"Alright, Y/N?" Steph offered a small smile as you entered the noisy changing room, never one to forget her manners.
"Yeah," you smiled back forcefully. "You?"
"Good, ready for training?"
"Yeah."
You silently changed into your training kit, glancing at the dull gray door that your teammates filtered in and out off.
"Y/N?" Kim's hand was on your shoulder, snapping you back to reality as the last of your teammates exited the room. "Are ye' ready? We've got to head out."
"Of course," you dusted your hands off on your joggers, standing up. "Sorry about that."
The skipper fell into step with you as you began shuffling towards the pitch. "Jonas wants to see you after trainin', by the way."
"Okay. Thanks."
------------------
"Fuck." you hissed, staggering to your feet as Leah sprinted away with the ball after a rough tackle. Most of the girls liked to make things challenging for you, claiming that it was "to make you a better player".
The minority of players, specifically your fellow midfielders, disagreed with the forwards and defenders and believed that they pushed you too hard.
"Hey, mate, you alright?" Kyra held out her hand, hoisting you up with an unusual look of concern on her face. "Looked like a nasty fall."
"I'm fine, thanks," you mumbled, jogging back into position as Jonas watched on. "Let's get back to it."
Not even a minute later, you were back down on the ground again, this time clutching the shoulder that you'd awkwardly fallen on after a terrible mid-air collision with Amanda. "Fuckin' hell—"
"Oh, get up, you baby," Caitlin grumbled, giving you the stink-eye as she strutted past. "You didn't even get hit hard."
"Woah, Y/N," Vic was instantly by your side, waving over the medics out of caution. "You okay?"
You waved off the medics, standing up with little difficulty. "Fine, fine. Keep going."
Jonas shook his head from the sideline. He hadn't been sure at first, but now he was certain that this decision would be best for you.
---------------------
"You wanted to see me, Jonas?" Your tired half-smile did not go unnoticed by your manager.
"Yes. I wanted to discuss something with you," he sat up a little straighter, happy expression turning serious. "You're not happy here. I can tell. I can see it on your face, I can hear it in your voice, I can see it in the way you play. Arsenal isn't what's best for you, and that's okay. I've come to an agreement with Bayern, actually. They want to sign you on the next transfer window."
A real smile appeared on your face for the first time in a while. You'd always been close with Magda and Pernille, and having them leave the country had been hard for all three of you. Getting a chance to reunite with them would surely help your current internal crisis.
"I— I think I'd like that," your voice was barely above a whisper, shaking ever-so-slightly. "Thank you, Jonas."
He reached out to shake your hand kindly. "I always have my players' best interest in mind, Y/N. And I'm sorry that some of your teammates haven't been treating you the best."
"You knew?"
"Of course I knew. I had a talk with most of them, tried to get them to cut it back even if they didn't like you for whatever reason. It didn't really work, so I had Kim yell at them. That worked."
You laughed softly. "Thank you, Jonas. I really appreciate it."
"Of course, Y/N. Good luck in the Bundesliga."
-------------------
2 weeks later, you stood at the front of the meeting room with a grin on your face that none of the midfielders or vets could ever remember seeing.
"Is she okay?" Lia asked, turning to Beth worriedly.
The forward nodded uncertainly. "I hope so. Poor girl's had it rough."
"Girls!" Kim shouted, gaining everyone's attention. "Quiet down."
It was then the girls began to take notice of Jonas slipping into the seat at at the head of the table to your left, a sad but understanding look on his face.
"I'm going to Bayern," you said bluntly, causing many of the gunners' eyes to widen in surprise. "As soon as the transfer window opens, I'm off to Germany."
You received many mixed reactions, some positive, and some negative.
Steph, Beth, and Viv looked saddened, each getting up to pat you on the back.
"Good luck, Y/N," Steph reached you first, pulling you into a hug. "I'm sorry you haven't had the best time here, but I hope you'll find your place among the team at Bayern."
Beth was next, squeezing you tightly as she whispered into your ear. "Show them how great you are, Y/N. Viv and I will be watching."
Viv was last, pulling you into an awkward but sweet embrace. "Promise me you'll still call, liefje. We'll miss you."
You patted her on the back. "Of course, Viv. Every Sunday."
On the other hand, Leah, Caitlin, Katie, and Laia were furious.
"Really? After everything we've done for you?" Leah's jaw was clenched, expression stormy as she glared at you. "You just up and leave to go to Germany?"
"Leah, no," Beth tried as you subconsciously hunched over. "Don't."
The England captain's expression became less hostile when she turned her gaze to Beth. "You know I'm right."
Jonas' eye twitched.
"Honestly, I knew she was a coward," Laia scoffed. "No surprise the WSL's too scary for her. Bayern'll drop her within a month."
Jonas remained still beside you.
"Girls," Kim's voice was even sterner than usual as her hand found its way to the small of your back. "Enough."
"Maybe she'll head to a grassroots team after," Katie suggested. "Go back to basics."
"Girls!" Kim barked, her typically calm demeanor gone in favor of anger. "Quiet down or I will not hesitate to have ye' benched! We don't treat teammates this way!"
Caitlin clearly didn't get the hint, muttering, "she doesn't count. She's not on this team anymore, she's going to Bayern."
Kim snapped.
"Caitlin Jade Foord!" she yelled, fists clenched at her sides as she struggled to keep her emotions under control. "Ye' will not be playin' for at least a month, ye' hear me? If it was up to me, I'd have ye' dropped from this damn roster!"
Caitlin shrunk, silently sulking after being berated by the Scottish midfielder.
"Good luck in Bayern, Y/L/N," Katie sneered, standing up. "You'll need it."
You stared back coldly, straightening your posture. "I won't need it. I already know most of the girls there. They don't hate me for no reason. Trust me, if Magda and Pernille knew how much of a bitch some of you guys can be, you would not be alive right now."
"Yes, ye' will." Katie insisted.
"I don't recall asking," you responded. "And I just want to know: how much pain do I need to go through before you're all happy?"
Katie looked taken aback. "I— wait. Y/N, I never meant to—"
"Whatever," Laia scoffed. "At least we don't hide behind our mummies when things get a tiny bit tough."
"ENOUGH!" Jonas roared, slamming his fist into the table in front of him. The sharp, sudden sound caused everyone to snap their mouths shut in fear. "I HAVE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH ALL OF YOUR CONSTANT SHIT! SINCE WHEN IS IT OKAY TO TREAT SOMEONE LIKE THIS?"
Katie, Leah, Laia, Caitlin, and a few others squirmed underneath everyone else's gazes.
"You clearly need to rethink the way you treat your teammates," Jonas' voice shook with anger. "You're all benched unless we're playing a fixture. Do you hear me? Until you get your shit together, you will not play unless absolutely necessary."
The room was dead silent.
"Apologize to Y/N. Now."
When the girls in question hesitated, Jonas' nostrils flared. "NOW!"
They scrambled to their feet, walking over in a messy single-file line.
"I'm sorry for— for being so rude," Caitlin stuttered, mind clearly not working as fast as it needed to in that moment. "I hope that... that you can forgive me and that we can... move on?"
You didn't miss a beat. "I suppose."
Leah went next, blabbering some nonsense about how she'd work on her morals and sympathy. She, like many of the other girls that walked over to apologize, did not have a clue what they were saying.
"Y/N Y/L/N," Katie grimaced as she forced herself to make eye-contact with you. "I've got a lot to say to ye'. First off, I've treated ye' awfully. I don't even know why. It's just— I dunno what's happened to me. Second, I dunno what the hell has happened to all of us. Never have we been so rough to a teammate in the pitch. Never. I'm sorry it's happened this way. Third, I did not mean a word I said earlier. I was angry, I dunno why. I like ye', Y/N. Yer' a fighter. Yer' tough. No one else in this room could have withstood such awful attitudes for so long. I hope ye' can forgive us at some point, and I hope ye' do well in Germany. Good luck. We'll be watchin'."
You were surprised, to say the least. Of all the people that had apologized, Katie's had been the most sincere. She'd backtracked immediately, taking Jonas' criticism and words to heart and genuinely attempting to make amends. "It's alright, Katie. I hope we can move on now."
She nodded at you apologetically, moving to take her seat. "I'd like to."
"Thank you all," you stood from your seat, making a move for the door. "Those of you that have been nothing but nice to me, thank you. For everything. You know who you are. Those that haven't, you need to do some serious self-evaluating. You're going to miss out on some good friendships in the future if you keep acting the way you've been. And Jonas..."
You smiled at the Swede, gladly accepting his hug. "Thank you for always having my best interests at heart. It means a lot. I don't know if I've ever had a better boss, and I don't think I'll ever have a better one in the future."
He smiled back. "Good luck at Bayern, Y/N. Go and show the gunners what they've been missing."