Moe was freaking out.

She was walking back and forth for about an hour now, and Lindsey, Cari and Sonnett were just looking at her without saying anything. Moe's sister Jennifer was at the hospital right now because she fainted at school. But since her family lived in St Simons in Georgia, she couldn't go and see her. So instead, she was just waiting for a call from her parents telling her that her sister was okay. 

Lindsey was rolling her eyes at her. "Dude, relax" she let out, trying to be a little bit friendly. "She wasn't crushed by a car or something". 

The midfielder didn't even look at her. Emily gave her a blow in the roasts, which caused her to ear a death glare from the taller girl. Cari, on the other hand, was concerned about Moe. She seemed to be breaking down at the moment. She knew it also was the distance that made her miss her family so much. And she couldn't do anything to help her sister. That went with the sacrifices the girls had to do to be on the NT. 

Cari tried to cheer her up. 

"She's gonna be fine" 

"You don't know that !" Moe practically shouted, before actually realizing who was talking to her. She then shook her head. Shit, why did I yell at her ? If it was Lindsey it wouldn't have been that bad... But why don't I want Cari to think I'm a bitch ? The defender was looking at her, confused and shocked. She wasn't used to be yelling at by Moe. "Sorry. I'm just very stressed and nobody seems to care." 

"We do care, but Jennifer isn't made out of gingerbread" Lindsey explained in a soft voice. 

"Not helping" Sonnett warned her. 

They exchanged a quick look, as Cari was looking at them with anger. They immediately understood that Moe needed to see them gone. So they awkwardly went out of the room, while Cari was closing the door behind them. Moe looked at her, panicked. Why is she being nice to me ? I just yelled at her.

Cari then walked toward Moe and opened her arms. 

"Here" she said, smiling. "I feel like you could use a hug". 

Moe sighed out of relief, and immediately took Cari's invite. She buried her face on her neck, and started to cry. She wasn't really sure why, but with the brunette she had the impression that she could be sad, without being mocked or something. Cari is my safe place. That realization made Moe go weak. 

She pulled away, and locked eyes with Cari. 

"Why are you always so nice with me ?" she asked, frowning. 

"Uhm... Because you're my friend ?" Cari said, giggling. Noticing that Moe wasn't even cracking a smile, she gained her serious face again and said : "Believe it or not, you're a good person, and people like you." 

Moe didn't know what to say. Instead, she just smiled at Cari. They spent the afternoon talking about everything, and Moe was happy to see her friend open up to her a little. God, her smile is too much. 

Mal was on the roof, trying to stop thinking about it. 

Her grandmother died today. That wasn't that big of a deal. She didn't want to be so weak for a lady that despised her so much. But she still was her grandmother, and the memories they shared together were precious. There were good times, during which Mallory was the happiest she's ever been. 

When she heard the ground crackle, she knew one of her teammates was standing on the roof as well. And when the person leaned against the barrier, two tattooed arms appeared in her field of view. She didn't even look up. 

"I've heard about your grandmother" the blonde said, her deep voice making Mal shiver. "I'm sorry. Death sucks." 

Mal looked at her for a second, wiping her tears away. Jenko was the last person she wanted to see at the moment. She was surprised the goalkeeper wasn't making fun of her for crying. She just remained silent for a while, as Jenko was looking at the view they had on the sky full of stars, and the city itself. 

The slightly older girl frowned. 

"What are you doing here anyway ?" Mal coldly asked, trying to look fierce. 

Jenko hesitated before saying : "Syd told me you were here. I guess I just wanted to... check on you or some shit." 

That came up as a huge shock for Mal. Is she trying to be nice all of a sudden ? But that didn't make her soften. 

"I don't need your pity" she said. 

"I know that, Royalty. I'm not here to give you any" Jenko immediately answered, a smirk on her face. 

"So why couldn't you be smart for once and be kind enough as to get your gangsta's ass somewhere else, where people actually want to talk to you ? Because I'd like to spend that off-time of mine alone." Mal harshly said. 

That only made Jenko laugh. "You really shouldn't use your entire vocabulary in once sentence, bud." 

She's making fun of me again. Mal rolled her eyes at her. As much as she despised her, she had to admit that her clash lines were pretty good. At least she wasn't trying to talk about the dead person. 

"They sent you here to be my psychologist ?" Mal asked, and the anger in her voice had disappeared. 

Jenko giggled. 

Mal was quite impressed by her, actually. She was beyond beautiful. Her face was thin and her jawline sharp as fuck. Her eyes were very clear, and seemed to be going through the souls all day long. Her tattoos were telling a story about, and about her chaotic life, that Mal really wanted to learn about. 

"Kinda" the tall keeper said, trying to hide her smile. 

"You know I hate you, right ?" Mal asked without any hence of hesitation. 

Jenko smiled. "You don't hate me. You think you do, but you don't." she explained, raising her eyebrows. 

"Whatever" Mal said, rolling her eyes. "So, Miss Psych, what's your advise to forget about death ?" 

The nickname made Jenko smiled. A smile she soon enough lost, because her face was being serious again. "There's no real advice to deal with a death" she said, looking at the sky. "I wish there was one, but there isn't. Do you know how many tattoos I have ?" 

Mal frowned. Why the fuck is she asking me that now ? She only shook her head as an answer, and waited for the girl to speak again. 

"I've got 27." Jenko said, closing her eyes. "That's the number of people I lost during my life. It started with my family, and then my friends in the Bronx. Gun shootings. Gang confrontations. I didn't get why I was the only one not dying." She took a little break. 

The tanned girl knew she wasn't very comfortable with talking about herself. "You don't have to tell me all of it" Mal said. 

"Do you want to hear it ?" Jenko softly asked. 

"Yes. But you don't have to." 

Jenko ignored her last sentence. "I decided to mark my body. It was my way of going through the pain, in inflicting it in my skin. I don't believe in God. I don't believe in miracles or some shit. I've seen death so close that I am not afraid anymore. I've seen all my friends die." she went on, trying to look composed. She wasn't crying. She never was. "I'm not advising you to get a tattoo every time you loose someone. My point is that everyone has her or his own way to deal with pain. But it eventually goes away." 

She then looked at Mal, who seemed sorry for her. 

"Life is a bitch" Jenko went on. "But you have to be stronger than she is. Because your life is a blessing. That's what I've learnt from those 27 tattoos. And that's what this old lady did for me : she gave me a chance to enjoy life. You should find a way to enjoy it too." 

Mal was confused. "I've never thought I'd say this one day, but thank you." 

Jenko smirked. "Anytime, dude." 

When the blonde left the roof, Mal had totally forgotten about her grandmother. Her thought were filled with Jenko. I want to pierce her defenses. Mal frowned : she was kinda happy that the keeper told her something personal. She would've never expected her to deliver such a well-driven speech. 

She shook her head. She's still a bitch.