Chapter Text
“Try to keep up Slow Poke”, Kelley yelled as she sprinted towards an unknown part of campus.
Christen laughed at her new roommate, already picking up on the unfiltered, curious personality of the girl, as she jogged behind. She wanted to learn the campus slowly, unlike Kelley, who would bother learning the campus as soon as she got lost on some unknown corner.
Both girls had been at UNC approximately a week now, the campus eerily quiet due to the lack of students. The girls were required to come to campus almost three weeks earlier than the rest of the student body to begin pre-season, and their first day of practice was later that afternoon. Christen was too busy pondering how intense the first practice would be when she crashed straight into the back of Kelley.
“Fuck!” Kelley yelped as she bore Christen’s weight so they wouldn’t go crashing to the ground. “How are you going to survive on the field, being such a klutz?” She laughed.
Christen blushed as she muttered apologies and pushed the other girl. She saw the red hand on the streetlight she presumed Kelley was waiting for. As soon as the hand changed, Kelley took off again, yelling “Race you home!”
Christen laughed as she sprinted to catch up.
“Good work Tobin. Good to have you back!” Anson patted Tobin on the back as he passed her after the end of the first practice of the pre-season. Tobin nodded thanks and watched as he went around to welcome some of the other players, old and new. She looked back at the ball at her feet and volleyed it in the air, working on beating her previous juggling record: 543.
“…Twenty, twenty one, twenty two…” She muttered to herself when she heard a yell, and then felt something hit her in the middle of her back, hard.
“Oh my gosh, I said ‘Heads Up’.” A voice came from behind her. Tobin turned around to see a short, wild-eyed girl, beaming at her.
“I hate you.” Tobin shook her head.
“Love you too.” Meghan Klingenberg laughed as she developed the taller girl in a big bear hug.
“Try not to kill each other on the first day back ladies.” Anson begged across the field, interrupting himself from talking to all of the new girls.
“It’s not my fault Tobin’s gotten slow!” Meghan yelled back, nudging the girl to her left.
Tobin rolled her eyes and she collapsed on the floor, beginning to unlace her cleats. She felt Meghan plop down next to her, her eyes fixed on the new group of recruits.
“Whatcha think?”
“That you smell.”
Meghan rolled her eyes as she hit a chuckling Tobin. “You know what I mean. What do you think about the new girls?”
Tobin shrugged as she pulled the first cleat off. “I mean it was only one practice. They’re good but that’s to be expected.”
Meghan sighed as she tied her hair up to a messy up knot. “Yeah I guess. Not exactly a loud bunch, which is boring. Wait let me correct that. For the most part, not a loud bunch, except for that one.”
Tobin followed Meghan’s now pointed finger to a freckled girl shaking another raven-haired girl, with excitement. The dark haired brunette was doing everything she could to keep her footing while she laughed and got shook. The conversation was animated, the freckled girl making big gestures while the other one, now released, was just shaking her head with possibly the biggest smile Tobin had ever seen.
“Yeah, she looks crazy. Who are they again?” Tobin said, tearing her eyes away from the quirky pair.
Meghan raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “One of them is Knockout, and the other is Smiley. Nicknames by Anson himself.”
Tobin had an idea of who Smiley was, just by observing the two girls who were now steadily approaching the two on the ground, most likely because of the locker room behind them. Tobin stood, helping the other girl up in the process, and picked up her discarded gear.
“Coffee after changing?” She looked at Meghan, who nodded, staring at the approaching pair.
Up close, Tobin noticed just how much the two differed, not just looks but in their general atmospheres. The freckled one had more freckles than Tobin could count, but had a huge smile, energetic brown eyes, with a loud air of genuine excitement. She could instantly tell that she was going to be a hit with the team, just because of how outgoing and talkative she was. However, it was the other girl that Tobin focused on. Saying she was beautiful was an understatement, her green? Gray? (Hazel, Tobin decided later just to be safe) eyes glowing as she listened to the other one speak. She had sleek dark hair, which now framed her face in soft waves, and a radiant smile. Tobin was a sucker for a smile, especially when it seemed as effortless as the girl standing in front of her. It was then that the green-gray eyes focused on her with curiosity that Tobin realized she was being spoken to.
“What?” She asked, embarrassed as the group started laughing.
“They are asking you your name, hot-shot.” Meghan laughed, as she stuck out her hands to the two girls. “I’ll introduce myself instead since Tobin here is in La-la Land. I’m Meghan Klingenberg, Meghan or Kling for short.”
“Cool, left back right? I’m Kelley O’Hara. KO for short.” The freckled one responded quickly. “I assume I’ll be joining you in the back!”
KO…. That explains the Knockout nickname, Tobin thought as she panned to the other girl who was patiently waiting her turn, oozing an air of plain serenity.
“I’m Christen Press. Um, Chris for short if we’re doing that.” Christen giggled slightly. “I guess I can safely assume you’re Tobin Heath? Anson said something about catching up with you for offense formations?”
Tobin blinked as she remembered something about Anson giving her responsibility to talk to someone. She shrugged as she scratched her head. “Yeah I’m Tobin. I guess Anson did mention something about that, but I have no idea what he means.” She offered apologetically. Christen responded with a shrug of her own, almost as if she was saying “Who knows?”.
Tobin felt Megan’s arm reaching up around her neck, pulling her in tightly. “Well ladies,” She heard Megan say, “Lovely meeting you both and I’m sure we’ll be talking again soon, but right now, Tobs owes me coffee and needs to help me move in. Make sure to swing by the Yellow House sometime!” Meghan waves as she turns Tobin around and leads her to the locker rooms.
“Very cute, huh?” She whispered to the top of Tobin’s head, her way of letting her know that her staring hadn’t go unnoticed.