hard feelings - an erling haaland story

five

In a blink of an eye, it was wednesday. He spent the day counting down the hours until he would be face to face with Amelia. His parents were a constant reminder as they vocalised their excitement to see the young woman. A feeling of nausea built up inside of him as the time got closer. Restlessness overtook him and he couldn't help but to fidget, bouncing his leg as he sat on the sofa, waiting for his father to finish getting ready so they could set off. His mother noticed his anxious behaviour and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He could feel a headache forming, he was nervous and he was unsure why. Erling knew Amelia well enough to know she wouldn't put a foot out of place but he couldn't help but worry about what she would say in front of them, about whether she'd say something that would egg them on when it came to the idea of them getting close again. If Erling wanted one thing and that it would be Amelia not mentioning her silly childhood crush on him in front of them, just to avoid her getting their hopes up over nothing. She was clearly more interested in Jack, despite what her birthday card to him had said.

The restaurant was dim and dark. He questioned as to why there was so many places within the city that was almost dark enough that you couldn't even see the people sat at your table, let alone anyone else. Though, this was something he would usually find irksome, he thought that maybe this would work in his favour. However, as they approached their table, it was clear that they were placed in possibly the brightest corner of any restaurant in Manchester. She had already been sat, eyes on her phone, fixated on whatever she was reading, too fixated to even notice them approach the table.

As Amelia heard their greetings, she shot up, startled by the sudden noise. A grin forming on her face immediately. She instantly gathered his mother into a hug, greeting her with words on how much she had missed his parents. He watched the way they communicated, it was obvious that they had seen each other a lot more recently than Erling and Amelia had.

"Seen your father recently, Mils?" Erling's father spoke as he took a seat opposite her.

"No, unfortunately not. The family is flying out in a few weeks for my birthday though. I'm excited for that." She smiled. "If you guys are free or in the area, I'd love for you to join us." She paused, watching the younger Haaland sit down next to her, instantly placing a hand on his knee as an attempt to greet him. "I hope you got my present, E."

Erling cleared his throat, not expecting her to speak to him so directly so soon after arriving. He certainly had no plans to, needing time to think over what he wanted to say to her. "I did, thank you, Mia. I cannot believe you remembered."

"Only took like ten years." She laughed. Her hand hadn't moved from his leg and he couldnt help but keep his gaze on it. She conversed with his parents, Erling taking in a deep breath at the contact from the girl next to him. His mother noticed his reservations and followed his gaze. She smiled at it, slightly nudging her husband next to him.

Erling let out the breath he didn't know he was holding in as he felt her arm move to pick up the menu in front of her. A shiver running through his body as he felt cold from the lack of her touch. She had been discussing her birthday plans with his parents, Erling listening carefully. The date rung a bell in his mind, there would be a match at the Etihad that date. Without even thinking about it, he interjected into their conversation. "We will have a game at home on that day. Maybe you could come along. Although, I do not think you would want to celebrate your day watching the football."

It was like she moved in slow motion, as her hand found its way back to his leg. "Thank you, E. I would love nothing more than to spend my birthday supporting you and I'm sure my dad would love that but I think we should stop talking about my birthday and celebrate Erling. The big two two."

More often than not, Erling found himself watching the woman to the right of him. He took notice of every movement that she did, every habit that she had, both old and new, and how her dimples popped as she laughed or smiled at something his parents had said to her. There was a difference in her smile depending on what she was responding to, her smile was brighter as she reminisced on memories with his parents, her dimples more pronounced. He didn't want to make it obvious that he had been watching her closely as the night progressed but he couldn't help it. It was almost as though he had no control over his actions. Mirroring her actions, he found himself placing his non-dominant hand on her thigh, feeling goosebumps run up his arm at the contact with her cold skin. She glanced at him before looking over at his parents, both of them, engrossed in their own conversation. She winked at him, turning her body slightly to face him. This sudden action making his cheeks heat up into a blush. She definitely wasn't the shy teenager he last encountered.

They had been sat chatting away for nearly an hour after they had finished their meals before Amelia excused herself, stating she needed to go to the bathroom. His parents' eyes following her figure walk away before darting to look at him. He threw his hands in the air, as though he was surrendering, laughing as he did so. They asked him questions about his childhood friend and told him to look out for her, worried about how ill she looked. He reminded them that she worked long hours and that she barely had any time to rest in between her shifts. His mum looked at him, with a stern gaze that made him feel like a small child again, reminding him to keep grounded when it came to Amelia and that she had supported him from the beginning, not to abandon her now he had an opportunity to rekindle their friendship and make up for lost time.

He scoffed at his mum's words regarding Amelia supporting him from the beginning. As he remembered it, she had been the one who had decided to let their friendship fizzle out. No more messages, visits or anything. His mother scolded him at the attitude he was showing her, telling him to actually look at the photographs and videos that she had sent to him when he first arrived to the city, knowing that he just ignored them.

Amelia returned to the table, sensing a slight tension between the family, unsure what to say, she forced Erling to shuffle over closer to his mother. They sat in an uncomfortable silence until it was broken by Erling's father, Alfie. "Shall I get the bill?"

Amelia shook her head, attempting to stop Alfie from grabbing the attention of a server. "Don't worry, I've already sorted it out." A smile growing on her face.

"Oh, darling. You shouldn't have. Let me pay you for it, how much was it?"

She once again shook her head, Erling watching her closely as a blush grew on her face. "No, I'm not allowing that. Please, take it as my way of paying you back for the insane amount of money you probably had to pay for the phone bills that the pair of us stacked up."

His father's eyes softened as he looked directly at the blushing woman sat next to his son. Erling looked down at Amelia, once again placing his hand on her thigh. "Can I at least drop you off home?"

"Oh E! That'd be fab but I live, like, a five minute walk away so I could just drop Jack a text and he'll set off so I don't have to walk back alone."

The male name made his parents' ears perk up, they were suddenly intrigued. He could see the questions ready to flow out of their mouths, ready to interrogate the poor woman about the person named Jack. As the questions started coming out, he couldn't help but feel the mischievous gaze coming from Amelia, as she answered every single one keeping her eyes fixed on him, watching to see a reaction from him. One particular answer made his ears ring, like he was about to pass out, her words repeating in his mind. "Jack? We're seeing each other. He also plays for Manchester City, funnily enough." The words echoed, not once stopping since they fell out of her mouth. It was like he was in a trance. A smirk formed on her face, the reaction she had wanted to see from him.

"Don't be silly, Amelia. Why don't you drop us off at our hotel first, Erling?" His mother spoke. "That way you children can spend some time alone together. To catch up, of course."

He watched as the smirk on her face grew bigger at his mother's words, a pit in his stomach forming. Her actions making him grow more nervous with every second that passed.