​​​​​​               “Alright, today is a light day because we have the opener tomorrow,” Coach Moon shouted, “I don’t want anyone over 75% today, save that for the game,”

 

                Tzuyu ran out just in time for the Coach’s address. They were just doing jogging drills today, it wouldn’t be too bad. Nothing she had to focus too hard on… but if she wasn’t pouring herself into practice that meant her mind could wander towards other things… people.

 

                “Thank God this field is terf, am I right?” Jihyo called good naturedly as the team split off into pairs, cheering and whooping excitedly in response.

 

                “Ready to bench warm tomorrow?” Jeongyeon teased as they passed on the run to each other down the field.

 

                “As ready as I’ll ever be,” Tzuyu grumbled, “God, why didn’t she put us back once she forgave you? She doesn’t hate cheerleaders anymore,”

 

                “You don’t know Jihyo… She feels like she can’t go back on her word once she’s said something. She doesn’t want to seem weak or whatever. She’s already young for a captain and it messes with her head sometimes. So, don’t take it personally. She’s probably already beating herself up enough about it,”

 

                “If we lose though…”

 

                “Yeah, yeah. Get in line,”

 

                “I tried talking to Nayeon today and she was surprisingly… nice?”

 

                “Dear God, do you have something she wants? Because if so she will take it by force…”

 

                “No, no, nothing like that. I just had a question about… something,” Tzuyu said, avoiding the topic, but shooting an ever-so-brief glance in the direction of the cheerleaders out of reflex.

 

                “Does that something have long blonde hair and move here from Japan?”

 

                “No,” Tzuyu answered a little too quickly, her blush ultimately giving her away.

 

                “You know, you could have asked me if you didn’t want Sana to end up finding out. In fact, Nayeon’s probably already told her,”

 

                “I—admittedly hadn’t thought about that,”

 

                “Nayeon is great and all, but she’s the biggest gossip, she cannot keep a secret to save her life,”

 

                ~

 

                “You-know-who was asking about you,” Nayeon said sing songily to Sana who was seated in front of Jinsoul, getting her hair braided.

 

                “Who? And why wouldn’t they just ask me? I happen to be quite the expert on myself,”

 

                “I said you-know-who, Sana, use your brain!” Nayeon snapped, “And I think you already know why she didn’t just ask you,”

 

                “Oh… so she is avoiding me?”

 

                “Not according to her, she claims your paths just never cross,”

 

                Realization struck Sana’s face almost immediately before frustration took it over, “That’s bull, I’ve gone out of my way to make sure our paths would cross this week and she’s still not talking to me,”

 

                “Sana, honey, crazy doesn’t look good on you,” Sooyoung teased, earning a high five from Jinsoul.

 

                “I’m not crazy, I’m not the one who’s pretending to have slept with… never mind. I’m not the one who slept with someone and then avoided—I’m not the one who is being extremely frustr—ugh, whatever!” Sana exclaimed, “I’m not the one who was dumb enough to try to corner her crush in a maintenance closet and ended up getting stuck over night… and then still didn’t manage to sleep with her,” but now that she was thinking, maybe if she had then she wouldn’t be in this position.

 

                “We were practically there but go off, I guess,” Sooyoung grumbled,

 

                “Whatever happened to ‘there’s more to life than ,’?” Eunha reminded, earning an appreciative glance from Sooyoung.

 

                “Yeah, well that was until I realized how awful it was to go without,”

 

                “, Sana, how long has it been? Maybe that’s why you’re acting crazy… you need to get laid,” Nayeon suggested.

 

                “I know this single girl who’d be perfect—” Jinsoul started, tugging on Sana’s hair once to indicate she was finished braiding it.

 

                “—Don’t even dare,” Sooyoung growled.

 

                “Yah, erts, what’s stealing your attention from practice today?” Coach Bae said snapping their attention to the rest of the cheerleaders she’d rounded up and begun running drills with.

 

                “Sooyoung-unnie almost ed a field hockey player in the maintenance closet,” Jinsoul piped up.

 

                Sooyoung raised her hand like she was going to smack Jinsoul and she flinched away in fear.

 

                Coach Bae shook her head in dismay, “Do I even need to say it at this point?”

 

                “We’re going,” Sooyoung groaned, grabbing Jinsoul’s arm and dragging her to the field to run a lap.

 

                “That poor little art student,” they heard Coach Bae mutter as they passed by.

 

                ~

 

                “Yer, heads up!” Jeongyeon called.

 

                The younger girl turned around and expertly caught the pass in perfect timing.

 

                “Nice!” Doyeon exclaimed, hi-fiving the girl.

 

                “You trying to kill me Jeong?” Yeri teased, “You know I play right wing, right?”

 

                “Shut up Yerim, let’s team up for drills,” Jeongyeon said rolling her eyes.

 

                “The four of us?” Doyeon asked, gesturing her stick at Tzuyu who was slowly approaching.

 

                “Yeah, why not?” Jeongyeon shrugged.

 

                “I don’t know… we’ve never teamed before. I’m not opposed, just surprised,” Doyeon replied.

 

                The four of them started jogging their drills, being careful not to overdo anything.

 

                “Anyway, as I was saying, Do, she followed me in the closet, and we were so close—”

 

                “Having while you’re still in the closet is all fun in games until your mom walks in and you have to shout ‘Surprise!’” Jeongyeon explained.

 

                “Tell me that didn’t actually happen…” Tzuyu pleaded.

 

                “We were physically in a closet, Jeong, I’ve been out to my parents since grade eight,” Yeri deadpanned.

 

                “Who are we talking about again?” Jeongyeon asked, trying to rile Yeri up with her derailing questions.

 

                “SOOYOUNG!” Yeri seethed in frustration.

 

                “Yeah?” Sooyoung called, smiling as she and Jinsoul rounded the corner of the field.

 

                “SHOOT JEONG!” Yeri back pedaled, to try and fix her mistake.

 

                Jeongyeon chuckled to herself as she swung her stick with full force at the ball, sending it across the pitch, hurtling into Sowon’s awaiting glove.

 

                “Guess that was a long shot, I wasn’t able to score,” Jeongyeon snorted at her own pun.

 

                “Neither was Yeri,” Tzuyu grumbled, only loud enough for Jeongyeon to hear. The older doubled over in laughter as the other pair looked on judgmentally.

 

                Just then the two cheerleaders ran by, Sooyoung‘s eyes not leaving Yeri for a second – long enough for Jinsoul to shove her lightly and cause her to trip over her own feet.

 

                Jinsoul immediately started sprinting away, and Sooyoung raced after as soon as she regained her footing – anger in her eyes. It was no use though, Jinsoul was also a member of the track team during the spring. Sooyoung didn’t stand a chance.

 

                ~

 

                Chaeyoung stood in the doorway to the dance room and watched as practice ended. This was the first time she’d been able to see Momo in action because she didn’t have to take pictures of the field hockey practice. She was impressed. The girl was fantastic.

 

                After a brief word from the captain concerning the competition in a week, the rest of the team filed out the door, leaving Momo behind. She didn’t notice Chaeyoung yet, and it looked like she was going to stick around and dance a bit longer.

 

                Chaeyoung cleared , announcing her presence as she entered the room. Momo didn’t turn around, but she smiled at Chaeyoung through the mirror, “What are you doing here?”

 

                “I realized today I’ve never actually gotten to see you dance… and wow, you’re kind of amazing, you know that?” She complimented.

 

                Momo blushed, finally turning around to face her, “You really think so? We have a competition next week and I’m pretty nervous about it,”

 

                “Absolutely, you’re going to kick . I know it,” Chaeyoung answered.

 

                “Will you come?” Momo blurted out before she could stop herself, “My parents, my sister, and pretty much everyone I care about will be there, so…”

 

                “Are you saying you care about me?”

 

                “I guess that depends on if you show up or not,” Momo answered, turning away to hide her blush, but forgetting the room was lined with mirrors.

 

                “Then who am I to say no?”

 

                She turned around again and looked at Chaeyoung seriously, “Son Chaeyoung, you can always say no,” She really hoped she wouldn’t though.

 

                Chaeyoung giggled at Momo’s sudden mood change, “Don’t worry, I want to. I’ll be there,” this was the first time Momo was inviting her somewhere… in public… without expecting drugs from her. It wasn’t a date, and yet it made her heart beat excitedly like it was. Chaeyoung had never wanted to do something so bad in her life.

 

                ~

 

                Tzuyu, Jeongyeon, Yeri, and Doyon walked back to the locker rooms together, still joking and teasing about Yeri’s tragic closet experience. Doyeon and Tzuyu being extremely competitive like they are, turned their boring pre-game practice into a competition. Tzuyu was carrying Doyeon on her back – the penalty of losing their game – and the girl had her arms outstretched trailing along the ceiling. They both sported mild turf burns due to the slippery condition of the field, Tzuyu on her elbow, and Doyeon on the side of her knee, but they didn’t seem too bothered by it, still high off adrenaline.

 

                “C’mon T-Star,” Jeongyeon said grabbing the younger girl’s elbow and attempting to lead her towards the locker room.

 

                “Do! Your leg!” Someone squealed from behind them when they were almost to the door, causing Tzuyu to halt her steps. Doyeon instantly hopped off Tzuyu and ran to greet the extremely tiny girl wrapping her in a tight hug and spinning around.

 

                “Sup Yoodaeng?” She said, pressing a kiss to her temple, as the girl kicked her legs and struggled to be put down.

 

                When she was finally released and put on the ground, she turned to Doyeon and Tzuyu who was standing behind her new friend with her arms crossed, smirking amusedly, “You’re bleeding! Tomorrow is a game day! You have to be more careful,”

 

                “I’m fine, T-Star and I just got a little excited near the end, that’s all, right T-Star?”

 

                Tzuyu nodded supportively.

 

                “I tried to warn them,” Jeongyeon said, smacking both girls lightly on the back of the head, and walking past them to introduce herself.

 

                “Yoojung,” The small girl said, extending her hand to shake, “Keeper of Doyeon’s single brain cell apparently,”

 

                “Yoo Jeong,” Jeongyeon chuckled, at her joke she made with her name, turning to see Tzuyu, Yeri, and Doyeon all looking at her with straight faces, “Tough crowd,” she muttered and was about to continue into the locker room, when the door swung open and she was almost hit by a cheerleader on her way out.

 

                “Oh, Doyeon!” The blonde girl said breathlessly.

 

                “Hi, Elly,” Doyeon replied cordially.

 

                “Good luck at the game tomorrow,” Elly said, “Will you watch me cheer?”

 

                “No, but T-Star probably will,” She teased elbowing the unamused girl next to her.

 

                Yoojung cleared , “She won’t be watching you cheer because she’ll be watching me dance,” She sneered.

 

                Elly narrowed her eyes at the shortest girl.

 

                “Uhhh, hello? No, I won’t be watching either of you because I’ll be playing field hockey… the game both of you will be performing for,” Doyeon replied, waving her stick as a reminder.

 

                Yeri snorted with laughter, “Oh this is rich,” Doyeon’s drama was finally much better than hers.

 

                “You’ve got two eyes, you can watch them both,” Tzuyu contributed.

 

                Yeri’s eyes glinted wickedly, “No! At least one eye has to be on field hockey, so where’s the other eye going to be, Do? You have to pick!”

 

                “I—They—Yeri!” Doyeon shouted in frustration, “Both eyes have to be on field hockey! How else will I score?”

 

                “I can think of a few ways…” Elly replied.

 

                Yeri about lost it at that, collapsing on the ground. Doyeon didn’t even stop to help her friend, just stepped over her as she fled to the locker room in frustration.

 

                “Yeri are you ok?” Sooyoung asked, suddenly appearing from the locker room, back in her joggers from earlier and noticing the girl nearly in tears on the floor.

 

                “She is now,” Jeongyeon teased, high fiving Tzuyu and the two also stepped over her into the locker room finally.

 

                ~

 

                “Will you—stop,” Nayeon grunted, trying to hold Sana back by her cheer bag, “She’s not avoiding you!” I’m sure Jeong has a very good reason for being so late with Tzuyu.

 

                “Just drop it Nayeon, I don’t even care anymore,” Sana said rolling her eyes annoyedly and prying the older’s grip off of her bag. She her heel and was in such a hurry to exit she nearly collided with the girl she had so desperately wished to run into earlier.

 

                “Sorry,” Tzuyu said quickly, catching the clumsier girl and steadying her, hands lingering on her upper arms just a moment longer than necessary.

 

                Sana blushed furiously and looked back at Nayeon before pushing past Tzuyu, and out the door “Whatever,”

 

                “I tried,” Jeongyeon shrugged. Nayeon met her with a smack on the arm.

 

                Tzuyu just looked on at the other girls in confusion. Why was Sana suddenly acting cold to her? The more Tzuyu knew about her the less she felt like she actually knew her. That girl was certainly full of surprises. With a sigh, Tzuyu put down her equipment and busied herself with changing.

 

                ~

 

                Sana leaned against the wall opposite the locker room, breathing heavily. She needed air. As soon as Tzuyu touched her, she lost her breath and she knew she had to get out of there. Nayeon would certainly roast her for panicking later.

 

                Part of Sana hoped Tzuyu would follow her… even though she knew she wouldn’t. Even if she did Sana wasn’t sure she was prepared for it. After how she’d just acted, she was embarrassed. She needed to find Rosé and head home.

 

                Sana turned around and pressed her forehead to the cold tile of the wall and let out a deep breath. Get a hold of yourself. You don’t need the attention. Just because you aren’t one person’s anything doesn’t mean you aren’t someone’s everything. You’re worthy of love. She repeated the mantra she picked up in high school to herself.

 

                Moments later she heard the locker door swing open, but was too scared to look. She felt hands drumming on her back, causing her to jump and turn around in surprise.

 

                “Ready?” Rosé asked, seemingly unaware of the inner turmoil Sana had experienced.

 

                “Yes please,” Sana replied, willing her heart to beat just a little slower knowing it was safe now. Safe, Sana thought, Momo would die if she knew I was thinking of Rosé’s car as safe. But to Sana it felt considerably safer than facing her feelings.

                 

                ~

 

                “Goooooood morning, Motang!” Sana said, booping Momo on the nose to wake her up, “I made pancakes!”

 

                “Food, now,” Momo groaned as she sat up groggily in bed. There was only one acceptable excuse for Sana to ever wake Momo up this early on a weekend and it was food.

 

                “Come to the table, lazy. I don’t want you getting food where we sleep,” Sana replied as she skipped out of Momo’s room.

 

                Momo groaned at her comment, but followed, nonetheless.

 

                “What time is the game again?” Momo asked, checking her phone for the time.

 

                Sana sipped on her coffee before replying, “Three-thirty,”

 

                “Then why are we up so early!” Momo whined, “And why are you already completely dressed and ready?”

 

                “Are you not happy? I made you breakfast, you shouldn’t be complaining,” Sana replied, not answering either of Momo’s questions.

 

                Momo began to dig into her food, and it was ok. Better than the last time Sana attempted pancakes, but still nowhere near restaurant grade, “I’m tired,” she answered with full.

 

                “Believe me, I’m with you. As you may have already noticed from my lack of presence in your bed last night… I couldn’t sleep,” in fact, Momo hadn’t noticed… oops. That explained how Sana had time to prepare all of this and herself and still wake Momo up at the crack of dawn though.

 

                Momo nearly choked on her next bite and had to take a large sip of Sana’s coffee – the only drink within reach – to clear . It nearly caused her to gag, she hated coffee. Sana grimaced at Momo’s draining her cup and went to refill it.

 

                “Sana, you need to sleep!” Momo exclaimed once she could form words again.

 

                “Yeah, yeah, I need a lot of things, Momo,” Sana waved her off, sipping from her fresh cup.

 

                “You won’t be able to cheer properly if you’re tired,”

 

                “Hence the coffee, Motang, catch up,” Sana replied, giggling sweetly.

 

                “Why couldn’t you sleep Sana? Is something bothering you? I’m sorry if I haven’t been paying attention enough to you to know,” Momo asked innocently. If Momo was nothing else, she was a great friend.

 

                Sana could feel herself choking up at Momo’s concern and she turned away. You know the feeling when you’ve been internalizing your problems just fine on your own for so long, and when someone shows an ounce of concern or simply asks you if you’re ok and you feel yourself losing it? That’s how Sana felt. She felt on the verge of a breakdown, and she couldn’t afford to do that today.

 

                “I’m—I’m so tired Momo,” she said shakily. It was all she could manage to say that wouldn’t send her over the edge.

 

                “Come here,” Momo said opening her arms for Sana to cuddle into. If something was bothering Sana, she would tell her when she was ready. No pressure.

 

                Sana fell into Momo’s embrace and snuggled closely into her chest, “Your heart’s beating crazy again Momo,” Sana said without looking up, “Are you thinking about Chaeyoungie?”

 

                “Actually no… I was just thinking about you,” Momo replied, “But I think that may be due to the coffee I chugged a moment ago,”

 

                Sana sighed heavily, “Why couldn’t we ever date each other?” Sana almost whined, “We love each other, and we know it. We don’t have secret drama. You’re my best friend,”

 

                “I think that’s exactly why we could never work Sana… we’re best friends… and that’s it,” Momo replied as she Sana’s hair soothingly, “We were cursed to always love each other… platonically,”

 

                Sana hummed sadly in response, but she didn’t open her eyes or try to continue the conversation, just let Momo’s calming aura overtake her as she desperately tried to fall asleep.

 

                ~

 

                The ATR was swarmed with field hockey players trying to get in last minute treatments before their game. Several girls were heating knees, or shoulders. The AT bandaged and wrapped Tzuyu and Doyeon’s turf burns respectively, because he was concerned about them reopening during play.

 

                Tzuyu tore off a strip of pre-wrap from the roll he’d used and tied it in a knot around her head, using it to push her stray hairs away from her face.

 

                On the field, Coach Moon was having the girls do a dynamic warmup to get ready, “High knees,” she called, and the girls jogged forward with their knees high, “A skips,” the girls did that on the way back, “Karaoke,” they did a grapevine like step forward again and also back, “Side slides,” they did that there and back. Their warmup went on as the equipment managers set up cones for drills.

 

                They jogged through the cones, juking and turning, passing balls across to each other all the time. Jeongyeon shot a wink at Tzuyu, who just returned it with an eye roll.

 

                When they were done with drills, most of the girls ran to the cooler to get cups of water, and the rest continued to warm up on their own. Hyunjin and Ryujin pulled out a soccer ball and began juggling back and forth to each other.

 

                Jeongyeon and Tzuyu knew they wouldn’t be starting, so it wasn’t imperative that they continued warming up right now. The older pulled the younger to the side away from prying ears, “How are you feeling? First game nerves?”

 

                “I’m fine, I don’t really care… it’s not like I’m going in now or anything,”

 

                “You will get to play though, they won’t leave you out the whole game,” Jeongyeon coaxed.

 

                “Why do I get the feeling you want me to be nervous? Are you projecting?” Tzuyu snapped.

 

                “Aish, you only have your last first game once, right? Who could blame me?” Jeongyeon chuckled, playing with the loose baby hairs at the base of her neck.

 

                “Nayeon is waving,” Tzuyu deadpanned, changing the subject.

 

                Jeongyeon groaned in embarrassment, but waving back nonetheless, “Already distracted by the cheerleaders, eh? Off to a great start, T-Star,” Jeongyeon teased once she turned back.

 

                “Has Sana been acting weird to you? She wasn’t even looking in our direction,” Tzuyu asked.

 

                “That depends, what do you consider normal for Sana?” Jeongyeon asked.

 

                Tzuyu paused, come to think of it, she wasn’t sure what normal Sana behavior was. When she first laid eyes on her it was… disinterested? Almost like she was acting now. Unbothered, tired, like she didn’t care.

 

                “Never mind,” Tzuyu mumbled in defeat

---

a/n:

Tzuyu          Doyeon
             🤝
       being giant
        jock BFFs