How did I get roped into this smh
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koi_fishs p2
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Also TW lots of blood lots lots lots yep yep yep
Also quick mention of death be warned
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"Cort? Are you in there?" Charlotte joked, waving her hand in front of Cortnee's face. "You left for sec."
"Yeah, sorry, what were you sayin', babes?"
"You ready for the match tomorrow?"
The winger racked her brain. "Against..."
"Arsenal! How have you forgotten? We've literally never played them before."
"Oh, right," Cortnee shook her head. "It slipped my mind."
"You're so forgetful sometimes," Charlotte smiled fondly. "Aren't you excited to see Y/N?"
Y/N. Just hearing your name sent pangs of guilt through Cortnee's empty heart.
"Yeah, of course," she lied. "I'm always excited to see her."
The duo sat in silence, both occupied by their own thoughts.
"Hey, Char?" Cortnee said suddenly. "Could you ever imagine a life without me?"
Charlotte was quiet for a moment. "No. I need you. Why?"
"Just asking."
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"Hi, girls," you forced a smile onto your face as you slipped into the changing room. "We ready to face Sydney?"
"Yup," Katie patted you on the back uncharacteristically softly as you sat down at your cubby. "Ye' ready?"
"Mhm," you pulled your shirt over your head, missing the way Kim and Steph shared a look. "I'm excited."
Katie snorted, ignoring the way that the rest of your teammates glared at her. "Coulda fooled me."
"I am excited."
Stina silently intervened, pulling the door open and ushering Jonas inside to do his pre-match talk. "Quiet down, girls."
Jonas raised his eyebrows at the thin layer of awkwardness in the room. "Everybody alright?"
"Yes. Go ahead, Jonas."
"Okay, so..."
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"Y/N," Kim grabbed your arm just before you left the changing room. "Wait a minute."
"What is it, Kimmy?" you asked, eyes darting to the side where Steph was standing with her arms crossed.
The Scot sat on the bench, gesturing for you to do the same. "Ye' trust me, don't ye'?"
You nodded instantly. "Yes."
"I hope ye' understand that Steph informed me of yer' current... situation with Cortnee Vine," the captain stated apologetically. "Regardless of how ye' feel about that, ye' need to let me or Jonas know if ye' can't play today."
"Steph!" you hissed, standing up quickly. "I told you all of that because I trusted you! I don't want this getting out."
The defender's gaze never wavered. "Do you think we'd let something like this get out? I was your captain. Kim is your captain. We care about you as both a player and a person. If you can't play in today's game because the emotions are too high, then don't play. You're more important than football."
You clenched your jaw, reluctantly backing down and returning your gaze to Kim. "I'll tell you if I need to come off. Can I go now?"
"Yeah. Go ahead."
As soon as you were out the door, Kim sighed. "She's not gonna tell me shit."
"No, she won't," Steph agreed. "We'll just have to keep an eye on her. I'll let Lia and Stina know."
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Cortnee's eyes flicked to the left, pursing her lips as you slipped into the line of Gunners next to her.
It was as if you knew she was watching you, automatically diverting your gaze to look anywhere but at her.
She decided to just try talking to you. "Y/N—"
"Not now, Viney," Kyra whispered, reaching over to pat the winger on the shoulder. "Later."
Cortnee turned away, deciding to just sulk in silence. The two of you hadn't spoken since the incident, and it was killing her inside. She missed you. A lot.
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"Ow, fuck," you groaned, stretching out your leg as the whistle blew. "Fuck, that hurt."
Mackenzie Hawkesby extended her hand, offering you an apologetic smile as she pulled you to your feet. "Sorry, mate."
"S'alright," you answered gruffly. "Let's get back to it."
"Y/N—" Cortnee stopped short as you swiftly turned around. "Y/N, can we talk after this?"
You shook your head, jogging into position as Katie prepared to take the free kick. You didn't need any distractions.
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"WHY YE' TAKIN' THE PISS?!" Katie's booming shout was the first thing you heard after going down for the tenth time in fifteen minutes. "WHAT ARE YE' TRYIN' TO DO? KILL HER?"
Charlotte Mclean only shook her head, backing up slightly. "It was an accident."
"Katie," Kim's stern voice filled your ears next. "Leave it be. We don't need ye' gettin' a yellow."
You rolled over, clutching your ankle with a whimper as blood flowed quickly and freely down the side of your face.
"Y/N," Steph pressed a hand to the wound on your head, other hand resting on your back as you went limp from exhaustion (and maybe blood loss). "Y/N, don't move. The medics are coming."
"You'll get yer' arse over here if ye' know what's good for ye'," Katie growled, pulling against Lia and Kim. "Thinkin' ye' can just hurt Y/N like that? Think again."
Your eyes subconsciously drifted over to where she stood, taking in the way Cortnee was frozen in fear as she stared at the big screen.
It was replaying the moment in which Charlotte had timed her tackle wrong, hitting you square in the ankle and causing you to fly forwards and into the goalpost.
It spurred Cortnee into action, the winger darting over and shoving her own girlfriend out of anger. "What the hell, Charlotte?! Look at what you did! Look at Y/N! You fucking hurt her!"
Charlotte looked aghast. "It was an accident! And why the hell are you taking her side? I'm your girlfriend! Not her!"
"I wish she was!" Cortnee snapped before slapping a hand over her mouth.
You suddenly sat up, injuries forgotten as blood dripped down the side of your face. "Really?"
"LAY BACK DOWN!" Kim and Steph yelled, both pairs of hands shoving you onto your back.
"Y/N, where are we?" an Arsenal medic you didn't remember arriving asked you.
Cortnee took that as an opportunity to get away, apologizing to her manager before taking off into the tunnel.
"At the Emirates," you responded immediately, maneuvering yourself so that no blood would stian your jersey. "I don't have a concussion, mate."
"Well—"
Lotte peered over his shoulder. "She looks fine to me."
"Lotte, no," Kim protested. "Ye' had stitches all down the middle of yer' forehead and said ye' were fine. Ye' don't get a say in this."
"I do!" you objected, closing your left eye just before the crimson droplets could get into it. "It's my decision because I'm injured and I am me. And I say that I'm fine! I just need a bandage and then I'm good to go."
"Why is it bleedin' so much?" Kim sucked in a breath as more medics ran onto the field with a stretcher. "That's way too much blood just for a collision with a goalpost."
One of the medics shook their head as you shoved everybody off you and stood. "I don't—"
Their voice was cut off by the sudden ringing in your ears, hitting you at the same time the dizziness did. You keeled over, someone quickly catching you before you hit the ground.
In a panic, Steph tapped your clean cheek in an attempt to get you to respond. Unfortunately, you were already passed out, concussion symptoms making a delayed appearance but hitting you full force nonetheless.
Had you been conscious, you would have heard the cries of both the crowd and your teammates as you fell. You would have noticed the look of worry on Katie's usually smug face. You would have seen Kim's uncharacteristically terrified face. Seen Kyra hiding her face in Caitlin's shoulder. Seen Jonas sprinting onto the pitch with paramedics in tow.
Another thing that you weren't aware of was the paramedics telling your teammates that it wasn't a concussion. They weren't sure what yet, but it was something much worse.
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The waiting room was eerily silent, each and every player lost in their own thoughts as they waited for updates on your condition.
The game had been called off, both Kim and the Sydney FC captain wanting to follow you to the hospital.
Everyone had arrived at roughly the same time, storming into A&E and demanding to know what was going on.
A doctor had quickly informed them that you were suffering from an epidural hematoma and rushed to surgery.
No one had spoken since then, afraid that if another word was uttered it wouldn't end well.
It was simply a waiting game, the only sound being the ticking off the analog clock on the wall.
Seconds turned to minutes, and minutes into hours. Some of the players fell asleep, while other forced their eyes open in hopes that you'd be out of surgery soon. It didn't work, and most drifted off with their worries still at the forefront of their thoughts.
It wasn't until early the next morning when a doctor would finally enter the room, clipboard in hand. "Family of Y/N—"
Everyone snapped awake, Kim shooting to her feet at her words. "Yes, that's us. What's going on?"
"Y/N Y/L/N was fortunate enough to not incur any permanent brain damage or go into a coma," the doctor assured with a smile. "She'll make a full recovery."
Cortnee breathed a sigh of relief from the corner of the room, wiping away a few stray tears as all of the other girls cheered quietly.
"Thank you, doctor," Kim's relief was evident. "Can we see her?"
"One at a time. She's very disoriented right now and it wouldn't be good to overwhelm her."
All eyes turned to Cortnee who only shook her head. "Doc just said not to overwhelm her. I don't think it would be a good idea right now."
"I'll go then," Steph declared, standing up. "Kim, you should go next. I think you need it more than her."
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"Hey, kiddo," Steph's voice was gentle as she sat on the chair next to the bed. She reached over to grab your hand. "How are you feeling, love?"
"Hey, Stephy," your eyes were shut, voice hoarse. "My head kinda hurts."
She smiled, just happy that you were alright. "I figured. You scared us, you know."
"'M sorry," you murmured, tugging Steph's hand closer. "Is anybody else here, or just you?"
She scoffed lightly. "Kid, everyone is here. Jonas is here, Kim is here, Katie is here... the whole team is here. So are the Sydney girls."
"Is Cortnee here?"
Steph faltered. "Y‐yeah. She doesn't want to come in, though. Doesn't think it's a good time."
"Okay," you mumbled, unsure of whether to be disappointed or relieved. "Did we win?"
"We called off the game," the defender said. "We were too worried."
"Oh."
"I'm gonna head out, kid. Kim's next. I think she needs to see you more than you need to see her."
You chuckled. "True."
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"Hey, Cort?" Charlotte's voice was hesitant. "I—"
She stopped short as her and Cortnee locked eyes. A sort of mutual understanding passed between them. No more words were spoken, but they seemed to come to an agreement. It hadn't been clear to either of them before, but now it made sense. They loved each other, but they hadn't been in love for quite some time.
They had thought that they were soulmates, and they weren't completely wrong, but they weren't completely right either. They were platonic soulmates. They cared deeply for each other, but they weren't meant to be together.
Maybe this wasn't what Cortnee had expected, but she wasn't complaining. All that was left was for her to convince you to give her a chance. If she succeeded, she was golden.
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"Kimmy?" you questioned.
"Yeah, kiddo?" the skipper's voice was less shaky now.
"Can— can you call Cortnee in? I want to see her."
Kim was silent. "Are ye' sure?"
"Yes."
"Okay, kiddo," the Scot patted your uninjured leg. "But if it gets too much, then I want you to tell her to leave. You can't be overwhelmed right now, and this isn't a great idea, but I trust you."
True to her word, she left, the door shutting behind her before it swung open a minute later to reveal the redhead who had been on your mind since you'd woken up. "Hey, Cort."
"Hey, Y/N," the winger hesitantly sat down at your beside, offering her hand which you took without a second thought. "I— I was worried about you."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. I— I missed you," she admitted. "Listen, what I said yesterday on that pitch— I meant it. Char and I— well, we kind of... we, um... we broke up."
The dull ache in your head paused, brain disconnecting at Cortnee's words. "Huh?"
"We ended it on good terms," Cortnee swallowed, forcing herself to keep going despite the cowardly urge to shut the fuck up and sprint out of the room. "She understood that—that I love you. You were my best friend, Y/N. I cared for you, but I didn't realize that the love I had for you wasn't platonic. I didn't realize that the love I had for Char wasn't romantic. It was the opposite."
Her confession was everything you'd ever wanted (other than having an almost fatal brain injury in the process), but now that it was happening, you could barely form the words to respond. "I—I love you too."
"Are you sure?"
You snorted. "What, do you want me to say, 'SIKE!' I WAS JUST KIDDING!'?
"No, no, no," she shook her head quickly. "I just want to make sure it's not the epidural hema whatever it's called talking."
You snickered.
"What? I'm not a doctor!"
"I'm sure, Cort," you smiled at her, reaching up to pat her cheek. "I love you. Always have, always will."
"That's sweet." She smiled back at you.
You waited. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"You gonna kiss me now or you just gonna stare at me?"
"Oh," Cortnee blushed. "Can I kiss you?"
"Are you deaf? I just said yes."
"Oh," she said again. "Oh."
You rolled your eyes, grabbing her by the front of her jersey and pulling her into a kiss. "You're an idiot sometimes, you know that?"
She grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, but now I'm your idiot."
"Yeah, you are. Put that on your Twitter bio, will ya?"
"Of course, love. Now get some rest."
"Love you."
"Love you too, Y/N."
"Oh, and one more thing," you said, grabbing her by the wrist just before she turned around. "FIFA declined my request to switch national teams."
Her grin became impossibly wider. "Really?"
"Yeah. Some dumb legal shit."
She sighed happily. "I love dumb legal shit."
"Me too, Cort. Me too."
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3 hours and 2446 words later
Haha I love writing angst it's so fun getting the "oH yOu eViL bItCh I cRiEd" comments
Okay bye
Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading!