𝘾𝙍𝙔 𝘽𝘼𝘽𝙔 | 𝗺.𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁

𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙁𝙊𝙍𝙏𝙔-𝙏𝙒𝙊 ➯ 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜

❝that just one strand of
                        gold tied me to you❞
➯ invisible string, taylor swift
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MALLORY waved around her small American flag, proudly wearing one of her brothers 'USMNT' jerseys beside the rest of her family. Both of her parents were buzzing, unable to believe that their son was about to play in the world cup against England. Mallory, on the other hand, felt as if she was going to throw up. The players were on the pitch as the national anthems of both teams played, but all Mallory could do was stare at one particular player.

Mason.

It was driving her mad. Knowing that the boy that hadn't left her mind for months (as most of her twice-a-week therapy sessions were spent discussing him) was mere feet away from her made her feel insane. Knowing that he was there, not thinking of her, made her feel like she was loosing her mind.

Mason, on the other hand, felt pure joy. He couldn't wait for the game to start, knowing that Mallory was there in the stands (even if he knew that she wasn't there for him, it felt as if he was back to a few months prior with the girl there at all of his games) cheering him on. He felt nostalgic.

But she probably wasn't thinking of him either.

"Mallory Mae," her mothers sweet voice called, dragging the girl from her thoughts, "stop staring at the poor boy."

The brunette rolled her eyes, leaning into her mothers side, reaching up and rubbing beneath her eyes, receiving a swift nudge from her father on her other side. "You're gonna mess up the flag you made. Very patriotic."

"Anything to upset Marcus and Stonesy."

Soon, the game had started. Mallory couldn't help but cringe every time the boys that she was close with would go for a header or a tackle. Each time that Christian would face a low shoulder or slide tackle the girl would find herself yelling at the England boy that would go for it.

At around the 30 minute mark in the first half, Christian had come closest to scoring as the ball ricocheted off the cross bar, prompting an excited cheer from Mallory. Which, subsequently, pulled the attention of a few of the England players, those of whom recognized the loud voice.

Mason couldn't help the smile that graced his face.

As the game continued and both sides continued making plays, the girl felt herself forgetting that the boy that she had ruined was merely away from her on the pitch. As boys that she barely talked to anymore sprint up and down the field, Mallory jumped in her spot as Saka took a shot on goal, cheering but groaning at the near miss.

"Mallory Mae!"

"Sorry, Ma, I forgot!"

The rest of the game continued on, both teams making advances and plays, but neither unable to outplay the other team. As the whistle of end game blew, Mallory felt her heartbeat quicken, looking desperately at her dad, who could sense the uncomfortable shift in her mood. "Mallory... Don't run from him."

"What?"

"Don't run away," he whispered, trying to keep his voice low so others wouldn't hear. "You don't have to talk to him, but don't run away again. You're working on bettering yourself right?"