Chapter Text
[Clarke]
She awoke at the sound of her blaring alarm, and she swung her arms out from under her pillow to find the damned thing. Her hands gripped around her phone, and she quickly turned off the alarm before returning to her previous position. Waking up at the ass crack of dawn was definitely NOT one of Clarke’s favorite hobbies, but playing rugby definitely was.
Clarke had been given a full ride scholarship to San Diego State University upon graduating high school to play for the varsity rugby team. She had played since the age of 13, and wouldn’t want to spend her free time doing anything else.
It had been two years since starting school, and Clarke had been on the starting line up since her freshman year. Now, as a junior, she had been voted Captain, and was responsible for leading most practices in the absence of her coaches. That meant that Clarke was responsible for making it to every practice at least a half hour earlier to make sure the field was set up for her team.
Being Captain of a varsity sport had its perks, but waking up at 5 in the morning on the weekdays was definitely not one of them. Clarke rolled over in her bed so that she was staring straight ahead at the ceiling fan in her room. She kept her eyes closed and took a long inhale of breath. As she exhaled, she opened her eyes and forced herself out of her bed. A shiver ran up her spine as she left the warmth of her covers and headed towards the bathroom. She turned the faucet on and covered her face with a splash of cold water before meeting her reflection in the mirror.
Trying not to cringe at the bags under her eyes and the rat’s nest that seemed to be forming at the top of her head, she pulled her toothbrush and toothpaste from their container and began to brush her teeth.
She let her mind wander to the events that would unfold today. First practice of the year. There were a few new freshman that were recruited last summer that she would have to work with closely today. She knew it was going to be a difficult practice; the coaches always wanted to intimidate the girls to make sure they were ready for what was to come that season.
Clarke spat out the glob of toothpaste into the sink and rinsed her mouth with the running water. She plucked the brush from the counter and began to attack the ball of snarls on her scalp. After she was able to pull the brush through her hair, she quickly tied it up in a loose bun and left the bathroom.
Back in her room, she strode towards her dresser and reached for a sports bra, spandex, a pair of socks, and a dingy old practice shirt. She opened up the shirt and smiled as she saw the two golden pitchforks crossed together against the faded red. It was one of the first practice uniforms she had been given her freshman year. She pulled it over her head and felt a rush of pride as she dawned her school’s colors.
She pulled on the spandex and socks after, and laced up her running shoes before leaving her room once again. She walked towards the living room of her small apartment and pulled on a hoodie that had been hanging from one of the chairs. She grabbed a banana from the kitchen counter before picking up her practice bag and her keys that were hanging from the wall beside the door. She took one glance at her apartment, making sure that she had everything packed, before walking out.
Her apartment was only a few blocks away from campus, so the drive took only a few minutes. Clarke pulled into the parking lot closest to the practice fields and pulled into her usual spot. She grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and headed straight for the open gates that lead to the pitch.
She was used to arriving to an empty field by now, and wasted no time in pulling off her shoes and replacing them with her cleats. She stood up and inhaled sharply. The smell of freshly cut grass and the lingering aroma of chalk paint filled her nostrils, and she smiled. The field always looked (and smelled) the best before season started.
She ran to each end of the field to drag to make sure that each flag was placed in the correct spot and that each marking of the field had been painted. Satisfied with how the pitch looked, the blonde began to jog slowly around it, allowing her muscles to unwind from the previous night’s sleep.
As she began picking up her speed, the parking lot slowly began to fill. As the minutes rolled by, girls emerged on to the once empty field. Clarke ended her warm up to greet the girls who were seated on the edge of the field.
“Mornin, ladies!” Clarke called out, slightly out of breath. “Ready for the first practice of the year?”
Her words were reciprocated with many ‘Oh yeahs!’ and ‘You bets!’ and as she neared the girls, she sat amongst them and began to stretch her legs. She was able to pick out the new faces in the crowd and introduced herself.
“You two must be Nylah and Gina! My name is Clarke, and I am your captain this year. It’s really great to finally meet you guys,” she said with a genuine smile. The two girls beamed at her, and Clarke was glad that she was able to make them both feel welcome.
Clarke led her team through a proper warm up, starting with a few laps around the field and ending with the girls stretching in a circle on the center of the field. As the girls finished their last stretch, they were greeted by their coaches.
“Good Morning, ladies,” Coach Kane greeted as he stopped in front of the girls. “Welcome to the season! We are going to start off today’s practice working on skills and agility. It’s been a long summer and I highly doubt most of you practiced as diligently as you did during season,” he joked, with a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, “so I need to make sure you guys are back in shape before we can start working on any plays.”
The girls nodded in agreement and waited for further instructions. Coach Pike stepped forward and began explaining the first drill. Clarke listened intently, knowing that she would most likely be picked for a demonstration to show the girls.
Her instincts were right, and she was able to show her team how to properly run the drill before they were able to start practicing it. The rest of practice followed similar structure, and after an hour of practice, the girls were drenched in sweat.
Clarke pushed herself for the entirety of the practice, reveling in the way her quads burned from running, and how sore her arms were from passing the ball around. She lived for the feeling this sport gave her.
When practice finally ended, and the girls began shuffling out of the gated field, Clarke stayed behind to continue stretching her worn muscles.
With a grin on her face, she thought to herself, Oh yeah. This season is going to be great.
[Lexa]
The sudden sound of the alarm clock didn’t faze the girl seated next to it, and she turned it off within seconds. It was habit for Lexa to rise before her alarm clock, and she often left her bed to stretch her legs or walk to the kitchen to make coffee. She would return to her room just in time for her to turn the alarm off before it started blaring loudly.
Today, however, Lexa sat in silence on her bed, thinking of the day ahead of her. It was the first day of her junior year at SDSU as well as the first day of practice. She thought about her very first tryouts at the school and how intimidated she was. Surrounded by such talented soccer players, Lexa had no hope of making the varsity team. She worked her ass off, making sure she showed the coaches that she was a well-rounded player. Her speed and foot skills impressed the coaches and she was offered a spot on the team at the end of the week of tryouts.
Lexa could still feel the surge of shock, happiness, and pride she had felt that day once she was approached by the coaches. The feeling had kept her working harder and harder the past two years, and she was rewarded by earning a first string position as well as being named Captain her sophomore year. This year she was determined to improve her skills as well as be a teammate that each of the girls could look up to.
Practice started at 9:00, so the brunette had a few minutes to relax before getting ready. She hopped off the edge of her bed and walked towards the kitchen. She turned on her coffee pot and walked towards the pantry as the machine started to brew the ground coffee beans. She pulled out a box of cereal and grabbed the milk from the fridge. Setting the two items on the kitchen table, she walked back towards the coffee pot and poured herself a mug. She grabbed the drink as well as a bowl and spoon and returned to the table.
She absentmindedly poured herself a bowl of cereal, still thinking about her freshman year of college. Her team took first in league, and she was able to pull off a 4.0 GPA for the entire year. She remembered coming home for summer to her two beaming parents, finally feeling that she had done something right.
The following year had treated her differently. Her older sister died at the beginning of the fall semester, and Lexa barely survived it. She hardly went to class and her grades plummeted, but she was able to use soccer as a distraction from her grief. Her team had been there for her, and she truly felt a sense of home with the girls she called teammates.
Lexa was only able to get a few bites in before realizing that she was going to be late. She ran to the bathroom to brush her teeth quickly. She pulled on the first pair of running shorts and practice shirt she could find before walking towards the door. She grabbed her bag, already packed with her cleats and shin guards before running out the door barefoot towards her car.
The practice fields were ten minutes away, but Lexa made it in five. She was NOT about to be late for her first practice of the year, regardless of whether or not she was the captain.
After pulling into a parking spot she rushed towards the gates leading to the practice field, still barefoot. Too focused on getting herself to the field, she didn’t even notice the seated figure in front of her until she almost tripped over her. She stopped abruptly, confused as who the person was in front of her.
The girl’s back was faced towards Lexa, and she took note of the ball of messy blonde hair on top of her head. The stranger was wearing the typical Aztec red, and Lexa could see a couple of cleats next to her. Confused, Lexa steadied her rushed breathing, and approached the girl.
“Hey I didn’t know we had new players joining us this year,” Lexa tried, not sure if the girl was here for soccer practice or not. The blonde jumped, obviously not realizing that someone was behind her.
“Jesus Christ! Do you always sneak up on people like that?” The blonde said, turning to face Lexa.
Lexa’s eyes widened as she took in the girl’s features. Fierce blue eyes stared right back at her. They twinkled as a smile pulled at the corners of the girl’s mouth. Lexa’s mouth went dry at the sight and she stumbled over her words as she tried to apologize.
“I-uh- I’m sorry I-I didn’t mean to scare you like that,” Lexa tried. The girl in front of her giggled and stood up, closing the space between the two.
“It’s alright don’t worry,” she said with a laugh, “You just caught me off guard is all.” She held out her hand for Lexa to take. “I’m Clarke.”
Lexa took the girls hand in hers and shook it a little too long. Embarrassed, her hand retracted and she could feel her cheeks reddening. “Lexa,” she said softly, moving her gaze to her feet.
“Lexa.” the girl repeated, a smile toying on her lips. “I like it!” Lexa’s cheeks flushed harder as she mumbled a ‘thank you’. Clarke didn’t seem to notice as she continued, “And to answer your question, no, I’m not a new player. I’m on the rugby team.”
Confused, Lexa looked back up at the girl. “Oh,” she started, trying to regain her voice. “I didn’t know you guys practiced on this field.”
Clarke gave her a smile and Lexa could feel her face getting hot again. She was never nervous about making conversations with strangers. She wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that she couldn’t help but notice every time the girl’s nose crinkled when she smiled, or the softness in the blue eyes that stared right back at her.
“Usually we don’t, but this year we got scheduled here. I noticed the soccer field paint lines around our rugby lines this morning at practice. I’m assuming you play soccer?”
Lexa nodded and bit her lip. “Yeah I do. Practice starts at 9.” Lexa looked back down at her feet and realized that she was still barefoot.
“Oh shit that’s in like, ten minutes! I am so sorry, I should probably go then,” the blonde said as she reached towards the ground, trying to shuffle her things back into her bag. Once her task was complete, she stood up straight again and gave Lexa another smile. “It was really nice meeting you, Lexa. Hopefully I’ll see you around.” And with that, the girl turned and started walking towards the gates leading to the parking lot.
Lexa managed to call out a ‘you too’, feeling stupid for not reacting quickly enough to the girl’s words. The blonde turned to face Lexa again, still backing towards the exit, “Have a good practice!” She called back with a grin before turning back towards the parking lot.
Lexa stared after the girl she had just met for a couple of minutes before realizing once again that she was underdressed for practice. She plopped herself to the ground and quickly pulled on a pair of socks from her bag. Her teammates filed in one by one as Lexa laced up her cleats. She greeted every girl with a smile and waited for everyone to be present before standing again.
“Alright ladies! Let’s get a good warm up this morning,” Lexa said, facing her team, “we’ve got a long practice ahead of us!” A few girls let out a small cheer, the feeling of excitement for the new season washing over each and every one of the girls.
“All right then, let’s do it!” Lexa said with a smile before leading them in a few laps around the field.
Lexa was glad that today’s practice was just comprised of simple shooting and stamina drills, because for the first time in her soccer career, her thoughts were elsewhere in a sea of bright blue eyes and golden curls.