Like Real People Do - Jill Roord

She Made My Soul Happy

Hunter's POV

Today we were facing Switzerland. We were playing in Bilbao, at San Mamés, which was a fairly large stadium compared to what we're used to. Plus, it was a sell-out today, so I hoped for an amazing atmosphere to bring my soul truly to life. 

We were just about to start our warmup, though I was waiting for Ona to finish braiding her signature plait, so we were a little behind all the other girls. 

"Okay," Ona sighed, standing up straight and brushing off her shirt, "I'm ready. Are you?"

I sent her a wide yet nervous smile, "Who knows."

"Oh come on," Ona sighed, putting her arm around my shoulders, "You're a Putellas, I think you guys were born ready to play. I'm surprised they didn't have you playing in Camp Nou the second you could walk."

I shrugged, speaking dramatically from the heart, "I mean they tried but I just always knew my home was elsewhere."

Ona shoved me onto the pitch gently, "I'm never going to get you to come home, am I?"

I pouted, thinking about it for just a second, "Who knows Ons, who knows."

"Don't you just dream about playing under those flood lights in Camp Nou," Ona sighed, picturing it in her mind. 

"It's not that simple," I responded. 

"You two!" Alexia shouted at us, "Warm up started three minutes ago, stop gossiping and maybe come join us!" I was yet again reminded that I received no special treatment from Alexia, if anything she was harsher on me than the others. 

"Well you're going to have to explain that to me after you score the winning goal today," Ona pointed towards me as we jogged over to our Spanish teammates.  

Mapi and I were stretching together, chatting a little as we always did.

"I think it's going to be a good match," Mapi nodded.

"Yeah, should be," I agreed, looking over to the Swiss team and seeing my dear friend Lia Walti, though I couldn't go over to her until after the match as we were on opposing teams today which was rather strange.

Suddenly Mapi chuckled, looking over to the crowd, "You've got to be kidding me," she muttered.

"What is it Maps?" I asked, furrowing my brows and only growing in confusion, it seemed I was rather unobservant most of the time.

Mapi pulled me close to her, pointing towards the crowd, "Front row, near the corner flag."

I shook my head, "Still don't see anything interesting."

Mapi huffed, realizing her instructions had to be in ridiculous detail, "Okay so just next to the-"

I gasped, a smile already falling onto my face before I could even process the sight.

"There we go," Mapi sighed, sarcastically clapping, "Took you a while."

I was in such shock that I didn't quite believe it could be true, "It's Jill," I whispered. 

"Yeah," Mapi confirmed, sounding a little confused as to why I was still standing next to her, "Aren't you going to go over to her or something?"

That's when I remembered I could actually move and I raced over to the smiling blonde. Jill and I had never casually hugged before but I found myself running right into her arms like it was second nature, "Oh my god," I laughed, still in disbelief as Jill hugged me tightly, swaying from side to side.

"Are you surprised?" She chuckled, I'd forgotten how her voice was like pure sunshine and her laughter were these chimes which took me to heaven for a split second. 

"Of course I'm surprised," I widened my eyes as the Dutch let me go, still baffled that she'd travelled to Spain, "Why are you here?" 

Jill raised an eyebrow, "To watch a game of football?"

I smirked, nodding slowly, "So you came to watch me."

"Who says I didn't come to watch Lia?" Jill challenged, the smile which traced her lips never faltering. 

I tilted my head, deciding to tease her a little, "Shall I go and get your favorite player then?" I joked, pretending to walk away. 

"No! Don't go," Jill begged, laughing, "I'm sorry."

I held my cheeks in my hands, "I still can't believe you're here. You're in Spain Jilly!" I told her, realizing how crazy that fact was.

"That was the plan when I boarded the plane," She joked. 

Suddenly I looked down and saw Jill's shirt, my smile only growing wider to the point my face ached. No one had ever made me smile as much as this girl, Jill's joy was infectious though she also made my soul happy; I didn't have to feed off her smile because I had my own. Jill made me smile. 

"It just keeps getting better and better," I sighed, "Never pictured you wearing a Spain shirt."

Jill's eyes never left my expression of pure, genuine happiness for a second, "Well I figured it was fitting for the occasion."

"Turn around then," I had to bite my tongue just to deal with the overwhelming thrill of Jill being here, she just had a knack of making me feel on top of the world, "That is perfect," I told her, seeing my name on the back of her shirt.

It was such a surreal experience, though I'm not sure why. I'd seen thousands of people wearing my shirt, including other friends of mine, but seeing Jill wear it felt special. It made my heart skip a beat and yet this strange anxiety in my stomach.

I realized I could tease her a little and I'd do anything to hear the sound of her laughter, it was becoming my new favorite thing, "Jill," I said, a little hesitantly. 

Jill's face dropped slightly, "What? What is it?"

I rubbed the back of my neck, "You're kind of wearing Alexia's shirt," I told her, seeing as both our shirts had Putellas printed on them.

Jill's face dropped even further, now her smile turning to a frown, "No," she replied quietly, sounding so upset as she looked down and then caught sight of my shirt number matching hers. And then she smiled and that's when the world stopped again. I'd search for something similar to the smile in her eyes and the freedom of her laughter forever just to constantly live in that feeling, but I somehow figured nothing would never quite compare, "You're lying!"

I held my hands up in defense, "I'm sorry, I just had to do it."

"I hate you!" Jill complained, her smile shining through. 

I frowned, pretending to be hurt by her words.

"Come here," Jill chuckled, pulling me into a hug once again, she waited until the laughter died down to speak, "I'm glad you're okay," she whispered.

As I rested my head on Jill's shoulder and felt her arms wrapped warmly around my back, I felt at peace. For a few moments, it didn't matter if anyone else liked me because Jill liked me and that somehow meant more.

I heard an awkward cough from behind me, making me pull away from Jill to see Leila, "Sorry to interrupt but coach says you've got to join the warm up."

I nodded, "It's alright, don't fancy getting injured today," I joked. 

Jill frowned, "Don't say things like that, you'll jinx it."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," I found myself so quickly apologizing to her once again when everyone else had to beg for one. "I'm going to go and warm up but I'll see you later, okay?"

Jill nodded, "I'll be watching."

It was difficult to turn my back on her when we'd been having such a good time but I knew the warm up was important. I stood besides Ona, waiting to do our drills as a couple of the girls got refreshments. 

Ona turned to me slightly, "Nothing going on, hey?"

I looked down, pushing that smile into a smirk was the most I could do, "Nothing at all," I answered back with a certain musical rhythm to my words, "Nothing at all."