ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ꜱᴇᴇᴍᴇᴅ ꜱᴏ ɢᴏᴏᴅ

PART EIGHT - CHAPTER ONE; DECLAN RICE

PART EIGHT – CHAPTER ONE;

DECLAN RICE

9th July – 12th July

The monumental win to take them into the final is starting to weigh heavy on some of the boys as they head ever closer towards the final on the 11th July. However even with all the preparations and additional training it still isn't enough for the team. England lose to Italy on Penalties after the toughest match of the tournament.

Declan Rice, Mason Mount and John Stones all start for the final time for England while Ben Chilwell isn't even picked for the squad. Declan and Mason have to watch the defeat on the bench after both being subbed off late in the match.

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Daisy grips onto Harri, her one arm round her back while the other hand is in her mouth, running her nails over her teeth as she watches it unfold, watching as their dreams all slip away from them, watches as they are robbed of it all.

She sobs softly as the final whistle is blown, trying to calm herself down, knowing she needs to stay strong for him.

But when she feels like she is pulling herself together she sees him coming into view tears falling freely from Declan's eyes as he is consoled by some of the team and just like that she cries once more.

Harri keeps a hold of her, shushing her, reminding her that it will all be alright, the same thing she will be saying to Ben later and she knows Daisy will be saying to Declan too, but at this moment the girls need each other.

It was unfair, it was cruel, and it was over. England had lost the final.

*

Daisy runs her hand through the back of Dec's hair, feeling the strands between her fingers as she sits upon his lap, his hand around her waist, clinging to her.

He looks around the table, a mixture of different expressions grip their faces, sadness, empathy and hurt just to name a few as he takes in his friend's expressions.

The one silver lining Dec has in this moment is that Laura isn't here, Sadie too, but he doesn't mind Sadie being here, he just really didn't need to see Laura's smug face at his downfall tonight, something which he thought she wouldn't have done before.

However, after speaking with Ben this week about who to invite to their little 'party' at the Grove and him mentioning he should technically invite Laura for Daisy's sake, Ben told him it would be best to rain check that and said he would elaborate at a later date.

Needless to say, they chose to not invite her and Harri managed to work her magic and get Sadie to plan something in that she dragged Laura to so she wasn't even aware that this party ended up being invite only to which she was the only person uninvited.

Daisy places a kiss against his temple, he's been so quiet tonight, not like himself at all.

He had clung to her hand as they stood talking to his family, although once again he didn't say much.

When his family left an hour or so ago, deciding it's easier to go home for them than stay especially with the fact he seems to only want Daisy at the moment than them, the pair of them moved towards the table that their friends were sat at.

Dec squeezes the top of her thigh when he feels the contact of her lips to his face, he can't tell her how thankful he is for her being here with him tonight, he is sure if she wasn't he would have shed more tears and possibly even bailed on this gathering all together.