Kailen makes her way in.

Almost immediately, all conversations are cut short, as eyes are now all staring at her, sometimes with despise, sometimes with relief. The young goalkeeper walks past some of her older teammates, only to find a seat in between Christen and Haley. Once she's done that, she looks at the girl facing the others - Jess Fishlock. The keeper frowns : neither Rampone, Lloyd or Morgan are here, which means they're either up to something, or just dealing with things in order to stop the investigation going on right now.

To be honest, Kailen doesn't even feel that uncomfortable at the moment : yes, she tried to kill herself, and she knows some people here are going to judge her for that. But now that she has Megan, and that she is now sure she will never try this again, she kind of became more confident in herself. Nevertheless, she is terrified by what people might say.

As Jess is talking privately to Melissa, Haley turns on Kailen, a serious face on. Her voice is low when she says :

"I'm going to keep you safe, but you have to promise me you won't try anything stupid before talking to me first, okay ?"

Kailen nods.

"Thanks" she whispers, afraid that some other girl could hear them.

Right after Haley nods, Lauren Barnes, one of the new defenders - obviously Shelina's replacement - who used to be benched all the time due to an injury, turns around and cracks a smile.

"Glad you're okay, Kai" she says in a friendly voice.

The young goalkeeper frowns : she doesn't know who she can trust other than Melissa and Haley, but something tells her some people aren't that bad here, even though half of the team are more focused on destroying UCLA than actually playing soccer. Kailen nods, before staring at her hands. Lauren then turns around, as Jess approaches her.

Haley looks at her, before saying :

"Where are the others ?" the keeper asks, raising her eyebrows.

Things on the team have changed.

First of all, Ashlyn's arrival means that Kop is not the starting keeper, again. Also, Hope, Carli, Christie, Ali and Alex are in some sort of vendetta against the Bruins, trying to find a way to bring them down. The rest of the girls here don't necessarily approve, but such as Yael, Marta or the two rookies (Andi and Jessie), some girls don't really want to fight against their own team and are just sticking around and playing soccer.

Jess shakes her head :

"Probably having a secret meeting to sort things out" the middy answers, rolling her eyes. Then, she just smiles. "But it leaves us time to come up with a plan to protect Kailen and Shel, because I feel like they're coming at them too."

Kop nods.

"Of course they are" she lets out, bitter. "They're kind of 'divergent', and we all know they don't like that.

From the corner of her eye, Kailen can see Christen nod, as Sam and Melissa are sitting down in front of them.

"There is one point when they won't be able to kick people out of the team anymore, right ?" Sam asks, raising her eyebrows. "I mean, I understand they are angry at UCLA, but, like, if we all don't want to fight their own fight anymore, what can they do ?"

Melissa raises her eyebrows.

"What a revolutionary Sam we've got here !" she exclaims, smirking.

But the younger girl is not smiling, and when she says : "I am done being the bad guy in the story", Sam has a dark look in her eyes. She then shakes her head. "I don't want to lose my sister the way I lost my best friends. All I want is to play soccer."

"Same" Christen admits.

She exchanges a long look with Melissa, but then blushes and looks away.

"We're almost equals" Lauren points out, thoughtful. "I mean, if you count Hinkle and Matthias with them - and, like, we all know Merritt wouldn't hurt Kop because they're friends - they're eight."

"And we're five supporting Kailen, Kop and Shelina" Melissa says, frowning.

The other girls all nod. It is true that the team is teared apart, and something in them just want to riot. But the problem is that freaking contract they signed. They already lost some players, and don't want to just give up on their dreams for a stupid rivalry and became personal to some players.

Jess suddenly says :

"I propose we stand down for now, but we have each other's back. It means that we keep an eye on each other, and on Shel and Megan as well, because they might go after her as well."

Kailen blushes. "Thank you guys, but you don't have to-" she starts, but is interrupted by Melissa, who says :

"Your girlfriend is our girl too, Kai."

The young keeper nods, as Kop gives her an encouraging tap on the back. The younger girl nods, but doesn't say anything.

She doesn't need to.

*

"Mel, wait !"

The blonde turns around, annoyed. But when she sees Christen, out of breath, jogging toward her, she just stops and puts on a neutral face. Once the dark-haired finally is at the same level than her, Melissa starts walking again : she has to join Becky to talk about the whole Shelina situation.

The other girl looks confused.

"Where are you going ?" Christen asks, nervous.

"In the hospital" the blonde quickly says, before adding : "Shelina needs my help right now."

"What can I do ?"

Melissa suddenly stops walking and stares at the girl in front of her :

"Stay out of it."

"No way !" the forward exclaims, quite frustrated that the blonde tries to give her orders like that. Her usual calm and soft green eyes turn into angry ones, as she adds : "We're on the same team, and this is not a fight you can do on your own !"

"Kop is here too, it's fine" Melissa says, confident. She then throws a quick glare at Christen, who is not giving up. "I don't want you to get involved. You know what they are capable of."

"Yes" Christen firmly interrupts her, shaking her head. "That's why I don't want you to get hurt, or worse..."

"Christen".

There is a small silence, during which the blonde just stares at the other girl. But Christen's eyes are so intense that Melissa has to look away for a second, before saying:

"Look, Shelina's past is resurfacing". As the dark-haired starts frowning, because she doesn't know the whole story, Melissa adds : "The drugs. The abuse. Her dad... They know. And they can use it against her."

Christen shakes her head again.

"In this case, I'm in."

"No, you're not !" Melissa says, raising her voice a little bit.

"This is not your decision to make, Mel ! So, no offense, but I'm coming with you, and from now I will help you guys figuring this out so we can go back to play soccer without all the drama going on."

"You are not even close to Shelina ! Why are you-"

"Just, shut up !" Christen yells, and some people turns to watch them. Once they have walked further on, the forward continues, but this time whispering : "I am coming, whether you want it or not. This is my team too, or at least what's left of it. And I want to take them down as much as you do."

Mel only nods, beaten.

*

Tobin sits down next to Kelsey, handing her a drink.

"This has been a crazy couple of days" the middy comments, looking down at the drink she is holding in her hands. The rest of the team has gone to their respective dorms, but the middy knew she could find her friend here, trying to figure things out. That's the type of person Kelsey is : always operating in the dark, but coming up with great ideas. And Tobin knows today hasn't been productive, just because of the face Kelsey is making. So she adds : "You should get some sleep, dude."

"I can't."

The middy nods once again, sighing.

If there is something Kelsey is, it's selfless. She has been in that team for three years (counting this one), and always has been a great player. But her devotion to the game is the most important thing about her, as well as the importance she puts in her teammates before anything else. The whole situation is upsetting for everyone, but not to Kelsey : she knows how to deal with crisis. That's why she is here, late at night.

And somehow, Tobin is selfless too.

"You did find something on Shelina" she whispers, not really knowing where this conversation is heading. "Didn't you ?"

Kelsey nods.

"I did."

Her computer in hands, she shows Tobin the headline of an article that was on a Canadian's paper. And Tobin immediately loses the ability to speak :

Tobin shakes her head.

"What does that mean ?" the middy asks, frowning. "There is nothing to be worried about, right ?"

"I think Shelina killed him."

"What ?"

The goalie shakes her head.

"I mean, he got a knock on his head, which means he probably was hit by something" Kelsey explains. "I don't think Shelina is a murderer, but something definitely happened that night, and that's what they have on her."

"Holy crap."

"Then, I found this" Kelsey adds, showing Tobin a medical report.

The fact that Kelsey is that good at hacking records, whether it's from the police or the hospital, is pretty creepy, but Tobin finds it pretty convenient. That's the only useful thing Kelsey learnt from her father.

The document is Shelina's medical record, and to be honest, Tobin never saw such a filled paper. Everything is here : drug record, alcohol problems, degenerative symptoms, involvement in toxic gases inhalation... And it's only the top of the list. As her eyes are wandering through the document, Tobin sighs.

Something definitely is up with that girl.

"Depression... Bipolarity... Even signs of Schizophrenia ?" the middy says out loud, in total disbelief.

"Schizophrenia can be genetic" Kelsey points out. "But her record with drugs and alcohol clearly shows a troubled childhood. According to what I've read from the police record, her mom died while giving birth to her, and her dad never really took care of her. He even was accused of violence against her, but her step-mother paid the bills every single time."

Tobin shakes her head.

"Poor girl..."

"I think I have a theory" Kelsey says, looking at her friend with terrified eyes. "Actually, I think one of the big names of Stanford pulled her out of her old life, and cares about her more than they say. Which means..."

"... One of them actually is protecting Shelina" Tobin finishes.

"But, who ?"

Silence is king again, as Kelsey closes her laptop. Who ?