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They did their best to be subtle, to fly under the radar. But for Tobin and Christen hiding a secret, especially one that made them so happy, was like a child trying to hate Christmas. No matter how hard he tries to suppress his smile, it creeps back onto his face at the mere thought of his presents or a glimpse of the shiny wrapping paper begging to be torn open.
So yes, Christen and Tobin were trying to keep their relationship a secret…and they were failing miserably.
“When are we going to tell them that we know?” Kelley asked no one in particular. She doesn’t have to specify who she’s referring to, the whole team understands what she means. Normally the team wouldn’t discuss it so openly, but once again Christen remained on the field for extra shots on goal and like a loyal puppy, Tobin was by her side.
“I mean,” she tries to clarify, “They’ve been in love since they met and ‘secretly’ dating for almost as long. I’m afraid if they don’t admit it soon, they never will and then I won’t get to be one of their bridesmaids!”
“Maybe this is our fault, we did tease Tobin a lot when Press first got called up,” replies Alex. “God that was hilarious how flustered Tobin used to get around her! Do you think they’re hiding their relationship because they think we’ll tease them?”
“Nah, I think they’re more afraid of how it will affect team dynamics. Both of them are so dedicated and would never forgive themselves if they messed this up,” chimes in Carli as she grabs her bag at heads out to the bus.
••••••••
“Kelley, can you please put your phone down and go to sleep?” Crystal groans. It’s late, or rather very early in the morning, and the blinding light of Kelley’s phone was making it difficult to sleep.
“Sorry, I couldn’t sleep and didn’t think it would be so bright. I tried dimming it,” defends the Stanford grad.
“What are you even looking at this late at night?” Crystal asks as she reaches over to Kelley and snatches her phone. “Dirty texts with a secret boo?” she wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.
“What!?! No, give it back, Crystal. Let’s go to sleep” Kelley almost pleads. But Crystal is staring at the screen with an unreadable expression. The phone was open to Kelley’s tumblr app.
“Why are Chris and Tobin all over your tumblr feed?”
“I know it looks creepy but I can explain!” Kelley exclaims.
“Oh god, Kelley! You’re not posting pictures of them. If they want to keep it a secret, they probably have a good reason.” Crystal chastises.
“No, no it’s not like that! I swear. I just follow fans who ship them!” Seeing Crystals slightly confused look, Kelley explains. “’Ship them’ means they want Preath to be together.”
“Is Preath their celebrity name?” Crystal asks slightly amused.
“Yeah, and these fans catch every slip up that Preath makes. They catch them in public having dinner together and wearing each other’s clothing. They have even found footage of Press admiring Heath’s ass. It’s like CSI-Preath! And you realize how un-subtle those two are.” Kelley chuckles.
Returning to a more serious tone, Kelley continues, “I promise, I’m not posting things to encourage these people. I just think they’re perfect together and it amazes me how much of the world sees their love and wishes them happiness. It just makes me wonder if seeing how much their fans love them together would make them more open about their relationship.”
“It’s still weird, Kelley. Normal people don’t stalk their friends on tumblr, but I suppose looking doesn’t harm anyone.” Crystal concedes.
“No, it doesn’t. Also, I have to show you this video someone found. Press is practically drooling looking at Tobin and doesn’t notice when the whole team steps back! When they do admit their relationship to us, I’m going to have so much to tease them about!”
Though Crystal rolls her eyes, she still leans in to watch the video.
••••••••
When Crystal mentions Kelley’s tumblr to the team the next day, she doesn’t quite get the reaction she expected. Rather than the team lightly shaming Kelley for “shipping” Preath on social media…
“I do that too!” exclaimed Klingenberg. “Fans are amazing! Have you seen the pic of Tobin and they have magnified the tv reflection and you can see that Press is taking the pic! How do they find these things!”
“I may have googled ‘Preath’ a few times as well,” admits Alex Morgan, while a few other players nods their heads as well.
“Does no one else find this weird?” Crystal asks. She agrees the Preath is the cutest couple (Oh god, she just used their celebrity name-she spends too much time around Kelley.) but this has to cross some friendship boundary or be the first step towards stalking.
“Hey if we can’t openly celebrate our friends’ relationship, at least let us creep on them online. This is just Facebook stalking, with the help of thousands of like minded people around the world” With that the subject seems dead and they begin arguing over what movie to watch after dinner.
••••••••
During the Switzerland game
Crystal is jogging towards the goal. Over her right shoulder, she sees the Kelley flick the ball to Lynn before being tripped up. With unnatural speed, Kelley is on her feet again and making a run. Williams is able to get the ball to her feet.
That’s when Crystal makes her own run towards the goal calling for the cross. To her left, she can hear Press also calling for it. When the ball leaves Kelley’s feet, Crystal knows it’s not for her. She turns in time to see Press fly in and redirect the ball straight into the net.
As the crowd roars, Crystal takes a step to congratulate Christen. But in the corner of her eye, she sees Tobin jogging towards Press with her arms wide. When Crystal sees the magnificent grins on both their faces, she realizes she can interrupt this precious moment.
Turning on the spot, she goes to congratulate Kelley instead. Kelley’s grin is just as wide as the one’s Crystal just turned away from but there’s also a knowing looking in Kelley’s eyes.
“You ship Preath too!” she whispers with glee and accusation.
“I’m just giving the fans what they want” Dunn replies, refusing to admit to anything. So what if she checks tumblr later to watch Preath fans freak out about “The Hug”