"Just Friends."

"More Than Best Friends?"

The laughter continued as Christen hid under the blanket, and Kelley just sat there with an amused look on her face as she ducked under the blanket and whispered to the striker,
"Okay, I have an idea. Just come out from under here and trust me."
Christen nodded and blinked away the tears as they both came out from underneath the blanket. Christen's eyes scanned over the crowd of people before she turned to face Kelley. The look in Kelley's eyes simply said,
'Do you trust me?'
Christen gave one more nod of her head, and the next thing that happened made her eyes widen and her breath stop.
Kelley had quickly leaned forward and gently locked her lips with Christen's.
The laughter from the crowd was replaced with a loud gasp, and then everything went silent. Even Ali and Ashlyn were shocked.
Christen heard the laughter desist and let her eyelids flutter closed, going along with Kelley and letting the kiss continue, until one more person took a quick picture and everyone filed out of the dorm room, Ali and Ashlyn leaving with them.
Kelley looked toward the doorway out of the corner of her eye and pulled away, a content look on her face. Christen, however, was still in shock. The heat had rushed to her cheeks, and she slowly reopened her eyes, looking around the room.
Kelley stood up from the bed and stretched her limbs, beginning to walk out of the bedroom and toward the kitchen, calling to Christen as she walked away, "Thanks for trusting me."
Christen let out a quiet, "Yeah," and stood up from the bed, slipping on her shoes and then making her way to Kelley.
She gave the defender a weak smile and a nod of her head as she walked toward the door, "Hey, I'm gonna head out."
Kelley groaned from her spot at the fridge, "Loser."
The striker rolled her eyes and stepped out, closing the door behind her and letting out a shaky breath before pulling out her phone and beginning to walk toward her dorm room.

• • •

As soon as Christen stepped inside of her dorm room, she pulled up the contacts on her phone, and clicked on a certain name, and began texting away.

To JJ: My place. Be here, ASAP. I need to tell you something important, and I'm kind of freaking out.
Sent: 4:45 p.m.

From JJ: I'll be over in 5 minutes.
Sent: 5:00 p.m

Christen slipped her phone back in her pocket and ran her hands through her hair, reviewing everything that had just happened in the last ten minutes, a part of her believing that it hadn't really happened.
Just like she had said she would, Julie was knocking on Christen's door in a matter of five minutes. Christen took a deep breath before opening the door, smiling as Julie rushed in and gave her a tight hug, that famous smile on her face. 
If there was one person that Christen could tell anything, aside from Kelley, it was Julie.
The defender quickly made herself at home, settling in on the couch and patiently waiting for the striker to join her. Shutting the door, Christen walked over and sat beside JJ, placing her head on the defender's shoulder.
"She kissed me."
The words came quietly out of the striker's mouth. Christen thought Julie would be freaking out or something, but she practically squealed, "Who?!"
Christen lifted her head off of the blonde's shoulder and arched an eyebrow, letting a single word squeak out, "Kelley."
The excited expression wiped off of Julie's face and was quickly replaced with a look of pure confusion, "Um. . . Aren't you guys like, best friends? Why'd she kiss you?"
Christen groaned dramatically, "Long, embarrassing story."
That grin returned and the blonde shrugged her shoulders,
"I'm all ears, Press."
Christen explained the entire situation, the heat returning to her cheeks as Julie continued to grin, nodding her head as she listened.
"Wow," was all that was said by the defender as Christen finished explaining.
"I don't know what to do, JJ. Do I just act like it never happened? Is this a normal thing for best friends?"
The blonde snorted, "Depending on your definition of, 'best friends.' Alex and Tobin claim that they're best friends, but I see their tongues down each other's throats all the time."
Christen lightly punched Julie's arm, though she let out a soft laugh, "You're not helping me, right now."
Julie let out a fake gasp, looking hurt, "Ouch. . . Even though that's true, it's okay, because you love me."
"You're really pushing it, Johnston."
The defender poked Christen's arm, giggling, "Admit it, and I'll help you."
Christen rolled her eyes,
"I love you so much, Julie, and you're the greatest person that I've ever met. I don't know what I'd do without you. Happy?"
The blonde nodded,
"Of course. Now, if I was in your situation, I'd just leave it be. It's not like she was trying to get in your pants. She was just trying to get all of those people to leave."
Somehow, hearing the defender say this made her feel better. She nodded her head, her unforgettable smile finally returning.
"Thanks, JJ. . . Are you doing anything for the rest of the night?"
Julie thought for a second, before shaking her head, "As of now? No. Why?"
Christen wiggled her eyebrows, "Movie night, with me?"
Julie started laughing as soon as Christen had wiggled her eyebrows, nodding her head in the process and speaking in between laughs,
"Sure, dork."
And with that, the two carried on with their night, watching movies together and just having fun, in general. Julie literally always knew how to make Christen feel better, no matter how awful the situation was. The same goes for whenever Julie was upset. Christen always managed to make her happier. It just worked out that way. The two had what was possibly one of the best friendships on campus, though the relationship between Kelley and Christen was stronger, the friendship between Christen and Julie came in a close second.
And everyone knew that.