Have Hope

7

Alex POV

The last three weeks have been pretty rough. Between dealing with Y/n's annoying ass, my weird reactions whenever I see or talk to her, and my boyfriend being an asshole, I wasn't very surprised when we lost.

Even though Y/n and I basically hate each other, or at least, it feels like we do because of how irritating she is, I do kind of like seeing her. She always manages to make the team laugh, and honestly, I sort of think our interactions are fun even though I always get mad.

Losing the game sucked, but I have been on the team long enough to not let it get to me. It was only a friendly anyway. But still, all this drama with Servando was making me feel overwhelmed. That, combined with how weird Y/n makes me feel....it's too much.

I don't know how I was expecting Y/n to take the loss, but it certainly wasn't how she reacted. I guess my perception of her was that she never really took anything seriously, and she thought too highly of herself, and that she didn't actually really care about anyone but herself, but she proved me wrong.

I completely understood how she felt, and our conversation made me start to see her in a new light. She was no longer this selfish, conceited, asshole. I could tell that being here, on this team, and playing this game, really meant a lot to her. She did care, even if she didn't always show it.

I guess in way, it really reminded me of Hope, which made me miss the old goalkeeper. The two of them were so much alike, in both their looks and how they carried themselves. I think that may be one of the reasons why Y/n makes me so livid. My last memories of Hope weren't good ones. We had gotten into a fight because she told me that Servando was a dick, and that I was making the wrong choice by being with him.

I was so angry at her for telling me that when I expected her to be supportive of me. I could take care of myself, and I didn't need her telling me how to live my life. We never got a chance to repair our relationship before Hope quit the team unexpectedly.

I surprised myself when I went to look for Y/n. But, in the face of all we say to each other, I do care about the rookie. It felt nice to have a real, honest, positive conversation with her, just the two of us.

Everything I said to her was true, I really do think that about her. I was so thankful that it was dark enough under the tree so that she couldn't see me blushing when she complemented me. Her words made me feel.....weird. I'm not used to feeling nervous and...I guess..giddy? Around anyone except Servando.

I think I just really want to be friends with Y/n, but are not sure how to go about it. To her credit, she is pretty damn intimidating and I wondered how our conversation would impact our relationship.

It felt strange to have a good time with her, but I couldn't keep the smile off my face the whole time we played soccer. There was one light lighting up the field at the park, and it was freezing cold, but it was the most fun I've had in a while.

Y/n narrated every single thing she did, making me die of laughter. "Grant has the ball! What will she do with it? She jukes out Alex Morgan, and she's running! Dribbling all the way down the field! Looking for a point! She shoots, and she SCORES! The crowd goes wild! Y/n! Y/n! Y/n!"

We went back and forth for a while, scoring goals on each other. Both of us couldn't stop laughing the whole time we played.

"Alex is running down the field, she has the ball, Alex Morgan for the shot! She scores! Alex wins the game!" I said through laughs.

"So not fair!" Y/n said, but she was laughing too. We fell to the ground in a fit of giggles, rolling in the grass. After a few minutes we finally calmed down, and I looked up at the night sky, my breath catching in my throat at the view.

"Oh my god." I breathed, looking up at the millions of stars. 

Y/n followed my gaze and gasped. "Woah." We stared up at the sky, drinking it all in.

"Look, there's Orion's belt." The keeper said, pointing to a line of three stars. I looked at them in wonder. It was so peaceful, laying out here with the rookie, just...observing.

There was no one else around except for us, and I felt so free. Like I could be myself. I never felt that way around Servando. I always felt like I had to keep up this 'hot girl' image for him. I could never just lay around in sweat pants with no make up.

But it wasn't like that with Y/n.

A hissing sound interrupted my thoughts, and all of a sudden, we were being sprayed with water. Y/n and I shot to our feet and realized the sprinklers had turned on. Immediately, we both busted out laughing. "Race you back to the hotel!" The keeper said, already soaked from head to toe. I was too.

"You're on!" We both ran back at full speed, laughing uncontrollably the entire time. The hotel staff was pretty confused when two soaked, laughing people barged into the lobby and ran to the elevator. Neither of us knew what time it was, but I was having too much fun to care.

As soon as we stepped out of the elevator, we were met with the stern faces of Jill, Dawn, Abel, Mark, Erica, and the team.

Y/n and I froze, our hair and clothing dripping. 

"WHERE HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN?" Jill asked, fuming.

"Uh..." Y/n said, which was so not fucking helpful. 

"And why are you both soaked?" Becky asked.

"We....we went for a walk." The taller girl next to me said. 

Ali knit her eyebrows together. "In a lake?"

"Funny story see-" 

Jill cut Y/n off. "We will talk about this after the two of you shower and change. Carli, team meeting in 20 minutes, everyone meet in the conference room."

Jill turned to the two of us. "You two have some explaining to do."