Saving Lotte Sullivan | Collingwood/Carlton

46 - Prelim

'Ashlyn really wished she could be here'

Lotte said this to Callum Brown as he nodded and anxiously looked down at the L1 crowd. 'Tyler did too' he said.

'It's a shame they couldn't come today. Thanks again for getting me in. Josh will be so thrilled since he was carted off to the airport with the 6 other fugitives - I mean, I hope he'll be happy' Lotte said, rambling as she pulled on the metal railing and leaned back, nervous out of her mind.

'Just think, Ashlyn gets one extra day of Brownlow dress fittings and you don't - you get a rest' Callum said, smirking, knowing how much Lotte hated playing dress up. She'd only complained about it whenever she had the opportunities in life (read: every two minutes)

'Oh, those ridiculous hideous over the top dresses. I walked out because they kept trying to sell this massive bridal style wedding dress - I just wanted something simple that won't have me on the worst dressed list. I'm happy to say we finally found something I could actually work with - although I still think I'll be resembling a disco ball' she explained, sighing relief. Those stupid dresses...

'Doesn't Taylor Swift call it a mirrorball?' Callum asked. Lotte shrugged and pulled a face. 'I don't know'

'Well, all I know is if T Swizzle said it, it must be correct. The woman is a goddess, she's who I pray to every night before I go to sleep. She has the best songwriting skills ever!' Callum explained, raving as Lotte raised her eyebrows. 'Wouldn't have picked you for a Taylor Swift stan, although I suppose this explains how your brother's nickname became T Brizzle or Tizzle' she said.

'Nothing explains my brother' Cal said, shaking his head. Lotte sighed and leaned against the railing. 'I thought today was meant to be a sellout' she said.

'It is, but there's still over an hour to go. You'll be unable to breathe by second quarter' he said.

'The music is shocking, really bad actually' Lotte said, cringing as some song from the 70s played loudly through the speaker system at the SCG.

'That's why half of us go out for warmup wearing headphones. Then there's Jack, who lays down in the sun and covers his eyes with a Collingwood scarf' Callum said, laughing as he rolled his eyes.

'I can't believe how much traction that got! It was all over the news' Lotte said, amused at the memory. Only Jack Ginnivan would have a nap in the middle of the MCG turf during warmup. On the day of an elimination final.

'Hey Cal. Good to see you made the adventure up' Alex Fasolo - the AFLM club's welfare coach - said as he entered the aisle. Callum smiled.

'Shouldn't you be downstairs keeping Gin out of trouble?' He asked. Alex sighed.

'I'll leave that to the son, only Trent knows how to keep him calm, but his mother got a bit confused when finding her section and I thought I'd better help before she kills me and doesn't make dinner for a month. This is Laura' he said, introducing his fiancée and Trent's mother. Laura nervously looked, completely unaware she was greeting people. 'Hi' she said quietly.

'I like your beanie' Callum said, gesturing to her GINNIVAN beanie, which also displayed a cartoon of Jack relaxing in a giant glass of gin and tonic. She exchanged a look with Alex. She felt like she was meeting royalty!

'This is your seat, babe...no wait, sorry, I'm confused. Everything is backwards up here...what seat numbers are you guys?' Alex asked.

'4. Brodie' Callum said, as Alex gave him a look. 'And I'm 5...I think that's Elliott' Lotte said.

'Good job' Callum praised, high fiving her. She smiled as she thanked him. She was definitely getting better at the number and name game.

'You're in seat 6, on the other side of Lotte' Alex said, as Laura nodded and brushed past the footballer and the WaG.