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Lottie has never felt a stronger rush of adrenaline than when Jackie scored the game winning goal at state championships. As the buzzer rang and the girls ran to hug their captain, Lottie had only two things on her mind: One, they were champions. Two, they were going to motherfucking Nationals. She knew the other girls were also thinking the same thing, because back in the locker room a chorus of voices kept chanting the same four words with different inflections and tones: “We’re going to Nationals!”
But when Lottie got home that night, a stark reminder exorcised the adrenaline demon from her body.
Lottie would be facing her ex-girlfriend, number four on the Dewhurst Academy girl’s soccer team.
Laura Lee had told her a hundred times she didn’t expect to actually get in. Dewhurst Academy was notoriously picky with their students, so when the blonde read her acceptance letter to Lottie, she was dumbfounded first, filled with crippling dread second. She applied in the middle of junior year, and was rather tight-lipped about the whole situation and only briefly mentioned her application to Lottie as if it was a throwaway comment rather than a major life change.
While Lottie’s whole world crumbled, Laura Lee rambled on about how it was God’s Plan that she was accepted for senior year at Dewhurst, and that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Lottie didn’t know what was so special about it. It was an all-girls boarding school in Massachusetts. They wore green uniforms with plaid grey ties. They had a golf course on campus. Lottie asked her to stay, but of course she didn’t, because Dewhurst Academy was one of the highest ranked schools, and Laura Lee was too Ivy-eyed to remember that it was a five hour drive from Wiskayok to Massachusetts. Laura Lee promised to stay in touch, but mere weeks after leaving, the girl basically ghosted her, only breaking her silence in November to send a scant break up paragraph. Worst of all, she’s got a hot new girlfriend now.
Way to kick a girl when she’s down, Laura Lee.
That’s exactly how Lottie felt when she opened Instagram and saw Laura Lee’s college acceptance post from her school’s grads account.
@dewhurstgrads2025: Congratulations to our Laura Lee on her early acceptance into Princeton University! When asked what her reaction was to the college decision, the co-captain of the Dewhurst Christian Club said “The first thing I did was thank God. I couldn’t have done it without Him and the support of my professors and friends.” We will miss you lots Laura Lee, and Go Tigers!
Attached to the post was a portrait of Laura Lee in her uniform, wearing that girl-next-door smile and a grey headband that matched her tie. Lottie scrolled through all the comments congratulating her, and felt her bitterness for the girl rapidly overpowering the previous sweetness of winning a game. It looks like Laura Lee got what she wanted all along, and all it took was ruining Lottie’s life and breaking her damn heart. Lottie wishes that was an exaggeration, but the breakup was so bad that it accelerated all her mental health issues. She was then sent to a “psychiatric facility” over the summer after what could only be described as a catastrophic crash out, and had to miss the first several weeks of school. On top of that, kids were whispering all sorts of shit about her; there was even one rumor circulating that Laura Lee moved because Lottie was getting too crazy and clingy.
So yeah, Laura Lee was definitely not her favorite person, but they’ll be fighting for that national title in about a month, so she has no choice but to face her archnemesis.
Lottie’s going to snag that trophy even if she’ll die trying.
—
Nat shouldn’t be surprised. She knew she was failing history, she knew she sucked. But damn, somehow she just hit a new low. If the situation wasn’t so dire, she would be impressed at how god awful she was at this class. Nat’s eyes were fixed on the red markings on her test with absolute astonishment, oblivious to the look of sheer disappointment on her history teacher’s face. Nat got a two. Out of one hundred. Which obviously translates to an F with a big red circle around it, but written below that was a string of words that was even worse than the letter grade.
“See me after class.”
Nat scoffed and turned her test over, dropping her head dramatically onto the desk. Another bullshit intervention for a class she didn’t give two shits about.
After the class, she pulled up a chair to Mr. Morrison’s desk, waiting for him to say something. Instead, he waves over Lottie.
“Lottie, come here.”
Lottie seemed pretty confused, but did as she was told, padding across the room towards his desk. She doesn’t pull out a chair or acknowledge Nat and instead looks at the teacher with concern.
“Is everything okay?” Lottie asked.
Mr. Morrison glances at Nat, then Lottie, and leans over the desk with his arms crossed.
“Lottie, you told me last week that you would like to do some tutoring, right?”
Lottie fidgets with the backpack lazily slung on her shoulder. “Yeah.”
“I think I found a student for you,” he says, looking back at Nat. “Nat, would you like Lottie to tutor you?”
Nat stares at him with an incredulous look and then glances up at Lottie, who was now looking at her. “Um…”
“I would be happy to tutor Nat,” Lottie interjects, facing the teacher.
“Great. You guys should sort out a schedule by yourselves,” Mr. Morrison responds, sitting back in his chair. “Finals are coming up,” he says to Nat. “Lottie would be a great mentor.”
Nat can see the girl smiling shyly out the corner of her eye.
—
Outside the classroom, Nat tried to turn away and leave quickly but Lottie was faster.
“When do you want to start?” Lottie asked, leaning her shoulder against a wall.
“February 31st,” Nat quips, shuffling past her.
Lottie rolled her eyes and placed a hand on Nat’s shoulder, stopping her.
“I’m being serious.”
“So am I.”
“Nat, stop being an asshole and let me help you.”
Nat bites her bottom lip. “I’m not your charity case, Matthews.”
“You’re not—I just want to help, that’s all. I’d do it for anyone…in your situation.”
“How are you so sure that I even need your help, Lottie?” Nat grumbled.
“I saw what you got on your last exam, Nat,” Lottie replied, studying her face. “Are you sure you can graduate with the scores you have for history right now?”
“What?” Nat blurted, a little louder than she hoped. “Stop fucking snooping on my test scores,” she rasped, lowering her voice.
“I wasn’t trying to.”
Lottie was about to press on, but suddenly, a better idea popped into her mind. Either that, or it was the worst idea she has ever thought of. Nevertheless, it slipped out of her tongue before she could have any second thoughts.
“If you don’t want me to help you, why don’t we make a deal instead?”
Nat looked at her quizzically. “What kind of deal?”
Nat’s stare was starting to make Lottie nervous, but she persisted. “I’ll tutor you for history, and in exchange you will…pretend to be my girlfriend.”
Nat masked her initial shock with a forced chuckle. “What the heck? Why?”
Lottie huffed, averting her gaze and looking at the floor. “It will just be until Nationals.”
Nat thought it was pretty bold and ballsy of Lottie to even ask her this. Her and Lottie were teammates, they smoked and talked together, they had locker room banter, but they weren’t close friends—certainly not close enough to ask any favors with such implications.
“Nationals is a whole month away, Lottie,” Nat replied. “And you still haven’t told me the reason why.”
Of course Lottie needed to tell Nat the reason, but she was embarrassed to admit it.
“Lottie…” Nat started.
“We’ll be facing Dewhurst at Nationals. That’s Laura Lee’s school.”
Nat’s uncertain expression quickly turned into a devilish grin. “You want to make her jealous.”
“No! It’s not that,” Lottie argued. “I just…hate what she did to me. I don’t want her to think of me as the loser who got dumped, I want to make her feel bad.”
Nat stared at the wall, quietly pondering her request. “Jesus, Matthews, I thought you’d be better at negotiating than this. Not only do I have to get tutored by you, I have to pretend to be your girlfriend? Sounds like a lose-lose situation.”
Lottie scoffs playfully. “Just think about it. You said you don’t want to be a charity case, and well, I’m giving you a payment method.”
“What would Mr. Matthews think of his daughter blackmailing a struggling youth into dating her?”
Lottie smiled. “Well, I wouldn’t care what Mr. Matthews thinks because he’s probably done worse.”
“Touché,” Nat responded, tapping her heel on the ground. “So what does being your fake girlfriend entail exactly?” Should I stuff some flowers in your locker? Cut your pasta into little hearts before I feed it to you?”
“Wow, it’s crazy you’re single, Nat,” Lottie replied sarcastically.
“Crazier than you basically begging me to date you?”
“Fake date.”
“Uh-huh. Bribery.”
Lottie sighed and crossed her arms. “So what will it be, Nat? You fail history. Either you have to take it again or you don’t get your diploma and become a high school dropout, scraping up pennies working at a gas station with a broken toilet.” She pushes herself off the wall, standing up straight. “ Or, we can both help each other.”
Nat would be lying if she said she wasn't more impressed with Lottie’s frankness than offended by her assumptions about Nat’s life. “You’re evil, Matthews. I take back what I said about you being a bad negotiator.”
Lottie’s face lights up. “Is that a yes?”
“A tentative one. But there are going to be ground rules.”
“Oh, don’t worry, Nat. We’ll go over those during our date.”
“Date?”
“Friday, 6 pm. Chili’s.” Lottie states. “I’ll pick you up.”
Nat chuckles. “Are you paying?”
Lottie gave her a wide grin.
—
Lottie picked Nat up in her Porsche, gathering a few stares from her neighbors. She lowered her window like she was a rich pilates mom picking her kids up from school and gestured to Nat to get in with a wag of her finger.
They drove in mostly silence, Nat’s eyes roaming over the fancy fur lined dashboard and the perfume bottle hanging on the rearview mirror. They were listening to the pop radio because Lottie (unfortunately) denied Nat’s request to put on screamo.
Once all their food arrived at Chili’s, Lottie took out her phone and snapped a photo of the table.
“What are you doing?” Nat asked.
“Don’t worry, you’re not in it,” Lottie said calmly, typing on her phone. “I’ll just tag you in my story. Soft launch.”
Nat chuckled. “Soft launching that we like Chili’s?”
Lottie adjusted her watch. “We need to make it look natural. We need some build up.”
“Right, okay,” Nat said. “I took you to Chili’s and you fell in love with me because I am just so charming and funny and cool.”
“For the record, I actually took you to Chili’s,” Lottie responded. “But sure, the rest can stay the same.”
They had their food and fleshed out the other parts of their plan. Lottie was going to tutor Nat after school on Tuesday and Thursday, because they had soccer practice every other day. They would post each other on their stories, act very in love, and then have a friendly break up after Nationals. And yes, Nat was going to stuff flowers into Lottie’s locker, because Lottie insisted.
After dinner, they walked back to the car in silence, and somehow the plan settled in a way that didn’t make it seem so ridiculous anymore.
“Thanks for dinner,” Nat says, breaking the silence. She fights the urge to smile as she gears herself for a bawdy joke. “Shit, am I gonna have to put out now?”
Lottie ignores the risqué comment, clicking her tongue disapprovingly, but Nat swears she saw a blush creep up her cheeks.
—
Lottie drove Nat to school the following week, and they spent five minutes arguing in the parking lot about how they were going to enter the school on the first day. Nat conceded, and they were indeed going to be annoying and walk in holding hands.
It turns out the student body didn’t need much convincing, because the stares and the whispers told the pair that their plan was coming along swimmingly. By lunch, all the soccer girls had flocked to them to get some insider information on the newest couple in school. They both played it cool, Lottie putting more effort into her performance than Nat, but by the end of the period, the girls were all swooning over the latest Wiskayok match.
Nat, as promised, came to Lottie’s tutoring, though always half an hour late, but she never chastised her for it. Nat hated to admit it, but Mr. Morrison was right. Lottie was a fine tutor and history wasn’t so terrible. One day, she asked Nat if she wanted to study at her house instead, for a change of scenery.
Lottie’s room was spacious, as expected. She had a couple of oil paintings on her walls, a lot of books on a white shelf, and one of those glass mosaic lamps. She had changed into shorts and a tee while Nat examined the model houses by her windowsill, and stretched out on the bed. Nat turned around and saw her lying there, with her legs on display and her top barely reaching her navel, and felt a lump in her throat. She’s been hanging out with Lottie every day this past week and now she’s feeling all schoolgirl shy?
Nat settles down on the bed next to Lottie, and tries avoiding looking at her.
“Are you okay?” Lottie asks, propping her head up with her hand.
Nat turns her head slightly to look at her, “Yeah, why?”
“Just wanted to check on you,” she responded.
Lottie watches Nat giggle as she scrolls through the list of funniest names in history, reading them out loud with her best (worst) posh British accent. Her hair falls into her eyes and Lottie instinctively reaches out to push it away, causing Nat to look away from the screen and at her. Nat didn’t say anything but Lottie saw a flash of a subtle smile .
“That’s enough of that,” Lottie said, snatching the iPad away from Nat.
“Come on,” Nat protested, but Lottie shut it off and threw it on her pillow.
“Who is the patron saint of France known for having visions?” Lottie quizzes her.
“Aw fuck, I don’t know that, Lottie,” Nat sighed. “Napoleon?”
Lottie gives Nat a playful shove. “Incorrect. It’s Joan of Arc, and she led France to many important victories in the Hundred Years’ War. ”
‘“Wait, is that the bitch with the bob?”
Lottie was genuinely offended. “I can’t believe that’s what you call the saint of all time.”
“I can’t believe you have a favorite saint. No wonder Morrison acts like you’re the fucking messiah.”
“Well, you’re only saying that because you don’t pay attention in class. Did you know that she was imprisoned for wearing men’s clothes?”
“Seriously? That’s fucked up…and kinda gay.”
“That’s what I think too,” Lottie responded. “They executed her for it.”
“My god, those French fuckers!”
Lottie let out a loud cackle at Nat’s reaction, making Nat laugh too.
“She sounds based as fuck though,” Nat says, locking eyes with Lottie. “Tell me more.”
—
The Yellowjackets were pretty worn out after weeks of practicing for Nationals. Coach Martinez was the strictest he’s ever been and kept increasing the intensity of their drills, saying that anyone caught slacking would not be making it on the bus to Seattle. Jackie, their captain, was trying her best to keep energy and morale up, but that didn’t stop the girls from coming up to her and complaining after every practice.
“Jackie, can you please tell Coach to give us a break,” Allie whined. “At this rate we’re all going to drop dead before Nationals.”
Jackie gave the troubled girl a sincere smile. “I know it’s been hard, but so is winning Nationals. Dewhurst are a tough team—they literally won championships last year, so it just means we have to put in twice the work.”
“Speaking of Dewhurst,” Tai whispered to Lottie. “Have you been talking to Laura Lee?”
Lottie’s face hardens and she glances over to Tai. “We’re not…on speaking terms.”
“Oh,” Tai said, wiping her face with a towel. “I saw her last weekend when I was in Boston for the debate tournament.”
“Did you…talk to her?” Lottie asked, placing her duffel bag on the bench.
“Yeah, um, she asked me if you were dating Nat.”
Lottie nervously scratches her neck. “What did you say?”
“I hope it's okay with you, but I said you guys were in a relationship—I mean, it would’ve been weird to deny it.”
“No, yeah, it’s fine.”
“Cool,” Tai responded. “She did say she finds it hard to believe that you guys are a couple. Said you two are too different—which seemed kinda shady, but who knows.”
“Hmm, well...she doesn’t know shit.”
Taissa gave her a knowing smile before Misty popped into the locker room and made an announcement.
“Coach Martinez wants you guys back on the field right now!”
Everybody grumbled but did what they were told to.
—
“Alright girls, I just got off the phone with the bus company and they said they can’t give us the big one anymore, which means we have to stick with our original bus.”
The girls all collectively groaned.
“So what are we gonna do, Coach?” Melissa asked.
“Well, a few of us are going to have to find another way to get to Seattle. Nobody seemed excited by the idea of me driving when I asked you last week, so either you girls figure out some arrangement or people are going to have to stay behind.”
Jackie speaks up. “Shauna and I can drive there. Her parents said we can take her car.”
Are you sure, Taylor? It’s a long drive,” Coach Martinez responded.
“We’ve both got our licenses.”
“Actually, Jackie,” Shauna interjects. “My mom changed her mind this morning, so we can’t.”
“Oh,” Jackie mutters dejectedly.
“You guys can take my car,” Lottie offered.
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s no problem.”
“So you three—Taylor, Shipman, Matthews, will tag along by car,” Coach Martinez said, making notes on his clipboard. “We still need one more person to join.”
“Well of course Lottie’s gonna take her girlfriend,” Van says, looking over at Natalie. “Right, Nat?”
Nat glances across from her at Lottie, who looks a little surprised by the comment as if she somehow forgot they were quote-on-quote dating. “Yeah, of course we’re going together. Sure.”
“Okay, then that’s settled,” Coach Martinez said. “Now scram, get out of here.”
—
Nat’s leaning on the hood of Lottie’s car, waiting for her to finish cleaning up so they can drive home. She spots the girl’s figure from afar, sprinting towards Nat’s direction.
“Woah there, what’s the hurry?” Nat asked as Lottie slowed down to a stop.
Lottie catches her breath and says, “Nat, I need you to make out with me on camera.”
“The fuck?” Nat exclaimed, brows furrowing. “Now?”
“No, later.”
“No way, now this is officially prostitution,” Nat responded, waving her finger at Lottie.
“Okay, not a make out but a kiss so I can post it,” she said earnestly.
“Lottie, are you serious? This was not what we agreed on.”
“Why not?”
“Because that shit is so corny. I don’t want that to be my digital footprint.”
Lottie sighed irritatedly. “We need to prove that we’re a real couple.”
“We are incredibly real.”
“Laura Lee doesn’t think so.”
“Who told you that?”
“Tai. She saw her in Boston last week.”
Nat bites her bottom lip pensively. “Well, who cares what Laura Lee thinks. Just beat her at Nationals and boom, you’ve won the breakup.”
“That’s easy for you to say.”
“Wow,” Nat chuckled. “You are such a fucking loser.”
“Shut up,” Lottie responded. “I can’t wait to break up with you.”
“Wait, I thought I was dumping you.”
“Never letting that happen in a million years, Nat. Don’t you even dare.”
—
The girls had a week off of school to drive to Nationals. By 6:30 am, the four of them—Lottie, Jackie, Shauna, and Nat, had piled into Lottie’s car, exhausted and grumpy until they arrived at a coffee shop to get some bagels and iced lattes. Since Nat doesn’t have a license, the driver’s seat rotated between the other three girls, and about ten hours later, Shauna was the one driving them through Indiana.
“Can you put on Ethel Cain?” asked Lottie. She was in the backseat with Nat with her shoes off so she could place her feet on the middle seat, facing Nat.
“Nuh uh, you already had your go,” Shauna said, taking one hand off the steering wheel to press play on the next song.
“I thought this was my fucking car,” Lottie groaned.
“Sorry, Lot,” Shauna replied. “Driver gets to pick, it’s the law.”
“You literally let Jackie pick the last song.”
“Well, I like Halsey too, so,” Shauna said.
Lottie huffed and sank back into her seat.
Jackie turned around in the passenger to face Lottie and Nat, holding her phone out. “Did you guys see the photo I took of you two?”
“Yeah, Jax, you posted it,” Nat said, munching on some almonds.
Jackie had snapped a picture on her digital camera of Lottie giving Nat a kiss on the cheek during their pre-Nationals party. Lottie thought it was a good idea to make it her lockscreen, and actually, Nat really liked the photo, and thought it was pretty adorable.
“Aren’t they so cute, Shauna?” Jackie asked, flipping the phone to show Shauna.
Shauna briefly looked and nodded, turning her gaze back onto the road.
“How did you guys even realize y’all liked each other, though?” Jackie asked. “You never told us.”
Nat looked at Lottie expectantly, but neither of them said a word.
“Uh…why don’t you tell them…babe.” Nat drawled amusingly.
“Mm, well, Nat’s been in love with me since forever, so it was only a matter of time,” Lottie said nonchalantly.
“That is not fucking true!” Nat protested.
“Oh, come on Nat,” Jackie responded, glancing back at them. “We all knew.”
Nat narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”
Jackie chuckled. “Well, I saw the way you look at Lottie during soccer practice, Nat, you were pretty obvious,” she said. “I actually told Shauna last year that I think you might have a crush on Lottie, and um, Laura Lee overheard us and it was kinda awkward. I don’t know if she ever told you, Lottie.”
Lottie looked at Jackie. “She didn’t.”
“Oh,” Jackie said, turning around.
Nat and Lottie just stared at each other in the backseat, while the other two girls were completely oblivious. Shauna later pulled into a gas station and pumped the gas while the others went inside the convenience store.
While Jackie and Nat were in line for the bathroom, Lottie swiped some items and snuck out, waiting outside for the others to finish. Nat came out first and Lottie pulled out the goods hidden under her hoodie.
“I got us some barbecue chips and Sour Patch Kids,” Lottie said, giving the chips to Nat.
“Oh, I thought you said you weren’t gonna buy anything,” Nat responded.
“I didn’t.”
“You stole them?” Nat asked, clearly unaware of Lottie’s kleptomaniac tendencies.
Lottie nodded and gave her a knowing smile before reaching inside her hoodie pocket.
“I also got you a present.”
Lottie pulled out a pocket knife and handed it to Nat. It had a wooden finish and was one of those gimmicky tourist knives with the word ‘INDIANA’ engraved on one side and ‘Natalie’ on the other.
“No fucking way,” Nat grinned. “I stole one for you too.”
“Really?”
Nat reached behind her and pulled out the knife, which was tucked into the waistband of her jeans. Lottie held out both of her palms like Nat was about to place a baby chick on them instead of a dangerous portable weapon.
Lottie examined it with a smile on her face, but her brows furrowed when she flipped over the knife.
“Um, why does it say ‘Charlie’?”
Well, they didn’t have one with ‘Charlotte’ or ‘Lottie’ so I got the next best option,” Nat stated plainly.
“How thoughtful,” Lottie said sincerely. “Thanks, Nat.”
“Anything for my Charlie,” Nat said, taking Lottie’s knife. “Now we have matching pocket knives,” she said, flicking both of them open simultaneously.
“I’m surprised, Nat. You’re actually getting better at being my fake girlfriend.”
—
After several days mindlessly driving through highways and staying at questionable motels, the girls finally arrived at their hotel in Seattle, two days before Nationals. They were staying at a Hilton hotel, which was definitely an upgrade, and the team bus had arrived an hour before the four of them.
After they check in, Lottie stops in her tracks and turns around, looking like she’s seen a ghost.
“I just saw Laura Lee.”
“Where?” Nat asked.
Lottie points towards the elevator area. Sure enough, Laura Lee was standing there with her luggage, talking to a brunette girl.
“Who’s she talking to?”
“That’s her girlfriend,” Lottie replied.
As if on cue, Laura Lee’s girlfriend gives her a kiss on the cheek.
“Her girlfriend’s kinda hot,” Nat said, watching the two from afar.
Lottie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, no shit. That’s one of the reasons I chose you.”
“Wait, what?” Nat asked, confused. “Are you calling me hot?”
Lottie ignores her question and starts walking towards the couple. “Come on,” she said, motioning for Nat to follow her.
“I guess we’re doing this,” Nat mumbled to herself, trailing behind the taller girl.
Laura Lee notices the two of them approaching her and her eyes widen in surprise.
“Lottie?” she asked, turning away from her girlfriend.
“Hey, Laura Lee,” Lottie responded casually, as if months ago she wasn’t crashing out over the blonde.
Nat catches up to Lottie and Laura Lee’s eyes dart between the two of them. “Nat? Oh, wait, you guys are…”
“Hi, nice to see you again,” Nat said with a smile. “I like the new hair,” Nat commented, gesturing to Laura Lee’s blue dyed hair tips. Laura Lee returned the smile and stepped forward for a hug. Nat glanced up at Lottie while Laura Lee squeezed her but Lottie wasn’t looking at them.
“So it’s true,” Laura Lee said, placing her hands by her sides.
“She’s my girlfriend,” Lottie said, placing an arm around Nat’s shoulder. Nat feels so awkward she could die.
“Huh,” Laura Lee responded. A moment of silent tension passed before she remembered to introduce her girlfriend too.
“This is my girlfriend Kelly,” Laura Lee said, gesturing to the brunette.
“Hi,” she said timidly. The two of them greeted her back.
“Yeah, um, Lottie and Nat are from Wiskayok, they were on the same team as me.”
“We sure were,” Lottie responded with a forced smile. Laura Lee smiled back with the same amount of force.
Nat couldn’t take it anymore. “Um, it was nice seeing you, Laura Lee,” she said, grabbing Lottie’s hand. “We’ve got to go up to our room now, though.”
“Yeah, it's a big day tomorrow,” Laura Lee responded with relief. Lottie was still eyeing her contempt.
“Sure,” Lottie conceded, allowing Nat to drag her out of the conversation. “See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, bye guys,” Laura Lee said awkwardly as she watched them leave.
—-
The following morning, Nat and Lottie agreed to go explore the city and take the shuttle to Pike Place Market. Lottie excused herself to use the bathroom, and Nat waited for her by the entrance. Fifteen minutes passed and Lottie was nowhere to be found, so Nat sent her a text. She didn’t get a response.
Nat was about to come look for her when she saw Lottie walk out, looking a little ruffled.
“Dude, what the hell, I waited for you for so long and now we missed the shuttle,” Nat said agitatedly.
Lottie looks at her sternly. “Sorry, but since when do you care, Nat, you always showed up late to tutoring.”
“Well—” Nat began, but she couldn't argue when Lottie was right. “What took you so long anyway?”
Lottie sighed and ran her hand through her hair. “I saw Laura Lee crying in the bathroom.”
“Seriously? What happened?”
“She found out that Kelly was cheating on her.”
“Oh my god.”
“Yeah, so, she broke it off, but she seemed really devastated.”
“Shit,” Nat said. “I thought you’d be more happy to hear that.”
Lottie swallowed and stayed silent for a while.
“She kissed me,” Lottie finally said.
Nat opened her mouth but no words came out. It was like she was paralyzed, even though there wasn’t a reason she should be, or at least she thought so.
“Well, good for you,” Nat responded. “I guess my job here is done so…we can go back to being nothing.”
“What? That’s not—”
“Isn’t this what you really wanted anyway? You’re still in love with her, and clearly she is too.”
“No, I’m not, not anymore,” Lottie said, shaking her head. “And you mean more to me than just, you know…”
“Lottie, it’s fine to admit you were using me to make Laura Lee jealous. It’s not like we were really dating in the first place,” Nat said. She wasn’t trying to come across as bitter, but she couldn’t hide it. She was grinding her teeth, and couldn’t even look Lottie in the eye.
“Nat…”
“What, Lottie?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t want it to happen. She probably just acted out because she was so overcome with emotion.”
“Geez, Lottie, why are you apologizing? We’re not fucking dating, remember? We never were.”
Lottie is silent, then with a shaky voice she says, “But what if I want us to?”
“What?” Nat asked, looking up at her.
“What…what if I want us to be together?”
Nat searches her eyes, and the girl stares at her, eyebrows wrinkling her forehead.
“Is this real?” Nat asked quietly.
“Yes, I swear,” Lottie replied. Nat is silent.
“Please say something,” Lottie implored, looking uncertain.
A grin slowly spreads across Nat’s face. “Seems like you fell in love with me first, Matthews.”
Lottie breathed a sigh of relief, smiling back at Nat. “Fine then, I guess we can change the story.”
“No,” Nat whispered, stepping closer to her. “I like it this way.”
Nat grabs the back of Lottie’s neck and pulls her down for a kiss, and once Lottie realized what was happening, she closed her eyes and pressed against her lips. Lottie then wraps her hands around Nat’s waist and pulls her closer, and in that moment, both of them realize that their feelings for each other were real the entire time. They pull away from each other, becoming cognizant of the fact that they were very much in a public place and that a couple of eyes were already on them.
Lottie smiled meekly and Nat blushed and looked away.
“Damn, we should’ve done that sooner, my bad,” Nat quipped, earning a chuckle from Lottie.
—
The day had finally arrived for the girls to face off against Dewhurst. Excitement was buzzing through the air as the girls practiced their drills on their side of the field. Lottie though, was a little distracted, because she was falling in love—for real this time.
At a quarter to four, the team gathered up their equipment and huddled up.
“Alright, girls, you’ve practiced hard,” Coach Martinez said. “I trust you guys know what to do, but no matter what, I’m really proud of you all.”
He smiled and then patted Jackie on the back, passing the leadership onto her.
“Okay Yellowjackets, remember what I said?” Jackie asked.
“Teamwork makes the dream work?” Melissa asked.
“No, I mean—that too, but I said, defense wins championships, alright?” Jackie stated, looking at all of them. “But make sure you score, too.”
“Top tier advice, captain,” Van commented, which made Jackie chuckle.
“Okay,” Jackie said. “Let’s fucking win this.”
—
“Everybody, give it up for our returning champions from Massachusetts, making their back-to-back appearance at Nationals, the Dewhurst Dolphins!”
Applause and several cheers rang out from the audience as the girls in green and white uniforms ran out onto the field and lined up by the center.
And now, for the first time in their school’s history, all the way from New Jersey, make some noise for the Wiskayok Yellowjackets!”
The Yellowjackets ran out to the sound of applause and lined up opposite the Dolphins. After a shaky rendition of the national anthem from some random ten-year-old girl, the game began.
By halftime, the Yellowjackets were up 1-0. As Jackie was hyping up the girls, Lottie glanced at the other team. She watched as Laura Lee circled around the huddle so she didn’t have to stand next to her ex. Lottie did feel a little bad for Laura Lee, but she hasn’t forgotten what the girl did, especially after kissing her knowing she was (well, fake) dating Nat. So while her main goal was to win the game, her secondary goal was making sure that Laura Lee didn’t score one. Once the game resumed, she stuck to that goal so hard that when Laura Lee was passed the ball, Lottie went ahead and tackled her, only to accidentally trip the girl, gaining Laura Lee a free kick.
She made the goal, tying the game with minutes to spare. The Yellowjackets used their time out, and the girls huddled up while Coach Martinez stayed back, giving Jackie a nod that said it was her decision what to do next, as captain.
“We might be in trouble if the game goes into penalties,” Tai said in between breaths.
“I know, Jackie replied. “That’s how they won last year.”
“What’s the play, Jackie?” Nat asked.
The group fell silent as Jackie carefully contemplated with the seconds she had left.
“Let’s do the Wildcard,” she said.
The Wildcard was something they came up with one night when they were half-drunk, but it worked during practice against Van, leaving the goalkeeper dumbfounded. In this play, one of the wingers—either Nat or Allie—would fake a pass to Taissa while Lottie, their center back, springs forward from her position, receives the ball, and scores. They haven’t been practicing it recently, and Lottie was a little nervous to be the one shooting. Some of the girls looked at each other skeptically, but nobody argued. Wildcard it was.
The game clock goes from two minutes to one. Allie almost loses the ball dribbling around a defender but manages to pass it to Nat. Nat pushes forward, glancing at Tai, and Lottie knows this is her cue. She runs forward as fast as she can down the field, and as Nat fakes her pass, prompting the goalie to turn her head towards Taissa’s direction, Nat pushes the ball ever so slightly so Lottie can strike.
The ball hits the corner of the net and the buzzer sounds, marking the Yellowjackets as national champions. The girls all sprinted towards Lottie but she was only looking at Nat, who had a brightest smile across her face as she collided into her for a hug. They erupted into screams and cheers, sweaty faces next to each other, as the coaches high-fived and celebrated from the sidelines. It was the sweetest victory they could ever ask for.
—
Senior year was coming to an end, and students dealt with a complicated mixture of emotions—anticipation for their exam marks, as well as the bittersweet nature of farewell. Nat had gotten back all her tests except history, which she hadn’t dared to look at, immediately handing it off to Lottie when she received it.
They were sitting on Lottie’s bed as Nat had her head in her hands, preparing herself for the mark.
“God, if I bombed it, don’t say anything. Just shoot me.”
“I don’t have a gun,” Lottie replied.
“Fine, then stab me with your pocket knife.”
Lottie chuckled and opened the test paper as Nat watched her through the cracks of her fingers.
“Oh, Nat…” Lottie said with a disappointed tone, eyes scanning the paper.
“What?” Nat said, frowning. “Show me.”
Nat snatches the paper and her mouth hangs open in surprise.
Lottie grins. “You got an A!”
Nat heaved dramatically. “You little bitch, you made me think I fucking failed,” she said, punching Lottie in the arm.
“Ow,” Lottie reacted. “How could you ever fail when I’m your teacher?”
“Yeah, thanks prof.”
“Turns out this was a win-win situation in the end, right?” Lottie asked.
“Actually, triple win,” Nat responded. “We won Nationals, Charlie.”
“We sure did,” Lottie said, leaning in to give Nat a kiss.