Rosalie sat stiffly in her window seat with her carryon backpack wedged under the seat in front of her. She pulled up the blinds on the window where the morning sun was streaming in and she squinted at the horizon to keep herself from looking at Drew Mendoza, who dropped into the seat directly between Rosalie and Joanna.

Joanna was still standing in the aisle looking pissed as all hell. Rosalie glanced over at her, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see Drew with their head tipped back against the headrest, smiling smugly at her. Joanna gestured frantically to Drew, who had denied Joanna's access to their seat five times over.

"So are you two dating then?" Drew asked.

Rosalie's jaw dropped, and she looked at Joanna, who shut her mouth. Drew's eyes were on Rosalie so they wouldn't see Joanna shake her head. "No, we aren't," Rosalie said.

Lennie was just arriving behind Joanna in the aisle. He stopped at the question Drew posed, and then looked from Joanna to Rosalie with wide, perplexed eyes. Rosalie stared him down as Joanna took her seat reluctantly. Lennie narrowed his eyes at her, and she could only imagine what he was thinking.

Rosalie settled back in her seat with a deep frown on her lips. She could feel Lennie looking over at them as the Lieutenant offered to switch her seat with Lennie. "So you can share the aisle with Joanna," the Lieutenant said.

"We aren't even friends," Joanna snarked.

"I will absolutely take the aisle seat," Lennie said.

"Choke," she seethed at him.

Drew laughed, clapping their hands together. Rosalie covered her face and looked out the window as Lennie offered to put the Lieutenant's bag in the overhead compartment. As the Lieutenant took the middle seat in the row across aisle, Lennie reached up to stuff his jacket and the Lieutenant's duffle overhead. Meanwhile, Drew leant over in her seat to look around Joanna to check out Lennie's ass. Joanna slumped even further in her seat, shielding her view of Lennie with her hand.

Drew turned to Rosalie to say, "You have befriended so many hot people, how do you do it when you look so..."

"Look like what?" Rosalie squeaked, heat flushing to her cheeks. She thought back to when Joanna had completely upended her duffle just that morning.

Drew crossed their arms and shrugged. "It's just... You exude depressingly straight vibes. Your external sapphic energy is so subpar, it's underground—no offense."

Joanna's jaw dropped as she leant over and, likewise, gave Rosalie a view of Lennie staring wide-eyed at Drew before making absolute eye contact with Rosalie. Rosalie clamped her mouth shut from where her jaw had fallen into her lap.

"I-I'm not gay, Drew," Rosalie whispered, looking frantically to the window. Still, she couldn't stop herself from looking back at Drew, whose eyes quickly shot up from where they had been checking out Rosalie's outfit. "Stop that!" Rosalie hissed, slapping them in the arm. "I'm not!"

"I'm just saying that your look has more potential than this. You've gotta upgrade."

"We're on a six hour flight. Of course I'm not gonna be wearing a dress."

"We're on a six hour flight and I still look good. You have no excuses," Drew said, gesturing to their, quite frankly, stellar lazy outfit.

Rosalie ground her teeth together to stop herself from saying, You'd look good in a trash bag, idiot.

Drew glanced at Joanna then, who was staring at them with wide, fascinated eyes. Though, as soon as they met eyes, Joanna seemed to remember who she was looking at and went back to scowling. "You haven't said anything. I'm assuming you agree?" Drew said.

"I'm not agreeing to anything," Joanna said.

"Yes, but do you agree with something?"

Joanna's lips pulled back into a sneer. She said nothing, though.

"What am I supposed to do about it?" Rosalie scoffed, rolling her eyes. "We're practically on vacation."

"You've got money, don't you?" Drew said. Rosalie shrugged. She had a debit card and her mother didn't tell her not to use it for extraneous things, but it felt odd to plot a shopping spree when she'd need to lug it all back to Maryland. "Then don't worry about it. Just leave it to me."

Rosalie didn't bother arguing. They were going to Seattle for three days. They'd have time to waste, and on top of that, she wasn't sure what to do with herself without planning something. She had a rough sketch of ideas, but it certainly wasn't enough to hold them over the weekend.

By some sort of miracle, the flight was tolerable. In fact, it was pleasant. Once the plane was in the air, Drew turned the conversation to the USW boys team, which pulled Lennie's attention from the French book in his hands. Rosalie hadn't expected it, but she was grateful for the distraction from Drew's knee in her general personal space bubble.

In the process, they got onto the topic of what team Drew was recruited for. "The girls' team," they said. "I'll be meeting with the coach to discuss specifics, but it sounds like it's possible."

"Don't your testosterone levels exempt you from the girls' team?" Joanna commented.

Drew shrugged. "Sounds like it, but they invited me anyway. I'd rather be on the girls' team, but if it comes down to it, I also have a meeting with the men's coaches."

"But are you on any hormone treatments?" Joanna asked.

"Testosterone suppressants," they said, leaning back with a sigh. "Still qualifies me for the men's team, though."

"I don't know enough about hormone treatments in game policy," Lennie confessed. "I'd figure testosterone treatments would be on the same level of controversy as steroids."

"If you're trans male, you absolutely can't participate in women's sports," Drew explained. "But if you're trans female, you can only participate in men's sports unless it's a mixed team."

The fact that Drew's good enough for both the men and women's teams is impressive as it is, Rosalie thought to herself, knowing full well that her sense of admiration was seeping into her expression the longer she stared at Drew's profile as they chatted with Lennie about NCAA gender policies.

They went on about the game that was occurring that weekend—of which both Lennie and Drew were invited to. Rosalie's phone buzzed in her pocket as Lennie laughed at something Drew said about the men's coach. She looked down at the message from Joanna with a smile.

_____

JOANNA: My mortal enemies are conspiring

ROSALIE: It's kinda cute

JOANNA: No it isn't. It's nauseating

ROSALIE: They're making friends :D

JOANNA: Your optimism sickens me.

ROSALIE: You're just saying that 'cause you're bitter about being on your period during vacation.

JOANNA: >:(

ROSALIE: :D

_____

Seattle was in a dense fog by the time they touched down. Rosalie's ears popped during the descent, the pressure in her skull enough to spur on a headache that followed her out of the terminal. She rubbed a hand against her ear as she went to look out through the window next to the gate entrance. A drizzle had dotted the windows with droplets of fresh rain, and as she looked out at the airfield, Joanna came to join her and say, "I can't believe you fantasized all this time about rainy Washington."

"It's not always like this," Rosalie said. "It just makes the sunny days even more exciting."

"Once again, I'm allergic to your optimism," Joanna said with a sigh. Rosalie turned a smile onto her, only to hesitate when she found Joanna smiling back, however light-handedly. Rosalie stifled her grin, biting down on her bottom lip when the Lieutenant called for them.

Rosalie stole one last glance out through the window. The smile she held back came full force as she hurried after Joanna. Drew, Lennie, and the Lieutenant were waiting out past the gate seating, and when Rosalie bounded up, Drew put their hands in their pockets and said, "Someone's happy."

"Extremely," Rosalie beamed, her insides warm and fuzzy despite the dreary weather.

The air outside of the baggage claim was chilly in Rosalie's lungs as they emerged through the automatic doors. Rosalie let out a gasp and it clouded in front of her. Rosalie's heart swelled in her chest, beating in her throat as the rain drizzled off of the overhang. The tall, broad windows reflected the pine trees just beyond the building, swaying in the breeze and frosted over from the morning dew.

Rosalie's sneakers padded across shallow puddles as she walked down the length of the windows, her eyes traveling up to the tips of the trees as the Lieutenant talked about getting a rental car for the weekend.

"We'll drive you two wherever you need to go," she told Lennie and Drew, who, through this odd series of events, were adopted into the Lieutenant's group.

"You don't have to. I was planning on getting a taxi anyway," Lennie confessed.

"I wasn't," Drew scoffed. "Sign me up, Mom."

"First off: I am not your mother," the Lieutenant said. "And second: Call me Lieutenant Colonel Spencer, and only refer to me as such."

"Wow," Drew said, eyes wide. As the Lieutenant walked off in the direction of the rental car facility, Drew turned to Joanna to say once again, "Wow."

"You must have a thing for women in uniform in their forties," Joanna deadpanned.

"Absolutely," Drew said. They ducked down to pick up their duffle and slung it over one shoulder. "You heard the Lieutenant Colonel. Rental car it is!"

Drew started to walk after the Lieutenant, and Rosalie half expected them to start marching like they were in a parade. Instead, they hooked one hand on the straps of their duffle on their shoulder and the other stuffed in the pocket of the leather jacket over their purple sweatshirt. Rosalie tipped her head to the side as she watched Drew walk away before she became distracted by Lennie approaching her and Joanna with that stoic expression on his face that Rosalie felt was impossible to read.

"What?" Joanna said in an unamused grumble.

"I didn't know you two were hanging out with the Eagles' captain," he said. He shrugged, pocketing his hands in his winter jacket. "I guess I'm also just a little surprised that you two still aren't dating. It's not exactly my place, but—"

"We can't all be happy and straight like you, Pittmen," Joanna snarked.

"Joanna," Rosalie hissed, alarmed.

Lennie held his hands up in surrender, and when Joanna took a threatening step towards him on her way after Drew, he jerked out of the way. It was like the lazy river all over again, but this time, Joanna wasn't about to throw hands with Lennie. Instead, she marched off, tossing her ginger hair back over her shoulder.

Lennie turned back to Rosalie, who rubbed a hand over her forehead as he asked, "Are you okay with that? I thought you were... looking for something serious with her."

"We are. I am. I mean—" Rosalie started, all of her words jumbling together. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She gestured sharply with her hands and said, "We're steady, but we can't tell anyone. That means you can't talk about it, not even with Ray, okay?"

Lennie shut his mouth. He gave a small nod, and the tension in Rosalie's shoulders relaxed. She hadn't even told Sami that much. Since Sami went off to Adams, her go-to confidant had been compromised. She didn't want to admit that her and Sami were close because of proximity, but it seemed true now. Talking about it pulled the weight from her shoulders that made her wish Georgina would just go away and let her and Joanna move at their own pace.

When Rosalie started walking, Lennie fell in step beside her. "I'm guessing it's about those girls from Germany," he commented, under his breath. They were far from Drew, close enough for Joanna to hear, and impossible for anyone else to understand.

"Yeah," Rosalie sighed. "I don't know if they'd do something like they did to Nora Jacobs, but Joanna doesn't want to take any chances. I don't blame her."

"I get it," he said, eyes on the ground. Rosalie glanced over at him, her eyes stilling on the straight-cut shape of his profile that ended at his untamed hair. Most days he had it combed nicely, but after a six hour flight, it was curlier and fluffier than usual. It kind of reminded her of Jamie-Lee's hair, albeit without defined ringlets.

Rosalie huffed a little, turning away with a smile.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said, grinning. "I was just thinking of Jamie-Lee."

Joanna walked with purpose to pass Drew up the stairs to the rental car facility. When Drew realized that it was a competition, they started up with a renewed bounce in their step, leaping after Joanna and taking the steps two, three at a time. Joanna ducked forward and vaulted up as fast as she could, pumping her arms and overtaking the Lieutenant, who staggered at the top of the steps and twirled around when Drew shot past her like a dart. The Lieutenant looked down at where Rosalie and Lennie were still at the bottom of the stairs.

Drew and Joanna cruised around the railing and to the rental car entrance. Joanna shoved Drew into the doorframe and emerged victorious, only to be tackled around the midsection by Drew yanking her off her feet. Drew spun Joanna up, and Joanna screamed, "Unhand me, heathen! I like my feet on the ground!"

Rosalie and Lennie followed the Lieutenant through the door as Joanna writhed and kicked in Drew's arms. Drew spun her around and Joanna nearly took Rosalie out at the knees. "Careful!" Rosalie cried, heart leaping into her throat. She couldn't imagine having her legs taken out before Regionals, even if she wasn't on the field. "Put her down!"

Drew dropped Joanna and put their arms out. Joanna staggered to the side and followed through with a swing of her fist that clocked Drew hard in the shoulder. The audible thud had Rosalie wincing and Drew crumpling, clutching at it with a pained, "Oh, fuck."

"Grab me like that again and it'll be your eye," Joanna threatened.

"Atta girl," the Lieutenant said. Before Rosalie could think too deeply about that bit of encouragement, the Lieutenant waved to them and said, "You kids stick over here. I'll be back with the keys and we'll be off."

Rosalie watched the Lieutenant walk off before her eyes trailed over to Joanna, who was straightening her jacket and sweatshirt with a furious scowl on her face. She had her sights on Drew, but almost as soon as Rosalie looked towards her, her eyes drifted over to Rosalie. Rosalie swallowed hard as Joanna's expression neutralized and ended with a pout as if to say, "Did we really need to let Drew tag along?"

Lennie walked past Drew on his way to the window ledge. "You asked for it," Lennie told them. He dropped his duffle to the ground and took a seat on the ledge, one foot pulled up on the ledge. He was clad in a pair of fitted Armory sweatpants and what looked like a friendship bracelet on his ankle.

Drew was the first to point it out. "Where'd you get that?"

Lennie looked down at it and pinched it between his fingers. It was black, blue, and silver. "My girlfriend made it," he said.

Joanna scoffed a little. She glanced at Rosalie, who looked back with a shrug. "Ray used to make friendship bracelets all the time during soccer camp," she explained.

"Show me a pic of this girl. I can't remember," Drew demanded, taking a seat beside Lennie and leaning over to look at the photos. They were still rubbing at their shoulder as Lennie sifted through his phone for a proper picture. "Ah, tall Asian girl. Just my type."

"As if you have a type," Joanna accused.

"Everyone's my type," Drew said with a cheeky wink. Joanna held her fist up, but Drew's eye contact didn't falter. After a moment, they turned back to Lennie and said, "How long have you two been dating?"

At that, Lennie rubbed the back of his neck and glanced over at Rosalie. Rosalie flushed at the realization that she was the reason why Lennie and Ray ever became "Facebook official". For the remainder of the time they spent waiting for the Lieutenant, Lennie explained the situation starting at the very beginning: Halloween weekend.

As Lennie talked, Rosalie took a seat a few feet away from where Drew sat. It was enough space for Joanna to claim, but instead, Joanna claimed her other side far from Drew. Joanna dropped down with her shoulder up against Rosalie's. Rosalie glanced over as Joanna leant away and, after meeting her gaze, bumped her shoulder up against Joanna's.

It wasn't enough to get a smile on her face, at the very least, the pout was gone. Joanna tucked her hair behind her ear before deciding better of it. She swept it back into a messy, floppy bun before tipping her head onto Rosalie's shoulder. The weight of Joanna up against her side mellowed the energy buzzing in her veins and she felt at ease in a bubble of sheer awe.

She couldn't fathom a timeline in which she was both accepted to USW and also in a secret relationship with the star goalkeeper of the Knights soccer team. Somehow, there Rosalie was, existing in such a reality.

Joanna pressed her cheek against Rosalie's shoulder as she turned to say, "What're you thinking about?"

Rosalie smiled and said, "How lucky we are."

"I didn't ask you to be cheesy."

"I guess cheesy is just my default," she said proudly. Joanna pinched her leg and Rosalie laughed. "But seriously, I'm honestly glad that you decided to change our deal."

"One date versus unlimited dates? Definitely my best decision ever," Joanna said, hushed. Rosalie grinned. If it weren't for Joanna switching their end goal to USW, then Rosalie would have just one date with Joanna and the rest would have been history. Joanna would have gone off to join the Air Force and Rosalie might never have visited USW again. Perhaps she would have visited USW as a rival, but never as a member of the team.

Now, they were being welcomed to the team. If it weren't for Georgina back in Montgomery, Rosalie would have kissed Joanna then and there. She didn't trust Drew's big mouth, though, and kissing in public felt... odd anyway.

But perhaps that was just an excuse. The image of kissing Joanna in public came to mind and sent her heart racing. She wondered if Joanna would kiss how she always did—with passionate force, backing her up against the wall. A shiver went up her spine as she brought her fingers to her lips. At school, it was different. She knew the people in the hallways, but in public, she didn't have to care about who saw and who judged because she'd never see them again.

The Lieutenant's rental car was a sleek hybrid car with a backseat, two bucket seats, and a spacious front. Lennie claimed the passenger's seat so he could help navigate, and after some fighting over the bucket seats, Joanna kicked Drew to the backseat and said, "Suck my figurative dick, Mendoza."

"Happily," Drew preened from the back.

Rosalie shut the door and settled into the black leather seat. The car smelled brand new and freshly cleaned. She breathed it in and turned to Joanna with a smile.

Their hotel was the closest to USW's campus and therefore, a reasonable spot