Have Hope

19

Y/N POV

I can't believe it. Today is the quarter finals. And we're playing against France. 

The last time we played against them, we lost. 

Since then though, our team has grown into an unstoppable force, crushing every team we faced. We worked so well together; I can predict everyone's moves before they even think about making them.

If we win the match today, we'll either play against England, or Norway, depending on who won that game.

I'm feeling more confident than ever in our teams ability to to win. I know it won't be easy, especially against a team like France, but we conquered Spain, and Sweden and they both played rough. 

The whole team was buzzing with excitement during breakfast this morning, and the bus ride to the stadium was anything but calm. 

We waved to the fans outside the venue as we entered, and I looked to Alex, who sat next to me. She had fallen asleep on my shoulder. She looked to peaceful and so cute, I didn't want to wake her up, but I knew I needed to.

"Lex." I said softly, gently nudging her arm.

The girl stirred, moving even closer to me, but didn't open her eyes. I chuckled, running my fingers through her long, chocolate strands.

"Alex, you have to get up. We're here."

The forward groaned, pushing her head into my neck. I could feel her shaking her head.

"Fine. I guess I'll just get dressed with Tobs and Ash then."

She shot up in her seat, wide awake all of a sudden. "I'm awake."

"Damn Y/n, just pull the old see-me-naked-card and a bitch just comes back to life." Pinoe laughed behind us.

I laughed, flipping her off, and finally got my girlfriend to stand so we could get off the bus. 

Since we had pulled directly into the large tunnel of the stadium, there was no one around except for the coaches and other staff, which meant Alex and I could be affectionate and not have to worry.

Once we got out onto the field though, things had to be strictly platonic. 

It's a struggle to hide your feelings for someone when all you want to do is shout them out to the whole world, but neither Alex nor I are ready to come out publicly yet, so it's just something we have to do.

I will say though, that so far things are going much better than I had expected. Not to bag on Alex at all, but considering the place our relationship was in less than a month ago, the fact that we are where we are now is shocking, but awesome.

The brunette seems to have quickly warmed up and accepted the idea of dating someone who isn't a man, and from what I can tell, she's happy.

As we all entered the locker room, each player went to their respective spot to change into our practice kits and lace up our cleats. I made sure to tape my hands before putting my gloves on, then helped Jill, Mark, and Erica carry some of our equipment out to the field.

The place was empty since fans wouldn't be allowed in for another ten minutes, so we quickly set everything up, then headed back to the locker room so the captains could give their motivational speeches.

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I looked over at Alex as we lined up in the tunnel, the noise of the crowd deafening. There were cameras on us, broadcasting the game live around the world, so I couldn't do anything other than smile at her.