After the eventful morning the pair had had, Leah and Cameryn, were becoming overly excitable waiting for the game. They playing Liverpool at the Emirates and Cameryn was buzzing with nerves. "Leah, I don't know if I can do this," called out Cameryn as she packed her bag for the game, shoving random things into her backpack.
"We've already gone through this once, you are going to do amazing, so stop overthinking, and if you're really that nervous go read the letter from your dad again," Leah proposed as she stuck her head through the door. "You'll do amazing, I promise."
Leah ran back into her room to grab the last few things before heading down to make lunch. She wasn't the most skilled in the kitchen, but it was also game day, so ham sandwiches it was. Cameryn finished packing and dropped her bag at the door before joining Leah in the kitchen to eat their sandwiches.
"Thanks, Le," she said as she sat down taking a sandwich.
"You got over your fears yet?" asked Leah intending for it to be a joke.
"Well kind of, but no not really. I'm so scared I've forgotten something."
"There's not much to forget, they have your kit, you should have your spare boots, your shinguards, that's all. You've got your phone, your AirPods, your hoodie, your jacket?" she asked.
"Yes, I have my letter too," Cam replied.
"Then you have everything," assured Leah as she took another bite of her sandwich. "Come on, we better get going, the game is in a few hours and we've got to be at the Emirates in one."
The girls headed to Leah's car with their bags, climbing in and pulling out of the driveway. Leah blasted the music as they drove along the bustling roads, both of them singing their hearts out to whatever song came on next.
Leah took Cameryn's hand as they drove along, "I'm so proud of you, you've been amazing in training, at the England camp, and whilst you were at Bristol City. I can't wait to see what you can do on that pitch in front of so many people."
"Thank you, Le. It's nice to hear at least one person has faith in me," the brunette replied as she diverted her gaze out the window.
"Your family is proud of you Cam, they might not be by your side today but they'll be watching on TV and when they get the chance they'll come over to watch a game, I know it."
Leah's words were all Cameryn needed to feel calm, her voice was soothing and the grip she held on the brunette's hand was comforting. The rest of the drive was less loud, and less music was played, but overall it was more peaceful. Once the girls arrived at the Emirates Stadium there were already fans lining the car park and queueing up to the stadium entrance, it was simply a surreal experience.
"Wow," breathed out Cameryn as they climbed out of the car, "this is so much bigger than I thought it would be."
"It's pretty insane, isn't it?" asked Leah as she turned to see that Cameryn's jaw had physically dropped. The blonde used her finger to close Cameryn's jaw before taking her hand and beginning to walk into the back of the stadium.
The back door was much more peaceful as the fans were all collecting out the front. Leah and Cameryn made their way into the stadium and found their way to the locker room where some of the players were already waiting. The first person Cameryn noticed was the brunette she was falling head over heels for, Kyra.
Kyra bounced across the room practically jumping into Cameryn's arms, which ultimately attracted some unwanted attention from the other players in the room including Wally, Beth and Viv. Wally directed a side eye to Leah silently asking what was happening there but Leah didn't give anything away, instead, she just shrugged.
As kick-off approached more and more players filtered into the locker room, each taking their seats in their respective lockers. Cameryn sat in her number 17 locker with Leah right beside her. Her leg started to bounce rapidly with nerves as Jonas Eidevall entered the room, but Leah quickly put a stop to it by placing a hand on her knee.
"Girls, this is going to be a good game to welcome us back after the international break, but it'll require some hard work," Jonas spoke, "as you know, we made some new signings over the break including Cameryn," he continued as he gestured towards the nervous brunette sitting huddled into Leah. "As it is your first game with us, I'd like for you to start today in our midfield alongside Lia Walti and Kim Little." The room erupted with applause and Cam began to shed a few tears of joy.
Wally walked over and gave her a massive hug followed by Kyra, "I'm so proud of you love," Kyra whispered into the 19-year-old's shoulder. Cameryn began to blush but returned her attention back to Jonas who continued to announce the rest of the Starting XI.
"In goal, we have D'Angelo, in the back line we'll have McCabe, Catley, Lotte and Jen. Then as I said earlier, in midfield is Walti, Little and Cameryn. Finally, in the front line, we'll have Mead, Viv and Foord. Good luck girls, get ready and we'll head out to warm up shortly."
The team began to get ready so Leah left Cameryn to change. Cam changed into her game shorts and her warm-up shirt before beginning to rummage through her bag. Kyra noticed the panic on the young girl's face and wandered over to help solve the problem.
"I can't find it," mumbled Cameryn as she continued to search pulling out item after item from her bag.
"What can't you find?" asked Kyra not wanting to intrude.
"I can't find it, I can't find it," repeated Cameryn beginning to scare Kyra. Cameryn still hadn't looked up at Kyra but she good sense her presence.
"Love, I need you to tell me what you can't find," spoke Kyra in a reassuring tone.
"I can't find my tape," blurted out Cameryn as she continued hunting for the infamous roll of tape.
"The physios have tape for us to use," continued Kyra, "I'll go grab some for you".
"No, I need my tape," she said getting slightly angry.
"What?"
"I need my tape. Can you go get Leah please?" asked Cameryn as her tone escalated.
"Okay sure," Kyra said, her voice breaking, the girl she was falling in love with had just shunned her and sent her away.
Kyra wandered over to Leah who was speaking with one of the trainers, "Cameryn needs you," she said as a tear fell from her eye.
"Kyra, are you okay?" Leah asked as she noticed the puffy eyes on the brown-haired midfielder.
"Yeah, I'll be fine, but go help Cameryn, please."
Leah nodded not wanting to push with any further questions. Sitting in the number 17 locker was a panicked 19-year-old. She had her head in her hands and her bag had been nearly completely unpacked. The blonde knelt down in front of Cameryn and took the younger girl's hands in her own.
"What happened Cam?" asked Leah as she tried to make eye contact.
"I forgot it."
"Forgot what?" Leah continued, "You said you packed the letter".
"I forgot my tape," Cam's eyes began to well again but before she could shed any tears Leah jumped up and reached towards her own bag.
"I knew you would do this, I packed it for you," Leah held out the roll of CM and JM printed tape to the shaking girl.
"Thank you, Leah," Cam responded as she held the tape to her chest. Leah stood up pulling Cameryn with her. They shared a caring hug and Leah left a kiss on the top of Cameryn's head.
"Finish taping and let me know so I can write on your ankle," Leah said as she walked away.
Cameryn nodded and opened the new roll of tape, the third roll in a group of four. She quickly taped up her ankles before calling Leah back over. The blonde pulled a pen out of her pocket and wrote 'DAD' on Cameryn's right ankle, followed by Cam writing 'LEAH' on her left.
"What would I do without you?" Cameryn asked.
"Probably struggle a lot," Leah replied through a giggle.
Cameryn slipped her socks and boots on lacing them up tight, before doing a few quick jumps and heading out to the pitch to warm up. She tried to speed up her walk to be next to Kyra, but Kyra didn't give her the time of day.
Leah caught up to the younger girl slinging an arm around her shoulder, "You excited to play for the Arsenal?"
"Yeah, but Kyra's mad at me, I kinda shunned her off when I couldn't find my tape," Cameryn replied picking at the skin around her fingernails.
"We'll deal with it later, I'm sure you will both be fine. For now, just focus on the game," Leah assured her.
The reception as the team entered the pitch was incomparable, nothing could match the energy from the crowd as they cheered for the Gunners. Cameryn was captivated by the loud screams and chanting from the 50,000 people who had come to see them, she felt as if she was on an international stage, but this time she wore her father's name.
As warm-ups continued the crowd calmed down and Cameryn's nerves heightened. She was buzzing for her first start but didn't know if she would be able to live up to all her dad had envisioned for her. Luke May was her idol, maybe not in football, but in life. He treated everyone right, he treated everyone equally. He showed Cameryn how she wasn't meant to act and how she was meant to act. The lasting impression Luke May left on his daughter was reflected in her day-to-day life, the way she would smile at complete strangers, or sign jerseys for young kids just because it would make their day, she put it all down to him.
As she pulled the L. May jersey over her head, all felt right in the world. She was wearing her father's name in the red and white like she promised and nothing could beat it. Cameryn kissed her closed fist and pointed to the sky, her signature celebration. Although not celebrating a goal, it was designed to celebrate that moment when she would be taking the field, the moment she was going to honour her father and make him even prouder than he already was.
In the tunnel, the echo of studs ricocheted from the walls bouncing into her ears. It was a comforting sound that she related to her early days of football running through the house dribbling the ball and kicking it against the walls, much to the displeasure of her mother. As Cam took her final deep breaths the refs began the walk out indicating that she was to do the same.
The atmosphere inside the Emirates was one Cameryn would never feel again, it was going to be the highlight of her career walking out with the team she loved, and the people she'd grown to love. The team photo was taken soon after entering the pitch with Cameryn interlocking arms with McCabe and D'Angelo.
Kick-off, 90 minutes to go in her first-ever Arsenal match. Cameryn glanced over to the bench where Leah was sitting, a smile plastered wide across her face. She held a thumbs up and nodded for Cam to focus on the game. "This is it," she mumbled. The whistle blew and the ball flew backwards from Miedema straight to Cam's feet. Without a second thought, she sent it across to Wally and the Liverpool defenders started to approach.
The game wasn't easy, but it wasn't a particular challenge either. Arsenal held most of the possession and had many incredible attacking moments. The first goal to come off was Foord, she intercepted an incredible through ball from Kim and slotted it between the goalie's legs.
It was the first time Cameryn had ever been involved in an Arsenal team hug and it felt incredible, the ambience was incomprehensible. The game began again and Katie McCabe scored a banger from outside the 18-yard box slotting it into top bins, she ran over to Caitlin hugging her before the rest of the team joined in. Cameryn wasn't sure why the team always resorted to hugs, but she didn't hate it. The halftime whistle blew and the team shuffled into the locker room to hear the feedback from Jonas.
"We should be scoring more than this, we have greater possession and a substantially larger number of shots on target. If you keep trying the same thing and it isn't working try something else," he said blatantly.
The girls nodded and Kim Little took over, "Our goals are coming from unusual placements, one from wide on the left and one from wide and deep on the right. They're going to be focused on these places now so let's look to the middle of the pitch, and see if we can score some more that way," she finished.
The team agreed and began to head out to the pitch for the next 45 minutes. As Cameryn went to leave with her team Jonas pulled her to the side, "are you prepared to play a full 90 minutes?" he asked to which Cameryn looked completely shocked.
Cameryn couldn't muster the words to respond so simply nodded earning herself a laugh from Jonas, "if you change your mind just let me know," he said as they entered back to the pitch. She ran out to her position on the field bouncing as she approached Lia and Kim.
"You've got this," said Lia as she nodded to the goal positioned up the pitch. Cameryn was slightly confused but soon clued in to what the Swiss international was implying.
"Okay," she said back as the second half commenced.
It wasn't as challenging of a second 45 minutes, the players were starting to tire on both teams, yet Arsenal seemed to have a leg up on endurance marginally. They took it in their stride and immediately regained possession from kick-off putting the Liverpool players on their back foot. The ball was sent out wide to Beth Mead who was quickly overlapped by McCabe. The ball was approaching the box quickly, and the defenders were sticking wide as Kim had predicted.
Cameryn spotted the opening in the box directly in front of the keeper. She sprinted to it calling for the ball from Katie which the Irish easily agreed to cross. It was a low cross directly to Cameryn's feet, but as she went to strike it a Liverpool defender shouldered her directly in the chest. She hit the ground landing directly on her back, what she hadn't realised was she did strike the ball and it had gone straight into the bottom right corner.
All that didn't matter though, her chest felt tight, and the world was spinning from the force with which her head had hit the grass. She saw a familiar face hovering above her, it was Wally. She grasped the young girl's hand and gave it a tight squeeze, "you're okay," she whispered, "and the ball went in".
At the last comment, Cameryn's personality perked up, she attempted to sit up but was pushed back down gently by Wally. All Cam could see was the gutted look on the Liverpool players' faces. She smiled to herself as her world began to go dark. Her head was thumping and all she could feel was the slightly damp grass under her body and the tight grip of Wally's hand.
Leah was sitting in the box standing on her feet panicking, Amanda was doing her best to calm the frantic blonde but nothing worked. As Cam got stretchered off Leah ran over to the tunnel to walk in with her. Wally had walked over to the sideline with the unconscious teenager, as she handed her off to Leah she gave the blonde a tight hug, "She'll be okay".
Leah nodded and hurried into the tunnel while Wally ran back onto the pitch doing Cameryn's signature position on her behalf. Vic Pelova was subbed on in Cameryn's place because Kyra was too distracted by the injury.
"You can go see her if you wish," said Jonas as he saw just how preoccupied Kyra was, but she declined the offer.
In the medical exam room, Cameryn was coming back to consciousness, with Leah holding her hand by her side. Cam rolled over to see the blonde looking down at her with a smile, "you scored Cam," she spoke calmly and softly afraid that the teen might have a concussion.
"I think Dad might have helped with that one if I'm being honest, he saw his name on my jersey and thought he might help out," she giggled in response.
"Yeah, I reckon you're right," said Leah as she began to ask the doctors and medics questions.
"It's suspected that she fainted because of adrenaline, not from the head knock, it wasn't heavier enough to cause a large concussion, but she will be off the pitch for two weeks for precautions," spoke one of the medics.
Leah thanked him for Cameryn and the room returned to silence. Just the two of them sitting between four walls, the bustling of London and the Emirates Stadium on the other side.
"Le," Cameryn whispered, her voice rather hoarse. "I scored," she said through giggles, "I scored." Cam was nearly in tears at this point, but they weren't tears of sadness, they were happy tears, "Dad scored for me."
Leah started to shed tears of her own but quickly covered them up, wiping them from her eyes and plastering a smile on her face, "Yeah he did. Your dad will have your back, always and forever Cam, remember that".
The room returned to silence before it was broken one last time, "Always and forever," mumbled Cameryn. "We're definitely getting that tattoo tomorrow, I can't think of a better way to celebrate my birthday."
Leah leaned over and placed a kiss on the younger girl's forehead, "Of course, now relax so that we can head home when the game is over".
WORDS: 3030
a/n: thank you guys for over 5.5K reads and over 100 votes, it truly means the world to see that something I've enjoyed writing so much is being enjoyed by readers too
this chapter is a bit long, and I'm not exactly a fan of the way that Cameryn shunned Kyra but you know 'character development', either way the next chapter is going to be a fun one
please let me know if there's a specific plot you want to see whether it is in this book or not, and let me know your thoughts on the Kyra and Cameryn situation I'm really open to feedback