Alex had pneumonia.

Ever since third grade, the girl got sick every winter. Either it was lack of humidity the California girl wasn't use to, the huge amount of germs that students were spreading or just Alex's weak lungs acting up. She was on antibiotics, and had to slurp in the chunky pink liquid every morning. She stayed in the dorm she shared with Hope, letting the older girl take care and nurse her back to health. The goalkeeper brought Alex her school work every other day, a visit the girl never particularly looked forward to. Nevertheless, Alex was grateful she had Hope around. It was nice to have a distraction from the hacking cough and pounding headache that surrounded Alex 24 hours a day. The school work didn't help either, the tiny text only made her head hurt more as she tried to narrow in on what the writer was saying. Living off of apple sauce and pounding headaches and gunky coughs was not the way Alex had planned on spending her first winter in New York. Luckily, Hope was there for a reason.

Friday, January 18th, was the first last day.

Hope bounded into the room she shared with the forward, clutching Alex's familiar black jacket and her phone in her hands. Alex looked up from the couch, her eyes brightening with hope at the look in the goalkeeper's eyes.

"Lex," Hope gasped for breath, holding up a finger in a wait gesture as she recovered from the sprint up the three sets of stairs. "I have a lightbulb."

"What?" Alex asked, her mouth parted slightly as a soft breath escaped through her lips. 

Hope's smile widened. "We're going skating!" she announced, beaming. 

The brunette's smile died. "But, Hope... I'm sick. Doc said I shouldn't be with the cold." 

"Since when do we follow what Doc said? Besides, it was your girlfriend's idea. Not mine." 

"I'm gonna kill Kelley if I get even sicker."

Hope paused. "So, you're coming?" 

Alex rolled her eyes. "It'll be fun. 'Course I'm coming you dumbo." 

-

"What's this?" Ali asked, her eyebrows narrowing slightly as she pulled a ripped photo out of Ashlyn's backpack. Originally, the defender needed a power cord for her dead MacBook. She had lost hers a few weeks earlier and had been living off of her girlfriend's from there on. The goalkeeper had gone into the bathroom to take a shower, needing to wash off the layer of cold sweat she had collected from the run that Ali had made her go on. 

The photo's edges were tinted brown from old age and wrinkled. The people outlined were faded, and by first glance, it was hard to make out who they were. Two girls, maybe around five or six, were sitting side by side on a wooden bench. The lighting was horrible, and their faces could hardly be seen. 

"What the fuck?" Ali muttered quietly, flipping the piece of paper over and reading the printed date on the back. September 1st, 2003. First Day of School.

2003. That was the year that Ali and Ashlyn would have been in Kindergarten. Aww, Ali thought. Ash kept a picture of her younger self. That's cute. 

The defender pushed the picture back into Ashlyn's backpack, letting the observation fall into a well at the back of her mind. 

She didn't think of it for a while. 

Ash opened the bathroom door, her long blonde locks dripping onto the floor. 

Ali made a face. "You're getting the carpet wet," she complained moving over to help her girlfriend put her hair into a bun on the top of her head. Ash wore a red Adidas shirt and black leggings, her hands wrinkled from the long, hot shower she had just escaped. 

"What've you been up to?" Ashlyn asked, getting comfortable on the sofa. Ali settled next to her, allowing the goalkeeper to cuddle into her side, resting her head lovingly on the other girl's shoulder. 

Ali shrugged. "This and that. Do you want to watch something?" 

Ashlyn smile. "Friends?" 

"Of course, my love." 

The blonde made her way to the TV, turning it on and changing the HDMI Input to their Apple TV. She selected Netflix, and sat back down next to the love of her life, the black plastic clutched tightly in her hand. 

"Which Episode are we on?" 

"Season seven, episode... eight? I think." 

Ashlyn selected Season 7, Episode 8 anyways and pressed play. Ali cuddled into the other girl, wrapping an arm tightly around her shoulder. 

"I love," Ali started. 

"Me?" Ashlyn interrupted. 

Ali frowned. "I was going to say that I love Friends, but I guess I love you too..."

Ash blushed, adjusting herself so she was closer to her girlfriend. "Aww, Als. Stoooop it..."

The defender laughed. "You stop it! You're starting to sound like Kyle!" 

"Is that a bad thing?" Ashlyn retreated with a smile. 

Ali shrugged. "Not necessarily. But I don't want two Kyles. I want one Kyle, and one Ashlyn."

The goalkeeper responded by nesting her head into Ali's shoulder, which the brunette patted awkwardly through a chuckle. 

"Love me, love me, say that you love me," Ashlyn sang into her girlfriend's neck. The defender cringed at her girlfriend's singing, covering her ears with her hands dramatically. 

"I love you! Go away Justin Bieber, I want Ashlyn back now!" Ali cried, struggling and failing to sound serious. 

Her head popped up out of Ali's neck, a grin almost breaking her face in two. The smile poked a little bit at Ali's heart, who couldn't help but return the look. "Ashy's back. I love youuu." 

Ali rolled her eyes, still smiling.  "Jesus Christ, woman. I love you too."