At first when Winnie joined the football team, she feared they wouldn't take her seriously because she's the only girl on the football team. That's the exact opposite though. Sure, it was weird and awkward at first, but now the boys were all like brothers to her. Beside one. Stick Goldstein. Winnie's and Stick's bond is different than any type of bond they have with anyone else. And not to mention the fact that they both have feelings for each other yet neither one knows that.
Winnie was currently at her coach's house because she and the team often hung out there. What she didn't except was to see a teenage girl sleeping on the couch when she and the boys arrived. Then an excited expression formed on her face upon recognizing her. Winnie and Ashley were best friends along with Brooke when Ashley lived there. She remembered her coach, Victor, mentioned something about his niece was coming to stay with him, but she didn't know when that was happening and who exactly his niece was. She knew that he and Ashley were related, that was just all she knew, she just didn't know if he had another niece.
"Wait, Stick," Winnie furrows her eyebrows, standing behind the couch with three other members as she notices her best friend walking over to stand in front of the couch. "What are you doing?"
"Just checking to see if she's alive." Stick replied and Winnie laughed at his response.
Winnie shakes her head, putting one hand on her hip. "She's obviously just sleeping."
"You never know until you check. I mean, she looks really still." Stick commented and he looked down at Ashley, who had been sleeping.
Ashley wakes up a few seconds later, furrowing her eyebrows when she saw a boy she didn't know standing above her. She reaches forward, hitting Stick's ears. Stick immediately stands up all the way since he was bent over, yelping in pain as he puts his hands on his ears. While the boys beside Winnie grimaces and groans, Winnie just chuckles. "That's what you get for staring at a girl while she sleeps."
"Yeah, I should've listened to you." Stick muttered, still looking pained after getting hit by Ashley.
Ashley sits up, covering herself with her blanket. She looks at the brunette-haired boy with wide eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"We're on the football team." Stick responds. "Coach lets us use the pool." He groans in pain and puts his hands on his hips. "Ugh, I think you broke my brain." He points at Ashley. "And my family has a really high deductible."
Winnie raises her eyebrows. "Why is that part important?"
"I felt like it was necessary to add." Stick shrugged.
"Wait," Ashely glances to her right where Winnie was standing behind the couch. She grins excitedly. "Winnie?"
Winnie grins back at her. "Hi, Ashley."
"I forgot that you lived here! Oh, this is gonna be great." Ashley said excitedly. "Now we can hang out more! I missed you."
Winnie laughs at her excitement and nods in agreement. "I missed you too. And yes, we can definitely hang out more."
"Oh, and also," Ashley glances at Stick. "It's just a little trauma to your tympanic membrane."
Stick looks at her with confusion. "Tympanic membrane?" A look of realization forms on his face. "Oh, you must be Coach's genius niece."
Ashley awkwardly smiles as she looks at each of them. "This is a great chat." Looking at Stick, a serious expression forms on her face. "Hand me my robe."
Stick picks up the blue robe on the chair beside him just as Victor walks down stairs. His eyes widen. "What's going on?"
"Tio Victor, I'm not dressed." Ashley shyly responded, now wrapped in her blanket.
Victor looks slightly panicked and he looks at his team. "Everybody out! My niece is naked."
Winnie and the boys start to leave. "I'm not naked!" Ashely hisses. "I'm just in my pajamas."
"Oh," Victor nods, looking more relaxed than before. "Then what's the big deal?" He looks at his team who was now at the back door. "Everybody stay!"
Winnie groans, walking back into the house with the boys. "Coach, just make up your mind."
Ashley looks at Victor worriedly. "The pajamas you got me for my birthday."
Victor smiles at her. "The fuzzy ones?" He looks at his team with a smile. "Oh. Cutest jammies ever. There's this tail." He commented and the boys smiled and nodded.
Winnie grimaces upon hearing that and sighs, dropping her head. "Oh, Coach."
Victor looks at her with furrowed eyebrows. "What?"
"Here's a tip," Winnie looks back at him and shakes her head, using the 'no' arm gesture. "Never get girls those kind of pajamas." Her eyebrows furrow together, and she tilts her head to the side. "I mean, unless the girls want them."
Victor nods. "Noted."
"Tio Victor, I don't want to meet anyone wearing these." Ashley said to her uncle.
"Got it." Victor points at her and nods. He grabs Ashley's robe from Stick and gestures for them to turn around. "Everyone, turn around."
"Yes, sir." Winnie and the boys responded, and they each turned around as Victor handed Ashley her robe. Victor stood off to the side and turned around as well to let Ashley put her robe without anyone seeing her pajamas.
Ashley uncovers herself and quickly stands up. While she was unfolding the robe, Tad, the quarterback of the football team, walks in through the other back door that's on the other side of the room. He shrugs. "Sorry I'm late."
"Oh." Ashley panicked, putting the robe in front of herself.
Victor glances over at Tad, pointing at him and demands, "Turn around!"
Winnie side glances at Tad, facepalming when Tad does a 360 and then faces Victor. Victor sighs. "Halfway."
"Sorry." Tad apologetically smiles, looking confused as he turns around. "I wasn't here for the rules." Victor turned back around and a few moments later Ashley was robed.
"Okay, I'm robed." Ashley informed everyone.
Victor glances over his shoulder, making for sure that his niece was robed before he says, "Everyone, at ease." Everyone turns around. "Tad, Winnie, Stick, Cash, Kesler, Bernie," He walks over to stand by his niece and points at her. "This is Ashley." He wraps his arm around Ashley, the both of them facing the team who walks over to stand in front of them. "I don't have to tell you to be gentlemen." He glances at Winnie. "Or kind to her."
"Let's start over, shall we?" Stick said, walking over to Ashley once Victor took his arm off her shoulders. Stick smiles at her and reaches a hand out. "Stick Goldstein, equipment manager."
Ashley shakes his hand and she smiles back at him. Winnie walks over to them, looking at Ashley with a wide smile. "And you already know who I am."
"Of course I do." Ashley smiled widely and the two girls hugged.
They pull away from the hug when Tad walks over to them. He smiles at Ashley. "I'm Tad."
Ashley stares at him dreamingly while shaking his hand. Winnie furrows her eyebrows, exchanging a confused look with Stick when a harp playing can be heard. "Where's that music coming from?" She asked.
Ashley's eyes widen and she lets go of Tad's hand to grab her phone. "It's my phone." She replies, her expression turning into a panicked one upon seeing who's calling her. She walks over to stand in front of her uncle. "My mom's facetiming me."
A panicked expression forms on Victor's face. He faces his team and gestures for them to leave. "Move it. No one in front of her phone."
Winnie salutes to him as the boys nod in response and they all walk over to the other side of the room. She stands by Stick and Tad, watching Ashley and Victor sit on the couch. "Hey, mom!" Ashley smiled nervously.
"Hey, Santina!" Victor greeted.
"How was your first night at Tio Victor's?" Ashley's mom and Victor's sister, Santina questioned.
"Great." Ashley playfully shoves Victor. "He's a wonderful host."
"Are those sheets on the couch?" Santina notices. Winnie grimaces, clearly hearing the anger in her voice when she asks the next question, "Victor, did you forget to buy a bed?"
"I gave her my only pillow." Victor defends himself. He smiles. "I'm basically a dad."
Winnie shakes her head, crossing her arms. "Not by a long shot." She mumbled under her breath. He was going to have to get a lot better at taking care of Ashley to even be considered as a dad. She couldn't believe that he forgot to buy a bed for his niece and the fact that he only has one pillow surprised her.
"What was I thinking agreeing to this?" Santina sighed.
"Hey, there is a perfectly good reason why Ashley doesn't have a bed." Victor assures his sister. He grimaces. "I forgot she was coming."
Ashley looks at him with offense. "Papi was right." Santina continues. "Eres muchacho, no eres hombre. (you are a boy, you are not a man)."
Victor glances at his team and they all look away quickly, pretending to not be listening in on the conversation. Winnie wasn't for sure if the boys understood what Ashley's mom said, but she did. She had taken Spanish class before and did really good in it so she understood exactly what Santina said. She felt bad for Victor. By listening to this conversation, she knew that he and his dad didn't get along the greatest. She didn't know what that was like, but she figured it wasn't any good.
"Now, I'm getting on the next plane and taking Ashley home." Santina spoke and Winnie's eyes widened. Ashley couldn't go home now. Not when she just arrived. The two girls haven't seen each other in years and Ashley still haven't reunited with Brooke yet. She just couldn't go home now.
"Santina, please listen." Victor pleads. "I know I messed up. Let me prove I can change."
Ashley looks at her mom with a pleading expression. "Please, mom. It's my dream to work at JPL."
"Fine." Santina agrees after a few moments of silence. "You guys get a week. Give me one reason not to trust you, and Ashley comes home. And get a second pillow for God's sake!"
Victor rolls his eyes and Ashley smiles at her mom. "Thank you, mom."
Victor sighs, pointing at Santina. "You won't be sorry. I promise, no surprises."
Then Tad sneezes and it was loud. Winnie looks at him with an amused smile because in her opinion it was a dramatic sneeze. "What was that?" Santina asked.
Ashley's eyes widen and she then shakes her head, pretending to look confused. "I didn't hear anything."
Victor sheepishly smiles. "Bye, sis." He ended the phone call and Ashley laid her phone on the coffee table.
Picking up her glasses, Ashley stands up, and faces the team with a small smile. "Um, it was nice to meet you all," She puts her glasses on while looking at Winnie with a smile. "And to see you again." Winnie smiles back at her and Ashley continues to speak. "But it's time for me to put on some real clothes."
Tad panics. "Everybody turn around!"
While he and the other boys turn around, Winnie rolls her eyes. She knew that Ashley would go change in her room. She sighs heavily. "How you're the quarterback and you somewhat good grades is something I'll never understand."
"I meant in my own room," The boys turn back around when Ashley said that. Ashley smiles at Tad. "But thank you. That was very gallant."
Tad smiles back at her. "Thank you for thinking I'd know what that word means." He continued to smile at her as she walked away.
Stick chuckles and elbows him. "Coach's niece."
"Huh?" Tad looked at him with furrowed eyebrows and then looked at Victor. Victor had his arms crossed, looking at Tad with an intimidating stare.
Tad sheepishly smiles. "Hey, Coach."
A/N this is kind of a short chapter, but i decided to split up the episodes into different chapters since they're arent that many episodes. also i decided to do the translation thing (put the translation here) with the spanish words so it's easier for you guys to understand. & it's only the first chapter but i already love winnie & stick so much!