Across The Hall

“This is completely scripted” Tobin’s warm breath tickles Christen’s ear as the two sit shoulder-to-shoulder, leaned against the wall that borders Christen’s bed. Christen’s eyes remain glued to the television screen as the images of some reality TV show flash across its surface. Christen smiles contently as she leans her head on Tobin’s shoulder like she’s done so many times before. She’s missed this feeling, this close proximity to Tobin. Her body heat warming Christen’s skin. The way Tobin mindlessly adjusts Christen when she can tell she’s not comfortable. That thing that she does when they’re all snuggled up against one and other and she hums whenever her hand grazes over Christen’s knee. All of it. It’s like Tobin provides a sort of cozy bubble for Christen, and that being this close with her gives Christen a sense of safety and reassurance that she just doesn’t feel when she’s on her own. Christen picks up her head and glances briefly at Tobin’s profile. She grins at her for just a few moments before returning her head to its home on Tobin’s shoulder.

“How can it be scripted? It’s reality television” Christen asks, playing along with Tobin’s skeptical musings. Christen’s eyes float back to the screen, noticing that the catty group of ‘rich bitches’ on the show are now all gathered together, in the heat of an argument.

“There’s nothing realistic about this” Tobin nonchalantly scoffs, as if the suggestion that any of the people on the show were sincere in their personalities is a ludicrous idea.

“I’m with Tobin on this” Kelley chimes from her bed across the room. “No way these bimbos could disrespect each other that blatantly without throwing hands.”

“How can you be so sure?” Christen chuckles, her laughter reverberating against Tobin’s skin. Tobin smiles down at her at the sensation, taking the opportunity to tuck some stray hairs behind Christen’s ear as she does. Christen warms at the midfielder’s tender touch. After her finger tips abandon contact with Christen’s ear, she pulls her arm up and wraps it around Christen’s shoulders, electing to do so instead of returning it to her side. Christen’s eyes flutter shut with delight as she enjoys even more personal contact with Tobin. She soaks in the feeling of Tobin’s arm resting gently around her. So much so that she’s practically purring with contentment.

“How else can you explain how the camera crew got multiple angles of Chartreuse throwing her wine in Natalia’s face?” Tobin questions in an accusatory tone while the ladies on screen call her other bitches and scramble around for more drinks to splash now that the first shots have been fired.

“They were in the right place at the right time?” Christen answers Tobin with a question of her own, although the tone of her voice is far less confident. Kelley shoots Christen an incredulous look from across the room.

“C’mon Pressy, that’s a bit of a reach and you know it” Kelley denies before taking a chomp out of her TV-time granola bar. Christen shrugs, neither conceding to nor arguing against Kelley. In all honestly, she’s already for the most part lost interest in the discussion. And the reality show itself for that matter. All she’s really in tune with right now is the way her head slightly rises and falls as Tobin breathes in and out beneath her.

“Besides” Tobin continues, apparently still invested in disproving the credibility of the program, “Just look at the way they interact with each other. Listen to how they address one another. There’s no chemistry, no trust, no sincerity behind any of their words. It’s just like Dr. Stevenson always says, what a person says is not as critical as how they say it. These women are supposed to be close friends, right? They’re supposed to have stuck by each other’s sides through divorce, family emergencies, wine mixers, all that stuff. They’re supposed to love each other, yeah? But you can tell that they don’t, and I don’t just mean when they fight or argue about all these mundane little things. I mean, when you’re friends with someone, when you spend all your time with someone, when you love someone, a single glass of wine to the face isn’t going to be the end of it all. That’s not how relationships work. That’s not how love works. That’s what’s so unrealistic about this show.” Christen’s eyes never leave Tobin’s profile as she passionately recites her argument. She hangs onto every word, allowing Tobin’s utterances to consume her thoughts. A part of Christen is awestruck by the wisdom and sheer assuredness that just spewed from Tobin’s lips. …Wow.

Directly diagonal from Christen, Kelley is equally at a loss for words. She too wasn’t expecting such an impassioned speech to escape from her usually casual and lighthearted teammate. Tobin simply continues to watch the show as if she had just stated the obvious, nothing more. It isn’t until one of the reality show women’s confessionals comes on that Christen’s attention is drawn away from the unexpectedly eloquent girl beside her.

“…So anyway, a girlfriend of mine told me that French-tipped acrylic nails are on their way out. I was just trying to be a good friend to Chartreuse and let her know before Monique’s gala next weekend. And how does she react? That bitch threw her drink on me!”

Christen’s muscles tense up at the mention of the ‘g’ word. Tobin glances down at Christen, a look of concern washes over her face.

“You uncomfortable?” she mumbles, trying to read Christen’s expression, “Want me to move my arm back?” Dammit, what the hell is wrong with me? Why do I have such a knee-jerk reaction to that word?

“No, you’re fine” Christen shakes her head, grabbing hold of Tobin’s arm and anchoring it in place. “Just a muscle spasm.” Tobin nods upon hearing Christen’s explanation, accepting it while allowing Christen to snuggle closer to her side. You almost ruined this moment. Just chill and watch this ridiculous show. Christen takes a deep breath and settles her eyes on the screen once again.

Now the women on the screen are spilt between two rooms, some gathered around Natalia, attempting to get her cleaned up, while others surround Chartreuse, doing their best to calm her down. ‘Team Natalia’ and ‘Team Chartreuse’ respectively. Christen rolls her eyes at the spectacle of it all. She almost zones out again if it weren’t for another obnoxiously loud outburst from one of the ladies around Chartreuse.

“Girlfriend, I was happy you drenched that two-faced, sour mouth with Chateau d’Yquem chardonnay! After that stunt she pulled at Winnemere’s wedding, that bitch had it coming!”

This time Christen nearly chokes on her own fear of the word. Before she knows it, she’s fallen victim to a fit of coughs. Tobin is quick to react, swiftly leaning Christen forward and patting her on the back.

“Whoa, Chris, you alright?” Tobin asks, her look of concern establishing itself on her face once more. “Just focus on evening out your breathing, okay? Can you do that?” Christen nods as she tries to settle her agitated lungs. Meanwhile Kelley quirks a suspicious eyebrow at her roommate.

“There you go, nice and steady” Tobin encourages as Christen is finally able to gain some control of her respiratory system. She leans up slowly and the first thing she sees are Tobin’s warm brown eyes staring back at her, sending chills through her body while simultaneously melting her on the inside. Tobin smiles as she catches Christen staring for a few moments. “Better now?” she asks, that luminescent, charming smile radiating from her face. Take it easy on me Tobin, I only just regained my composure.

“Uh, yeah” Christen croaks out, her throat a little scratchy from all the coughing. “I, um, I don’t know what came over me.” Her feigned ignorance seems to go over Tobin’s head, however Kelley crosses her arms skeptically on the other side of the room.

“Maybe you’re just allergic to all the drama” Tobin jokes as she gestures over to the TV, where the ladies are unsurprisingly in the midst of yet another petty squabble.

“Yeah, maybe” Christen half-heartedly agrees, shying her eyes away from Tobin. Not knowing what to say next, Christen fakes a yawn and stretches her arms above her head, pretending to be suddenly overcome with exhaustion. Tobin takes the bait.

“You look tired” she comments, placing her hand on Christen’s knee to get her attention. “I think that’s a sign that I should call it a night.” Christen looks back over to Tobin. She isn’t exactly thrilled about the idea of her leaving for the night, but she knows deep down that she needs to get down to the root of her problem before Tobin catches on.

“Okay” Christen quietly agrees, a hint of sadness in her voice, “That’s probably for the best.” Tobin nods and stands up to make her leave. She grabs her previously discarded sweatshirt and her keys from Christen’s desk. Once she has all of her belongings, she strides back over to Christen without a second thought. However, as soon as she stands in front of her favorite green-eyed girl, she suddenly remembers that she and Christen aren’t alone. Christen catches on and she and Tobin send a pleading look Kelley’s way. Kelley just huffs and falls back onto her bed, covering her eyes with her hands as she does.

“You two have thirty seconds, and no funny business!” Kelley warns, continuing to shield herself from the hall-crossed lovers. Tobin just chuckles at the squirrely defender before her eyes shift back to Christen. She wastes no time leaning down and connecting their lips.

“Goodnight, Chris” Tobin smiles against Christen’s lips after pulling away far too soon. Christen’s eyes remain closed as her thumbs slowly dance over Tobin’s cheek bones. Christen relishes in how soft her skin is, how warm Tobin’s forehead is against her own, how inviting and intoxicating her lips are. Before she can register it even for herself, Christen steals another kiss. Her lips secure around Tobin’s bottom one as Tobin inhales into the kiss. It’s slow and chaste, but it goes on for a tad longer than either of them were expecting.

“Alright, times up!” Kelley interrupts, causing the two to finally break apart.

“Night, Tobs” Christen giggles as she gingerly drags her hands away from Tobin’s face, over the sides of her neck, and down her arms. Tobin stands tall once more and sends Christen a wink before glancing back over to Kelley.

“You can look now, Kelley. It’s safe” Tobin prompts, causing Kelley to hesitantly remove her hands from over her eyes.

 “It better be, because if I have to witness you two sucking face again, I’m going to vomit” Kelley warns, an uncomfortable sensation returning to her as the memory of the time she walked in on Christen and Tobin mid-make out fizzles into her mind.

“I could give you a goodnight kiss too if that will make you feel better” Tobin teasingly offers as she slowly walks over to Kelley’s bed, holding her arms wide open and puckering her lips.

“Oh fuck no” Kelley vehemently declines, using her foot to fight off Tobin’s exaggerated advances as best as she can. “I don’t know where those lips have been!” Christen laughs to herself as she watches Tobin try to grab a hold of Kelley as Kelley continues to swing her legs around to keep Tobin at bay. What dorks. After a few moments, Tobin ceases, smiling as Kelley scoots back on her bed, as far away from Tobin as possible.

“They’ve been on Christen, predominantly” Tobin returns, a sly shit-eating grin forming at her lips. Christen’s eyes go wide as her cheeks immediately redden. Oh good Lord.

Kelley grimaces at Tobin’s suggestive comment.

“Tobin, with all due respect, you are one repulsive individual” Kelley responds, her eyes still closed as she pretends to gag. “Now please leave my room before I blow chunks or Christen spontaneously combusts.” Tobin smirks proudly as she solicits a reaction from both of the two roommates. She laughs as she makes her way to the door.

“Alright” she calls over her shoulder before arriving to the door and turning back towards Kelley. “Sweet dreams, Kel” she drawls out before directing her gaze to Christen. “You too, Chris.” Tobin and Christen exchange smiles for the last time before Tobin finally turns away and exits the room, pulling to door shut behind her as she does. Christen’s eyes linger on the door before Kelley speaks up.

“Girlfriend” Kelley states with a pointed tone. Christen jumps slightly as she turns back to Kelley, confused and somewhat on edge.

“What?” Christen rushes out, her heartbeat suddenly picking up.

“That word” Kelley continues, carefully observing Christen as she does, “Why do you get all weird whenever you hear it?”

“What are you talking about?” Christen returns, her alertness heightened and for some reason she feels suddenly defensive.

“Girlfriend” Kelley repeats, causing Christen to fidget once more, only confirming Kelley’s point. “You like freak out whenever someone says it. Why?” Christen just stares back at Kelley, dumbfounded that her roommate is so perceptive of Christen’s newfound trigger word.

“I still don’t understand what you mean” Christen lies, feeling put on the spot and unequipped to deal with it. Kelley throws Christen a knowing look before letting out a long sigh.

“At the café earlier today you went all spacey as soon as I said it, and now tonight it’s like the show we were watching may as well have been one of those jump-scare compilation videos” Kelley explains, not breaking eye contact even once. “So what’s the deal? Did you have a bad experience or something? Are you one of those ‘I don’t do commitment’ types? I’m your friend, Pressy, you don’t have to worry about telling me. And there’s no use lying about it, I can read you like a book.” Christen’s eyes dart to the ground before they dare sneak a peek at Kelley again. When they do, she finds that Kelley maintains her expectant stare, though her expression is soft, as if to communicate to Christen that in no way will Kelley judge her. Christen takes a deep breath. Kelley’s right, there’s no use being dishonest with her.

“I don’t know” Christen exhales, attempting to collect her thoughts, “It’s hard to explain.”

“Are you uncomfortable with it because you’re afraid of people knowing that you’re dating a girl?” Kelley gently asks, trying to give Christen an opportunity to start somewhere.

“No” Christen shakes her head, pulling her legs up so they’re tucked against her chest, “It’s nothing like that.” Kelley nods and ponders for a second as she thinks of another question to ask.

“Do you not want to be in a relationship with Tobin?” Kelley questions, maintaining her cautiousness. This questions really throws Christen for a loop, she wasn’t expecting Kelley to ask her that at all.

“No, of course not” Christen immediately dismisses, as if the suggestion is completely out of the question. Whenever she imagines herself with Tobin, she always feels this sense of warmness. Like being with Tobin is just right. The thought of being Tobin’s girlfriend is one of the things that makes her the happiest, however she’s never allowed herself to completely buy into the idea. Suddenly Christen feels overwhelmingly confused. She likes Tobin. She knows she likes Tobin. A lot. But whenever anyone suggests that she’s Tobin’s girlfriend, she just gets a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. A feeling that she just can’t place the source of, and that frustrates her to no end. As if sensing Christen’s internal conflict, Kelley carefully rephrases her next question.

“Ok, so, does that mean you want to be Tobin’s girlfriend?” Kelley prods, hoping to make a little more progress with Christen this time. Christen squeezes her eyes shut. She feels like the answer should come easy, but she just can’t get herself to commit to it. Dammit, Christen, why are you being like this? Why can’t you just admit how you feel? Why can’t you just say yes and get on with your life?

“Yeah? …No?” Christen squeaks out, painfully indecisively. “I mean I like her a lot, Kels, but I just don’t know.” Kelley observes Christen’s face and launches into her next question.

“Alright, how about we backtrack and try starting with the word itself?” Kelley asks. Christen nods slightly, signaling for Kelley to continue. “Why does the word ‘girlfriend’ bother you in general? It’s just a word, you can ascribe whatever meaning you want to it. Why do you think it’s so problematic for you when you hear it? What does ‘girlfriend’ mean to you?” Christen takes a moment to consider the question. It seems simple enough.

“Well, a girlfriend is someone special to you. Someone you have strong romantic feelings for, and has those same feelings for you. Someone you can trust with your heart. Someone who makes you happy like no one else does” Christen describes, resting her chin on her knees as she does.

“Okay, keep going” Kelley encourages, fueled by Christen’s subtle progress. Christen narrows her eyes, confused once again by what Kelley is asking her.

“What do you mean? I just told you” Christen returns, her eyebrows knit together.

“You didn’t finish” Kelley points out, further convoluting Christen’s level of understanding. Kelley takes her roommate’s silence as a signal to elaborate. “If that’s all the word ‘girlfriend’ meant to you, then I highly doubt you would freak out every time you heard it. Unless you’re afraid of love, which I don’t believe is the case considering that bad case of heart eyes you get whenever Tobin is near. So try to dig deeper, why does the idea of being someone’s girlfriend make you uncomfortable?” Christen opens her mouth to say something, but then closes it once again. She’s momentarily perplexed, unable to string even a single coherent thought together. However before she has time to fret anymore over it, she can feel her lips moving and unexpected words bubbling up from her throat.

“It’s because I came out” Christen simply states, shocking herself at her own admission. It is?

“So it is because you’re uncomfortable with your sexuality?” Kelley asks, this time assuming the role of the confused one.

“No” Christen denies, slightly shaking her head as she feels a barrage of memories and experiences flow through her brain. “It’s because of what happened after I came out.”

“What happened?” Kelley gazes curiously at Christen, slightly worried about what she might find out.

“It was just” Christen begins, making small gestures with her hands as she attempts to get her wording correct. “After I came out, everyone acted differently around me. Like it wasn’t bad or anything, most people accepted me for who I was, but things changed. After I told my friends, they all became obsessed with finding me a girlfriend. Like they would try to set me up with any other gay girl that they knew, even if we had nothing else in common. I felt like after the moment I came out to them, I was just their token gay friend who they had to find someone for because my relationship would be so much cuter than everyone else’s. Just because whoever I would date would be a girl and that would automatically mean that we’d be perfectly compatible, and never fight, and shower each other with affection. As if all girls are just inherently thoughtful and caring and sensitive. And then when I came out to my mom, she was really supportive. Overly supportive. She would always mention how she couldn’t wait until I had a girlfriend so I could be happy. As if to say that I couldn’t possibly ever be happy on my own. She made me feel like being someone else’s girlfriend was all that would ever matter in my life. Like who needs a job or individual success when you’ve won over the affection of someone else? After I came out, I don’t know, I just felt like all anyone ever wanted for me was to be in a relationship. To find the girl of my dreams and be whisked away because life would just be rainbows and butterflies after that. It was like everyone I loved no longer saw me as Christen anymore, it was like from that point on all I was was the potential girlfriend of another woman.” Christen hardly takes any breaths as she lets all of that out. She didn’t expect to go off like that, but now that she has, it feels as though something is settling inside of her. Something deep and personal that she’s harbored for a long time.

Kelley stays silent after listening intently to the entirety of Christen’s story. She bites her nails a little bit before speaking up.

“Christen?” Kelley timidly calls over, “Is it ok if I say something?” Christen nods, a bit thrown by Kelley’s hesitance. She’s never held back before. What makes this time so different? What is she going to say?

“Well” Kelley starts, finally leaving her nails alone as she looks Christen softly in the eye, “From what you just told me, the gist of the story is that you let other people define ‘girlfriend’ for you. What I mean by that is, I feel like you had a pretty good definition of the word before you came out, just like the one you originally told me. However, I think that definition was skewed along the way as other people in your life tried to tell you what it meant. And I think that stuck with you and overshadowed your original definition.” Christen listens to Kelley’s words as if she was preaching to her, every word hitting home. “Look, I know it’s not my place to tell you how you feel about anyone else, but I kinda think that you’re letting your past experiences get in the way of your feelings for Tobin. She makes you happy and you shouldn’t let other people take that away from you. I’m not saying that you should be her girlfriend if you truly aren’t at that point. However, if you do feel like taking the next step with Tobin is something you want to do, try not to be afraid to explore that option.”

Christen can’t really explain why, but tears start streaming down her face. As soon as Kelley notices, she rushes to Christen’s side with a worried expression on her face, afraid that she may have hurt her friend’s feelings. Before Kelley has a chance to say anything else, Christen leans over and pulls her into a hug. Kelley hugs her back just as tightly and allows Christen to lay her head on her shoulder. They stay like that for a good ten minutes with Christen sobbing sporadically and Kelley gently rocking them back and forth on the edge of Christen’s bed. Eventually Christen picks her head up, pulling away from Kelley slightly.

“Thank you” she mumbles, her eyes burning but her chest feeling as light as ever.

“You’re welcome” Kelley utters back, her own eyes watery and her throat a tad scratchy as well.

Saturday morning arrives and Christen wakes up to find her limbs heavy in her bed. Her sheets have barely moved since she pulled them over herself last night. She slept like a rock, her heart-to-heart with Kelley taking more out of her than she thought. She props herself up on her right elbow and leans over the side of her bed to check the time. 8:34 am. She glances back over to Kelley’s side of the room and finds the bed empty. That’s right, the team had 8:00am practice today. She rises from her bed at a sloth’s pace, walking over to her closet to pull her shower caddy from within it.

She takes her time in the shower, not exactly sure how she’s going to spend her morning considering that all of her friends are busy at practice. So she takes the time to pamper herself, shaving her legs, singing a few show tunes, and even deep conditioning to get her hair to be that unattainably silky smooth that she likes. After she finally turns off the water, she wraps a towel around her body and walks out towards the sink area. As she blots some moisturizer around her face, someone else enters the bathroom.

“Good morning” Becky greets with a warm smile on her face as she makes eye contact with Christen in the mirror. Christen smiles back at her friendly neighborhood RA. For being someone who’s essentially responsible for keeping everyone on the floor in check, Becky is surprisingly cool and easy to relate to.

“Morning” Christen sweetly returns, welcoming her newfound company.

“I’m glad to see that you survived this week” Becky exhales as she pulls her glasses from her face and turns on the warm water at the faucet below her. “There were a lot of casualties and write ups on this floor recently, I’m happy you weren’t one of them.” Christen smiles at the comment, knowing full well that a few people she knows could’ve been a part of that group had it not been for strategic supervision.

“Yeah, it was kinda crazy around here lately, I’m sure that was no ride in the park for you” Christen agrees, suddenly pitying Becky for having to always be the one to deal with everyone on the floor’s shit. Becky slightly chuckles to herself as she leans down and splashes some water on her face.

“It’s all a part of the job, I suppose” Becky shrugs, though she seems exhausted as she says it. Christen inspects Becky some more before she gets an idea.

“Hey Becky?” she asks, a little intimidated by the upperclassman’s presence, though still encouraged enough to ask another question.

“Yeah?” Becky returns, placing her glasses on her face again and turning towards Christen.

“If you’re not doing anything this morning, do you maybe wanna grab some coffee with me?” Christen asks, still a little unsure if this is an appropriate question to ask her RA. Becky smiles in response, immediately casting away Christen’s reservations.

“Sure, I’d like that” Becky replies with a friendly nod. “Just give me like fifteen more minutes and I’ll be ready to go.” Christen nods and smiles in return, quickly brushing her teeth before heading back to her room to get dressed. She hadn’t planned on hanging out with Becky today, but she’s recently resolved that she needs to do things that she wants to, even if that scares her a little. And talking to Becky in the bathroom today, she just felt like spending some more time with the person that’s gone out of her way to make Christen feel welcome here since day one.

As Christen and Becky walk into the celebrated campus smoothie shoppe, they join the line and inspect the drink menu from overhead at the front of the room.

“Wow, I never realized that this place actually sold coffee” Becky comments from beside Christen, her eyebrows raised in pleasant surprise. Christen laughs a little to herself.

“Yeah, I only just found out recently myself” she adds before inspecting the menu again. “Order whatever you want, this is my treat.”

“Is it national RA appreciation day or something?” Becky asks as she turns and offers Christen a quizzical look. Christen just smiles and shakes her head.

“Nah” she easily dismisses as the steam from the espresso machine begins to whistle behind the counter. “I just figured after everything you’ve been through so far this semester, you could use a coffee.”

“Alright” Becky shrugs, accepting Christen’s kind gesture with ease, “I’m not one to turn down a free drink.”

“Besides” Christen continues in a wave of honesty, “You’ve done me a lot of favors since I’ve been here. Like that one night when you could’ve written up me, Kelley, and Tobin after quiet hours in the hallway, but you didn’t. Or that time when Tobin and I had that, ‘misunderstanding’ in the hallway and you tried to get everyone to stay out of it. You’ve always had my back, and I really appreciate that, Becky. You’re pretty cool for an RA.” Becky smiles at Christen’s words. She’d be lying if she said that the job didn’t sometimes seem like it was too much for her. But to hear Christen’s admission, to hear that her efforts to make the floor a positive living environment had not gone to waste, it made it all worth it. Christen’s thoughtfulness actually meant an awful lot to Becky.

“Well if any RA tells you that they don’t have favorites, they’d be lying” Becky slyly admits as she sends a casual wink Christen’s way. “But you didn’t hear that from me.” Christen lets a laugh escape her as she brings her hand up to her lips and pretends to zip them closed. As responsible and authoritative as Becky can be, she plays by her own rules and Christen can respect that.

Soon they arrive to the counter to order they’re drinks. Becky orders a plain, black coffee first while Christen decides on a drink of her own. Once she finally makes up her mind, she recognizes the cashier in front of her. Isn’t that Moe?

Moe looks suspiciously between Christen and Becky as she waits for Christen to order her drink. Oh great, and I’m paying for Becky’s drink too. Moe probably thinks I’m some sort of player, always bringing a new girl here.

“I’ll just have a cappuccino with cream instead of milk” Christen decides. Moe nods slowly as she punches in the order. Christen pays with cash and instructs Moe to keep the change.

“You’re drinks will be ready shortly” Moe informs, still staring at Christen out of the side of her eye before retreating further behind the counter to fire up the espresso machine once more. Christen and Becky nod, walking away to try to find a table in the busy beverage place. As Christen’s eyes are scanning the room, her gaze catches on a particular blonde that she hasn’t seen in a while.

“Hey Becky” Christen speaks up, gaining her RA’s attention amidst the hustle and bustle of students walking to and fro beside them at all directions. “Do you mind finding a table? There’s someone over there that I want to talk to.”

“Sure thing” Becky agrees before walking off in the direction of a table that just opened up. Christen stares at the blonde busting one of the tables in the far off corner for a few moments more before she decides to finally walk over.

“Hey” Christen greets once she arrives behind the girl, “How’s it going?” Emily turns around, her expression showing that she’s somewhat surprised to find Christen talking to her.

“As good as it can go in the middle of the Saturday morning rush” Emily shrugs, placing a few used mugs and glasses into her plastic bin.

“Yeah” Christen agrees, nodding as she glances around the packed room, taking in the mass of students and straggling faculty, all in high demand of caffeinated drinks. “I didn’t realize this place got so busy on the weekends.” Emily chuckles to herself as she leans over and begins wiping down the table with a damp dish cloth.

“I didn’t either when I first applied to work here” she teases, blowing some stray bangs out of her face. “So, what brings you here this fine morning? You uh, here with anyone?” Emily’s voice seems to get a little quieter at that last part. Christen notes Emily’s quick shift in demeanor, but continues the conversation nonetheless.

“Yeah, actually” Christen answers, causing Emily’s hand to pause on the table momentarily before she resumes rubbing the cloth against the table in a circular motion. Ok that was strange. Is there something going on with Emily? “I’m here with my RA, Becky. I decided she needed a treat after having to deal with people coming into the residence hall for Fall Fest.” Emily nods, her shoulders seemingly relaxing a little as she continues cleaning, occasionally wiping crumbs from the table’s surface to the floor.

“Well that’s nice of you, I wish I had somebody to treat me after a long day’s work every once in a while” Emily utters, almost as if something else is on her mind. Ok, something’s definitely up. I know Kelley mentioned something about not knowing where she stood with Emily, but she hasn’t even said her name in a while…

“Emily” Christen begins, deciding to just be straight forward and get some answers, “Did something happen between you and Kelley? It’s like you don’t hang out anymore and I haven’t seen you at a game in a while.” Emily pauses again, this time taking a prolonged deep breath before finally facing Christen.

“She didn’t say anything to you?” Emily asks, a hint of disbelief in her voice. Christen shakes her head, confused and slightly concerned.

“No” she swiftly answers, wanting more details than Emily seems eager to give, “What happened?” Emily closes her eyes and sighs again, leaning her weight against the freshly cleaned table as she does.

“This isn’t exactly easy for me to talk about” Emily admits as she opens her eyes once again, “Are you sure she didn’t tell you?”

“I’m sure” Christen encourages, pitying Emily’s awkwardness in the slightest.

“Ok, this is going to sound really embarrassing but…” Emily trails off, once again trying to gain enough composure to talk to Christen about her and Kelley’s situation. “Ok, so, about a week ago, Kelley and I were hanging out, right? So anyway, one thing led to another and the next thing I know we’re making out on my living room sofa. So you know, we both get caught up in the moment or whatever, and me being the idiot that I am, I called her by the wrong name.” She what?! Christen’s eyes go wide and she has to do everything in her power to restrain herself from bursting. Emily peers at Christen through squinted eyes and just lets out another embarrassed breath. “Yeah, I know, sounds bad. And trust me, it was. But it only gets worse from there” Emily admits as she bows her head in shame. Worse? How can it get any worse than saying the wrong name when you’re in the middle of an ‘intimate’ moment?

“Worse?...” Christen continues, trying to bleed the rest of the story out of Emily.

“Yeah” Emily exhales, unable to maintain eye contact with Christen, “I called her, ‘Kaylee.’ The name of my…Ex.” What the FUCK?!

“The name of your ex?!” Christen exclaims, no longer able to contain herself. “Emily! Oh my god, are you serious?”

“I know, it’s terrible. But it just slipped out and their names are so similar and I tried apologizing and…I’m just a fucking idiot.” Emily rambles out, deflating more and more with every word. Christen’s pity for the girl returns to her as she watches the regret visibly settle over Emily. She looks genuinely guilt-ridden and saddened by it all. Christen has only known Emily for a little while, but she knows her well enough to determine that she would never hurt Kelley on purpose. And Christen also knows Kelley well enough to know that Kelley wouldn’t mention anything to Christen about it for fear of saving face. Christen sighs, she can now see the impossibility of the situation.

“You’re not an idiot” Christen consoles, reaching over to place a hand on Emily’s shoulder. “You didn’t mean any harm and I’m sure that deep down Kelley knows that as well. She just has a lot of pride, and sometimes that can blur her perspective. She just needs to simmer down is all.”

“You really think so?” Emily asks, her mood encouraged by Christen’s brief pep talk.

“Yeah, I do” Christen confirms, giving Emily’s shoulder a squeeze. “How about you try talking to her again? Maybe even come to the game on Sunday. I’m sure she’d really appreciate that.” Emily ponders Christen’s advice for a few moments before speaking up again.

“I’ll think about it” she simply responds, allowing a semblance of a smile to creep back onto her face.

“That’s all I ask” Christen returns, smiling back at the charming barista that actually managed to tame Kelley’s wild heart. Emily gathers the rest of her things in her plastic bin and turns towards the counter.

“Thanks for the chat” Emily concludes with and appreciative smile before veering back behind the counter and filling drink orders with a revived gusto.

Thunder Shirt:  Whatever you do, don’t open your door…

Christen reads the text with a smile as she wistfully pushes her collection of notebooks and textbooks from her lap. After spending the beginning of the afternoon studying her brains out, she’s relieved to once more have contact with the outside world. She casually slides off her bed and pads over to her closed door. Without even daring to glance through the peep hole, she opens the door and finds Tobin leaning against the doorframe, sporting that same goofy grin on her face as she does all the other times she has something smartass-esque to say.

“You’re terrible at heading warnings, you know that?” Tobin smirks, her eyes meeting Christen’s, a noticeable challenging presence within them. Christen soaks up Tobin’s gaze, noting at how they appear to be wildly confident whenever she’s just played soccer. It’s like a side effect to her game, like it takes that flame inside of her a little while to burn out after all is said and done on the pitch. Christen takes a step forward, leaning her own arm against the door frame. Tobin doesn’t move an inch.

“Maybe I just don’t like being told what to do” Christen returns in a lowly tone. A smile forms at her lips as she notices Tobin’s eyebrow lift in amusement. Or maybe surprise. Christen isn’t certain on the exact emotion that Tobin’s expressing, but what she does know is that she’s enjoying her reaction regardless.

“Is that so?” Tobin breathes, her warm breath blowing against Christen’s face. Christen has to clench her jaw to maintain her composure, but she holds up, suddenly determined to win this little game of chicken that she and Tobin have somehow found themselves in the middle of. “I always thought you were a goody-two-shoes. I guess I was wrong.” Christen shrugs, although adamant not to break eye contact. Feeling a little bold, she takes a step closer to Tobin, leaving mere centimeters between them.

“Sometimes I don’t follow the rules” she answers coolly, reaching up to trace her index finger along the underside of Tobin’s arm that’s leaning against the doorframe. Tobin’s eyes momentarily widen at Christen’s touch. She doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t have to as Christen feels the goose bumps form along the midfielder’s skin. At this point, she has a pretty good idea of what’s going through Tobin’s mind.

“Pardon me, lovebirds, coming through!” Kelley chimes as she bumps into both Tobin and Christen and pushes her way through the doorway. In doing so she forces Tobin practically on top of Christen. Out of pure instinct and slight embarrassment, Christen gives way and allows some space between herself and Tobin. “Just gotta grab my shower stuff so I can finally smell human again” Kelley explains as she rummages through her closet and pulls toiletries and her towel from various shelves. She glances over her shoulder when neither Christen nor Tobin acknowledge her presence. She finds Christen blushing, staring down at the floor, and Tobin with her eyes glued to the side of Christen’s face, seemingly trailing over every single one of her features. “Hey Tobs, I think you might need a shower, too. A cold one.”

Christen’s eyes wildly dart up from the carpet while her face contorts into a mortified expression. Kelley chuckles at her roommate’s reaction, finding it all too easy to ruffle her feathers. Tobin on the other hand stuffs her hands in her pockets and leans back against the doorframe, Kelley’s comment apparently having no ill effect on her. Christen steals a glance at Tobin from the side of her eye. How does she handles these remarks so well? It’s like the only time she ever truly waivers is when I –

“…That is such bullshit. Let’s ask Christen and see what she has to say about it” Christen hears Kling’s voice echo from further down the hall. She turns her head at the mention of her name, suddenly thankful that she doesn’t have to respond to Kelley’ lude comment. Soon enough, Kling and Sarah are standing in front of her room. “Hey Christen, can we ask you a favor?” Kling asks, her tone very serious as she places her hands on her hips. Christen looks to Tobin for some clue as to what this could be about, but she just shrugs in return.

“Uh sure. What’s up?” Christen asks, returning her gaze back to Kling and her much taller companion. Sarah shakes her head before speaking, as if already knowing how ridiculous she’s about to sound.

“Kling wants to know if you can tell us who has the better set of abs” Sarah reveals through a long exhale. What?

“You want me to do what now?” Christen asks, not really sure she trusts what her ears just heard. Tobin chuckles at her side, seemingly amused by Christen’s newfound embarrassment. I can’t catch a fucking break today.

“Look, we know it sounds weird, but Sarah claims that she has the best abs on the team just because she did the most sit-ups in fitness testing today” Kling explains, trying to provide context to the predicament but failing to make Christen any more comfortable with it.

“That’s because it’s true, I do” Sarah argues, jumping right back into it with her typical competitive nature. “You can’t dispute facts, Kling.”

“Bullshit!” Kling heatedly returns as she reaches down at the hem of her shirt and pulls it up, revealing her muscular midsection. Honestly what the fuck is happening right now? “Just look at this definition!” Kling exclaims, gesturing proudly to her fairly chiseled abdominals, “Tell me these aren’t the best abs you’ve ever seen.”

“Oh yeah?” Sarah challenges, reaching down pulling her own shirt up to reveal her equally as impressive muscles. “Try not to drool, short stack.” How did my life lead up to this moment? What possible answer could there be for all of this?

“Sorry, I don’t have my magnifying glass on me” Kling sasses back, poking at Sarah’s abs while squinting through her eyelids. Sarah quickly swats Kling’s hand away. This has gone too far. Maybe I can just fake a cramp and get out of this. That always used to work in gym class…

“Alright” Tobin injects, pushing herself away from the wall and walking over to the same side of the hall that Kling and Sarah are standing on. “Time to put an end to this.” Thank goodness, the voice of reason. However just as Christen is about to turn back into her room, more than eager to abandon this extremely awkward situation between her friends, something catches her attention out of the corner of her eye. Wait, what’s going on? What’s Tobin do – In one swift motion, Tobin reaches down and pulls her shirt up and off of her body, leaving her torso completely exposed. Like a magnet, Christen’s eyes immediately focus on the midfielder’s newly exposed skin. Her eyes trace every muscle and every line of definition, from the elastic of Tobin’s sports bra to the waist of her athletic shorts. Her mouth suddenly goes inexplicably dry. I didn’t think it was humanly possible for someone to attach a washboard to their stomach…

“Ok, that’s not fair” Kling proclaims, snapping Christen out of whatever kind of trance Tobin had instantly sent her into. “Tobin, you can’t be a part of this. Christen is obviously biased.” Hard not to be considering what I just saw…

“Hey, you’re the ones who were arguing over the best abs on the team” Tobin points out, winking at Christen when she meets Tobin’s eyes for the first time since her defined torso made an appearance. “Seems only right that I’m in this too.”

“And they call me a frat boy…” Kelley mutters under her breath as she passes Christen on her way out the door, on route to the showers. You make a good case there, Kels.

“Alright, Christen” Kling interrupts Christen’s thoughts once more. “It’s time to decide. Which one of us has the best abs?” Do they seriously want me to answer this? Does nobody understand what personal boundaries are? What is and is not appropriate ask your friend? Christen scans the faces of each girl in front of her, all of them stare back expectantly, apparently each highly investing in this juvenile dispute. This is getting weirder by the minute, but I guess if I had to say for certain, I would say that the winner is –

“Tiny wins” some random dude declares as her passes by, no doubt taking advantage of the sight before him. And it just got weirder.

“YES!” Kling yells, throwing her head back in triumph. “I fucking told you, Apple!”

“Whatever” Sarah scoffs, letting her shirt fall loose and covering up her torso once again. “I call for a second opinion. That dude had no idea what he was talking about.” And that’s my que to get the hell away from this conversation.

“Well, have fun with that” Christen quickly breathes out as she retreats back into her room and swiftly closes the door behind her. She knew to expect the unexpected when it comes to her friends and their petty arguments, but she never expected to be in the middle of that situation. And she hopes that won’t ever happen again for the rest of her life. She lets out a long sigh to try to calm her nerves as she strides back over to her bed and flops down on top of it, not bothering to clear her school supplies before she does. Once she closes her eyes, she has no control over the images that pop into her head. To be specific, the certain views of a certain section of the body of a certain person that has a certain role in Christen’s life. She tries to shake those thoughts from her head, feeling ill-equipped to deal with them at the moment. However, just as she does, there’s a knock on the door. And she doesn’t even have to guess who it is.

“Chris? Can I come in?” Tobin’s muffled voice calls through the wooden door.

“That depends” Christen answers back, taking a moment to shift herself into a sitting position on her bed. “Are you decent?”

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?” Tobin replies, still waiting to be permitted entrance into room 318.

“One would think” Christen teases, chuckling to herself as she hears the faint remnants of Tobin’s laugh on the other side of the door. “Do you have a shirt on now?”

“Is that a requirement?” Tobin jokes back, her sly tone audible even despite the barrier between herself and Christen. Christen shakes her head, though she can’t help but be amused. Of course Tobin would be confident enough to say something like that. I swear she has no inhibitions whatsoever.

“Sorry, we have a strict, ‘must wear a shirt at all times’ policy in this room” Christen responds, this time finding herself excitedly awaiting a reply. She bites her bottom lip as Tobin takes her time to answer. Finally, she does.

“’Sometimes I don’t follow the rules’” Tobin states in a combination of her best Christen impression and whatever sultry inflection she can add to it. Christen’s jaw drops. Wow. Just wow. She quickly finds herself on her feet and opening the door to find Tobin still snickering slightly at her own joke.

“Cute” Christen simply returns with a short tone and a rather unamused, flat expression. Tobin smiles brightly at the cross-armed girl in front of her.

“So are you.”

“Alright, next one” Tobin states as she shuffles the deck of note cards through her hands. She looks down at the fresh index card in her hand before she peers back over it and looks over at Christen from the end of her bed. “Define limerence.” Limerence? Hmmm, ok I should know this one.

“Limerence” Christen repeats as Tobin smiles at her, patiently awaiting her answer. They’ve been going over Christen’s psych flashcards for the past hour and a half, but Christen still has trouble remembering a few. Maybe it’s because she hasn’t glanced at them for over a week, or maybe it’s because her mind keeps wandering whenever she steals a peek at the person helping her study. “Uhhh, that’s…” Christen continues, wracking her brain for the answer to suddenly appear. “That’s…” Christen glances desperately at Tobin for some type of hint to help her remember, however when her eyes land upon that luminescent smile, her mind draws even more of a blank. Shit, I have no idea. “I give up” Christen sighs as she bows her head in disappointment. Tobin chuckles slightly as she gazes at Christen’s small pout before she returns her eyes to the words on the notecard.

“Limerence” Tobin recites once more, regaining Christen’s attention, “Is defined as a state of mind which results from a romantic attraction to another person and typically includes obsessive thoughts and fantasies and a desire to form or maintain a relationship with the object of love and have one's feelings reciprocated.” How could I forget that? It’s such an easy one.

“Ugh” Christen groans, shutting her eyes and falling back on her bed, landing against her pillows. “I’m so going to fail my test on Tuesday.” She flings her arms over her eyes in an attempt to shield her face from the shame. Tobin takes one look at Christen’s anguished state and places the flashcards beside her on the bed. She then reaches over and grabs hold of Christen’s left ankle.

“Hey” Tobin pulls at Christen’s ankle and uses it to rattle Christen’s leg around a little. Her strategy is effective as Christen reluctantly peeks at Tobin from beneath her forearms over her face.

“What?” Christen mutters, a hint of hopelessness still present in her voice.

“You’re going to ace that test, alright?” Tobin reassures, now rubbing her hand up and down Christen’s shin bone in an attempt to comfort the distressed girl in front of her. “You’re studying for it a good three days in advance, that’s already more than most people can say.”

“But nothing’s sticking” Christen complains, throwing her head back on her pillow again, opting to stare blankly at the ceiling.

“It will” Tobin declares knowingly, continuing to run her hand across Christen’s skin. “You just have to have faith in yourself.” Christen huffs, lifting her head once more to read Tobin’s expression.

“How can you be so sure?” she mumbles somewhat skeptically, her academic frustration overwhelming her once again. Tobin’s hand stills on Christen’s legs as she takes a second to study the reluctant brunette. Tobin’s eyebrow twitches momentarily as an idea seemingly pops into her head. She wordlessly reaches down at the stack of flashcards and digs through them until she finds the one she’s searching for.

“Define ‘Self-fulfilling Prophecy’” Tobin advises, meeting Christen’s eyes and nonverbally encouraging her to do as she says. Christen lets out a weakened sigh.

“There’s no point. I’ll just get this one wrong, too” Christen groans, averting Tobin’s gaze and electing to pull her pillow over her face. Wallowing in her own self-disappointment seems to be the easiest route at this point. And the one that Christen actually has the energy for. However Tobin doesn’t buy into Christen’s act so easily. She remains steadfast in her request to get Christen to answer.

“Christen” Tobin warns, reaching across the bed and yanking the pillow from over Christen’s face, “What’s the definition?” Tobin flings the pillow over to Kelley’s side of the room, it lands just inches from Kelley’s head. Kelley scowls and pulls one earbud from her ear before she turns her back to Tobin and Christen and resumes her studies. Christen fails to respond so Tobin grabs hold of both of her wrists and pulls her up by the arms, forcing her into a sitting-up position. Tobin sighs as Christen once again refuses to look her in the eyes. “Self-fulfilling Prophecy” Tobin begins, casting a side-eyed glance in Christen’s direction before turning her attention back to the notecard, “Sometimes referred to as The Law of Attraction, is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due to positive feedback between belief and behavior. Simply put, it is a belief that comes true because we are acting as if it is already true.” Christen lets out a reluctant sigh. She knows what Tobin is getting at here, but she’s still a little unwilling to buy-in to it.

“Tobin, that’s interesting and all, but I’m pretty sure that just believing that I’ll do well on the test isn’t going to make a difference if I don’t know the actual material that I’m being tested on” Christen exhales, her expression still filled with dissatisfaction.

“A positive mindset makes all the difference, no matter the context” Tobin argues, placing her hand on Christen’s knee. “Do you think I ever stop believing that I can win whenever the team is down a few goals?” Christen glances at Tobin and shakes her head in the negative. “Exactly, because the second I do that, the game’s lost. That’s it. I’ve sabotaged myself before I’ve even given myself the chance to be on the winning end of things. So don’t give up on yourself, alright?” Tobin’s voice is full of conviction, so much so that Christen almost finds herself believing Tobin’s encouraging words. Almost. “Besides” Tobin continues, a last ditch effort to convince Christen to see things her way, “Who are you to doubt the word of well-educated psychologists?”

“Yeah, well, ‘well-educated psychologists’ are the same people who once thought that icepick lobotomies were the cure for mental disorders” Christen returns, somewhat proud of her witty counter-point. Tobin stares at her for a mere second before wrapping her arms around Christen’s waist and pulling her into her lap. Christen falls sideways against Tobin’s legs, laughing as Tobin reaches to the hem of Christen’s shirt and begins to tickle the sensitive skin there.

“You’re impossible” Tobin grunts as Christen struggles against her, trying to break free in the midst of her uncontrollable giggles. After a minute or so, Tobin eases up and allows Christen to wriggle away from her grasp. “Glad you’re feeling better now” Tobin smiles over at Christen as Christen sits up once more, trying to steady her breathing.

“Me too” Christen all but wheezes as she clutches her side, now sore from all of the laughing.

“Let’s go do something fun” Tobin suggests, now that Christen’s visibly shaken her sour mood. Christen almost finds herself agreeing, but a small voice inside of her reminds her of her outstanding academic responsibilities.

“I can’t” Christen regretfully informs, “I still have like a week’s worth of assignments to catch up on. I guess that’s what happens when you invite a friend to stay over for that long.” Tobin nods, a flash of disappointment glazing over her eyes before her expression changes, a new thought crossing her mind.

“Take a break?” Tobin suggests, slowly closing some of Christen’s textbooks in an effort to further convince her. Christen glances down at her closed textbooks and then back up to Tobin’s playful grin, already feeling herself caving.

“Well I guess I have to now that I’ve lost all my pages…” Christen nonchalantly begins, causing Tobin’s smile to grow wider.

“It’s a solid excuse” Tobin plays along, rising from the bed and already reaching down to pull Christen up with her. “Now let’s go find something non-mind numbing to do.”

“So that’s a no on the icepick lobotomies then?” Christen jokes, moving past Tobin to grab her keys and a cardigan, just in case wherever they’re going is a little bit chilly. Tobin lets a laugh escape her as she reaches for the door handle and holds the door open for Christen.

“A definite no, Mr. Walter Jackson Freeman the second” Tobin returns, causing Christen to stop in surprise.

“Wow” Christen faux-marvels, pausing in front of Tobin at the doorway, “I didn’t realize you were so well acquainted with the history of failed medical procedures.”

“Meh, I read up on it in high school a little bit” Tobin reveals with a smirk, content that she outwitted the psych major. “Also he was a physician and a psychiatrist, not a psychologist.”

“Maybe that’s where he went wrong” Christen shrugs, pushing through the doorway. Tobin shakes her head at the silly remarks but follows after her goofy neighbor without hesitation.

Later that same evening, Tobin convinces Christen to lengthen her “break” only slightly so they can go check out the free movie that the campus Arts Center puts on every Saturday night. Kelley, Alex, and Kling tag along before the two have a chance to sneak away from floor dinner undetected. As they walk into the Arts Center, they pass various pieces of photography and oil paintings as they go. Christen walks slowly to admire each and every one of them, finding it a real shame that she has no excuse to visit this building more often. She soon feels Tobin taking her hand. She glances over to the midfielder who momentarily distracts her from the art pieces. Or rather, the other art pieces.

“We can come back here soon if you want” Tobin offers, leaning over to mumble into Christen’s ear. “There’s an exhibit coming in a few weeks that I kind of want to check out.” Christen nods in agreeance, smiling to herself as she can feel Tobin’s lips momentarily graze against her ear.

“Sure” Christen warmly returns, “That sounds really nice.”

“I hope this isn’t going to be another one of those dumb zombie movies” Kling injects from behind, unknowingly breaking apart Tobin and Christen’s little moment.

“And why’s that? Not a fan of blood and guts?” Alex asks from beside Kling, poking her in the ribs to try to solicit a reaction. Kling quickly shakes Alex off as her face scrunches in annoyance.

“No, it’s not that” Kling replies, still trying to get Alex to keep her hands to herself. “I just don’t understand the whole rationale behind it all. Like yeah, sure, a DNA altering virus could totally surface and take out the majority of the human race. That seems plausible. But the part that gets me is that the zombies always cluster together and go after the non-infected humans. They’re always going on and on about how much they want to eat brains, but what I don’t understand is why they just don’t eat each other? If they can say the words ‘brains’ then that obviously means that they have some of their own as well. I don’t see why zombie brains would be any less tempting for a zombie than a healthy person’s brain. The logic just doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe it’s like a cannibalism thing? Like maybe it’s frowned upon within the zombie community for one zombie to eat another zombie” Alex offers, attempting to humor Kling’s observation.

“What are you talking about, Alex?” Kelley chimes in from behind the two, “Zombies were once humans themselves. They are literally cannibals.”

“Exactly!” Kling excitedly returns, grateful that someone else is on the same wavelength. “Thank you, that’s completely my point.”

“Don’t you think you’re overthinking this a little bit, Klingy?” Tobin questions her roommate from over her shoulder. ‘Klingy’? I’ve never heard that one before. By the look on Kling’s face, Christen can tell Kling isn’t much of a fan of the nickname either.

“Maybe you’re under-thinking it, Toby” Kling returns in a firey tone. Tobin scrunches her face at the nickname. The only person she ever lets get away with that nickname is Alex, but that’s only because of an inside joke they have from when they first met at freshman orientation and Alex read her nametag wrong.

“Whatever, at least I’m capable of enjoying the movies I watch” Tobin remarks, turning her attention back to Christen who just witnesses the childish squabble from the sidelines. “Some people are such movie snobs” Tobin comments under her breath for only Christen to hear. Christen lets a small giggle escape her before she has a chance to catch herself. Kling immediately takes notice.

“Well at least I can keep my hands to myself for an entire movie” Kling fires back, crossing her arms over her chest and glancing down at Christen and Tobin’s joined hands as they walk in front of her. Tobin glances down at her hand in Christen’s as well before she focuses her gaze back on the tiny defender. She pulls her hand free from Christen’s and opts to sling her arm over Christen’s shoulders instead.

“Oh I’m sorry, Kling. Does this bother you?” Tobin asks teasingly, pulling Christen closer to her as they continue to walk. Kling averts her gaze and shakes her head.

“To no end” Kling remarks, a slight edge to her voice, but not enough to allow anyone to believe that she’s actually being serious.

“Sounds like jealousy to me” Tobin smirks, allowing her arm to relax a bit on Christen’s shoulders. “I have a beautiful gir –” Tobin stutters before immediately correcting herself. “–Christen on my arm, and you’re back there all by yourself.” Was she just about to say what I thought she was going to say? Is that who she wants me to be? But then again, why did she correct herself if that’s the case. Damn, now even just going to the movies is confusing as hell.

“Trust me, I’m happy to go to the movies on my own. I can choose whatever seat I want and I don’t have to share my popcorn with anybody.”

“I hear you on that” Kelley adds from behind Kling, “Other people can just be a burden sometimes. All I really need is me, myself, and I.”

“You two do realize that you’re going to the movies with a group right now, right?” Alex points out, gesturing to herself and the rest of the group.

“Yes, obviously” Kelley agrees before continuing, “But that doesn’t mean that we all have to sit together when we –”

“Kelley?” a familiar voice calls from behind them. Kelley’s eyes widen and she freezes as she instantly recognizes the voice. However after a split second of hesitation, Kelley continues walking forward as if she never heard anything at all. Footsteps grow louder as they approach urgently from behind. “Kelley, hey, hold up” the voice tries again, this time coming from directly behind the feisty Georgia peach. Kelley pauses again before taking a deep breath and turning around to finally address her caller.

“What is it, Emily?” Kelley exhales, seemingly agitated at the blonde’s sudden appearance.

“You haven’t answered any of my calls or texts” Emily innocently explains, trying not to let Kelley put her off after she worked up enough courage to come and see her in person. “I just want to talk to you. You know, about what happened. Maybe I can explain myself a little better this time.” Kelley stares skeptically at Emily without a word in response. “Please” Emily begs, “Just give me five minutes. That’s all I ask.” Kelley inspects Emily’s face for a few moments more before she speaks up.

“Fine, but that’s all you get” Kelley returns, her hardened resolve cracking ever-so-slightly. She glances back to her group of friends a few steps head of her and gestures for them to continue into the theater without her.

“So what do you think that was about?” Alex wonders aloud once the group has put some space between themselves and the other two.

“Who ever knows with Kelley” Kling responds, shrugging off the previous altercation as if it were nothing but an insignificant incident.

“Hey so I’m going to hit up the concession stand before we go in” Christen chimes, trying to change the subject out of respect for her roommate’s privacy in regards to her personal life. “Anyone want anything?”

“Oooh are you buying?” Alex asks excitedly as her eyes flash from the concession stands to Christen. “In that case I’ll take a small popcorn and some Twizzlers.”

“And I’ll have some M&Ms if they have them” Kling casually adds from beside Alex.

“Didn’t you just say that you were going to sit wherever you want and eat popcorn?” Alex asks, referencing Kling’s statement from just a few minutes ago.

“Yeah but I’m going to sit next to you, so I’ll just mooch off of whatever snacks you have” Kling responds as if the answer was obvious all along. Alex just sighs in response.

“In that case, make it a medium popcorn” Alex instructs, shaking her head at Kling.

“Got it” Christen nods, “So I guess I’ll see you guys in there?”

“Yeah. Tobs, Kling, and I will be sure to save you a good seat” Alex confirms, beginning to turn towards the direction of the theater.

“Actually I think I’m going to use the restroom first, so save me a seat as well” Tobin announces, beginning to back pedal towards the bathrooms.

“Sounds good” Alex returns, now walking onward with Kling in tow. “See you soon!”

Tobin offers Christen one last smile before she turns and walks in the opposite direction of Alex and Kling. Christen smiles back and joins the short line of people awaiting their movie refreshments.

“What can I get for you?” the blonde-haired cashier cheerily asks once Christen makes it to the front of the line.

“Um, I’ll have two medium popcorns, some Twizzlers, some M&Ms, and…” Christen’s eyes drift away from the friendly cashier as she surveys the candy counter. “A package of Milkduds.”

“Someone’s hungry” the cashier jokes as she enters in the last item to the cash machine. Christen laughs as she realizes how silly it looks for one person to order all that food for themselves.

“My friends stuck me on snack duty” Christen explains, trying to resolve the situation.

“Yeah, I figured as much” the cashier comments as Christen’s total flashes on the digital screen in front of her. “I just like to give people a hard time. Your total is twenty three dollars and seventeen cents.” Christen pulls her wallet from her purse and slides a few bills across the counter. The cashier punches in the amount received into the register and opens the tray to make change. “Out of twenty five, here’s a dollar eighty three back.” Christen pockets the change and watches the cashier as she walks over to the popcorn machine and starts to scoop some out into two separate buckets. “You want extra butter?” she asks over her shoulder.

“Uh, sure” Christen replies, feeling a little frivolous and succumbing to the overpowering temptation that is movie theater butter. The cashier shortly returns to the counter with Christen’s stack of loot.

“Are you sure you can carry all of that yourself?” the cashier asks, watching Christen trying to figure out how to hold all of her snacks at once. Out of the corner of her eye, Christen spots Tobin exiting the bathroom and smiles.

“Yeah” she returns, watching Tobin’s eyes land on her, causing her to change direction and walk towards Christen.

“You know I saw you two walk in” the cashier discloses as she glances between Christen and Tobin, “You and your girlfriend are really cute together.” ‘Girlfriend.’ There it is again. The comment catches Christen off guard, but as she looks back at Tobin, her smile grows wider. Suddenly she’s no longer concerned with correcting the cashier.

“Thanks” she modestly replies just as Tobin arrives at her side.

“Need some help with all of this?” Tobin beams as she already begins gathering some of the snacks into her arms. Christen nods and smiles back, Tobin’s presence instantly making her feel more comfortable and confident in herself.

“Enjoy the film!” the cashier singsongs as Christen collects her half of the snacks and the two walk in the direction of the theater.

“Looks like you made a new friend back there” Tobin comments as she jerks her head back in the direction of the concessions stand. “I hope I’m not being replaced.” Christen bumps Tobin’s shoulder with her own, causing a few pieces of popcorn to fall from one of the buckets in Tobin’s arms.

“No” Christen simply states, “Never.”

“Want a Milkdud?” Christen offers as she holds her box of candy out to Tobin as the two of them, Kling, and Alex stroll out of the theater.

“No thanks” Tobin graciously denies as she holds up a hand to dismiss Christen’s offering, “I don’t really feel like losing a tooth right now.”

“Suit yourself” Christen shrugs as she pours a few of the chocolate caramely candies into her hand and pops them into her mouth.  The chocolate is pretty artificial tasting and the caramel on the inside practically glues her jaw shut, but they bring back nothing but nostalgic happiness so she savors them nonetheless.

“Besides, it’s after 8:00. That was the team’s cut off time tonight” Tobin explains as she glances back at Alex, narrowing her eyes at her until she submissively lowers the Twizzler licorice away from her mouth. Alex pouts while Tobin reaches back and snatches the bag of licorice out of her hands. Tobin turns back to Christen and hands her the candy. “Could you hold on to this for me? I don’t trust baby horse to have this in her possession.”

“C’mon Tobin, I can’t even have it and save it in my room for tomorrow?” Alex wines, crossing her arms and tilting her head at Tobin incredulously.

“Absolutely not” Tobin flat out denies, using her body to shield Alex’s view of the strawberry flavored candy. “We will not have a repeat of the exhibition game from preseason.”

“I didn’t even throw up until after the game!” Alex argues, raising her voice slightly causing a few surrounding students to turn their heads at the commotion.

“Yeah, but you looked like you were going to blow the entire game” Tobin contests in a hushed tone, trying to diffuse the situation and get other people to go back to their own conversations. “I don’t want to have to watch where I step at the game tomorrow.”

“Wow, you guys really take that ‘no junk food before a game’ thing really seriously, don’t you?” Christen asks after quietly observing the whole exchange between Alex and Tobin.

“We’re collegiate athletes now” Kling shrugs from beside Alex, “This is the big time.” Christen is about to laugh before she sees the look on Kling’s face and realizes that she’s dead serious. I guess I never realized how much weight college athletes put on themselves to perform well. It’s like it’s their job or something.

“We have to do anything we can to give ourselves any sort of edge” Tobin adds from Christen’s side as the group pushes through the exterior doors of the Arts Center.

“Hey does anyone know where O’Hara went?” Kling pipes up, suddenly noticing her fellow defender’s absence.

“No” Alex shakes her head, “I haven’t seen her since we left her in the lobby before the movie started.” She really never came back? That’s strange. Maybe she texted me or something? Christen looks down at her phone and realizes that she does indeed have a text from her roommate.

Maureen:  I think I’m going to skip the movie. Don’t wait up.

Christen reads Kelley’s cryptic message again before shrugging to herself and pocketing her phone.

“I guess she decided to leave early” Christen explains, thoughts as to where Kelley could be still boggling her mind. “She said we can leave without her.”

“Is everything alright?” Tobin asks, sharing Christen’s concern for her freckled friend.

“She didn’t really say” Christen responds, her voice as uncertain as Kelley’s text. “I mean it probably is if she didn’t tell me anything else.” Tobin wordlessly takes Christen’s hand and gives it a squeeze, attempting to provide her with some much-needed reassurance.

“Kelley’s a big girl” Tobin offers soothingly as she runs her thumb over the back of Christen’s hand. “She’s capable of keeping things under control. And if she needs help, she’ll ask for it.” Christen nods slowly, allowing herself to let Tobin’s words sink in. She’s right, Kelley’s smart. She wouldn’t hesitate to reach out if she seriously thought she couldn’t handle something on her own.

“You’re right” Christen agrees as a brisk gust of air flows by her as they walk. She rubs her hands over her arms and tries to create some extra warmth between her skin and the thin fabric of her cardigan. Tobin notices Christen’s shivering and pulls her closer so that Christen’s walking with her front practically flush against Tobin’s side.

“C’mon guys” Tobin beckons behind her as she urges her friends to walk with a little more spring in their steps. “Let’s get this SoCal girl back to the dorm before she freezes to death.”

“I’m from SoCal too” Alex mumbles through chattering teeth as Tobin makes an over exaggerated scene about keeping Christen warm, “But sure, let’s worry solely about Christen.”

“Glad you see things my way” Tobin grins sarcastically from over her shoulder.

“Angeles is such a bitch” Tobin utters from her snuggled up position against Christen’s legs. She lies horizontal to Christen, her arms folded on top of Christen’s shins and one side of her head perched on her forearms. Her eyes peer between Christen’s feet to watch the television across from Christen’s bed.

“They all are, Tobs” Christen points out as she continues to type away on the laptop that’s sitting directly on top of her thighs. “That’s kind of the point of these reality TV shows.”

“Still, she just made a move on Winnemere’s husband not two seconds after she broke up with Juaquin, that dumb-as-shit male model” Tobin grumbles as she readjusts herself against Christen’s legs, which admittedly never looked that comfortable to begin with. “Who fucking does that?”

“Um, Angeles does apparently” Christen concludes, stating the obvious and earning an unamused groan from Tobin.

“Thanks for the insight” Tobin deadpans as she finally decides to steal one of Christen’s pillows so she doesn’t have to lay directly over Christen’s boney shins any longer.

“You seem pretty invested for someone who claims that they don’t like this show” Christen chuckles, glancing over her laptop screen to watch Tobin adjust the pillow on Christen’s legs and flop back down on it in a mixture of lingering frustration and a little exhaustion.

“It’s all that’s on” Tobin complains as she snuggles her head into the pillow, “I’m trying to keep myself at least mildly entertained since you won’t let me help you study anymore.” Tobin closes her eyes once she’s finally settled into a comfortable position. Christen offered to give her the bed to herself when they originally got back to the room, but Tobin quickly declined. She didn’t exactly say it, but she wanted to at least have some sort of contact with Christen, especially since they had the room to themselves and didn’t have to worry about downplaying the PDA for Kelley’s sake. “How’s that going by the way?” Christen self-consciously glances down to the latest search in her open google chrome browser.

how to ask someone to be your girlfriend but not in a lame way

Christen’s eyes bounce from her screen to Tobin once more before she decides to respond.

“Uh, alright I guess” Christen lies, trying to sound as inconspicuous as she can.

“You sure you don’t want any help?” Tobin asks, sleepiness even more ever-present in her voice. She makes a move to lean over to Christen’s side, but Christen quickly places a hand on Tobin’s shoulder and pushes her back to the pillow. Tobin allows Christen to push her away without much resistance.

“I’m positive” Christen confirms, her heartbeat elevated upon the realization that Tobin almost saw what she was actually ‘studying.’ That was close. Thank god she likes sleep more than helping me study. “This is something that I need to figure out on my own.”

“Alright, Chris” Tobin exhales, drifting further from consciousness with every word. “I’m here if you need me.” Christen smiles as she watches Tobin’s breathing even out. She studies the side of her face that isn’t concealed by the pillow. She looks so calm and gentle, yet still so warm and charismatic. Even as all of her features relax and her jaw goes slack, causing her lips to slightly part, she still looks so indescribably beautiful. Then as Christen’s eyes linger on the sleeping girl on her legs for even longer, a thought pops into head about how nice it would be to wake up to that in the middle of the night. Like if Christen ever had a bad dream or even if she ever felt a little lonely, how relieving it would be to see Tobin there, even in the state that she’s in now. Just to have her there, at her side, Christen would be content with that. Christen finally sighs, realizing that she’s been admiring Tobin sleep for just a little too long. She returns her eyes to her computer screen and types a new phrase into the search bar.

romantic ways to ask someone to be yours

A few hours after Tobin left in favor of sleeping in her own bed, Christen lies cuddled under her sheets, her face illuminated by her phone screen. She’s on her twentieth promposal video when suddenly she hears the doorknob rattle and the lock click. The door opens slowly, allowing the light from the hallway to stream into the room. Christen blinks against the intense light beams before she recognizes the figure entering the room.

“Kels?” Christen asks, her voice a tad scratchy from not talking in a while. Kelley stops dead in her tracks, surprised to be greeted at this late hour. Her hesitation only lasts a second before she nods and closes the door.

“Hey, yeah it’s me” Kelley informs, allowing her eyes to adjust to the low lighting before she walks further into the room. “Sorry, did I wake you?” Christen glances at the time on her phone and swears it’s lying upon first glance. 2:30 in the morning? Have I really been watching videos of people asking each other out for that long? Shit, I got ready for bed like three hours ago.

“No, I was a…” Christen trails off, trying to think of the most professional way to phrase it, “Doing some research.”

“Research? At this hour?” Kelley asks skeptically as she raises and eyebrow and takes a seat on her bed. “Christen if you were watching porn, you can just say so.”

“I wasn’t!” Christen quickly defends, her face turning bright red, absolutely mortified at the implication. Kelley chuckles at Christen’s short-tempered reaction.

“Relax” Kelley humoredly sighs as she pulls her sneakers from her feet and allows them to drop aimlessly against the floor. “I was only teasing. Besides, whatever you do with you free time isn’t any of my business.”

“Thank you” Christen returns, thankful that Kelley is choosing the higher path and electing to allow Christen her privacy.

“All I ask is that you just don’t sext Tobin while I’m in the room” Kelley slyly remarks as she rises from her bed, striding over to her closet to find some pajamas for the night.

“Kelley!” Christen reprimands, once again flustered and once again ready to chuck a textbook at her mischievous roommate’s head.

“C’mon, Pressy. You make it far too easy for me to push your buttons” Kelley half laughs as she strips down and pulls on a t-shirt that’s one size too large and a pair of baggy sweatpants.

“Whatever, I just don’t let you get away with your shit” Christen exhales, propping herself up on one elbow so she can face Kelley, a new question burning on her mind. “Hey, Kels?”

“Yeah, Pressy?” Kelley cheerily responds as she pulls her covers back and climbs into her own bed. Christen pauses for a moment, not certain how Kelley will react.

“What happened to you at the movies tonight? And why are you getting in so late?” Christen asks, carefully observing her roommate as her facial features gradually contort into a new, more solemn expression.

“I was uh, dealing with some stuff. With Emily. Things uh…” Kelley trails off, becoming uncharacteristically shy, “Things haven’t been going the greatest between us lately.”

“Is that why she stopped you at the theater tonight?” Christen cautiously asks. She already has a pretty good idea about what they talked about, given her conversation with Emily earlier that day, but she doesn’t want to jump to conclusions.

“Yeah” Kelley simply answers, casting her eyes to the carpet and nodding slowly as her thoughts drift to somewhere beyond her small dorm room.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Christen offers, trying to think of any way she can to make Kelley feel better.

“Nah” Kelley half-heartedly declines, still harboring some reservation, “I think I need to figure some things out on my own. And I kinda just feel like sleeping right now. But I appreciate the offer, Pressy. I mean that.”

“No problem, you would do the same for me” Christen replies before thinking it over some more. “Actually you have. Get some rest, alright? I expect nothing less than you giving the other team a good old fashioned ass-whooping in the game tomorrow.”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am” Kelley jokingly returns as she settles into her bed and pulls her covers up to her neck. The two lay silent in the darkened room for a few moments before Kelley speaks up again.

“You’re a good friend, Pressy” she admits, no hint of dishonesty in her voice.

“Likewise, Maureen” Christen replies, smiling to herself as she can just barely see Kelley flipping her off across the room.

“Fuck you, Man-U!” a group of rowdy students cheer along with a drum beat as Christen enters the soccer stadium. She’s surprised at the hostility, even though Tobin told her about the schools’ intense rivalry when she gave her a pre-game good luck kiss at the gates a little while ago. Still, she’s never been in a spectator section that’s been anything less than civil in all her years attending sporting events. College really is the big time. Or at least, people around here really have some serious beef with Manchester University.

She spots a row of a few empty seats around the midfield area and decides to claim one for herself. This way she’ll be in the general vicinity of where Tobin plays on the pitch. She also doesn’t have to be too close to either student section, just in case tensions get too high and some people start going at it. Overall, she’s content with her seat. The only drawback is that she’ll be watching the game alone considering nearly everyone that would actually attend a soccer game is out on the field in front of her. However, not even a minute after that thought crosses her mind, she feels a tap on the shoulder. As she looks to her side, she’s pleasantly surprised to see who’s come to join her.

“Emily! You made it!” Christen exclaims, moving her stuff from the area beside her so that Emily can take a seat.

“It’s been too long since I’ve made it to one of these” Emily nonchalantly comments as she places her own belongings on the ground, “I figured I’d make an appearance.”

“Well good, I’m glad” Christen nods definitively as she smiles over at Emily. “So does this mean that things went well when you talked with Kelley?” Emily nods in return as a slight grin grows on her face.

“Yeah, I think it’s safe to say that” she returns, her hands cupping a cylinder of rolled-up poster board. Christen doesn’t entirely understand what Emily means by that, but she accepts that at the very least, things are better between her and Kelley now. A feeling of relief washes over Christen.

“So what do you have there?” Christen asks, her eyes drifting to the poster board in Emily’s hands. Emily follows Christen’s gaze and smiles once she realizes what she’s looking at.

“Watch this” Emily directs as a flash of confidence ignites in her eyes. She unravels the rolled-up poster and stands on top of the bleacher seat. She then raises the poster above her head and yells down towards the players warming up on the pitch. “Hey number five! Over here!” On the field below, Kelley stops whatever dribbling drill she was doing as she gazes into the stands and spots Emily. Upon reading the poster, she shakes her head and visibly laughs in response. However it isn’t a second later before her coach blows their whistle and Kelley continues on with her warm up. Christen leans forward to try to get a glimpse of the sign. As soon as she reads it, she understands Kelley’s reaction.

Go Kaylee Kelley! #5 on the field but #1 to me!

Christen laughs heartily as Emily sits down again, placing the sign on her lap. Emily wears a content smile, seemingly proud of her little arts and crafts project.

“I can’t believe you got away with that” Christen chuckles, still in awe of Emily’s daring stunt that could’ve gone horribly wrong had she done that for anyone but Kelley.

“Borderline inappropriate humor is what I do best” Emily shrugs, this time allowing her façade a crack a little and letting a relieved laugh escape her. She knew it was a gamble, but she also knew that Kelley would appreciate it after the talk they had the night before.

As Christen enjoys the light-hearted after effect of Emily and Kelley’s sweet moment, her eyes return to the field. It isn’t long until she spots one player in particular. Tobin stands at the sidelines dancing along with a few of her teammates as DJ Khaled and Justin Bieber’s I’m the One plays over the stadium speakers. Tobin smiles brightly as she shakes her hips and shimmies her shoulders, letting loose to the fun beat. She laughs at her teammates’ moves as she goes, and as silly as she tries to be, Christen discovers that she’s actually a pretty good dancer. You just can’t fake that kind of rhythm. As if Tobin can feel eyes on her, she looks up into the crowd and picks out Christen almost instantly. She maintains eye contact as she mouths each word of Bieber’s addicting and overly confident chorus. Whenever she gets to the words, ‘I’m the one’, Christen’s heart flutters. She has absolutely no control of Tobin’s effect on her, even when she’s just messing around on the sideline before a game. She’s endlessly captivating and equally as endearing. Tobin sends one final wink Christen’s way as the song dies out and she and her teammates huddle up.

“Go Tobin! Show ‘em who’s boss! Wooo!” a shrill voice erupts from the railing, jolting Christen out of her thoughts and suddenly forcing her fists to clench. Who the hell is –

“What the hell is that bitch doing here?” Emily asks, sounding equally as surprised as the way Christen feels. As much as she doesn’t want to, she follows the source of the voice and finds her worst fears are confirmed.

Cassie.

Christen notices that she also has a sign. She’s only able to read it when Cassie waves it around in excitement. Every word of it causes Christen’s blood to boil.

One-Seven, I’m in heaven! <3 #17

Christen’s jaw clenches. Who does she think she is? As far as she knows, I’m Tobin’s girlfriend. What the actual FUCK?

Emily wastes no time flipping her poster over and pulling a large red poster marker from her bag. “There’s no way fucking we’re letting that bitch get away with that” Emily mumbles between her grinding teeth as she furiously writes out large bubble letters on the sign. “There” Emily finally relents as she finishes writing, staring down at her new sign proudly. What is Emily…? Oh my god.

“Emily?!” Christen exclaims upon reading the poster, “What the hell is this?”

“It’s putting that bitch in her place is what it is” Emily confidently returns, offering the poster to Christen. Christen shakes her head feverishly as she pushes the poster away.

“Absolutely not. I can’t hold this up!” Christen argues, thinking of ways to shield it somehow so nobody else has a chance to lay their eyes on it. Emily offers Christen a defiant look, holding the poster out to her again.

“I did my part” Emily states, determined to convince Christen to hold up the poster in front of Cassie, Tobin, and a stand full of other on-looking fans. “Now it’s your turn.” I can’t. I can’t do that. I’ll look ridiculous. Plus I might know some other people here, they’ll think I’m crazy. There’s got to be some other, more reasonable way to –

“Heath forever in my heart!” Cassie yells, her dumb face lighting up as she does. Did she just say ‘forever’? Oh HELL no, this ends now.

“Fuck it” Christen grumbles as she snatches the sign from Emily’s grasp and stands on the bleacher beside her. “Hey seventeen! Get a load of this!” Tobin looks away from her huddle as Christen’s voice echoes across the field. Her eyes go wide and her cheeks blush instantly upon reading the makeshift sign.

#17, score this afternoon and I’ll let you score again tonight! ;)

Tobin remains completely still until one of her teammates smacks her on the back. She shakes her head a little, trying to shed her dazed expression. However her eyes remain on Christen, still trying to figure out if she’s actually seeing this. Christen smiles confidently, suddenly drunk on all this power. She glances down to Cassie who is just staring at her with her mouth gaping wide open. She glances back to Tobin who still stares at her questioningly, no doubt extremely confused by this all. Christen jerks her head towards Cassie in hopes of getting Tobin to understand. Tobin glances between the two girls in the stands before an expression of realization washes over her face. When she’s sure Cassie is watching her, Tobin blows a kiss at Christen and winks for added emphasis. Cassie’s legs all but collapse beneath her. She looks back at Christen completely dumbfounded. Christen just offers her an innocent shrug. That’s all it takes for Cassie to collect her sign and make her way to the exit at the top of the stands. When she’s out of sight, Christen finally sits down and hands the sign back to Emily.

“There” she concludes with an air of aloofness about her, “That’s taken care of.” Emily just grins back at her, marveling at Christen’s bold actions.

“That was one of the greatest moments I’ve ever witnessed in my entire life” Emily whispers, still staring at Christen like she’s the fucking sun.

“What do you think? Oreo or salted caramel?” Tobin asks as she and Christen wait in line at Five Guys. Christen shakes her head in disbelief. Why is she always so indecisive when it comes to ordering something to drink?

“If you don’t pick soon, I swear I’m just going to walk out of here and you won’t get a shake at all” Christen warns, slightly fed up that the two of them have been standing in the back of the restaurant for the past fifteen minutes.

“Hey, you’re the one who promised to buy me a shake if I scored a goal tonight” Tobin reminds, playfully pinching at Christen’s side. “I held up my end of the bargain, now it’s time for you to honor yours.” Christen sighs. Even as Tobin makes her wait excruciatingly long amounts of time whenever she has to order something, she still enjoys every second of being in her company.

“Alright, fine” Christen concedes, pushing Tobin’s hand away before looking back at the menu. “How about we get one of each and I’ll have whichever one you decide you don’t want. Does that sound fair to you?” Tobin beams at the suggestion.

“Sounds perfect to me” she agrees, shuffling forward in line as people in front of them place their orders. “Should we get food too?” Tobin asks after a moment of contemplation.

“Do you want food?” Christen asks directly, trying to anticipate and eliminate any of Tobin’s potential indecisiveness. Unfortunately, her attempt fails.

“I don’t know…” Tobin trails, tapping a finger to her chin as if pondering the question.

“Tobin” Christen returns sternly, shooting daggers at the girl beside her.

“I’m kidding!” Tobin laughs, all too amused with the mean look on Christen’s face. “How about some fries, little miss grumpy pants.”

“How about I take you out into the parking lot and knock some sense into you” Christen threatens, sounding unbelievably cheesy as she does. Tobin’s eyebrow shoots up, a suggestive glint in her eye.

“Hmmm, kinky” she responds, biting her lip as to not burst into laughter at Christen’s mortified expression. She’s as pale as a ghost as all the blood rushes from her face.

“Oh my god, we’re in public!” Christen reprimands in a hushed whisper, smacking Tobin on the arm. Instead of intimidating the midfielder, this only encourages her further.

“That didn’t stop you with that sign earlier” Tobin whispers back, chuckling once more as Christen recoils and feels the urge to jump out of her own skin.

“That was to get Cassie to shut up” Christen rushes out, her eyes wildly darting around, hoping that no one from the game is here right now. “It was Emily’s idea anyway.”

“It doesn’t matter whose idea it was, you were still the one that did it” Tobin points out, still trying to make Christen as uncomfortable as possible. Her words work, but after a while of Christen not responding, Tobin decides to go easy on her. “Hey, listen. What you did was brave. I don’t know very many people who would do that for me. Or actually anyone at all for that matter. So I guess that makes you one of a kind” Tobin continues as she grabs Christen’s hand and gets her to look her in the eye. “That makes you special to me.” Christen searches Tobin’s eyes and finds every ounce of sincerity there. She feels her heart beat faster in her chest and she feels a strong urge to just lean over and plant a long, passionate kiss on her right here in the middle of the Five Guys line.

“You’re special to me too” Christen returns, causing Tobin to smile at her with even more warmth. Christen’s heart continues to swell. She likes Tobin. A lot. There is no further doubt in her mind about that. Suddenly she feels a weight lift from her chest. She doesn’t have any more reservations about asking Tobin to be her girlfriend. She knows now that that is what she wants. I’m going to do it. I’m going to ask her. I just have to figure out where and when. I’ve got to make it count.

“Can I take your order?” the sweaty teenager behind the counter asks once they make it to the front of the line. Christen smiles at him as Tobin pushes her forward, signaling for her to be the one to order.

“Yeah I’ll take two shakes. One salted caramel, and one oreo, please.” The teenage boy enters the order and brings his gaze back up to Christen.

“Would you like to order some fries as well? We’re having a special where an order of regular fries is half price. We do that every time the college soccer team wins a match” the boy explains in a rather monotone, unimpressed voice. Christen glances over to Tobin and smiles. It’s a good thing she notched that game-winning goal in extra time, over wise I would have to pay full price for my fries. That would just be an absolute travesty.

As Christen opens her mouth to agree to the half-price fries, Tobin leans close and begins to whisper into her ear.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” she asks in such a quiet voice that Christen isn’t even sure that’s what Tobin actually said. She freezes as Tobin pulls away, staring at her with pleasant amusement, patiently awaiting her answer. Adrenaline pulses through her veins.

“So do you want to fries or…?” the teenager asks, confused as to why Christen has suddenly turned into a statue.

“Christen” Tobin adds with a smug smirk, snapping Christen out of her shocked state, “The man asked you a question.” Christen looks between Tobin and the teenager before she settles her eyes back on the midfielder.

“Yes, absolutely” she responds, feeling as if the smile on her face is going to rip through her cheeks. Tobin smiles back just as excitedly, once again biting her lip, but maybe this time just to prevent herself from bursting all together.

“Wow, you guys really like fries, huh?” the teenage boy sighs as her enters the remainder of the order into the register. He reads the total off to Christen and she pays with whatever bills she pulls out of her purse first, having no idea if she’s over paid or not, but not bothering to take her eyes off of Tobin. Tobin accepts the change and receipt from the boy when Christen fails to respond to him again. Then Tobin grabs Christen’s hand and leads her to a table in the corner.

“So do you want me to go grab some ketchup?” Tobin asks as begins turning away to make her way back to the front counter of the fast-food chain. Christen’s hand reaches out and wraps around her wrist, stopping her before she can go any farther.

“Tobin, wait” Christen interjects, gaining Tobin’s attention. Tobin offers her a clueless expression, unsure of what Christen wants. “Did that…Did that just happen?”

“Did what just happen?” Tobin returns, still confused as to what Christen is alluding to.

“Did you just…” she trails off once again, apparently still in shock, “…ask me to be your girlfriend?” Tobin smiles and nods.

“Yeah” she simply confirms, before attempting to turn back towards the counter. Christen tugs at her wrist again, not satisfied with Tobin’s short response.

“In the middle of Five Guys?” Christen continues, trying desperately to read Tobin’s expression.

“Yep” Tobin confirms once more, her shortness only causing Christen to become more and more curious.

“Why here? Why now?” Christen rambles out, unable to control her incessant desire for answers. Tobin shrugs.

“I don’t know” she exhales, smiling as she looks Christen in the eye, “It just felt right.”

“As I was in the middle of ordering our food?” Christen questions, her voice raising slightly at the absurdity of it all.

“Yeah” Tobin chuckles with a nod, “I wanted fries and a girlfriend. I just figured that would save some time if you answered both questions at once.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Christen asks, in complete and utter disbelief. That can’t really be why. No fucking way.

“Nope. I’m dead serious” Tobin replies, although she has a humored tone, suggesting that this isn’t the whole truth.

“Tobin, come on” Christen urges, tired of Tobin toying around with her right now.

“Alright!” Tobin finally relents, raising her hands in surrender. Christen’s firm grip on her wrist loosens, but only slightly. “I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while now. I was gonna try to do some elaborate, romantic thing, but then when we walked in here tonight and you were smiling at me in that way that you do, I just couldn’t wait anymore. So I did it. And that’s the reason.” Christen stares blankly at Tobin for a few moments before she feels laughter bubbling up in her throat. After a few seconds, she has no control and she’s borderline hysterical. Tears stream from her eyes as her diaphragm convulses. “What? What’s so funny?” Tobin asks, genuinely concerned that Christen may be having a mental breakdown.

“You” Christen reveals in between sporadic giggles, “You’re funny.”

“What? Why?” Tobin questions, feeling suddenly defensive although she begins chuckling along with Christen.

“Because” Christen continues, wiping at the corners of her eyes, “You’re you.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Tobin asks, her eyebrows knitting together.

“No” Christen shakes her head as she reaches up and places her hands on either side of Tobin’s face. She leans in a places a quick peck to Tobin’s lips. “It’s the best thing.” Tobin smiles as she places her hands on top of Christen’s and brings them down so that she’s holding both of them in front of her.

“You know you’re not so bad yourself” she grins, lacing her fingers through Christen’s. “Speaking of which, how about we circle back to that sign from earlier?” Christen throws back her head as another laugh escapes her. She reaches up and pushes Tobin in the direction of the front counter.

“Shut up and go get some ketchup” she instructs, her smile never leaving her face. Tobin chuckles and grins back just as widely.

“Wow, five minutes into being my girlfriend and you’re already telling me what to do.”

Christen shakes her head and waves Tobin off. Tobin sends her a quick wink before finally turning away.

Girlfriend.

Christen smiles to herself as she takes a seat at the table.

I like the sound of that.