United in Break-Up

Chapter 4

A few days after winning the European Championships, the English national team met for another debriefing and some media appointments at St. George's Park, the National Football Center of England. Beth was looking forward to that weekend, as she had actually spent quite a bit of time alone at home since the end of the tournament - and during that time she got to thinking a lot about various hard topics, such as her soccer career and her ex-girlfriend Danielle. But most of all she thought about Vivianne.

The woman she hadn't been able to get out of her head for weeks. A woman with whom she had played on the same team for years, but with whom she had only recently really become friends. Her support in hard times in the past during the break-up with Danielle, but also her bright spot in the future, as well as they got along, Beth always wanted her to be a part of her life - just not as a friend and that was exactly the problem. There was nothing to deny about it, Beth had developed a big crush on Vivianne.

That this would happen to her again, to fall for a teammate and a good friend, she could have never imagined in her wildest dreams after the relationship with Danielle had failed so badly. With their break-up, she had not only got her heart broken in the end - she also lost one of her best friends, which was probably just as painful as the heartbreak. So no matter what would happen, she would not pursue her crush on Vivianne. Even Vivianne's good heart, her humorous manner and her good looks couldn't change that. Besides, Vivianne herself didn't seem to have any romantic interest in her - so why would she even think about going after her crush? Still, she hoped that this weekend would give her at least a little distraction from the Dutch woman who was constantly on her mind.

The first day of the weekend starts with a lunch together to which all the players arrived one after the other comfortably. For many of them, it was the first time they had seen each other since the tournament and the joy of being back together was accordingly great with a lot of hugging and laughing. Beth was looking forward to seeing Leah and Jordan as well as Lotte again as she sat down at a table with all three of them. Too bad that table was right next to Alessia's, who was sitting there with some of her other teammates from Manchester United, which was the club she was playing at.

So when Beth came back from getting food at the buffet, she couldn't help but overhear a bit of the conversation at the table next to hers. "Have you finally asked her out in the meantime?" said Ella to Alessia. The latter blushed a little bit and replied, "Not yet, I don't really dare.". "Dude, you've been texting all day for a week now! It's about time, she's probably just waiting for you to make the first move!" said Ella laughing. Beth sighed inwardly, was this conversation about Vivianne again? She thought that at least here she would be at peace from the subject, but tough luck.

"Are you all right?" asked Leah with a worried look and brought Beth back from her thoughts to reality. "You look like you just saw a ghost," the captain added. Beth laughed dryly. Well, if it was at least a ghost and not a pretty blonde at the next table wanting to go on a date with her crush. Beth nodded off Leah's question, but from her captain's furrowed eyebrows, she could tell that this reaction probably didn't really convince her.

After lunch, everyone went to their assigned media appointments. Many national and international journalists were invited to talk to the players about the tournament. In this case, Beth was a much sought-after interview partner as the tournament's top scorer and one of the faces of the English national team's success. However, when she went to get something to drink and a snack during one of her few breaks, she was softly pulled aside by one of her teammates.

It was Alessia, who stood next to her. "Hi, ummm, I do have kind of a weird question I would like to ask you if that's okay. You're good friends with Vivianne Miedema, right? I mean, you're on the same team and you also seem to spend a lot of time together," Alessia asked with a uncomfortable sound in her voice. „I mean, at least according to your Instagram accounts. To be honest, I don't really know how much time you spend together," she added remarkable nervously. Beth and Alessia never had much to do with each other so far. Alessia
joined the national team only this year, while Beth had already been many
years with the team. Nevertheless, Beth immediately liked her humor and also her way of playing football - she was a nice person and Beth was definitely not lying when she told Vivianne that Alessia is a total catch. Of course, strictly speaking, Alessia also couldn't help Beth's little grudge against her, so Beth decided to be nice to her even though she didn't feel like having a big conversation with Alessia about Vivianne.

"Sure, shoot your question!" she replied on short decision. Alessia takes a deep breath and asks, "Is Vivianne seeing anyone at the moment and what is her type of woman in general? I know she was with Lisa Evans, but other than that?" she paused and sighed, "To be honest, I met Viv at our celebration party after the final and we've been texting ever since and I just wanted to know if I had a chance if I asked her out on a date." Definitely not the question Beth was expecting - she felt a bit overwhelmed and didn't really know what to say. "As far as I know, she isn't seeing anyone at them moment and she doesn't have a particular type of woman. Other than Lisa, there hasn't been anyone Viv was interested in," Beth answered simply. Somehow it hurt Beth to say this, but Alessia didn't seem too thrilled with the answer either. She had probably hoped for a more concrete answer. "But don't worry, Viv told me about you guys texting, too, so that might be a good sign for you," Beth added - and a bad sign for her. In fact, Beth already got screenshots of their conversations just to be asked about her opinion whether Alessia was flirting with Viv or just being nice. After this conversation with the person in question, Beth could now probably confirm that Alessia is interested in Viv in more than just a friendly kind of way.

Alessia's mood seemed to pick right back up at that comment. "So you see a chance that she would say yes if I would ask her out on a date?" asked Alessia, her eyes shining. Beth simply nodded, hoping that this awful conversation was now over. "Thanks, that's already helping me out! If you have another minute, do you have any idea what kind of dates she's into?" Wow, the conversation can really get even worse. How many times had Beth fantasized about asking Vivianne out on a date, and now she was supposed to give another woman tips on how to do it? "She'll probably like the classic first date kind of stuff. Maybe a walk in the park and then take her to a nice cafe or to a good place for having dinner together. Easy going, but if the mood fits, it can also be very romantic. But now I really have to get back to my media appointments!" - that was all Beth could bring out after all. She turned away from Alessia and headed back for the interview area, hearing only the other woman's thanks while walking away.

Rarely was Beth so happy as she sat at dinner that evening by herself. She was just through with the day and waiting for her friends when Alessia and Ella suddenly joined her at the table. "She said yes!" bursts out Alessia. "Who said yes to what?" echoed Leah, who now also sat down next to Beth. "Russo has a date with Vivianne Miedema!" exclaimed Ella with full enthusiasm and at a volume that now probably the whole dining room knew about this news. "Exactly, thank you, Beth, for helping and kind of encouraging me to ask her out!" Alessia grinned gratefully in her direction. This was way too much for Beth, she nodded politely at Alessia's comment, but then stood up and excused herself towards the restroom. No way she was going back to the table there, she'd rather skip dinner for tonight.

Once in the restroom, she noticed the sound of footsteps following her. Leah opened the door. "Are you all right? And don't even try to lie to me again this time - I can tell something's wrong." Beth knew Leah was right about that. They had known each other since England's youth select team and had been close friends and teammates for several years. Since she was also their captain in the national team and at Arsenal, she furthermore seemed to have developed a seventh sense for the emotional states of her teammates.

So lying made no sense, but she couldn't tell the truth either. "I don't know what to tell you" Beth replied. "Okay, I'm not stupid - it has obviously something to do with Alessia. You've been weird and tense today whenever she's been around you. You can be completely honest, but do you like Alessia?" asked Leah directly.

Even though she didn't feel like laughing, Beth at least had to smile a little. When Leah looked at her in confusion, she decided that she would have to tell the truth. What's the worst that could happen as a reaction? It was Leah, she had to be a professional team captain and Beth trusted her in order to keep her secret safe - maybe Leah even has some helpful advise for her situation. So she swallowed the lump in her throat, mustered her courage. "No, it's not Alessia I like - it's Viv," Beth said.