Illicit Affair • Ben Chilwell

Prologue

    Scarlett Rose Halstead was born on January 8th, 1999 in Little Elm, Texas. It was a small town about 40 minutes north of Dallas. She grew up there but spent the summers and holidays in Hershey, Pennsylvania with the Pulisic family. Joy, Scarlett's mom, and Kelley, Christian's mom became best friends in college, both playing soccer together. In March of 2002, the Halstead family decided to move to Hershey so Christian and Scarlett could grow up together, and from then the two became inseparable. July 2004, Ryan, Scarlett's little brother was born.

    In 2006, both families moved to the London area when Joy and Kelley had been accepted for a year-long teacher-exchange program. Christian and Scarlett both adored England and enjoyed spending their days playing football with the other kids after school. One weekend Christian and Scarlett ended up playing for Chelsea's youth team at a tournament. This is where they were both introduced to a young Mason Mount. Scarlett and Mason clicked right away, after finding out their birthdays were days apart. The parents exchanged contact information and soon the three were finding time to play together when their busy schedules allowed.

    A year later, when it was time for the Americans to move back across the pond, it broke both Mason's and Scarlett's hearts. They had become best friends in the short time they had known each other. Their mother's assured they wouldn't let the two fall out of touch, but it didn't help to know they wouldn't get to play together anymore.

      In 2010, the Halstead family made the hard decision to move back to Texas. However, Scarlett had more soccer opportunities in Hershey, so she stayed behind, moving in with the Pulisics. She had a hard time adjusting at first, missing her parents and her younger brother, but Christian always managed to put a smile on her face. The two were always finding trouble to get into.

      In 2012, Scarlett started her YouTube channel, Scarlett Rose, where she posted, soccer videos, challenges, gaming videos, and vlogs. Her channel began gaining subscribers very quickly. In 2013, Scarlett and Christian were freshmen in high school and both playing club and school soccer. Scarlett had decided to double up on classes, taking her Freshman classes in person and doing Sophomore classes online. This gave her the opportunity to graduate at the end of the next school year.

In February 2015, Christian signed his contract with Brussia Dortmund. This was a confusing time for Scarlett, she was so happy for Christian, but felt very sad for herself. She knew he wasn't set to leave until that summer, but what was she supposed to do? The two hadn't been apart since they were three. She knew Christian was chasing his dream but did that mean she would get left behind?

    She pondered that question for the next month, until she got a FaceTime call from the one and only, Mason Mount. The two had managed to keep in touch throughout the years by letters and then by phone as they got older. He was calling to congratulate her on reaching 3 million subscribers, a milestone she thought she would never reach.

    "My friends don't believe that I know you," The British boy laughed.

    "Your friends watch my videos?" She questioned. She knew she had "fans" from all around the world she just didn't think they would be friends of her friends.

    "Yeah, everyone watches them. You're super popular over here," Mason explained.

    "Oh. I guess I just hadn't realized. I mean, I guess I should've known. I've had UK YouTubers asking to collab," She replied.

    "Like who? Anyone big?" The boy pushed her for more info.

    "Yeah. You know Wroetoshaw?" She asked.

    "Of course, he's in the sidemen. He wants to collaborate with you? That's crazy. Are you going to do it?" Mason rambled.

    "I don't know. When would I? I don't live there, and I don't have time with school. It would be huge for my channel though," She sighed.