Mel's Pov
I hadn't been on a night out since that night. Despite my apprehension, I knew I needed to do this. As much as I knew Leah would have been happy to have a night in just us 2, I also knew part of her would have wanted to join in on the team bonding. And I wasn't going to allow the previous situation to define me for the rest of my life.
Entering the club was hard, the loud music made it difficult to hear my own thoughts and the swarm of drunken people caused my body to tense. Before I could even anticipate my next move, Leah sensed the affect it had on me and gently placed her hand in mine as she intertwined our fingers, brushing over my knuckles with her thumb in a bid to settle my nerves.
Offering a gentle nod to the tall blonde by my side, she guided me to a booth in the corner where we were quickly greeted by the Arsenal girls.
"Mel" Katie screamed as she pulled me into a tight embrace.
"How's my favourite Irish woman" I giggled, wrapping my arms around her.
"Even better now you're here......shot?" She questioned, wriggling her eyebrows in a humorous manner. I'd heard many stories about Katie's love for shots and how despite her argument of being able to handle them, she always ended up with her head down the toilet by the end of the night.
"Okay, but just the one. I'm not having Rue hold me responsible when you're being sick later" I laughed as Katie handed me a shot of the clear liquid which I presumed to be vodka.
The burning sensation in the back of my throat which hit after I had taken the shot, confirmed it was indeed straight vodka.
After the warm welcome from the Arsenal girl's the night was truly underway, and the drinks were flowing quickly and going down with ease.
It didn't take long for the group to split as some of the girls went to dance and others opted to remain seated in the booth. Leah was currently on the dance floor along with Beth, Katie, Steph and Lia and from what I could make out, it seemed as though there was a dance battle happening between them as they were stood in a circle, taking it in turns to enter the centre before busting out a dance move.
I had decided to remain seated and was currently listening to Viv and Kim talk about what it means to them to play for their country, Kim explaining her decision to retire from international football to focus on her club career.
"I'm just nipping to the toilet; I won't be long." I smiled as I exited the table.
The night was going smoothly, and it felt exactly what we had needed, a chance to let our hair down and have some fun. Leah had spent most of the evening showering in me with affection and continuously checking in to make sure I was okay. God, I love her.
Shortly after entering the cubicle, I hear the toilet door go as a group of girls had entered, it was hard not to listen to their conversation as they were clearly drunk and therefore talking extremely loud.
"Have you seen some of the Arsenal girls are in here." I heard one voice say.
"Yeah, you might be in with a chance Jess. Which one is it you fancy again, the blonde one?"
"The England captain isn't it Jess? What's her name again, Leah something?"
"Williamson"
"Yeah, that's the one. I've seen her holding hands with that other girl though."
"Oh, she's definitely no competition, Leah is so out of her league".
Ouch, that one hurt.
"It's definitely just a fling, I'm sure she wouldn't think twice once she see's you Jess" Another girl giggled.
I knew Leah had gained a lot of attention since the euros, and who would not fancy her. She's gorgeous. But I hadn't been around anyone to hear them voice it, especially never heard my name brought into it either.
Is she out of my league? Does Leah think that as well?
Despite being finished on the toilet, I waited in the cubicle until I knew for certain the group of girls were no longer in the toilets. It was embarrassing enough hearing them talk about me.
Once I knew the coast was clear, I finally managed to exit the toilet and head back over to the group of girls.
The smile which was on my face early had now disappeared despite my best efforts to pretend the last 10 minutes had not happened, I couldn't help but feel the pit which had quickly formed within my stomach. The girls who were dancing earlier were now sat back within the booth and as I rejoined the group, Leah offered me a sincere smile and mouthed "Are you okay?" which I responded too with a gentle nod and a fake smile in return.
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Leah's Pov
Tonight, has been great, being out with Mel and the girls was perfect. Throughout stages of the night, I couldn't help but watch in awe at how well the girls had taken to Mel and had made her feel as though she was one of us and not just my girlfriend. I knew they knew how much Mel means to me and so it meant a lot for them to give their approval.
The drinks had begun to take a toll on us as our words began to become slurred and the dance moves which were being thrown around were certainly questionable, but we didn't care. We were enjoying ourselves.
I was currently dancing with Mel, Beth and Katie when a group of girls approached us telling us how they were Arsenal fans and asked if they could get a picture with the 3 of us. Despite not being in our best form, we would never refuge the opportunity to interact with the fans and so all 3 of us agreed to the photo as Mel offered to take it for the girls.
Once the photo was taken Mel handed the phone back to a blonde girl, I was just about to head over to her when a shorter brunette girl stood in my way, now blocking my view of my girlfriend.
"How about a drink?" She questioned, with a confident smirk on her face as she placed her hand on my arm.
"I'm good thank you, I have one over there." I responded politely, still trying to escape this situation.
I wasn't cocky or big headed, but I knew the difference between a fan who was being friendly, and then someone who wanted more. The demeanour of this girl, lead me to believe she wanted more than a friendly conversation.
"Oh, come on – don't be boring." The girl quipped, clearly not taking no as an answer.
"No thank you. It was lovely to meet you, but if you could please excuse me, I want to get back to my girlfriend and teammates."
Finally managing to escape the embrace with the brunette, I turned to where my girlfriend was stood previously to instead be greeted with her absence.
Maybe she had returned to the booth.
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Mel's Pov
I trusted Leah, of course I did. Deep down, I knew she wouldn't do anything to hurt me. But nevertheless, that didn't mean it didn't hurt to see someone so blatantly attempt to flirt with her right in front of my eyes.
As soon as I seen the girl place her hand onto Leah's arm, I knew I needed to remove myself from the situation. The emotions of the entire evening were slowly coming to surface as I headed outside for fresh air. The whole night had gone extremely well, but there were underlying feelings which I had refused to let surface, being back out in a club, the level of alcohol intake, the overhearing of the conversation in the toilet, and lastly watching that brunette flirting with MY girlfriend.
Finally, outside, I leaned my arms over the railings as I looked up to the stars, inhaling deep breaths to compose myself but was failing miserably.
My heart rate grew increasingly quicker than usual, causing shortness of breath as my fingertips gripped tightly around the railing, causing them to lose colour. My head began to spin as I could feel sweat beads fall from my hair down the side of my cheeks. I had experienced this before and so I knew instantly this was the beginning of a panic attack. I knew I needed to find Leah.
Opting to return inside I was attempting to push through the group of people swarmed on the dance floor, uncoherent to the noise around me as the only sound audible was the painfully loud ringing in my ears. After several attempts and elbowing a few people, I finally saw the booth which contained the girls.
Shakily making my way towards the table, I was a few metres away before the dizziness had overtaken me, causing me to stop in my tracks and my vision to become blurry. Unable, to regain myself, I felt my body began to fall.
Blackness.