(AZ POV)
My eyes snapped open and I took in my surroundings. What the hell am I doing on the ground? I looked up and was immediately engulfed in dark brown. I searched the chocolate colored orbs, trying to make sense of this enigma of a woman, but I could only find my reflection cast in her now nearly black eyes.
Her soft curves pressed me down against the grass, effectively pinning me. I felt a surge of electricity crackle its way up my body as I became aware of the caramel skin that was in contact with mine. A single bead of sweat trickled a path down her face; I bit my lip, trying not to think about what other sweaty activities I could be doing with the stunning brunette on top of me…
A piece of brown hair was stubbornly clinging to her forehead. I brought my hand up and tucked the lone strand behind her ear. Her breath hitched and my gaze dropped down to her pouty lips. My face started to gravitate towards hers and-
"Torres!" a gruff voice full of authority barked out, startling me out of my daze and making me think back to what had caused me to be underneath the keeper in the first place.
*Flashback*
She was facing a circular mirror; her back was to me, which, let me tell you, was not a bad thing. I licked my lips as my eyes swept their way up and down her body, admiring each curve presented to me. After being magnetized by her presence, I blinked, noticing that I had unknowingly drifted right behind her. She kept her focus on her reflection, sliding a purple piece of pre-wrap over her head and smoothing it out. My lips opened up without assent and words fell out of my mouth.
"Hey… Torres, right?"
"Mmyeah," Callie replied absentmindedly, her eyes moving up to meet mine through the mirror. The corners of her mouth tugged down slightly as she broke eye contact, bringing her attention back to her hair. Okaaayyy then… Let's try this again. I flash my dimples and sputter out in a cheery voice as an attempt to mask my nerves, "I'm Arizona Robbins, the new striker. Umm, I saw you on TV this morning; I've heard a lot about you because, well, people talk…a lot. I mean the talk is good, super even, but-"
The Latina rolled her eyes and spun around. "Look, you don't have to do this. We don't have to be friends; there are lots of people on this team, lots of people that would be super glad to be chummy with you. But I don't do perky."
My mouth fell open at the disdain evident in her voice. Diva much? I looked around the locker room awkwardly, noticing it had filled up considerably since I had walked in earlier. Teddy stomped over to my side and growled, "Don't talk to her like that, Torres. I mean seriously, you're our captain now. Freaking act like it!"
Suddenly the room felt like it was jam-packed. A crowd to form, pressing in closer towards Teddy and Callie; girls were drawn to the drama like flies to honey. A petite Asian woman with unruly brown curls stood behind Teddy and scoffed. Raising her voice, the scowling woman snarled, "Yeah, because Hahn did such a great job as a goddamn role model when she was captain. You saw her; she treated me like shit. Leaving was the best thing that bitch did for this team."
Callie glared and towered over the small woman. Her passionate eyes were seething with fury. "Shut it, Yang. Don't talk about her like that!"
Things were clearly escalating fast. More and more people started to cram into the area, making me feel a bit claustrophobic. I swiftly ducked out of the locker room before the tension could rip me to shreds.
Strolling casually onto the practice field, I watched Coach Webber start to spread out what seemed like a hundreds of neon orange cones into boxes and various strings of lines. A cluster of soccer balls were bunched together right next to the Nike ball bag. I glanced down and spotted a ball sitting alongside my foot.
Just looking at the white hexagons adorned with dark grey rectangles, bright yellow circles, and a certain famous rounded off check mark has never failed to make me itch to be back on an open grass field with freshly cut blades of grass. I pressed my foot on top of the ball; the leather shot right back up as if it was nearly bursting with life.
When examining the ball more carefully, I spotted little pieces of grass nestled in between the hexagons. Scuffmarks trek an incongruous path across its white surface, a tangible testimony to many hours of being kicked across vacant blacktops and soccer fields.
A wave of nostalgia rolled through me, washing over me with memories of silly team bonding and the pure satisfaction of being completely in sync with someone on the field. Staring at the leather sphere, I can't believe I was so close to giving all of this up.
Thinking about it now, the simple but incredible sensation of dribbling a soccer ball across a pitch with a defender blazing behind me is irreplaceable. Sweeping my eyes across a field that could've been mistaken for a golf course, I knew this is where I belonged. The soccer field will always be home to me.
I heard footsteps approach me so I turned around. Teddy gave me an exhausted smile and mumbled, "Sorry about that… After Hahn left, things have been kinda tense."
"Ya don't say?" I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
As the team gathered into a huddle, my ears were flooded with the sounds of my heart racing and heavy breathing. The close proximity to one another's sweaty bodies made the area feel stuffy, but we all ignored that and focused on what Coach Webber was saying.
"Alright, ladies, I'm liking the effort I've seen here. You've all done some good work today. I've got one last drill I want to go through before we pack it in for the day. Everyone except Torres and Altman head down to the thirty, we're doing one-v-ones against the goal; Torres, you'll need your gloves for this one. Teddy, you know where to go."
"Okay Coach," Teddy said.
Callie gave Webber a barely perceptible nod and jogged over to the goal line. She reached behind the net to retrieve her gloves, which were a tasteful combination of white and blue with a black Nike swoosh in the center. Slipping the gloves on with ease, she velcroed the straps meticulously. The Latina clapped her hands together and jumped up to tap the top of the crossbar. My breath catches as she turns forwards, fixing us with an intense stare.
As our center defender, Teddy stood on the arc outside the 18 facing our line. I took a deep breath, pushing stray hairs off of my face. I'm second in line, behind the Yang girl that Callie was in a screaming match with. Feeling as if butterflies had inhabited my stomach, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I'm Arizona Robbins. I am awesome. I've got this.
I chanted the mantra in my head and opened my eyes. Yang was just trapping the pass Teddy had given her. The small woman took a touch, but the ball had leaped just a tad bit too far away from her foot. Callie came charging at her and pounced on the ball. Fearing for her legs (and probably but justifiably fearing for her life) Yang leapt backwards. One of the corners of the keeper's lips curved upwards into a smug smirk as she rolled the ball back to her teammate.
Here goes nothing. I passed to Teddy, who swiftly returned the ball to me. I blazed my way to the 18, keeping the ball close to me. Taking a few touches into the box, I looked up at saw Callie begin to stutter step towards me. The brunette sprang towards me with her arms up, but she wasn't quick enough. Leaning back ever so slightly, I dipped my foot underneath the ball, scooping it up and over Callie's looming hands. The soccer ball arced gracefully through the air and into the upper right pocket of the goal.
I grinned as high-pitched whoops filled the air. "Holy crap, Torres just got schooled!" someone yelled out.
"Nice job, Blondie!" Yang shouted from across the field.
The fire burning in the captain's eyes made hell look chilly in comparison. "Beginners' luck," she mumbled as she passive-aggressively rolled my ball hard towards the sideline, far away from where the line was. Ignoring the juvenile behavior, I got the ball and went to the back of the line. Soon enough, I was at the front of the line again.
"Do it again, Robbins!"
"Yeah, let's go two-for-two, Blondie!"
I blushed at my teammates' cheers and kicked the ball to Teddy. Her pass back to me was crisp and was directed towards the center of the 18-yard line. My strides widened as I sprinted to meet the ball. Knowing Callie would be more cautious this time around, I kept my dribble light and quick, luring her towards me.
As my foot crashed down against the side of the ball for a quick cut, Callie began to lunge. Looking up at her in mid-flight, I noticed something was peculiar about the angle she was jumping at. Oh shit. A gasp escaped my lips as I realized the keeper was soaring through the air, but was heading nowhere near the ball. I sucked in a lungful of air, bracing myself for what I knew was coming.
*Present*
Callie huffed and rolled off of me. Webber continued his rant: "What the hell were you thinking? This is a practice, and even if it was a real game, the referee would have had you out of the stadium before you could say 'red card'."
I lifted my head and saw the team had circled around the scene. Teddy glowered at the Latina and hissed in a low but clear voice, "Way to go Torres. What are you trying to do, drive away every forward that comes to this team?"
The redhead who was helping Callie up turned and gave my friend a dirty look. Getting up in Teddy's face, the woman bellowed, "Can it, Altman. You have no clue what happened, so don't even pretend you have any idea what you're about!"
"Oh really, Addison? Then, please, enlighten-"
"ENOUGH!"
Silence filled the air as 12 heads snapped up to look at the fuming man. Gritting his teeth, Coach Webber lowered his voice to an eerily level tone. "Everyone get your ass into the locker room, now!"
A/N: Time out, put the bricks down… I know Callie's not exactly pleasant in this chapter but she's heartbroken so try to cut her a little slack =) Thanks for reading and have an awesome day!