hard feelings - an erling haaland story

three

The weather was gloomy and rainy as he walked on to the training pitch. Jack gave him a small smile, which Erling ignored. He was sure that Jack would brag about bedding the woman he had known since birth. He felt uncomfortable with the thought and he was unsure why. The small groups they were allocated felt a lot smaller when he discovered Jack would be with him. He avoided any conversation with Jack, opting to converse with Nathan Ake and Bernardo instead. Jack could, of course, feel the tension between them, unsure why. He pulled his teammate away from the rest of the circle, who continued to kick the ball around, Erling still avoiding the man from Birmingham's glare.

"Erl, mate, what's the matter? It's bare obvious you're avoiding me."

Erling didn't speak up, opting to stay quiet. His thoughts screaming at him for his behaviour in front of his new teammate. Behaviour that he, himself, couldn't explain. Why would I even want to hear about how you bedded a friend from my childhood? Jack eyed him closely, trying to read Erling's facial expression. It was blank and stern. Anger present more than upset.

"Bro, if this is about Mia I-"

Jack was interrupted by Erling speaking up. "Amelia." Everyone who knew both the woman and him knew that Mia was a specific nickname between the pair. It didn't sound right coming out of the Brummy's mouth.

"Sorry, Amelia. She did explain the whole nickname thing. I didn't do what you probably think happened, bro. We just spoke, got to know each other. She's not the sort of girl you just fuck and chuck." He paused before clearing his throat. "You know, if she hadn't mentioned it beforehand, I wouldn't have known that there had been no contact between the two of you for nearly ten years. She's well proud of you, mate."

Erling felt a small smile tug at the corner of his lips. He sighed, finally meeting Jack's gaze. "Sorry, bro. I worry about her. I don't want her to get played, even if I hadn't seen her since we were children. I think my parents would be mad at me if they knew I let her get hurt. Although, they do not know that we have met each other again."

"Don't worry about her, bro. She seems like a pretty strong woman but I'm sure she'll appreciate knowing you still have her back."

Erling attempted to hide the scoff that fell out of his mouth. Who was he to think that he knew Mia better than I do? Especially after one conversation with her. Jack raised his eyebrow, ignoring the sound from the tall man in front of him, running back to join the group and join their warm up.

He hadn't spoken to the girl since the night they bumped into each other. He tried to push her out of his thoughts, back to how it was for the majority of the past few years. As though she hadn't existed but he found it impossible. No matter what he did or where he went, something reminded him of her. He found refuge in his new home, where he could be away from his thoughts about her. He lingered on the question he had forgotten to ask her when he saw her stood next to him at the bar whilst he waited patiently for his drinks. Why didn't he ask her what she was doing in the city their parents had met in?

A ringing sound filled his ears bringing him out of the daydream he had been in. The doorbell. Confusion filled him instantly, no one knew where he resided, other than his parents so they were able to send over some of his belongings from his previous residence. He huffed at the unexpected visitor, wanting to be alone after the rough and wet day at training. Through the peep hole in his door, he saw the frame of the woman standing behind it, shifting her weight from one leg to the other. A habit that she had always done ever since she could stand independently. What was she doing at his place? Where did she even get his address? He contemplated ignoring the knock, walking away from the door and leaving her in his hallway.

"I can hear you behind the door, E." She softly spoke. "I can leave if you want." He didn't say a word, listening to her. "Your dad texted me sayin' that you wanted to catch up but I'll leave you be. Jack said you had a rough day."

The mention of his name was enough to send a slight anger through him. He watched her as she walked away into the lift at the end of the corridor. He wanted to open the door and chase after her but it was almost as if his feet were stuck to the ground with super glue. Like he was frozen in the spot he no longer wanted to be in. With the click of the lift, he knew that she was gone. There would be no point chasing after her, it would be too late.

Frustrated and exhausted he retired to his bedroom, or what would eventually be his bedroom. He found himself restless, annoyed at himself for his actions. All he needed to do was open the door and he couldn't even do that.

He felt awful, sure it had been a while since they properly spoke but prior to that, they were almost inseparable despite the distance that separated them. He couldn't even imagine the bills they racked up talking to each other on the phone. He was unsure as to why both, his and her, parents tolerated the money they spent. A phone call occurred everyday just before Erling would go to school and whilst Amelia sat in Melbourne awaiting her evening dinner. Every single day without fail. Erling couldn't go to school without speaking to his friend halfway across the world from him and Amelia would spend her evening worrying about her best friend in Norway, if they wouldn't call. It was part of their routine. With the supervision of their parents, the weekends were different. They would sit at their computers, cameras plugged in, Skype open and they spoke for hours, until it was time for Amelia to go to bed.

During holidays from school, he found himself growing more impatient as he counted down the hours he would get to spend every day with his friend. He would be restless until he was in the car on the way to the airport. They would have sleepovers in his room, finding the thrill in staying up past their bedtime talking about every little thing and making up stories with each other.

A part of him knew he missed that closeness with her but his mind refused to allow him to admit it. He'd have no time for her, with training and matches. His mind was plagued by the thought of her. Why could he not allow himself to reach out to her and rekindle their friendship? He pushed himself up and made a beeline towards his wardrobe, deciding to clear his mind by going for a quick run nearby his building.

The rain had stopped, it looked as though there had been no sign of rain in the slightest. Almost as though the sun had been shining all day. It was nearing nine in the evening and the sun was just beginning to set. He made his way towards the park nearby, ready to do a few laps around it, when his eyes caught gaze of two people he was familiar with. His teammate and his childhood best friend, sat on a bench, coffee in their hands as they chatted away. He scoffed at the image and began to purposely creep closer to them. A blush grew on his face, at the embarrassment, as he realised it wasn't them but rather two strangers, who didn't know him at all; he was thankful that he didn't call out their names. He couldn't seem to shake the idea of his friends getting to know each other, in any other way than platonic. He was protective of her. That was his Mia, his best friend. He always had been protective of her. No time away from her would ever change that. To him, there simply wasn't a man good enough for her.

Running certainly did help him clear his mind, for the first time in days he was able to shake the thought of her and he fell asleep to the comfort of an empty mind, no longer plagued by a girl from his childhood.

Morning came around quicker than he expected, for the first time in days he felt well rested despite the bedroom situation. He couldn't wait for his furniture to arrive. The emptiness of his home somehow made his mind fuzzy and messy. It also exaggerated his loneliness, with the only socialising he had gotten was through his training and matches. Exasperated, he found himself typing a message to the girl he had finally shook out of his head.

"Mia,
Sorry about last night, I am unsure as to why I ignored your knocks. I would love to catch up. I've missed you.
-E"