Erling stopped in his tracks as he saw Jack wrap his arms around her waist. A sight he wasn't expecting to see, unsure as to why the Australian had been there in the first place, at their training ground after they had finished. He had hoped that kissing her would keep her away from him, so that the game would end. So she could stop fucking with his head. In turn he could get back to isolating himself from her and focus on his career. He didn't need distractions and nothing was ever certain in football. One day he could be playing for Manchester City and the next a team miles away, on the other side of the earth, could offer to pay the fee of his release clause and he'd be moving. Not that he would want to, it had always been a dream of his to play for the club and he liked the people he was surrounded with but still, nothing was guaranteed and Erling wanted to make sure there was nothing in the city that would make furthering his career more difficult. Attachment was something he didn't need.
He continued to watch as Jack planted small kisses atop her head, as Amelia played with Ronnie, Phil's son. Jack's actions enraged the taller man, he didn't like how comfortable he looked being so close to Amelia, cuddled up to her as though she would fall apart if he let go. Ronnie noticed Erling standing by the door, giving him a small wave over Amelia's shoulder, by doing so, the young boy had made it obvious that Erling had been watching them. Amelia turned around, giving him a quick smile, before she diverted her attention back to Phil's son.
Ever since the night of their first kiss, Erling had spent most of his days thinking about the Australian. He pondered about what she was doing, whether she sorted the dilemma she was in or if she would be seeing Jack that day. He had hoped that Jack and Amelia's relationship had been strictly platonic and nothing more. He was unsure as to why he felt this way but he knew that it would ruin his day to find out they were linked romantically. Their intimacy was something he often found himself denying ever happened, despite changing room gossip saying otherwise.
Erling hated how open Jack had been in regarding his sex life. He hated how every time he heard stories about Amelia and Jack being intimate, he wouldn't be able to shake the image out his mind for days. After the constant recurrence of the images of Jack on top of Amelia, he found it useful to channel the anger he experienced from these thoughts into his training. Releasing his anger each time he kicked the ball at the goal. If there was one thing he was thankful for, it was whatever this was. He barely missed a goal or penalty during training.
Yet, as he stood, watching their number 10 play with the back of her arm, drawing circles, he didn't feel the same anger he had managed to control, to use to his advantage, he felt numb, like a numbness that made him feel hopeless, like he had been teased by the light at the end of the tunnel, except as he crept further into the tunnel, the light began getting further away. A feeling he hadn't often experienced, something that had only happened once before. A memory he had successfully managed to suppress. Another moment that involved Amelia. He remembered feeling the same emotions as the girl grabbed his hand, stopping him in the hallway purposely.
Amelia stared at him, for what felt like hours, not a word was spoken. They just stood there in the hallway of Erling's childhood home. She opened her mouth to speak, her eyes filling with tears. After, what felt like a life time, Amelia began to speak, her voice wavering, as she fought back the sobs that were threatening to escape. "E, please, I feel like I'm getting in the way, do you even want me here?" She looked up at him, her eyes staring into his. They stood in silence, Erling not saying a word. "Just say something, anything! Please, I'm begging you. Please just tell me you want me to continue coming here to see you or that you actually want to talk to me. Where's my best friend gone?" She paused, waiting for him to speak, wishing he would say something, she would take a stupid mix of words that didn't form a sentence. Anything to break the uncomfortable silence between them. "I'll take that as your answer then." He watched as she walked away from him, joining his brother and sister and their parents, not looking back, like she always had.
YOU ARE READING
hard feelings - an erling haaland story
Fanfiction"the whole world knows, but you." "bet you wanna rip my heart out." communication had never been their strong suit but neither of them had expected this outcome but what is there to expect from a generation that found a rush from fucking with their...
