Anthony Joshua Fanfiction

6

Slowly drifting back into consciousness as the sunlight begins to sweep in through my bedroom window, I replay yesterday's events through my mind with a child-like grin plastered on my face.

Pushing off the covers and stretching out my limbs like a starfish, I shake off any last remnant of my slumber before climbing out of bed. I clamber down the stairs in a sleepy haze, aware of the ache spreading from my neck through to my shoulders and back, and let out a sigh as I move my neck in a slow circle to relieve the tension.

Why do I feel like I was inside the body of a ninety-year-old? As if to provide me with an answer, my mind jolts back to the image of AJ on top of me, his arms around my back and holding my neck, lifting me, moving me, taking me. 'Ah, yes', I muse with a giggle. 'I guess there are small prices to pay for making love with a heavyweight.'

I wander into the kitchen to clean the dirty plates and pans from our dinner before making some breakfast, taken aback by the spotlessly clean table. Did I wash them last night? Was my mind playing tricks on me? Walking closer to the table, I see a small piece of card laid on the surface, cut into a heart.

"You are INCREDIBLE. Muscle Man x"

I caress the indented letters on the parchment, amused at how Anthony even wrote with strength. 

Fed, watered, showered, and dressed, I finally feel human enough to start the day. Perching myself at my desk with a cup of tea, biscuits, and my events management textbook, I had only been studying for a few minutes when my phone beeped. 

"Call me ASAP x" Was all the message said. Getting an uneasy feeling in my stomach, I unlock the phone and ring AJ. 

"Hello?" He answers frighteningly quickly. 

"Hey, what's up?" I reply, feigning calmness.

"Mel, I'm really sorry." SHIT! This doesn't sound good at all...

"What do you mean? What's happened?" My voice was rising by the syllable. 

"It's the papers. They saw us paintballing." He confesses with a sigh. I put my phone on loudspeaker so that I can pull up the news app. There we were, wrapped around each other against a piece of plane debris. I didn't like the limelight, nor would I want my dad to see this, but apart from that, I couldn't really see why Anthony was so panicked. The headlines weren't nasty, just speculative, and it was going to come out one way or another. "Mel? Are you still there?" He spoke, sounding worried by my periodic silence.

"I'm here. Anthony, I don't get it. What's wrong?" I ask, now feeling queasy for a different reason. 

"We can't... you know. The bosses are okay with me having relationships, but just not so... public." He replies.

"You have bosses?" This is news to me.

"Maybe that's the wrong word. PR guys. Promoters. That sort of thing. A lot of my earnings depend on my image."

"Anthony, I'm still not getting it. Why would this be bad for your image?" I probe.

"Because you're..."

"I'm what?"

"You're not..." He sounded increasingly anxious. "You see, I'm kind of expected to have a relationship with a certain type of girl."

"And...?" 

"I don't know how to put it without sounding like a complete twat."

"Please, Anthony, just tell me." I plead. My head was over the place.