Cosmo's Luck // 𝐊𝐚𝐢 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐳

20.

I woke up to the sound of an ear-piercing ringtone going off that isn't mine. I didn't even realise I fell asleep, but waking up warm under the covers of my bed will never be something that I'll complain about. Nor will I ever whine about the feeling of waking up in a warmhearted hug with a particular someone. I lay my head on his left shoulder, leaning the rest of my body snug into his. Not only that, but I'm also facing the window that's similar to my balcony door, so I've got a small view of the sun rising. I can't see the sun, but I can see the shadow of the night slowly trickling down the building opposite as the sun ascends into the sky, flushing away the blossoming pink and glowing orange colours. I stay completely still as I listen to the weirdly reassuring sound of breathing, brushing my fingertips over Kai's chest as he stirs. He moved his right hand to turn off his alarm, as his left one is wrapped weightlessly around me.

"It's six o'clock." Kai mumbles in a low tone, staying completely still. "We've got to be there at eight."

"I don't want to go to work." I groan, closing my eyes again and moving my hand up to his shoulder.

"You're not hiding away in here." Kai tells me, resting his cheek on my head. "It won't be as bad as you think."

After Aidan and Mason outing me as the Blue Dress Girl on Chelsea TV last night, I had a mini meltdown right in front of Kai. Well, it wasn't a melt down, but I definitely went through a weird phase before having my breakdown. I remember the first thing I did was turn my phone off, even though it wasn't even ringing. Then I went into this sort of freakish autopilot mode where I cleaned my entire kitchen in complete silence, blanking Kai's presence and ignoring the TV. Then when I finished, all my emotions caught up with me, and they all just came out as a blabbering waterfall until it drained me. I can imagine I hacked Kai off with my endless whinging as well! We ended up getting an early night sleep though, which was definitely one of our best ideas ever. I haven't ever slept so well in my life, or it felt that way anyway. It's a shame that we've both got work, which was one of the many things I was panicking over last night.

"They're all going to be treating me like a fairy or something." I scoff, opening my eyes again to look out the window.

"Cassie, they're our media team, not the public's." Kai tells me, rubbing his eyes as his voice becomes clearer. "They aren't going to be taking photos of their own team mate."

"What if they do though?" I sigh, the possibility still fogging up my head.

"The media team have to look after all of Chelsea's teams, you guys won't have time to fan girl over each other." Kai chuckles lightly, shifting a little to indicate he's trying to get up. "Now get up, before I push you off myself."

I groan again as Kai gets up, leaving me alone in my room. I force myself to my feet, and I'm pretty sure I can hear a voice shouting at me to 'come back'; it sounds a little bit like my bed's voice? As much as I want to crawl back under the welcoming sheets, I battle against the urge and start to get dressed into my uniform. As my job isn't as physical as Aidan's, I don't get all of the Chelsea gear that he does. I've got the grey jacket like he does, with my initials on and all, but apart from that, the rest is up to me. I put on a pair of loose, black, high-waisted denim jeans and a black, short sleeved, turtleneck underneath the jacket. I brush my teeth and tie my hair back into two tight dutch braids, then put on minimal make up to hide my weariness from the night before.

I drag myself out to the living area; In my head I feel awake, but my body is yet to catch up. Kai pushes a small bowl towards me whilst he's cooking, and I curiously wander over to see what it is. I gasp as I see my favourite breakfast conjured up in the bowl; bran flakes and banana coated with strawberry yoghurt. I've never been a big fan of cooked breakfasts for some reason, and this is definitely my favourite way to start the morning. I give him a smile to say thank you, then reach for the fridge to grab a carton of apple juice, pouring two glasses for us both.

"When's your next match?" I ask, grabbing a spoon and tucking into my delicious meal.

"Tomorrow, against Liverpool." Kai smirks over his shoulder at me. "Six PM kick off, I'm sure Aidan will love to watch."

"Well, he's got to decide whether he wants to sit in the Club Box with me or sit with the fans." I shrug, pausing my munching whilst I'm talking to avoid being rude. "Social media knows he's working for Chelsea, but all his friends and family know he's a Liverpool fan."

"If he can hide with the Liverpool fans then he should be fine." Kai agrees with me, finishing off his cooking. "But if the fans recognise him then it's not a good idea."

I haven't even spoken to Aidan since the interview; in fact, I think this is the longest I've gone without speaking to him since we met at Cosmo's. It's not something to be proud of, but right now I really do not want to look at my phone. I know that the longer I build it up the worse it's going to be, which is definitely going to screw with my head, but this odd stage of limbo before the storm feels safer. Everything feels secure and perfect whilst the doors to social media are currently barricaded, so I'm just going to live in this moment until I decide to face the public again. I don't know how Aidan will be feeling though, I just hope he doesn't feel responsible. A teeny tiny part of me is mad at him for some reason, but I know better to ignore it. Aidan and Mason will be feeling just as 'meh' as I will be today, and hopefully the guilt isn't devouring them. Mason didn't know that I wanted it to be a secret, and Aidan wasn't aware that Mason would tell them who I am. No one is to blame for this, and the secret was going to come out anyway, so now we've got only one option; just roll with everything and take it as it comes. I can't change what's happened, so what's the point in worrying?

"Do you want me to take you to work?" Kai asks as he tucks into his breakfast. "We're going to the same place, there's no point in going separately."

"What, after everything that happened last night?" I frown, brushing a loose piece of hair off my face. "You don't think us turning up together indicates something?"

"So what if it does?" Kai challenges my point. "It's not like the social media will be waiting for us at the gates."

"I've got to go straight to Cosmo's after." I tell him, pushing my empty bowl towards the sink. "Then I'll have to get home somehow?"

"I'll pick you up afterwards." Kai says, running a hand through his hair. "You and Aidan are still working there?"

I've been meaning to quit; working two jobs is way too much to handle, especially when I have to work at Cobham from eight until four and then get back to Cosmo's and work from six until sometimes half past one. Cosmo's was my first ever job though, and everyone loves each other there! The friendship amongst the team is definitely something special purely because it was unpredicted. Everyone is far too different for each other- besides me and Aidan- and no one would ever approach each other in public. Yet, we all get along like a big family! The thought of telling Bobby that I want to quit just feels heart breaking, like I'm saying goodbye to one of my favourite chapters in a book. I guess Aidan will be leaving too, so it's not like I'm leaving him behind.

"I think we're quitting soon." I reply, chewing the inside of my cheek in thought. "It's all too much for us, you know?"

"Yeah, I can imagine." Kai nods, looking up to the clock. "Will you be ready to go in twenty minutes?"

"Yeah, as ready as I can be anyway."