Kicking the soccer ball into the goal, JJ grinned, hearing the rest of her teammates cheer for her as the buzzer sounded. Their final game to qualify for states and she'd scored the final winning goal.
"Jay!"
The blond spun around and let the rest of her teammates crowd around her, her two best friends hugging her tight.
The coach came over and high fived her star player. "You just got us into states," she grinned. "Way to go, Jareau."
JJ rushed over to the benches and grabbed her water bottle, squeezing the cold drink out of the bottle and down her throat.
"You did great!"
She let Grace hug her from behind before she reached down and grabbed her bag. "That felt good," she laughed, taking another drink from her water bottle. "They're fucking hard to beat."
The brunette girl gave her friend a high five and followed her off the field. "I can't believe we're going to states."
"States and then nationals," JJ agreed. "We actually have a good chance at winning." There were scouts at every single game for nationals, and if her team did well and supported her, the blond would be the first girl from her school to get a full scholarship to an Ivy League for her soccer skills.
"Do you think Aaron will come to the games?"
JJ blushed at the mention of her crush and her eyes immediately cast over toward the football field where the players were finishing up their practice. "I don't know," she shrugged. "He'll probably have a game." Or a date with his girlfriend.
Theresa shook her head. "You're one of his best friends. If he's proud of you getting this far, he'll come."
"He has his own things to do," Grace interjected, knowing her boyfriend and his friend would most likely have either practice or a game on the days they'd have their games. Just like the soccer team, the football team was fighting to get into states. "But I'm sure he'll be proud of you."
Glancing over to the football field, the star player frowned, noticing the new girl with her friend once again. How many times was she supposed to tell her? "What the fuck?"
Theresa watched her friend storm over to the fields with the new brunette in her view, and she grimaced. "Girl is gonna get it." She and Grace ran after their friend as she stormed toward the football field, their cleats sticking into the dirt until they came to an abrupt stop just behind the head girl of their friend group. "Jay?"
JJ's tense shoulders slowly loosened as she noticed the new girl shaking hands with her friend's girlfriend, apparent smiles on their faces.
"Jen?"
JJ shook her head, her hand tight around her water bottle as she stalked up to the small group. "Hey," she grinned, her eyes immediately going to the boy she'd had a crush on for years. "How'd practice go?"
Emily blushed at both Aaron and Haley's looks to her, and she slowly nodded her head. "The coach asked me to be his assistant."
Grace felt her body freeze. "You're going to be the coach's assistant? How are you qualified?" The new girl was going to be glued to her boyfriend's hip every goddamn day.
The ambassador's daughter rolled her lips, shrugging her shoulders.
"She's almost better than the coach with the way she's redone our plays," James spoke up, walking over to the group with his bag in hand. "Don't question her."
Grace almost shrunk underneath her boyfriend's gaze.
"So are you guys coming tonight?"
Emily looked over to the football player and smiled, knowing that her new friend was picking her up for the party that was happening that night.
JJ frowned. "That party?"
"Yeah," he nodded, looking to the blond with hard eyes. "It's at my place."
"We're going to the movies tonight. Sorry."
Grace quickly took the blond by the arm and dragged her away from the group of people. "Jen," she hissed, her eyes on Emily as she started a new conversation with Haley. "I don't want them together alone. This girl obviously has some powers or some shit because James really likes her. What if she makes a move on him?"
JJ looked to her friend with disdain. "First off, I doubt they'll kiss, and second why do you want to be a party with a bunch of jocks?" All of the teen's parties had been full of football players and their cheerleader girlfriend grinding to loud music and getting drunk, and she didn't think it would be any different this time.
"Because that party is being thrown by my boyfriend who has been looking at another girl lately."
JJ's nose crinkled, hearing Emily's laughter as James told her a joke. "Fine, we can go. But you owe me movie tickets tomorrow night."
Grace quickly nodded. "Absolutely."
Turning back around to face the small group, the star soccer player shouldered her bag and huffed, gaining the attention of the football players. "Ok, change of plans. We can come."
James gave a fake smile, noting Emily's quiet laughter. "Great."
"Baby, what time should we be there?"
Haley gave her own grimace at the term of endearment, and she sank deeper into Aaron's side as she felt JJ's eyes trail over to her. She had never fit in with the group of soccer players no matter how many times her boyfriend had tried to get them together, mainly because she felt as if the other blond was always doing her best to get her boyfriend away from her to have him for herself, whether if it was for one conversation or an entire night.
She was a piece of work.
"Em?"
The brunette looked away from the football players and to the cheerleader who had been so nice to her.
"Would you think of trying out for the squad? One of our girls has a sprained ankle and you have the perfect body to fill in as flyer," Haley grinned.
Biting her lip, Emily hid her smile, hearing the other football player behind her telling his girlfriend and her posse to leave and they'd meet her later. "I wouldn't be very good, thank you though." She shared a small grin with James as he walked up beside her. "I'm not very peppy, and I can't do those lifts you guys do."
"You trying to steal our new coach?"
The new girl turned and slapped the older boy playfully against his shoulder.
Haley watched the interaction and hid her smile. She wouldn't mind it if the new girl stole the football player from Grace the Disgrace. In fact, she was sure everyone in school would love it. "So do you want to drive to James' with me tonight?" she asked, her arm around her boyfriend's waist. "Aaron is going to be late because he has a family dinner, so we could go together."
Emily smiled at the blond before her. "Thanks, but James is getting me."
Aaron smirked at his friend. Leaving his house to pick up the ambassador's daughter to then drive all the way back to his house?
"Oh," the brunette piped up, turning to the football payer at her side. "Do you mind if I invited my friend Penelope?" She was sure she'd feel out of place that night without a friend by her side.
James was quick to nod his head. "That's fine, she's cool." The blond had helped him the day before unfreeze his phone. "I'll get you at eight?"
He was in her driveway by six-fifty, Emily having to run out with her hair finished just a second before and her heels falling off her feet because she had to stop the security guards from tasing the poor guy. "I'm sorry," she rushed out, batting the hands of the guard away. "I forgot to tell them you were coming."
James laughed, rolling his shoulder where the biggest guard had grabbed him. "It's ok."
"Are you ok?"
He nodded. "Fine." Looking down to see one of the girls' heels left on the steps behind her, he laughed, and he went around her to pick it up. "Are you?"
Emily blushed, noticing her heel in the older boy's hand.
When she reached forward to take it from him, he shook his head. "Let me." Opening his car's driver side door, he let the girl sit down and he took her by the foot, slipping the sandal on for her.
The brunette brushed her straightened hair from her eyes, smiling down to the football player. "Thank you."
"You look great."
She had decided on a pair of designer ripped jeans and a nice top, the heels being her only choice because her boots had been messed up with mud that morning. "Thank you."
"Yoohoo! Don't forget me!"
Emily laughed and stood from the seat, waving her friend over to the car. "Come on, Pen." She spent the car ride trying not to look to much at the boy by her side, so she kept her eyes on the dark road before them as he told jokes and asked the blond in the back how her day was. She didn't want to get caught staring too long at him if he was talking directly to her, which she knew she'd do - she had never been good at eye contact, either she never did it or it went on for too long - and embarrass herself before the first party she'd ever been invited to.
"Em?" he questioned, parking in his own driveway behind a bunch of other guests. "We're here." Noticing her not giving him an answer, those big brown eyes staring out his windshield, James leaned over the gear shift and shook the younger girl's hand. "Emily?"
The ambassador's daughter gulped, taking her eyes off of JJ and her friend surrounding the front door so she could look to her friend. "Sorry."
"You ok?"
Feeling Penelope's eyes on her from the back seat, Emily smiled, taking her hand from James'. "Yeah. Let's go."