#nooligan

So on their first day, before they’ve even unloaded the few things they’d driven up with rather than putting in the moving trucks, Laila tangles her fingers in Alvarez’s, and they run up the stairs giggling like they’ll never stop.

“God, it’s cold out. I vote we just get the mattress and leave everything else until tomorrow,” Laila says, aiming a grin at Alvarez and tugging her from room to room as though they’ve never seen the place before. It’s bare wood and unfurnished, but the sheer fact that they had the keys to let it on makes the dim light sneaking its way past drawn curtains beautiful.

“You’ve lived in California for too long,” Alvarez tuts, pulling Laila to a stop for just long enough to open curtains in every room they pass. (She’d do this in every room at college too - everything looks better in natural light, Lails.) “You don’t know the meaning of the word ‘cold’.”

Laila rolls her eyes but doesn’t reply, ignoring the long-worn discussion in favour of running her free hand along white walls. “We did it,” she whispers reverently.

“Not yet,” Alvarez says. “We definitely need to get our bags and mattress up here before we start rewarding ourselves.”

“Killjoy,” Laila says, pulling a face.

“You say that now, but you have no idea of the rewards I have planned,” Alvarez says, a smile as bright as the sun gracing her face.

“There she is,” Laila mutters with a soft smile, pinching the cheek where Alvarez’s one dimple shows up. “Oh, so it wouldn’t be the bottle of champagne you so sneakily stuck in your backpack at the last minute?”

“Okay, so maybe you do have an idea…” Alvarez says, her grin unwavering. “You need to stop ruining all of my cute surprises.”

“I’m nosy,” Laila shrugs. “It’s a flaw, but I’ve learned to embrace even my worst parts.”

“Hush, you perfect creature,” Alvarez says. “Let’s grab the things.”

“You just flatter me to get me to use my perfect biceps,” Laila groans, but lets Alvarez pull her back down four flights of stairs easily.

“Yup,” Alvarez agrees cheerfully. “I’m the brains, you’re the brawns.”

“Oh, really?” Laila asks. “Because I seem to remember the small matter of our degrees…” Both of them had graduated just a month prior, with respectable grades, but Laila’s dedication and passion for her chosen subject had given her the slightest edge over Alvarez’s effortless achievements.

“Nope, those are irrelevant now. Done. Gone.” Alvarez claps her hands.

“Um, I don’t think so,” Laila says. “I packed mine to put above our bed. It’s my best achievement.”

“Aw, dang. I’d planned to put both of our degrees together above the toilet.” Alvarez pulls a mockingly concerned face at her girlfriend.

“You can flush your disappointment, but I am rubbing that degree in everyone’s faces forever. I’m putting it as my Facebook header. I’m gonna text the picture to Ash every day until he admits that I’m forever superior to him.”

“Well, I hope you have a picture of it ready to go, because the real thing isn’t gonna last very long… sorry, babe.”

“If you shred my degree, I will shave your head while you sleep,” Laila says, smile still on her face and voice dripping sugar.

“You could maybe do half of it. Give me a cool undercut. I’d wake up because you could do some irreversible damage.” Alvarez pauses for half a second. “Probably.”

Laila laughs, the sound echoing through the stairwell. “Not a chance, girl. You sleep like the dead. These beautiful locks are being sold on the black market so I can buy an exact replica of my degree.”

“Come on, you wouldn’t even donate the hair? Where’s that Trojan heart?” Alvarez gives her a beseeching look, walking backwards out of the block’s door.

“Shredded, along with my degree. You’re erasing my Trojan identity,” Laila says, clutching a hand dramatically to her chest.

“Sure, babe,” Alvarez says. “Put some of that energy into moving our shit upstairs, yeah?”

“Fine, but I get the first taste of champagne,” Laila warns, opening the back of their car slowly so as not to disturb the few bags on top of a double mattress.

“Sure, as long as it’s-”

“Straight from the bottle. No negotiations.”

“I was gonna say not from the bottle, because that’s super gross. I bought it!” Alvarez whines.

“What are you worried about? My spit? Because newsflash, girlfriend, you get plenty of my germs already.”

“Ugh,” Alvarez pulls a face. “No thanks.”

“No?” Laila asks, turning back from the car to Alvarez and taking a few steps to place her hands on Alvarez’s waist.

“Nope,” Alvarez agrees, brushing a stray bit of hair back behind Laila’s ear.

“No kisses?” Laila clarifies, closing the distance between them in one last step that puts her thoroughly in Alvarez’s personal space. Alvarez doesn’t move away.

“Nope, they’re completely gross.”

Laila presses a gentle kiss to Alvarez’s jaw, knowing her girlfriend’s weaknesses after all these years. “Really, totally gross?”

“Absolutely,” Alvarez continues to agree, though Laila hears her breathing hitch, just slightly, the same as always. Laila smiles against Alvarez’s warm, dark skin.

“Just…” Laila says, softly, before meeting Alvarez in a soft, chaste kiss, “disgusting, right?”

“Totally,” Alvarez says on a sigh.

“Oh, well,” Laila says, pulling herself in a swift movement. “Can’t say I didn’t try. I’ll respect your decision, though, of course…”

“Shut up,” Alvarez laughs, grabbing Laila’s hand and pulling her back to place a kiss on her nose. “You’re a beautiful idiot.”

“Well, that’s not what my degree says…”

“Oh my god,” Alvarez drops her hand. “Okay, yeah, please go back to unpacking and just… stop talking.”

“Harsh.”

“Yeah, I know, I’m just like… not sure living together is gonna work out? It’s all so sudden, you know, and I just don’t feel like I know who you are… you’re just so mean,” Alvarez says, brushing her nose against Laila’s.

“Sure, babe,” Laila responds, and kisses her again.

After they pull apart, Alvarez says, “Okay, I suppose that was alright.”

“Yes!” Laila crows, pumping her fists in the air. “Champagne from the bottle for Laila!”

“That is not-”

“Just let me have this,” Laila says. “I’m unpacking now and I’m not listening anymore.”

Alvarez sighs. “Fine, whatever, you win.”

“As always.”

Laila doesn’t get to spend much time with the team outside of practice, which is a good and bad thing all at once. She likes them, she thinks, but balancing a class-heavy science course with a job and as much volunteering as she can while still trying to squeeze in some sleep is impossible enough as it is. And social life wouldn’t be her first choice to add in - if she had even a little bit of free time, she’d check out other clubs and sports. 

As it is, she barely has time for exy. She wouldn’t have time for it if it weren’t for the small factor that is her scholarship. The only reason she can afford college. Like, at all.

So she’s the first one in and out of showers, and she rushes past everyone, trying to say as many friendly ‘bye!’s as possible, before half of them have even changed out of their gear.

“Laila!” A senior calls, as she’s about to leave.

“Yeah?” She asks, pausing. She hasn’t got to be anywhere for half an hour, if she’s totally honest, but she’d much rather be early. Any time to work on assignments is welcome, if not necessary.

“We know you have a schedule more full than Yiasoumi’s plate at dinner, but any chance you can squeeze us in for movie night tonight?” He asks with a shit-eating grin. Laila remembers that she does genuinely like her teammates. 

“It’s Mulan,” Alvarez says, sat close to the senior and pulls off her shirt like it’s no big deal. Laila tries to remember how to breathe. “You can’t say no to the best Disney movie.”

That sparks a chain reaction of teammates yelling what they think is the best Disney movie, which means Laila can figure out her schedule and catch her breath before she’s expected to reply. She even, somehow, remembers to keep her eyes on Alvarez’s face. “I’m done at 9, so I could come by after?”

There’s a chorus of approval from the gathered athletes, and Laila grins in response. 

(A social life may not be her first choice, but it’s nice to have. And if the Trojans are anything, it’s nice.)

Laila swings out the door with a wave and a promise to text her whose room or block they end up in.

She ends up late. Of course. Laila’s not sure there’s any part of her life that adheres to her schedule in the way she wants it to. But it doesn’t really matter, she guesses, because she was gonna be the last Trojan to arrive regardless.

The movie’s started, which she expected, and the room is packed. She still gets a few waves when she walks in, but everyone’s quiet - for a room of rowdy athletes, they respect the unspoken rule of not talking during films. The only sound is the quiet rustle of snacks and the occasional whisper. Then, someone whispers loudly, “Dermott!”

Laila looks towards the call, and sees Alvarez waving her over. Her heart starts beating faster, but she smiles and walks towards the backliner. “Saved you a seat. You’ll have to squeeze a bit, but I reckon you can fit.”

Seriously. This girl. They’ve barely spoken, but every last thing she does just makes her crush grow and grow. Laila doesn’t think she has time to deal with the squeeze on her heart, the fire in her veins, but she doesn’t want any of it to stop, either.

Which is good, actually, because with she can feel Alvarez against every inch of her side. It doesn’t even take two minutes of sitting like that before the other girl has to extract her arm from where it’s crushed against Laila and throw it behind Laila’s head - like her arm’s around my shoulder, Laila thinks, and then tries to unthink it - and whispers, “Is this alright? I was losing circulation.”

Laila forces her smile to a thin line and says, “It’s fine,” and hopes Alvarez can’t see her blush in the dark room.

Alvarez moves her lips so she’s less than an inch from Laila’s ear, so she can be quieter and not disturb the others, and says, “You can move your arm too, if you want. I don’t mind you being in my personal space if you’re worried about it.”

Laila’s blush gets stronger but she nods and feels her ponytail brush against Alvarez’s arm. She wishes she didn’t smell of coffee, but she shifts into a slightly more comfortable position and tries not to think of Alvarez’s perfume and soft skin.

Laila knows Alvarez is right, that Mulan is an awesome film, but she doesn’t follow it at all. She can’t focus on anything except the girl to her left.

When the film stops, though, she’s yawning. It’s barely past ten, but since she’s used to early mornings, she’s had to force herself to be a morning person. The only times she’s stayed up past midnight since starting college were for away games, when the timezones had screwed her over and she’d been with her rowdy teammates. The adrenaline from a game is the only thing that seems to keep her up.

(The adrenaline of Alvarez’s warm skin against hers doesn’t quite compare. She’s wide awake, for sure, but she’s warm and comfortable and sleepy.)

Someone turns the lights back on, and Laila catches sight of her hand almost touching Alvarez’s on her leg. Then she’s caught in a sudden image of her pale fingers tangled with Alvarez’s warm brown ones, and longing punches her in the chest. She breathes through it and looks at her phone. 

Before she can say anything about leaving, though, Alvarez cuts her off. “Hey, you can’t run off yet! It’s Friday night. Don’t tell me you have to be up early in the morning.”

Laila shrugs apologetically, unable to meet the other girl’s eyes. “You’d think, but I work more on the weekends. The only time I really have to fit in the hours. Lucky me gets the morning shifts.”

“That’s shitty,” Alvarez says, twisting her mouth into a pout. Laila wants to kiss that bottom lip. “I have assignments to do, though, so I guess I should call it a night, too. I’ll walk with you?”

Most of the first-year athletes live in the same block, only a five minute walk away from the house the seniors hosted the movie night in. Laila bites her lip on a smile and says, “Sure,” hoping she sounds even the slightest bit casual.

Laila and Alvarez are the first to leave the group, and a sophomore Laila’s talked to occasionally, Emily, raises her eyebrows at Laila as they leave. Laila resists the urge to tell her to shut up, and instead focuses her energy on removing the blood from her cheeks and back to her poor, exhausted heart.

“You major in Bio, right?” Alvarez asks as they step out of the room. Laila is so grateful she starts the conversation, because the combination of nerves and tiredness means she can barely remember her own name, let alone any kind of conversation topic.

“Human Biology, yeah. I never managed to pick up on all the- plant respiration or whatever, so I decided to stick with the fun stuff. Like diseases,” Laila replies, deadpan, because it’s her stock answer.

Alvarez rewards her with a laugh. “Better you than me. I’ve never been any good at anything Science - I probably couldn’t even tell you where the kidney is.”

“Right here,” Laila says, tapping a spot on Alvarez’s back. She immediately regrets it. “Oh my god, I’m sorry. That wasn’t a question.”

“No, it’s fine! I told you, I have no problem with you being in my personal space,” Alvarez assures her, a twinkle in her eye. Laila almost misses a step, because she could swear Alvarez had put emphasis on the word ‘you’ that time. Like, she didn’t mind Laila being in her personal space, not just anyone in general. Fuck. “An anatomy lesson is totally fine with me, Miss Dermott.”

Fuck.

Laila’s cheeks go red, once again, and she wishes she weren’t so pale because then maybe it’d be less obvious - she bets Alvarez doesn’t have this problem - and she simultaneously thanks the fates for conspiring to ensure her first real conversation with Alvarez, if this even qualifies, happens at night time.

She laughs nervously. “Yeah, if you have any Bio classes, I’m your girl.”

Smooth. Smooth like chunky peanut butter.

Alvarez somehow manages to work around Laila’s awkwardness and word vomit and keeps up easy chatter until they reach their block. Slowly, the tension starts to fall from Laila’s shoulders as she realises she can actually talk to her crush. It’s a relief, even though every word Alvarez says makes Laila fall harder.

“I’m ground floor,” Alvarez says as they enter their block. “So.”

It’s the beginning of their goodbye, so Laila manages a slightly remorseful smile, and says, “So. I’ll see you at practice?”

“Woah, hold up,” Alvarez says, holding up a hand. “Goodbyes with me aren’t that short. I’m a little high-maintenance, I’m afraid.”

Laila doesn’t have even a hint of a problem with that. She’d offer this girl every last second of her free time, she’s sure, even if it meant she didn’t sleep. She raises her eyebrows. “Okay..?”

“Are you free at any point this weekend?” Alvarez asks.

“Um,” Laila says, thinking. She has long shifts both mornings, and she’s volunteering Saturday afternoon, and that leaves about five hours on Sunday, maximum, for class work. She has an exam on Monday that she’s only barely started studying for. “Not at all,” she says, feeling tired just thinking about everything that’s on her plate.

“I have no idea how you keep going,” Alvarez says, shaking her head as though she’s in awe. “I’m exhausted as is, and my only plans for the weekend are sleeping and maybe some assignments. Maybe.”

Laila laughs a little, “Yeah. I wouldn’t recommend my schedule.”

“Do you keep a little diary for your appointments?” Alvarez asks, grinning suddenly.

Laila hesitates a little before admitting, “I actually do. I’d never remember anything if I didn’t write it down.”

“That’s adorable!” Alvarez replies immediately. Then her grins takes on a wicked edge as she says, “So who do I need to speak to in order to get an appointment?”

“That would be me,” Laila says. “Um, an appointment for what? That anatomy class?”

“Hold your horses, cowgirl. I’d save that for the second date, at the earliest.”

Laila’s eyes widen. Date.

“Woah, I think you’re going purple. You don’t have to say yes, I just thought maybe-”

Laila cuts her off, because Alvarez is starting to look genuinely remorseful. “Yes.”

“-you might want to, but if you- wait, yes?” Alvarez’s eyes, large and an endless warm brown, snap back up to Laila’s.

“Yes. You can make an, um, I mean, I’d love to go on a date with you. If that’s what you’re asking.” Laila only stops herself from wringing her hands by sheer willpower.

“Yes! That’s definitely what I’m asking. Okay, awesome. I’ve been trying to working up to asking you all semester, and I do it by making a joke about a fucking appointment. Okay. Can’t believe that worked,” Alvarez laughs.

“All semester?” Laila asks. “I had no- I’ve been, like, staring at you in practice. I was certain you thought I was a creep.”

“No! Not at all. I didn’t even really notice. I mean, I did a little. But it was flattering! It wasn’t creepy staring. And you kept blushing about it, which, by the way, is fucking adorable.”

As if on cue, Laila blushes. 

“Anyway, I won’t keep you from your bed from longer, if you have a long weekend.”

“I do,” Laila says, but it seems slightly less exhausting. She feels reinvigorated. “Do you have my number?”

“Yeah, I do,” Alvarez smiles.

“Okay, text me later. I’ll, uh, figure out when I’m free, I guess,” Laila laughs, slightly self-deprecatingly, because she kind of wants to go on a date right now, even though she has to be awake in less than nine hours.

“No rush,” Alvarez assures her. “I can wait. You’re worth it.”

Laila can’t help but grin. “Well, I can’t wait.”

Alvarez’s smile matches hers for wattage, and Laila pulls her into an awkward hug good night.

She heads upstairs and gets almost straight into bed, as she’s used to, because every free minute is a minute she could be resting. But she can’t sleep. She can barely even close her eyes, energy coursing through her veins.

After ten minutes, she grabs her phone from where it’s charging. There’s another little thrill when she sees Alvarez’s name already on her screen, and she clicks on the notifcation, unable to help herself. I know you’ll be asleep and this is the opposite of hard to get, but I already told you I’m high maintenance, so? This is me texting you. It’s technically later. I’m not interrupting your beauty sleep tho. Sleep well, beautiful. Then there’s a second text: Or if I missed that window, good morning, sunshine with a little sun emoji.

Laila clutches the phone to her chest.