From Strangers to Lovers

The Beginning

"EARTH TO ALEX!!" a voice yelled from the distance. Alex looked over in response just in time to avoid a soccer ball that was flying towards her. "Yeah, that got your attention now didn't it??" Alex got up, brushed herself off and looked around to see Kelley jogging towards her.

"Jesus Christ, Kell! What was that for?" Alex raised her voice, out of breath from the panic she just experienced.

"Well I had to do something to get your attention!" Kelley replied with a giggle, flipping the ball up with her foot and catching it. "You were staring at the new girl again weren't you?!" she asked Alex with a grin.

"SHUT UP!!" Alex playfully hit Kelley in the arm causing her to drop the ball. Kelley bent down to pick it back up and when she raised her head she noticed Alex staring off again. Kelley quietly looked in the same direction as Alex and, sure enough, there was the new girl playing pick-up soccer with her friends like she did every Wednesday and Friday after school. "I just don't get it...if you're that good at a sport, why wouldn't you want to play it competitively on an actual team?" Alex rasped confused as she watched in awe at the new girl's flawless footwork.

"Maybe she just likes to play as a hobby, or a stress relief or something like that. Not everyone's into competition, Morgan" explained Kelley packing her cleats and shin guards away, changing into her sneakers. "What's her name, anyway?"

"I don't know..." said Alex disappointed.

"You should find out" Kelley nudged Alex's arm giving her a smirk knowing that Alex was looking at more than just the new girl's technique. She was right. Alex was completely captivated by the new girl's persona. Everything about the way she carried herself intrigued Alex.

"Yeah....maybe I should" said Alex who was still blankly staring at the newbie when she finally realized Kelley had started walking towards the car. "Wait up, Kell!"

The next day Alex was in gym class, her favorite of course, they were outside playing soccer. She was always sure to not go as hard as she would if she was actually playing in competition, after all coach would kill her if she got hurt playing gym soccer. It was hard sometimes though because she had gym with Kelley, Sydney, Ashlyn and Carli all of which are on the school's soccer team, of course. They all also know about Alex's little girl crush on the new girl which they choose to tease her about all the time. They were about 20 minutes into class and on a water break when they saw a girl jogging towards the field.

"Who's that?" Ashlyn asked pointing to the figure jogging towards them. Everyone shrugged and shook their head not knowing, either, who it was. The girl got closer and Alex's eyes widened.

"What's she doing here??" Alex whisper yelled into Kelley's ear. It was the new girl. She jogged up to Coach Porter and handed him a piece of paper.

"The guidance counselor had to make some changes to my schedule and she switched me to your class" said the brunette.

"Great! We're happy to have you, welcome aboard!" said Coach P who turned to the rest of the class. "Everyone, this is Tobin Heath. She's going to be joining our group for the rest of the year." Alex had all she could do to contain her excitement as she squeezed onto Kelley and Sydney's arms to keep her composure. "Tobin we're playing soccer this week, hope you like the sport! Pick a team!"

"Yeah, I've played a few times" joked Tobin who caught Alex's stare and flashed a smirk then proceeded to join her team. Coach P blew his whistle and threw the ball to midfield. The class took their places and with another blow of the whistle they began playing. Alex took a new approach this round and played a bit harder than usual as she tried to show off a bit for Tobin. Tobin was a midfielder so being a forward; Alex worked a lot back and forth with Tobin on the field. The game was tied and the class period was almost over, knowing this and wanting to win Alex played harder. Tobin settled a long pass from Kelley and set off towards the goal using footwork Alex had never seen before to get past everyone on the team. Tobin made her way with the ball to the corner as Alex darted towards the box raising her hand and yelling "YIP! YIP! YIP!" Hearing Alex's small noises Tobin used on more move to beat the defender and punted a perfect cross in Alex's direction. Alex knew this was her chance to really impress the new girl. In one flawless move Alex leapt over the defender and connected with the ball. It was a perfect header, straight into the upper left corner of the goal, just out of Ashlyn's reach. Alex threw her arms up in celebration and immediately turned to Tobin who was already running towards her. Tobin gave Alex a high five.