USWNT - High School

Chapter 2

Hope's POV

"See you tomorrow, Solo." A couple of my classmates waved at me as I walked towards my car after class. I had stayed a little longer to finish up some group work, so the parking lot was close to empty by now.
As I got closer to where I parked, I noticed a familiar brunette leaning against my car. I'll admit my heart raised at the sight of her, but I gave it my all to seem calm and collected.
"Missed you at practice yesterday." Kelley stated, standing with her arms crossed, back leaning against my car. I stopped a few steps ahead, looking at her for the first time in what felt like forever. "Senior year's already kicking my ass." I joked, earning a little smile from the younger soccer player. Truth being that I skipped because I just wasn't ready to face her.

"I'm not a freshman anymore, Hope." Kelley spoke up again after a brief second of silence, now looking a little away from my eyes. I sighed, then started waking towards the back of my car to put my bag inside it.
"And I'm not a junior." I stated, knowing she still thinks her age is the reason I'm holding back.
"Right. Cause you're a big, scary senior now." Kelley walked closer to me as she spoke, and as I put my bag in the trunk of my car she was standing right behind me. "But you don't scare me, Solo, you never have." She close to whispered into my ear from behind me, and her warm breath on my neck sent chills down my spine. "Kelley." I breathed out as I turned around, inches from her face.
"Hope." She said calm back, having a tiny playful smirk on her face. I looked intensely at her, still not being able to fully identify the true colors of her deep beautiful eyes.
"I'll be there tomorrow." I broke whatever moment we were having, turning around to close the back door to my car. She took a few steps back, biting down on her lower lip.
"See you there." Kelley said back, knowing I was referring to practice.

**

Ali's POV

"Babe." I tried waking Ashlyn up carefully, feeling bad for having to when she looked so peaceful. "Ash." I whispered again, bending down next to the bed, stroking her face lightly. "Mmm." She mumbled, as a smile spread across her face. She reached her hand up to mine, and kissed it softly. "Morning." She spoke in her raspy morning voice, as she slowly opened her eyes. "We're gonna be late for class." I said, seeing her pout in response.
"I haven't even gotten my morning kiss yet, and you're already talking about school?" She smirked at me, suddenly pulling me over her on the bed. I let out a little squeak in the process, causing her to laugh.
Ashlyn removed some hair from my face, before pulling me down to meet her lips. We met in a soft but passionate kiss, neither of us being able not to smile throughout it.
"I love you." She breathed out as we pulled away, before giving me a quick peck on the lips again as she rolled me off her. "Now let's go." She continued, getting into the shower.

**

"Did you guys know about the test?" Hope sounded stressed as she rushed into the classroom minutes before the class started. Ashlyn just laughed next to me, never really studying for tests. She's just naturally smart and gets perfectly acceptable grades from minimum work.
"It's just to see what we remember from last year." Becky tried to comfort Hope, but the panic in her eyes just grew bigger. "Last year? I don't remember shit from a year ago." She whined, collapsing into the seat next to Carli. "Don't worry, I'm screwed to." HAO laughed lightly, patting her back.

The test started and I remembered more than I initially thought, so I wasn't too down about it. As the day went by, I realized it's definitely slightly different around here now that we're seniors. Since Abby and Boxxy and the rest of the older girls aren't coming back this year, we all have to adjust to new roles. Also with the newbies coming into the team, it's for sure different when they look at us as 'veterans'. The new defender, Julie, she's good. I think she's gonna be a great addition to the backline.

"I said I'll be there." Ashlyn was questioning Hope about practice, and she was quickly getting defensive. "I just miss my goalie bud." Ashlyn faked a pout, earning a smile from Hope. "I'm sorry, Ash. I'm just stressing over being back, that's all." Hope calmed down, leaning back in her chair.
"Stressing over seeing a certain sophomore?" HAO knew she was on thin ice, but I could see she just wasn't able to keep it in. Hope glared at her, as HAO was obviously trying to hold back a grin. "Yeah, sophomore year's looking good on O'Hara, maybe I should give it a go?" Ashlyn joked, and I hit her in the shoulder as a reflex. "Stop teasing her." I said to no one in particular, giving Ash an extra stare.
Hope didn't say anything, but it was easy to say she wasn't finding it all that funny. My guess, she really likes Kelley. I mean it's easy to see, but she's too afraid to give it a try for some reason. They even had a thing right before school ended, everyone being certain they would get together over the summer, but now they seem further apart than ever.

**

Alex's POV

Tobin was joking around with Kelley in the back of the class as I entered the room, smiling wide at the sight. Kelley waved at me, causing Tobin to turn around and completely melt my heart with that adorable contagious smile of hers.
Yes, I'm head over heals for this girl and I have been for a while now. I'm still building up the courage to tell her, even though I did try pretty much every day this summer. I spend the majority of my days with her, doing everything and nothing. It's been one of the best summers of my life, and I know it's mostly thanks to her.

"Looking good today, Morgan." Tobin said confident, as I sat down next to Whitney. I felt my cheek burn slightly as I smiled shyly towards her. She has that affect on me.
"You never say such nice things to me." Amy faked a pout on the nearby table, crossing her arms like a child. "That's cause I don't like you." Tobin joked, flashing that million dollar smile at her best friend. Amy gasped in shock, before bursting out laughing. "Be nice, Tobi." Cheney shot in with her protective voice. "Sorry, mom." Tobin mumbled, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "You're just on a roll today, aren't you?" Kelley laughed, playfully hitting Tobin in the shoulder.
Tobin looked at me now, giving me a calm smile. It was like she saw right through me whenever she looked at me like that, like she could see my heart pounding in my chest.