Today is England's first World Cup game against Iran. Alina and the rest of the Mount family and close friends had all met at the airport the night before to travel to Qatar together. It was also the first time Alina got to go see Mason's other sister, Stacey, and her husband and kids.
The flight wasn't too bad; everyone had a good night's sleep as soon as they got to the hotel, and now they're in the stadium, wearing Mason's name on their backs and rooting for England.
"Are you excited to see Uncle Mase, Summer?" Alina asked the little girl who was sitting in her lap.
"Yeah," she smiled with her finger in her mouth. Alina looked out on the pitch; the stadium was filling up slowly, and the boys were warming up. She could spot Mason, but he was focused on the warmup. Luckily, Declan spotted all of them and told Mason.
"Look! There he is," she showed Summer. Mason looked up and waved at his whole family and friends who were there, also taking an extra look at Summer and Alina, who were waving and cheering loudly for him.
———
Throughout the whole game, everyone was cheering and chanting for the boys. They had managed to score six goals and concede two, but it couldn't have been better than that.
When the game had ended and the boys were walking around the pitch, clapping for everyone who was there, the families of the players hugged each other and chit chatted before the boys came up to them on the stands.
Alina was chatting with Lauren and holding Jude in her arms. Lauren and Alina had gotten closer, like sisters, and sometimes Alina would even come over and look after him.
Declan came towards them with a big smile, hugging his family and Lauren. "Where is my boy?" he asked excitedly.
Alina stood up and handed Jude over to him. Declan grabbed him and placed a kiss on his son's cheek before hugging him tight.
Alina's heart melted at the sight; she hadn't noticed Mason hugging his family and friends before walking up behind her.
"Missed me?" Mason asked as he hugged her from behind. Alina gasped as she felt his hug. She turned around and hugged him tight. "You have no idea," she answered him.
"I'm so proud of you, baby; congratulations on the win," she said while slowly pulling away from the hug.
"Thank you," he smiled, "you're looking good in my shirt too," he smirked, causing her to roll her eyes playfully.
"I love you," she placed a kiss on his lips, ignoring the fact that cameras were directed towards them.
"I love you more, baby."
They both chatted to his parents and his siblings later. Alina watched Mason pick up Poppy in his arms, it was the first time he saw her. It made Alina emotional, she knows how much he has wanted to see her, and Harley too. Pictures were taken and posted on Instagram, after the hugs and kisses.
Unfortunately, it was then time to say goodbye for now. The boys had to go back to the hotel, recover, and prepare for the USA game. The had been told that they were allowed to see their families after the USA game.
———
"It's boiling in here," Lewis complained as he tried to cool himself down with the water bottle in his hand.
"I will forever hate FIFA for choosing Qatar," Woody sighed, the sweat from his forehand streaming down.
"How about you stop complaining about the weather and start complaining how boring this game is," Jordan, Declan's brother, said, annoyed.
"Even the kids know," Lauren chuckled as they looked at the small kids, asleep in their parents' arms.
Alina looked around, seeing Summer half asleep in Jasmine's arms. "Want me to hold her?" she asked, knowing that Jasmine is 7 months pregnant and might be exhausted.
"Are you sure?" She asked
"Of course," Alina assured her. She picked up Summer and held her in her arms as she took a seat next to Lauren again.
The only interesting thing that happened this whole game was Mason's shot at the end of the first half; unfortunately, the goalkeeper saved it, but it definitely made everyone jump out of their seats of excitement.
The second half became even more boring; it was noticeable that the players were getting frustrated too, as were some of the fans.
By the end, the England players were booed off, which Alina found ridiculous. The boys went up to their families, and the kids slowly woke up.
"Hey you!" Mason smiled at Alina, noticing Summer slowly waking up in her arms. "Hey, handsome, good game," she said before he placed a kiss on her lips.
"It was fine," Mason shrugged. "Hey cutie," Mason smiled at Summer before caressing her soft cheek.
She woke up and reached her arms out for Mason; he quickly grabbed her and held her in his arms. Alina looked at the two and took a picture to capture the moment.
Poppy and Harley came over too, wanting a hug from their uncle. Alina was always enjoying those moments; seeing Mason with kids made her heart melt.
It was then time for the boys to leave again, Mason hugged everyone again, telling them that they'd see each other tomorrow for some family time at the hotels.
———
It was late at night, and as soon as Alina had arrived back to the hotel, Mason had called her.
"Hey Mase"
"Hey baby, are you asleep yet?" He asked
"No, we just got back, actually," she said. "Is everything ok?" she asked.
"Yeah, I guess," Mason sighed. Alina knew he was keeping something to himself.
"Talk, babe, I'm not stupid," Alina said, making him chuckle.
"Did I have a bad game?" He suddenly asked.
Alina knew that Mason was overthinking the game; it wasn't a surprise that he did considering what people were writing about him online and the fans booing everyone off.
"No of course not, you were so close to scoring; that was literally the only exciting thing that happened," she chuckled.
"I should've done better," he quietly said.
"Mase, don't listen to those horrible people. It was a tough game, but you guys didn't lose, and that's always a good thing. You fought till the end, and we're all proud of you," she assured him. Mason smiled to himself, feeling better after her encouraging words.
"Thank you, Ali; I can't wait to spend some time with you tomorrow; I feel like I've barely seen you," he said.
"We'll spend as much time as we can tomorrow; everyone is excited to see you, and me too," she smiled as she talked.
The two spoke until they both eventually fell asleep. There weren't many days left for the Wales game either, and the fact that the boys will get to see their families at the hotels will motivate them even more to win their last game of the group stages.
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AN: I'm giving you two chapters today because I feel bad for not publishing anything yesterday. I will post two more chapters tomorrow too, just so we can be parallel to the games happening irl. I hope England wins tomorrow, seeing the players with their families makes my heart melt.
Thank you for reading and voting, it means a lot!
