Leah's POV:
"GUYYYYSSSS!! Guess WHAT?!" Beth exclaims in front of the whole squad.
"This better be important Beth, I bet the whole block heard your scream." Kim says.
"Trust me Kimmy, what Beff has to say is worth the attention!" Daan comments. "It might or might not take some by surprise..."
"Really?! Have you finally convinced her to get a dog?" Katie says, half excited and half joking.
"I wish, but sadly not!" Daan replies.
"So what is it then? Soon someone is going to tell us that Leah and Jordan are dating... I mean, what's next?!" Jill suddenly says.
"Well Jillie, you're kinda right with that theory." Beth responds. "If they're not a thing already there's no doubt they'll be in the nearest future. Me and Daan overheard a cute little interaction between those two recently."
"Oh, what type of interaction?"
"Everyone remember the bus ride home from Manchester, right?" As all people in the room nods, Beth continues the story everyone is so desperate to hear about. "When Daan and I were supposed to leave the bus and go home, we heard Jord waking Leah up. It wasn't like all those times before, it's hard to explain, you can just feel it. Like they were being so soft with each other, said sweet things and were just unbelievably cute. I swear Leah and Jordan are -"
"You swear me and Jordan are what?!!" I question as soon as I hear someone mention us together in the same sentence. Me and Jordan just came back to the locker room after some extra practice on our own on the pitch after our training session ended.
No one said anything, it went dead silent as soon as I uttered a word. In the process I cut Beth off, which must've meant that we interrupted their friendly team chat.
"So what's the gossip girls?" Jordan lets out after a few seconds awkward silence. "Come on, don't be afraid to spill the tea."
"Yeah, it can't be that bad right? We're still a part of this team you know..." I add.
Beth looks around the room, seemingly trying to come up with some excuse or something more helpful to save her ass. I turn my head to Jordan who seems to be equally confused about this whole situation. Why can't they tell us the truth? Unless... Well there's no way they've found out already?! It's just been two days since our away clash with Manchester City. They can't know about us, if not obviously, Daan and Beth are the masterminds behind all off this. That would explain one thing and another if I think about it...
"Beth, Daan. Tell us. Tell me and Jordan the story you told all the other girls, teammates, friends, whatever you call them, that is in this room. We're listening, so don't waste your time girlies."
"Okay, well erm... I think it's better if Beth is the one telling the story." Daan says, barely getting the words out her mouth. "After all she's... she is the one who came up with this... idea."
"Thanks for your support Daan... Well back to the subject, I erm, I came up with this idea to... to tell the team-"
"Tell the team what exactly!" I nearly scream, as I'm about to lose my temper. I'm annoyed already, can't she see that?
"Sorry Le, Jord. But I kind of, you know..."
"You kind of did what Beth?! Just say it already!" Jordan shouts at her, clearly annoyed and frustrated with our teammate.
"That's what I'm about to tell you guys, if only you were patient enough and actually listening to me when I'm talking! Starting over again, basically I told the group of mine and Daan's memories from our bus ride home from our last away game... It really was some gold moments worth sharing with the rest of the squad. Just some details of that interaction you had before going home really. Not a big deal, huh?"
"Are you totally out of your mind Beth?! Who told you it was okay to out someone that maybe didn't want to be outed or that maybe wasn't in that kind of relationship with a significant other as you guys clearly assumed? Thank you very much Beth. RIP team dynamics from this moment on into infinity. But who the fuck even cares about that?" I'm about to cry, my anger is still there, but I'm about to get weak on the inside. Emotions are flowing in big waves kind of and are uncontrollable at the moment. I do the only logical thing that comes to mind. "Let's go Jord, we don't belong here anymore."
"I don't disagree, let's get outta here!" Jordan replies. I grab her hand and we start to run off into the darkness outside. The late night sky just about to set on the horizon, no light but the dozen lanterns and some glimpses of moonlight streaming through in between the tree tops in the dense forest across from the training ground we used to love so much.
The two of us ran together hand in hand for what felt like a lifetime. We didn't stop until we were sure no one had followed us into the woods. We were tired and exhausted from our escape, finally thinking of getting some well deserved rest. Some time to get away from all the bad things and reset our focus on the things that really matters to us. Right know the most important thing both of us have is each other, nothing else really matters. Me and Jordan hugged for some time, giving each other comfort and warmth considering the circumstances. It wasn't that cold really, even tho it was the beginning of March. A cool but not too cold night to summarize it.
I start to feel better about myself, about us, but I feel something and it's nothing good I sense. I crawl closer to Jordan's body, not that I actually can hide behind her because I'm the taller one, but still it feels safe to do so. A few seconds later we hear someone's heavy breath from afar. It sounds like a human, but who is out here in the woods at this time, apart from me and Jordan of course. It doesn't take long enough to get the final answer to that question. From literally out of nowhere Beth comes running in our direction.
"Beth? Is that you?" I yell questioning.
"Yes guys, it's me. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry-" Beth shouts back, still running towards us.
"I don't wanna hear your ridiculous excuses." I cut her off. "Do me a favor and leave me and Jordan alone, yous don't deserve us! So please hurry back. And oh, don't forget to tell the girls about our gossip, and more important, don't leave any details out... Bye Beth!"
"But... guys please! I didn't mean for it to end like this. Please hear me out at least! I promise I will make it up to y-"
By now I'm so angry my blood is boiling. I don't want to scare Jordan off, but I have to deal with Beth. After all I'll do both of them a favor by doing this. It'll be worth it... That's when I cut her off yet again. "Shut the fuck up Beth will ya? Leave us alone and don't even dare to take one more step forward, you'll regret it later I swear. Now fuck off Beth!!"
***
"Leah, babe are you okay?!" Jordan says softly, she's clearly worried about me you can tell.
"What? J-Jordan? What's wrong hun?" I ask a bit confused of the circumstances.
"I think I should be the one asking that Leah. Don't you remember anything from it?"
"Don't I remember anything from what? And why?"
"Well you screamed really loud in your sleep, so loud I woke up."
"Did I? What did I say? If you remember of course." I say quietly.
"Well, I didn't hear it all, but I think it was something along the lines 'Fuck you Beth!!'" Jordan tells me.
"Oh. My. God. It was all just a dream? Man it felt so real you can't imagine..."
"What was all a dream?" Jordan asks. I end up explaining everything to her. The team talk, our little escape to the forest and then what probably caused both of us to wake up, the argument with Beth.
"Holy shit, that explains why you're drenched in sweat! From top to toe literally." Jordan says.
I look down at my palms to see some fresh drops of sweat. I haven't even realized until she told me that I sweat so much. "You're right Jord, holy shit! The dream was so intense, I actually believed it was real. I think that's what scared me the most. I didn't want anyone in the team to find out, and I thought they all did."
"I know I can't relate because I didn't have that nightmare, but I think I would've freaked out too!" Jordan says. "Is it okay if I hold you?" She asks softly, probably not wanting to scare me off.
"Yeah I'm okay with that, but only if it's you!" I say, grinning from ear to ear. She's not shying away, after I told her I'm fine with it, she pulls me so close to her that I nearly can't breathe. The grip she has with her arms around me screams she won't let go of me for a while. That doesn't bother me at all. I rest my head on her shoulder and as the emotions take over I quietly start to cry into it. It might sound silly but I got so scared because it felt so damn real. Now that I know it isn't I guess I'm just a bit relieved. Jordan suddenly loosen her grip a bit. I'm thankful for her, she's so good taking care of me. She knows exactly what I need and when I need it. The definition of a perfect human being she is. I'm really lucky to have her by my side.
"Leah, are you sure you're okay?"
"I don't know Jord, but it can be worse I guess?"
"Let me know if it feels worse, I wanna help you as much as I can and as much as you allow me to!"
"Thanks babe, I appreciate that!" I respond. Then Jordan leans in and catches my lips. I desperately needed this without even realizing it. I'm fast to kiss back and for every second it gets more passionate. We then break apart after a while. I feel good now and my inner peace seem to have returned safe and sound.
"Do you want to go back to sleep or should we watch a movie or something?" Jordan asks.
"Honestly I think both of us need some more sleep, and I'm feeling better now so I prefer sleeping. But I have one condition for you."
"What exactly might that condition be?"
"You need to hold me close and don't let go, as simple as that."
"You have my word Le, anything for you my love!"
-
~Next day~
-
Jordan's POV:
Today we got training. I'm excited, but at the same time I'm worried about Leah after what happened yesterday. We're still cuddled up to each other. I'm awake but Leah isn't. Our practice is late today so I don't want to wake her up if it's not necessary. She looks so peaceful while sleeping, I love this sight. I move even closer to Leah and tighten my grip around her a bit. All I want to do is staying like this, cuddled up with her forever in my arms. Carefully I start stroking her hair with my fingers, waiting for her to wake up. It feels like a million years has passed by before she does wake up, but it was worth the wait. She turns her head to face me, giving me the biggest of smiles.
"Someone woke up on the bright side today, huh?" I let out, with a cheeky smile on my face.
"I was lucky enough to have the best bodyguard protecting me tonight, not something to complain about really..." Leah responds happily.
"I did a good job, indeed!"
"You're not done yet... From now on you're my secret bodyguard. You have to protect me at all costs, whatsoever!" She says jokingly.
"Oh, I would love that!" I say, laughing about it. "No but seriously, no doubt I would do that for you if I needed to. For real, you've got my word." Literally the second after I finished my sentence, Leah catches my lips. I kiss back for a few seconds before breaking apart.
"Jordan, what was that for?" Leah says, looking at me with puppy eyes. God, I really can't resist those.
"Yeah?"
"What's on your mind? Why did you break the kiss?"
"You never answered my request as your bodyguard, so I'll give you another chance. Do you accept me as your personal bodyguard?"
"Yes I do. Now can we please just have our moment without further interruptions?"
"Yes ma'am', on your request!" I say in between laughs, before connecting our lips yet again.
We've been staying in bed for the whole forenoon. I've loved every second of it. Just the two of us, spending some well needed quality time together. It's soon time for training. Leah and I are getting ready to leave. Arriving at the training ground we spot some of our teammates on their way to the locker room. We got plenty of time left until the training is about to start so we're in no rush. Me and Leah walk slowly towards the locker room, chatting about everything possible, just like best friends are supposed to do. When we reach the locker room, it goes noticeably silent.
Leah's POV:
Me and Jordan walk straight into the once talkative locker room, noticing the silence building up its walls inside of it. This reminds me so badly about my latest nightmare. I can't stand this, it makes me feel sick to my stomach. I try to deny those feelings that starts to build up inside of me, but in the end they're too strong for me to handle. I can't deal with it in here, especially not with the people who I pictured ruined my life. I look up one last time to see everyone's gaze is set on me, which makes me feel even more uncomfortable. I turn around quickly and start to run off to god knows where. As long as they disappear from my sight I can finally breathe again. Some are shouting stuff at me, but I can't hear them as I shut all the noise out.
Jordan's POV:
Leah doesn't seem to feel well. A little later she runs off. Everyone just exchanges looks with each other at first, no one having a clue what's going on. Later they start shouting for Leah to come back and throwing asks if she's okay in her direction. But it all is pointless as she's already too far away to hear.
"Holy crap, imma go after her and look if she's okay!" I barely let out, before running off to find her. I leave the rest of the team confused behind, in order to find Leah as fast as I possibly can. I don't know what's up with her, but I know for sure that it's quiet something that's bothering her. I try my best to stay calm and not panicking. Whatever it is she needs my full support, not another stress factor. After about five minutes of searching I find her. I can tell she's been crying, and she also seem to panic a bit as well. At first I don't know what to do, but then I remember that day at the hospital when we received the news about Dan. I was so sad at that moment, but Leah took good care off me and made me feel better. Now it's my turn to be that person. I cautiously sit down next to Leah, showing her that I'm there for her. Before I even get the chance to utter a word, she leans into my chest, wrapping her arms tight around me. Tears are rolling down her cheeks. For a moment I take it all in, being her comfort and safe place. I gently stroke her hair with one hand, at the same time holding her close to me with the other.
"Hey, do you want to talk about it?" I ask softly, giving her a light kiss on the forehead.
"Well... It's connected to my recent nightmare. It... it's hard to explain b-but..." She struggles to get the words out her mouth.
"It's okay Leah, don't feel pressured to tell if you're not ready..."
"I dreamt that the two of us walked into the locker room after a practice and it went quiet. Like what happened before, we went into the locker room and everybody stopped talking. It reminded me of the nightmare I had and it made me feel sick to my stomach. It felt so real you know? I know it's not but it gave off that bad vibe. I'm scared Jord!"
"Shhhh, it'll be okay babe! I promise you will get over it sooner or later." I reassure her. I hold her tighter against me now than before. "I'm aware that I don't know the whole story of that nightmare, but feel free to talk to me about it if it makes you feel better. Don't worry about it, I'd rather help you out than fooling myself into believing everything is fine when it's obviously not."
"Thanks Jord, I love you!" She whispers into my ear.
"I love you too, Le!" I whisper back. "You ready for training and joining the others?"
"Well I think I am. And even if I wasn't I wouldn't have a choice, would I?"
"Probably not I guess." I say as intertwine our hands, starting to walk back to the locker room.
We're underway with our training session on the pitch. Everyone seem to have a good time and no one asked any questions when me and Leah got back. The last drill of the evening is set to start and it's a competition. I go with Leah as usual. Both of us go hard with the aim to win. A few minutes into the drill I stop with the ball at my feet bursting out into laughter. At first Leah gives me a weird look, but as soon as she notice what I'm going about she laughs even harder than me. Beth dribbled the ankles off Daan, causing her to trip on air. It looked so funny, Daan just fell to the ground helplessly and was clearly annoyed and frustrated with Beth for letting that happen to her.
"Ooohhh, nice try Daan!" Leah screams in their direction.
"Shut up Leah! It looks like you're losing big time to Jordan again." Daan shouts back at her from the ground.
"Bold of you to assume I would lose to someone your size..." Leah fires back.
Seconds later I nutmeg Leah. "Excuse me miss, who is about to win?" I ask.
"Come on man, that doesn't count!"
"Why wouldn't it count? I megged you, which means one point to me! Watch out Williamson, I'm about to win." Leah doesn't respond to that, she just shrugged and continued the game.
Afterwards it was clear I won. So did Beth, and both Daan and Leah were clearly annoyed that they lost. I sprinted over to Beth and gave her a high five. "Always fun to win over those two, don't ya think?" I ask Beth.
"Yeah, always a pleasure if you ask me! Just look at them weirdos making a big deal out of it!" Beth says and points at Leah and Daan. I set my gaze on them about to laugh at their stupidness when I see Daan whispering something in Leah's ear. The facial expression from Leah tells me something is not right.