My Best Friends Promise

Chapter Twenty One | USWNT

TOBIN'S POV

After lunch, I met almost all the members of the National Team and they were all super nice and welcoming. It made me feel some sense of pride being on this team and I was super comfortable around these girls. Like always, I still wish Alex was here but I know she'll be here next year.

"So was that everyone on the team?" I ask Ali.

"Nope! There's a couple more coming in the next couple days." Ali says to me.

"Are they returning or...?" I ask.

"All but one. Jill told us that she got four newbies on the team, and so far there's just three of you." Ali says. "Anyways, who have you met already?"

"Shannon, Chalupny, Whitney, Carli, Alyssa, Christie, Hope, Abby, Megan I think that's all." I say as I can't think or remember anyone else.

"Awesome! So how are you fitting in here?" Ali asks me.

"It's good actually. All the girls are super nice and welcoming and I know I'm going to like it here." I say as I smile at her.

"That's good to here. Are you ready for trainings?" Ali asks.

"I'm a little nervous to be honest." I say as I look away rather embarrassed.

"You don't have to be embarrassed about it! It's your first day and I was nervous on my first day so it's totally normal! And besides, you'll have the Veterans there to help you out, the coaches will be their to help you get into the routine, and I'll be here if you ever need anything!" Ali says as she drapes an arm around my shoulder and I just smile up at her.

"Thanks Kriegs, that means a lot." I say.

"No problem Tobin! So I see you already know Lauren and Amy?" Ali says.

"Yep, we all grew up together in New Jersey." I say.

" oh, so you guys are like Day Ones?" Ali asks.

"Yeah, you can say that. We all grew up playing soccer together, and here we are still doing the exact same thing."

"That's so nice. I know you just got here but do you miss Jersey?" Ali asks.

"Actually I don't. I mean sure I miss my family and all but Jersey is just a boat ride away. And I have my best friends living here in New York so it's not to bad. What about you?" I ask.

"Yeah, I definitely miss my brother. He was kind of like my idol if you know what I mean? We were super close and he was my biggest supporter and he was basically everything to me. I was closer to him more than my parents, and he was more of the father figure then my actual dad was." Ali says.

"It's always great to have those kind of people in your lives, he's like a life long best friend isn't he?" I say.

"He sure is. Are you close with your siblings?"

"I'm not as close as you are with your brother but in some ways we are. I was kind of like in my own world growing up. I was competitive when I was younger and and my siblings couldn't really keep up with me. My two older sisters they were obviously much older then I was, so I couldn't really have those teenage connections with them, if you know what I mean, and my brother, I was probably closest to him too. We did a lot of sports together but being opposite genders, I couldn't really talk about drama and stuff." I say.

"So what? Did you have to call your sisters or talk to your mom when that kind of drama happens?" Ali asks.

"No, actually, I had my best friend Alex. She was like a sister to me, which technically she actually is. We've been through a lot together." I say as I begin to think of all the things we've been through.