The tryouts were two days ago.Ami made the team. Obviously.But ever since then… things feel off. Not in a bad way. Just... shifted.
She can feel their eyes — Luna, Vee, and Samira — every time she walks into the gym, the changing room, even the café.
They don't come on strong.They don't have to.
It's in the way Luna always saves her a seat — right next to her, thigh brushing thigh, not a word said.It's in how Samira offers her water during drills, fingers grazing hers for just a second too long.It's in Vee — especially Vee — and the way she calls her "America" with a teasing grin, like the nickname is some kind of inside joke only they understand.
The Locker Room
Post-practice.Steam clings to mirrors. Skin glows under fluorescent lights.Ami's peeling off her shirt when she feels it — a stare.
She turns.
Samira's watching her. Not hiding it.Ami holds the stare, heartbeat pulsing.Samira tilts her head. A slow smirk forms. She doesn't say a word. Just turns away, calm and silent. But that look? It follows Ami home.
The Glitter Scene
Later that week. A casual team hang. Music low, everyone relaxed.Ami's seated cross-legged on the floor, sipping Sprite from a paper cup, trying to act normal — even though Vee is sitting beside her way too close.
"Hold still," Vee says, dipping her fingers into a tiny pot of glitter gel. "You need something magical right here…" she touches Ami's cheek, just under the eye, smoothing it in.
Their faces are inches apart.Breath warm. Fingers gentle.Ami can't move.
Vee whispers, voice like velvet, "Has anyone ever told you how unreal you are, Ami?"
Ami stares at her, lips slightly parted.
For a moment, she almost forgets how to breathe.The world is only this: soft music, soft touch, soft chaos.
She looks away — fast. Heart hammering in her ears.
But that moment?It sticks.
Later that night, lying in bed at Sandra's house, she replays it in her head.
Why does it feel like something's starting?
Something she doesn't understand.Something she's not sure she's ready for.But something she wants.