Saving Lotte Sullivan | Collingwood/Carlton

42 - Nightclubs are Bad Luck

Finally letting go of her heavy bag, she dropped it to the concrete ground as the bright lights and colours flooded her eyes.

'Oh no. I didn't make it on time' she said, disappointed as she saw everyone had well left. She could see the security gates were locked, nobody cared now since the event was finished. She hadn't even checked the score. She'd just rushed from the Sydney airport, having caught the last flight in for the night.

She picked up her bag again as she walked through security, using what she'd learned from Ashlyn (Ginnivan's spare ID card she'd taken) and, carried on around the stadium as she looked for somebody. She noticed a discarded football record laying on the ground and grabbed it.

'Ella would love this' she whispered to herself, seeing Darcy Moore on the cover, his long hair blown back. She had to admit she truly didn't recognise him anymore. He looked completely different from 2018. Lance Franklin pictured celebrating a goal next to him, as Lotte looked up, seeing Isaac Quaynor and John Noble on the football oval.

'Lotte? What are you doing here?' Trent Bianco suddenly asked, giving Lotte an absolute fright as she turned around and whacked him with the record. 'Don't do that!' She yelled, as she tried to catch her breath.

'Sorry. You were in the zone and I didn't know what else to say' Trent briefly explained, as he shyly looked down at the ground.

'I missed the game. I'd booked a ticket, flight and hotel just to miss the game' Lotte said, immeasurably disappointed as she looked at the record again. At least she had a momento?

'You didn't miss much, to be fair' Trent said, sighing as he tried to hide his bottom lip from quivering. 'I was just about to leave when I thought I'd go for one quick walk around the concourse. Most of us are going to the party, but I honestly don't think I can be bothered' he said, as he pulled his wallet out of his hoodie pocket.

'I'm going to say by your demeanour right now, Swans are in the prelim?' Lotte asked, as he screwed his face up.

'No? Oh, no way. We won. We smashed them. We're in the prelim, we play GWS next week. Unfortunately we play them in NSW, so we still can't go home' he explained. Lotte's eyes widened.

'You mean - Collingwood won?' She asked, shocked as she looked back at the stadium to find the giant screen behind Isaac and John displayed a black and white sign with the Collingwood logo. 'PIES ARE THROUGH TO THE PRELIMINARY FINAL!'

'Collingwood won, that's correct. You should go and find Josh, I'm sure he'll be so happy to see you after the win' Trent said, sadly smiling as he pulled a ring out of his wallet. A diamond ring.

'Oh, is Amelia going to receive a certain proposal this weekend?' Lotte asked, secretly smiling as Trent shook his head. 'No' he said, that sad smile ever present.

'LOOOOTTTTTTEEEEEEEEE!'

The girl suddenly screamed as Jack Ginnivan pounced on her, knocking her to the ground as the record was once again used as a weapon. 'You two are as bad as each other!' She yelled, whacking him again. He helped her stand up as she dusted herself off.

'You're the lucky charm. You're why we won. Every time you attend a game, it's our song blasting through the speakers at the end. I love you. I'm keeping you' Jack said, ruffling up her hair as she tried to swat his hands away.

'I didn't attend the game. I literally just arrived seconds before security locked the gates. I'll now be depending on you two to get me out' she explained, as she took her jacket off. 'It's so hot here! Melbourne remains freezing and wet as always' she said, as Jack smiled and hugged her again.