Gnomeo And Juliet | Alanna Kennedy X Reader

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part twenty one]

Words; 2.1k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; none

masterlist

The lead up to the world cup is no easy feat, for anyone. Everything you did as players both at club and on national level in the months before mattered more than ever. And for Astrid the pressure was building up inside. 

She had made her mark in the team again at the last camp against Scotland and England, playing in the second match, assisting Charli’s first Matildas goal and slipping one of her own in. Not to mention her 19th birthday celebrated in England before she went back to Sweden and returned to Hammarby training with Kyra. 

They were in the start of the Damallsvenskan season and nearing the end of the Svenska Cupen, hoping to make it to the final and win the cup. Astrid and Kyra were both a major part of the squad, either playing full matches or close to and making an impact within the team. They continued to work well with one another, creating beautiful passes and more assist/goal partnerships than anyone else on the team. 

Their relationship outside of the game was continuing to grow with one another, but only behind closed doors. They knew what fans could be like with speculation and looking deeply into photos to find “clues” as to whether or not their close friendship had evolved anywhere further. So it was best if no one was in on their secret, not even Charli or Courtney who thankfully lived further away and didn’t interrupt their stolen moments at home. 

On the 6th of June, 2023, Hammarby had their final game in the Svenska Cup against BK Häcken for the title. Kyra had been named in the starting line up with plenty of other strong players she could create chances with, but when they got to halftime and no goals scored by either side, she was ready for Astrid to come on. 

Replacing Matilda Vinberg on the wing, Astrid came on with a fire to take out the cup and win her first trophy with Hammarby. Madelen Janogy helped them get ahead with 2 goals within 15 minutes of the second half. 

Astrid’s first goal came not long after that, a corner by Kyra’s right foot, the ball landing directly at her head as she stood close to the goal, knocking it in with precision to slip past the keeper's hands. She immediately ran over to Kyra who came in from the corner, jumping onto her and nearly pushing her down but Kyra stabilised themselves, before the rest of the team came and dogpiled them.

One more goal from Maika at 68 minutes and there was no chance they weren’t winning, the possession stayed with Hammarby and although the Häcken keeper was able to block a lot more the of the shots towards the end, Häcken wasn’t able to get any goals into the net either. The whistle blew and the team screamed in joy, running in together and celebrating their cup win. 

After the end of that cup, the Damallsvenskan was in full force and Hammarby were on a winning streak. The 4 games in the remainder of that month ended in victory for the club and happiness forAstrid for making one or more goal contributions to each of those games. 

The 3rd of July 2023 became a date Astrid would never forget. It was early morning right before they left for training when Astrid’s phone began buzzing, Tony’s contact appearing on her screen. Without hesitation she quickly accepted the facetime and held it up to see him. 

“Ah! Hello Astrid.” Tony waved through the screen. 

“Hi G-man, how are you?” Astrid waved back, a wide smile on her face but her stomach churned in anticipation.

“Very well, thank you.” Tony laughed at the nickname like every time she said it, Kyra was also shaking her head and holding a laugh from the otherside of the room. 

“Congratulations on the cup win, very deserved.”

“Thank you Tony, very happy with the result.” Astrid nodded her head and waited for him to speak further. 

“Astrid,” He began falling into a more serious tone. “My reasoning for the call is to talk about the next camp against France and also this year's World Cup.” Astrid stayed silent and nodded her head. “As a coaching staff we have never been more impressed with a person of your age and talent. You are strong, skilled, resilient and so much more. You are a large asset to the team both on and off the pitch.” Tony smiled kindly at her, watching her face light up at the compliments. 

“Thank you.” Astrid held back the tears brimming from her eyes and let him continue.

“Which is why it is my pleasure to invite you on our roster for the 2023 Women's World Cup if you would join us?” Both their smiles grew bigger and Kyra was jumping up and down in the living room for her girlfriend. 

“Yes, yes. Absolutely yes.” Astrid beamed even brighter, nodding her head up and down as Tony laughed and they wrapped up their conversation. As soon as the call ended Astrid dropped her phone and ran over to Kyra, jumping up and wrapping her legs around Kyra’s waist. “OH MY GOD!” Astrid yelled out as they spun in circles. Tears of happiness ran down her face as Kyra placed her down again. 

“I’m so proud of you.” Kyra wiped Astrid’s tears with her thumbs before leaning in and kissing her. But they were interrupted when Kyra’s phone started buzzing in her pocket. “It’s Tony.” Kyra looked from her phone back up to Astrid who was practically answering the facetime for her and pushing it up to Kyra’s face, stepping out of view. 

Astrid was half paying attention to the facetime as she stood opposite Kyra, instead thinking of her parents and how proud they would be. Wishing she could tell them but they already knew as they watched over her every single day of her life. Astrid zoned back in as Kyra finished her conversation and ran to her girlfriend with an even bigger smile.

“WE’RE GOING TO THE WORLD CUP BABY!” Kyra shouted as they jumped around in a circle holding hands before pulling in and kissing one another with pride. A morning Astrid will never forget. 

Only 5 days later Astrid and Kyra were jumping on a plane back home to Australia for their final World Cup prep match against France down in Melbourne. The flight was long but not awful, both of the girls managed to sleep a lot of the way, landing well rested and not irritable. 

They pulled up to the hotel and jumped out, grabbing their bags and moving into the lobby. Because of their club schedule the pair were once again last to arrive, after rooms had been assigned by their teammates. So it was a mystery which teammate they had been paired with until they opened their room doors and greeted their bunkmate for the next week.

Astrid and Kyra walked hand in hand while no one was around, soaking in the last minutes they could act like a couple for probably a few days. They waved bye to each other and reached their separate rooms. Astrid opened her door and pushed her way through, dragging her heavy bags in and peering around the corner. 

Sam was laying on one of the beds and looked up from her phone upon hearing the door open. “KIDDO!” She threw her phone down as Astrid appeared around the corner. 

“SAMMY!” Astrid yelled in reply as she dropped her items and ran forward tackling Sam on the bed in a bear hug. 

“UGH!Get off me you rat.” Sam laughed and pushed Astrid away and over to the bed opposite. 

“What? You’re not happy to see me?” Astrid scoffed as she flattened her hair down again, pouting playfully at Sam. 

“No, not really.” Sam shrugs playfully, pretending to occupy herself by picking at her nails and Astrid is not having it.

“Admit it Sam, I’m your favourite.” Astrid crosses her arms and raises a brow, awaiting Sam’s response. 

“Ha! You wish As-turd.” Sam retaliates as she settles back down into her previous position with her phone. Dramatically Astrid gasps with a hand to her chest. 

“Excuse me, only Macca is allowed to call me that.” Astrid mirrors Sam, lying down on her own bed and turns her head towards Sam’s bed where the captain was also looking over at the young striker.

“Whatever. How have you been? Congrats on the cup.” Sam brings them to a regular conversation. 

“Thanks. Yeah, I’m good. Excited to be back home.” Astrid speaks with a soft smile, turning towards the roof. She loved coming back home to Australia after so much time away, but it didn’t feel the same anymore. 

“Good.” Sam nods and the room goes silent for a minute. “How’s it going with Kyra?” Astrid's eyes widen and her head snaps back to Sam. How does she know?

“W-what do you mean?” Her voice wavers a bit and Sam continues looking at her phone. 

“Aren’t you guys living together? Is she making you pull your hair out yet?” Sam chuckles lightly and Astrid lets out a sigh of relief. 

“Oh yeah. Everyday.” She laughs and rolls her eyes. Phew.

“Are you ready for dinner?” Sam asks after checking the time and seeing it was time for team dinner now that everyone had arrived. 

“Yes, I’m starving!” Astrid jumped out of bed and they left the room together. 

As everyone arrived at the dining room they greeted one another, excited as always to be on camp with the people again and playing the game they love. 

Astrid sat with Kyra, Charli, Courtney, and Mary, or as everyone else called them, the babies, and they caught up after 2 months apart and loudly annoyed one another which then annoyed everyone else. 

After a night of catching up, playing games and relaxing before the week ahead of their French battle, everyone tiredly returned to their rooms and fell asleep early. 

The girls had four days together to prepare for game day and no one was messing around. Well, kinda. 

The team always liked to have fun with one another in training, laughing and giggling at one another's mistakes, pulling small pranks and teasing but most of all chatting. They loved to chat while running drills, especially Astrid and Charli. 

They could chat and chat for hours while still perfectly executing drills or simply running around the track. The other girls were marvelled with how much they could get done while talking to one another and giggling mostly. 

After four days of training it was finally match day at Marvel Stadium. The team had gone on their pre-match walk and completed their pre game training, watching the fans start to filter through and fill the seats. 

Astrid hadn’t been named in the starting 11, which slightly disappointed her but she understood that her reputation still stood as a super-sub and she was more than happy to come on towards the end and hopefully score a goal for the fans. 

And that’s just what she did. At 75 minutes her number 31 was flashing green and number 20 was red as Sam made her way to the sidelines for Astrid to come on. Astrid ran to her position as the new 9 alongside Tameka as the 10. 

It didn’t take long for Astrid to get her foot on the ball and close to the goal, after Kyra had passed it through to her and now she was 1v1 with a french defender. She battled easily and managed to nutmeg her before running around and towards the keeper. She was alone and onside and the net was clearer than ever. 

Her line was as clear as it was going to get so she went for it. Her right foot swung hard against the ball, rolling across the grass in what felt like slow motion as it rolled through the keeper's feet and past the white line. 

The crowd roared and Astrid took off running, hands reaching up to the sky and forming a hard with her hands as she ran, her teammates running behind her before she stopped and they jumped all over her. She smiled and laughed with her best friends as they celebrated and the crowd was cheering.  

The game ended in a 2-0 win and a very happy crowd of supporters celebrating the last game before the world cup starts only 6 days from now. 

The girls did their round of the stadium for the fans, taking photos and signing merchandise, making people's dreams come true. This could easily be Astrid’s favourite part of being with the matildas, watching peoples faces light up with joy over a simple interaction or wave in their direction and it made everything they go through as players worth it.

To be continued...

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part sixteen]

Words; 2.9k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; swearing

masterlist

Astrid was now home for the Christmas break, allowing herself close to three weeks before she had to return to Sweden for training ahead of the last leg of the season. Her schedule had been quite hectic since the October international window, long training sessions, four last club games and the final Matildas games in mid november. 

The best part of the games against Sweden and Thailand, were that the squad were back on home soil and with their families for longer ahead of the Christmas break.

In the match against Sweden at AAMI park in Melbourne, Astrid played a phenomenal game of football for a whole second half, bringing on fresh legs and a certain attitude that comes with playing for your country on home soil. Herself, Caitlin, Mary and Sam had managed to score and provide an easy 4-0 win over the Swedes. 

Astrid hoped her parents might have been able to make it to the game, but timing just didn’t work to get them down to Melbourne. It didn’t phase her though, she knew they were cheering from home and the next game against Thailand just so happened to be at her home stadium in the Central Coast. 

Astrid hadn’t been home in what felt like forever and the emotions hit her hard after the Thailand match. When her number appeared on the substitute board to take over for Courtnee, she could hear her family cheering louder than ever from the sideline, trying not to look over at the friends and family box in fear of distracting herself. 

But that would actually be the thing that egged her on even more. They were already leading 2-0 but that didn’t mean they had to stop there. She was far out on the right when the ball fell to her feet,not her usual position when playing for Hammarby but one she found herself falling into more when with the Matildas. 

She tried dribbling it in towards Sam who was up front but a Thailand defender was not letting up, so the smartest move was to get up near the corner and let the opposition knock it out. And that’s exactly what happened.  

The crowd cheered behind her as she walked past Steph who was making her way over to take the corner, giving each other a high five in passing before Astrid made her way to the middle, standing out just further than the group and away from opposing players like they had planned in training. 

Steph raised her hands when ready, eyeing up who was available in the box to knock it in but the Thailand players were all over the Matildas, ready to deflect. So Steph struck hard, angling the ball slightly farther over, watching it fly towards Astrid who was ready out the back. It had become known that Astrid was able to strike hard and fast from far out, as well as very close to the net. So Astrid caught the ball with her chest, knocking it down to her right boot and taking a wide step with her left. 

The crowd went silent as they watched in anticipation, the ball flying high over the players heads, slipping past the hands of the goalie and directly into the back of the net. The crowd roared in celebration, Astrid’s family jumping up and down from the box as they watched her run directly to Steph and jump onto her. 

The girls were all screaming as they ran and dogpiled the pair on the pitch, Astrid and Steph still holding tightly onto each other as the pile began to disperse. The game ended 3-0 in the Matildas favour, making sure to consolidate the Thailand players before congratulating their teammates and eventually starting their lap around the pitch.

“What a shot kid, you fucking weapon.” Astrid felt a pair of hands jump on her shoulders, turning with a smile to find Sam’s face next to her own. 

“Yeah whatever.” Astrid tried to shrug the compliment off, always very humble and quiet about her skills and rejecting any genuine praise.

“It was incredible and you know it. Go celebrate with your family.” Sam shook her shoulders and pushed her in the direction of her friends and family in the stands. She ran over while clapping to the crowd around her but was more focused on making it to her parents. 

“MUM! DAD!” Astrid smiled once she spotted the back of their heads, pulling their attention to her and away from their current conversation. She made it to the barrier and began climbing over so she could give them a proper hug. 

She always felt safe in their arms and it had been so long since the last time that every bit of homesickness she bottled up over the last few months began to come up. 

“I missed you so much.” Tears pooled in her eyes and Joanna pulled Astrid’s face out from her chest, looking slightly up at her due to the height difference. 

“Oh my darling. We missed you too.” She wiped her daughters' tears and smiled at her, Mark standing beside them with a hand on Astrid’s shoulder. 

“That was a cracking goal my girl.” Mark shook her shoulder as she laughed with him, shaking her head at him. 

“Thanks dad.” She gave him a side hug, Mark giving her a kiss on the head. 

“Clearly working hard over there in Sweden huh?” He commented and she silently nodded, a pang to her heart as she remembered again just how far away she really lived from them. 

“Yeah, guess so.” Astrid let out a small chuckle. It’s very easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of playing matches and training, that often Astrid forgot she was only 18 and living halfway across the world away from her family. But it was what she wanted and needed to do for her career. 

“Do you need to head back and get ready to leave with the team?” Her mum broke Astrid out of her thoughts, rubbing her arm gently. 

“Uh yeah.” She looked back at the field and saw them wrapping up their interactions with fans. “Are we still on for lunch tomorrow?” Astrid looked between her parents. 

“Of course.” Joanna and Mark nodded. “Go on darling, we’ll see you later.” Joanna signalled for Astrid to head off, seeing Kyra, Charli and Courtney waiting for her at the tunnel, waving over at her parents. 

“Bye.” She blew them a kiss and jumped back over the barrier, waving to a few fans who were calling out her name, stopping for a minute to take a few photos. 

“Excuse me?” A young boy called out from the end near the tunnel, Astrid turning her head to find him, walking over and bending down to his height at the barrier. 

“Hi there. What’s your name?” She put her hand out for a high five. 

“Liam.” He smiled and completed the high five.

“Nice to meet you Liam, did you enjoy the game?” She asked him, holding on the barrier to talk to him. He nodded eagerly in excitement. 

“I cheered really loudly when you scored.” He jumped up and down, Astrid laughing softly. “You’re my favourite.” He smiled largely and Astrid’s heart practically melted. 

“Well thank you Liam.” She placed a hand on her heart. “Kyra, did you hear that?” She looked over to the brunette, grinning. “He said I’m his favourite.” She raised his eyebrows and Kyra dramatically clutched her heart in pain. Astrid laughed alongside Liam as they watched Charli and Courtney shaking their heads at Kyra in disapproval. “Well Liam, would you like my jersey? Since I’m your favourite?” His jaw dropped and Astrid started to stand. 

“Yes, please.” He asked while in shock, nodding his head excitingly. 

“Okay, one sec.” Astrid ran to find a bib, putting it on in place of the jersey and heading back to Liam and his parents who were standing behind him. She was given a sharpie and put her signature under her number before handing it to him. 

“Thank you!” He looked up at her with wide eyes and a smile.

“You’re more than welcome bud.” She gave him another high five before walking down the tunnel with the girls. “Sucked in.” Astrid stuck her tongue out at Kyra confidently but quickly lost it when Kyra began chasing her down the tunnel towards the change rooms.

“You two are children!” Charli yelled as they ran down the hallway, Astrid looking back to see how closely Kyra was running behind her until she finally caught up, wrapping her arms around Astrid and picking her up and throwing Astrid over her shoulder. 

“Put me down!” Astrid pounded on Kyra’s back as the older girl just laughed and carried her into the changeroom where the rest of the team were getting unready after the match. “Please someone help me.” She cried out as Kyra continued to carry her, now spinning around in circles. 

“We’ve learnt it’s best not to become involved when it comes to you two.” Alanna snickered from the corner, Caitlin and Mackenzie laughing alongside her as the rest of the group silently agreed. 

“You all suck!” Astrid continued to hit Kyra’s back but it seemed to be no use. “Mini!” Astrid spotted Katrina walking in the room with Harper and reached her hands out to her. “Please tell your child to let me down.”

“Not my child.” Mini stated but deep down she knew that these younger players were her kids in a way, and she doesn’t like when her kids misbehave. “Kyra put her down before she throws up all over us.” Mini crossed her hands over her chest and Kyra knew that meant business. So she slowly stopped spinning and gently placed Astrid down. 

“Thank you Mini.” Astrid brushed her hair back down, gave Kyra a death stare and collected her things before walking to the showers without another word. 

“Ooooo silent treatment. In the bad books now Kyra.” Charli commented from the doorway, everyone else laughing at the midfielder standing in the middle of the room looking very lost. 

Astrid continued to ignore Kyra, not only because she was mad at her but also because it was fun to watch her walk around with puppy eyes and wait for Astrid to talk to her. Even on the bus ride, the younger took a seat next to Steph and Kyra was left to find another one to sulk in and watch Astrid from a distance. 

The next day after recovery, Astrid had been picked up by her parents and taken to lunch, wanting to catch up with their daughter after so long apart, even though they message and facetime as often as they can with the time differences and Astrid’s busy schedule. 

Meanwhile, Kyra spent those few hours thinking up ways to apologise to Astrid, something she normally wouldn't do after being childish like that. But the fact Astrid had yet to speak to her, she felt really bad and wanted to make it up to her. 

So when Astrid returned to her hotel room, she was surprised to hear a knock on her door, interrupting her packing process. She didn’t know what to expect when opening the door but it certainly wasn’t this.

“What the fuck Kyra?” Astrid struggled not to laugh at the ridiculous sight she saw in front of her.  Kyra was standing there, a pout on her face and a small cake that had Taylor Swift’s face printed on it in her hands. 

“I’m sorry for yesterday, I just wanted to have fun and I took it too far. Will you please forgive me?” Kyra finally spoke and Astrid could not believe the words that were coming out of her mouth.

“You’re actually such an idiot, oh my god.” Astrid finally let out a laugh, in absolute disbelief that this was real. She pulled her phone out from her shorts pocket and took a photo of Kyra in the doorway. “I appreciate it though, thank you.” Kyra seemed to let her breath go after hearing that. 

“You’re welcome. Can I come in?” Kyra asked and Astrid opened the door wider, using her hand to gesture back into the room, shutting the door after Kyra made her way in. 

“Where did you get this?” Astrid further inspected the cake Kyra had now placed on desk, pulling out two forks from her pocket. 

“Some cake shop I found online said they did realistic photos on cakes. So I called them up and asked for a Taylor Swift cake.” Kyra spoke casually, watching Astrid’s facial expression change with every word. 

“That is genuinely the funniest thing I’ve ever heard you say, and you’ve said a lot of things.” Astrid bit back her smile. “But to be honest I was only ignoring you to see how long you could go without begging for my forgiveness. And it's safe to say I’m impressed.” Kyra smiled at her and handed her a fork. 

“Thank you. I think this is the longest I’ve gone without talking to you ever.” Kyra spoke as she ate a bite of cake. Astrid ate her own piece and thought about it. 

“I think you’re right.” She nodded before another thought popped into her head. “Should we be eating this?” She paused before her second bite, Kyra shrugging in response as she shovelled more cake into her face. 

“Who cares? We’re technically on break and we can call it a cheat day.” Astrid silently agreed with her and ate more cake. 

They sat in silence as they ate almost half of the cake together before lying back on Astrid’s bed and slowly entering food comas. 

“That was really good.” Astrid finally spoke and Kyra hummed in agreement. “Thank you for doing that Ky, you didn’t have to.”Astrid turned her head to look at Kyra beside her. 

“I had to make it up to you in some way. Thought that was a pretty good way.” Kyra turned her head and smiled at her. 

“Yeah it was.” Astrid spoke then let out a yawn. “I think it's time for a nap.” She rolled onto her side more.. 

“I’ll go then.” Kyra began to sit up, Astrid furrowed her brows at the sudden movement. 

“You can stay,” The words rushed out very quickly, stopping Kyra in her tracks. “Only if you like. You don’t have to.” Astrid corrected herself, Kyra turning to look down at her. 

“Uh… sure.” Kyra nodded and slowly laid back down beside Astrid, turning to face her body inwards and looking at Astrid. “So you forgive me then?” Kyra wanted confirmation that all was forgiven and no longer in the bad books. 

“You know… I could never stay mad at you Ky.” Astrid’s eyes fluttered shut as she found herself drifting off into sleep. Kyra bit back a smile and slowly closed her own eyes. 

“Oh…my…god.” Charli whispered as she entered her and Astrid’s shared room, trying to compose herself as she stumbled upon Astrid and Kyra asleep on the bed…cuddling… together. Throughout their food coma nap they had subconsciously moved closer and Astrid was now resting upon Kyra, who had laid a hand on her back. 

“Shhhhhh. Don’t wake them.” Mini gripped Charli’s arm, the rest of the team trailed behind them, wanting to find out where the pair of young misfits had been hiding for the past two hours and why they were yet to turn up for dinner. Most of them expected the duo to be plotting ways to mess up the other players' lives or arguing with one another over something stupid. But what they were looking at was certain to be at the very bottom of their list’s. 

“Enough gawking!” Steph had begun quietly pushing everyone back out the door, all sharing the photos with one another for later blackmailing purposes. “Leave them alone.” She reached Charli and Mini who were both trying to hold back their laughter as they urged closer to the bed with their phones, Steph gripping their elbows and escorting out of the room. 

The door closed and that’s when they both finally woke up, Astrid opening her eyes to find her arm had ended up draped over Kyra’s waist and her head resting upon her chest. She looked up to meet Kyra’s eyes, both of them very confused as to how they ended up like this, quickly separating from one another. 

“Shit, we almost missed dinner.” Kyra looked at the time on her phone, now seeing multiple messages from Charli, Mini, Courtney and even Steph asking where she was, Astrid receiving the same amount as she reached for hers.

“Let’s go then.” Astrid brushed her hair back down before standing and walking to the door, Kyra following behind. 

A week later Astrid was back in her childhood bedroom and enjoying time off from her hectic schedule, but finding herself missing the craziness of living and playing abroad with some of her favourite people. 

So it was decided among the Sweden squad that they would spend the quality time needed with their families before and during Christmas, but meet up together again to celebrate new years with one another and welcome in the new year while holidaying in Fiji. And because they were on their break, things were allowed to get a little crazy. And what happens in Fiji… stays in Fiji.

to be continued...

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part five]

Words; 2.8k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; swearing

masterlist

Astrid was beyond happy to be back home with her family. Although she had learnt over the years to be more independent and happy on her own while away on national camps and now with Sydney FC, she always missed her parents and tried to spend as much time with them as she could when she came home. 

Over the week she made sure to catch up with her extended family who lived close by, visiting her old club and teammates and spending plenty of time at the beach even though it was nearing winter time. 

Of course she kept up with her training and fitness even though she was technically on a break, knowing that even a small falter could impact her chance of a spot in the squad on the next camp. So even while she was out of her regular environment, she kept up with her routine; wake up, go for a run, have a smoothie, go to the gym, do a bit of training on a pitch with her dad and then have the day to spend catching up with the people she loved. 

Astrid loved being back home with everyone for the week, but a small part of her missed the life she had created for herself in Sydney, finding solace in having a space to herself. So after saying her goodbyes to her friends and family, she began the drive back, obviously playing Taylor Swift the whole way. 

She had only been driving for 30 minutes when her music was interrupted by a phone call from Lisa, her agent. 

“Hey Lisa.” Astrid spoke after answering the call. 

“Hey Astrid, how you doing?” Lisa asked. 

“Yeah I’m good, just on my way back to Sydney now. How are you?” Astrid was a little confused at the phone call but maybe she had something important to tell her.

“Nice. Yeah I’m good.” Lisa paused. “I know I’ve been M.I.A for a little bit, sorry, but I’ve got a few updates for you.” She added. 

“Oh okay. Yeah?” Astrid had been waiting for Lisa to get in contact with her for a while.

“Okay, so first up, next Matildas camp. They’ve set up two games against Spain and Portugal, and though no squad announcement or calls have been made, I’m feeling hopeful for you. Mainly because of your recent performances and the fact a lot of senior players won’t be joining.” Lisa informed her and Astrid felt a smile grow on her face. 

“Those games will be good and yeah, hopefully.” Astrid responded, waiting for Lisa to continue. 

“Second; club season.” Lisa paused.

“Yep.” Astrid grew nervous, having waited a while to hear anything since the season finished.

“Sydney FC have put in an offer for you to sign on with them again for the 2022/23 season which is great, you know everything and everyone there. And we know how much you can succeed there.” Astrid let out a sigh of relief. “I’ve also been contacted by some international teams… if you are interested.” Lisa added on. 

“Wait, are you serious? Who-what? Like what? They-who's interested?” Astrid sputtered out, heart stopping at the mention of international offers. 

“Well as you know, recently the Swedish League has picked up a lot of Australian players. A lot of who you are friends with in the Matildas. We've gotten two offers from two different clubs over there which is really incredible for you and really, really great for the Matildas as well.” Lisa was feeling a lot of pride in the young athlete as they talked about her first professional contract now that she was 18.  

“What this is crazy. Like who was- who's interested because that's, that's incredible.” Astrid was smiling widely, trying to concentrate on the road ahead of her while listening to the agent.  

“We've had offers come through from FC Rosengård where Charli and Teagan play. And also from Hammarby IF where Kyra and Courtney have just signed which is really great for you. I think your friends over there may have put in a good word, not that they needed to with your talent.” Astrid’s jaw dropped at this. 

“Okay.” Was all she could respond to Lisa with, this was crazy.

“I know this is a tough decision obviously, and this is just me telling you the information. You haven’t even seen any of the paperwork or what they are explicitly offering, so I have emailed them to you, and when you're back in Sydney take a look and have a think. They've given you a little while to decide, but their season has already started so I think they want to know as soon as possible.” Lisa paused. 

“Yeah, okay.” Astrid was brought back down from her excitement high, realising she would have to decide soon if she was ready to move overseas or stay at home in Sydney.

“Look, I know this is a big thing, especially because moving to a new country so young, it's a big decision for you and your family as well. But I really think that this could be really good for your career. This could also be the next step into getting over to the WSL which I know is your dream.” Lisa was right. Playing in the WSL, especially Arsenal, was her life goal and this could be a leg up. “I'll let you ponder and when you get home, take a while to read these offers.”

“Yeah of course.” Astrid’s mind had already begun to spin. 

“Don’t forget about the Sydney FC one as well, if that's something you’re wishing to continue, you know I am happy for you. It’s something you're used to, you've made relationships with people there and had a great season. But you've also got relationships with people who are in this Swedish league as well, so I'll let you think and get back to me in the next few days hopefully.” Lisa finished.

“I will.” Astrid nodded to herself, shaking her head to pause her spiralling thoughts until she got back to Sydney.

“Take care Astrid, speak to you soon.” Lisa said before Astrid bid her goodbye and they hung up. That’s a lot to think about.

Astrid got back to her apartment, immediately dropping her bags and pulling out her laptop, bringing up the emails Lisa had sent her. When she finally saw the offers she believed it, and a tear sprung to her eye, her lips curling into a small smile. She had finally proved herself as a footballer. 

Just 18 years old and she had received international contracts. She couldn’t believe it. Mary had moved overseas and joined Montpellier a few years ago at 17 so she knew it was possible to be at that level so young, but she never thought it would be a possibility for her.

She hadn’t even read over the offers before instantly thinking about all the time she would spend with Kyra and Courtney or Charli and Teagan at either club, how much fun they could have in a new country together. But then her mood changed at the thought of leaving home, leaving Sydney FC and Cortnee, especially having created such a strong relationship with her and the team over the past 5 months. She didn’t know what to do, and she didn’t want to decide alone. But before she did anything, she needed to read the offers she was presented. 

Sydney FC had only offered her another one year contract with a decent sum, obviously unaware other clubs had gained wind of her success and thought that she would stay on with them for a bit longer. FC Rosengård had also offered her a one year contract with a higher sum in an attempt to buy her out of Sydney FC, and by joining them she would be with Charli, her best friend. The best looking offer, according to Lisa in her email, came from Hammarby IF. They had offered a two year contract with the most amount of money, which didn’t matter that much to Astrid right now, and said they would help her in finding housing, transport and other necessities to get her on their team. Joining them would also mean joining Kyra and Courtney who were also just starting out over there. 

Her thoughts began racing again, this time allowing it unlike in the car. Do I really want to leave? Am I ready to? Am I really good enough for these clubs? Why don’t Sydney FC fight for me more?

Her breathing became a little more rapid and her chest tightened like it does when she feels a panic attack forming. The best way to stop it in the past has been to talk to someone, letting them talk her through it and calm her down. 

Logically the first person to call about this would be her parents, especially because she normally runs straight to them when she has any sort of major problem or news. But her first thought was to call one of her found sisters, Cortnee. 

After a few rings, the older girl finally picked up. 

“Hello?” Cortnee’s voice came through Astrid’s phone. 

“Hey Viney.” Her voice came out shaky, she tried to conceal it as best she could. 

“Hey, what’s up? You okay?” Cortnee furrowed her brows while sitting on her own couch with her partner Charlotte.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I just-” Astrid cut herself off, deciding whether it was a good idea to call her. 

“Astrid?” Cortnee called out after a few seconds of silence. 

“Sorry, it’s stupid. I shouldn’t have bothered you.” Astrid shook her head, walking around her small kitchen.

“Hey, stop. Are you still back home or your place yet?” Cortnee was becoming increasingly worried, jumping up from her couch quickly, Charlotte watching with concern.

“I just got back to mine.” Astrid simply answered her. 

“Okay. Do you need to talk about something?” Cortnee asked softly, trying to get an answer out of her. 

“Sorta, yeah.” Astrid breathed slowly, trying to stop her panic from growing. 

“Do you want to do it on the phone? Or would in person be better?” Cortnee looked down at Charlotte who was confused, she mouthed ‘Astrid’ to her and Charlotte nodded in understanding. She had watched their sibling relationship grow while training with them at Sydney FC, glad Astrid knew someone while settling into the new environment all those months ago. 

“I don’t know.” She paused to think. “Maybe in person… only if you’re not busy, it’s not that urgent.” Astrid rushed out, feeling bad to drag Cortnee from anything. 

“No, it’s okay.” Cortnee looked down at Charlotte, silently asking if it was okay to go over; of course she nodded yes. “I’ll be there in a bit.” 

“Okay, thank you.” Astrid breathed out. She hung up the phone and closed her laptop, not wanting to stare at the offers again until Cortnee was there. 

10 minutes later and Cortnee was in Astrid’s kitchen, making them some tea before walking back over to Astrid on the couch. They hadn’t really spoken yet, besides greeting each other and Cortnee telling her to go sit down. 

“So, what’s going on?” The older girl asked, passing a cup to Astrid. She took a sip and a deep breath before talking, placing her cup down. 

“Lisa called me while I was on my way home today.” She eventually lifted her eyes to Cortnee. “Sydney have offered me another contract for next year.” She bit her lip. 

“Hey! That’s amazing.” Cortnee was visibly proud and happy and that’s what made Astrid’s heart sink again; how could she ever leave her? Cortnee could see she wasn’t as excited as her. “Or not?” She put her own cup down. 

“I also got offers from two other clubs,” Astrid finally spoke again, Cortnee listening intently. “In Sweden.” Cortnee’s jaw dropped. 

“OH MY GOD!” She smiled widely with pride and leapt forward to hug the young girl gently. “That’s fucking incredible.” Astrid let out a small laugh at Cortnee’s excitement. “Who with?” 

“Rosengård and Hammarby.” Astrid smiled softly. 

“Oh the girls will be so happy, have you told them?” Cortnee asked. Astrid shook her head and her smile faltered. “What’s wrong?” Astrid bit the inside of her cheek, trying to stop herself from crying.

“I don’t know what to do.” Astrid quickly wiped a tear that fell from her eye, Cortnee raising an eyebrow to prompt her to keep talking. “I don’t know if I’m ready. I mean I’ve only been in the A-League since November, not even a year nationally. What if I can’t keep up over there?” She began expressing her overgrowing thoughts. “And I’m only just 18, like making an international move is a big thing. And I’ve begun making a life here in Sydney with you and the girls. I would feel bad for leaving you because you’ve given me so much.” Astrid’s tears fell as she finally broke down. Cortnee’s heart broke at seeing her like this, she had only ever seen Astrid cry from happiness. 

“Come here.” Cortnee beckoned her closer, pulling her into her side. “This is a massive opportunity for you and your career. The Swedish league is one of the best. It can really help you become a better player. Just look at the improvement Charli and Teag’s have had since moving over there.” She began to comfort the girl. “And as for Sydney FC, you could stay with who and what you know, but you don’t have to.” She rubbed her hand up and down Astrid’s shoulder.

“But you do.” Astrid looked up at Cortnee. 

“Because that’s what I want to do. I’ve had international club offers come to me but SydFC is the place for me. Doesn’t mean it’s the place for you.” Cortnee was trying to encourage the younger player to try new things. “I have full faith in you and your talent, and you can definitely keep up over there. I mean, you scored two goals in your only two national team games. Like that’s just fucking crazy.” Cortnee shook Astrid who began to laugh.

“Thanks.” Astrid muttered before thinking. “So you’re not mad that I could be moving to Sweden?” 

“Of course not. I’m so happy for you.” She pulled her in for a hug. “If it’s what you really want to do, then go for it.” She let go and they looked at each other. 

“Okay.” She nodded to herself, eyes falling to her kitchen island. Astrid stood and collected the laptop before sitting back down and pulling up the offers. “Help me pick?” Astrid smiled at Cortnee who nodded and began reading the offers. 

After a while of seriously considering all the offers and what the clubs were like, Astrid had almost made her decision. She didn’t say it out loud to Cortnee yet, telling her she wanted to talk to her parents first and thanking her for coming over but to get back to Charlotte at home. 

That night she called her parents and told them about the offers. They were over the moon, so proud of what their not-so little girl had achieved so quickly. They were also scared and had a long, extensive talk with Astrid about the possibility of moving overseas, which was a difficult one to have. The conversation felt very similar to the one they had when she moved an hour away for Sydney FC, but on a much larger scale of course. She may be an adult now but she was still their child and wanted to know she would be safe when they couldn’t be there.

She still had a little while to decide and pick the offer that worked best for her and what would benefit her career the most but she felt she needed to decide quickly before she thought about it too much and did the wrong thing. 

So that night she texted her best friends. 

the best tillies 💚💛

Ky Ky 🪁

Cha Cha 💃

Nevy 🙉

Starry ⭐️

Starry ⭐️

hey guys

got a question for ya

Nevy 🙉

yes????

Ky Ky 🪁

I might have an answer…

Depends 

Cha Cha 💃

WOW

Actually using this chat besides sending 50 million tiktoks

Starry ⭐️

Wow Charlotte

How kind of you

Cha Cha 💃

Hurry up

Starry ⭐️

Moving on from your rudeness…

Do you guys know of any good coffee shops in Sweden?

You know how I need coffee to function every morning

especially before training

Nevy 🙉

WHAT THE FUCK

Ky Ky 🪁

NO WAY

Cha Cha 💃

ARE YOU FINALLY MOVING TO SWEDEN BITCH?!?!?!

Starry ⭐️

So is that a yes?

To be continued….

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part four]

Words; 3.2k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; swearing, mentions of alcohol

A/N; took me a while to do this one so sorry its a bit late. hopefully you enjoy this, I really like this one. again, please give it some love and hope you like it. also this might have a love interest at some point but i haven't figured it out yet. x

masterlist

The team had now travelled down to Canberra for their second and final match against New Zealand again. Throughout the day they had taken their match day walk, eaten their meals together and prepared for the game, feeling somewhat confident after their last win over the opposing team. 

Astrid was still on a buzz from the last game and the love she had been showered in from her teammates, coaches, parents and especially the fans. Making her debut and scoring a goal in the same game on home soil was something really special and Astrid never thought that she would be doing it so young. She was still only 17 and had accomplished so much. 

She was in a really good mood and the team could tell. She usually had a fun, bubbly personality, constantly making jokes and pulling lighthearted pranks but today she just had an extra aura about her that instantly lightened the mood of everyone on the team. And they knew why. Not only had she been promised some minutes on the pitch this game, but tomorrow was her 18th birthday. Finally, the baby of the team was becoming an adult; legally at least. And she got to celebrate with her new family; her own unable to until she planned to go home for a little while, now that club season was over and the next camp wasn’t until late June.

The rest of the day was spent in focus mode, making sure everyone was warm and ready for what could be another tough game. 

The Matildas were off to a great start, taking possession of the ball and a good few attempts at scoring within the first 14 minutes before a corner from Steph and header from Sam secured their lead on the game. Only two minutes later and a great shot from the edge of the penalty box by Hayley, the ball just skimming past the goalie, had given them that extra leg up on New Zealand. 

A shot from Sam had brought them up to 3-0 before New Zealand secured their first goal in the extra time before the whistle blew for halftime and the substitutes got themselves up to warm up in the break. 

Astrid, Charli and Kyra found themselves chatting about Astrid’s upcoming birthday while practising passes and shots at the goal. 

“Guys it’s not that big of a deal.” Astrid spoke, taking a shot at the net with her right foot, surpassing Teagan’s attempt to block it, sending it right in the back, a small smile at Teagan before turning to the girls with confused expressions on their faces. 

“Not a big deal?” Charli used air quotes, stopping her small passes with Kyra. “First of all it’s your first birthday with the team,” She began counting her fingers as she walked closer to Astrid. “It’s tomorrow,” She counted a second finger.  “AND it’s your 18th. What is wrong with you?” Charli was clearly more passionate about this than Astrid, gripping the younger girl’s shoulder, trying to look stern but failing, letting out that signature smile. 

“I’m with Charli.” Kyra had stepped forward to the pair. Astrid bit her top lip, staying silent, contemplating Charli’s reason. 

“Ugh fine. I guess we could do something,” Astrid finally gave in. “But!” She lifted a finger, Charli and Kyra grinning slightly. “Nothing crazy okay, everyone is about to go back to clubs so they probably want to relax.” Astrid spoke, grunting softly as they engulfed her in a hug after sharing a sneaky smirk with one another. 

The second half of the game had finally started, and even with a few misses at a shot, the Matildas were still doing well. Substitutions had been made for both sides, all the Aus subs continuing to keep warm and moving on the sidelines. It was at the 70th minute that Alanna went down from a head collision, resulting in a broken nose and having to leave the pitch. That led to Charli being subbed on a few minutes later as a defender, happiness from Astrid growing for Charli and worry growing for Alanna as she was taken to the changeroom. 

Again with only 15 minutes until full time, Astrid got to take her place on the pitch, subbing for Caitlin in the left forward position, the coaches hoping her fresh legs might help gain them another goal before the end of the game. And they were right. 

The ball was shot far from Lydia, sending it to the midfield where Sam had collected it, heading for the goal but ran out of space, shooting it over to Astrid who shot it through the goalie’s still legs as she expected a higher shot, and slotted it right in the back of the net. The crowd roared, Astrid ran directly to the midfield where most of the team watched the shot, immediately covering the young girl with their bodies, screaming and yelling at her goal that brought them to 4-1. 

The huddle of players parted, Charli making sure to press a kiss to Astrid’s forehead before they both ran off to their positions again with wide smiles. The final whistle blew and Australia had won against New Zealand again, Astrid fighting the urge to run and celebrate with her friends, instead calmly shaking hands with the opposition and sharing clap hugs with her teammates. 

The team all get to their huddle after a few minutes, happiness running high through them about the successful win, waiting for Tony to begin his speech. 

“You’ve been phenomenal in terms of focus and what you can control. Two good games, two wins. This is the closure of the camp now, so that you can enjoy the time with your families tonight, happy birthday to Astrid for tomorrow. Safe travels. Good luck in your club, okay? Looking forward to see you next camp. Good job, everyone.” He wrapped and everyone disconnected to start clapping. 

Family and friends were invited down onto the pitch, Harper being snatched up by Mini the second she saw her and Astrid slowly moving to approach the mother and daughter. 

“Hi Harper.” Astrid waved at the baby in Mini’s arms. 

“Say hi.” Katrina picked up one of Harper’s arms, waving at the player as a smile grew on the baby’s face. “Good job again today Astrid, nice shot.” Mini looked up at the teen. 

“Thanks Mini. Welcome back officially.” Astrid met the older woman's eyes and smiled. They both turned in the direction of both teams gathering on the pitch around Aivi, all of them moving closer to the huddle, Astrid going to stand with Kyra and Charli like always. 

Aivi was shaving her head today in honour of her brother and donating it in a bid to raise $30,000 for brain tumour research. Everyone cheered on as they watched the brave woman, all running over when it was done, patting and rubbing her bare head as tears sprung in everyone's eyes. 

The next morning Astrid had awoken in her and Charli’s hotel room to most of the team, balloons filling the air, and all the girls screaming happy birthday as soon as her eyes had opened. Her heart pounded against her chest at the fright of seeing at least 20 more people in her room at 9am, screaming in her face.

After letting out a quiet ‘fuck’, Astrid’s next reaction was to crawl back under the sheets feeling surprised, shocked and extremely loved in that very moment that the first thing she thought to do was to hide from it. The room filled with laughter and cheers, watching as Kyra and Charli pulled back the sheets and wrapped their arms around Astrid who was about to cry. 

“Aye, she’s finally an adult like the rest of us. Took long enough.” Macca yelled from in the room, everyone laughing along with her, Astrid just looked her dead in the eye. 

“Does that mean you’ll stop calling me kid?” She cocked her head at the goalkeeper. 

“No.” Mackenzie spoke with a dead face.

“Absolutely not.” Alanna chimed in and everyone shook their heads. Everyone gives Astrid a hug and wishes her another happy birthday before leaving, now just Kyra as the only person out of their assigned room. Kyra and Charli approached Astrid on her bed with presents in each of their hands. 

“Guys, no. You seriously did not need to do all of this.” Astrid could burst into tears with the amount of love she was receiving from her friends. 

“Of course we did.” Kyra came to sit beside Astrid, holding a small bag. 

“You’re part of the team, our best friend and as I said yesterday,” Charli paused, trying to emphasise her next point. “It’s your fucking 18th birthday.” Charli smiled and then sat down on the other side of Astrid, placing a box in front of her. 

“I love you guys so much.” Astrid pulled the girls in with an arm over each of their shoulders, turning to place a kiss on their cheeks. 

“Love you too, now open them please.” Charli was bursting with excitement to watch her open the gifts. 

“This one is just from us.” Kyra handing the small bag over to Astrid. 

“Thank you.” Astrid smiled, taking the small bag from Kyra’s hand. A little white box was inside, pulling it out to open it. “Oh my god.” Astrid gasped at the ring that was inside the box. It was a simple silver ring, an oval plate in the middle that was engraved with a small soccer ball. 

“Do you like it?” Kyra shyly spoke after watching Astrid inspect the ring closer. 

“I love it.” Astrid spoke, tears forming in her eyes. 

“Good, because now we all match.” Charli smiled, herself and Kyra bringing up their hands to show the same ring on their own fingers. Astrid pouted before the tears of joy ran down her face. She had never felt more loved by two friends. “Oh, star.” Charli used the nickname she had given Astrid in their first camp. 

Upon deciding that she couldn’t shorten her full name, Charli began to call her ‘star’ or ‘stargirl’ because her name sounded like something to do with the stars; later the rest of the team adopted it on and off the field. Astrid really liked it and anything was better than Macca teasing her and calling her ‘Asteroid’ or ‘As-turd’; although Astrid did think it was quite funny. 

The girls brought the crying girl in their arms again, laughing at her reaction and glad she enjoyed their gift. 

“Okay, enough crying. Open the next one.” Kyra spoke, Astrid wiping her face and letting out a small laugh. 

“This is a bit of something from everyone.” Charli moved the box closer to the birthday girl. 

Astrid opened the box to reveal a bunch of little goodies; a few cards, little bottles of alcohol, some Taylor Swift nic-nacs and other small presents. Astrid examined every one of them, reading every card and letter as the other girls got up to give her some personal space. They also collected some birthday hats they bought, along with a ‘18th birthday’ sash for her to wear. 

“This is way too much, thank you.” Astrid jumped up, running to give them a hug again. 

“Of course not, you deserve it.” Charli pressed a kiss to Astrids head. “But enough of this, we’re going to be late for breakfast if we don’t hurry up.” They all looked at the time and realised they had to be down in 10 minutes. 

To Astrid’s surprise, the rest of the day was spent with the team as she thought most of them would be leaving today to go back to club. But when Kyra and Charli notified them of the important birthday a few months back, they all decided to stick around an extra day and celebrate their youngest member. She was showered with love throughout their team breakfast, when they went for a picnic lunch and then at a nice dinner where a cake was being brought out. 

“Happy Birthday to Astrid, happy birthday to you.” The table cheered, taking photos and videos of Astrid and her cake, a wide smile on her face. 

“HIP HIP!” Charli led the entire restaurant who had joined in. 

“HOORAY!”

“HIP HIP!” 

“HOORAY!”

“HIP HIP!” 

“HOORAY!” Everyone clapped as Astrid leant forward to blow out the candles, silently making her wish that she could be with this group of people forever. 

“Okay, now you have to skull your drink.” Sam who was sat across from Astrid pushed the girl’s almost full cocktail towards her. Her mouth opened in confusion. “It’s tradition, kid. It’s what you do at your 18th.” Sam simply shrugged her shoulders, Astrid looking to her other teammates who were nodding with grins, some holding their phones out to film her. 

So she picked up her drink and began drinking it fast, trying not to spill any on her new dress. Everyone cheered and clapped until she was done and she wiped her mouth, showing off her empty drink. 

A lot of the team members had left after dinner, opting to for an early sleep before their international flights, rather than taking Astrid clubbing for the first time. Those who remained with Astrid included, Kyra, Charli, Cortnee, Courtney, Clare Wheeler, Teagan, Ellie with Caitlin and Steph acting as chaperones for the youngsters. 

Flash forward to 2am and the last remaining partiers stumbled into the hotel lobby by the guide of Steph and Caitlin. Charli and Cortnee held Astrid up with either of her arms, Courtney and Kyra following behind, Steph and Caitlin just watched all of them drunkenly walk to the lifts, trying not to laugh. They all eventually made it to their rooms, Steph instructing Charli to call her in case something happened with Astrid who was drunker than her. 

Charli guided the girl who was almost passed out into their room and sat her down on her bed. 

“Star, hey.” Charli stopped Astrid from falling asleep. “You’ll be mad at me tomorrow if we don’t get this makeup off and out of this dress. So just stay awake for a few more minutes. Okay?” Astrid nodded silently, using Charli’s outstretched arms to pull herself up and walk to the bathroom. 

With makeup removed, teeth brushed and now both in pyjamas, Charli led the drunk girl back to her bed and helped her under the covers. As soon as Astrid’s head hit the pillow, she was out cold. Charli snapped a quick photo before falling asleep in her own bed.

Safe to say it was a good night out when Astrid woke up with a pounding headache, the natural sunlight pouring into the room harsh on her eyes, quickly pushing her face back into her pillow with a grunt. 

“Oh welcome back from the dead.” Charli laughed as she walked out of the bathroom, Astrid lifting her head slowly to give the girl a death stare. “How do you feel, party girl?” Charli sat at Astrid’s feet, watching the girl slowly sit up, hands rubbing her face. 

“Fucking shit.” She laughed as she met Charli’s face. “I went hard didn’t I?” Astrid rubbed her temples, attempting to ease the pounding in her head but it wasn’t working. 

“Oh yeah. You did. Come on.” Charli laughed, hitting Astrid's feet as she stood herself up. “Let’s go soak up all that alcohol with food, coffee and water.” Astrid groaned but slowly got out of bed. After a shower and some fresh clothes, Charli and Astrid had made their way to the team breakfast room again where most of the team still sat, Astrid may have walked in with a pair of sunnies over her eyes. 

“She made it through the night everyone!” Mackenzie threw an arm over Astrid’s shoulder as she rolled her eyes at the goalkeeper. She nudged her away and flipped her the bird with a smile before walking over to the coffee station. 

“Fun night then?” Hayley asked as Astrid sat down next to her with an iced coffee and some buttered toast. 

“Yeah… I think. I don’t remember a lot actually…” She took her sunnies off and rubbed her eyes. “I better ask the babysitters.” She directed her head over to where Steph and Caitlin sat. 

“First night drinking and you got black out. Nice.” Sam reached across the table for a fist bump which Astrid loosely returned, shaking her head slowly, which ended up bringing back the headache that was fading into the background. 

Everyone finished their breakfast slowly, taking in these last moments of camp together because not all of them would be together for quite a while. A lot of the senior players were going into an off season soon after returning to their international homes and taking a break for the first time in a while. 

Everyone caught a flight together back to Sydney from Canberra before separating for their international and domestic flights, saying goodbye to each other in the departure terminals. 

Kyra, Courtney and Charli were the last people Astrid had to say goodbye to, the three of them heading back to Sweden and Astrid sticking behind in Sydney. 

“I’m going to miss you guys so much.” She brought them all in for a group hug quickly. 

“It’s okay, we’ll be back together for the next camp soon.” Charli hugged Astrid singularly, squeezing her close to her one last time. 

“Where hopefully we all get some more playing time.” Courtney smiled at the youngest girl. 

“And we can have even more drunken nights with miss party animal over here.” Kyra teased, Astrid pushed her shoulder lightly, shaking her head. 

“Alright, you guys better go before you miss your flight.” Astrid nodded at them to go, putting a small smile on her face that hid the fact she was quite sad she wasn’t going with them. One day, hopefully. “Have a safe flight. Love you.” Astrid called out as they walked away. 

“Love you stargirl. I’ll text when we land.” Charli yells back before they are out of view. 

“Ready to go?” Cortnee came up behind Astrid, she had been patiently waiting for her to say her goodbyes after her own with other teammates. 

“Yeah, sorry for making you wait.” Astrid apologised as they wheeled their luggage out of the doors and began making their way to Cortnee’s car they left parked before camp. 

“No, it’s all good. I get it.” Cortnee smiled over at Astrid. They made their way back to Astrid’s apartment where Cortnee dropped her off. They said their own goodbyes, Astrid promising to text her later as she made her way inside. 

Her place was small, one bed, one bath, a kitchen and a living room, but she didn’t need much more for just herself. She was leaving again to go back home tomorrow, seeing her extended family for the first time since Christmas to celebrate her birthday with them. That meant she had the next 16 hours to unpack, repack, sleep and get on the road to Bateau Bay.

She also had to think about the next club season and what that looked like for her. Her short contract with Sydney FC was officially over and her agent hadn’t contacted her just yet about whether that was going to continue or if other clubs were looking at her for the 2022/2023 season. Hopefully she would know soon and her future would be clearer than it is now.

to be continued...

i’m sorry but not alessia not having the update for the pink heart 💀

anyways…. praying for a stellar performance from the girlies today 🕯️🕯️🕯️🕯️

for frida 🤍❤️

conti cup winners again 🥹🥹

no seriously. cause how doesn’t hazel have a million girls hanging off her arm. i would be all over that woman

"Bottoms is unrealistic" well obviously, they called Ayo Edebiri, Rachel Sennott and Ruby Cruz ugly the whole movie

Time Bomb | Criminal minds x fem!reader

Summary; Y/N’s mind is overworked and tired from case after case after case and the team begins to notice, prodding her until it gets too much. 

Parings; BAU team x BAU!reader, no romantic relationships mentioned. (she/her pronouns) 

Warnings; angst, mentions of chronic headaches/migraines, swearing, physical and emotional pain

Words; 1.7k

No one is permitted to steal, copy, or reblog my work as their own!!

Gif is not mine. @book-place​ 

It wasn’t unusual for Y/N to have a migraine, let alone a simple headache. She was diagnosed with atypical migraines when she was 15 and has been dealing with them since. But joining the  BAU 6 months ago really seemed to ramp things up for her. Since the day she left for that first case, the severity of her headaches increased, impacting her working abilities.  

She knew it wasn’t going to be an easy job, the commitments alone were tough but what was worse was trying to leave every painful detail of a case behind and move onto the next one, especially so quickly. She felt like she was doing work 24/7, whether she was on a plane flying across the country, stuck at her desk filing reports or thinking about cases when she got home. Everyone else on the team had been there for much longer than her so they had it down packed. But Y/N was still struggling, not that she would let anyone else figure that out. 

She became quite good at compartmentalising, hiding her emotions from her colleagues, family and friends. But all of this stress, tension and hurt came through in her migraines. Having suffered in pain for almost 10 years already, she was good at moving through the pain, pushing it aside, but lately it began bothering her more than ever, and the team began to notice. 

Derek was the first to pick up on her change in mood when she didn’t acknowledge his daily “Good Morning Firecracker”. Instead of her normal response, she flipped him the bird and kept walking to her desk in silence. He was quite insulted at her actions but took it as a bad morning. The other surrounding team members took note of this unusual behaviour from Y/N, all beginning to watch her closely. 

Reid noticed her mental distance during a case when it repeatedly took her 8 seconds longer than usual to answer a question or hear her name being called.

It was then Emily who tried to comfort her, but was brushed aside and ignored by Y/N. It happened yesterday, the team were in the office, working on files from the previous case and Emily noticed the younger team member had been silent all day. She watched with concern from her desk as Y/N held her head in her hands, rubbed her temples and took painkillers every few hours. As the day ended Emily approached Y/N, tapping her on the shoulder lightly to get her to raise her head off the desk. 

“What?” Y/N turned to Emily with tired eyes and an exhausted expression. 

“Sorry, I just wanted to check that you were okay? You’ve been quiet all day.” Emily removed her hand from Y/N’s shoulder. 

“I’m fine, Prentiss.” Y/N used Emily’s last name for the first time in months and it shocked everyone in the room. Y/N gathered her stuff and quickly left towards the elevators, brushing Emily’s shoulder on the way out. The whole team, including Rossi and Hotch who’d left their offices, stood in shock at the agent's actions. Something was definitely wrong. 

                                                    ~~~~~~

This morning Y/N slept in for the first time in weeks, and not on purpose. She had slept through three alarms and would officially be late for work, but it didn’t bother her. The pain pounding through her head was insufferable. It felt as if her skull was squishing her brain, waiting for it to explode. So she took her time getting ready, pausing every few minutes to sit and attempt to not pass out or throw up. Could she have just opted to take the day off? Yes. But she was too stubborn for that. 

She eventually made it to work, slowly making her way through the glass doors, now almost an hour late according to her watch. But when she finally looked up from the floor, no one was at their desks, or in the kitchen, or milling around the bullpen. It was silent. As much as she admired the peace and quiet, it was bugging her, where the hell was everyone else. Curiously she made her way up the stairs, peeking into Hotch and Rossi’s empty offices, then towards the conference room that suspiciously had the door closed and shades drawn.

She opened the door slowly, expecting to also find no one, but was wrong. The whole team was sitting at and standing around the table, previously talking lowly amongst themselves. 

“What the hell is going on? Why are you all in the fucking dark in silence? It’s weird.” Y/N’s voice caught the attention of her friends and boss, everyone staring at her with shock or concern plastered on their faces. 

“Come sit down Y/N.” Hotch finally spoke up, his hands crossed at his chest nodding his head to the empty chair in the centre of the table. 

“Fine.” Y/N snickered, moving slowly towards the chair. “What is this? An intervention?” Y/N laughed as she sat down in the chair, sliding down into a comfortable position. The room stayed silent. “Will someone please fucking say something!” She waved her hands in the air and looked to Emily, then Spencer then Derek. 

“Y/N.” Derek sighed, moving away from the window where he was previously leaning, catching the attention of Y/N. “We’ve all noticed some changes in your behaviour recently and we just wanted to see what was going on.” 

“Yeah.” Emily’s voice perked up from beside Y/N, moving to place her hand on top of the other agent’s. “We’re all worried for you, you haven’t been yourself. You get mad at the smallest of things, you’re constantly tired and falling asleep everywhere. Is there something you need to tell us? Are you-” Emily couldn’t even finish her sentence. 

Y/N shook her head in disbelief, they probably think I’m an alcoholic or drug user. Unbelievable. “Wow!” She laughed out, snatching her hand away from Emily’s. “Okay, so how about you guys take a guess at what’s wrong with me and I’ll tell you if you’re right.” Everyone’s jaw dropped at her outburst, not wanting to say anything to make it worse. “Hm. Go ahead. Or are you too scared?” Y/N stood up from her chair. 

“That’s enough Y/L/N.” Hotch sternly expressed to the agent, urging her to calm down. 

“No, Hotch. I’ve had enough! This is bullshit.” Y/N began walking towards the door behind her, only to be stopped by Derek. “Move.” She argued but he didn’t budge. “Stop it Derek, let me leave.” 

“No.” He uncrossed his arms, now softly holding her forearms. 

“Derek,” She was really frustrated now, tears began welling up in her eyes. “I swear to god.” She shook her head at him, her voice was breaking. The physical and emotional pain was getting too much. The pounding in her head  was so loud she thought her ear drums were going to burst. Derek saw her pain, swiftly moving to pull her into a tight hug, one that she didn’t reciprocate but also didn’t try to remove herself from. She broke down, for the first time in months she’d finally let go. She stood there, crying into Derek’s chest as he held her tight, protecting her, the room was quiet besides the sound of Y/N crying. 

This was the first time any of them had seen her cry in the 6 months of knowing her, not even after hard cases. They looked at each other, hearts breaking for their colleague and friend. After a moment she began to move and Derek’s grip on her loosened. She wiped her bare face and held her head down as she went to sit back down. “Talk to us honey.” JJ was now in the seat beside her, stroking her back lightly. 

She took a deep breath before she spoke again. “I have chronic migraines. I have since I was 15. And since working here, they’ve been worse than ever. Especially today.” She stopped, I sound so stupid, she thought to herself. Emily squeezed her shoulder encouraging her to keep going. Y/N sniffled, “I guess the heaviness of the cases, the workload, the stress has been getting to me a lot more recently. And don’t get me wrong, I love this job and you guys,” She lifted her head to look at her friends who were now all sitting or standing in front of her. “But sometimes it’s just too much and the emotional pain turns into physical which then turns into anger and a bad mood.” She looked back down at her hands, picking at her nails. 

“Well why didn’t you tell any of us you were struggling?” Rossi spoke kindly from across the table, meeting eyes with Y/N. 

Y/N’s mouth twists before speaking, trying to stop the tears. “I didn’t want to burden you. You guys have your own lives. And I’ve been dealing with it by myself for so long I thought I had it under control.” Her voice cracks at the end causing everyone’s hearts to shatter. How did they not see this earlier? They all thought to themselves. 

“Y/N, look at me.” Derek was now behind her, she looked up behind her shoulder. “You are not a burden. You are an incredible and important asset to this team and this family. That’s what we are.” He smiled down at her. 

“And that means that we’re always here for each other, good or bad.” Penelope’s sweet voice spoke next from further down the table. “Okay?” She asks when Y/N looks like she doesn’t believe her. 

She stayed silent for a while, thinking about their words. Slowly she began nodding her head, careful not to increase the pain. “Okay.” She smiled at her team. 

“How about you go sleep off the pain in my office for a bit?” Rossi offered, she almost rejected because she didn’t want to let them down but Rossi continued before she could open her mouth. “Just until we get a case, okay?” He hoped that would do the trick, and it did.

“Thank you.” She sniffled. “And I’m sorry for how rude I’ve been, it wasn’t intentional I promise.” She looked specifically at Emily and Derek who had received the brutal end of her outbursts. 

So now the team was fixed once again, now knowing how to help Y/N on her good and bad days.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Do you also write on wattpad? As I've seen the star girl fics over on there....

Yes. I have my fic stargirl posted under this same username.

https://www.wattpad.com/story/355129979?utm_source=ios&utm_medium=link&utm_content=story_info&wp_page=story_details&wp_uname=overtrred28

Stargirl | matildas x original character fic [part six]

Words; 2.5k

Pairings; matildas team x astrid taylor (OC)

Warnings; none

A/N; same as the sydney FC games I won't be going off real games for the new club, it's just easier to make them up and it's easier to find the tillie's ones to go off.

masterlist

Astrid felt a weight lifted off her as she walked away from the Sydney FC training grounds for the last time. Although she hadn’t been there long, this place had given her an amazing start to her footballing career. She had been able to play the game she loved and continue to succeed at a higher level. But it was time to go. 

The offer they presented her with hadn’t changed and it wasn’t going to work with how she wanted to continue to learn and grow as a player and a person. So here she was, telling them she was officially leaving and moving clubs. The staff said they were sad to see her go, which she appreciated. She felt really bad for leaving the girls she had become close with on the team. She told them shortly after telling the club, sending out a group text since they were all on a break currently before pre-season started again. The influx of goodbyes and well wishes she received warmed her heart and brought up her feelings about leaving again, but it was what was best. 

She had called up Lisa again, telling her what club would be best for her and Lisa was very happy and excited to get things rolling. Lisa was the main point of contact with the club, organising everything official while Astrid worked on packing up her life in Australia and moving across the world. Cortnee had been helping her, though there wasn’t much to pack in her apartment, a lot of her old stuff still back at home, which she was going to go and get before she had to leave next week. 

It had been announced on social media that Astrid was leaving Sydney FC but it had not been shared what Swedish club she was joining, and the response from her fellow Matildas was incredible. They were all so happy for her and how quickly she was advancing as a professional footballer. 

She had just finished her lunch when her phone rang, Tony’s contact appearing on her screen. 

“Hello?” Astrid spoke after answering the call. 

“Astrid! Hello, it’s Tony.” The man called out, happiness evident in his voice. 

“Hi, Tony. How are you?” Astrid moved to sit on her couch. 

“I am very well thank you. And you?” He asked politely. 

“Yeah, I’m good, thank you.” Astrid smiled to herself. 

“Good, good. Now first I wanted to congratulate you on your move to Sweden! I may be a little biassed, but it is a beautiful country and I think you will love it!” Tony’s laughter flowed through the speakers. 

“Thank you, I’m looking forward to it. I think it’ll be really good for me and my career.” Astrid laughed slightly at her coach's excitement. 

“Yes, yes I agree.” He cleared his throat. “Now I was calling you to talk about the upcoming camp next month in June, I’m sure you heard about the games against Spain and Portugal.” Tony waited for Astrid to respond. 

“I did. I think those games will be good for us, looking at next year with the world cup.” She swallowed nervously for what he might say next. 

“Yes definitely. Well I just wanted to let you know that you have been selected for the team for this next camp and we look forward to seeing you next month in Spain.” Tony was smiling on his end as he heard the young player let out a soft sigh of relief. 

“Oh, thank you. Thanks so much Tony.” Astrid was beaming now. “I won’t let you down.” 

“I know you won't, Astrid. You’ve been working exceptionally hard these past few months and it really showed in your performances last camp.” Tony could tell how excited she was, obviously not suspecting to be chosen, which was the opposite to the coaching staff’s opinion. “I can’t wait to see what you’ve got for us when we see you again. Keep working hard and we’ll see you soon.”

“Of course. Thank you, again. See you in Spain.” The call ended and Astrid lept up from her couch, letting out a squeal and doing a little dance around her living room. Although she was officially a part of the Matildas, there could be a time where she didn’t get these calls so it was a big relief when she did.

A week later and her parents were dropping her off at the airport with her life packed up into two suitcases and carry ons; this drop off felt very different to the ones in the past. The whole morning had been emotional for Astrid as they left her family home, driving past all the places she had grown up visiting, playing football and making memories. She knew she would be back one day, but the ticket in her bag said ‘one way’ so that day was very unknown.

Her parents had gone through security with her, wanting to spend as much time together as they could before she boarded her flight and went off to her new home. The hugs goodbye at the gate were long and full of whispered “I love you’s” between Astrid and her parents. Her flight was called and it was time to go. 

She managed to hold in her tears until she got to her business class seat, grateful she was sitting alone and could hide behind a small screen, wiping her eyes before anyone could see her. She was sad to be leaving home and her parents, they had such a strong bond, but this was going to be one of the best decisions of her life, and she knew that. 

The flight to Dubai went quite quickly, considering Astrid slept for the majority of it, it was a red-eye so she expected to fall asleep at some point. The layover was only 2 hours and she spent it rechecking her luggage for the next flight, her parents not trusting it wouldn’t get lost, grabbing some food and walking around the airport until she was boarding the flight to Stockholm Sweden, the closest airport to Hammarby and her new housing. 

This flight, though shorter, felt long without her sleeping it away, getting through a few movies and TV episodes before she finally landed in Sweden. She switched her phone on again as soon as she entered the airport, ready for the influx of messages from her parents checking in on her and from Kyra who was waiting for Astrid at arrivals. She collected her bags quite quickly and made her way to where Kyra and Courtney would be waiting. Charli wanted to be there to welcome her too, but being 5 hours away in Rosengård and having a game that day proved to be a little difficult. But they were going to see each other soon so they didn’t have to wait that long to reunite. 

Astrid could feel Kyra blowing up her phone in her pocket but she couldn’t check it with three bags in her hand and trying to find her way through an airport that was in a language she didn’t understand. She followed the crowds of people and eventually found herself near the exit. 

“ASTRID!” Two loud voices mixed together and stopped Astrid in her tracks, turning her head rapidly to find the point of the noise. She didn’t find it but she did find two girls running straight for her and she let go of her bags to meet them in the middle. The three of them hugged tightly, swaying slightly as they laughed. 

“I can’t believe you’re really here.” Kyra said with a wide smile on her face. 

“I know, me either.” Astrid shook her head, looking between both of her friends, this is where it begins. 

Eventually they picked up her bags and exited the airport to a taxi waiting to take the girls back to Kyra and Courtney’s place. Astrid was staying over for the night until she picked up her keys tomorrow for her place just down the road.

The girls took Astrid sightseeing for the rest of the day to try and keep her awake, she wanted to regulate her body clock as soon as possible and avoid jet lag. They cooked dinner together and spent the evening catching up and watching movies until they all decided to go to bed. 

The next day was spent moving Astrid into her own place, thankful it came furnished and all she had to buy was necessities and decorations. The three of them had exhausted themselves by dinner time and decided just to order in and sat in Astrid’s living room this time before Kyra and Courtney left for the night. Astrid was used to living by herself so she didn’t mind the silence, but it felt very different being in a new country where she didn’t fully understand the language yet. But the club had set up language lessons for her to attend while training so she could understand the basics which she was more than grateful for. 

The day finally came for her to officially sign her contract with Hammarby IF and receive her new kit so she could begin training with the team. She was handed her new jersey, flipping the back to reveal ‘Taylor’ above a massive 13, happy because it was her Matilda’s number but just flipped. And also happy because of the 13 and the fact her last name is Taylor; I mean it was just meant to be. 

She took some photos for social media so the club could officially announce her addition to the team and then got shown around the centre and where she would train with the team. It was beginning to feel a lot more real and she could feel her heart growing with excitement and anticipation for what her time here could look like. 

Safe to say her time at Hammarby was going to be good, and she had only just started. Training was already going great for Astrid, and being with Kyra and Courtney really helped, like having Cortnee at Sydney FC helped her last season. She had already felt her skills improving and it had only been a few days. Astrid was hyper focused while in training, working hard on her passes, taking constant shots at goal from both feet and ramping up her fitness during gym sessions. Astrid felt like she had something to prove here. 

She didn’t though, not to anyone that mattered. Her new coaches were very impressed with her ambition and her teammates were grateful to have her on the team. 

They had their first match since Astrid joined and she didn’t plan on them using her at all, happy to just watch the team flow and play like they had been since the season started. But it was getting close to full time and neither team had yet to score. The coaches had instructed a few of the subs to get warm, that included Astrid. 

After a few minutes she was replacing the current left forward, running onto the pitch and giving Kyra a high five who was further back as the left midfielder. From their matches at training, Kyra and Astrid found that when they were on that left side together they were a pretty good duo, despite not really playing together on the national team yet. Being friends might have helped but they had this connection where they didn’t need to say anything and the passes between them were flawless. And it was working during this game right now. 

Kyra stole the ball from the other team, dribbling it around her matched player and running it down the field. Astrid had seen her coming and ran closer to the box. Kyra struck the ball hard, it flew in the air and landed at Astrid’s feet. She took a few short strides but she had space so she swung her right foot at the ball towards the goal. The goalie had gone for it but it slipped past her fingers as she jumped for it, turning her head as she fell, watching the ball sink into the back net. 

The small home crowd cheered and Astrid ran towards Kyra as soon as she knew it was in. Astrid reached Kyra and jumped onto her, screaming with joy that she had scored for her first time on her new team. The team jumped onto the pair, Kyra holding her tight and shaking her as Astrid erupted in laughter. 

The match ended, Hammarby had won 1-0 and the whole team was ecstatic at their new teammate’s goal that got them the win. Kyra and Courtney were probably the most proud and Astrid couldn’t wipe her smile off her face. 

The team had celebrated in the change rooms for ages before they all showered and decided to go home, tired after the tough game but still buzzing with joy. It seemed as if Charli could sense that they were done because as soon as Kyra, Courtney and Astrid had begun walking home, she was calling her.

“WHOOOOOOO!” Charli screamed as soon as Astrid accepted the facetime, all three girls jumping back at the sudden noise. 

“Oh my god.” Astrid shook her head at Charli. “What a way to start a call.” The youngest girl spoke. 

“Well I’m just super happy for you guys. You should’ve seen me when you scored that goal, Astrid. I was off my couch within seconds screaming at my laptop.” Charli laughed and Astrid smiled. 

“Thank you! That’s so sweet Char.” Astrid pouted at the screen, her head whipping fast to Kyra when the girl took her phone from her. 

“Excuse me, I don’t know if you saw but I actually assisted that soooo…” Kyra teased and Charli just stared at her. Courntey and Astrid laughed beside each other as they walked. 

“Yes I saw. Well done Kyra.” Charli smiled at Kyra, sarcasm hiding in her voice which made Astrid snort, snatching the phone back from Kyra who scoffed. 

“Ugh, I miss you Char, I’m stuck with these losers now.” Astrid rolled her eyes playfully. 

“That’s so rude.” Courtney expressed from beside her. 

“You can get to training on your own now, Asteroid.” Kyra crossed her arms as she walked. Astrid’s jaw dropped and turned around, walking backwards to look her in the eyes. 

“That name is reserved for Macca and Macca only.” Astrid pointed at Kyra. Charli was laughing through the phone and Courtney slapped a hand over her mouth to hide her laughter. 

Astrid’s tough facade eventually cracked and she couldn’t help but smile at the brown eyed girl who was running back up to her, wrapping an arm over her shoulder. 

“I’ll let you guys go and celebrate. I’ll catch up with you later, okay?” Charli’s voice flowed and a smile appeared through the phone. 

“Okay, I’ll call you later today Char.” Astrid nodded at her. “Love you.” Astrid spoke first, Kyra and Courtney shortly behind with the same words. 

“BYEEEEEE” Charli excessively waved through the camera, the other three girls following her actions. The call ended and Astrid put her phone away, adjusting her kit bag strap before holding her arms out ready for Kyra and Courtney to link their arms with hers. They walk arm and arm back to their places, Astrid inviting them to come round later after she’s called her parents so they can have their post match dinner together. 

Astrid was feeling so grateful for how her life here was progressing already. She was with two of her bestfriends, she was improving on her football and she was enjoying her new home. 

to be continued...