The Article ~ A.R

Chapter Sixteen

Evelyn's phone pinged, indicating she had recieved a message. The text read 'It's done'
Leaving the bathroom she went over to her girlfriend "What you doing?"
"Texting Leah, she thinks she might be able to play soon"
"Wow, that'd be insane" She wandered over to the fridge, grabbing a coke and scrolling through her instagram feed, it was mainly photos from Marie, she was on holiday with her new boyfriend in Ibiza.
"Mm, dinner tonight. I'm thinking pizza?" Alessia grabbed Evelyn's coke and had a sip "Tooney wants to come round soon as well"
They'd made a deal the day before that Less could invite one of her friends round, after she met her parents. "Yeah that sounds nice"

Alessia didn't know about what Evelyn had done, she would find out soon. Well, she would have to when she explained how she would lose her flat. She had been fired after Toby decided to print it anyway. Obviously she couldn't let that happen, so she bribed an old colleague of hers to get rid of the article from his computer. So, she had no money for rent.
"There's that nice pizza place down the street, but it's mad expensive" Alessia mused "And there's the cheaper one on Uber but Lotte said she found a fly in it once"
"Less, there's something I need to ask you" She sat down next to her.
"If you're going to ask me to marry you, the answer is no" She smiled lightheartedly before reading the girls face and body language. "What's wrong?"
"I lost my job" Staring down at the rings on her fingers, 1 of which belonged to Alessia.
"What..?" The look in her eyes was a mix of pity and anger, hopefully directed towards her boss rather than Evelyn "All because of the article? Is he going to publish it?"
She laughed nervously "Yeah, well, see the thing is" She twitched and her stomach was in knots "Isortofbribedsomeone" Her sentance comes out in a quick jumble "I bribed someone"
Her face was slightly amused but with a serious mask "You did what?"
"I bribed someone to delete it, I couldn't let it be published"
"You're stupid" Her girlfriend sighed "That's illegal you know"
"Mm yeah but I love you, I'd do anything for you" She kissed Alessia's nose "Anyway, I need to move in here, considering it's technically your fault"
"Ohhh my fault?" She smirked "My fault for making you write all those naughty things"
Evelyn nodded before heading towards the bedroom, sensing what was coming next.

Christmas 2023, their parents met.
"A toast" Alessia's dad raised his glass "To Alessia and Evelyn"
Evelyn blushed and kissed her girlfriend "To us" She clinked her glass with Alessia and then with the families. She rested her head on her girlfriends shoulder "I couldn't be happier"
"Neither could I" Kissing her forehead "Well, I do have one more present to give you" Smiling innocently at the girl "But, it'll have to wait until everyone is gone"
Helena had also brought her girlfriend so there were no incidents this year.

Valentines 2024, their very first valentines.
Alessia had a match on that day, Arsenal won 5-0, Alessia scoring a hat-trick. Every single time she would score, she would look over at Evelyn and make a hand heart.
"You did well today" She lent over the barricade and kissed her "I'm proud of you"
This was the day that they finally went on their first date. Well, first sucessful date. Dinner at a nice place then walk back to Alessia's house. The morning after Evelyn woke up early and made her a special breakfast, thanking her for the night before. By 'special' she did just mean pancakes.

Winter Transfer Period 2024.
Alessia got a record breaking offer from Paris Saint-Germain. She had asked Evelyn to go to Paris with her. Who wouldn't want to live in France with their girlfriend? Evelyn.
The icy tone through the phone whenever they spoke made it clear to Alessia that they were not cool. This went on for a good few weeks.
Evelyn was desperate. She missed her girlfriend. She missed the scent of her perfume. She missed the way that whenever she was tired, she would rub her eyes and her nose would turn pink. She didn't want to back down, she was furious that she went to Paris. But she loved her. She didn't want to give up the life she made here but, she certainly couldn't give up Alessia.

February 2nd 2025
Moving day.
Evelyn hugged her parents goodbye at the airport, her heart in her throat. She hadn't seen Alessia for a month now, were they still going to be okay? Will she still love her?
And, she didn't like planes. She'd never been on one by herself before.
Just before she boarded she texted Alessia, 'See you in a few hours x'
Handing over her boarding pass she walked on the plane, dreading the next few hours.

Running at the blonde, she jumped at her. Inhaling the familiar scent and sighing happily "I've missed you"
"I've missed you more, now lets go home" She dragged the girl into her car.
They finally had time together, after months of frustration.
They both imagined that they would go straight to their bedroom, but as soon as they got home, all they wanted to do was be with eachother.
"Eve"
"Mm?"
"I love you"

20th October 2025
As Alessia stood by the podium, she didn't care about the hundreds of people in the venue, or the millions at home. All she cared about was her girlfriend.
"And finally, to my girl. I know you've been learning Italian for me. Tesoro mio, sei la luce della mia vita. Se ti perdessi, non potrei andare avanti. Ti amo piu di ogni altra cosa. Sei la mia anima gemella e la mia migliore amica. Ti adoro. Allora, mi vuoi sposare?

Of course, when their kids asked, they always told them a fairytale romance. One where it was love at first sight, not lust at first sight. One where their dates went to plan and they didn't get in arguments and have sex on repeat.
Who knows? Maybe when they're older they'll find the photographs of their young parents. Then Evelyn could tell them their real story.
Until then, it had to stay a bedtime story of Princess Lessi and Princess Eve.