The Only Exception | W2S

NINE.

He is waiting round the corner, in a deserted hallway.

"What on earth are you doing?" I laugh at his secret demeanour, as he gently grabs my wrist, and pulls me behind him. "Harry?" I ask again, but follow him regardless.

He stops just before a door, and faces me. "Okay, Wembley is a no smoking stadium, but I managed to sweet talk one of the employees, who said he'll give us access to the employee smoking area. No fans, no nothing," he tells me, a mischievous gleam in his expression.

"You are certifiably insane," I laugh. "Go on, then. Lead the way."

And so he did. Down some stairs, through another hallway, until finally we reached a door with a code on it. He typed it in, looking at his phone, and it beeped and unlocked, revealing a small courtyard, with an ashbin on the wall.

"So, when you say you sweet talked one of the employees -"

"Signed a shirt, took a selfie and recorded a video for his kid," he listed, pulling out a pouch of tobacco, and started rolling.

"Y'know, is smoking a good idea just before you're going to be running around on a pitch for an hour and a half?" I ask him, raising an eyebrow.

"No. But it's definitely going to calm my nerves," he says quickly, handing me the cigarette, and a lighter from his pocket.

"You have a lighter," I comment, pleasantly surprised.

"I mean, I did ambush you. It would've been unfair for me to assume you'd have one," he said casually.

"You got the employee to give it to you, didn't you?" I ask, as the realisation dawns on me.

He grins. "Duh."

"You are a fucking menace. Make sure you give it back to him," I say, lighting my cigarette with a shake of my head.

"Yes boss," he salutes, mocking it whilst lighting his too.

"Careful, I might bribe someone to slide tackle you really hard," I warn him sarcastically, enjoying his company, and the brief moment of peace that I know I won't find for the reminder of the game.

"On my debut in Wembley stadium? Not a chance, you're not evil enough to do that," he asserted, looking very sure of himself.

"Wanna take a bet on that?" I asked, finishing my cigarette.

He paused. "Not particularly, no. Come on, better get back up there before they start to realise we've gone missing," he laughs, putting his cigarette out, leading the way back up to the suite.

It's a good job he can remember where we came from, because I wouldn't have had a clue. Wembley is so much bigger than I thought it was, which made everything about today so much more surreal.

"I better head down to the changing rooms...pre match ceremony is starting soon, etcetera etcetera, I'll see you later?"

I nod my head, lingering outside the door of the suite. "Yeah, you will," I promise him, as he walks away. "Harry?" I call out after him, and he stops, just before turning a corner. "Good luck today."

His smile is the last thing I see before he rounds the corner, and I head back into the suite, trying to reappear just as subtly as I left.

"There you are!" Freya pokes me, moving towards me from her position at the bar. "We were wondering where you'd gotten to, they're about to start the ceremony," she says.

"Just having a little look around," I lie, not quite sure why I didn't just tell her the truth.

"Oh, right. Well, anyway. Grab a drink, we're heading down in a minute," she says, giving me a heads up, moving over to where Talia and Hattie were standing together.