Woso Imagines

No longer friends - Jill Roord

Prompt - reader and Jill have a hard time navigating feelings.

*

You weren't exactly sure when you'd first met Jill and despite it being perhaps the most significant moment of your life, the memory was blurry and could never quite remember who made the first move.

The two of you had this strong connection and when you ended up signing for Arsenal together, no one could deny your chemistry, both on and off the pitch.

Many of your teammates and even the fans thought you were dating, yet you both maintained your innocence and repeated time and time again that you were just friends. That never changed, even when you both met and dated other people.

First you sought out something with the girl from the coffee shop down the street from your apartment and Jill started seeing one of your teammates. Your relationship broke down within three months, your girlfriend stating that she hardly ever saw you and before you knew it, you were single and having to watch Jill flirt with Anna during training.

It wasn't long before you found someone new and to your surprise, it lasted longer than your last, you were in a good place and you often went on double dates with Jill and Anna.

Then came her heartbreak and you and your girlfriend were left to pick up the pieces as your teammate moved on, not only in her love life but also her career, choosing to leave Arsenal and play elsewhere. It took longer for the Dutchwoman to recover than you would have expected and somewhere in the middle of it all, your own relationship fell apart once again and you were left to fend for yourself.

During this time and unbeknownst to you, Jill had begun to suspect she had feelings for you and started distancing herself from you after training and on team outings as a way to hide her emotions, because once she let them get the better of her, there was no turning back.

That distance suddenly went from five metres on the training pitch to five hundred odd miles when she joined Wolfsburg at the end of the season.

It was tough, possibly the worst period of your life so far and your teammates became more and more worried for you with each passing day as you noticeable struggled with your focus on the pitch and how you hid yourself away off it.

You didn't know life without Jill and this sudden loss saw such a dip in your performance that you went from a starter to a bench player and were eventually loaned out to another WSL club.

Liverpool wasn't London so you welcomed the move with an open mind, knuckling down and reminding both yourself and Arsenal of the player you once were, so much so that by January you were wanted by clubs all over Europe. Arsenal knew better than to hold you back, so you were recalled to London Colney to end your contract and therefore making you available to anyone you wanted you.

You were surprised to see Wolfsburg on the list and Jill's proximity to Ingrid Engen made you hesitant to sign however with the Norwegian firmly settled at Barcelona, any doubts were cast from your mind as you signed on the dotted line.

*

Jill could honestly say she hadn't expected you to be the new player that walked through the doors on your first day of training and she certainly wasn't going to let you know that her heart started beating a little faster when your eyes swept the room and you made the briefest moment of eye contact with hers.

"You must know Jill, right?" Lynn smirks, nudging her friend with her shoulder.

"Laat het weg".

You are slightly deterrred by your welcome from the midfielder, however you brush it aside and embrace Lynn, the defender a particular favourite of yours from your time together at FC Twente. Jill watches your reunion closely, the way Lynn's hands rest a little too low on your hips, how her eyes linger on you a little too long or the way she protests when you call her schatje.