Last night, Mal fell asleep to the sound of people having fun on the other side of campus. Today, she awoke with a pounding headache. The first thing that she noticed was that the bed next to her was empty and looked as if it hadn't been touched all night, meaning that Rae had never returned. 

She yawned as she slowly climbed out of bed, stretching. Mal made her way over to the windows and drew open the shades, blinking at the light that poked her tired eyes. Everything outside looked shiny, meaning that it had most likely rained for the whole night. At least the plants were happy, Mal thought darkly. 

Still in her pajamas, Mal opened the door to her dorm room and looked in the hallway before scurrying to the dorm across the hall. She knocked on the door and it swung open to reveal Lindsey with darting eyes and a suspicious glare. When she realized it was only her freshman teammate, Lindsey calmed and smiled at the girl. 

"G'morning, Mal-pal! What can I do for you?" She chimed, her voice sleepy.

Mallory shrugged. "Have you seen Rae?" 

Lindsey shook her head. "Uh, no... No, I haven't. Why would you think I have? I haven't left this dorm since last night... I slept here, by myself. No, I haven't." 

The forward's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline as she stared at Lindsey, perplexed by her stumbling. "Okay then..." Mal muttered stepping back as Lindsey shut the door gently. "I... guess I'll just have to keep looking." 

Mallory wandered down the quiet hallway, through the solemn stairways and into the common room, where two juniors were bent over a laptop. She clicked open the door and snuck outside, yawning. Only after receiving a funny look from a passing professor did she realize that she donned a pair of ratty sweatpants, a SpongeBob Squarepants shirt and a blank jacket; Mal instantly zipped up the jacket, blushing. 

It was around eight in the morning on a cool October day. Not too many people were up since it was the first Saturday of the month, and warm beds were always more appealing to the hundreds of young adults living in New York City. 

She made her way to the apartment on the south-east side of campus that was home to Allie, Ali, Hope and Alex. Mal breathed a sigh of relief as the warm air impacted her, making her eyes well. After climbing three flights of stairs, the freshman knocked on a door once again and smiled when Allie opened it, her blonde hair tied up in a very messy ponytail. 

"Good morning, Mal," she greeted sipping her mug of coffee. A buzz from the TV and chatter among the three other ladies was audible as Mal stepped inside the warm living place. She was instantly offered her own mug of coffee, which she graciously accepted from Alex. 

"What's up, kid?" Hope asked, her crystal eyes not straying from the newspaper. Mal shrugged and said softly, "I just wanted to talk to Allie..." The evident hurt and fear in her voice made the goalkeeper's binging eyes look up as Ali, Allie and Alex all crowded around. 

"Mal, are you okay?" Ali asked quietly. The forward nodded almost too quickly and turned to face Allie. "Al, can we talk?" 

The blonde's eyebrows narrowed but she smiled nevertheless, following Mallory into the bedroom that Ali shared with Alex. Once Allie shut the door, Mal started talking. 

"Allie, I know that you probably don't know anything about this... well, nobody does... but I need someone to know that I- I mean that Rae and I..." 

"Just spit it out, kid," Allie said with a confused yet comforting expression. 

Mal rolled her eyes. "Rae's missing. I can't find her anywhere, and I don't know what to do."

Allie paused, her tongue slipping over her cracked lips. "Um... when did you see her last?" 

The freshman blushed. She knew that she was going to have to admit it. "Uh, yesterday. In our dorm." 

"And, what did you say to each other? Anything?" 

Mal shook her head. "We didn't exactly talk..." She let her eyes stray to the ground, hoping the woman would pick up her hint. She did, paling as she pictured Mallory and Rae lip-locked. 

"Oh..." she whispered, her eyes wide but a not-surprised smile on her face. Mal glanced up at her and frowned "Allie, it's not funny! I can't find her anywhere!" 

Allie bit her lip tightly and nodded. "You're right. I'll help you find her." 

-

"Tobin, I can't believe it!" Ashlyn huffed, standing up the moment the midfielder stepped in the dorm room. She held a coffee cup and what looked to be a scone wrapped in wax paper. She frowned, placing her drink on the desk. Tobin shoved the miscellaneous textbooks, paper and mechanical pencils to the side and took a seat in the swivel chair, clearing her throat before turning to face Ashlyn. 

"What can't you believe?" 

Ashlyn's eyes widened and her mouth faked falling open. She obviously thought that Tobin knew about this mysterious news and was just acting like she had no idea. She actually had no idea. 

"Oh, Tobin," the keeper grinned sympathetically, lying back down on her bed. "I can't believe it!" she repeated. 

Tobin rolled her eyes, sipping her coffee and picking at the raspberry scone in front of her. She nibbled a little bit and frowned at how dry it was. "Ashlyn, I have no fucking idea what you're talking about..." 

Ash laughed and walked over to the desk, stealing a bite of the other girl's breakfast. 

"Hey!" Tobin complained, wrapping an arm around the food protectively. "But, Ash, what is it?" 

Ashlyn's smile faded a little as she began to comprehend that Tobin was serious about not knowing. "Wa- Wait. She didn't tell you?" 

The mid shook her head cluelessly. "Who 'she'?" Tobin put her drink back on the table. "What didn't she tell me?" 

Ashlyn frowned deeply, her eyebrows creasing. "Christen." 

"What's wrong?" Tobin asked, her lips pursed hearing her kind-of-girlfriend's name. 

Ashlyn coughed before continuing. "Oh, nothing's wrong. She- She was traded to the Chicago Red Stars. By request."