a forever type of love

Game day

my alarm went off at exactly 9am, ready for the aston villa game later today

both leah and i woke up from the sound of the alarm and groaned in synchronisation

"good morning my love" i said whilst placing my lips onto her forehead

she blushed

"how are you feeling bubs?" she asked

"a little nervous but i'm sure it'll be fine" i replied

i've always struggled with performance anxiety and i know leah does as well so she understands how i feel

she sat up to look at my face properly

"anytime the feeling gets worse, you come to me. okay al?" she said, trying her best to reassure me

i nodded my head and kissed her lips before getting up out of bed

i brushed my teeth before turning on the shower

whilst the shower was warming up, i got both leah and i's kit out and laid them both on her desk

i let leah get in the shower first, of course, and i packed both of our bags in the meantime. i packed the essentials like water bottles, our shin pads and our boots etc

once i was done, leah was still in the shower so i opened the door into the bathroom

"what's taking you so long" i asked her

"i was waiting for you" she replied smirking

without any hesitation, i stripped and got into the shower with her

i rubbed soap all over her body before my own

i placed my hands at her waist before leaning in to kiss her

she moaned at the touch of my lips against hers and proceeded to kiss me passionately

after a few minutes and a steamy makeout sesh later, i got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself before doing the same with her

we both got dressed into our matching kits and whilst leah was brushing her teeth i decided to start on breakfast

i made myself a smoked salmon and crème cheese bagel and an oat latte which is my go to meal. whereas i made leah a ham sandwich, no mayo and a coffee

basic bitch

she came downstairs and ate her dry ham sandwich whilst i ate my delicious, full of flavour bagel

once we had finished eating, i ran back upstairs to quickly tie my hair into a ponytail and grab the bags i had packed earlier

leah grabbed her car keys and we headed for meadow park

by this time it was around 10:30 and kick off was in two hours time

the entire journey leah held onto my hand and tried her best to calm me down even though my anxiety wasn't visible

once we arrived at borehamwood, we walked through the car park and into the building. fans were screaming leah's name and begging for photos

i didn't expect any of the fans to be screaming my name as i was still new and i needed more game time in order to win over the crowd

one by one the girls arrived and we crowded around the changing rooms whilst we all put on our boots

"it's one of the last games of the season and we need to win if we want to be able to lift the trophy at the end" jonas said firmly "if any of you feel anything but 100% then let me know and i'll bring out a fresh pair of legs to secure a win"

we all nodded and did a group huddle before kim gave a quick motivational speech

"if we play our football to the best of our abilities then we will come out of the game knowing we couldn't do anything more, whether we win or lose today. preferably win but it's all about teamwork" the skipper said

we put our hands in and raised them together before heading out onto the pitch to warm up

the crowd cheered as we walked out onto the field. this was my first game playing at meadow park and the atmosphere was amazing

the crowd chanted the entire way through our training until we walked back into the changing rooms to get ready for kick off

jonas informed us of the lineup with leah starting but i was a substitute

"alex, i'm going to give you some minutes today. you have proved yourself in training sessions so i think you are ready" jonas explain

i nodded my head and tried to hide my excitement

before we exited the changing rooms leah grabbed my arm

"when you get swapped on, take some deep breaths and think of 5 things you like about yourself" leah said softly "it works for me so give it a try"

i pulled her into a hug before thanking her and wishing her a good luck for the game

a few moments later, jonas and my fellow substitutes were first to walk out and we took our seats on the bench

the girls shortly followed and walked out onto the pitch with the crowd going mental before our anthem started playing

the crowd sung in unison as the girls took their places on the field

the ref blew the whistle and started the game

we dominated possession in the first 15 minutes and had many chances but still no goal

to make things even worse, it was the 26th minute and aston villa were on the attack

rachel daly tapped the ball past lotte, leaving her behind and through to goal

she striked the ball and aimed perfectly for the bottom right corner

manu stood still like a tree and watched the ball go into the back of the net

0-1 to villa

during the rest of the first half, we were struggling to maintain possession and create chances

"alex you're up" jonas said whilst clapping his hands

i shot up and took my jacket off and prepared for the substitution

as i stood on the sideline, my anxiety sky rocketed. i remembered what leah said and named 5 things i like about myself

my eyes, i'm kind, i'm technical with the ball, i can run fast and i have a sweet left foot

i was calmed down majorly and took a few deep breaths before the board came out to indicate a switch on the field

the crowd cheered pelova off and the commentator announced my name

"victoria pelova off with a young alex beck taking her place in the midfield. the young talent is only 17 and this is her debut for the red and white" the commentator said

the crowd roared and clapped as i made my way onto the pitch

once i had taken my place on the field, all of my anxiety was relieved

this really feels like home

A/N - I didn't read through this so i hope this makes sense!