USWNT Oneshots

Breaking a Shell

The small Middle Eastern town was in chaos. Gunfire echoed off partially destroyed buildings, there were bodies all over, and soldiers ran around everywhere. In the midst of this, there was a small, slender black haired girl slumped against a building. blood soaked the lower part of her grey t-shirt, and she appeared to be in shock. A black messenger bag was strapped across her chest. A U.S. soldier stopped in front of her. "Get up!" the soldier hissed. the girl did nothing, staring up at the soldier with fear in her bright green eyes. "Are you deaf, girl?!" the soldier demanded. "Get up!" the girl still did nothing. "That's it..." the soldier growled, her hand going to her side, where her gun was holstered. "Hope!" a voice said sharply. "Don't you dare. She's just a kid, and she needs help." another soldier came into view and crouched down by the girl. "Don't be afraid." she said kindly. "We're here to help." she picked the girl up and carried her into a helicopter. The girl whimpered in pain as she was set down on a stretcher on the floor of the helicopter. The helicopter carried them to a base in a safe city that had a hospital attached. The doctors told the soldiers, Abby and Hope, that they could visit the girl the next day. The next morning, Hope and Abby went to see the girl. they walked into the room and found the girl awake and alert. "hey, kid." Abby said. "I'm captain Abby Wambach. This is my lieutenant Hope Solo. We've got some questions for you, okay?" the girl nodded, but said nothing. "How old are you?" Abby asked. The girl grabbed a notebook and a pencil and wrote 15 on the first page. "What's your name?" Hope asked. Thalia Skywalker. The girl wrote. "Why were you in that town?" Hope asked. My parents were researchers. Thalia wrote. When the fighting broke out, we tried to flee, but my parents were killed and I was wounded. We're american citizens by the way. I have my passport. She pulled the small blue book out of a pocket in her messenger bag and showed it to the two soldiers. Hope and Abby nodded, and went to talk to the doctor. "Has she spoken at all?" Hope asked. "No." the doctor said. "We think it's the shock, but we're not sure. We should move her in with someone closer to her age, though." "There's a girl named Tobin Heath in here." Abby remembered. "Her parents were doctors. They were killed in airstrikes. She's eighteen. We can move Thalia in with her." the doctor nodded. "I'll go tell her." he said. "You can tell Thalia, then move her in. Room 170." "Ok." Abby said. She and Hope walked over to Thalia's bedside. "Hey, kiddo." Hope said. "You're being moved. There's a girl named Tobin Heath who's in pretty much the same situation as you are. You'll be sharing a room with her." Ok. Thalia wrote. Hope and Abby helped the wounded teen down the hall to room 170. "Hi!" a brown haired girl said as Hope and Abby guided Thalia inside. "They told me I'd be getting a new roommate. That's you, right?" Thalia nodded. "Can you talk?" the girl asked. "Like, are you physically able to?" Thalia nodded again. "Then why don't you?" the girl asked. "Not to be rude or anything." she added hastily. "I'm just curious." Thalia shrugged. "Well, anyway, I'm Tobin Heath." the girl said. "Who are you?" Thalia opened her notebook and underlined the words Thalia Skywalker. "Got it." Tobin said. "Why are you here?" Thalia underlined her story, then wrote What about you? "Mom and dad were field doctors." Tobin explained. "I was working with them when they were killed by an airstrike. A piece of shrapnel got me here." she lifted her shirt to reveal a white bandage covering her torso. Thalia nodded. "Here, let me show you something cool." Tobin said. She pulled down on a string in the ceiling, and a ladder came down. The two girls climbed up the ladder, and Tobin lifted the trapdoor. They emerged on the roof. Wow. Thalia wrote. "I know, right?" Tobin said. "I love it up here. It's so peaceful." Are we allowed to be here? Thalia wrote. "Well, no one's told me I couldn't." Tobin said. "Girls?" a voice asked from the room below. "Coming, doc!" Tobin called, and helped Thalia down the ladder. "I just need to check your wounds." the doctor said. The girls took their shirts off and let the doctor examine their wounds and redo their bandages, then the doctor left and Tobin laid down on the bed. Can I ask you something, Tobin? Thalia wrote. "Sure." Tobin said. It may sound stupid, but can I sleep on you? Thalia wrote, blushing. "Of course." Tobin said. "I'm comfy. come here." she scooted over so there was room for Thalia to lie down, resting her head on the older girl's chest. The next morning, Tobin showed Thalia all her favorite spots around the base, and for the next week, the two girls could be seen running around the base, sword fighting with sticks in the courtyard, and generally getting in everyone's way. No one really minded, however. They had seen so many kids and young teens come and go, all with fatal or near-fatal wounds, all with eyes that had seen too much, all with the same look of hopelessness on their faces, so to see two young girls running and laughing together was refreshing. On the first day of her second week at the base, Tobin woke up, and found that Thalia wasn't in her arms. she saw that the ladder leading up to the roof had been pulled down. She climbed up to the roof and found Thalia singing. Smiling, she sat and listened until a gust of wind blew the hatchway shut with a loud bang. Thalia turned around, and when she saw Tobin, she blushed and stopped singing. "Hi Tobin." she said shyly. "You're talking!" Tobin gasped. Thalia grinned. "Yep." she said. Tobin walked over to the smaller girl and hugged her. "Why didn't you talk before?" she asked. "I think it was the shock of losing mum and dad." Thalia said. "It created a shell around me, almost. But then you came along and slowly chipped away at the shell until it broke." Tobin nodded. "Glad to be able to help." she said. "Tobin, can I tell you something?" Thalia asked. "Anything." Tobin said. "Um...well...I..." Thalia began. "Iloveyou." she said quickly. "What?" Tobin asked. Thalia blushed. "I love you." she said, slower this time. "I'm glad." Tobin said, leaning in and capturing Thalia's soft pink lips in a sweet kiss. That evening, the doctor examined the girls like always. "You two are cleared to go home." he said. "But sir, we don't have a home." Tobin said. "In that case, Tobin, you can live on your own. Thalia will be sent to an orphanage." Thalia hissed and latched onto Tobin's shirt. "Nooooooo!" she whined. "No." Tobin said, more firmly. "Thalia can live with me. She needs someone who understands exactly what she's been through, and no one at any orphanage can do that for her." Abby and Hope, who were also in the room, looked at each other. "Doctor, can you excuse us please?" Abby asked. the doctor nodded and left. "What's going on between you two?" Hope asked. "What do you mean?" Thalia asked. "Nothing's going on between us." Tobin said. "I find that hard to believe." Abby said. "While the reason you gave for not sending Thalia to an orphanage is valid, I think there's something more behind it." Tobin looked at Thalia, who nodded. Tobin sighed. "Fine." she said. "We're dating. Happy?" Abby smiled. "Yes." she said. "We'll arrange to find you guys a house in the states." "Thanks, Abby." Thalia said. "Thanks, Hope." "No problem." Hope said. "You two get some sleep, okay?" "Okay." Tobin said. she laid down on the bed, and Thalia laid down next to her, resting her head on the older girl's chest. "Babe?" Tobin asked. "Hmm?" Thalia replied. "Can you look at me?" Tobin asked. Thalia looked up at Tobin, and Tobin leaned down and kissed her. "Goodnight, my love." Tobin said, smiling. "Goodnight, Toby." Thalia said, smiling as well as she snuggled closer to the girl she loved. 

So I will be doing a new thing every day I update called Soccer Quote Of The Day. As I announced on my profile, soccer season is starting, and sometimes my teammates say the funniest things, so I will share them with you.

Today's Soccer Quote Of The Day: "is anyone else's butt shaking?"

Day one  of practice and we're already asking awkward questions.