hard feelings - an erling haaland story

seven

They hadn't spoken since that evening, with Erling lying to his parents about the frequent contact they weren't having. With her birthday drawing closer as the days passed, he knew that he would eventually have to see her, later rather than sooner. However, as fate would have it, it would, unfortunately be sooner rather than later. With Jack throwing a small movie night for some of their team, he knew it was only a matter of time before he walked into the apartment and be met with the woman he had been purposely avoiding. Maybe, the odds would be on his side and she wouldn't be there. Just in the same building, a few floors down.

With Phil knocking softly on the door, Erling heard the slight murmur of two voices speaking coming from behind it. Two voices he was familiar with. He could hear the flirtiness lace within her Australian accent, which was thicker than usual. Something that only happened when she was nervous. What could Jack possibly be saying that would make her nervous? He listened as foot steps approached the door, gulping sligtly as he was met with the small framed woman stood at the door. He found himself looking down at her, observing everything he could see. Nothing out of place, every hair pulled back into a bun. Her sweatpants hung low on her waist, a cropped vest hanging low, almost as though it the neckline had been pulled down by someone's finger. It would explain as to why her voice had exposed her nerves but that wasn't in character of the Amelia he had spoken to. She dripped with confidence, every word she spoke was said with purpose and he knew she meant every single word. Every time she looked at him, eyes scanning him up and down, her intention was obvious. How was Jack, now, the one making her nervous? Since their youth, Erling had been used to being the only person that made Mia nervous. Upon reflection, he couldn't explain as to why he was so blind to the obvious teenaged crush she had for him.

"Jack, your guests are here. I should be off. Good workout today." She glanced over at Erling, who tried his hard to keep a blank face, not wanting to rise to her words. "Enjoy your date night lads. Don't do anything, I wouldn't do."

Jack jogged slightly, laughing as he heard her words. "You'd do anything, you dirty bitch." He joked to her, giving her a pat on the head.

"Don't call her that, bro. What the fuck?" Erling spat. Annoyed couldn't even describe his emotions. Questions flooded his mind. Who was Jack to say that about her? Why would she even let him utter those words? Most importantly, why would Amelia let Jack disrespect her like that in front of his teammates, in front of him?

The rest of the group had formed a small crowd, shifting awkwardly at the interaction of the Norwegian man and the Brum man. Amelia could sense this and tried to divert the attention to them. "If Jack tries telling you the food in the oven were made by him, it wasn't. He dragged me to his flat after the gym, insisting I help him with it."

"Thank you, woman I do not know the name of." Nathan spoke up. "I'll be resting easy tonight knowing Jack will not be giving me food poisoning."

Erling watched as Amelia moved out of the way, letting the group enter the apartment. He stood back, allowing the door to close behind them, staying out in the corridor with her. His eyes followed her as she walked towards the entrance to the stairwell. She stopped, turning around to face him. "Flat 603. Come find me if they start to bore you. I know of many things that will get you goin'."

His mind was hazy as he took a step into the apartment of his teammate. Eyes scanning the place, wondering which spot Amelia claimed as her own, like she had at his childhood home. His mind created images of her sat atop the kitchen island, arms wrapped around Jack's neck, as he leaned in closer to her, breaking the distance between them. He grumbled, sitting down on the sofa, next to Kevin, who gave him a small smile before turning his head back to the conversation happening between John Stones and Phil.

As he sat in silence, growing antsy at the images his own mind was forming, he abruptly pushed himself up, mumbling an excuse about how he left something in his car and that he should go get it, informing them to begin eating without him but he wouldn't be long. As fast as his feet could take him, he made his way down the stairs to the floor below, running to find the flat number she had previously mentioned to him. Erling could feel himself grow more frustrated, it was as though the woman had him in a trance, like he was under some stupid love spell that meant he couldn't control his own actions. Without another thought, he pounded his fists on her door, like it was some sort of emergency.

She opened the door, not even looking at who it was that had knocked. He noticed that her hair was wet with nothing but a towel wrapped around her to maintain her dignity. He assumed that Amelia knew it was him. That it was part of the game she was playing. "Chloe, my love, you've got to stop forgetting your keys, what if I wasn't in?" She groaned. So, she didn't know it was him. He was stumped, surely she was able to tell the difference between him and her flatmate. They certainly looked nothing alike, if he remembered Chloe correctly from the night at the bar, she was a tall, tanned woman with long dark hair and dark eyes, quite frankly the opposite of him.

"It's me, Mia." He spoke softly, making the girl's head snap back to face him. He watched as her hands tapped around on the kitchen counter, stopping at the glasses that she had brushed against. She slid them on effortlessly, looking over at him. Now, he was the one making her nervous, he watched her chest rise and fall, Amelia trying to control her breathing.

"That didn't take you long, did it?" She questioned. "What was it? Maybe twenty minutes? Jack's not that dull, I know all about that. He definitely has a way of making time fly by quickly." He approached her, creeping closer to her, making her back up into the counter behind her. She was cornered, eyes glaring up at him, a smirk forming on her face, as her eyes met his blue ones. "You know this entire time, I was over here thinking that you had green eyes. Clearly, we don't know each other as well as we thought we did."

He stopped in front of her, no space left between the two of them. He felt her breath halt as he looked down at her. "Don't do that, Mia. You and I both know that you're my number one fan. Going to my matches, wearing my name and number on you proudly. Probably thinking about me all those times you were with your boyfriend" He paused, smirking at her, watching as her face heat up, turning red at his words. He felt her move from underneath him, going up on her tiptoes, attempting to lessen the little distance they had between them. He laughed, standing up straight, creating even more distance, earning a huff from her. She attempted to break free from the corner he had trapped her in. "Let me pass, Erling. I need to get dressed and you have a date night to be returning to. I'm sure they're wondering where you are."

"Do you think about me when you're with Jack? Wondering about how my lips would feel on yours." His voice was nothing more than a whisper. "Does he try to call you by my name for you? Does it sound the same coming out of his mouth? Did you tell him what it was for?" His long fingers traced down her jawline, his eyes still staring into hers. "Mia bella there is no need to bring that man into your silly game, as a pawn to get a reaction out of me. We both know that I could have you if I wanted to."