United in Break-Up

Chapter 1

"Viv, you should still come to the final! I can totally understand that you don't want to sit with Lisa and the others, but I still have one free ticket left for my seats for the family. It would be a shame if you missed the European Championship final at Wembley. Just meet my mom at the entrance an hour before the game starts. I would be very happy to see you there!"

This text message reached Vivianne Miedema on the day of the final of the European Football Championship game England vs. Germany when she took a look at her cell phone early in the morning. It was from Beth Mead, one of her teammates at the Arsenal Ladies and a player of the English national team. Beth definitely knew how much Vivianne wanted to see the final, but since Vivianne had already bought her ticket six months ago with her then-girlfriend Lisa, she didn't really want to go there with her now ex-girlfriend today. The pain of parting after being in a relationship for many years was still too strong. That's why she decided to just leave the tickets to Lisa and a friend of hers.

Vivianne thought that it was really nice that Beth offered her one of her family tickets for watching the game - but does she really want to watch the final with a teammate's family? She only knew Beth's parents and her brother by sight. Besides, she had only recently become some kind of friends with Beth. Since her long-time girlfriend Danielle van de Donk transferred to Olympique Lyon in France and fell in love with another teammate at her new club, Vivianne and Beth found themselves in a similar situation after their break-ups. In particular, they both suddenly had a lot of free time that they had previously spent with their former partners. However, since many of their teammates were in relationships, they didn't always have time to do things together after training or matches - which then left Vivianne and Beth to their own devices. In the beginning, it took a lot of effort for Vivianne to ask Beth if they wanted to spend time together. She's rather shy and wasn't sure whether Beth would really want to hang out with her. But after a few times of going out into the city together or cooking and watching a series at one of their houses', she found it easier and easier. It was simply nice to be around Beth and with her funny and open nature they always had fun together.

Sure, they weren't particularly close, but it was also just about her watching the finale and spending a little time with Beth's family. What was there to worry about? She just had to overcome her shyness, which she found quite difficult. She read through Beth's message again: It would make Beth happy to see her at the stadium. Okay, that's probably just a phrase, and maybe Beth just doesn't want her to be home alone, feeling sorry for herself - but maybe there is also some kind of truth in it? Since they spent more time together, Vivianne had come to appreciate Beth's honest and direct nature more and more - she wouldn't just say something like that without meaning every word of it. This thought finally convinced her to go to the stadium, and there she was, standing at the entrance where she was to meet Beth's family.

"Hello, you must be Vivianne! I'm June and this is Richard and Ben," a middle-aged woman approached Vivianne and hugged her without even waiting for a response. Completely caught off guard, Vivianne returned the hug, obviously not expecting such an enthusiastic greeting. "Beth has told us so much about you already! Too bad you're not in the finals with the Netherlands," Beth's mother continued.

Vivianne breaks away from the embrace. Beth had told her parents a lot about her? This surprised her, but to return the kindness, the Dutch woman decided to respond to the small talk. "A shame really, but I'm sure we'll see a great game today instead, and hopefully a win for England in the end." "I'm sure England will win in the end!" interjected Beth's father from the background, before formally shaking Vivianne's hand in greeting and giving her a friendly, yet critical look. "Okay, strange, is there somethin wrong with my outfit?" Vivianne reflected in her head, before also greeting Beth's brother Ben with a brief nod. "Shall we go in?" the latter asked promptly, and the group made their way to the security checkpoints leading to the stadium.

After going through security and doing a few autographs for fans who recognized Vivianne, she and Beth's family finally arrived at their seats in the stadium. Wembley was sold out and one could literally feel the excitement of the people. All the fans were just waiting for the players to enter the pitch and when the English and German teams came out, the crowd in the stadium got very loud. Since Vivianne and Beth's family were sitting in the front row of the family block, they were able to see the players on the field up close. Vivianne recognized Leah Williamson and Lotte Wubben-Moy, her Arsenal teammates, before her eyes met Beth's. Even from a distance, Vivianne could see Beth's eyes light up as their gazes met. The blonde looked at her with a grin so wide that Vivianne could only return it. Wow, Beth indeed seemed genuinely happy to see her - and she herself was now too, happy and proud to see Beth in the finale of the European Championship. Beth looked so confident and sure of herself that Vivianne couldn't take her eyes off her. She seemed like almost in a trance, but before they could grin at each other for a few more seconds, the referee had already blown the whistle for the game - and suddenly Vivianne felt her heart beating up to her mouth and she was a hundred times more excited than before seeing Beth on the pitch.