Unbreakable

F i f t e e n

Amidst all the good vibes that had settled within the team over the past month, the Barca game was like a horror story. Liverpool did not have bad game at all, but Jordyn couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. To play so well, and still lose 3-0, well... how were you supposed to deal with that?

Jordyn had a confrontation with one of the opposing defenders Gerard Pique early on into the game, which started a run of bad blood between the two of them. Jordyn tried to be careful around him, after it happened - to be fair, she was at fault for the initial coming together, but the referee did nothing about it which was partly what caused him to be so angry. They unfortunately bumped heads again when Barcelona was defending a corner, and a little later, he was at fault for sticking out a foot, and tripping Jordyn up whilst she was running with the ball. This time, however, the referee did get involved, and Pique squared up to the younger girl, trying to intimidate her.

"Maybe if you weren't so tiny you could actually score a goal today, huh!" He taunted her, in angry tones.

"At least I actually play football, not Fall Guys," Jordyn bit back at him.

Before she could say any more however, Virgil was there, putting his body between her and Pique, and glaring down at him.

"Don't you touch my teammates or I'll kill you," he stated lowly, before leaving him, taking Jordyn by the arm and pulling her away. "You okay?" He asked, without looking at her.

"I'm fine, Virg," she responded. "Thanks, though."

He nodded, and released her arm. The referee cautioned both Jordyn and Virgil, but carded Pique for deliberately tripping Jordyn up, and Liverpool took a free kick that came to nothing.

For the young scouser girl, the rest of the game seemed to go in slow motion. All of the attacking players felt the heavy weight over their heads of being unable to put the ball past the keeper, and Jordyn began to feel sick to the stomach. And to cap it all, Messi was on fire, that day. The Liverpool fans had been so excited before the game, wanting their centre half to be the one to shut Lionel Messi down, prove that he was better than him. And none of what happened in that game was Virgil's fault, but it still stung. He claimed that he didn't allow comparisons to affect him, but Jordyn could see it in his eyes that he was upset with himself afterwards. All of them knew by now how Virgil was after a loss, and they avoided him, wanting to give him as much space as possible to get over it.

Klopp was philosophical after the game. Jordyn had had an odd feeling that the scoreline really didn't reflect how the two teams had played that evening, and the manager confirmed it in his words to his team afterwards.

"I don't want to sit here and tell you everything you did wrong today," he said. "Everyone knows their own individual mistakes, and some of them were mine as well. But we were the better team tonight, and not everyone is going to realise that. Barcelona are going to go into the next leg thinking they can walk all over us, but we know. We KNOW that's not the case, because we have Anfield, and fifty thousand screaming scousers on our side. And in that game, we're not going to let a few moments of magic from Messi get the better of us. We are going to be the better side, and that time, in that game, the scoreline is going to reflect it."

He paused, and sighed, looking around at their forlorn faces.

"Maybe, people will say I'm over optimistic, but we are going to do everything in our power to have the last laugh at the end of the second leg. Are you with me on that?"

"Of course," Hendo responded immediately, and the rest of them followed suit.

Klopp nodded.

"Alright. Get changed everybody, let's go home."

As they were busy changing, and packing away their things, Jordyn couldn't help glancing at Virgil. She knew, as they all did, how he liked to be alone when they'd lost a game, but she so badly wanted to be there for him. He didn't need to be dealing with this all by himself, and she wanted him to know that. She was just afraid of how he would react if she tried.

"Go," said Trent, watching her from his spot beside her.

Jordyn glanced at him, eyes wide, but when Trent nodded towards Virgil encouragingly, she decided to do as he said. She stood, and walked over to him slowly, a little apprehensive of how he would take it. She was relieved, however, when he saw her coming and held out an arm to her, and she allowed him to take her into his arms and hold her tightly. She returned the hug, wrapping her arms around him, and they stood like that for a little while, both of them wanting desperately to settle the other's emotional turmoil.

"Thanks for... you know, defending me earlier," said Jordyn, after a while. "Dont have to do that just coz I'm a girl though."

Virg chuckled softly at this.

"I was always going to defend you anyway," he told her. "It's because I like you."

"Oh," she replied, feeling her cheeks heat up. "I like you too."

"I know. You told me."

"Are you smiling?" She asked, pulling back a little to look at him.

He was smiling, just the tiniest bit, and Jordyn felt satisfied.

"Please keep doing that. I like it when you smile."

"I'll bare it in mind," he responded, softly.

They slept on the plane ride home to Liverpool, with Virgil resting against the wall as he had on the bus, only this time he raised his arm, allowing Jordyn to cuddle into his chest and stare out the window with him. They didn't say anything, both satisfied with the words they'd exchanged in the dressing room earlier, and when they touched down in Liverpool, neither of them were ready to move away from the other. However, time, and the season, would roll on, and Jordyn couldn't help thinking that there would be more time for them to cuddle after they'd won the title.

A/N: Deffo quoting Virg letting Gini win connect four and saying "because I like you" lol