A/N:

Thanks for the reviews! Not sure exactly how far this story will go but I have a few ideas bouncing around in my head. This one is kinda short but I want to get the ball rolling before I lose motivation.

School wasn't as scary the second day. She knew where her classes were and learned to sit a little closer to the front of the bus this time. Geometry was easy again, and it was nice to see a couple familiar faces from the day before. She still felt the awkwardness radiating off herself but it wasn't nearly as unbearable.

Spanish came quickly and Piper was excited to see her new potential friend. She sat next to Alex and they exchanged smiles.

"So are you coming to soccer tryouts later?" Alex asked, sounding hopeful. Piper didn't even know there were tryouts today and she hadn't even considered trying out for the school team. She had always thought it would be fun to play in high school but amidst all the stress the thought hadn't even crossed her mind.

"I wasn't planning on it... are you going?" Alex smiled and exhaled a short laugh through her nose and raised her glasses onto her head. She just looked so cool.

"Well I've been the captain since last year so... I should probably go." Piper was a little embarrassed, for some reason feeling like she should already know this. It made sense that Alex was captain. She was charismatic and friendly and really good at soccer.

"Oh. Well I hadn't really thought about it but I might show up." She decided to play it cool.

"You should. You would make the team for sure." Alex pulled out her notebook and returned her attention to their teacher who was writing verb conjugations on the board. Piper was feeling giddy that the captain of the soccer team was encouraging her to try out. It would be a good way for her to make friends and she had always loved playing the sport. She quickly decided she would absolutely show up to tryouts after P.E.

The rest of the day went by in a blur, Piper's thoughts wrapped up in her potential spot on the team. She was practically fantasizing about having a huge group of friends that all love soccer, going to sleepovers and winning soccer games together.

P.E. went pretty much the same as the day before. Jacob was complaining that the teams should be changed up since they were so unevenly matched but their coach seemed a little too wrapped up in his cell phone to care, muttering something uninterestedly under his breath.

After P.E. Alex called Piper over to her on the other side of the gym.

"There's not really a point in changing since tryouts are in half an hour. I'm going down to the field to set up if you want to tag along." Piper gleefully accepted the offer, still elated that she seemed to have already made a friend. Not just a friend, a junior who happened to be captain of the soccer team that she was about to try out for. Alex snatched the bag of soccer balls and Piper carried a stack of cones and jerseys as they walked down the steep hill to the soccer field. Alex took half the cones and Piper mirrored her actions, creating a few lines that they would dribble through and some boundaries for their practice games. About 30 other girls showed up in small groups, some of them greeting Alex which tipped Piper off that they were on the team the previous year.

Alex left Piper to go speak with the coaches so she stood with the crowd of other girls awaiting instructions. She didn't know anyone else and felt way out of her league. She learned that Mr. Kerr was the head coach and his assistant was Ms. Peck. They had a funny back and forth that made the girls giggle, occasionally throwing jabs at Alex that she quickly retorted to, taking it in stride.

Eventually the girls were broken into groups and rotated around different areas to show off their skills. Despite the blondes nerves she performed well, dribbling through the cones quickly and with ease before moving on to the other obstacles. The girls in her group were already friends and they laughed and chatted while Piper directed all of her attention to her practiced footwork and the ball that she controlled with ease, finally arriving at the small scrimmage at the other end of the field. Alex dictated the positions, knowing which girls preferred what position. Piper was relieved to be placed in her usual position. She wasn't the best there by any means, she realized as the ball was stolen from her at mid field, but her group worked well together and they quickly returned the ball to Piper. She scored 2 of the teams 5 goals and their goalie only allowed the ball past her twice. Most of the girls were acting a little cold toward Piper, probably due to her age, but she didn't let it eat away at her too much. Tryouts were fairly quick and Coach Kerr blew the whistle to signify the end of their scrimmage.

The girls were all lined up to end the tryouts with wind sprints. Piper was definitely a runner and didn't join in when the other girls groaned and complained about already being worn out. Alex joined in for the wind sprints which was kind of surprising to the blonde since she didn't take part in the other activities.

Piper sat in the grass after the tryouts to catch her breath and take a few big gulps from her water bottle. The air was warm and her face was hot. She could feel her pulse in her cheeks after exerting essentially all of her energy during the last exercises. The grass was freshly cut, one of her favorite smells that reminded her of summer and soccer. The sky was a lazy blue peppered with small clouds and showing no signs of rain any time soon. Her water was lukewarm and wasn't helping with her body temperature but she rehydrated nonetheless. Alex took a seat on the grass next to her as the coaches gathered the scattered soccer balls and tipped over cones and the rest of the girls hurried upstairs to go get changed and reapply their makeup. Piper didn't want to leave the field yet.

"You did really well. You're definitely going to be on the team." A smile broke out on Piper's face. She knew she did well but hearing Alex say this made her ecstatic.

"Thanks!" They were both still breathing pretty heavy from the wind sprints and Alex laid back in the grass with her feet on the ground, knees bent. Piper remained upright and chugged the rest of her water while they sat in silence.

Alex grunted and Piper looked up to see a soccer ball sitting on her stomach, presumably thrown by one of the coaches that were now walking back up the hill to return the equipment to the gym.

They sat in silence as they caught their breath, Piper picking at strands of grass between her crossed legs and Alex simply admiring the clouds dancing across the sky. Eventually Alex broke the silence, hopping up and dropping the ball between her feet, dribbling it around the field in an unsystematic pattern. Thanks to the confidence bestowed on her from her success in the tryouts, Piper hopped back onto her feet and sprinted over to the older girl, efficiently stealing the ball from between the unsuspecting brunettes feet and turning around in front of her with a proud grin on her face.

Before she knew it they were sprinting down the field repeatedly stealing the ball from each other over and over until eventually the blonde wore herself out and took a seat on the grass.

"Tired out already?" The brunettes voice came through heavy breathing and made Piper realize they hadn't even spoken since Alex stood up, simply communicating through the ball.

"Hey, I just finished tryouts!" The blonde replied with feigned offence, placing a hand on her chest.

Alex just laughed and took a seat next to her again. They both lay back and tossed the ball back and forth in high arcs between them. Piper took this time to think about the turn of events in the last two days. She came into this place feeling like a complete outcast, but right now she felt like this was exactly where she belonged. She wished she was older so she would be placed on the Varsity team, but knew that was unrealistic because of her age.

The loud sound of the field lights turning on lured the blonde from her reflection as she realized it was now just after 6 in the evening. She decided she should probably head home since she hadn't informed her parents she would be staying after for tryouts and the girls stood up and bid their goodbyes, Alex giving one final wave over her shoulder as Piper started her short walk home.