I did say that if I ever wrote this thing and was even remotely happy with it, I'd share it with you guys. So, here we are, a bonus chapter born of Chapter 23:

"We would have met anyway, you know. I would have been on the Hockey team." She nodded to the window, out of which the pitch could be seen, and Kelly laughed.
"I suppose that's true. But would you still have been interested?" She arched a brow and Sophie barked out a laugh.
"Is that even a question?" She shook her head at the very idea, she'd come to this school determined to hate the woman, and look where that got her. Jones chuckled as she nodded slowly.
"Fair point. A secret affair between hockey players, sounds like bad fanfiction."

So guys, here's some bad fanfiction, please enjoy - J


Bonus Chapter - In Another Life

"We're going to kill those animals!" Verity waved her stick like a club and the bus cheered. Sophie kept her head in her book, it was well known and accepted that she didn't take part in 'pep rallies'; she didn't need the extra motivation.

Their headmistress was fine to let Verity wind everyone up, she and the other school's director tended to place bets on their games, so she was perfectly happy to let Verity and her thugs do what they would. Truth be told, their games with this place were about the only ones where their team didn't get disqualified for cheating, and that was only because they cheated just as badly. Sophie didn't really know why she stayed on the damn team… Well, actually, that wasn't true, she knew exactly why.

They arrived in a hail of paint and as they jogged across the grass to the field, they were met with nothing but jeers and taunting songs. Typical. Sophie paid them no heed but cast her eye over the grounds. Searching the familiar faces of the opposing team until... Finally, she spotted her, standing among her side, doing up the cap of a hip flask as she grinned at the singing spectators. Sophie tipped her head as she looked her over; she'd gained a tattoo since last year, what was that for? Just in case she didn't fit the 'bad-ass' cliché enough? She repressed an eye roll but her attention was caught as dark eyes landed on her, cold and calculating. She stared right back, refusing to so much as blink under the woman's scrutiny.

There was no acknowledgement, no sign that the woman even recognised her before her attention moved elsewhere. Soph grit her teeth against a growl and swung her stick up onto her shoulder. She was more than ready to play now.
"Girls, look who it is… Annabelle the Cannibal." Verity's voice caught her attention and Soph's head whipped around, spotting the familiar face of her cousin among the opposing team. Oh hell…

Biting her lip, she considered the other girl for a long moment. She looked okay, a little awkward among her new classmates, maybe, but she was already on the hockey team, so that was something, right? As everyone else moved away Sophie lingered for just a beat longer, meeting Annabelle's gaze. She couldn't let on that they knew each other, the St. Trinian's girls would eat her alive if they knew she had family on the other team. Still, it was long enough for Annabelle to give a small smile, before Sophie stalked away to join her side.

They had a match to play.

The game was, as expected, brutal. Within the first ten minutes Sophie was sporting a split lip from an emo girl and less than ten later she nearly knocked out a semi-feral chav that tried to smash her head into a goal post. Really, it was a wonder anyone managed to score in these games. Of course, she was always aware of one specific player; she could feel her eyes on her when she took the hit to her face and enjoyed a laugh of her own when one of the cheltenham players sent her sprawling. Her amusement was short lived, however, as St. Trinian's were pack animals; when someone hurt their leader, the rest of the team swarmed, an all-out brawl keeping them busy until half time.

God, she loved this game.

For the second half they changed up positions, Sophie moving forward. Everyone knew both teams were more aggressive in the second half, so they pushed Verity back to protect her from the brute force and let Sophie take the damage. She didn't mind, it gave her the chance she wanted to face off with her nemesis. They got into position and the taller woman smirked down at her; Soph rolled her eyes and knocked her stick against the floor, waiting for the nurse (or whatever she was) to blow her whistle. The moment she did, Soph stole the ball, spinning to one side and knocking it through her own legs to protect it from the other woman's swing. She grit her teeth against the pain as the dickhead made no effort to avoid her shins.

Thank fuck for shin guards.

Still, she didn't let it slow her down, moving quickly with the ball through the masses of swinging sticks and violent girls as her teammates made some vague attempt to protect her, a shadow on her heels the whole way.

Somehow, they reached the final moments of a tie game, and of course, it was St. Trinian's shot. Sophie knew before it was over who was going to win, whether her cousin landed the shot or if that bloody woman did; St. Trinian's were going to win. Regardless of this knowledge, she politely waited until the game was over to boot a chair across the grass. At least Verity had taken a shot to the face, it might shut her the fuck up for a while. Though going on the way her distorted and rage-filled grumbling could be heard from across the field, that might be a little optimistic.

Annoyed, she watched as the St. Trinian's girls carried their captain away on their shoulders, knowing the woman would be unbelievably smug when next she saw her.

She always fucking was.

She didn't bother going to the bus, she knew well enough that it would be undrivable and they would be waiting hours for the mechanic to turn up before they could go. St. Trinian's were inventive in a lot of ways, but they were also predictable as all hell. Instead, she stalked off toward the home team's changing rooms.

She had a fucking score to settle.

It took a while for the rest of the team to leave, but once they did, she slipped in without a problem. She was still there, her back to her as she fished for something in her locker. Soph stepped carefully, the rubber studs on the bottom of her shoes fortunately not as loud as the plastic or metal kind. A lot of her team wore metal ones, since they did more damage.

As she drew close, she set her jaw, reaching out a hand toward her.

Faster than she could track, the woman spun on the spot, seizing her wrist and spinning her around until her shoulders slammed into the lockers, her hand pressed up above her head and her collar pulled tight in the woman's fist as she pressed her against the cold metal.
"Daniels." She stared down at her with that cold gaze of hers and Soph gave a bitter smirk.
"Got close this time. Getting old, Jones?" She tipped her head and the woman closed the space between them, pressing her hard against the lockers.
"Still managed to beat you." She arched a brow, a wry and smug smirk on those blood red lips and Sophie growled right back.
"This time." She spoke through grit teeth and Jones flashed a wicked grin.
"Next time doesn't matter." Her taunting tone was less than appreciated and Sophie rolled her eyes.
"Oh, shut up." She huffed and the woman smirked.
"Make me."

Oh, Sophie absolutely would.

Whipping up her free hand, she seized the woman by the bloody choker she always wore and yanked her down, silencing the insufferable woman the only way she'd found that actually worked.

Jones kissed back with equal fury, letting go of her wrist to shove a hand into her hair and pull her head to a better angle. Sophie hissed, recoiling slightly from the pressure on her injury and Jones chuckled darkly, releasing her collar to catch her by the chin, brushing her thumb along the cut.
"Looks painful." She could try not to sound so amused by it, but that wasn't how Jones operated.
"I've had worse." Soph smirked back, nipping at the woman's thumb.
"Now, are you going to choose? We don't have much time." She tipped her head and Jones hummed in mock thought.
"Right, I won, didn't I?" The jab was expected, but Soph scowled up at her none the less, refusing to answer. After a moment, Jones stepped back, it was a struggle for Sophie not to lament the loss but she let her go, keeping her place against the lockers while Jones retrieved some things from one.
"I think… I want a shower." She turned then, sauntering off toward the back of the room with a sway to her hips that should be a crime. When she reached the dividing wall, she glanced back over her shoulder.
"You coming?" She smirked and Soph shrugged away from the lockers, fighting to keep her pace casual as she followed.

As if she'd ever say no.

The showers were already thick with steam from the other players, so as she rounded the corner, it took her a few moments to actually see but she focused in time to watch Jones' skirt fall to the floor, soon followed by everything else. She'd deny it if anyone asked (well, if anyone asked she didn't even know who Jones was), but the woman really was something else…

They'd met in her fourth year. Jones was already captain of the St. Trinian's team and Soph was just a benchwarmer, though, for these matches, that was another word for 'cannon fodder'. She'd ended up in the middle of a brawl, a little lost and disorientated in the unexpected skirmish and someone had shoved her backwards. They'd crashed into each other and tumbled to the floor, Jones easily gaining the upper hand and pulling back a fist, probably with intent to break her nose. They'd never discussed it, but she was sure the bewildered and, admittedly, slightly terrified, face of a fourteen year old had caused the woman to hold back, never landing that hit but shoving off of her chest to get to her feet and leap back into the fight. Sophie had remained on the floor for a long moment, dazed, but as she'd tried to get up, she'd put her hand on something sharp. It had been the barbed wire choker the woman had been wearing that day, though she hadn't known it until she looked over from their vandalised bus and saw her searching the pitch.

Technically, she should have kept it, if she'd shown it to Verity she'd probably have been hailed as a hero, but something in her gut had made her intercept the other girl, out of sight of both of their teams. At first, Jones was on the defensive, apparently expecting some kind of attack until, sheepishly, she'd held out the choker. Jones had stared at her like she'd grown a second head as she took it back and honestly, Soph understood the sentiment. They'd exchanged names, and a strange moment of understanding, before they were both gone, back to where they were supposed to be.

The memory of that day had lingered with her until next season. She was fifteen then, still canon fodder, but far better prepared for the battle that was hockey with St. Trinian's. So, when the woman had taken it easy on her, apparently thinking of her wide-eyed fear the last time, Sophie had made a point of showing her that she could more than hold her own. Jones had taken it as a personal challenge.

The whole match they were at each other's throats, fighting dirtier even than the new young emo on the St. Trinian's team (Janie? She couldn't be sure), until they had to be pulled off of the pitch for the safety of others. Theirs was the only case of players being removed from play (while conscious) in the history of Cheltenham vs St. Trinian's, which should probably be a good indicator of how badly they were behaving. Off the pitch and unsupervised, they'd quickly begun bickering, both accusing the other of starting it until they weren't arguing anymore. Words, apparently, no substitute for furiously making out behind a storage shed. She'd been confused at the time, and irritatingly hot and badass opposing team captains apparently appealed to her.

They'd leapt apart as if burned when someone shouted their names, Sophie furiously scrubbing at her face to get rid of any lingering traces of that blood red lipstick the woman wore even back then. They didn't speak a word, just shared a look of agreement that this would be kept between them before dashing back to the pitch. Cheltenham had won that match, but Soph was pretty sure she'd won something.

She certainly did the following year, when she and Jones were trash-talking before the match and Sophie bet her that Cheltenham would win, with unspecified stakes. After the match, when St. Trinian's were victorious, Jones had asked what she'd won and Sophie hadn't answered, but she had nearly missed the coach home when she couldn't find her damn shorts afterwards.

That bet became their 'thing', and their barbed banter, though still vicious at times, lost some of its edge. Jones wasn't like anyone she knew, and honestly, the days she got to see her were worth putting up with Verity and her hyenas.

The woman looked up, catching her staring, if the knowing smirk was anything to go on.
"Get in here." She arched a brow and turned to stride off into the showers themselves, leaving Sophie to shake herself from her thoughts and hurry to get undressed.

Once under the hot spray of water they wasted no time. They had no time to waste.

Hands gripped to her waist and Soph threw her arms about the woman's shoulders, pulling her down to her level and grinning into the kiss as long fingers pressed into her hips hard enough to bruise, yanking her closer and dragging a groan from Sophie. Every inch of skin that pressed together felt like it was burning, and Soph wouldn't let go if you paid her.

Lips and teeth chased rivulets of water and hands slid over every inch of skin they could find. Impatient, Soph spun them around, pushing the taller girl up against the tile, unable to hide her grin as Jones gasped at the cold.
"Little shit." She growled and Soph chuckled as she leaned up.
"Yes?" She silenced any response by crushing their lips together, but bent to slip a hand under Jones' knee and lift until a long leg hooked over her hip.

Wasting no time, she pulled back and ducked her head, tracing down the column of her throat and down, feeling Jones' hum of approval against her lips as she nipped at the smooth planes of her stomach. Long fingers pushed her hair from her eyes for her but gripped tight enough to draw a hiss of pain as she grazed her teeth over the woman's hip, coaxing her leg up onto her shoulder.

Pressing her lips to inside of her thigh, Soph glanced up, immediately glad she was already kneeling as she took in the sight above her. God, she was too fucking beautiful. Jones was flushed, leaning back against the tile with both hands buried into Sophie's hair, chest heaving and eyes dark and demanding as she stared down at her. That demand became more pressing as the hands in her hair yanked hard, pulling her to where the woman wanted her to be. Sophie was only too happy to oblige.

She could have stayed there forever, listening to the sounds from the woman that echoed off of the walls and burned themselves into her memory but soon enough the grip on her hair tightened painfully and the sinful moan that filled the air sent the low heat in her gut blazing uncontrollably. She eased her down but soon enough she was shoved back, landing gracelessly on her ass but she didn't care, grinning to herself as she got to her feet. Jones took a moment to raise her head, but when she did Soph was struck with the feeling of a mouse before a fox. In half a beat, Jones strode forward, pulling her up into a bruising kiss, teeth catching her lip and biting hard with no regard for her injury as she was pulled tight against her, but she'd be damned if she was complaining.

She was shoved against the wall, Jones' thigh slipping between hers and applying pressure where she hadn't realised she really needed it. A quiet sound close to a whine left her throat and she bit her tongue hard to silence anything else that might escape. Her hips jerked and rolled, searching for friction and for once Jones didn't tease, moving her thigh to make room for her hand. Soph's breath caught in her throat and she threw her arms around the other woman's shoulders for lack of anything else to hold on to, her nails digging into pale skin but if it hurt, the woman never complained. Instead, she leaned forward to drag her teeth along the side of her neck, sending a shiver down Sophie's spine that had nothing to do with the cold tile.

Jones was a hurricane, a storm that swept her up and spun her world around until she could do nothing but cling to her, lost in the feeling pulsing through every inch of her body.
"Jones." It was practically a whimper that would have embarrassed her if the woman hadn't clearly heard her unspoken plea and moved faster, curling her fingers just so. Sophie's gasp turned into a strangled moan and she bit her lip hard, letting go of Jones with one hand to grab the shower head above her and keep herself upright; a struggle as she rushed toward the edge at a painfully fast pace.
"Fuck." She cursed through grit teeth and Jones' lips trailed up to her ear.
"Open your eyes." It wasn't a question and she'd deny the sound that left her until the day she died as she struggled to do as she was told, dragging her eyes open to meet the other woman's gaze. The woman's free hand slid into her hair to keep her still as she leaned in. Their kiss was messy and brief as they soon broke apart for air but stayed close. Jones' eyes were sinfully dark, their lips brushing as they both panted for breath. It was too much, she snapped her eyes shut just in time for her hips to stutter and freeze, a far-too-loud sound that might have started as a curse bursting from her lips as her stomach tightened and her back arched.

It seemed to last forever and be over in half a second all at once, but as Sophie slumped back against the tile she felt as though she'd just run a couple hundred laps around the hockey pitch. And she'd do it again, gladly.

Jones took her hand back gently, carefully stepping away to a different shower while Soph tried to remember how her limbs worked.

It took a while, but she did eventually right herself, turning to stand properly under the hot spray, easing the slight ache from the muscles she'd definitely just overused. When she felt like words were possible, she let out a long breath.
"Not a bad choice." She offered a crooked smirk and the other woman resumed looking distinctly smug, apparently having used the time Sophie was recalibrating to actually wash up, as she was currently rinsing her hair.
"I've been known to have good ideas." She shrugged and Soph rolled her eyes, reaching over to steal the woman's body wash. If she was already in the shower, she might as well get the grass stains off while she was here. Jones arched a brow at the theft but said nothing.
"I guess that's why you're team captain, huh?" She tossed the body wash back and the woman caught it with a shrug.
"And head girl." She smirked and Soph rolled her eyes. Of course the bloody woman was… wait…
"You're in your last year?" The question happened before she could catch it, and the taller girl nodded once, pushing her hair back from her face.
"Yeah, aren't you?" She tipped her head and Soph managed a sheepish grin.
"Nope, still got one left." She scrubbed her hands over her face and shut off her showerhead. Jones frowned about something.
"They let you on the hockey team when you were fourteen?" She wrinkled her nose apparent distaste, shutting off her own tap. Soph laughed.
"They needed more players, and I'm a hell of a shot." She winked and the other girl threw a towel at her.
"Didn't do you much good that first match." She snarked as Soph pulled the towel off of her face and used it to ruffle her hair with a scowl.
"Yeah, yeah."

They dried off and redressed in relative peace, both kind of tired, but as they stepped back out into the locker room, Soph bit her lip.
"Hey… About your new girl…" She started and sighed. This may very well backfire on her, but Jones didn't seem to be that terrible of a person. She did, however, appear thoroughly confused by the non-sequester for a moment before she seemed to recall something.
"She was at Cheltenham, you knew her?" She arched a brow, tossing her shower stuff into her locker. Soph moved to hang the towels up with the others; if this place was anything like her school, someone would be by to take them to laundry.
"A bit. She's a good person, a little up herself when she wants to be, but er… Just, don't hold that against her?" She winced at how terribly this was going, and when she turned back, she found Jones watching her with a somewhat bemused expression.
"You want me to look after her?" She arched a brow and Soph gestured aimlessly.
"Not exactly, I guess I'm just asking you to cut her some slack… She had it rough at Cheltenham." Her voice trailed off and she raised a hand to ruffle the back of her hair. Jones watched her for a long moment, her expression inscrutable, until eventually she shrugged.
"Noted." She shut her locker and Soph nearly smiled, instead offering a sheepish sort of nod.
"Thanks." She knew the woman hadn't explicitly agreed to anything, but she hadn't said no either, and that was enough for her.

They made their way outside and Soph looked over to see a repair truck beside their bus, she was running out of time. Turning back to the (apparently) older woman, she debated what to say for a moment.
"Well, I guess this is the last time I'll see you?" She arched a brow and the woman nodded slowly, her eyes on the bus for a long moment before she finally looked to her with a shrug.
"Seems so." It was hard to tell if this was good or bad news to her, the bloody woman was so hard to read. Soph sighed, managing a crooked grin.
"Well, it's been fun, Jones." She offered a hand and the other woman smirked as she took it.
"Likewise, Daniels. Try not to miss me too much, won't you?" She snarked and Soph laughed.
"I'm sure I'll survive." She took her hand back and swallowed hard at the sudden knot in her stomach. If she was really honest with herself, she probably would miss Jones… But this thing had always had an expiration date, they'd both known that.

Shaking herself from her thoughts she jammed her hands into her pockets and took a step back.
"See you." She flashed her best grin and waited long enough for the woman's answering nod before turning on her heel and striding away. She refused to look back.

It was a long ride back, and upon their return, they were all hurried through dinner and sent to bed. Sophie, having already had one, skipped the showers and went straight to the dorms, crawling into bed with a heavy sigh. It had been a hell of a day; she supposed she should be annoyed about their team's loss, or worrying about her cousin, but as she drifted to sleep, all she could think of was how much she still smelt like Jones' shower gel.

Her phone buzzed under her pillow, yanking her back from the very edge of sleep and she scowled to herself as she fished it out, wincing at the bright light as she checked the message. It was from a number she didn't know and she squinted as her eyes slowly adjusted.

Rematch, Daniels?

Sophie grinned before she could stop herself; she had no idea how the woman had managed to get her number, but really, she didn't care.

You're on, Jones.


So that happened, I still love these two, and do, occasionally, dabble with the idea of a sequel, but don't take that as a promise. For now I'm happy to leave them where they ended.

So that'll be all from me, I guess, I hope you've all been well, and I hope you have a lovely week. Much love - J