Isla Thomson is the captain of Arsenal WFC and the Scotland national team.
The last few years had been her hardest but luckily she had her best friend & teammate beside her.
Will the friendship stand the rest of time after the truth comes out?
Isla's scan confirmed no further damage to her knee, she was given instructions to rest for the next 10 days before she could return to training. 2 days later Leah had flown out to Ibiza with some of the Lionesses for a well deserved holiday before they were expected back with their teams. She'd tried to persuade Isla to join them since she would be off now too. Isla had other plans...
Spotted: Arsenal and Scotland footballer Isla Thomson spotted on crutches in London airport.
Isla had always been happy to raise the profile of the women's game. What she didn't like was the invasion of her privacy, the prying into her life, her relationships. Throughout the 10 years with her ex, she shared very few photos of them together on social media. It was no secret they were together, he was at every match he could attend however she wanted to protect him. As women's football had become more popular, some fans became more intrusive. Wanting to know every tiny detail of their lives. She'd saw the comments online even the TikTok videos speculating about the most popular players. One in particular really riled her up. It was a video picking apart her private life over the last 6 months. Had she split up with her ex? Was she now single? He wasn't seen at the City game when she was injured. In fact they hadn't been seen together for a while. It was no secret they'd split up, that doesn't mean it was public knowledge.
Back to the present, Isla found herself struggling with her suitcase through Madrid airport. Luckily she was met by one of her closest friends, Caroline Weir. She'd recently transferred to Madrid from Man City. Usually they be found as a trio with Lisa Evans joining them, she was busy with her own pre-season training so wouldn't be joining them on this last minute trip when Isla found herself on her own with no training for the next week. Isla had packed her case in less than an hour and dropped off Charlie with Leah's nan on her way to the airport.
Spending a last minute week in the sun was exactly what Isla needed. Seeing the sights of Madrid with Caroline and spending her days sunbathing. She could get used to this life in the sun she thought, maybe she needed a change in scenery. A life away from London, spend her last few years playing in the sun. She'd already dedicated her whole career to one club, but then again she was Arsenal through and through. There was only one other player who loved the club more...Leah. Ah yeah, Leah. Her best friend. Her platonic soul mate. Could she live so far away from her? They were living together for now, that was only temporary though. Before Leah moved in, they'd agreed to buy houses next door to each other. Isla had dragged Leah along when she went to look at a new build development. It was perfect, she could customise it exactly how she wanted. They left having reserved neighbouring plots that would be their homes 18 months down the line. Could she up and leave her life in a London? It would solve one problem...Emile.
Truthfully, he hadn't crossed her mind since she left London. Sure she'd seen the messages coming through...whatsapp, Instagram, text, the phone calls. She was on holiday and he wasn't ruining that for her this was her escape. On her last night in Madrid, she'd posted a photo dump of her short stay...a photo of the clouds from the plane, some sightseeing, the usual holiday photos.
Since she was already in Spain she decided to fly to Ibiza for the last 2 days, meeting up with Leah and the lionesses before they flew home together. It was a short flight so she decided to check her messages for the first time since leaving London.
Emile 17 messages, 3 missed calls They all pretty much said the same. He thought they had something together, he'd never felt this way before, she was special...
Turns out he'd been round to her house when she didn't reply in the first few days. He'd sent her flowers not realising she'd left the country until Isla's story popped up... a beachfront restaurant the beach in the background was definitely not in England.
Knowing she couldn't avoid him forever, although she had thought at length about how possible that could be. Sharing the same training facility meant it was impossible. She replied saying they'd chat when she has home not wanting to seem like a dickhead by text.
Her final 2 days spent in Ibiza were mainly spent chilling by the pool at the villa the girls had booked. Although she wasn't a lioness she knew these girls well both through Leah and from playing against them. She'd been on holiday with Kiera and Lucy before taking Sophie's place just after she'd broken Leah's heart.
The final day they'd all gone for lunch at a trendy beachfront restaurant. Drinks with their meal turned to cocktails and shots. Eventually they were playing drinking games with the loser having to complete a dare. Noticing Isla was the only one without any tattoos, Kiera dared her to get a tattoo before they left the island. So that's where they ended up after they'd left the bar. Knowing Isla was terrified of needles, Leah took her hand pulling her aside
Leah You don't need to do it, it's just a silly dare
Isla was drunk enough to forget her fear of needles so instead of backing out she instead insisted Leah get one too. Returning to London, best friends with matching tattoos Their initials within an infinity symbol (imagine the letters are L & I)
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The reality of being back home hit as soon as they landed. Being the only two flying back to London should've been enough to not draw attention to the girls but Leah's face had been all over the internet after the Euros.
On their way through the airport, there were more looks than usual for the blonde pair.
"Are you the England Captain?" "Na, not me. You've got the wrong person, sorry" Leah deadpanned "She gets that quite a lot" Isla replied before looking away and giggling.
A/N Now that the Euros are done there'll be more Leah/Isla plot. What do you want to see from them?
