From Brothers to Lovers: Declan Rice and Mason Mount

1. Training

It was almost the end of the season and all the players were looking forward to their summer holidays. There was only one match between West Ham United and the Premier League trophy. The players knew that it would be a challenging match though because the final game of the season was between West Ham and Chelsea. Both teams were tied at the top of the league and so everything rested on this decisive, final match.

Declan Rice was dribbling a football on the pitch at the London Stadium. He started running with the ball towards the goal and then gave it a powerful kick, aiming for the top-right corner. The ball flew into the air and shot towards the goal. Declan realised the mistake he made and gave a frustrated sigh. It turned out the ball was too high and struck the goal post before flying back onto the pitch.

"Unlucky, mate," said Łukasz Fabiański, West Ham's goalkeeper, in an attempt to console his teammate.

West Ham's Scottish manager, David Moyes, saw what had happened and walked over with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Rice, we can't have you making simple mistakes like that at the final on Saturday. You have to show me what you're worth if you want to be captain," said David.

Declan knew he was right though. If he wanted to replace Mark Noble, West Ham's most loyal player, and be West Ham's new captain, he would have to prove to the rest of the team that he could indeed be the skilled, talented leader every captain should be. His career and his future depended on the next few days.

"Ok, team, let's end it there," declared the manager, "go home and get some rest. We need to do a lot better tomorrow."

"Oh cool, let's go get potato salad, guys!" exclaimed Tomáš Souček, West Ham's cutest Czech player.

"No potato salad for you, Souček," said David, "we need to make sure everyone is fighting fit for the final which means no more excess carbs."

Tomáš had a glum look on his face. David was a strict manager but he was an excellent asset for West Ham, helping the team rise to the top of the league. 

Declan was still at the goal, trying to improve his aim.

"Yo, Deccers, it's time to go home!" shouted Jesse Lingard, West Ham's best goal scorer.

"You lads go without me," replied Declan, "I wanna put in a bit of extra training."

Jesse gave a friendly wave goodbye and Declan carried on with his football practice.

As the lights of the stadium started to dim, Declan was thinking hard about his future. Will he become captain? Should he continue his career at West Ham? Did he make the right decision to leave Ireland? The pressure and worries were getting to him and his aim wasn't getting any better. Declan was starting to get stressed and fatigued so he decided to go grab his water bottle. Whilst he was opening his bag, he saw someone walk up beside him who then gave him a pat on the back.

"How's it going, Dec?" he said.