One day I'll have it all. // Williamson

Birthday girl pt2

Leah let out a surprised laugh, her eyes widening in shock as she stumbled slightly under Katie's weight. "Thanks, McCabe," she replied, her voice muffled against Katie's shoulder as she tried to steady herself.

Katie chuckled, releasing Leah from the hug and stepping back. Then, she got ahold of Leah's ponytail, unfastened it impressively quickly then ruffled her hair aggressively, while Leah tried to escape her wrath.

"Katie, my hair!" Leah groaned, trying to make something out of them once Katie had stopped her assault.

"Only the beginning, Williamson." Katie teased, gently punching Leah's side before running away to the rest of our teammates.

Leah let out an exasperated sigh, her hands flying to her disheveled hair as she attempted to tame the unruly locks back into place. "I swear, that girl is going to be the death of me," she muttered, shooting a playful glare in Katie's direction before turning back to face me with a sheepish smile. "Help me, please?" She asked, handing me her hair tie.

I couldn't help but chuckle at Leah's predicament, shaking my head in amusement as I reached out to take the hair tie from her outstretched hand. "Anything for you," I replied, my voice warm with affection as I gently gathered her tousled locks and began to weave them back into a neat ponytail.

As I worked, Leah let out a contented sigh, her eyes fluttering closed as she leaned into my touch, savoring the moment of intimacy between us. Knowing her, she didn't need any help to do her hair. She just wanted physical contact with me. Not that I was complaining in any way.

Soon enough, Jonas started shouting at us for not having started our warmup yet, and we ran to join the girls in the middle of the grass.

Training went smoothly, as it usually did, with laughter and focus tangled up together, and Katie making sure to annoy Leah as much as she possibly could. The sound of laughter and banter filled the air, mingling with the rhythmic thud of balls being kicked and the occasional shout of encouragement from our coach.

Despite the playful distractions and occasional interruptions, we managed to maintain our focus and work together as a cohesive unit.

As I was walking back to the locker rooms with Caitlin after the end of training, I suddenly heard a high-pitched yell I immediately identified as Leah's voice.

I immediately ran to the locker rooms. frenetically trying to locate where my girlfriend was.

I burst open the door of the roommate, and immediately spotted her, sighing out of relief when realizing she was okay

Arms and legs locked up, Leah was debating herself from Katie and Lotte's arms, the two women wearing enormous cheeky smiles on their faces as they seemed to be walking towards the room where the ice bath was.

"Katie, put me down! Lotte!" Leah pleaded as she struggled against the two women's hold. "Vale! Help me!"

"Birthday dunk, lad. Your girlfriend ain't gonna save you." Katie declared, opening the door of the ice bath room with her foot. And she was right, I was definitely gonna enjoy the show and absolutely won't intervene.

I followed the girls to the room, Leah's yells still echoing through the training center as Katie and Lotte playfully dragged her toward the ice bath.

Soon enough, Katie and Lotte finally released Leah from their grasp, sending her tumbling headfirst into the freezing water with a loud splash. The shock on Leah's face was priceless as she resurfaced, sputtering and gasping for breath, her teeth chattering uncontrollably as she struggled to adjust to the frigid temperature while Katie and Lotte escaped the room running and laughing their asses off.

"I'll fucking get you back for this, McCabe!" Leah shouted, her voice laced with indignation as she climbed out of the ice bath, her skin flushed pink from the cold. "Just you wait!"

I couldn't help but laugh at the sight, trying my best to contain my amusement.

"You laughing at me?" Leah asked, her voice a playful combination of irritation and amusement as she shot me a mock glare, her hair clinging to her wet skin in tangled strands.

"Me? Never!" I replied, biting the inside of my cheek. "Come on, let's go shower before you catch a cold."

Leah shot me a playful smirk before reaching for a towel to wrap around herself, her teeth still chattering from the shock of the icy water.

We made our way back to the locker room, and when we opened it, every single girl in there laughed seeing Leah's face as she entered, her hair dripping wet and her skin flushed from the cold. Leah shot them a mock glare, her lips curled into a playful smirk as she shook her head, sending droplets of water flying in all directions.

"You guys are a bunch of pillocks," she declared, her voice dripping with mock indignation as she walked back to her locker, getting photographed a few times on her way there.

The locker room erupted into laughter as Leah playfully scolded her teammates, her wet hair clinging to her skin as she made her way back to her locker.

Soon enough, we all headed to the showers, Leah being the first one under a hot stream of water.

After that, we all changed into dry clothes and headed to the cafeteria to grab lunch.

We made our way to our usual table, joining the rest of the team as we settled in for lunch. I made sure to sit right next to my girlfriend, something I didn't necessarily do the rest of the time.

As much as we loved each other, we also cherished our independence and individuality, and sometimes that meant giving each other space to socialize with our teammates without feeling obligated to always stick by each other's side.

I would usually sit next to Manu and Caitlin, while Leah hung out with Beth and Lia. 

Leah and I sat side by side, our shoulders brushing against each other as we ate, our hands occasionally finding each other under the table.

The cafeteria buzzed with energy and laughter as we chatted and joked with our teammates, conversation flowing effortlessly between us.

By the end of lunch, a cake arrived at our table, Leah's eyes widening at the sight. It was usually what happened when someone on the team celebrated her birthday.

The sound of "Happy Birthday" filled the air as the team erupted into cheers, their voices echoing through the cafeteria as Leah's eyes lit up with delight.

Leah's smile widened as she blew out the candles, her cheeks flushed with happiness. "Thanks, you guys, you really-" her sentence got cut short as none other than Katie McCabe appeared behind her and grabbed the back of her head, shoving her face right into the cake.

The whole table erupted into laughter as Leah sputtered and wiped the frosting from her eyes, her face a sticky mess of cake and icing. "McCabe you little shit!" Leah exclaimed, standing up and grabbing a handful of cake, and shoving it right into Katie's face.

"Guys, food waste!" Kim scolded gently, her voice tinged with amusement as she tried to suppress a smile.

Leah and Katie hid their laugh as best they could, pushing each other away and sitting back down at the table. "Sorry, captain." Katie mockingly apologized, earning a slap on the back of her head by our skipper.