A/N: Happy monday! Sorry we skipped a monday but last monday i went out with friends and did not return untill the next day ;) but to make it up to you all enjoy this chapter AND keep your eyes peeled to the app is all I can say ;) Love you all and have a wonderful week! ❤️
A new camp, a new coach. This would mean a new start for the whole team and I was determined to make a good impression but before I was even in Columbus, the stupid plane decided otherwise.
Vlatko already wasn't happy with me playing against Levante, which meant I would arrive a day later than my other teammates and now my flight was delayed as well.
I was rushing through the airport of Columbus, trying to get to the arrivals section as fast as I could in search of the staff member that was assigned to pick me up.
In the crowd I spotted a man in his mid thirties, wearing a USA track suit. He held out a sign with my name on it, like if the track suit wouldn't give him away. I let out a breath I was holding and rushed over to the man.
"Hey, I'm Eleanore. I'm" but he didn't let me finish, instead his uninterested expression changed into an annoyed one.
"You're late." Was all he said, while he simply turned around and started to walk away without even sparing me one glance.
"New camp, New coach, New start." I muttered to myself. As fast as I could I scrambled to grab my bags and hurried after the man.
"I know. I'm sorry, my flight was delayed." I said once I had caught up with him but my apology fell on deaf ears.
"You should have taken the first flight, like everyone else." He simply said, unlocking the car and getting in.
I froze and blinked a few times, trying to process what he said. The man however didn't care, he just sat in the car waiting for me to get in as well. I cleared my throat and shot back into action, placing my bags in the trunk of the car.
"New camp, New coach, New start." I mumbled once again to myself when I closed the trunk.
"You're late and it's unprofessional." The man said once again when I entered the car.
"Like I said, I'm sorry, my flight got delayed." I apologized again but this time it was a bit harder to not let my frustration get the better of me.
"Don't let it happen again. This is your first strike." He mumbled and started the car. Speechless, I sat down in the car and buckled up for what would be a very tense and awkward car ride.
Luckily the hotel wasn't too far away from the airport so the awkward car ride didn't take too long. The atmosphere was almost suffocating so once the man had parked the car, I rushed out, grabbed my bags and went in search of Vlatko to retrieve my key card.
"You're late." Was the first thing he said once he saw me walk in the dining hall. Not a 'hey, how are you doing?' Or a 'hey, nice to see you.' Nope, simply a 'you're late.'
New camp, New coach, New start.
"I'm sorry. My flight got delayed." I tried to apologize but our new coach wouldn't accept it that easily, leaning back in his chair.
"You should have taken an earlier flight. This is unprofessional. I expect better from you." He sternly told me, glaring slightly.
In a spam of maybe a half-hour, I got scolded twice for something I didn't even have control over. First by apparently our assistant coach and then by my new coach.
It was no use to defend myself, both men made their stand point pretty clear so I just accepted it, hoping that by doing so I would get them off my back.
"I'm sorry sir. It won't happen again." I mumbled, doing my best to hide my frustration.
"Here is your key card. You'll be rooming with Alyssa. Hopefully she can keep you on track for this camp." Vlatko sternly said and while I did my best to hide my annoyance, he did not.
I grabbed the key card out of his hands as fast as I could in hopes that I could end this conversation. "Don't worry, she will." I mumbled as I turned around to leave.
New camp, New coach, New start.
"MY EYES! MY EYES!" I yelled out while covering them.
As I walked in, it wasn't Alyssa who I was met with but Christen and Tobin making out on MY bed. The goalie was nowhere to be seen. At the sound of my voice, the two immediately broke apart from each other, a sheepish glint in their eyes.
"Oh grow up. It's not like you haven't done this before, I'm sure of it." Tobin rolled her eyes, not even fazed by being caught, if anything she seemed proud of it.
"I have done this before and some more, it doesn't mean that I need to see you sucking each other's face." I sassed back, dropping my bags in front of my bed. "And that's MY bed you're sitting at. What are you doing here anyway? I thought I was supposed to room with Alyssa?"
"Hey! I do not want to hear about your sexlife!" She pointed at me sternly which made Tobin and I laugh.
"You are. We just wanted to see you so we asked Alyssa if we could wait in your room." Christen fixed her hair a bit and explained why they were in my room.
Tobin nodded along but then the winger spotted my hat, which was technically her hat. Her eyes went wide as she pointed at it. "My hat!"
"Not again." Chris groaned and let herself fall down on the bed with her hands covering her face.
"Correction, it WAS your hat. Now it's mine." I smugly smiled at the winger as I reached for my suitcase but before I could open it, Tobin interrupted me. "Because you stole it!" She yelled out.
"Chill," I grabbed something out of my suitcase and looked at her, indicating with my hands that she should calm down. "I come bearing gifts." I threw her the material.
"What's this?" Tobin curiously looked at the object in her hands.
"A hat, well my hat to be exact." I clarified myself, suddenly turning shy. "Since I can have yours, you can have mine." I finally looked at her again with a shy smile.
"Nice. Thanks." She returned my smile and placed the hat on her head.
"You're kidding me?!" Christen shot up again, looking at us in disbelief. "That's all it took? You, giving her a hat in return?!" She pointed at the both of us. Tobin and I looked at each other and wiggled our eyebrows with a big smirk. Christen shook her head, still in disbelief.
"Oh hey! You're here." Alyssa said, walking out of our bathroom, brushing her hair with a towel. The goalie had clearly just taken a shower.
"Hey Lyss, how are you?" I spun around to face her and smiled.
"I'm good. How about you? It's good to see you again." She let the towel rest around her shoulders and once I was close enough she pulled me in for a hug.
"Glad to see you too." I mumbled into her shoulder, taking in all the comfort the goalie provided me with.
"How was your flight by the way? You're late." Tobin suddenly remembered that I was in fact later than she expected.
"Tell me about it." I mumbled, letting go of Alyssa and faced the couple again.
"That bad?" Christen immediately got worried. Her eyes roamed over my body, looking for any signs of distress or possible injuries.
"Well no, the flight was fine. It simply got delayed." I shrugged my shoulders at Christen's worry to assure her. "It was the coach and staff that were giving me shit." I rolled my eyes once I mentioned the coaching duo.
"What happened?" Alyssa plopped down on her bed and curiously looked at me.
"The guy, Henry, I think is his name?" I sat down next to her because Tobin and Chris were still on my bed. The trio looked confused, going over all the staff members in their heads. "The assistant coach?" Chris finally realized who I was referring to.
"Yeah that one." I pointed at her once she guessed right. "He gave me crap for being late. He said that it was unprofessional of me to keep him waiting. And Vlatko said the same thing." I sighed out, remembering my interactions with the two.
"What?" All three of them shrieked, shooting up from their position on the bed. "That's bullshit!" Tobin grumbled with a glare on her face.
"It's not your fault the flight got delayed. I mean you can't control it." Lyss placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"They apparently think that I can." I crossed my arms over my chest like a toddler and rolled my eyes again. "Assholes." I mumbled, making the others laugh but they agreed with me.
"Look, you're here now." Chris said when she calmed down from her laughter. "They'll calm down, focus on the game." Tobin added with a big smile.
"I will." I hummed.
"Show them why they call you la princesa." Lyss smirked, making the other two perk up with curiosity. Alyssa always tried to follow my career from afar, so the goalie had picked up the new nickname the Spanish media had given me.
"Not you too." I groaned at our number one, who simply smirked at me.
"What?" Christen was the first to cave and asked curious as to what we were talking about. I turned to my long time family friend with a sheepish look, trying to play it cool but Lyss decided differently.
"They call her 'la princesa'." Lyssa smirked at the couple on my bed. Obviously they immediately loved the nickname and you could see the jokes form in their minds
"Alyssa." I scoffed at the goalie.
"What? It's true." She shrugged, finding my annoyance funny. "The Spanish media loves you. They say that Putellas is 'La Reina' and Ellie here is 'La Princesa'." She threw her arm around my shoulder and explained proudly to our friends.
"Shut up." I groaned and let my head fall into my hands.
"Ooh, 'La Princesa', how cute." Tobin chuckled. My head shot up from my hands and I sent a glare her way. "Shut up, Toby!"
"Cute or not," Christen tried her best to defuse the tension between me and her girlfriend. "please show them during the game why they call you La Princesa."
"Would you stop with the nickname but yes, I will. I wanna win." I glared at Chris before looking at her determined. We just got crowned as world champions, there was no way in hell we wanted to lose and last camp we came pretty close to that.
"Perfect." Alyssa laughed, causing all of us to join in.
A few hours later after news got out that I had arrived, our room got crowded with our teammates stopping by to say hey. When everyone finally left, it was time to go to bed and I was dreading it.
My sleeping habits weren't that healthy the last camp but I was relieved that once I was back at home in Barcelona, the problem kind of solved itself so I just had to get through the week.
I was in bed reading, waiting on Alyssa who was in the bathroom, getting ready for bed as well. When Lyss entered the room I was so engrossed I'm my book that I hadn't heard her come in. It was only when she plopped down on her bed that I took notice of her, almost jumping out of my skin.
"When you have a nightmare, wake me up." She said while she got settled under the covers. Her comment took me by surprise. How did she know?
"What?" I stared at her and blinked a couple times, trying to figure out if I had heard her correctly but apparently I did.
"When you have a nightmare, wake me up." She simply repeated herself, not making a big deal out of it. She was barely paying any attention to me.
"I don't" I tried to get out but Alyssa knew me well enough to know that I would deny it so she simply did not give me any room to argue.
"I know you have them." She immediately interrupted me before continuing. "It was pretty clear last camp and it's okay that you have them but I'm telling you to wake me up." This time she did look at me. Her eyes bored into mine.
"I know that you think you have to face everything alone but you don't." She looked at me for a final time before getting comfortable under her blankets. "I'm here for you and I'll always be here for you so wake me up." She turned off the lights on her side and closed her eyes.
"Thanks Lyss." I smiled at her, grateful for her support and comfort but more so that she didn't make a big deal out of it.
"You're very welcome. Now go to sleep so you're well rested to kick some ass tomorrow. Preferably those of the coaches." She smirked as I turned off the lights and got myself as comfortable as I could but I instantly missed Alexia beside me.
"Goodnight." I hummed to Alyssa.
"Goodnight,... princesa." I groaned when I heard the stupid nickname, making Lyss laugh.
The next two days I went out of my way to impress the coaches but so far with not a lot of success. I was doing phenomenal at training, even better than before, easily scoring goals, assisting with ease, embarrassing my opponents with a good dribble but no matter how hard I tried or how good I was, it was never enough.
"Faster Eleanore!"
"You should have passed it to Alex!"
"Is that all you got!"
"You need to be faster!"
Were just a few things shouted in the span of a half hour. Everything needed to be better and faster. The only problem, it seemed that it was only me who they were shouting at.
New camp, New coach, New start.
The minute my back hit my bed, I closed my eyes and let out a breath that I was holding for the majority of practice. Glad that it was over for the day and that I didn't have to think about my coaches anymore, at least till the next day.
The silence soon got disturbed though, by the sound of my phone. My eyes shot open instantly to try and locate the device. Despite the sour mood I was in only seconds ago, the smile that was forming on my face was inevitable.
"Hola, Hermosa. Miss me?" I hummed through the phone.
"Cocky." Ale scoffed and even though I couldn't see her, I could picture her rolling her eyes at me.
"You never denied it though." I smirked knowing full well that I made a good point and she knew it as well.
"True and sadly, yes, I do. The bed feels empty without you." Ale whined like a small child. The smirk plastered on my face softened.
"Yeah, I know." I hummed, wishing that I was with her right now. For me it was five in the evening but for her it was only eight in the morning. She probably just got out of bed, ready to start her day of training while I was already done.
A few seconds it remained quiet. It was like she was working up the courage to say something. I had a slight idea of what she wanted to ask so I changed the subject completely, not giving her a chance at all to ask about my sleeping habits.
"Are you still okay with going to the wedding with me?" This threw her off a bit, effectively changing the course of the conversation.
"Of course, I would follow you everywhere." Ale shrugged her shoulders casually and again, I couldn't see her but I knew that she had a big smirk on her lips.
"Ooh cheesy." I rolled my eyes at the girl that was currently on the other side of the world.
Alexia, now in her teasing mood, didn't care about my comment. To the contrary, she thought it was funny and it even had the desired effect. "Some would call it romantic." She said in a matter of fact tone.
"Sure, very." I chuckled along with my girlfriend but her laughing slowly died down until she had a more somber expression on her face. "I really do miss you, you know."
"I know, but I'll be back before you know it." I told the brunette and her smirk fully returned.
"I can't wait for us to be home again and this time without those two idiotas." Alexia grumbled when she remembered our two best friends tagging along with her.
"But it was fun though with those two around." I said in hopes to rile the midfielder up and it worked.
"Imagine all the fun we could have without those two around." Alexia's voice dropped a bit so her tone was even more seductive. She knew what she was doing and she did it well.
"What kind of things?" I asked, I tried not to let it faze me but my voice betrayed me when it slightly cracked. It was barely noticeable but not to Alexia. It was like her brain could pick up the tiniest change in my behavior.
"Well, if you score yet another goal, you'll find out." This got my head spinning. Images of that night where she supposedly rewarded me for my goals and welcomed me home flashed through my mind.
"I guess I will have to score a goal then." I smirked, going along with her plan.
"You definitely should." She hummed through the phone.
Suddenly I heard the lock of the door click open. It was only Alyssa who walked in. The goalie immediately stopped dead in her tracks when she realized I was on a call but I waved her off and told her it was fine.
"Hey, Alyssa just walked in, I have to go." I told Ale. I discreetly said goodbye to my girlfriend and then faced the goalie with whom I started talking with.
Alyssa and I were both laying down on our beds. I was aimlessly scrolling through my phone while Alyssa was reading one of her books. It was a comfortable silence that hung around the room until I remembered about the wedding.
Queenie👸🎩
@Ali can I invite someone to the wedding?
Ali 🐻
Like a plus one?
Queenie 👸🎩
Yes.
Linds
WHAT?!
Pressy
Could you repeat that? 😳
Queenie 👸🎩
@Pressy you can just re read 🙄
Sonny🌞
Hold your horses! I think I read it wrong. Hold on...
A PLUS ONE?! WHEN AND WERE YOU GONNA TELL ME?!
Squirrel 🐿
ELEANORE MARIE QUEEN PICK UP YOUR DAMN PHONE.
The minute I sent the message, my phone simply blew up. Text message after text message, phone call after phone call, my phone kept vibrating, all my friends wanted an explanation. I stared with wide eyes at my phone. Clearly I had not thought this through and Alyssa read my mind.
"You haven't thought this through, haven't you?" She smirked, not even looking up from her book. She had a vague idea of what I had just done.
"Obviously." I mumbled, still staring at my phone.
"You're in trouble." Alyssa said amused and turned the page she was reading in her book.
"Nah, I'll just ignore the problem till" before I could finish my sentence the door bursts open. In walked Kelley, Alex, Ali, Christen and the younglings.
"Till the problem solves itself? Yeah good luck with that." Alyssa chuckled but this time she closed her book, putting her full attention in the situation.
Secretly she found it very amusing but at the same time she wanted to be ready in case she had to step in. Our teammates could become a bit much.
"ELEANORE MARIE QUEEN!" Kelley marged in with a glare on her face.
"Hey Kelley." I sheepishly smiled at the defender, trying my very best to play it cool.
"Don't 'hey Kelley' me! You're seeing someone and you didn't tell me?!" Kelley yelled out shocked that I hadn't told her but soon got corrected by Alex. "Us, didn't tell us." The California native clarified.
"Yeah yeah, us. That's what I meant." Kelley waved Alex off and immediately focused back on me.
"I'm not seeing anyone." I shrugged. My best bet against these momma bears was to stay as cool as possible. These four could read me like a book and I was not ready for them to mingle in my relationship.
"Bullshit!" Ali and Chris immediately called my bluff and rolled their eyes. It was not surprising though, they would be the hardest to convince.
"I see the change in your behavior lately." Kelley stepped up again and just like before Alex was quick to correct her. "We." The forward said and glared at my future sister in law.
"We see the difference." Kelley corrected herself and rolled her eyes at her best friend.
Chris shook her head at the behavior of the two but then focused back on me. "You smile more, you're lighter, less serious about everything."
"Guys, I'm not seeing someone." I threw my hands up, getting frustrated. I really should have thought this through.
"Is it someone from Arsenal?" Alex simply ignored me and started her interrogation.
Without thinking about my next step, I immediately denied it again but maybe my words weren't that well chosen. "No, it's not."
"So there is someone!" Sonnett yelled out. In comparison to the others she had a curious smile on her face, excited about the whole situation.
"No, there is no one." I groaned, realizing my mistake.
"I bet it's a hot Spanish girl." Sonnet mumbled to Kelley. I wasn't supposed to hear it but I did. "No." I sternly told the defender and glared at her.
"Is it a football player?" Ali glared at Kelley and Sonnett before focusing back on me.
"Would you guys stop?!' I yelled out as I reached my limits. This surprised the four of them and Sonnett and for a second it shut them up but Kelley was the first one to snap out of it.
"I just want what's best for you." Kelley softly mumbled in hopes of defending herself.
"We!" Alex glared and hit Kelley's shoulder. "WE want what's best for you." Alex corrected her once again.
"Yeah yeah. That's what I meant." The defender rolled her eyes at the forward again.
"Look guys, I appreciate you all looking out for me but I'm not seeing anyone at the moment." I tried one more time but I should have known it wouldn't work.
"Lies." Chris immediately shot back. I was about to break and retaliate but right on time Becky walked in the room.
"What the hell is all this noise?" Becky looked around the room confused.
"Ellie is dating someone and she won't tell us who!" Sonnett jumped up and explained the situation to Becky, causing me to groan at it all.
"Guys back off. Leave the kid alone, besides it's time to eat." She stepped right in between me and the others, effectively stopping the argument that was getting heated and saved me from further interrogations.
They tried to argue some more with Becky but one stern look of the captain made them all shut up and wander off in defeat.
"Thanks Reeba." I smiled at our captain and together we walked to the door, on our way to dinner.
"No worries." She swung her arm around my shoulders. "Congratulations by the way." She kissed the side of my head, leaving me a bit stunt. Of course she knew and there was no room for arguing with her. This was gonna be an eventful camp.
New camp, New coach, New start.