All Stars [English Version]

Welcome to Hell

Kelley's POV

After breakfast, we all went back to our rooms and waited for the meeting at 10am. Alex and Christen switched rooms. I didn't want to see Christen anymore and now I hated Tobin for stealing my most precious thing in the world, besides Alex.

I was broken... I may have a reputation for being a happy, cool girl, but I have fears too... I'm afraid of being abandoned, of not being good enough...

I'm pulled from my thoughts by Alex who tells me that it's time to come down. Normally I would hide to scare Allie or Ash, but I couldn't even do that anymore. I just went to get a cookie from the self-serve buffet before I went to the conference room.

Alex's POV

I'm worried about Kelley. I've never seen her like this before. I've seen her emotional and sad, but not like this. Even I, who just broke up with Tobin, I'm not in the same state...

She sat down next to me after going to get a cookie at the buffet... The one love story that never ends. Only beer can be a better story.

That thought made me smile.

K: "What makes you smile like that, Alex?"

Her eyes were red... She must have cried again... I wanted to say something, but Jill walked into the room with two men.

Jill: "Very good, ladies! I'm going to ask for your undivided attention. Everyone knows about the defeat against France. And we're gonna have to work hard to get back on our feet!""Yes, coach!" we all shouted.Jill: "Good! Now I'd like to introduce these gentlemen. I'd like to introduce you to the coaches of U-15 FC Dallas. They've agreed to meet us for a friendly game."There was a deadly silence in the hall.

We watched the two men. Their faces were smirking, while ours were marked by fear. Since London 2012, we had been victims of discrimination and sexist comments. We know that all the media were going to be focused on us, and that if we lost it would be a disaster.Jill: "So we'll be training for this game in a month's time and I'm counting on both teams to give their best."

I look at Kelley. She was disfigured... She knew as well as I did the fallout from that game.

Jump in time: H-2 before the game against Dallas

Kelley's POV

Only two hours remained before the decisive match against FC Dallas U-15 side Dallas kicked off.The team was just finishing warming up and Jill announced the starters.

The media was covering the game and I watched from the stands. There were a lot of Dallas fans. They were chanting misogynistic and homophobic...

And it took me a long time to come to terms with my sexuality... It brought back painful memories.

Flashback"You don't belong on a field! Women are meant to be at home!" said my father.

"You disgust me! I didn't raise you to be a filthy dyke! You're disgusting!" my mother added.

"None of that in my house! Get your stuff and get out of my house! Don't come back until you're on a man's arm!" shouted my father as he threw me out after slapping me.

End of flashback ----------------

Tears came to my eyes. Alex noticed it and took me in his arms. She knew what I was thinking. She knew what I was thinking, since I had taken refuge in her house. She pulled me aside for a while. She rummaged through my bag a little and pulled out a squirrel plush. I know that stuffed animal. That's the one Alex bought me when I moved in with her. I sleep with it every night. She waved it around in front of me.

A: "Look Kelley. Remember him?"

I looked at her, not really knowing what she was getting at.

A: "Do you remember him? That's Mr. Squirrel. And Mr. Squirrel doesn't want you to be sad," she said in a high-pitched voice to imitate the sound of a squirrel.

Alex with the voice of a squirrel: "Hi Kelley, it's me Mr. Squirrel! Why are you crying? Don't listen to them Kelley. Loving women doesn't take away from your inner beauty. Your friends love you, Kelley. And Alex behind me loves you more than anything else."

I'm laughing slightly.

K. "But, Mr. Squirrel, what if I'm not good enough to be loved? What if I'm supposed to make my life with a man? What if I can't find any-"

Alex wiggled the tail of the stuffed animal to pretend to slap me.

Alex with the voice of a squirrel: "Don't say that! Heaven is always there for people who believe in him Kelley! Besides, you're as straight as a rainbow! Come on, Kelley. Never forget that Mr. Squirrel loves you."

Alex put the stuffed animal's nose on mine and said, "Squirrel kisses!"

K. "Thank you, Mr. Squirrel!"

Alex with the voice of a squirrel: "You're welcome. You want a nut?"

At that point, Alex got so high-pitched that she choked. I burst out laughing and Alex, still on the floor catching his breath, smiled at me. I hugged her.

K: "Thank you, Alex."

A: "Don't thank me for that, Kel. You're my best friend. I'll always be there for you. We'll always protect you. Even Tobin. We're family."

God, I love my family.

H-0

Now it's kick-off time.

Both teams were in place. The spectators were laughing at us, as always in fact.

Jill was giving us the final cheers. The referee whistled the start of the game.

We wanted to give it our all. We didn't want to have any regrets. It was just a warm-up game for us as FC Dallais were in the middle of the season.
The forwards did their job but our back line gradually gave way.

Our coach was giving voice but couldn't prevent the 5-2 defeat.

The whole stadium started laughing at us and shouting insults. Some were making animal noises, others were throwing tomatoes....

We quickly returned to the changing rooms. No one was talking. We all knew, that this defeat was going to have disastrous consequences for us and for women's football in general.

I could still hear the screams outside while I was taking a shower. Every word they said echoed in my head. After the shower, Julie, Amy, and I rushed to our bus. But what we saw took our breath away. Our bus was covered in red paint and I could clearly read the words 'dyke', 'loser' and 'nil'.We looked around us. A group of visibly drunk men began to surround us with perverse and sarcastic smiles. I felt a panic attack building up inside me. Amy stood in front of Julie and I but was punched in the stomach by one of them. The shock folded her in half.

Amy: "Go back to the locker room," she shouted.

Julie managed to escape, but one of the men grabbed my wrist and threw me to the ground. They pounded Amy and me with fists and iron bars found in the parking lot. I felt my face break and I couldn't even scream anymore. Blood was pouring out, and my vision was blurry. I saw Amy fall down. One of my attackers raised the iron bar above me and yelled, "Go to hell, you dyke!" I didn't have the strength to move anymore.

"KELLEY!" I heard a rather familiar female voice.

She turned her arm around and pinned him to the ground before he could hit me.Only one person could love me enough to risk her life for me...

K: "A-... Alex..."

Those were my last words before everything went black...