USWNT Oneshots

The Water Girl

Prompt: can you do one where Thalia was the water girl on the USWNT but dreamt of actually playing on the team, so when Thalia had free time she started playing soccer and then someone saw her like JJ, Moe, or Alex and then they take a video and then Thalia gets mad at them and won't talk to them because she thinks its bad and stuff

My name is Thalia Skywalker. I'm the water girl for the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. I love my job. I go everywhere with the team, and I get to watch all their games. I'm really close friends with some of the players, mainly Abby Wambach, Tobin Heath, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Hope Solo, and Carli Lloyd. The team even gave me my own jerseys for Christmas. They have Skywalker, 42 on the back, and I wear them for games in connection to whatever jerseys the team is wearing for that particular game. As much as I love being water girl for the team, I wish I could play. It's been a dream of mine ever since I started as water girl, but I can't play soccer. I've tried a couple times, on my own, and the results were laughable. I'm a total flop on the field, so my dreams of playing for the team have been suppressed. Tobin saw me at it once, out on the field struggling to imitate what I'd seen the girls do a thousand times. I got really embarrassed, but Tobin had just smiled at me. "Keep trying, kiddo." she'd said. I took her words to heart, and have been practicing whenever I have free time ever since. Sometimes, Tobin will come out and help me with footwork, but I'm still no good. I take the ball out to the pitch near our hotel, and start dribbling, lost in a fantasy. Dribble around a middy, around a defender, nutmeg, shoot, score! The ball soars into the net, a perfect goal. I sigh, and go retrieve the ball, going at it again. This time, I decide to try some of the footwork that Tobin taught me. Again, the ball soars into the net. "I have never seen anything like that." A voice snaps me out of my fantasy. I turn to see Morgan Brian and Julie Johnston coming onto the field. My heart sinks. Now even more people know how bad I am at soccer. I look at my shoes. "Pretty bad, right?" I ask. "Pretty bad?!" JJ asks indignantly. "The person who'd call that 'pretty bad' needs to find a new definition of the term!" "That was amazing, Thalia." Moe says. "No it wasn't." I say. "I suck at soccer. I'm a total flop on the field. I'm nothing like you guys." I pick up the ball and head towards the hotel, where I go back to my room and sulk until dinner. Tobin comes into my room and puts her arms around me. "What's wrong, baby girl?" She asks. She and I have been dating for two weeks. "Nothing." I say, not meeting her eyes. "I know there's something wrong, Thalia." Tobin says. "You're sulking. What's up?" I sigh. "Moe and JJ caught me out on the pitch." I say. "And?" Tobin asks. "And I suck at soccer, Tobin!" I say. "You're getting a lot better." Tobin argues. "I still suck!" I say. "No you don't." Tobin says. "Look, Tobin." I say. "I know you're trying to make me feel better, but there's no way around it. I'm a total flop on the field. You guys were born to play soccer. I was born to be a water girl." "No, I believe you were born to be something more." Tobin says. "I believe you were born to play just like we were. You just needed an extra push." She takes my chin in her hand and tilts my face up. Our lips meet. "I love you, Tobin." I say. "I love you too, Thalia." She says. "Now, let's go down to dinner." We go down to the dining hall, get our food, and take our seats next to Abby. "So tell me, Squirt." Abby says. "Why do you say you suck at soccer?" "Because it's true." I say. "No it's not." Abby says. "Yes it-wait, how do you know about my soccer skill level?!" I ask. "JJ and Moe showed me a video of you that they took this afternoon." Abby says. "They took a video of me?!" I ask. "Yeah." Abby says. "They showed it to all of us. And to Jill." I groan, burying my face in my hands. "I'm going to kill them." I mutter. Tobin rubs my back. "It's alright, baby girl." She says. "Just let it play out. Something good will come of this. You'll see." I nod glumly and finish my dinner, then go upstairs and turn in early. Tobin comes in and gives me a kiss before getting into bed next to me and wrapping an arm around my small body. The next morning, the girls have practice. "Skywalker!" Jill says. "Get on the pitch with them." I'm confused, but I do as I'm told. Tobin helps guide me through the drills, and I find that I get the hang of them pretty quickly. We split up for a scrimmage, and Tobin passes me the ball. It's just like my fantasies: dribble around a middy, around a defender, nutmeg, shoot... blocked by Ash. Tobin gives the ball to me again, and I go through the now-familiar motions. This time, Ash dives one way, and I shoot the other way. Jill grins at me from the sidelines. "Welcome to the team." She says. After practice, Moe and JJ come up to me, looking sheepish. "Abby told us that you were pissed at us last night." Moe says. "Bet you're feeling differently now!" JJ says, grinning. "No, I'm still extremely pissed at both of you." I say, walking off. I don't get my first cap until December in a friendly against China, and I end up scoring my first international goal. As the team hugs me, I couldn't be happier, because happy is what happens when all your dreams come true.

Requested by: uswntt15. If you got the reference I made with the last sentence, comment what you think I was referencing and I will give you a shoutout in the next shot.