ties that bind.
chapter 001.
the best of us.

xxx.

             WHENEVER Malia needed to run fast, like, faster than her natural born talent would allow her to, she'd imagine she was being chased by a really big, angry dog. It was usually a German Shepherd, or a Doberman, those ones really freaked her out— they're like humans that walk on all fours. A big, huge, gray Doberman was what she had imagined last night during their semifinals game.

It was an accurate thought in hindsight, since the other team had a striker that honestly looked like a Doberman, but Malia had been more focused on a different player during the second half of the game. The Wiskayok Yellowjackets were tied with the Warren Tech Knights, 3-3, with maybe four minutes left on the clock. Their team was gassed, Coach Martinez had already subbed in a few girls off the bench and had to take them out, pressing the starters that they had to give it all they had if they wanted to come out on top. Malia knew that the likes of Natalie and Mari were tired, but it wasn't their battle to pursue, at least not in the moment.

The Knights had the ball and were effectively coming towards Van, the Yellowjackets' goalie. Malia had been right on the girl with the ball's tail, and she could see Taissa running along side her on the opposite side of the field, parallel to her. They didn't need to share a look for Malia to kick it into high gear, imagining that Doberman barking ferociously behind her, so she could move even quicker.

She had been able to hook her foot right in front of the girl, kicking the soccer ball squarely out of its path, and over to Taissa. By that point, it was all but guaranteed they'd get the last goal. Malia had come to a jogging stop, glancing up at the clock, which was ticking down with two minutes then. The play was away from her then, there would be nothing more she could do except watch as Taissa passed the ball to Shauna, who would get it further down the field before kicking it back to Taissa. Jackie, their team captain, stood just mere feet from the Knights' goal, calling for Taissa to pass the ball her way.

Which she did, and Jackie head butted the ball right past the goalie, the resounding victorious swoosh of the net becoming the most important sound on a field full of screaming parents and classmates in the stands. The whistle blew, signifying that time had run out and the game had ended, and Malia recalled their entire team dogpiling on to Jackie, screaming and cheering about going to Nationals.

But that was last night. Malia was on the field again the next morning, far earlier than any teenager should be, before school even started. She'd already ran several sprints, kicked the ball into the goal from four different angles, and even practiced head butting it, since Coach Martinez was so inspired by Jackie's winning move last night. Malia didn't wear a watch, but she was pretty sure she'd been there for a whole forty five minutes, leaving her with close to thirty minutes to wash up and get ready for class, which she would probably sleep through first period to make up for how early she was up.

Coach Martinez wasn't too shy about the fact that Malia was one of, if not the favorite. Since tryouts in freshman year, he saw something special in her and knew that he could help mold her into the most versatile soccer player Wiskayok, and maybe New Jersey itself, had ever seen. She had done something about halfway into the school year, mouthed off to the history teacher about how the lesson they were learning was totally inaccurate and borderline offensive, and got detention for two weeks. Well, that was a problem for Coach Martinez, because it meant she wasn't going to be at practice for two weeks.

             He managed to find the silver lining in the opportunity, though. Coach Martinez cut a deal with the history teacher that gave Malia detention, and they both agreed that she could avoid detention if she came to extra practices with Coach before school. It became routine though, after those first two weeks, and Malia saw it less as a punishment the more she went. He'd make her run until she felt like puking one day, then have her watch old footage of other women's soccer matches while they ate greasy gas station pizza in his office the next.

             Three years had gone by after that, and coming to school an hour and a half early had become normal, fun for Malia. Plus, it kept her from being home when her father woke up to leave for the church.

             " Come on, Coach, I thought you said you had ice in your veins, not arthritis. " Malia taunted the older man as she weaved the soccer ball back and forth, keeping him on his toes as he volunteered to play defense against her to help her work on her footwork.

              " Hey, I'm going easy on you. Back in the day, I was— "

              " The best soccer player Wiskayok had ever seen, yeah, anyways— " Malia mimicked his voice by making hers ridiculously deeper, though her eyes were focused on the ball. She shoved his shoulder and took him off guard, working around him to kick the ball into the goal, throwing her hands up in the air. She spun around to gloat, " If it's that easy to beat you, then I must be the best in the whole country. "

" Having a big head isn't a good look, Sun. " Coach Martinez insisted, planting his hands on his hips as he turned to face her, though there was a bit of amusement on his face. A car horn suddenly honked, causing both of them to look over at the parking lot, Coach Martinez's expression falling instantly. He dropped one of his hands to clap Malia on the shoulder, telling her, " Go ahead and clean up early, I'll see you for the pep rally. "

Malia nodded without a question, though she watched curiously as she walked over to the bench to grab her things. Coach Martinez made his way to the car, where he presumably began a hushed argument with his wife. Malia wasn't trying to appear nosey, but she'd still been watching when their two sons, Javi and Travis, got out of the car. It was still early, but she assumed they just didn't want to hear their bickering and would rather wait in the school lobby until the doors opened.

Caught staring at their family conflict, Malia quickly raised a hand to wave to the two boys, albeit expecting only one reaction. She was right, as Javi waved back at her in response, a halfhearted smile on his face, whereas Travis gave her a cold look and just kept walking past the field. She didn't mind, she liked Javi better, anyways, from what Coach Martinez told her about them.

She waited a few more minutes so she didn't have to have the awkward encounter of being within talking distance of the boys, then gathered her bag and her water bottle and headed to the locker rooms so she could change before class, and figure out where she was taking her nap.

xxx.

Laura Lee, God's favorite believer, sat next to Malia in biology. Blonde hair straight and shining, eyes beaming with a readiness for learning, posture so perfect it made Malia subtly straighten her own back— Laura Lee was prim and pristine, as usual, a picture perfect example of what a student should be.

" You weren't in homeroom this morning, is everything okay? " She asked as she settled her books down onto the desk, looking over at Malia in concern.

Malia's dad was a preacher at Laura Lee's church, and when he found out that she was in some of the same classes as his daughter, and the same soccer team, he practically leapt on the opportunity to tag a babysitter onto Malia. He framed it to Laura Lee like Malia was some pitiful loser that needed a good friend to 'show her the light', but it felt a lot like being supervised to her. She didn't dislike Laura Lee, actually, when she got to know her a little, she thought she was pretty cool.

Okay, cool was the right word, but she wasn't a horrible person to have to be around.

" Ah, yeah, I slept in Coach's office until first period. I have those early mornings with him three times a week for extra practice, remember? " Malia reminded Laura Lee, though someone else was eavesdropping on their conversation.

Van suddenly leaned forward from the desk she and Taissa shared, her head fitting into the spot between Malia and Laura Lee's shoulders perfectly as she grinned up at them, " Ooh, what kind of 'extra practice', Mal? "

" That's so gross. " Taissa remarked, only half paying attention to the conversation as she doodled in her notebook.

Malia ignored the playful taunt, simply sharing a look with Laura Lee, who's face contorted at the idea of her friend doing anything inappropriate with their coach; their old, and married coach who drank coffee like it was water.

" What about the..you know, fight you had with Melissa? Did he say anything about that? " Laura Lee questioned, brows furrowed together. She lowered her voice a little as if what they were talking about was some top-secret information, " Do you think you'll get in trouble for it? "

" Well, it was technically on after school hours, but on school grounds, so, yeah, probably. I'm sure they're taking their sweet time trying to decide how to punish me for it. " Malia answered nonchalantly, planting her chin in her hand.

A few days before, Malia and Melissa, one of the JV girls, had gotten into a minor altercation. Everyone was calling it a fight, but in Malia's experience, a fight meant you both at least swung on each other, even if it didn't land; she had slapped Melissa once, right across the face, and it had been over. She didn't bother correcting anyone though, they'd twist anything they could to make their regular boring school day more interesting, and it usually came at the expense of the preacher's daughter, if not their other gossip target, local burnout Natalie Scatorccio.

Melissa had made a comment about her and another JV girl's— Jenna? Gen? —bet on which member of the Martinez family Malia had to be sleeping with, because there was just no viable way that she could just be that good that Coach would have her do extra practices every other day for the past four years. Gen was a basic bitch and had bet on it being Travis, since he was only a year or two younger than Malia, and the whole 'Flex' rumor about him didn't help. Melissa was convinced that Coach Martinez and his wife were swingers and Malia was their occasional third.

Melissa didn't know Malia was nearby when she was blabbering and laughing about the bet to Natalie and Jackie, and certainly wasn't expecting the sharp slap that hit her as soon as she turned around to see her there.

A few rows back, Franny was also seated in the same biology class. Beside her, Jeff Sadecki wouldn't stop tapping his pencil against his book, causing Franny to hone in on the sound, trying her best to not be annoyed by it. She did little, annoying things all the time, it was human, but man it was driving her nuts.

Fortunately, it halted for a second, at least long enough for Jeff to tear a piece of paper out of his notebook and quickly scribble on it in his chicken scratch handwriting. The only reason Franny was even biology partners with Jeff was because his parents paid her to tutor him in it, as well as economics. It was nice to get paid to help someone else out, and Jeff wasn't that bad when he was alone, but Randy Walsh, Jeff's idiotic best friend, was a real pain in Franny's ass ever since.

He was jealous that she took his place in most classes with Jeff, seated beside him and making sure he stayed on task, but that was pretty much where her interactions with Jeff stopped; she assumed it was an insecurity issue with him and tried not to think much of it when she felt Randy burning holes into the back of her head.

Aside from the money and the sense of purpose it gave Franny, it also left her with more opportunity to talk to Jackie Taylor. Jackie was, for all intents and purposes, the most perfect person Franny had ever met. Of course, she had flaws, but Franny either looked past them or didn't care about them because she wanted to be just like Jackie, though she knew that would never happen. She was confident, cheerful, a leader, and well liked by mostly everyone. She had a never ending plethora of friends and praises, Franny was sure that Jackie Taylor never experienced a bad day in her life.

It was an idealized thought, she was firmly aware. Everyone had bad days, but Jackie made it seem possible to not, and Franny liked that, Franny wanted that. With the pictures of her deceased father still hanging on the walls of her lonesome house and her stepsister who seemed to come straight out of Cinderella, it was damn near impossible to have. So, the next best thing was being close to someone that did have it.

Franny was trying to pay attention to the lesson, but was distracted yet again by Jeff. He finished writing on the shred of paper and folded it up haphazardly, before he turned and whispered to the person behind him to pass the note along. Franny watched, attempting to be discreet, as the note eventually made its way to Shauna, Jackie's best friend. She thought nothing of it at first, turning back to face the whiteboard, but with a second glance back at the brunette, she watched her unfold the note and frown.

A second later, Shauna suddenly rose to her feet and walked past Jeff, sitting the note down on the desk, " Peonies, Jeff. Jackie's favorite flower is peonies. "

The bell rang then, dismissing the students as most of them leapt to their feet, scrambling to get out of the classroom even though they'd just be hurrying off to the next one. Franny was quick to leave too, but ran into Jackie herself as she was trying to head out the doorway.

" Franny, hey, " Jackie greeted her with a smile, taking a small step back from where they nearly collided with each other, " sorry, didn't expect you to be flying out of here so fast. "

Expect? Was she expecting Franny at all?

Before Franny could even open her mouth to respond, Jackie's eyes had left her and went over her head, her smile widening even further as she called, " Shipman! I forgot you and Jeff have this class together. Tell me, is it going to be a total snooze fest when I get to hear the same lecture in sixth period? "

Franny couldn't hear Shauna's response as she and Jeff left the class to join Jackie, and she didn't hear Jackie's farewell to her, either, insisting that she would see her at the pep rally. Her hearing was silenced by the pure embarrassment she felt for even considering that, for a second, Jackie had been standing outside the classroom for her. It was a crazy thought, honestly, they weren't close like that, Franny just had such a strong desire to be close that she interpreted everything Jackie said like it was an essay that needed analyzing.

So, the girl stood and watched as Jackie, Jeff, and Shauna went further down the hall, combining with the rest of the students zipping up and down the corridor, until she could no longer see them. Franny blinked and thought to herself for a moment, then glanced back into the classroom. She stepped back inside, gaining no attention from the teacher, who was too busy writing something in his book to notice she had come back.

Franny peered down into the small trashcan near the door, curious if the note Jeff gave Shauna was inside, but she saw nothing but pencil shavings.

xxx.

In the locker room later that day, Malia sat on the bench, absentmindedly tying her shoelaces as she watched Taissa and Charlie from across the room, having a hushed conversation amongst themselves. She couldn't tell what it was about, but she watched the two of them continuously glance over at Allie, the only freshman on the varsity team, who was bounding into the bathroom after Jackie.

             Truthfully, it wasn't strange to see Taissa and Charlie scheming with each other, but to anyone outside the soccer team, they might appear as unlikely friends. Which, it was true, they were like polar opposites. Taissa was hardworking and intentional with everything she did, she left no room for error and argument, when she said something was happening, it was happening with no debate. She was a natural born leader and someone who couldn't take failure for an answer, refused it.

            Charlie, from what little Malia knew about her, was far from a leader and was the troublemaker that Malia's father pretended she was. Charlie was often seen with Natalie, smoking underneath the bleachers or getting wasted at a party, but she always seemed more collected and together than Natalie or the bleached blonde's other friends. She saw everything and seemed to know exactly how to get the reactions she wanted out of people, but the thing she and Taissa bonded on most was a desire to win, no matter what the cost was.

            And that worried Malia, especially with Nationals coming up, and with how Allie played last night, they were brewing something, she knew it.

           Malia's morbid pondering was interrupting by Lottie Matthews bumping into her purposefully, grinning at her as she danced about the locker room with a few of the other girls to the song that blared from their speaker, positioned in the middle of the floor perfectly. A handful of the girls sang along to the song, waving their hands or dancing around, even causing Taissa and Charlie's talk to end so they could join. Malia wasn't really a participant in much, she was better as an observer.

          Better, meaning it was what she preferred to do, not that she was actually any good at it, as she found herself being caught staring. Natalie's eyes locked on Malia's and it took her an embarrassingly long few seconds to even realize she had been staring at her. Malia quickly stood up and turned towards her locker, though she had nothing to put in it and her left shoe was still untied, but she could feel her face burning and wouldn't allow herself to be caught dead like that. She could feel Natalie's piercing blue eyes on the back of her head and waited until she was focused on the singing and dancing again ti shut her locker.

          Charlie and Taissa headed into the bathroom, just as Jackie left, ponytail swinging behind her. The captain hadn't even said anything, but as Charlie watched her practically bounce into Coach Martinez's office, with Allie following behind her to rejoin the locker room party, she couldn't help but roll her eyes and scoff, " Jesus Christ. "

          " Jesus Christ. " It was as if Charlie's words were echoed as they came into the bathroom, finding Lottie and Van looking into the mirrors; the former checked her hair and the latter was busy laughing off the conversation she had just been subjected to with Allie. " Will someone tell Kelly Kapowski to maybe worry less about prom and more about not fucking up nationals? "

         " Oh, come on, " Van, ever the peacekeeper, tried to subdue the Allie trash talk.

          " If she plays like she did at states.. " Lottie trailed off, the rest of her statement not needing to be said aloud: they would totally lose, embarrassingly so.

          Taissa let out a soft chuckle, crossing her arms as she glanced from Charlie, to the two other Yellowjackets, " Don't worry, that's not gonna happen. "

          Van and Lottie shared a look, wondering where the ominous tone came from, but thought it better not to question it. If Charlie and Taissa came up with a plan together, then it would likely work, and was probably better if no one else got involved to avoid a killer headache.

xxx.

3,467 words.

well we have our first chapter. it's so weird writing pre crash when I haven't written that in like..2 years for doomsday. definitely more malia than Franny or Charlie this chapter but you'll get all three the further we go along. I'm trying to come up with dynamics that I didn't get to do in doomsday but it's lowkey hard.

let me know what you think about this first chapter and the girls! all comments are welcome and appreciated :)

until next time