━ NEUROSIS ━
CHAPTER TWO.

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THE PEP RALLY went just about as expected, which Violet wasn't surprised about at all.

A stupid grand entrance. Boring speeches about their win to an audience who most likely didn't give a shit. However, they gave more of a shit about their team than the guys team, which Violet did find amusing, but still, it was pointless nonetheless. The most unbearable part had to be the principle giving a motivational talk about teamwork, praising Jackie for leading them so well.

Ugh.

Violet was pretty sure she tuned out the moment Jackie received any sort of praise.

On the plus side, it was finally over. So now Violet wouldn't have the dread looming over her all day.

Violet walked out of the building into the courtyard, her kit bag slung over her shoulder, ready for practice later.

"It seems like you don't even care!"

The sound of Taissa's voice caught Violet's attention and she looked up, catching Lottie's gaze, who was stood with Natalie and Taissa. Lottie shot her a look, subtly gesturing for her to come over.

Violet joined the three girls, standing next to Lottie while being across from Taissa and Natalie.

"Are you kidding me?" Nat rolled her eyes. She noticed Violet join the group and sent her a quick nod before turning her attention back to Tai. "You're being insensitive."

"This is what we've worked for all season." Taissa stated. "You really wanna take that chance?"

"Yeah." Natalie nodded her head. "Cause I'm not a fucking asshole."

"Here we go." Violet muttered under her breath.

Shauna was the next to join the group, walking over when she spotted her teammates. She looked between them all in confusion, instantly picking up on the tension.

"What are you guys talking about?" Shauna asked.

"That's a good question actually. What are we talking about?" Violet spoke up. She looked at Shauna and nudged her shoulder. "By the way, hey Shipman."

Shauna smiled at the greeting, taking a quick glace at Violet before looking away.

"We're talking about Allie." Lottie informed.

Shauna looked over Lottie's shoulder, seeing Allie with her friends in the distance. "What about her?"

"Did you black out at states?" Taissa blinked in shock. "She totally choked!"

Natalie shook her head, still disagreeing with what was being said. "She's a freshman, Tai."

"She's a liability." Taissa shot back.

"So, what do you want to do about it?" Violet asked. Her brows furrowing after taking note of the looks she received from Natalie and Lottie. "What? I'm just asking."

"She can't screw up..." Taissa began. "...If she doesn't get the ball."

"You wanna freeze her out?" Shauna asked, shocked at Taissa's suggestion.

"At least we'd know what we're working with." Taissa defended.

Lottie inhaled sharply, thinking about what Taissa said. "She kind of sucks, but..." She folded her arms, shaking her head as she looked down at the ground. "I don't know."

A scoff slipped past Natalie's lips. "That's because it's bullshit."

Violet stayed silent as she thought about the matter at hand, her eyes bouncing between Taissa and Natalie like she was watching a tennis match.

Honestly, she did think that Taissa had a point. Allie was holding them back, that much was clear. Something needed to be done about it, Violet wanted something to be done about it. They had all come too far and put in too much work for that to all be in vain because of Allie.

But freezing her out? Surely there had to be something else.

"What's your plan then?" Taissa asked Natalie, opening her arms dramatically in question.

"I don't know." Natalie answered harshly. "Play like a fucking team and win? It's worked so far."

"Everything works until it doesn't." Taissa fired back. "And for the record, you smell like a wino. Get your shit together."

Violet's face scrunched in distaste at Taissa's words. "Hey, back off Tai."

"You know what?" Natalie looked down at the ground, a bitter chuckle escaping her mouth. She looked up at Taissa, shaking her head. "Fuck this."

Natalie angrily picked up her bag from off the ground and threw it over her shoulder, storming away without another word. Taissa briefly glanced at Natalie over her shoulder before turning back to the group, rolling her eyes at her dramatics.

Lottie shook her head, having made up her mind about Taissa's plot. "Doesn't feel right."

"Wow." Taissa scoffed. "Okay."

Violet's frustration grew stronger, and the more Taissa opened her mouth, the more Violet found herself hating this whole idea. Especially hating the way Taissa was going about it.

It was one thing suggesting freezing Allie out. But talking to Natalie like that? Turning her annoyance to Lottie? Just because they didn't agree? Absolutely not.

"You can be a real asshole at times, you know that right?" Violet spoke up, shooting Taissa a disapproving look.

"Not you too." Taissa sighed. "I thought you out of everyone would agree."

"Jesus christ! I want to win just as much as you do Tai. Just not like this." Violet groaned. "If Allie finds out, do you know how much that'll fuck us up even more for nationals? She won't want to fucking play on a team that ignores her Taissa! And I'd rather have Allie on the pitch with us than a JV."

Shauna spoke up for the first time in a while, sharing her opinion on the situation. "Jackie's not gonna like it."

Violet looked at Shauna. "Who the fuck cares what Jackie thinks Shauna?"

Shauna frowned at her words, the way Violet was looking at her stinging a little. She didn't like it when Violet would get annoyed at her, or the things she said. It didn't happen often. But when it did, Shauna couldn't shake the feeling of guilt that shook her body.

Violet let out a sigh, officially being done with the conversation. She didn't see it making progress anytime soon. With someone as stubborn as Taissa, they'd just keep going in circles.

With that, Violet wrapped her fingers around Lottie's wrist, gently squeezing to let her know she was leaving. The girl nodded in understanding and followed Violet without saying another word.

Shauna kept her eyes on Violet as she walked away, watching as her and Lottie caught up with Nat. It wasn't until Taissa spoke up again that Shauna looked away, switching her gaze to the girl in front of her.

"We don't have to tell Jackie you know."

⋆༺♱༻⋆

THE SOUND of the whistle blowing caused the team to stop their warm ups, turning their attention to Coach Scott as he jogged over.

"Alright, bring it in!" Coach Scott announced. "Take a knee ladies!"

Violet picked up the ball she was using from off the ground, and started to walk over to the rest of her teammates, who were forming a 'C' like shape around Coach Scott.

She approached Natalie from behind, who was crouched down like the rest of the team. A smirk weaved it's way onto Violet's lips as a thought came into her head. Unbeknownst to Natalie, Violet held the ball over her, letting it drop and bounce off the top of her head, catching it when it shot back up.

Natalie jumped, her hand instinctively moving up to her head to shield it as she turned around. However, when she saw it was only Violet, her annoyed demeanor settled and she held her tongue. She let out a breathy chuckle, shaking her head while Violet laughed as she crouched down next to her.

"You bitch." Natalie pushed Violet's shoulder, causing the girl to almost lose her balance.

"Ah, come on, you know you love me Nat." Violet shot her a joking wink before turning her attention back to coach.

"JV is gonna help us out with a little scrimmage today." Coach Scott informed. "Coach Martinez had to take care of a family thing, so JV you're gonna grab a pinny from Misty, and then let's get started."

Violet couldn't stop her face from scrunching up at the sight of Misty. She never understood why the curly-haired girl was so incessant on sticking around. She wasn't even on the team. All she did was bring out equipment and watch. Honestly, the girl gave Violet the creeps.

"Uh, excuse me, Coach Scott." Laura Lee raised her hand. "Shouldn't we say a prayer first?"

Violet chuckled quietly at the request. Although she will admit, she felt guilty straight after. Laura Lee was too innocent to be laughed at.

"Uh, it's just a scrimmage, Laura Lee." Coach Scott sighed in defeat when he noted unwavering look on Laura Lee's face. He cleared his throat before speaking again. "But, uh, sure. Knock yourself out."

Laura Lee smiled and nodded. She clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, some of the other team members joining in.

Now Violet wasn't a religious person, but she joined in nonetheless. Laura Lee was always so sweet to everyone, including her. So she didn't mind taking part when the girl requested.

"Heavenly father." Laura Lee started. "Let our efforts remain fruitful, so that we may perform in ways glorious to you. In your name we pray. Amen."

Violet jumped when a couple of other team members joined in and shouted 'Amen!' enthusiastically. "Uh, yeah. Amen. Woo, go Jesus." She too spoke up, not quite sure what else to say.

"Alright then." Coach Scott clapped his hands together. "Let's go!"

Each of the girls got into their places, waiting for Coach Scott to give them the green light to start. It wasn't long before he blew the whistle again, watching them all intently to pick up on any fixes that needed to be done before nationals.

The first ten minutes of practice went slow. Too slow. It was almost torture. They could barely even start properly without Coach blowing the whistle to call out Allie for messing something up.

She would fumble simple passes, miss shots that should've been easy.

Violet walked back to her spot with her hands on her hips, letting out a exasperated sigh. She always knew that Allie would be a problem, that she could potentially fuck them over. But now that it seemed to be a routine of constant mess ups, Violet couldn't help her thoughts as their drifted back to Taissa's plan.

No. Nope. Not happening. She couldn't stoop to that level.

"Come on, Allie. That should've been yours." Coach Scott called out.

Violet locked eyes with Taissa, who looked angry over Allie's failures already. She seemed to be in thought for a moment, before jogging over to coach, her eyes filled with determination.

"I wanna switch sides." Taissa requested. "I'll take Allie."

"Yeah, okay." Coach nodded, seeing no issue with what Taissa asked. "Alright, let's go! Taissa wants to see you step it up and quite frankly, that makes two of us."

Violet shared a concerned look with Lottie and Natalie. All three of them turned to Taissa, and she looked back at them, shrugging in faux innocence.

Jackie had picked up on the interaction, watching the group from the other side of the pitch, her arms folded and foot tapping on the ground as she tried to figure out what was going on.

"Let's see some hustle!" Coach Scott said before blowing the whistle once more.

The team picked up where they left off, Allie starting off with the ball this time. She ran down the pitch towards the goal. But before she could line herself up to pass, Taissa swiftly gained on her.

Taissa barged her out of the way and took possession of the ball, quickly passing it over to one of the JV's. Allie huffed in annoyance and stopped momentarily before walking over to Taissa.

"What—" She tried but was quickly cut off.

"This is the game." Taissa lectured. "Step it up, Allie."

Violet jogged over to Taissa, ignoring the sound of the whistle being blown again. "Tai this isn't helping. You can't keep—"

"If we can't freeze her out, she's gonna have to learn to play under pressure." Taissa shrugged, completely unbothered by Violet's words of advice. She didn't bother saying anything else, picking up a light run to her place again.

Violet gripped the bridge of her nose a huffed, not taking note of the sound of footsteps approaching her.

"What's going on?" Jackie asked, approaching Violet's side.

"Nothing." Violet glanced at her momentarily before looking away.

Jackie's eyes narrowed, not buying what she said one bit. "Violet—"

"Drop it Jackie. I've got it covered." She mumbled before running back to her position.

Not long after they started playing again, Allie had the ball in her possession, courtesy of Laura Lee.

Taissa was relentlessly marking her, constantly in her space. Allie was finding it harder and harder to keep the ball. It was being made almost impossible for her.

So Violet decided to do something about it.

"Allie!" Violet called out, in an attempt to help.

For once Allie actually listened, and accepted help from one of her teammates. She passed the ball to Violet and ran around Taissa, leaving her open to receive the ball again. Violet passed the ball back to Allie, who started to dribble it towards the goal.

Violet raised her eyebrows in surprise as she watched, this had been the furthest Allie had gotten without messing up. She really seemed to be in the right mindset this time.

"Finally." Violet mumbled with a smile.

However, Violet had mentally celebrated too soon. Just as Allie was about to make a shot for the goal, Taissa charged towards her.

And that's where everything went to shit.

Taissa slid across the pitch in an attempt to tackle Allie and make her lose possession of the ball. As soon as Allie made contact with Taissa's legs, the girl was sent flying across the ground, landing so harshly and awkwardly that even Violet could her the cracking of her bones from where she was stood.

Violet flinched as she watched the whole thing transpire, instantly running over as soon as the sound of Allie's screams echoed across the field.

The moment Violet was close enough to see the damage that had been caused, her eyes instantly widened. She watched as Allie looked down at her leg in pure horror, the bone piercing through her skin and sticking out.

Coach Scott was the next to run over, shortly followed by the rest of the team.

"Holy fuck..." Coach Scott's jaw dropped at the sight.

Misty grabbed a towel and ran to Allie's side, dropping to her knees. "Okay! Okay! Apply pressure to stop the bleeding!"

She pressed down on Allie's leg, which just caused the girl to scream even more, Violet's face contorted at the crunching sound her bones made with the force Misty used. Lottie, Shauna and Violet ran over, all crouching beside Allie.

"Jesus Misty!" Violet pushed her away. "Get the fuck out of the way!"

"We need an ambulance!" Coach Scott announced, taking a spot next to Allie too. "There's a phone in Bill's office!"

"Who...?" Misty asked. "Do you mean Coach Martinez or—"

"CHRIST, YES! GO! NOW!" Coach Scott shouted, waving Misty away. He turned his attention back to Allie, before looking between, Lottie, Shauna and Violet. "Okay, keep her calm. Don't move her."

Lottie and Shauna tried their best to comfort Allie, though none of it seemed to be of any help. Even when Natalie and Laura Lee came along, nothing anyone could say or do could calm her down.

Allie was screaming at the top of her lungs, the sound piercing everyone's ears. Her breathing became quicker and quicker. The pain was washing the colour from her face, making her feel sick to her stomach.

"You're okay." Lottie tried to soothe her, holding Allies head on her lap. "Look at me. Just breathe, okay?"

"Here, squeeze my hand." Laura Lee insisted. "You're fine, you're fine."

Violet on the other hand looked ahead, watching as Taissa came into view. The girl inched closer, swallowing thickly when she caught sight of Allie's injury.

Taissa was quick to look away, which only fueled Violet's anger even more. She had caused this. This was all her fault. Freezing her out was bad enough. But this? This was too far. This should never have happened.

If only Taissa had just listened. If for once she had not taken it too far. If she didn't push. None of this would have happened. Not only had one of their teammates been injured by another, they had lost a teammate so close to nationals.

Taissa was so obsessed with winning nationals, that by indulging in her schemes to do so, she had fucked everything up for them.

And that... that's what turned Violet's anger into rage.

Violet stood up from her spot next to Allie, wasting no time in walking over to Taissa. Little did Violet know, Jackie had been watching her the whole time, picking up on the way Violet's fists curled up while she watched Taissa, how the muscles in her jaw tightened.

So, the moment Violet stood up, Jackie was quick to follow behind. She knew exactly what was about to happen.

"Taissa!" Violet yelled.

Taissa turned around to look at her. "Not now Violet!" She shouted, walking backwards more and more the closer Violet got.

Violet scoffed, the distance between the two getting shorter. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?"

"I said not now!"

As soon as Violet was in close enough range she harshly pushed Taissa back. "For fuck sake Tai, I told you to leave it alone!"

Taissa barely recovered from the force Violet used, almost losing her footing. Before Taissa could retaliate Jackie ran in between them, pushing both of them back with a scrunched face as yelling filled her ears.

"Guys!" Jackie shouted. "Knock it off!"

"Fuck off Jackie, this has nothing to do with you." Violet retorted, trying to get closer to Taissa.

"I'm team captain, of course it does!" Jackie fired back, turning her full attention to Violet now. She pushed Violet back, trying to keep her and Taissa separated. "I said knock it off!"

"Why couldn't you just listen for once!" Violet ignored Jackie, keeping her eyes on Taissa.

"This wasn't her fault Violet." Jackie attempted to calm her down. "It was an accident!"

"An accident?" Violet laughed dryly, shaking her head. She switched her gaze between Jackie and Taissa. "Was it Tai? Or was this part of your plan all along?"

"Plan... what plan?" Jackie looked back at Taissa, her defensive stance faltering momentarily. "Tai, what is she talking about?"

Taissa's silence, her lack of response, lack of accountability, served as the match that relit Violet's anger once more.

"She's talking shit." Taissa spat.

Yep. That'll do it.

Violet suddenly jolted forwards in an attempt to reach Taissa, just as Taissa did too in self-defence. However, Jackie was quick to bring her guard back up, she struggled for a few seconds as she tried to push them both away, but she managed eventually.

"You!" Jackie pointed at Taissa. "Stay there!"

Violet watched as Jackie spun to face her. "And you!" Jackie continued.

"Just..." Jackie looked up at Violet, her eyes silently begging her to just leave it. She placed a cautious hand on her shoulder. "Go help Allie or something, okay?"

Violet looked over her shoulder at the rest of the team who were still by Allie's side, all of them completely unaware about what had transpired between her and Taissa. She shook her head in complete disbelief at the situation.

It wasn't until she had let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, allowing herself to calm down a little, that Violet took note of the added weight on her shoulder. She glanced down, her brows twitching ever so slightly at the sight of Jackie's hand still lingering.

Violet looked down at Jackie, meeting the girl's eyes which were already set upon her. Jackie's lips parted, as if she was going to speak up, but she didn't. Instead she just watched her intently, her gaze darting around her face.

The taller girl's head cocked to the side ever so slightly as she looked at her. She couldn't remember the last time she had been this close to Jackie, the last time she had even looked at her for this long.

The sound of Coach Scott yelling at Misty again grabbed her attention, Violet cleared her throat and inhaled sharply. And without another word, she walked away, but not before harshly brushing off Jackie's hand. Taissa watched as Violet returned to the others, letting out a breath and instantly feeling the guilt start to creep in.

⋆༺♱༻⋆

THE LOCKER ROOM was eerily quiet, devoid of any conversation. The only sound that could be heard was the water running from the tap in the bathroom, but even then it only filled the silence for a few seconds before turning off.

Nobody spoke, none of them wanting to be the one who broke the silence first. I mean, really, what could they say? There was nothing to talk about but Allie. And it was too fresh in everyone's minds for it to be discussed in detail.

Not that anyone wanted to anyway, seeing an injury like that was enough in itself.

Everyone had seemed to scatter, keeping to themselves. Apart from the exception of Lottie and Violet.

Natalie was sat on the floor in front of her locker, untying the laces of her trainers.

Shauna was doing the same a couple feet away. However Violet was pretty sure she had already tied her shoes three times over already.

Van was sat at the end of the bench in the middle of the room, resting her head on her hand with a scrunched face, her mind running over the gory details of Allie's leg.

Taissa was sat the furthest away from everyone, facing away and staring at the ground in silence.

Violet was perched on one of the benches, her back resting against the wall, head turned to the side as she looked at Lottie who was sat next to her.

Lottie sent her a warm smile, squeezing her knee occasionally in a soothing manner. She could tell that Violet was still pissed off about her altercation with Taissa, which she had been briefly updated on when everyone made their way inside earlier. But she knew that talking about it would make it worse. So she didn't push. She knew Violet would tell her in more detail later.

The sound of the door opening echoed throughout the room, but no one paid it any mind, everyone still remaining within the walls of their own thoughts.

Jackie walked around the corner, looking around at her teammates. She took a deep breath before speaking. "I know we're all really worried about Allie... but... it might not be as bad as it looks."

"You could see her fucking bones, Jackie." Natalie was the first to speak.

"I'm pretty sure it's exactly as bad as it looks." Violet added.

"Oh, god." Van ran a hand over her face, trying not to rethink about the state of Allie's leg. "I think I'm gonna throw up."

"Okay, but, I mean..." Jackie exhaled nervously, finding it hard to think of the right thing to say. "...We're still a team. And we still have each other."

Laura Lee nodded in agreement, finding comfort in Jackie's words. "And the Lord works in mysterious ways—"

Whatever speech Laura Lee was planning to make about God was abruptly interrupted by the sound of Natalie's fist slamming against her locker.

Everyone flinched at the sound, watching as she stormed out of the room, grabbing her bag on the way out.

"Nice work, Taissa." Natalie jabbed as she passed the girl.

Taissa sighed and put her head in her hands, her demeanour instantly deflating more than it already had.

Where the fuck were they supposed to go from here?

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[AUTHORS NOTE!]

i didn't actually plan for this chapter to be as long as it was, but here we are. hopefully it didn't go on for too long.

ANYWAY, i hope you guys still enjoyed. if anyone has and suggestions, anything they'd like to see, please feel free to lemme know :)

[currently unedited]