Finding the Way Back (gxg)

Chapter 14

Emily: How did you possibly know that?

I sent her a picture of Finn from across the room.

Liz: Was hard not to notice the lingering connection the day we watched the Euros with them.

A pause followed by another message.

Emily: Fine. Finn and I started talking again after that. Realized we still liked each other even after these years of not talking. Happy?

Liz: Very. And happy for you too.

With a smile on my face, I put away my phone and returned my attention to the match on the TV.

"So," I say, keeping my voice quiet so that Finn won't hear, "Emily and Finn have been talking."

Rose hums. "That would explain a lot. He has been glued to his phone lately. I figured someone had to be holding his attention."

I chuckle. "And now we know who it is."

Just then Hojlund scores a goal for Napoli, putting them up 1-0. The Manchester United despising part of my brain does a mini celebration as the former Man United man gets surrounded by his Napoli teammates.

It was a bright spot in my otherwise bleak soccer fandom.

Another thought crosses my mind as I glance over at Finn again. I wondered if Emily would take him as her plus-one to the awards ceremony in New York.

I should probably bring it up with Rose before he does. Because if I had to guess, Emily would name-drop me as someone who had been invited.

"Rose," I say, breaking the silence that had fallen between us.

"Yeah?"

I take a deep breath. "You know how there are the CONCACAF awards at the end of the year, right?"

She hums.

"Well, I've been invited to the one this year. I'm allowed to bring a plus one, but I don't know if I even want to go."

A pause, then Rose speaks. "And you would want me to go with you if you do choose to go?"

I nod. "Yeah. You are my girlfriend after all. I would want you there if that is something you would be okay with doing. Especially with all the publicity it will bring."

Rose tucks herself closer to me. "If you want me to go with you, I'll go. Sure, the thought of having that much attention thrown on me is scary, but I feel safe when I am with you. Besides, it will take more than just some crazed fans and invasive questions from reporters to scare me off. After all, I know how crazy fans can get."

I let out a sigh. I remember her telling me how she has had a few fans over the course of her making edits who have tried to get her to make some questionable fan edits. She knows what it is like for us to deal with the obsessive and crazed portions of our fan bases because she has interacted with those kinds of fans before.

"I have one condition though," she continues. "There can be no mention that I run the WOSOEdits page. I want it to continue being my refuge, and I don't want people making assumptions."

"Sounds fair to me." I place a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I wouldn't want it to get tainted because some group of fans dragged it into a controversy just because they are upset over something. You deserve to have something where you can breathe without worrying about what people say, because they will talk. Especially the obsessed fan who regularly confesses their undying love for me." I roll my eyes at the thought. "But I will let you know what I decide about going."

Like most people who could be considered any tier of celebrity, I had experienced my share of public posts from people saying they wanted to marry me. It wasn't like I could blame them though, as at one point I had the largest celebrity crush on Alex Morgan growing up. Everyone has that one celebrity they would marry without hesitation, but obsessive fourteen-year-old fans take it a step further than my sane fans.