A/N: Happy Monday! Hope you all have a good one! Enjoy the week! PS Pray for me on saterday, Thank you!
Chris was still frustrated with me. I think that's the best way to describe it. She wasn't necessarily angry with me. We talked, acted normal around each other but I think everyone could tell something was going on.
Nobody really brought it up though because all our energy had to go to our game against Sweden today. Everyone wanted to win, definitely against Sweden. Besides the Canadians, Sweded was our biggest rival since the Olympics in 2016.
I was currently tying my shoes in the dressing room. The coach had just given us the rundown on the things he expected us to do. Most of my teammates were already outside, leaving me behind, trying to lock in on the game.
"Eleanore?" Vlatko's voice pulled me out of my focus. My head snapped up to meet his eyes. He stood there all self confident but an unsure smile on his face.
"You have minute?" He carefully asked. I simply nodded, finishing up with the laces of my shoe and sat up straight.
"I don't have to tell you the importance of this game and what's at stake here?" Vlatko sternly asked me with a cool look in his eyes. The man was calm and collected and knew what he wanted to say to me.
"No you don't. I'm well aware." I said while trying to mimic his tone. While he was calm and collected I was anything but. That's what happens when you have an assistant coach who yells at you all the time.
"Good. I just want to say that you've been doing great at training." This time a small smile crept on his lips but it didn't really meet his eyes. The compliment kind of made me uncomfortable because at the moment I couldn't really tell how genuine it actually was.
"Thank you." I simply replied and stood up, hoping that the conversation was over and I could go but that wasn't the case.
Vlatko placed his hand on my shoulder and looked me right in the eye. "I'm depending on you." Again it made me uncomfortable. A whole week the guy kept yelling at me, pushing me and now he was suddenly believing in me.
"Okay." Was all I could say.
"Without you at your best, we won't win. Do you understand?" His small smile disappeared again and a stern and determined look took over his features again.
"I do." I nodded and that was enough to end the conversation. Vlatko took a step to the side so I could pass him before he spoke up again.
"Great. Now let's go and win this game."
So much for promises. One half later we were down one to two. Sweden had taken the upper hand right before the first half ended. There was still time to turn this around of course, to win the game.
To my surprise Vlatko wasn't angry. I had expected him to start yelling the second we got inside but surprisingly he didn't. He was calm and collected again and to be fair I don't know what I would have liked most, him yelling and being on my ass all the time or him being cool and collected.
"A lot of work to be done but the game isn't over yet. There is still time to turn this around. We need to communicate more on the field. Communication is key!" He started his speech. He spoke in a calm and soft tone but left no room for discussion whatsoever.
"Defenders," the coach looked at all his defenders that were currently playing. "I need you to defend like your life depends on it. We give away too much space and we recklessly kick the ball away once we've managed to steal it. That can't happen okay?" His look was serious and strict, his gaze moving over all the players that were seated in the room.
When he finally had finished the rest of his speech, the break came to an end as well and at the sign of the referee we all got up to go back out there. Just like before the game, Vlatko stopped me and asked for a word.
"Did you forget our talk?" He asked straight away once everyone had left the room. My eyebrows knitted together in confusion, not understanding what he was getting at.
"The one before the game, the one where I told you I need you." He explained himself further when he realized I didn't know what he was talking about.
"No." I simply stated without further explanation. My frustration level was slowly rising but what if it really was my fault.
"You need to step up, Eleanore." He gently grabbed me by the shoulders. "You need to guide this team. You're not there so the team isn't there as well. Focus." His eyes pierced into mine.
"Okay." I nodded and focused on the game. He was right. I needed to step up. I needed to help the team.
"I mean it. It needs to be better. You can lift this team. If we lose it's on you." We're the last words he said before he turned around and walked out of the dressing room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
Alright. Show time.
When the second half started, I pounced forward, putting pressure on our opponents and told my team to do the same. The Sweeds were struggling with the sudden change of tactics and weren't handling the pressure well.
They became nervous and their passes lost their accuracy, resulting into losing the ball a lot which was in our advantage. Near the sixtieth minute I recovered the ball and dribbled my way to the penalty area.
Two midfielders and one defender immediately came up to me and tried to stop me, but because the defender stepped out of position, Alex was left with a lot of space.
With a perfectly timed pass between the lines and between all the Swedish players, the ball got to Alex. Our number thirteen controlled the ball, ran up to the goalie and placed it precisely in the bottom right corner.
Alex rushed over to me and jumped into my arms. With a big smile on my face and one balled fist in the air while I used the other to keep Alex upright, we screamed out in joy. Our other teammates soon followed, patting us on the back and congratulating us.
I let go of Alex and together we walked back to take our positions again. "One down." She said and looked at me, holding out her fist.
"One more to go." I bumped her fist with a smile and took my place so the game could restart.
After the equalizer, the game became even more physical than it was before. It seemed that the ball was less important and our ankles and toes were the new target. It was even worse than before when I got the ball. Before I could even control the ball, I got surrounded by three Swedish players, making it hard to create chances.
However my patience got rewarded in the eighty fifth minute when Tobin unleashed her inner beast. The winger dribbled her way through a sea full of yellow, reaching the back line. I was positioned a bit outside of the box and called for Tobin to pass me the ball which she did.
One simple touch, that was all I needed to control the ball and to shoot it neatly into the top bin, behind the goalie. It was like time stood still when I watched the ball sore through the air. Rose was the first to reach me and jumped on my back while Tobin rushed in my arms.
"YES, QUEENIE!" The older winger screamed into my face.
I released a chuckle and let go of her. She soon got replaced by a bunch of other teammates, all congratulating me. When it took us too long to go back to our places, the referee told us to cut our celebrations short and warned us to hurry up.
In the last five minutes of the game, I was able to create 2 more chances. One for Pinoe and one for Alex but both failed to capitalize their chances but my goal a bit earlier was enough to give us the win.
The whistle of the referee sounded like music to my ears. It was a hard fought game but one we managed to win, thanks to my assist and goal. I did what Vlatko asked. I hunched over, leaning on my knees. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath and exhaled.
"You had to be amazing didn't you?" I suddenly felt a hand on my back and the unmistakable voice of none other then Magdalena Eriksson.
"Hello to you too." I chuckled and stood up properly so I could look at her.
"Hey, I've missed you." Magda wrapped her arms around me and pulled me in a hug. All the nerves and tension that was cruising through my veins, immediately left my body. The defender had that effect. A calming presence.
"Missed you too Magda." I tightened the grip in the hug and leaned into her more. "How have you been? How's Pernille?"
"Good. We're both good." Magda slowly let go of the hug and looked at me with a smirk on her lips. "Although, facing Arsenal isn't the same anymore." She wiggled her eyebrows at me.
"I bet it isn't." I rolled my eyes and gently pushed her.
"Don't worry about it. Today you reminded me again why I was relieved when I heard you were moving to Spain." The blonde laughed, causing me to scoff. "Geez thanks."
"Not want I meant." Magda chuckled. "I miss you off the field but I don't miss playing against you." She explained her previous comment and placed her hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
A small smile appeared on my lips, thinking about all the battles we fought back when I still played for Arsenal. Playing against her was far from easy. "Same goes for you though." I winked at her.
"How is it going in Spain?" The blonde curiously eyed me up and down.
"Great. We're top of the league right now. I think I adapted well. The team is lovely. They helped me out a lot in the beginning and the weather is great so I can't complain." I simply shrugged my shoulders and the last bit had Magda daydreaming.
"God, the weather alone would convince me." She stared off into the distance. London wasn't particularly known for its magnificent weather and in Barcelona it couldn't be better.
"I can always talk you and Pernille up to the coach. Not that you two need that. " I wiggled my eyebrow at the blonde but all she did was laugh.
"Ha, no thank you. I'm a blue. I'm sticking with Chelsea for a while." She ruffled my hair a bit which earned her a hard glare.
"Fair enough." I swatted her hands away and tried to fix my hair a bit.
"Swap shirts?" She asked me out of the blue, holding up the hem of her shirt.
"Of course." I immediately took off mine and handed it to her. Magda did the same and I immediately put on the shirt.
Magda couldn't contain her laughter when she saw me in her shirt. "Looks good on you." She smirked but I simply scoffed. "Shut up." The defender held up her hands laughing and pulled my shirt over her head and then looked around, spotting someone in the field.
"Oh hey, there is someone I would like you to meet." Magda jogged up to someone that was approaching us either way and dragged her over to where I was still standing.
"Ellie, this is Fridolina Rolfo. Frido this is -'' Magda started to introduce us but it wasn't that necessary because I already knew who she was and apparently she knew who I was too, interrupting Magda.
"Eleanore Queen. Yeah I know. It's nice to meet you." She lightly shoved Magda out of the way and held out her hand for me to shake.
"Likewise. Great game by the way." I took her hand in mine to shake and gave her a small smile.
"You were great as always." Frido enthusiastically said and that was the perfect set up for Magda to tease the other Sweed.
"Frido here is a bit of a fan." She smirked and threw her arm around the tall blonde's shoulder but it did not have the effect she had hoped for. It wasn't Frido who blushed at the comment but me and that made Magda smirk even more.
"God, you're so easy to fluster." She let go of Frido's shoulder and gently pushed me, laughing.
"Oh see how cute you look when you blush." Frido joined forces with Magda and even went so far as to pinch my cheek.
"Shut up." I swatted her hands away with a laugh but got interrupted by my team who were signaling for me to wrap it up and some of the Swedish staff did the same for Magda and Frido.
"Anyway it was nice meeting you and catching up with you." I pointed at the two of them and gave them a quick hug.
"Likewise." Frido smiled and was already on her way over to her other teammates. Magda hung around a bit longer.
"Take care of yourself, yeah?" She looked at me but unlike a few seconds ago, her playful demeanor had changed into a more serious one, maybe with a hint of worry?
"Always." I hummed, giving her a quick hug in the process.
"That's why I ask." She chuckled and let me go.
We both went our separate ways but before she was completely gone, she stopped and yelled my name. I spun around and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Are you happy in Barcelona?" She asked me again in all seriousness.
"I am." I smiled and that was all that needed to be said to make that smile reappear on her face again.
"I'm glad to hear that." She winked and with that she walked over to her teammates.
I did the same. The whole team stood together and Vlatko was positioned in the middle. They were apparently waiting on me. "Nice of you to join us." Vlatko told me with a stern look before addressing the group again.
He gave a small speech, telling us what we already did good or what needed to be better. Much to my relief, he didn't mention me. After a few minutes we were free to go.
Together with my teammates, we went around the stadium and greeted the fans. We even made some time to sign some things and to take photos. I was in the midst of signing a shirt when suddenly I heard a familiar voice.
"They should call you La Reina instead of my sister." The familiar voice joked and my head whipped around in the direction of said source.
To my biggest surprise it was the youngest Putellas sister. She stood there with the biggest smirk on her face, loving the fact that I was utterly surprised by her appearance. As a true USA fan, she was waving around a small flag. It was a funny sight to watch.
"Alba?!"
"Surprise hermana!" She held out her arms, inviting me for a hug. I wasted no time in accepting the offer. The moment I was close enough, she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me closer to her.
"What are you doing here?" I mumbled into her shoulder, desperately holding on to her because the railing in between us made it hard to reach her.
"Supporting you of course." She said when she let go of me. I slowly let myself down from the railing and once I was safe and sound with my two feet on the ground I looked up at the youngest Putellas.
"You're crazy." I chuckled and shook my head at the girl who was smiling from ear to ear. Clearly she agreed but she was proud of it.
"What?" She shrugged her shoulders. "I had a week off and was planning a vacation. I like LA and you're playing here twice so I thought why not."
"You simply booked a flight to the States?" I laughed at her in disbelief. Of course Alba was crazy and impulsive enough to do such a thing.
"Yes. Well not alone. I'm here with friends but they're out right now." She said and that made my eyes go wide.
"You're here alone?!" I asked surprised. It's not that Alba couldn't handle herself. I'm pretty sure I should be more worried about the person who would annoy her but still I couldn't help but be worried.
"I can handle myself, don't worry." It was like she could read my mind but then I wondered about something else.
"Does Alexia know?" I narrowed my eyes at her and she seemed surprised by my question.
"That I'm here?" She pointed to where she was standing, all confused. I simply nodded to answer her question. "No, she doesn't. I don't need her approval Ellie. Again, I can go if you want me too." This time she was smirking and pointed behind her to prove her point.
"No!" I said a bit too loud and held out my hands. "I'm glad you're here." This made the younger girl smile.
"I'm glad I'm here too." She hummed. "That was a really good game, hermana." The compliment made me blush which only made her laugh harder.
"Thanks." I mumbled but that was when I saw her shirt. "The stars and stripes suit you." I pointed at her shirt with a smirk. Alba immediately defended herself. "Hell no! I'm all for Spain. I'll only wear an USA jersey with your name on my back."
"That's your sister's line." I smirked, proud of my comeback. Alba's face immediately turned into disgust. "Gross."
"How did you get that jersey anyway?" I laughed at the face she was making until my eye fell on the small writing right under the crest. "Hold on, that's mine." I accusingly pointed at the jersey Alba was wearing.
"No it isn't." Alba instantly said but it was a total lie. She looked like a little child that had been caught stealing a cookie.
"Yes it is! I wore that during the game against Spain at the world cup." I laughed and tried to climb the railing again to get a better look of it but Alba took a step back.
"No you didn't." And she crossed her arms over the shirt so I couldn't see it.
"Alba, it says so right there." I tried to point it out on the shirt but Alba swatted my hands away. "I swapped that shirt with Ale." I deadpanned. There was no way that I wouldn't remember. I had a massive crush on her back then and therefore I remember every interaction I had with her.
'Yes. Fine." She sighed out, giving in. "You did. Now this will be our secret." She narrowed her eyes at me, trying to swear me to secrecy.
"Why?" I asked confused.
"Because Alexia would kill me if she knew I took it. Nobody is allowed to touch that shirt." Alba said in a matter of fact tone. Like it was obvious but I didn't understand or see the magnificentness of the jersey. "Why?"
"It's her prized possession. Not even me or Mapi are allowed to touch it." She said in the exact same tone as before.
"But yet you thought it was a good idea to steal it." I smirked at the girl, who simply shrugged and then smirked. "It was for a good cause."
"She is going to kill you." I laughed but Alba didn't see the fun in it. "See, now I regret jumping on a plane to come see you play." She deadpanned and when I tried to pat her shoulder, she pushed my hand away.
"AH! I knew it. You came specifically for me!" I yelled out and even did a small dance.
"Oh, shut up." She rolled her eyes but that only made me laugh harder. When I finally stopped, I looked at her again. "How long are you here for?"
"A few more days till your last game. The day after I'm going home." She said, doing the math in her head and that gave me an idea.
"Booked your ticket yet?" I curiously asked her.
"Yeah why?" She looked at me confused now.
"Text me the details. I'll forward them to the federation and ask for the same flight." I explained my idea further and Alba seemed to like it. "Sure." She excitedly agreed.
"What are your plans tomorrow?" I asked the younger girl.
"I don't have any." She shrugged.
"Wanna hang out?" I asked excitedly. This took her by surprise. You could clearly read that off her face. "Can you do that?" She raised an eyebrow expectedly and I immediately nodded.
"Sure. We're free in the afternoon so if you want to we can hangout then." A huge smile spread across my face and Alba mimicked my facial features.
"Alright, it's date." She winked. At this I couldn't help but grimace. "Don't make it weird." I scoffed at the girl who simply smirked at me.
In the corner of my eye, I saw Pinoe walking over to us. That's when I knew I had to say goodbye to Alba for now. Vlatko would probably want to do some kind of speech or maybe I was needed for some media stuff.
"Hey, I got to go. I'll text you later." I looked at her and even though we had just agreed to meeting up tomorrow, it came out more like a question instead of a statement.
"See you tomorrow hermana." Alba agreed and gestured for me to come up again so she could pull me in for one last hug.
Sonnett's pov
"What are you looking at?" Lindsay asked when she walked up right next to me. She tried to decipher where I was looking but with little success.
"Better yet, who are you staring at?" Rose, who was right behind Lindsay, smirked.
"Who is Queenie talking to?" I asked the duo without looking away from Ellie and the mystery girl.
It wasn't hard to notice a certain change in the midfielder's behavior. Since the last camp she seemed a lot lighter. She smiled more and looked happier than before. It was a nice change to witness and I was convinced it was because of someone. It had to be.
"A fan?" Lindsay spotted Queenie near the side of the field as well, talking to the girl but unlike me she wasn't as interested.
"That's not a fan." I scoffed, briefly looking at the blonde and then focused back on our number 7. "She's been talking with her for the last ten minutes."
"So?" Lindsay's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. The girl clearly didn't understand my fascination with the two who were chatting away a bit down the field.
"So?! She knows her." I finally tore my eyes away from the two and looked at my teammates.
"Sonney, Ellie is from LA. She probably does know people here." Rose Laughed at my persistence but I was not having it. "Maybe but she's hot." I mumbled and looked back at the two. It was more than knowing each other, I was sure of it.
"Okay, I'm missing the point here." Rose deadpanned, staring at the two but just like Lindsay, she didn't get my fascination either.
"Look at them hugging, Rosie!" I held out my hand and pointed at them before Lindsay placed her hand on my arm and pulled it down, shaking her head in disapproval. "That's not just knowing someone." I scoffed, ignoring the blonde.
"What?" Lindsay looked at me skeptically after she had pushed my arm down. "You're implying that she's dating that girl?" She asked, trying to follow my train of thoughts.
"Might be. They do look close and the girl looks Spanish." Rose shrugged her shoulders and turned around again to watch the girl next to Queenie more closely again.
"She looks kind of familiar though." I looked at them as well. Something about the girl seemed familiar, like I had seen her before.
While eventually I had convinced Rose, Lindsay was still far from convinced. Okay, granted, she too had noticed the change in her behavior but unlike me she was okay with not knowing. Although deep down she was curious. Very curious.
"Okay, I'm gonna go shower and not get involved with this." Lindsay spun around and tried to walk away, hoping it wasn't too late yet to do so but of course, I had other plans.
"Wait!" I yelled after her and I could hear her groan.
"Too late." Rose snickered from beside her, earning a glare from the blonde.
"We need to find out who she is." I crossed my arms over my chest and took a serious pose, hoping to be sort of intimidating. Clearly it wasn't working.
"And how are you gonna do that?" Lindsay challenged me with a raised eyebrow, mimicking my stance.
"Don't know yet but by the end of this camp WE will know." I pointed between the three of us with a proud smile on my lips. Rosie was instantly sold but the same couldn't be told about Lindsay.
"Great." She mumbled and watched me and Rose walk towards the tunnels. She wasn't really looking forward to getting involved into a Sonnett master plan but secretly she hoped for answers.