Nobody knew Hope had a boyfriend.

Hell, everyone thought she was gay, by the way she looked at Carli. But a few days after the game against UCONN, a very tall bearded showed up in the dorm building's lobby, asking for the blue eyed keeper.

Allie and Tobin had been hanging out by the fireplace when he showed up.

When he asked for Hope, Tobin said, "Who are you?"

The man stared at her in disliking. "I'm her boyfriend."

Both of the girl's mouths fell open in shock. She had a boyfriend? The guy introduced himself as Jerramy Stevens. He was the starting quarter back for the University of Washington. Allie asked him what he was doing on the other side of the country.

The tall man glared at her and said, "It's none of your business."

The blonde flinched and shared a look with Tobin, both of the thinking the same thing. This guy is not good for Hope.

Tobin tried a different approach, giving the football player a quick smile. "I can go get Hope, is that okay?"

Jerramy nodded, sitting down across from Allie, who glared at Tobin for leaving her, then glared at the man to show him she wasn't afraid.

Tobin skittered up the stairs and knocked on the room that Hope shared with Alex and banged on it three times.

The door swung open to revel the goalkeeper, who wore black jeans and a grey sweatshirt. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she had a pair of earbuds draped around her shoulders, phone in hand.

"Hey Tobin. Are you looking for Alex? She went to the library to study."

Tobin shook her head. "There's a guy downstairs waiting for you. Yo-your boyfriend."

Hope's facial expression changed within a millisecond. Her eyes became hard as usual, her cheeks became slightly pink and her nose twitched. Her lips drew into a thin, sharp line, her usual game face, which the team called "her bitchy pitch face" behind her back.

She noticed Tobin examining her face and quickly forced a smile. "Great. Tell him I'll be down in a minute."

Tobin flashed her a fast smile and headed downstairs, praising herself for tell the goalkeeper, feeling excitement rush through her as she awaited to tell Allie about Hope's reaction.

Running down into the common room, Tobin saw Allie was looking at her phone, tapping her leg nervously, and Jerramy was burning his eyes into her pale skin. Seeing Tobin, the midfielder breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where's my girlfriend?" Jerramy demanded, standing up angrily when he saw Tobin was alone. She raised a hand up, as to calm him down. "She'll be down in a moment. She's just finishing whatever she's doing."

Sure enough, minutes later, the brown haired girl appeared in the doorway, giving the girls a smile but simply staring at her boyfriend.

"Hi Jerr," the keeper said softly, not looking the man in his eyes.

"Solo," he acknowledged her. Allie spun and looked at Tobin in surprise. She expected something a little more genuine and caring, maybe a hug or a kiss, but not for the man to address Hope by her surname.

"Allie, wasn't there something you wanted to show me?" Tobin asked, giving the blonde a look that clearly said, "We should leave".

Allie nodded and faked a grin. "Yeah, there is. Bye guys, have fun."

Hope gave a weak smile to the duo who exited the room in relief.

Once they were out of earshot, Allie talked. "There's something fishy going on."

Tobin nodded, it did seem really weird. "I feel like Hope is scared of him..."
Allie understood why. "Do- do you think, he has been, you know, hurting her?" she asked, her voice falling to a whisper.

Tobin shrugged, but she secretly thought that was exactly what was happening. "It could be possible. That's a good explanation, but wouldn't Hope stand up for herself? She's the fiercest person we know."

"But she's in love with Carli," Allie said, looking into the distance dreamily.

"Allie!"

The blonde turned to her friend, her hands raised in a surrender. "What? She is!"

Tobin shook her head. "We don't know that, and we shouldn't be making assumptions. Besides, even if she does, Carli clearly doesn't reflect those feelings. And if she hears us talking about it..."

Allie's head fell in defeat. "You're probably right."

Tobin narrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "I am right."

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