hard feelings - an erling haaland story

twenty-eight

She looked up at him, praying that her alarm wouldn't wake him up. Although, he probably would've been thankful to wake up and move to the comfort of his bed. She brushed his hair out of his face before placing a small kiss on his cheek. Doing this caused him to stir in his sleep. His cheek burning from the contact. His eyes fluttered open, immediately landing on her retreating figure. He let out a small groan as he stood up, causing her to turn back to find him stood up, swaying slightly at the sudden movement.

"E, you need to go to bed." She spoke, standing still, waiting for him to approach. "I've got to go to work. I'll see you later."

Like she had expected, he approached her wrapping his long arms around her. "You should quit your job."

"And who's going to pay my bills, E?"

"Me." He stood straight, standing proud. "I can afford it. I always told you I'd provide for us. You're my WAG afterall."

"I'm not quitting my job to become a full-time WAG, my dad would have a stroke if I told him that."

The thought had never crossed Erling's mind. Sure he had been worried about what her family would say, but it never occurred to him that her dad had a preconception of what footballers were like. Danny had first hand experience of the parties, the affairs, the drama that came with being a professional football player. The late nineties/early noughties weren't exactly the most tame period of football. He hoped that knowing Erling would be enough for Danny to ignore the red flags attached to his career. He would want nothing less than to finally get the girl, only to lose her due to her disapproving father.

He spent the whole day in thought, his mind bouncing from one question to another. He began panicking over the prospect of her father's disapproval. He could fight it, prove to her father how much she truly meant to him, show him how much he loved her and wouldn't hurt her. Football had changed a lot in the time since her father had retired. Erling wasn't like the other players he had come across throughout his career. He didn't enjoy partying and he certainly wouldn't even dream about cheating on Amelia. His brother would be the first to rip him to shreds.

His apartment suddenly felt small and suffocating, the air was dry causing him to gasp for breath. The emotion running through his veins confused him, he had never felt it before. He was thankful that he was sat down or he feared his legs would collapse from underneath him. He found himself struggling to catch his breath. It was unusual for Erling to overthink to this extent. How could he not? When the last thing he wanted was to lose his best friend and the woman he loved.

Time seemed to drag as he waited for her to finish her shift, just seeing her would be enough reassurance and stop him from overthinking their future together. His mother really was correct when she said he needed Amelia to keep him grounded. It pained him to imagine that in the months they had been reunited he had hurt her in more than one way.

Her eyes were bright despite the dark circles underneath them. Her dimpled smile greeted him as he opened the door to her. Immediately, without a second thought, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. "I've missed you so much, kjæreste."

"It's been eight hours, E and you were asleep for most of them."

"Do you think Danny would approve of us dating, Mia?"

They had spoken at the same time but his words had taken her by surprise, not expecting such a question to fall out of his mouth seconds after greeting her. Her father disapproving hadn't crossed her mind. In fact, he'd be thrilled that she was with someone like Erling. Or so she would've thought. Her father had a funny habit of comparing previous partners to him, constantly stating that Erling would've been a better match. She'd be surprised if he thought otherwise.

"E, I think you're worried about the wrong family member. My dad loves you. Of course he'd approve. Gio, on the other hand? I'm not too sure about that. You'll have to score some more goals for him before he'd approve." She grabbed his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers together. "My dad spent years talking about how there would be no one as good as Erling. I'd be surprised if he didn't approve. We'd probably see him jump up and down in joy when we tell him."

Erling laughed at her reassurance. She was right, their fathers had spent years playing together at the club he now played at, during this time the two children were teased relentlessly by their fellow teammates. It wasn't a shock to see them end up together. Amelia would joke that they had manifested it happening, whilst Erling would agree with the statement with all seriousness.

It was amusing to the pair how fate worked. They had their own repeated pattern, something that happened without fail. They would fall out, spend time apart. They were both stubborn people, there was no doubt about it; this caused them to be apart for a longer period than either party would've wanted. They kiss and make up and develop their relationship further. From friends to best friends to strangers and then to being a couple. No matter the connotations, they were always each other's significant other, they might as well have been attached at the hip. No ocean or distance was ever enough to separate them permanently.

Being in a relationship was a grey area for the Norwegian man. He had spent most of his life dedicated to his passion and career, that he missed out on the stupid teenaged relationships that everyone experienced. He found himself worrying about whether he would be a good enough partner to her. Sure, he was a good friend but would this be transferable to being together romantically? Would he be a good boyfriend to someone who deserved the world? Love was frightening to him. Love was foreign but Amelia wasn't. Everything he thought love could be was summed up within her. She was hard to not love.

His mind rushed to a memory of them in their youth. They couldn't have been more than thirteen years of age. The Australian sat with her back pressed against the wall with Erling on her right. She turned her head to face him, finding him already looking at her.

"Have you had your first kiss yet?" She questioned him to which he shook his head. "Ivy has. She said it was gross."

Erling let out a small laugh at her, slight jealousy had formed at the mention of her friend from back home, worried that he would be replaced with her. "Maybe but Ivy likes to say a lot though, Mia. You shouldn't trust her."

As he spoke, he noticed her leaning closer to him, planting a small peck on his lips. He was surprised by the action but didn't fight it. Amelia, on the other hand, begun panicking almost immediately, rambling about how she was sorry and she hadn't meant to do it. Curiosity had gotten the best of him and he found himself, leaning back in, kissing her.

The memory was vague and faded. In fact he had forgotten that he had shared his first kiss with the same girl, who lay on his lap, as she scrolled mindlessly through the film options on the screen. As he kept his gaze on her, she diverted her attention on to him. "E, you're staring, is everything okay?"

"Do you remember our first kiss?" He questioned her,

She raised her eyebrow at him, unsure if he was asking her a trick question. He had been asking multiple questions since the previous night, making his concerns clear. Though, she knew they were all coming from a good place. "Of course, I do, E. We were in your room in Bryne. You were getting jealous of Ivy. You didn't look me in the eye for days afterwards."

There weren't many memories that he found himself questioning but he wondered as to how he could've been so blind to his own crush on his best friend, when they were each other's first kiss. The irony of it made him chuckle, old habits do die hard. She remembered everything about him, every single memory they had together were cherished by her. He felt guilty for wiping them out, for erasing them and pretending like she never existed. And for what? For some boys who deemed her a distraction to him?

He wondered how different their lives would be if their separation at fourteen never happened. Would they have ended up together sooner than twenty-two? He knew that everything happened for a reason, if they were to have gotten together earlier, they would never have stood a chance of lasting for the long run, but now, in the present moment? Now felt right, now would present them with far less hurdles than the past would've. No matter what, he knew he would've, at some point, ended up in a romantic relationship with his best friend, with his Mia.