golden blonde¹

sweden and usa

trigger warning: verbal abuse
-
early october 2022

elena felt out of place. all of her friends were absent from the squad. the only two people she even wanted to talk to were laia codina and nuria rabano. they weren't that close to the young spaniard, but they were friendly with her.

every other player on the squad was obviously jorge's attempt at rebuilding a team without barcelona players, without the players that refused to be called up.

around the staff, or anyone from the federation, elena kept her head down. she was too nervous to step out of line, too afraid that she would be yelled at for speaking up.

however, when it was just the girls, elena opened up a bit more.

still, she stuck by laia for the majority of the camp. usually the defender would be a bit more talkative with elena, asking her about her sister and what not. this camp however, elena had noticed she was more preoccupied with her phone than the training pitch.

"so who are you seeing?" elena asks as she comes down for breakfast. the centerback jumps in her seat, immediately turning her phone face side down and onto the table.

"no sé de què estàs parlant." laia replies picking at her food.

"don't play this game with me. we're both miserable here, just tell me some gossip." elena sounds dejected, which brings a surprised look to laia's face.

"jana's doing well, have you called her?" laia deflects.

"you're avoiding the question." elena singsongs, stealing fruit from the older girl's plate.

"oh, so you haven't called her then."

elena shoots a dirty look to codina.

"jill's been trying to contact me on behalf of her."

"and why haven't you answered?"

elena's eyes grow distant.

her response is cold.

"she didn't even think to tell me, to give me a warning. and now i'm here for the forseeable future or else my chances with this team are over."

laia nods empathetically.

"i miss them too you know?"

elena fiddles with her hands. she looks down at her lap and stays silent. she hadn't been able to have a honest conversation with anyone yet. now that she is, the realization, the loneliness is becoming a harsh reality.

"i think i'm in the same situation as you. if mapi hadn't given up her spot, i probably wouldn't be here. it feels like it's taken forever for me to become a part of this squad. this is my opportunity to become a starter."

elena looks at the catalonian who has a grimace on her face.

"it's not the most ideal situation, but your sister would be here as well if she wasn't injured. she would leap at this opportunity to prove that man wrong. to prove everyone wrong and to show the world that she could compete with the best in the world."

a few moments of silence pass as if laia's trying to figure out how elena's going to react. but the 18 year old keeps her emotions inside of her.

"if you look at this as an opportunity that they've given us. you and i know that we can't waste this chance."

"i just have to keep my head down and hope that nothing worse happens," elena whispers.

after a wholly uncomfortable talk with her former barcelona teammate, elena can't help but still feel nervous. she performs well during training and it's enough to earn her a starting spot against sweden.