ᴄᴀᴘᴛᴀɪɴ | ᴘᴏʟʏ

7

"Baby you don't need to change,
Cause you make me wanna give you my last name"
- Jay Sean

"Okay, okay, okay," Jessica, one of Kevin's new friends drew the attention of the small group of teens towards her as the game kicked off. Clarissa had left the group to run some errands, happy and trusting Kevin's responsible side to not let things get out of hand. "I propose a bet."

The teens eyed her wearily as Clay, the self-proclaimed 'bad boy' of the group began handing out beers which he smuggled into the house despite Kevin's warnings. He handed one to Kevin, who accepted it. Without questioning the boy, Clay turned to Jessica raising an eyebrow, "What kind of bet?"

The group had taken Kevin in with welcoming arms and a few friendly slaps to the back of the head, mainly from Jessica, and so had been learning more of the younger Scott. Not in the best detail, but sufficiently enough that he got his point across, and so they all knew about his older sister, her friends, the sibling's past. They got him over his anger towards her for leaving, and knew a small amount of her relationship with her fellow pro, ex-girlfriend Kelley. They also knew that Kevin fielded late night calls from the short American pro, questions upon questions about his sister - desperate for any information she could get. They all knew she was angry, too. Angrier than their friend.

Due to this, Kevin felt uneasy when Jessica rubbed her hands together with a maniacal expression on her face before speaking, "On who will lose their shit first. Kelley, Logan, or Hope."

"What? She's not even playing..." Another member of the tight-knit group, Dylan, mumbled, slightly confused.

"I know that," Jessica deadpans, "But we all saw that douche in the studio with her. If she doesn't smack him in the mouth I gladly nominate myself."

"True. I'll take that bet, but I think Kelley will snap first."

"Not Hope?" Clay asked Kevin, surprise barely hidden in his voice. Kevin ignored the logical reasoning in assuming Hope would snap first.

"Yeah, my money's on Kelley."

While the friends were taking bets, players from both teams were fighting for possession, pushing their legs to the limits under the hot rays from the sun. It was a feeling Logan had missed - playing in the States, being able to understand everything being said.

The lack of language barrier made it easier to settle in to this Orlando team, and a lot quicker. The play was fluid, there was no miscommunication, she knew what other's expected from her, and they knew what she needed and wanted in return.

The one thing Logan wasn't expecting was the lack of harsh treatment from the opposition. She would be lying if she said that it hadn't crossed her mind. She focused herself on the team rookie as a distraction for the shitshow she was sure was about to go down.

But that show never appeared.

Granted, Kelley was on the other side of the field, and her being near Logan was minimal, but she had still expected a little rough treatment from her friends on the team. It was no secret, after all, that she had hurt the American.

"Head in the game, runaway," Amy muttered as she walked alongside Logan, the Canadian glancing at her American opponent to see the shorter woman grinning, "Stop day dreaming."

"Shut up," Logan grumbled, focusing on the ball that was soaring through the blue skies courtesy of the goalkeeper.

Toni easily won the ball, towering over the shorter Amy, heading the ball to Krieger. The women move the ball from side to side, trying to coax Utah out of their defensive stance, they needed just a slither of space to play the perfect ball.

And they get it when Alex plays the ball for Logan who makes a curved run, breaking the defense open, leaving Kelley to try and make up for the other defenders' lack of pace.

Logan leads the American inside the box, before turning to move towards the corner, until she feels cleats make contact and grind down the back of her ankle, resulting in her falling from the challenge.


"That has to be a penalty!" The commentary team begin chattering about the game being played, the game drawing them away from their pointless and dull conversations which make viewers watch games on silent. "O'Hara surely has to see red for that!"

"It does look accidental--"

"Accidental or not, that's a red."

The chatterbugs stopped talking as the referee bounded towards the two women. Logan had gotten back to her feet but was rubbing her ankle, testing her strength as she walked on it before looking as the referee made his way over.

It was only then that she noticed Kelley was still standing beside her, her eyes showing concern.

"Are you okay?" Kelley asked just the referee made it to the players.

"I'm good, it was an accident," Logan replies, patting the American on the shoulder before facing the referee, "That's our corner, by the way."

The referee seemed confused, as did everyone else on the field, Kelley included. The Canadian international pointed to the corner just to get her point across, rolling the ball towards the flag for a teammate to take.


"What is happening?" The commentator basically yells, voice dripping with confusion and frustration.

"Isn't he the commentator? Shouldn't he like...know?" Jessica sasses as she swigs her beer, head resting on Kevin's shoulder and her legs draped across Dylan's lap.

The teens continue to watch as Logan points to the corner, and the referee seems to be warning O'Hara to watch her tackles. Kevin involuntarily smiles, knowing that Logan has taken the heat off of Kelley. He knows she's the reason that Kelley isn't getting a red card.

"I think it's a corner," The commentator mumbles.

"No fucking shit, you goddamn moron!" Jessica groans.

It's eventually half-time, and none of the bets the teens made have been successful, though Kevin came close when saying that Kelley would lose her shit.

After that clumsy tackle, Kelley got her act together, much to the relief of her teammates, who understood where she was coming from but knew that they needed her in the game. They needed all eleven on the field.

Clarissa made her way home, leaving the teens to themselves although she had noticed the smell of beer on their breaths, she was just happy knowing that they were under her roof and not galavanting the streets like mole-people.

She also trusted Kevin.

"If Kelley doesn't get sent off, I'll be pissed. I hate losing so much money." Jessica mumbled, still sprawled across her two friends like royalty.

"It's $10..." Clay trailed off. He was confused given his well-off background. It's also why he calls himself the 'bad boy' of the group, because he's the only one able to buy his way out of trouble.

"Yeah. That's a lot of money to some people, jackass."

Kevin slowly took the beer from Jessica's hand, deducing that she's had enough, before setting it on the table as the second half was about to begin.

"So, last thoughts, Hope. Who will take the points and should Utah be down to 10?" The smug host smiled at the taller woman who just glanced at the camera before looking him in the eye.

"Like I said, it'll be hard to decide who wins. Both teams are playing well. As for a red, I'd have to say that O'Hara may be lucky to be on the field, and even without a yellow. I think if Scott were to make the most of the foul, like a lot of the men's players do, then Kelley would have definitely walked."

Kevin grinned at the screen, happy that Hope had slyly called out her co-host for his less that subtle ways of saying the women's game isn't as good at the men's.

"You fucking tell him, ya big beautiful goddess!" Jessica yelled at the TV. "I should have put my money on her for 'one epic take down'."


The second half was faster paced than the first. The first forty-five a test for both teams, to decipher how the other plays. Where's their weakest position, who to avoid. Are they vulnerable from set-pieces, free kicks, corners?

Kelley learned her lesson quickly, and when she was defending her goal from Logan, made sure not to lunge at the woman with quick feet.

Anyone who was around to remember Logan's playing days with Seattle could easily detail every single way the player had improved in her time with Bayern. From patience, skill, teamwork, pace. The woman had upgraded in every little way.

And the happiest for it was Alex. From their training sessions it was clear that Logan was happy to be the supply guy for Alex. And like they say - practise makes perfect.

It was a play they had both worked multiple times on the training field, and when the clock hit the 88th minute, the risky play didn't seem like such a risk for their teammates.

Logan makes the disguising run, receiving the ball from her favorite rookie, Erin, and runs with the ball towards Kelley, who squares her body so as to not be caught out again. Alex makes the main run into the box, just in perfect time for the cross from Logan, to volley the ball into the back of the net, with too much power and pace for the goalkeeper to do anything about it.

Half of the crowd cheers as Alex jumps into Logan arms, the rest of their teammates gathering round to celebrate.

As Logan walks back to the Orlando half with Erin, Alex pats Kelley on her shoulder, a simple gesture which holds a thousand different questions.

"I'm fine. Nicely played." O'Hara smiles at her best friend, who subconsciously glances at Logan before jogging off.

The final two minutes, plus added time, were uneventful. The players all shook hands, Logan getting a few slaps to the head from Christen, Becky and Amy, before shaking hands with Kelley. The hand shake lasts longer than just a few seconds, eye contact held by both women before Alex interrupts, telling Logan to hurry up.

Without a word spoken, Logan leaves, stopping to sign merch, tickets, scrap pieces of paper, jerseys - anything that was held out for her, but she did it without complaining as she she watched the small faces of children light up in admiration.

"Hey," Logan heard as she felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from retreating into the locker room. She turned to come face-to-face with Kelley, "when are you going back to Orlando?"

"Tomorrow morning, why?" Logan asks as Kelley retracts her hand from the Canadian's shoulder. Logan fights against the small frown at the lack of warmth from Kelley's hand.

"Can we talk? I'll buy you dinner."