Across The Hall

When the two neighbors approach their shared group of friends, they are met with nothing else but a mixture of amused and impressed looks. Normally, this type of attention would make Christen uncomfortable, but the firm hand connected to her own steadies her. As they walk closer, Christen notices that the majority of the observing eyes seem to fall on Tobin rather than herself. In thoughtless reaction, Christen follows their gazes towards Tobin’s face. Christen takes in the midfielder’s profile, not successfully able to completely read her expression, but enough to notice what looks like a slight blush playing on the surface of her cheekbones. This surprises Christen a little. Normally Tobin is always so composed and calm. Is she blushing? Why would she be blushing? Is it because I…? Oh, of course she’s embarrassed! I totally just –

“Well would you look at that” Kling animatedly announces as Christen and Tobin finally arrive among the other girls, “The happy couple has finally decided to join us!” All the other girls join in laughter following Kling’s teasing statement. Well, all except for Christen and Tobin, that is. Instead, the two share an equally shocked look and Tobin casually pulls her hand free of Christen’s. As the giggles of the group die down, Tobin awkwardly shifts in place and Christen stuffs her now abandoned hand into the pocket of her shorts. She now feels much less steady than moments ago.

“Guys, come on, we’re not a couple” Tobin sheepishly refutes, rubbing the back of her neck with her left hand on using her right foot to draw circles in the grass. Christen feels her heart sink slightly deeper into her chest at Tobin’s admittance. Though she has no idea why. As Tobin said, they aren’t a couple. Not now, nor have they ever been. But still, the words sound foreign to Christen’s ears. Almost as if Tobin didn’t fully believe the words she is saying either.

“I think you gave Cassie the wrong idea then” Sarah comments with a wink as the other girls nod in agreement. Christen chuckles a little, remembering the horrified look on Cassie’s face when she draped herself over Tobin. It was a satisfying feeling, implying that Tobin was off limits, briefly pretending that she and Tobin were in a committed relationship. It was like for that short period of time, she didn’t have to filter her behavior around Tobin. She was free to act however she wanted, to throw all caution to the wind, to act in a way that was deemed otherwise ‘inappropriate’ for neighbors to interact. To be spontaneous; something that Christen rarely ever was.

“Totally” Ali agrees while nodding her head, “I think maybe finally Cassie got the hint that Tobs isn’t interested.” Alex let’s out a loud, singular laugh.

“You think?!” she exclaims, humored tears quickly pooling in her eyes, “Christen practically mauled Tobin right then and there!” The others join in Alex’s amusement, chuckling along as they each begin to recall the little episode their honorary teammate had just orchestrated in front of the remaining crowd of spectators. What? I didn’t act like I was going to ‘maul’ her.

“Me too!” Kling chimes, in between bouts of laughter, “I was honestly afraid for her life just then. Press pounced like a cheetah going in for the kill. Nice catch by the way, Tobs! I did not pounce. I leapt. There’s a difference.

“Guys, I didn’t – ” Christen begins, only to be cut off by her roommate.

“Oh my god, YES!” Kelley giggles, leaving Christen to feel somewhat betrayed. Not you too. “And did anyone else see the look on Tobin’s face? She looked so confused I thought her eyeballs were going to bulge out of her head.” Kelley’s comment causes another large roar of laughter from the group. Laughter at both Christen and Tobin’s expense. Shit. Tobin. Christen’s eyes instantly dart towards her direction, worried that she is the cause of the other girl’s excruciating embarrassment. Shit. I didn’t mean to embarrass her! I was just trying to help! I hope I didn’t just ruin everything. I hope she can – that’s when Christen notices the small smirk playing at Tobin’s lips. It’s almost as if she finds the whole predicament as amusing as the others. Wait, what? Is she actually enjoying this?

Christen opens her mouth to say something to the girl, except she doesn’t know what. She doesn’t know how to process Tobin’s surprisingly light-hearted reaction. Should she be mad? Upset? Relieved?...Happy? Before Christen can actually decide, however, Ali speaks instead.

“Anyway” Ali begins, chuckles diminishing and breaths evening out, “That was one hell of a performance. Someone give Christen an Oscar, stat.” Oh, are we finally on the brink of changing the subject? Thanks, Ali. At least someone here is merciful. The others compose themselves as well and look to Christen, their eyes still glistening with delight.

“An Oscar, an Emmy, Golden Globe, Academy Award, hell even the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. That shit was hilarious. Thanks Pressy, I think you just added years to my life” Kelley giggles, wiping the corners of her eyes. Christen shoots her a less-than-impressed glare. Kelley notices, but remains completely unfazed. What ever happened to the days where your roommate always had your back? Not a moment later Emily, now standing beside Kelley after following Christen’s lead and jumping over the railing, places a hand on Kelley’s shoulder just before Kelley can tease Christen any further. Kelley immediately freezes as she registers the contact. Christen quirks an eyebrow, more than a little satisfied with her roommate’s reaction. Ha. Karma’s a bitch.

“Well I for one think what Christen did was awesome. I’ll be sure to call her if I ever need to be rescued” Emily states, looking directly at Kelley at the last part. I’ve only known this girl for all of two hours and she’s already the nicest one here. Kelley practically shivers under Emily’s intimate gaze. And she turns Kelley into a hilariously-unfortunate mess. I think we should keep her around.

“Hey, sorry, I don’t mean to be rude but, who are you?” Sarah questions as she looks between Emily, Kelley, and Christen. Emily just smiles politely and waves her hand acknowledging Sarah’s curiosity. 

“I’m Emily” she states confidently, “I’m friends with Kelley…” Emily glances over to the freckled girl squirming under her prolonged touch. “And Christen” she adds as she pulls her eyes from Kelley and flutters them over to her new soccer-watching-buddy. Christen nods in return, confirming her newfound friendship.

“Yeah, we met Emily in the smoothie place in the Campus Center – well, actually Kelley met her before I did – but she’s really cool and makes the best smoothies” Christen explains, as the other girls bob their heads along in understanding. “Seriously, I don’t know what she puts in them, but those things do wonders for your energy levels.”

“That would be the secret ingredient” Emily smiles jokingly.

“Secret ingredient?” Kling asks, raising her eyebrows inquisitively.

“Sorry, that’s confidential” Emily explains with a playful glint in her eye, “Authorized personnel only.” Emily finally pulls her hand away from Kelley’s shoulder and Christen notices Kelley take what looks like a breath of relief.

“So what you’re saying is” Kling continues, now intrigued by the new potential member of the group, “If you tell us, you’ll have to kill us?”

“Well” Emily draws out, “That’s not exactly what I’m saying, but that’s not not what I’m saying.” The girls laugh, even Tobin – which is the first time since she and Christen initially joined the group. And though Christen hadn’t realized it until just now, she’s missed hearing Tobin’s laugh. Even if it only had been a few minutes since she’s last heard it.

“So I’m starving” Alex not-so-subtly announces to the group, “Anyone up for pizza after this?” All of the girls let out a unanimous ‘yes!’ in response.

From there the soccer players take off their cleats and clap them together to loosen and remove the clumps of grass from their spikes. Then the group moves together to leave the stadium from where they all remain on the field. As they walk, they subconsciously move in groups of twos. Alex and Ali take the lead, Alex’s arm draped over Ali’s shoulders. Next is Sarah and Kling. They both laugh as Sarah ruffles up Kling’s hair and Kling attempts, and fails, to kick Sarah in the butt in return. Behind them are Kelley and Emily. Kelley walks with her hands stuffed in her pockets as Emily carries her duffel bag after refusing to let Kelley carry it on her own. Every once in a while they bump shoulders and share a smile or two. Christen’s heart warms as she watches each of them steal a glance at the other from time to time. And finally, at the very back of the group, are Christen and Tobin.

They take each step side-by-side. Their arms dangle aimlessly at their sides, every once in a while their hands ghost past each other. Christen gets chills every time she feels the back of Tobin’s hand graze her own. The brief moment of skin-to-skin contact is both breath-taking and electrifying. Every time she’s afraid of it happening again, and every time she’s happy when it does.

“So” Tobin begins, interrupting the comfortable silence without breaking stride, “I guess I have to get used to this, the tables turning and what not.” Confused, Christen turns her head to look in Tobin’s direction. When she does she’s met with a sweet smile.

“What are you talking about?” she asks, a smile of her own forming on her face. This seems to be happening a lot lately, almost like the domino effect. If one of them smiles, so does the other, sometimes without even knowing why. But it happens. It happens more and more often as time progresses.

“Well for starters, you being the one to save me” Tobin explains. Christen furrows her brows even further.

“I’m not helpless you know” Christen points out, chuckling slightly at Tobin’s relative bluntness. Also at her own history of finding herself in need of being rescued. As much as she doesn’t want to admit it, she has relied on Tobin’s help to get her out of some pretty sticky situations. Still, Christen has a little too much pride to ever let on that Tobin may have a solid argument. “And you’re not exactly a superhero either.”

“Maybe” Tobin shrugs, “But our track record may suggest otherwise.” Christen wastes no time in reaching over and giving Tobin’s arm a smack.

“Ow! Hey, what was that for?” Tobin pouts as she rubs her arm to relieve some of the sting. Oh man, I didn’t mean to hit her that hard. Geez, lay off the juice Press, your She-Hulk is showing.

“That” Christen explains as she gestures to Tobin’s now slightly red arm, “Was for acting like jerk.” As she looks down to Tobin’s arm again, she notices a hand mark forming from the red patch of Tobin’s skin. She feels a pang of guilt and before she can fully comprehend what she’s doing, Christen finds herself leaning over towards Tobin’s side. “And this” Christen continues, pausing momentarily to place a gentle kiss on Tobin’s reddened shoulder, right at the area where she delivered the blow, “Is for accidentally hitting you so hard.” As soon as the words leave Christen’s lips, she realizes what she’s just done. Wait, did I just…Oh shit! I just kissed Tobin’s arm! Directly after smacking the crap out of her! What the hell, Christen? Have you no chill?!

Immediately panicking, Christen quickly straightens back up, unintentionally locking eyes with Tobin on the way. Tobin looks a combination of shocked and pleased, but after only a moment, pleased is all she looks.

“Was that a kiss to make it better?” Tobin asks, a cheeky expression growing on her face. Yeah. I mean I think that’s all it was.

Christen clears her throats before replying, trying desperately to regain her composure.

“Yeah, what else what it be?” She answers. Tobin just holds her gaze, almost as if she’s considering Christen’s question, which is not what Christen had intended on giving her the opportunity to do. Shit. Don’t let her answer that. “Did it help?” Tobin looks from her arm, to Christen’s lips, back to eyes again.

“Yeah I think so” she nods while poking at the area of impact on her shoulder, “Which is pretty amazing actually. That was a hard hit. Were you a pro boxer or something in a past life?” Christen’s nerves settle a bit, relieved that Tobin is making light of her impulsive slip up.

“Oh come on, I saw you taking worse hits than that out on the field tonight” Christen reminds, jerking her head in the direction of the field disappearing farther and farther behind them.

“So you were watching me, huh?” Tobin questions, quirking an eyebrow faux-flirtatiously. Or at least, what Christen can only bring herself to believe is faux-flirtatiously.

“It was kind of hard not to. You’re sort of a ball hog. And a show-off” Christen quips teasingly.

“Hey, somebody has to bring the fans to the game” Tobin jokingly states as she bumps Christen’s shoulder with her own. Instant butterflies. “I mean, Kelley’s ball spin during the throw-ins is cool and all, but you need more flair than that to really draw in a crowd.”

“Oh yeah?” Christen asks. Tobin nods confidently. “So like, crowds full of people like Cassie?” Christen brings up the annoying girl with initial intent to tease Tobin about it, but now that she’s being openly discussed, Christen finds herself eagerly awaiting Tobin’s opinion of the small blonde. Upon hearing the girl’s name, Tobin’s face scrunches in displeasure.

“No, definitely not” is all Tobin says, all of her previous playfulness now effectively washed away.

“Trouble in paradise with ‘Future Mrs. Heath’?” Christen questions further, not trying to make Tobin feel uncomfortable, but feeling the dire need to satiate her newfound unrelenting curiosity.

“Cassie is most definitely not ‘Future Mrs. Heath’” Tobin corrects, shaking her head, “I’ve been trying to shake her forever. I’ve tried to be nice about it, but she just never gets that I don’t want to be in a relationship with her. Until tonight, that is. I think you made that pre-tty clear.” Tobin glances back over to Christen who now looks down at her feet.

“You don’t think I went a little over-board?” Christen sheepishly asks, still avoiding Tobin’s eyes.

“Nah” Tobin responds as she smiles warmly at her neighbor beside her, “I think you handled it perfectly. There’s no way Cassie didn’t get the message that you’re totally, completely, head-over-heels in love with me.” Christen looks up from the ground and meets Tobin’s warm eyes. She can only smile and nudge Tobin with her shoulder this time. “But next time” Tobin continues, “Give me a little warning before you jump on top of me. I need to be able to do some stretching before we re-enact the final number of Dirty Dancing.” This earns a chuckle from Christen. Patrick Swayze has nothing on Tobin Heath.

“I’ll try to keep that in mind” Christen giggles, causing Tobin’s smile to grow wider and the corners of her eyes to crinkle further.

“Good” Tobin punctuates with the slight nod of her head, “But seriously Christen, I wanna say thanks for saving me back there. You did me a solid.” Christen feels her heart rising to her throat and her palms beginning to sweat.

“Oh, um, yeah no problem” Christen shyly shrugs, “You just looked uncomfortable, and, I just – I guess it bothered me seeing you like that, so I decided to intervene.” Tobin’s hand brushes past Christen’s again, and Christen is pretty sure she feels it in every nerve-ending in her body.

“Well I was uncomfortable, so thanks” Tobin confirms, “But you don’t have to worry about seeing me look uncomfortable again. I’m always comfortable around you.” Christen searches Tobin’s eyes and finds nothing but true, earnest, sincerity. She isn’t sure how to process it, so Christen simply smiles in return.

“So when you said you had some things that you needed to get used to, what else did you mean?” Christen finally asks after a few moments of silence.

“Honestly” Tobin exhales, “the fact that everyone else is going to tease us until the end of time about this. Even before Ali and Ash started dating, everyone gave them shit for acting like a couple. So now, taking our little spectacle into consideration, I think it’ll be a while until we live this one down. Those vultures live for this kind of stuff.”

“Oh no, sorry again,” Christen murmurs, still feeling absolutely ridiculous about the way she acted earlier. Tobin’s hand grazes hers again.

“Hey it’s fine” Tobin reassures, “Out of all the girls at this school, you’re definitely the best one to be teased about being in a fake relationship with. If anything, this make me look better.” Christen takes in just how vibrant Tobin looks at this time of day, as the setting sun gives her a halo-like backlight. She traces Tobin’s facial features with her eyes and taking in just how beautiful she is. But what seems more beautiful in this moment isn’t physical at all. It’s Tobin. Not her body, but her being. Her charming personality, the way she jokes around, the way she says everything she wants to say with such conviction and honesty. How genuine and understanding and forgiving she is all of the time. Her warmth. Her essence. Just Tobin.

As Christen peers into the brown eyes that she never ceases to get lost in, she feels the magnetic pull in her finger tips. The need to connect her hand with Tobin’s. The need to be close. The need to grab a hold of something so that she doesn’t float away. But just as her arm slowly reaches over in Tobin’s direction, her foot snags on the edge of an unfilled pot-hole in the parking lot outside of the stadium. Christen had completely lost track of where they were when she was talking to Tobin, not even realizing that they had already vacated the field. Her body goes flying forward, on a direct route to the unforgiving, gravelly asphalt surface beneath her. But just like in the lecture hall of the Hingst building, Tobin reaches out and grabs her just in time.

Heart racing, Christen slowly makes her way back up with the help of Tobin’s supportive arm wrapped around her waist. Once upright, Christen glances to Tobin who only offers her a triumphant smirk.

“See?” Tobin grins, “I’m always the one saving you.” Christen opens her mouth to undoubtedly shoot Tobin a witty comeback, but before she can, Kling appears in front of them.

“Hey guys, check it out! Christen is still falling for Tobs!” The other girls turn and laugh as Christen and Tobin reactively blush and move to place a few inches between them.

“Shut up, Kling” they both say at the exact same time.