7 Minutes ~ Jude Bellingham

an unexpected meeting

Lena's POV:

Lena's home, Dortmund - 10u36

"Come onnnn Lena, please join me tonight. It will be good for you to leave this house!" Leonie said. My crazy best friend came over for a sleepover last night because I didn't want to sleep alone. She was the only person that kinda knew what was going on with me and Ralf, but I didn't tell her all the details so she wouldn't go to the police. I told her I fell down the stairs face first because I wanted to leave during a fight. That's not what happened, but it was good enough for her to believe me and not ask any further questions.

Now she was standing on my bed, begging me to join her to a football game in Dortmund tonight. I really didn't want to go, because God knows how Ralf will react when he knows I left the house without his permission. But on the other side, he wasn't here. And maybe she was right; it would do me well to leave this house for a while.

"Please Lena, do it for me. It will be such fun! Dortmund against Freiburg, that's going to be a very spectacular game!" she went on, and I eventually gave in.

"Okay, but I need to be home by eleven. Because if Ralf comes back tonight and he sees I'm gone I'm in serious trouble." I said and she was quick to fling her arms around me.

"Yeah yeah, we will. This will be SO much fun!" she screamed in my ear, and I laughed.

Lena's POV:

Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund - 19u57

So here we are. It's around 7 and we're standing outside the Signal Iduna Park. Everywhere I look I see people dressed in black and yellow outfits. Some of them are wearing replicas of the shirts that the players will be wearing on the pitch. I see names as "BRANDT", "REUS", "SCHLOTTERBECK" and "BELLINGHAM". To be honest, I have no clue who these players are and what they look like. But I'm happy to be here.

Leonie brings me to our seats in the stadium and I look at the view we have. We're quite far down, with a good view over the pitch. I look to the tunnel and see the players walking on for their warmups.

I look at each of there faces, but there is one that catches my interest. He's tall and looks quite young. As he is still wearing his jacket I can't see his name, but on his shorts I can see that his number is 22.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer" I hear someone saying next to me. I turn my head and see Leonie grinning at me. "Huh? What?" I ask, and she laughs. "You're staring at Bellingham, Lena. But to be honest, I can't be mad at you for that." she says. So his name is Bellingham.

During the warmup, my eyes follow every move he makes. Something about him drags my attention to him. I can't really put my finger on it. It's not that he's my type, because he isn't. His looks are the total opposite of Ralf's, but in a good way.

As I'm looking at him he turns around and looks around the stadium until he locks eyes with someone.

With ME.

We're staring at each other for a good 20 seconds until Leone snaps me out of my trance. "DID JUDE BELLINGHAM JUST STARE AT YOU?! WHERE IS THE BEREAL NOTIFICATION IF YOU NEED IT GODDAMN" she yells in my ear.

"Auwch Leonie, not so loud. You're going to loose your voice even before the game has started." I reply, trying to change the subject. Yes Jude Bellingham just stared at me, just like I was staring at him.

Lena's POV:

Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund - 23u18

2-0 for Dortmund with goals from Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi. Jude played the whole game, but unfortunately wasn't able to score a goal.

"That was a good game" Leone said and I nodded. "Yes it was, I'm happy that you brought me here." I said and she gave me a side hug.

"Anytime babes" she smiled back.

We were walking out of the stadium until I saw the time being displayed on one of the big screens in the stadium.

23u18.

"SHIT! I need to go home immediately! Ralf is going to kill me" I yelled before I sprinted out of the stadium. Leonie yelled something back and I sensed she was running after me. But in that moment I didn't care, because I was terrified of what was waiting for me at home.

I saw a lot of people going right, so I decided to go left so that not too many people would walk in my way.

Apparently that was because fans weren't allowed in that area, but I only noticed that when two security guards started yelling at me.

"Fräulein, Sie haben hier keinen Zutritt!" the taller one yelled.

I ignored them and kept on running until I hit something. Or was it someone?

"Oi, easy there butterfly" the person said after I had hit them full Usain Bolt speed. I could hear a very outspoken British accent. "I'm sorry, I need to go" I yelled back before continuing my race home.

I was too stressed to notice that I had lost my necklace during the collision. The person however turned around and yelled

"Hey there, your necklace!"

But I had already disappeared in the dark streets of Dortmund.

? POV:

Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund - 23u21

I'm so confused about what just happened. A girl crashed into me, lost her necklace and ran away.

"LENA WAIT!" I hear someone yelling and I see another girl running through the secured area where the players leave the stadium after the game. The girl however stops, puts her hands on her legs and tries to catch her breath.

"Hey! Do you know her?" I asked, and her head quickly snapped into my direction. It was dark, and it could see her squeezing her eyes together trying to get a better view of me.

"Yes she's my best friend" the girl answered, and I nodded. "Okay good, because she lost her necklace."

Her friend came over to me and when she reached me, her eyes went wide.