Classes started the next Monday and Bella was not prepared at all for that whole endeavor. She'd picked her schedule up and gotten everything she'd needed, but after having nearly four months off of school, it was going to be hard.
She'd been to her English class that morning and had been glad to see two of her teammates there. JP had been in her math class, along with Reeces. And Hollywood had been in her final science class.
Bella was mentally exhausted after classes and was really looking forward to practice later. She headed back to her dorm, changed into her gym shorts, a tank top, and her cleats, before heading to the field early to get a few laps in.
She was two laps into her run around the field when she looked up and saw Kate watching her with a smile on her face. Bella's own smile spread across her lips as she turned and jogged towards the vampire.
"Thought you'd be here. How was class?" Kate asked as she dug through her equipment bag and pulled out orange cones.
"Okay," Bella said with a shrug, "Got to get back into the swing of things, I guess."
"Is that why you're an hour early for practice?" Kate asked playfully and Bella rolled her eyes as she smirked.
"Yeah, I needed to run. Or something. I haven't figured out how to get rid of this energy yet," She said as she shook out her hands and feet. Kate laughed and motioned towards the field.
"Well, Wonder Woman. I wouldn't mind watching you flip around for a while," She said in a suggestive tone and a raised eyebrow. Bella threw a smirk over her shoulder at her coach and seemed to contemplate actually following through. She shrugged after a moment and set up for a back flip. Kate watched smitten as Bella threw herself backwards over and over across the field until she finally landed and shot Kate a brilliant smile, "Better?" Kate asked with a laugh.
"Almost," Bella said before throwing a standing back tuck and then cart-wheeling back over to Kate, "Let's see what you've got, Katrina," Bella said with a smirk and a playful tone. Kate let out a low growl for the use of her full name and squinted her eyes at Bella. Bella just smiled up at her, waiting.
"Fine," The vampire said before, she too, was flipping across the field. Bella watched on in amazement. She really shouldn't have been shocked. Kate was genetically flawless after all. Bella's smile couldn't have gotten any wider if she'd tried.
When the rest of the team finally showed up, Bella and Kate had taken to performing crazy stunts and then daring the other to do it too. "You're going to figure out a way to kill me… Somehow," Kate mumbled before she took off at a human paced sprint and then lunged into her flips. When she landed, it was to applause from the other girls. Kate just laughed and rolled her eyes, "Alright, ladies! Let's get started then!"
0~0~0
"Why were you at practice so early today?" JP asked later as she and Bella sat together in the dining hall eating dinner. Bella looked up at her mid chew and shrugged after getting her bearings back.
"I dunno," She mumbled, "Keyed up from sitting in class too long today I guess," She said. She speared another bite onto her fork and kept her eyes down on her plate. JP was silent for a long time after that. Bella knew she knew something was up. After all, she was living with her. It'd be hard not to see it.
"Are you dating one of the girls?" JP finally asked and Bella nearly spat her water all over her as she choked.
"What?" She asked in alarm, "No, I'm not dating one of the girls!" She whispered loudly, "Why would you ask that?"
"I have no clue, dude. I just... I don't know. It seems like you're happier or something lately and you always come to practice early and stay late. I just figured you were dating one of the girls," She said nonchalantly and with a shrug thrown in.
"I mean…" Bella trailed off and contemplated what to say. She loved JP, she loved the entire team, but she didn't know how much she should say, "I am… seeing someone. It's just not someone on the team," Bella finished and took a large bite of her slice of pizza to give herself a minute of chewing and hopefully not have to answer any of JP's questions.
"And that someone is…" JP trailed off and looked at Bella questioningly, "Female?" She finished and Bella nearly sagged in relief. Oh, yeah, she could come out. She'd done that plenty of times. She was just waiting on JP to ask her if it was someone specific and was thrilled that this was all she asked.
"Umm, yeah," Bella answered, "Is that okay?" She asked and bit her lip. This was her roommate after all. JP could be some giant homophobe for all she knew.
"Yeah, La-La. I'm not prejudiced. Half the team is gay. So, no one else is going to care either," She said. Bella found comfort in those words. She knew she loved her teammates, that her teammates loved her. But now, she knew they would still feel the same way when she came out to them. Hell, half of them probably already knew anyway.
"Thanks, JP," Bella said. She meant it. She really did feel better for some reason. She didn't even know this was a fear of hers until it was gone.
