Chance or Fate

Ch 1

Alyssa was not a fan of clubs. They were loud and dark, yet bright at the same time. The drinks were overpriced, and the pickup lines were cheesy if they were good, disturbing if bad. She really was getting too old to be dragged out to these places. The only thing that sounded nice was a glass of wine and a book. Maybe a crossword, but only if she had just one glass. Sighing, she took another sip of her expensive cocktail.

"Lyssa if you didn't want to come out you could have just said so." Red Stars co-captain Vanessa DiBernardo had to lean in close to be heard over the thumping base.

"It is team bonding. I didn't want to ditch. What kind of 4th string captain would I be then?"

"An older one who doesn't enjoy dancing with random strangers while drinking expensive alcohol." Vanessa laughs at the expression on her friend's face. "Come on, it's true. Head out of here. I'll cover for you and make sure everyone gets home safe or at minimum back to my apartment to sleep it off."

"I owe you breakfast on Friday then." Alyssa responded eagerly, not wanting to give her friend a moment to change her mind.

She hadn't opened a tab at the bar. All she needed was to grab her jacket and her bag before she was gone. Tucking her bag close to her body, she weaved around the drunken bodies on the dance floor, waving to Danny and Sarah at the bar.

The outdoor air had a nip to it, not that she minded. Alyssa pulled her leather jacket closer around her and opened her phone to order a Lyft home. She didn't feel like dealing with the unique characters that populated the Red Line at night. The pickup spot for her ride was on the next block, so she started walking that way while it looked for a driver. That is when she heard someone faintly calling. Well, she thought she did anyway.

"Here kitty...it's ok I know you're scared. I'm not gonna hurt you." Ok, someone was definitely calling to a cat.

Stepping forward a little further, she spotted a blonde woman crouched down halfway down an alley. The woman heard her footsteps and threw up a hand to halt Alyssa in her tracks.

"Don't come any closer. You'll scare it and then I'll have to chase it further down this creepy alley and I would really rather not do that. If you are having thoughts about scaring me down the creepy alley forget it. I've got mace and I'm not afraid to use it."

"I won't, I won't." Alyssa promised. Mace in her eyes was the last thing she needed tonight. That would be one hell of a story to explain to her teammates after she dipped out early. "Is it your cat? I can try to go around to the other side of the alley and spook it towards you."

"It isn't my cat." The woman confessed. "But it is tiny and scared. Probably a stray. I was going to take it to the vet once I got ahold of it. Then it ran back by that dumpster and I've been trying to lure it out ever since."

"Ahh...well..." Quickly, Alyssa made her choice. She cancelled her Lyft. "What can I do to help?"

"Seriously?" The woman glanced over her shoulder for the first time, taking in the lanky goalkeeper. Their gazes met and Alyssa nodded in the affirmative. "Is there anyplace you can get some food around here? That will probably lure it out."

"Yeah there is a Korean BBQ place not too far from here. I'll be back." Alyssa turned on her heels and jogged down to the restaurant a few doors down from the club.

She returned to find that the blonde woman hadn't moved and was still calling out to the scared kitten. Alyssa approached her slowly before stopping just inside of arm's reach.

"Here." Alyssa extended a Styrofoam box. "I got some barbeque chicken – the mildest they had."

The woman glanced back, smiled, and took the box gratefully.

"Perfect."

She tore off tiny pieces and began to throw them in the direction of the dumpster the kitten had sought refuge under. A dark grey blur darted out and snagged the closest piece before scurrying back under the dumpster. It took some attempts, but the blonde managed to stagger the pieces close enough to lure kitten out a little further with each scrap. Alyssa squatted patiently behind her. She was now invested in getting the kitten out of the trash.

Both women held their breath as the kitten finally got within arm's reach. It was a scraggly looking thing, maybe all of a pound and a half and matted grey fur. Pitiful would be an understatement. The blonde rested her hand near the kitten as it chowed down on a larger piece of chicken. The kitten growled at it and smacked it with a paw. When it didn't move, the kitten went back to chewing on the chicken.

"That's it...keep eating that chicken." Her hand kept closer.

In a flash, she had grabbed the kitten by the scruff of the neck and wrapped it into her own jacket. The grey head popped out. Ears flew back and a hiss escaped it. But it was a kitten burrito and had nowhere to go.

"Hey hey I know little one you are angry right now. But we are going to get you checked out at a vet and into a good home. And I've got more chicken."

Grins adorned both of their faces when they looked up at each other. Alyssa scratched the back of her neck, the awkwardness of spending the past 40 minutes with a stranger she still didn't know the name of to rescue the tiny grey kitten setting in.

"So, uh...we caught the little thing."

"I couldn't have done it without you." The blonde smiled wider up at the taller woman as she cradled the hissing kitten burrito. "Thank you for getting the chicken to lure it out."

"It was no trouble. Will you be ok now?"

"Yeah, I just have to find a place to keep him for the night. My building doesn't allow cats and I can't risk getting kicked out." Light blue eyes peered up at her, hopeful.

"Oh...uh..." Alyssa scratched the back of her neck to buy her a moment to think. "I can take the thing for a night. My friends foster critters, so they won't notice one more on the floor. What vet should I meet you at in the morning...."

"Becky." The blonde offered her name as she extended the kitten burrito to Alyssa. "Do you know where the Anti-Cruelty Society is?"

"Alyssa. Yeah, I can meet you there when it opens before I have to get to work."

Becky's entire face lit up. "That would be fantastic! I'll bring coffee."

It took Alyssa a moment to get everything settled. She tucked the rest of the chicken in her bag to keep as a peace offering for the kitten when they got back to her apartment. She cradled the growling kitten in one arm and navigated her phone with the other. She managed to order a Lyft as Becky walked off toward the nearest Red Line CTA station. If the blonde woman didn't show tomorrow, she would just leave the angry little thing in the care of the Anti-Cruelty Society and let someone give him a good home.

The little fella was asleep by the time they pulled up to her apartment building. She carried the kitten up the elevator and into her bedroom. She still had some litter left over from when she watched Sam and Nikki's foster kittens, so she dumped some of that into an old paper box for the little guy to use. A bowl of shredded chicken and water were placed next to it in case he got hungry during the night. Better to much on the chicken then her fingers and toes. Carefully, Alyssa unwrapped the kitten burrito so he could get lose of the blanket if he wanted to before she gently placed him on the ground near the litter box.

Alyssa quickly changed then set an alarm for the next morning after ensuring her bedroom door was firmly closed. She did not want the kitten to get adventurous around her apartment for her to have to find in the morning. Curling up in bed, she thought back to the blonde, no Becky, that she had helped catch the little thing. Her willingness to help something so small and fragile, her patience to get the kitten close enough to her so she could rescue it, and those bright blue eyes that filled with hope.

Those eyes were the last thing she saw as dozed off.

A/N: Any and all mistakes are my own. I've been stuck in a writing funk so I attempted this to get back in the groove of things. I anticipate it being a few chapters at most. I am still working on BnB, but am having major writer's block atm. Thanks for the support y'all.

-Red