itself was something to be despised, but she couldn't bring herself to loathe it fully, because the reason for the alarms was always more than worth it. Today marked the day of the journey to Brooklyn, where Alex had a soccer game to attend, and, hopefully, dominate in. They would be traveling from New York to Brooklyn by car, the GPS reading only thirty minutes, but experience had taught the Ravens to be on the road earlier, the trip usually lasting closer to an hour.

Alex swatted at her alarm till it ceased its wails, and with one soul-ascending stretch, she rose to a sitting position. Early morning autumn gales nipped at her windows, gushing past with the promises of what today had in store.

A faint, trailing thought of a morning shower hummed at the back of her mind, but Alex waved it aside, deciding a post-game shower would be more practical and a good unwind after the stress of the looming match.

Padding over to her closet, she rummaged around for her black, away-game jersey, grinning as she tugged it into her arms. Just feeling the texture of the fabric had her anticipating for the strenuous glee of being ran to debilitating fatigue. She was ready for the rush that came with the rapid pumping of adrenaline while kicking up the grounds of the field. The struggle, the clawing hunger to grasp the win and hold it in your fist as you raise your hand to the sky and roar, it fueled her serotonin meter up, faster than anything else she'd ever experienced. She knew this sport, she loved this sport, she lived this sport.

She slipped her jersey over her head, patting down all the puffed-out parts. Realizing they weren't in their usual place, Alex scoured for her shorts, scowling as she realized they were on the other side of the room. Once she slid into them, she yanked out her sports bag, tossing it onto her bed. She shoved in a hoodie just in case she got cold, as well as another pair of clothes if she wanted to change later. She threw in some other basic necessities for any situation she could see happening at a game, and double checked that she had anything else she might need.

She slung the bag over her shoulder, and made her way to the living room. Dropping the bag against the wall, she noticed David, her father, brushing through Lily's hair, styling it in two cute little pigtails. Her three-year-old sister babbled happily, eyes bright and dazzling, and the sight pulled a tender smile from Alex.

"Breakfast is on the table Lex. I'm afraid it's nothing special, just some toast and bacon. Eat up quick, we have to be going soon and I'd rather not have a repeat of March." Alex's mother, Sofia, shot her a teasing grin.

"Your hair can be done on the way if needed, capiche?" The teasing part of her smile melted away, leaving a cozy affection in the corners where her lips quirked up.

"You got it, momma, thank you." Alex beamed, trodding into the kitchen. She scarfed down her breakfast and chugged a large glass of water before making her way back over to her bag. Alex pulled out her shinguards and black, knee-high socks, tugging them on. Her cleats, navy blue with white accents, lay deep within the confines of the sports bag, so she buried her feet in her converse instead. She kept the laces loose as she tangled them with one another, that would make them much easier to slip out of.

"All set, chickadee?" David beckoned from the living room.

"Ready to go, chickadad." Alex hollered back, grabbing a brush and tossing it into her bag, then sliding two hair ties over her hand. She did one last rain check through her bag, tossed Sofia the keys, unlatched the door, and stepped out into the chilly winds of fall.

Her parents followed right behind her, mother locking the door while David placed Lily in her grasp. She strolled up to the car, calling for it to be unlocked, then pulled the handle and slid inside. As she got Lily situated and safe in her car seat, her mother and father slipped inside as well, Sofia starting the car and pulling out of the driveway. 

"You guys are gonna come watch, right?" Alex asked, a slight plead in her tone as she gave Lily a tickle.

"No honey, of course we aren't, we got much more important things to do." David chuckled, a thick coat of sarcasm glazing his words. He spun around in his seat with a grin, looking to his daughters, who beamed back at him before turning their attention back to one another.

Sofia watched the interaction from her peripherals, a happy sigh escaping her as she drove on.

"Alrighty Lex, we're here. You run along now, have fun, don't throw the first punch, but always finished the fight, and we'll see you soon. Bye, love!" Sofia yelled from the window as Alex jumped out, shutting the car door behind her.

"Try not to get in any fights at all please, chickadee. Sofie, don't say that." David hollered, turning to scold his wife. "I'm not letting my girl get pushed around David, she's my daughter." Sofia huffed with a smile, ending the discussion as David just grinned at her.

"See you, momma. Bye, dad! Come see me soon, yeah, Lily?" Alex waved as she jogged over to her teammates, embracing them, then forming a line as they stepped onto the bus.

As the team split into their seats and settled down, their coach, Bryan Burns, jumped on, determination and enthusiasm chicken-scratched all over his face. "Are we winning this?" He hollered, the bus rattling from the sheer volume.

"We're winning, coach." A thunderous roar replied, phones, one being Alex's, flying up to capture their pre-drive, nerves-abolishing, excitement-rising, cheer.

Alex sunk back down in her seat, gaze flitting from her phone screen, to the window beside her, to her best friend, Katherine Smith, on her left. Exuberant chatter swelled throughout the bus the entire drive, voices rising and lowering with high-spirits.

Coach Burns warned of their arrival when they were five minutes away, which seems to have come about too soon. Suddenly, the bus quieted to a murmur, pre-game nerves returning with a furious passion. Alex removed her converse and shoved on her cleats, lacing them tight before turning to her left.

"Hey, Stone," Alex's nickname for Kathrine from back in middle school, "do you mind doing my hair into a high pony? Mine never seem to last long." She requested.

"Not a problem, Luth." Katherine's counterpart to 'Stone'. "You got a tie and a brush?" Kathrine agreed cheerfully. "Way ahead of you." Alex grinned, holding out her brush to Kathrine and spinning one of the ties previously on her arm, around her finger. Alex sat patiently as Kathrine combed through her hair, pulling it all to one spot on her scalp and tying it tightly, not ruin-your-hairline tightly, but it wouldn't fall out while playing, and that's all Alex needed.

She put away everything she had pulled out from her bag, and threw it around her shoulders, eyes bulging as she watched the view slow, the bus halting. Alex could hear her blood rampaging through her body, she could feel the steady thumping of her heart as she straightened in her seat. It never got old, not the feelings, not the game, not the injuries that proved you tried. Nothing could beat this. It didn't matter how much time would elapse, it didn't matter how old she would be, the excitement that bubbled up in her stomach, swelling up, up, and over into her limbs and her brain and her feet, that's all that mattered. And Alex knew she'd never tire of it.

"You ready to kick some ass today, number seven?" Katherine cocked an eyebrow at her best friend as they unloaded from the bus. Once Alex had fully exited, she whipped around, a giddy smile on her face.

"As I always am, Smith. You ready to defend some ass today, number fourteen?"

"As I always am, Raven."