You're The One

Chapter 22

April 2021 - north London, England

"Yes!" I celebrated lightly as I netted in the tenth goal of the match. We were up against Gillingham in the FA Cup and had played an easy game. It was understandable for us to be winning by such a score considering Gillingham played two divisions below us, but it felt good regardless to help the team get a win. It was a great demonstration of the variation we had in goal scorers as well, with seven different players having their names on the scoresheet.

Soon enough, the full time whistle blew and we had progressed easily into the next round. With Arsenal's history of fourteen FA Cup trophy's, it was very important to everyone at the club that we succeeded. It had been quite a while since we'd won a trophy, so every step we made towards achieving that, was important. Subsequently, celebrations in the changing room went a little too crazy.

For some reason, we had been given a lot of champagne, and I ended up a little more than tipsy. Normally, I didn't drink alcohol. My non-football friends loved to call me a health freak because of how rarely I 'had fun', but it was because I was always focused on my body being at one hundred percent. Then however, it felt like the liquor was calling me towards it.

Jordan and Leah were sat next to each other on the opposite side of the changing room. I wished I could question why seeing them together pissed me off, but I knew the answer. Everyone was dancing to an old Rihanna song that had come on, and Jordan soon stood up to join. Leah remained seated though, her cheeks rosy from tiredness and the bustling changing room. Her dimples were on show as she smiled brightly, her chest rising up and down slowly.

"You're really special." I heard myself say as I walked over to sit beside her, and she looked cluelessly back at me. My low usage of alcohol had resulted in me having a chronically low tolerance to it.

"What?" She questioned, her pupils dilating as she stared at me, demonstrating how much alcohol she'd had.

"I said..." I continued, my brain fogging up - I had had way too much alcohol. "You're really special."

"Thanks." She responded, "You're pretty... pretty special, too."

"Pretty?"

"What?"

"Special or pretty?" I wasn't sure what I was saying, and I don't think she was either. I took another swig of the champagne bottle.

"Both." She said confused, and I handed her the bottle. "Thanks. Am I seriously drunk of champagne?"

"Do you want me to say yes or no?"

"I don't think I even want a response." She laughed as she said that, sipping the bubbly liquid.

"I'm sorry." What the hell was I saying?

"For what?" She replied, and even through my clouded thoughts I could still tell she wanted a real answer from me.

"For being such a bitch. You didn't deserve it."

"Fairs."

"Fairs?"

"I can be a bitch too. It's not the end of the world, don't worry about it."

"Yeah, but either way it wasn't right of me. You didn't do anything wrong and I still took out all my shit out on you."

"It's fine. I'm always here for you, to talk, to take your 'shit' or whatever. It's not 'shit' to me." She replicated quotations marks with her fingers in her response, and it seemed like she genuinely wanted to support me.

"If only you knew, Lee."

She looked at me blankly. "Huh?"

My eyes widened when I realised that I had said too much. "It's nothing. Trust me."

Viv then walked over, eyeing us worryingly. "I'm going to drive you guys home to make sure you're ok, alright?"

"Sure." I replied, giving her a thumbs up before grabbing Leah's hand and instructing for her to do the same.

Viv helped me pack the rest of my stuff up, before practically dragging me and Leah to the car. "Don't drink anymore." She said firmly.

"Course not. Thanks for the advice, Mum." Leah said, and I just laughed. My apartment wasn't very far from the stadium, so thankfully the journey went by quickly. Suddenly, I became aware of some sort of tension in the car.

"Is it really hot in here? Or is that just me?" I asked, fanning my face with my hands.

"Just you." Viv said back, but Leah interrupted.

"No, I'm hot too."

"Of course you two are both hot, you're drunk out of your minds." She answered calmly, but I rolled my eyes as I understood what else she was insinuating. I might've been drunk, but I wasn't oblivious.

After what felt like years, we finally arrived back home. "You sure you will be alright?" Viv asked yet again, and I tapped her on the shoulder to reassure her.

"See? I can walk in a straight line." I announced as I walked towards the apartment complex, before stopping to look back at her. Unfortunately, I hadn't noticed Leah walking straight behind, meaning once I halted she crashed directly into me.

"Ow." Leah said as she began to stand up.

"Oh lord." Viv said in response, helping us inside. "Make sure to text me tomorrow and tell me you're okay."

"Will do." I said, winking at her in goodbye. "Sorry for being stupid and making you take care of me."

"Don't worry about it. Go to bed." She instructed, shutting the door quietly as she left. I locked the door once she had departed, before turning to Leah.

"I need to tell you something." I said to her as she stood on the opposite end of the corridor. I was sick and tired of my feelings messing with my head, so what better time than to talk about it then - when I'd almost lost my mind and was speaking with the girl those feelings were about.

"For crying out loud!" She groaned in frustration, making her way over to me. "Will you just shut up already with this whole talking bullshit? There's nothing else to talk about."

"Leah-" I started to say, but she put her finger to my lip and shushed me.

"Just fuck it Aleid." I thought I might collapse when I heard her say my full name. "We can do more without needing any words." Oh no. Why was she doing this to me?

"We need to talk, first." I continued, trying my best to hold my ground. She was so unbelievably close to me, and in the dead silence I could almost hear her heartbeat.

"Not right now." She replied, her eyes fixated on my lips. I felt a bit nauseous, but almost in a good way. "Will you just kiss me already?"

"Fuck it." I told her, crashing my lips down to hers. She ran her fingers through my hair, deepening the kiss and I responded by placing my hands around her shoulders. It was everything and more than I had imagined it to be. As she took off my top, I worried as I thought about what would happen the next morning. All I knew was that my drunk actions were my sober thoughts. And that absolutely terrified me.