"Christ, Alex," Hope winced, staring painfully at the computer screen before her. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

Alex shrugged, looking at the profile as well. "Is it bad?"

The two girls were hunched over in their room, the goalkeeper critiquing her best friend's yearn to have her own a account on a popular dating site. Hope couldn't understand the younger girl sometimes- one day, she was moping about her breakup with Kelley and the next, she was putting herself on the Internet as ready to date again!

"Not necessarily bad," Hope laughed, "but just very, very strange..."

Alex shook her head in disgust. "I can't believe you're making fun of me, Solo. You're the one that needs to be on this site, anyways!"

Hope only laughed harder. "Low blow, my friend, low blow."

Alex tilted her head, pretending to ponder Hope's love life. "Who should we hook you up with?" she joked, the laugh evident in her tone. The forward didn't notice her roommate stiffen at the question, instead laughing some more. As Alex opened her mouth to respond, a loud, ear-shattering ringing sounded throughout the building.

"Oh, shit," Alex complained, slamming her laptop and grabbing the room key from the side table. "Fucking fire alarm," she murmured under her breath, following Hope onto the green outside where the majority of students had gathered. Alex walked straight past where Kelley and Allie were holding hands, finally landing on the other side of Tobin. Hope stood a little behind the two, wringing her muscular hands nervously. It was a bit of a silly fear, but fire alarms had always bugged the goalkeeper indescribably.

"Ugh," Alex complained, tightening her ponytail before balancing her hands on her hips. "I left my phone in there." 

Tobin laughed at her friend, glad hers was tucked safely in her own back pocket. 

"Boo, it's not real. Don't worry. You're phone is fine," the midfielder laughed, gathering up their friend group and towing them all away from the building. 

"Where the hell are we going?" Hope asked, reluctantly following Tobin through the campus green. 

Tobin smiled. "Trust me, we're going to have some fun."

"Oh, shit," Alex swore, shaking her head. "Whenever Tobin says something is "fun", someone ends up hurt."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, ouch, that is not true!" 

The three girls wandered around bunches of students, the majority walking on the sidewalk, their phones glued in their hands. So many weren't looking where they were going, that it was the trio's job to navigate through them. 

"Ow!" someone cried, tripping over Hope. A warm hand was placed on her back, and she realized who she had crashed into, a cold sheet of embarrassment gliding over her. 

"Ca- Carli, are you okay?" Hope asked, frantically making sure her peer was upright. The midfielder wore brown converse, skinny jeans and a jean jacket. It wasn't the usual college student outfit, but somehow the young woman made it look cute, Hope thought. 

"I'm fine!" Carli said quickly, smiling awkwardly at the older girl and patting her shoulder. Brian appeared behind her and Hope's grin vanished, Alex approaching the goalkeeper from behind. Carli nodded at the forward and Alex acknowledged her back. 

"Babe, let's keep going," Brian said protectively, placing a large hand on Carli and slowly guiding her away from Hope and Alex. She threw the duo a soft smile, pulling herself closer into Brian's side. Hope grimaced as she watched the two walk away and Alex wrapped an arm around her best friend in return, walking back to where Tobin was waiting on the grass.

"You guys okay?" the midfielder asked, raising her eyebrows but not mentioning the interaction. 

Alex nodded, but Hope shrugged. 

"Let's go," Alex suggested, tugging her maroon hoodie down so it covered her midriff. 

A fast pace keeping them moving, the three women crossed the busy New York street and entered a little pub that looked like it should be found in historical England. The tiny building was buzzing with chatter and laughs, the smell of beer and grilled cheese distinct on the people's breaths. 

Bartenders and old men took orders from civilians who ranged from young teenagers to groups of elderly women who were arguing over politics. 

Hope, Alex and Tobin were seated in a corner booth and were delivered menus from a handsome waiter. The moment he left, Hope chuckled at the swoony look in Alex's eyes and replied with, "Don't you wish he was on the dating site?" 

The forward glared at Hope and Tobin looked between the two, confused. 

"The fuck?" she asked, her eyebrows fading into her forehead crease. Alex shook her head. "Never mind," she sighed, looking at her friend with a gaze of presumptuous anger. 

Hope held back her laugh as she watched Tobin's face change from confusion to serious confusion as she excused herself to go to the bathroom (and, Hope thought, to probably call her girlfriend and tell her how weird the duo was). 

Alex looked at Hope with an insightful frown. "Hope, are you okay?" 

The goalkeeper didn't answer at first, choosing to let her gaze rest on the water glass in front of her. 

Finally, the girl shrugged and offered a sad smile. "I don't know anymore, Alex." 

Alex grimaced. 

"I just can't stand seeing Carli with Brian," Hope replied quietly. "It's- It's actually killing me..."

"That's not fair, Hope," the forward said. 

"I know it's not!" Hope protested, her grin gone altogether. "I want Carli to be happy. I really, really do..." she continued, "But, serious Hope moment here. I want to be happy too. And for some reason, I can't see that happening without her."