Chapter 14 - A Fateful Football Game
published: Sunday, 7 October 2018
NOTICE: This chapter was requested by its_pronounced_trash . Apologies for the massive delay. Thank you so much for your supportive comments, and I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations!
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"Are we there yet?" Hazel asked for the fifth time.
Frank snorted unattractively as he opened his eyes sleepily. He sighed internally. This was the sixth time Hazel had asked the exact same question and woken him up from a peaceful sleep.
Nico, who was sitting on Hazel's left, groaned. "You're like one of those annoying children who just never shut up."
"Sorry, I'm just excited," Hazel told him, her voice cheerful with anticipation. "I've never been to Europe! Planes weren't that common when I was alive the first time."
"You went to China with me last year," Frank reminded her.
"Yeah, but this is Europe!" Hazel emphasised. "And it's London!"
"None of us have been to Europe either," came Will's voice from the seat behind Hazel. He was currently kind of in an awkward position - the girl on his right had her head on his shoulder.
Normally, Nico would've been annoyed, but he found Will's discomfort hilarious.
"I have," Nico reminded him. "I accidentally shadow-travelled there on the way back from China."
"Is it nice?" Hazel asked.
Nico shrugged. "I don't really remember considering I passed out on the street when I arrived."
"I can't wait!" Hazel said again with a large smile. "There're so many things I'll get to see. There's Baker Street, where Sherlock Holmes takes place. And of course, Buckingham and Windsor Palace. The beefeaters, and all the telephone boxes-"
"And the soccer stadium," Frank added happily. It was the main reason why they were going to London in the first place. After seeing a soccer game between Premier League teams Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur's last year, Frank has become a strong supporter of Arsenal. They were heading to London to watch one of Arsenal's home matches at their stadium.
"The Brits call it 'football'," Nico reminded him. "And I've heard that they get pretty annoyed when people call it 'soccer'."
"Then let's call it 'football'," Hazel reasoned. "I don't like either sport so it makes no difference to me."
The rest of the plane flight was uneventful, other than the girl sitting beside Will sliding her phone number into his palm when they reached baggage claim.
"HE'S GAY!" Nico shouted after her.
Will clamped a hand over his mouth in alarm. "Let's go," he said hurriedly, the other passengers giving them strange looks.
Frank had been very organised this trip, even though the fees had been expensive. Working as a fireman did not pay the highest wage, but he and Will - who was still in medical college - teamed up to earn enough. Will worked part-time at a clinic as an on-call doctor/nurse during his free hours, which paid pretty well for a 21-year-old.
"I've already booked us a car," Frank said proudly, beckoning them towards the man holding a sign that read 'Mr Zhang'.
The cab driver took them to the hotel - the Principal London - which was in Central London and close to all the famous sights.
Hazel found the British accent the most curious thing ever, and Frank pulled her away in embarrassment every time she asked a random stranger on the street a question just to hear their voices. Fortunately, the Londoners were very friendly.
The four demigods had two rooms booked at the hotel, which meant a very red Nico as he and Will entered their room. They met up in Hazel and Frank's room to have room service dinner.
Since they would only be in London from Monday to Thursday, and Monday had been the day of arrival, there were 3 days to stuff all the famous attractions into their schedule.
The first stop was the Fashion and Textile Museum, and 22 minute drive by black cab.
Will and Frank were less interested in this, but Nicks and Hazel wandered around the building in quiet laughter as they spotted all the crazy trends they had missed.
Once they got to the "Fashion Through The Year" exhibition, where fashion trends from each decade were displayed, Hazel nudged Nico in the side and pointed to a ridiculous flapper-style dress in the corner. "I wore that."
Nico gestured to the fishnet stockings under the flapper dress. "You wore those? What's the point of tights if they're so exposed?"
Hazel rolled her eyes. "They're called fishnet stockings, Nico. And for the record, I never wore those."
"Just imagine the tan lines."
Hazel's snort of laughter was quickly covered by a cough as she doubled over with effort.
Their next stop was Buckingham Palace, then a shopping spree at Harold's, followed by a peaceful picnic at Hyde Park.
The palace was so shiny that Hazel nearly collapsed from the sheer amount of precious metals surrounding her.
"She's just hungry," Frank said lamely to a suspicious security guard as he frantically fanned a pale Hazel.
Harold's was a whole other story. Will practically had to drag his boyfriend away from the kid's section.
"I wasn't looking at the Lego," Nico denied insistently. "I was trying to see how much the price of the Death Castle was."
Will snorted. "Yeah, right. You almost cried tears of joy when you saw the little Lego version of the Underworld."
When Nico was ogling another set of Lego, Will quickly brought a small packet over to the counter and paid for it, before stuffing it into his back pocket.
Harold's had an amazing selection of hams and cheeses, so Frank bought a few of the items on sale for their picnic.
It was only a 5 minute walk to Hyde Park from Harold's and the four of them soon arrived at the famous park.
"Oh, it's beautiful," Hazel exclaimed the second it cane into view. There were the greenest trees everywhere, providing shade amongst exquisite flowers. There was a small pond further into the park, and there were people lounging around the park on blankets, chatting and snacking.
"Let's sit here," Nico huffed. He had lost a game of 'rock, paper, scissors' and was appointed the official basket-carrier. He hoisted the heavy basket and dropped it underneath a willowy tree with a pant.
"Do we really want to be in front of a forest?" Frank asked warily, glancing behind. They were seated in a more isolated part of the park, in front of a lush bunch of trees. He wasn't overly fond of snakes.
"It's fine," Hazel told him dismissively. "It's London, there aren't any wild animals."
Looking back, it probably hadn't been the best idea to say that.
They basked in the sunlight and cool breeze of London, talking about their lives in New York.
"How's college in New Rome?" Will asked Hazel.
Hazel shrugged. "Pretty good, I guess. I mean, the DSTOMP was pretty difficult to pass, but my SATs weren't bad, so I could get in. I wasn't sure what to do, so I ended up majoring in Psychology."
"Do you want to be a therapist?"
"I'm not too sure if I want to work in the mortal world or New Rome. But I guess, since all my friends are in New York, I'll probably find a job there too," Hazel decided.
A sudden crackle in the trees behind them caught their attention.
Nico had leaped into a crouching attack stance. His eyes flickered as he tried to see inside the forest.
Will had a hand on Nico's arm, holding him back from launching himself straight into the forest.
"What was that?" Hazel whispered fearfully. Her hand was instinctively at her waist, though shed left her sword in America. "Do they have monsters in England?"
Frank swallowed. "Only one way to find out." He glanced behind them, where the few mortals were paying little attention to them.
Nico quickly summoned a skeletal sword and started inching into the forest, Will following at his heel. Frank grabbed Hazel's hand as they plunged into the grove.
"Something big," Will noted quietly as he noticed the vast imprints and cracked twigs in the soil.
Everything happened at once. The creature burst through, knocking down trees in his rampage. One of its claws swiped forward and smacked Nico out of the way. A deafening roar forced Hazel to wince.
She stumbled backwards in a hurry. It was a monster like nothing she'd ever seen before - sort of like a T. Rex, but with the horn of a rhinoceros on its head, and long spikes running down its body and along the tail.
Frank choked out a gasp, frozen in his spot by the monster's menacing stare.
"Frank!" Will body-slammed him out of the way, the monster's claws just missing them by a hair's breadth.
Hazel didn't know what to do - she didn't have a weapon - but she scrambled over to her brother, who was struggling to recover from the hit.
"I'm fine," he insisted when he saw her concerned look. Nico had three large gashes down the front of his shirt, and blood was already staining the fabric.
Hazel wanted to say more, but he pointed over her shoulder, and they turned to see the monster hurtling towards them.
She raised her hands, and all the precious metals in the ground erupted onto the surface, creating a pile blocking it.
"No weapons!" Hazel shouted as she sprinted away from the monster, hauling Nico alongside her. The most she'd managed to summon were some discarded coins and hidden gemstones.
"Cover your ears!" Will called out and the three of them immediately followed. He held two fingers to his mouth and whistled sharply. The ultrasonic whistle made the monster bray in pain and slowed it down for a second. But then it shakes it off and started galloping towards Hazel.
Frank leaped up into the air, transforming into a large bear, and landed on the monster's side. The monster howled as it was pulled to the ground by Frank's weight. Frank the bear growled and promptly morphed into a lion before attacking the monster with its jaw.
Hazel continued pulling metal to the surface. "What is it?"
"The Odontotyrannos!" Nico shouted, slashing wildly at the monster's scales.
"How the heck did you know?"
"It's a Mythomagic card," Will guessed, making Nico blush.
"A little help!" Frank yelled as he went back into human form mid-transformation before his hands shrivelled into claws and his skin turned to scales. He was a dragon, and Frank took to the sky, swopping in for swipes and parries.
"Don't breathe, Frank!" Hazel shrieked. "You'll set the forest on fire and we don't have any water!"
At her side, she was vaguely aware of Nico pulling skeletons out of the ground.
He pointed to the Odontotyrannos, and the skeletons charged it.
The monster had started to lose interest in Frank, and was starting to make its way towards Will, whose whistles had attracted its attention.
Will staggered backwards as the creature waded towards him. "I'm a doctor! I'm not made for this!"
Hazel was about to lose hope when she felt the presence of a sword. An steel sword, probably left behind by English soldiers. It wasn't a Blessed Metal, but it was the best there was.
Hazel started running towards the monster, picking up the sword on her way as she waved her arms at Frank. He seemed to understand her intentions because he slowly descended until he was nearly at ground level. Hazel teased her leg muscles and jumped into the air, landing on Frank's back as he zipped back into the sky.
Hazel surveyed the battle. The skeletons were hacking at the monster, but they were only angering it.
As Frank flew straight at the monster, Hazel lowered her sword and sliced off the top two horns on the Odontotyrannos' head. She barely made a dent in it.
Annoyed, Hazel threw away the sword. Mortal weapons were essentially useless against monsters. The only thing that could beat a monster were Blessed Metals, or a demigod as powerful as itself.
That gave Hazel an idea. She frantically rapped on Frank's wing, and he lowered her to the ground, changing back into a human.
"Frank!" Hazel rushed to his side as he tumbled to the ground in exhaustion. "You need to change into it! It's the only way you can win!"
He looked at her strangely. "What?"
Hazel repeated her words impatiently. The monster was getting closer to Will, and Nico was trying to injure it from the back.
Frank thought for a moment. "That might work." He struggled to his feet with Hazel's help, and started to run forward at a steady pace.
Slowly, slowly, he began to change. First, Frank's legs grew longer and wider, sinew and muscle rippling, and then green scales enveloping his calves. His nose flattened into his face and his mouth fused into a straight line while his eyes narrowed into beady pupils. Green scales covered his arms as his fingers started to elongate.
Hazel let out an astonished gasp as the change was completed. Even Nico stopped in his tracks in awe.
Frank the Odontotyrannos roared, and charged a very confuse other Odontotyrannos. He rammed his horn straight through the monster's chest, forcing the flailing creature back. His claws swiped at the Odontotyrannos' scales, ripping them off and damaging the flesh underneath. The Odontotyrannos reared back with an agonising whine, and Frank took the Opportunity to ram his horn into the monster's head again.
One last snarl, and the monster burst into dust. The second Odontotyrannos shrunk fastidiously until it was just Frank lying on the ground in a gaunt heap.
"Frank!" Hazel leaped to her feet and hurried to his side. She knelt down by his head and felt his forehead. "Gods, he's burning up." She could feel his heart beating against her leg.
"He's overexerted himself," Will explained as he approached them. He glanced at Nico, who was parler than usual and slowly walking towards them. "Both of them have. There's ambrosia back at the hotel, so we should get back as quickly as possible."
Hazel picked bronze dust out of her hair. "We can't get in a cab like this."
"We'll shadow-travel," Nico said, staggering towards them.
"No," Will said immediately. "Absolutely not."
Nico scowled. "I have enough strength left for one jump. Besides, you can't treat Frank without ambrosia."
Will hesitated. Hazel could tell that he was fighting the urge to protect Nico.
"I'll help you." Hazel dusted herself off and stood up. "Like in the House of Hades."
Nico shot Will a triumphant look, and linked hands with his sister. Will begrudgingly slid his hand into Nico's, and Hazel wrapped her free arm around Frank.
Nico stepped into the shadow of a tree, and they were thrown into inky darkness. Hazel squeezed her eyes shut as winds tore past her face, the chilling feeling in her spine that always came with shadow-travel making her tighten her grip on Frank.
As suddenly as it had disappeared, the ground suddenly hit the soles of Hazel's feet, and she fell down in the unbalance.
They were back in the hotel room. Frank was groaning on the floor, semi-conscious, while Will hurried to get the ambrosia from his bag.
"Nico?" Hazel voiced, noticing her brother swaying from side to side, his face paler than usual.
Nico glanced at her right before his eyes rolled up and he collapsed to the floor with a loud thump. Hazel yelped and scurried to his side. His pulse was fluttering weakly, but Hazel wrinkled her nose at the smell. He'd downplayed the extent of his injury, and blood was rapidly sleeping through the gashes on his torso.
Will muttered something about Nico not listening, but quickly started working his healing magic. Hazel sat at the side, watching as Frank slowly regained consciousness and colour returning to Nico's cheeks.
The four of them spent the rest of the evening in the hotel. They decided to laze around in pyjamas and eat room service since the monster attack at ultimately tired them out.
"That was...fun," Frank said at last.
Nico snorted. "You and I have very different definitions of 'fun'."
Will nudged him in the side. "Don't be so pessimistic. I got something for you." He reached into his back pocket and tossed something to Nico.
Nico reaches out and promptly caught it in his hands. He turned over the black packet and scanned the label. "Mythomagic, Greek Gods Deck."
Hazel hid her sniggers behind a cough and discreetly high-fived Will behind her back. He was grinning madly at his boyfriend.
Nico blushed furiously. "Uh, thanks, Will."
Will winked at him.
Frank shuffled over and read the back of the packet. "Oh! They've added more attack power to Zeus. I never understood why Athena was so low down in attack though."
"She's more strategic and behind-the-scenes than straight-on fighting," Nico suggested.
They ended up playing Mythomagic for the rest of the day.
The next morning - Wednesday - marked their visit to the Sherlock Holmes Museum, and Madame Tussauds along the way.
"It's so lifelike," Hazel said with a shiver. The wax figure of the Queen of England was placed sitting down in a tea party. The three demigods arabes themselves around the table and snapped a picture with the Queen.
Next up was the section of celebrities.
"Who is that?" Frank whispered, ogling one of the statues.
Will followed his gaze. "Oh, that's Kim Kardashian."
Hazel frowned. "I've heard of her."
"Everyone has," Will murmured.
"Is that Kanye West next to her?" Frank asked, recognising him.
Will nodded.
"Who knew you were the gossip magazine expert?" Hazel teased.
Will blushed. "It's just 'cause-well, Drew used to go on and on about celebrities when she talked to me."
Nico hid a snicker. It was hilarious, watching Drew wink and bat her eyelashes at Will for months, and then Will finally kissing Nico at Camp, leaving her stricken and annoyed.
"Who's that?" Hazel asked, at every wax figure they passed.
Will pointed out David Beckham, Morgan Freeman, Eddie Redmayne and Benedict Cumberbatch to her.
"Beckham was a really famous soccer player," Frank told Hazel. He was already anticipating tomorrow's soccer game.
In the film section, Hazel got really excited when she saw Katniss Everdeen. She'd read the Hunger Games a few years ago, but Frank insisted she wait to watch the movies because they were too violent.
For the fashion part, Hazel linked arms with a sullen Nico and cheerfully led him down the catwalk, waving to the wax figure of Cara Delevingne.
They followed the corridor till they reached the Star Wars display.
Hazel and Frank snapped pictures in every location, grinning crazily. Hazel had watched Star Wars at one of their many Argo II réunions last year.
Right after Star Wars was the Sherlock Holmes experience. It was a live, walkthrough adventure, where they had to find the missing Sherlock Holmes.
Hazel took it way too seriously, but the others slowly got more involved in it too.
"No, the clue definitely means he's hiding," Will said, convinced.
Nico glared at him. "No, it means he's lost."
Will let out a frustrated sigh. "You're really pushing all my buttons."
"Sorry," Nico spat. "I'm still looking for mute."
"Okay, guys, calm down, this is meant to be fun," Hazel encouraged. It took them a while, but they were finally able to solve it.
Since that was the last attraction, Hazel immediately led them towards the Sherlock Holmes Museum, not too far away from the wax figures museum.
She jumped from one foot to another in excitement. Sherlock Holmes was the only thing from her previous life that she sill had. She remembered having only books to keep her company on nights where her mother worked late or just flat out refused to speak with her.
"It's 221B Baker Street, Frank!" Hazel whispered to him joyfully.
Frank isn't really know Sherlock Holmes, but he couldn't help smiling at her childlike happiness.
After scanning their tickets, they walked in slowly, and were led into the living room. There were papers scattered everywhere, and Victorian furniture cluttered the room.
Hazel gave the place a once-over before hurrying to the upstairs. What she really wanted to see was the bedrooms.
She passed by a large crowd in the kitchen, all bustling and shouting nonsense, but she ignored it and continued up.
Sherlock's bedroom has a large bed with silk bedsheets, and all sort of deduction materials on a desk.
"Guys, isn't this c-" Hazel cut herself off as she realised that she was alone. She must've left them behind when she came up.
Hazel headed out the door to find her friends, but she couldn't seem to get back to the staircase that had brought her up.
"Uh oh," she murmured to herself.
Just as she turned the next corner in search of the stairs, Hazel crashed headfirst into someone.
"Oh gods, I'm so sorry!" Hazel glanced up to see a middle-aged man, probably in his late 30s or early 40s. He was casually dressed in a white shirt - the buttons were practically straining to hold the shirt together - and grey trousers. He had cheekbones that gave his face a friendly expression, and eyes that seemed to change from green to grey under the light.
Hazel squinted at him for a moment. He looked slightly familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
He chuckled. "Oh, don't worry. We're all in a rush, these days." He had a strong British accent and a low voice.
Hazel stretched out a hand. "I'm Hazel."
He shook it with a friendly smile. "Call me 'Ben'. So, Hazel, are you lost?"
She nodded with a sheepish smile. "I'm a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, and I guess, I accidentally left my friends behind when I came to see the upstairs."
He nodded understandingly. "Oh yeah, I'm a big fan of Sherlock as well. Are you from America?"
"Yeah, Louisiana, actually."
"Oh, I have a friend from Lousiana; his name is Anthony."
Hazel shrugged sadly. "I doubt I'd know him. I haven't been back to Louisiana in...in a long time." She glanced up at him. "And you? Are you from London?"
Ben nodded. "I was born in Hammersmith, and I live in London now." He gestured for her to follow him. "Here, I'll show you where the stairs are." He glanced at her as they were walking down the stairs. "Do you watch a lot of telly?"
Hazel swallowed down a giggle when he said "telly". "Uh, no, not really. I'm not really in touch with technology."
Ben looked surprised. "Really? Aren't all teenagers tech-savvy? All you millennials?"
Hazel hid a laugh again. If only he knew that she was technically twice his age. "Yeah, not me, I guess."
Ty reached the landing off the steps, where Frank, Nico and Will were pacing around.
"Hazel!" Frank shouted in relief, racing over to her side.
Hazel opened her mouth to apologise, but the weirdest thing happened. Frank's eyes widened in astonishment, and he stopped in his tracks.
Will murmured, "Oh my gods."
Even Nico took a step back.
Hazel turned to see Ben behind her. He was scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Frank, what is it?" Hazel asked her boyfriend.
"That's...that's..." Frank stammered. "You're Benedict Cumberbatch."
Hazel turned to Ben in surprise. Now that she'd heard Frank, she recognised him from his wax figure in Madam Tussaud's. She remembered him clearly because it had taken up to ten minutes for Will to teach her how to pronounce his name.
Benedict grinned sheepishly.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Hazel asked.
He shrugged. "I don't really know. I guess it was refreshing to be a normal person for a while."
Hazel felt the sudden urge to give him a hug. She glanced back at the bustling kitchen. "Are they gathered here to see you?"
He nodded. "I mean, I love my fans and all. But some days, it's just so tiring."
"Agreed," Nico said.
Will looked at him. "I don't think he means every day, Nico."
"Oh."
"Let's take a picture!" Hazel exclaimed suddenly. Benedict grinned, happy to comply. The five of them gathered round and smiled brilliantly, the lady at the entrance helping them snap a picture.
"Well, we'd better get going to see the rest of the place," Frank said. "Um, catch you around?"
Benedict smiled. "Yeah, it was great to meet you. If you come back to London, just give me a call. I'd be happy to recommend places to visit." He pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to Hazel.
It had his phone number printed on it.
"Can I have your autograph?" Will asked in a small voice.
Benedict laughed, and pulled a marker out of his front pocket. He scribbled a signature on the back of the card and passed it to Will.
"Thank you."
They said their goodbyes and quickly parted ways, Will still muttering "oh my gods" under his breath.
The next morning was Thursday, their last day in London. The flight back to New York was the tomorrow morning, and they were pretty zonked out from all the sight-seeing.
The last thing left was the soccer game - or football game.
"Who's playing again?" Hazel asked Frank. They were queuing up outside the Emirates Stadium, at one of the entrances, to get in. Frank has already pre-bought their tickets online, and they had gotten pretty good seats.
"Arsenal and Manchester City," Frank told her. "City's top of the table, and are a shoo-in to win, but Arsenal are in second place, and I'm confident they can win." He was wearing his Arsenal jersey with the word 'Özil' printed on the back.
"I see a lot of Manchester City fans," Hazel remarked, noticing the throngs of people in pale blue jerseys. "It's a really nice jersey."
Frank wrinkled his nose. "It's not about he jersey. I hate City. They're all money, no history."
"Maybe they're just making history right now," Hazel suggested. "Since they're at the top of the table."
Frank opened his mouth before realising he had nothing to say.
They got in 15 minutes before the game started, so they headed down to get food. Nico and Hazel hauled the hot dogs and chips to Frank and Will, who were sitting down to save their seats.
Once they got comfortable, there were only a few minutes left before it started. The big screen suddenly changed from the display of players to a the screen from a camera frame.
A voice boomed from the speakers. "Before the game starts, Linda, someone has a very important question to ask you."
The camera zoomed in on a blonde woman and a man, in the stand opposite the demigods. The man was down on one knee, a ring box open in his palm. The screen broadcasted his proposal to the entire stadium.
Nico couldn't hear anything over the uproar of the crowd, but he saw the man's lips move as if he was asking a question. The woman squealed and pulled him into a kiss, and the screen shut off so that the camera could swivel back to the players entering the pitch.
The stadium erupted into cheers as the players in red shirts trooped out onto the pitch, waving and grinning at the screaming fans.
Nico glanced to his right to see Frank on his feet and cheering madly, his Arsenal scarf wrapped around his neck.
After the Arsenal players had all filed out, the commentator announced the Manchester City players, and they all jogged out in pale blue shirts.
Jeering and booing filled the stadium, and the only cheers came from the small section of City fans.
They scattered into their places across the pitch, and the referee blew the whistle, signalling the start of the match.
Nico wasn't much for sports, but he had to admit that soccer was probably the most interesting one he'd ever watched.
The aim of the game was to kick the ball into either goal at the end of the pitch, and whichever team had the most goals won the game.
There were 11 players on either team, including a goalkeeper. Some of them stayed near their goal to defend, while some of the other attackers sprinted up front.
"Is his name 'Jesus'?" Hazel shouted to Nico over the chanting crowd. She pointed to one of the players in blue.
Nico squinted. "I think it's pronounced Jesus."
"Hey Zeus?" Hazel repeatedly in confusion.
Her attention was quickly drawn away as Jesus made a shot for the goal, and it rebounded off of the crossbar. Hazel leaped to her feet, shouting and shaking her fists. "How could you miss that? It was an open goal! C'mon!"
Nico stares at her in fright. He'd never seen Hazel shout so angrily in the entire 6 years that he'd known her.
"I guess she's into sports," Will murmured to Nico, laughing to himself. He was sitting on Nico's right, while Hazel was on Nico's left.
After the 45 minute mark and 5 minutes of injury time, the first half of the match ended with 2-0, in City's favour.
"You're getting trashed!" Hazel crowed gleefully at her boyfriend, clasping her hands together.
Nico raised his eyebrows. "Are you a City fan now?"
Frank let out a snort of disgust. "I might have to break up with you."
Hazel sniffed disapprovingly. "Yes, I am, actually. I never knew soccer was so interesting!"
Frank sighed. "You've been misled. Arsenal is way better."
Hazel snorted incredulously. "Yeah, I can se that." She pointed to the scoreboard.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have some special things planned for this half time break!" It was the commentator again. The screen flashed to him standing next to a little boy. "Now, Jimmy, what do you predict the score will be?"
"Jimmy" was wearing a red Arsenal jersey. "I think it'll be 6-2!"
The commentator raised his eyebrows and looked into the camera again. "You hear that folks? This ones got faith!"
The screen then transitioned again into the camera. It was different this time, though. There were heart shaped decorating the frame, and the words 'Kiss Cam' were in cursive.
"Who is the lucky couple?" the commentator thundered.
The camera zoomed in on two people who were just minding their own business.
Nico squinted to see who it was. He nearly jumped out of his seat when he realised that he was staring right at his own face.
"Oh no," he heard Will mutter next to him.
The Kiss Cam was focused right on Nico and Hazel, who were seated next to each other.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" The crowd chanted.
Hazel waved her hands frantically. "He's my brother!" she tried to explain.
Nico shook his head rapidly, but their reluctance only made the crowd chant louder.
After a few more seconds, the Kiss Cam moves to another couple, drawing a resounding "aw" from the crowd.
But that was only a minute of peace, because after the couple kissed, the Kiss Cam went right back to Nico and Hazel.
"KISS! KISS! KISS!" Everyone shouted, clapping along to the rhythm.
Hazel blushed furiously, wanting nothing more than to bury herself in a hole and just shrivel up into dust.
"KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!"
Nico sighed. He was starting to get a headache from all the hollering. It only took a split second for him to make up his mind.
He stood up, making sure the camera captured his every move. Nico leaned over and kissed Will, pulling him in by the shirt.
Will froze for a few seconds. Then he kissed him back. Nico could feel him laughing against his mouth. He slid his hands into Will's hair, tugging at the blonde locks as they kissed in front of the world.
When Nico withdrew, a smug smile was plastered across his face. Will ducked to hide his flaming cheeks.
And the crowd went wild.