USWNT 1.0

35

Everyone was sitting on the eating room, and Julie was standing up awkwardly in front of them for her big announcement. Everyone was back from the hospital, and it was around 2 PM now. Julie didn't seem in a good mood.

- Hi guys, I wanted to talk to you about my wedding, she said shyly.

- Go on girl ! Pinoe yelled.

They all laughed.

- Fine. So, Zach and I decided to bring forward our wedding date, so it'll take place in two weeks, on a beach near here, Julie explained. You all are invited of course. I already asked Christen if she wanted to be my best man and she said yes.

They cheered loudly, and Christen smiled. Tobin, on the other hand, didn't seem excited about that. She knew her friend had feelings towards the blonde. They all told Julie they were going to come and help her get the place ready. Jill also brought her contribution, giving the girls a day off the day before the wedding. Julie seemed very happy, so Christen fought her feelings and pretended to be really happy for her best friend.

Then, Jill had some news for the girls. Sammy, who was sitting on a couch on one side of the room, was nearly falling asleep. HAO was laughing as how much of a dork she was, before shaking her friend up a little bit. The blonde gave her a death glare before putting her attention back to their head coach, who had a huge smile on her face, which was an uncharacteristic behavior from her.

The raised her voice so that everyone could hear her.

- We are going to welcome back two of our very own rookies, she said calmly. They've been an huge part of the team, and they deserve their chance on this roaster because of their talent and their eternal motivation. Please, welcome Stephanie McCaffrey and Emily Sonnett.

Carli was the first one to get up. Stephanie jumped in her arms, laughing out of joy. Carli was like a big sister to her ; she's taken her under her wing since day 1 on the team. The brunette, who wasn't very comfortable with hugs, embraced her awkwardly but sincerely. She was indeed very happy to see her little dork again. Emily was immediately greeted by her Portland Thorns teammates, while Sammy was looking at her in shock. Sonnett came at her next, hugging her tightly, her mouth touching the blonde's neck. Sammy shivered, and wasn't sure why. She pushed Emily away, gave her an awkward smile, and they sat back on the coach.

Jill wasn't finished.

- Alyssa is going to leave us to go to Germany for a while, like she's told the goalkeepers already, so Stephanie will be rooming with you, Carli, and Sonnett will go with Sam. We all good ?

They all nodded in agreement. They all were happy to see the two girls again. They were called the "rookies", even though Emily was no stranger to this team. The "Team Rookies" was composed of Sonnett, Sam, Steph, Moe and Lindsey. They were like the Fantastic Five, only in the soccer mode. Pinoe was thrilled to be able to call them like that again. She was always messing around with them, and laughing her ass off with Kelley. Sometimes, they all wondered who were younger, because Pinoe and Kelley were less mature than Sonnett and Lindsey.

They said their last goodbyes to Alyssa, who promised to come back to say hi from time to time. Steph was hugging Carli again, and Hope was glancing at them angrily from the other side of the room. Nobody noticed except from Allie, but she said nothing.

The team was back together.

***

Today was their day off. After the Rookie's arrival, they all got back to their personal occupations. Hope went straight to her room. Steph rooming with Carli meant that she got to see her less often. She was quite destabilized when it comes to what she was feeling at the moment. Was it jealousy ? She's never felt jealous before, probably because her and Jerramy didn't really care about each other. But she wanted Carli for herself, and the perspective of not spending the night with her was pissing her off.

She was spending the afternoon with her brother Marcus, Tobin, Allie, Alex and Servando, who were back together. They left around 2 PM and went to a fancy restaurent and talked about everything. Pinoe, HAO, Whit, Ashlyn and Kling went to visit around the hotel, discovering beautiful landscapes. Ashlyn had told part of the team about Maisie, and they were willing to finally meet her. Pinoe insisted on Maisie calling all of them "Auntie". Then, Julie was seeing Zach and the two of them were planning their wedding at Zach parent's house. The Rookies were celebrating their reunion and were playing on the pool.

So only five girls remained. Becky was face-timing with her family on her room. So Christen, Kelley, Ali and Carli were playing cards in the eating room.

- So, Ali said, looking at a certain forward with insistance. Why don't you tell us the truth about how you feel about Julie's wedding ?

Christen's eyes widened.

- What ? I-I'm happy for her..., she answered in a weak voice.

Thank God my voice didn't crack up, it would've been awkward if I started crying right now..., she thought, relieved. But she knew the questioning wasn't over. Carli was handing the cards out, and wasn't really paying attention to the conversation. Or at least she didn't seem to. But Kelley was staring at her, while Ali was smiling.

Christen looked back, waiting.

- Bullshit, Kelley let out.

She was tactless sometimes, everybody knew that. Christen jumped a little, while looking at her hands with insistance. Carli looked up to encounter an awkward situation.

- Guys, let her be, she said.

Christen gave her a thankful look. They then got back to playing cards, but she still felt like this conversation wasn't over.