Chapter Text
“Come on, Chris. Please, please, please!” Alex begged.
“No. You don’t need me to supervise your flirting with Servando,” Christen said grabbing her bag from her locker. The last bell on Friday had just rang and the hallways were a zoo. Students were rushing to get to the buses and teachers were itching to get far away from this school.
“Please. Everyone’s going,” Alex continued to beg.
“Well if everyone’s going, then you really don’t need me,” Christen said shutting her locker.
“You can’t avoid Tobin forever,” Alex said instantly regretting uttering that name. Christen’s face went pale and her blood started to boil. She was about to unleash a string of nasty words at Alex when their friends, thankfully for both of them, interrupted.
“You guys ready to go?” Syd said holding her soccer boyfriend Dom’s hand. Servando and a few of the other soccer boys and cheerleaders were with them.
“I’m ready,” Alex said looking directly at Christen who was still sending daggers her way.
“Come on, Chris. It’ll be fun! It’s a huge game,” Eric one of the soccer boys said.
“Hey, babe,” Tom said sliding an arm around her shoulder, coming up from behind her. He planted a sloppy kiss on her lips and Christen barely kissed back. He was cute and rich but he was an awful kisser and an even worse quarterback. “Of course she’s going. Everyone’s going to the game. It’s East!” Tom answered for her. Christen rolled her eyes and sighed seeing no way out of this miserable game and followed the group as they made their way to the field in the back corner of the campus.
Freshman Year
“Dammit,” Tobin said as she watched the ball fly well wide of the goal post and over her backyard fence. It was 11pm on a school night, but Tobin couldn’t sleep. It was her freshman season and it was the first time she’d play in the storied rivalry against East. Coach had told her she was going to be starting the game and it unnerved her to no end. She tossed and turned in her bed before grabbing her ball and taking some shots on the net in her backyard she got as a Christmas present last year.
She’d only hit a handful of goals since she’d been outside, most sailing wide and slamming into the fence. But this one sailed over the fence into the darkened yard of her neighbor. Tobin jogged to the gate and entered her neighbor’s yard scanning the area to see where the ball landed.
“It’s under the bushes,” a voice said quietly. Tobin jumped at the sound and turned to where the voice came from. She saw Christen sitting on a plush deck chair with her legs crossed underneath her. She was in an oversized t-shirt with shorts just barely peaking out. She had her hair tied up in a loose bun and her glasses that she wouldn’t ever be caught dead wearing in the daylight on. It was dark and dimly lit, but Tobin could still see how equally beautiful and sad she looked.
“Over there,” Christen said nodding to the back corner where the ball had rolled.
“Um, thanks,” Tobin cautiously stuttered out trotting to pick up the ball. Tobin tossed the ball between her hands awkwardly walking through the Press’s backyard as she felt Christen watch her.
“Can’t sleep?” Tobin said trying to make small talk. Tobin tried to sound casual but it was weird and forced and neither of them really wanted to say anything. They hadn’t talked more than a few words over the past two years. When they got to high school, they drifted apart even more than they already had. Tobin threw herself into her soccer and Christen hit puberty early. She was gorgeous, became a cheerleader and was instantly taken into the popular crowd.
“No,” Christen said bluntly and solemnly. Tobin pursed her lips and nodded continuing to make her way out of the yard.
“Tom asked me to be his girlfriend,” Christen said softly as Tobin was almost gone from the yard. It was so quiet that Tobin almost didn’t hear it, but she knew Christen wanted her to hear the words.
“Congrats?” Tobin said unsure of the response Christen wanted from her.
“I said I’d think about it,” Christen said looking down at her hands in her lap.
“Oh,” Tobin said frozen in her spot.
“I should say yes,” Christen said, but it sounded much more like a question.
“What do you want me to say, Christen?” Tobin looked at the girl with sadness and vulnerability filling her. “What do you want from me?”
“I don’t know,” Christen sighed out. “Give me a reason to say no,” Christen looked up and met Tobin's eyes. There were tears formed in Christen’s eyes and Tobin felt like the wind got knocked out of her and her heart clenched. Just as Tobin opened her mouth to formulate a response Christen beat her to it.
“You know what,” Christen said closing her eyes. “Forget it,” she opened her eyes and a few tears spilled onto her cheeks. “I’m done waiting for you,” Christen stood up from the chair. “Good luck in your game tomorrow,” she said with a small but genuine smile. “You’re going to do great,” Christen choked back a sob and turned to the back door.
Tobin watched her walk to the door. She watched Christen open it slowly without glancing back. Tobin opened and closed her mouth trying to will herself to say something, but she didn’t. She couldn’t. She stood there with the ball in her hands as Christen flicked off the deck lights.
“Christen, sweetheart,” Mrs. Heath called out to her. “Oh, it’s so nice to see you here,” she said into Christen’s ear as she pulled her into a hug. “Tobin will be so happy you came.”
“Yeah,” Christen lied with a fake forced smile on her face.
“Well have fun with your friends, sweetheart. Please come over for dinner sometime.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Heath,” Christen said waving before rejoining her group of friends who had taken up a big area in the metal bleachers.
It was the first girls soccer game Christen had been to since the East game her freshman year. Christen never played soccer, but she knew the game well. She’d spent most of her childhood watching Tobin play tournaments and was forced to watch European pro league games with her childhood best friend. It was weird to be back at a soccer field and even weirder to see Tobin on the pitch.
Tobin looked happy. She had the ball at her feet casually flicking it into the air while the rest of the team took a water break. The soccer field was always the most comfortable place for Tobin. It was a sacred ground. Christen felt bad impeding it. That’s why she’s tried to stay away from Tobin’s paradise. She hoped she’d blend into the crowd.
Christen’s group of friends spent the entire first half joking around and planning the evening’s festivities at Ashlyn’s house. Christen however watched the game intently. She watched Tobin seamlessly connect passes, disrupt the entire team’s defense, and break a few ankles. Christen use to love watching Tobin play; it was like poetry in motion. The first half was super physical and evenly matched despite Tobin’s skills. It ended 0-0 with plenty of grass stains on both teams’ uniforms.
The second half was even more physical and the crowd starting getting into the game more. The soccer boys were continually yelling at the ref, while the football guys just heckled the other team. In the 80th minute, Tobin nutmegged her defender leaving her an undefended 1v1 with the goalkeeper in the box. The goalie came off her line charging at the flashy midfielder and went down making a dirty foul. Christen immediately shot up from her seat and lucky so did most of the spectators. The West fans were booing as the ref reached for a red card. Christen’s eyes didn’t leave the crumbled midfielder holding her shin. Tobin hadn’t moved and Christen’s heart stopped. Kelley began yelling at the goalkeeper and Alex was helping Tobin to her feet. Tobin shot a thumbs up sign to the sideline and picked up the ball to put on the penalty spot.
Tobin stood over the ball and a silence fell over the crowd. She took a deep breath and took two jogging steps toward the ball. She struck it perfectly. It was hard and barely spun. The goalie guessed left. Tobin’s shot sailed to the right. And it hit the post. The rebound fell to Kelley’s feet and she kicked it into the open net. The crowd went crazy and the team piled onto Kelley in celebration. Except Tobin. She stood at the penalty spot, staring at the right post before jogging back to reset. They went on to win 1-0, but Tobin didn’t smile when the final whistle blew.
“Earth to Christen!” Alex yelled waving her hand in front of Christen’s face. Christen hadn’t even realized she’d been staring at Tobin. “You good, Chris?” Alex said with a smirk on her face.
“What?” Christen said blushing a little as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
“You ready to go to Syd’s to get ready for the party?” Alex said.
“Yeah, let’s, um, go now,” Christen said following her friends not bothering to glance back at the field.
Freshman Year
“Come on, Tobin,” Kelley shoved a red solo cup into Tobin’s hand. “It’ll make you feel better. I promise.”
“I don’t feel like it drinking right now,” Tobin said handing the beer back to Kelley.
They were at Ashlyn’s party and had just lost to East five hours earlier. The rest of the soccer girls were scattered around the house drinking and dancing and having fun. But all Tobin could think about was the game tying penalty kick she sailed over the crossbar. She kept replaying the shot in her mind torturing herself. She didn’t want to drink. She didn’t even want to be there. But Kelley forced her to come out.
“Let it go, Tobs,” Kelley tried to console her best friend.
At that moment, the front door opened and in walked Christen Press. She was in tight dark wash jeans and a silky black halter top. Her hair was down in a tumbling wave of black curls and she looked gorgeous. Almost flawless. Except for the 175 pound of dead weight tool that walked in behind her. Tom came in right behind her and had the biggest shit-eating grin. Everyone’s eyes were on them and it was clear he was loving every second of it.
“Oh, I didn’t know Tom and Christen were together,” Kelley said.
“Give me that,” Tobin mumbled grabbing the cup out of Kelley’s hand and quickly downing it. “I’m going to get something stronger,” Tobin said leaving to find the hard alcohol in the kitchen.
Christen’s whole night was awkward. From when Tom picked her up, to when they arrived at the party. He was sweet and brought flowers and they made weird small talk on their way over. But once they got to the party, all he seemed to care about was showing off how hot his girl was. Christen was thankful for the beer in her system, taking away some of the nerves.
They were dancing and Tom’s hands kept wandering to Christen’s ass. She kept trying to move his hands upward to her waist instead.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” Christen yelled over the music to Tom. He just nodded and continued dancing.
Christen squeezed her way passed sweaty bodies moving out of the designated dancing room. Cups were strewn across the floor and several couples were posted up against the walls making out. The downstairs bathroom had a huge line of girls who all gave Christen glaring looks as she walked by. Christen decided to venture up the stairs to the much quieter upper level. A lot of the doors were locked likely filled with people having sex. She finally got to the last door on the left and it opened into the bathroom.
“Oh sorry,” Christen said flushing red. A junior girls basketball player was sitting on the bathroom sink with her legs spread and her shorts and panties on the floor. In front of her was a girl on her knees, hair tied back, with her head between her legs. They both turned to the intruder and Christen almost threw up. Flush-faced and glistening lips, Tobin looked up at Christen from the floor.
“Wow,” Christen said as tears welled up in her eyes. “Classy,” Christen said shutting the door behind her. She threw herself a 2 second pity party, took a deep breath, and wiped the tears off her cheeks before marching downstairs to the dance floor.
“Let’s go,” Christen said with a withdrawn hardness to her voice. She grabbed Tom’s arm yanking him back from his group of friends he was joking with.
“Relax, babe,” Tom slurred his breath smelling of cheap rum. “I’m having fun. Let’s get another drink.”
“Do you want to fuck me or not?” Christen screamed over the music and all of the boys heard her but she frankly didn’t care.
Tom couldn’t even say anything. He just stood there wide-eyed nodding his head uncontrollably. He allowed himself to get dragged out of the house by Christen all the way back to her bedroom.
“Royalty has arrived!” Kelley yelled as the entered Ashlyn’s house. A few heads turned toward Kelley and Tobin and most of them just rolled their eyes.
“You’re never going to let this go are you,” Tobin said as they made their way into the party.
“I’m a god now, Tobin,” Kelley said. “Of course, I’m not letting anyone forget that.” Tobin smiled and shook her head at her friend.
“Hey, guys,” Ashlyn came over and gave them both high fives. “Great game! Killer goal, Kell. You guys know where the drinks are,” she said before heading over to where her girlfriend Ali was sitting on the couch.
The night went how most nights at Ashlyn’s went. They drank too much. Danced a lot. Hung out with their friends. Won a few games of beer pong. Argued if Messi was better than Ronaldo. The party began to die down and Tobin was in the upstairs bathroom trying to sober up a little bit before heading home. She stood in front of the sink patting her face dry with a hand towel.
“Oh sorry,” someone drunkenly stumbled into the bathroom.
Tobin lifted her head up from the towel and saw Christen standing in the doorway. They silently stared into each other’s eyes for what felt like minutes neither of their facial expressions showing any emotion. Christen took a deep breath and stepped into the bathroom shutting the door behind her and locking it.