BOUND BY THE GAME [STEPH CATLEY STORY]

A few years before

A/N Freya is 20 and Steph is 22. Btw I'm aware these dates will be wrong I do know the dates but for the sake of the timing of the story, it's like this.

2020 World Cup

Freya's POV

The feeling of stepping out into the tunnel before a game never gets boring. The excitement. The thrill. The adrenalin. Especially with your country badge on your chest in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

As we line up I do my prematch ritual kind of which includes:
- Me jumping exactly 3 times bringing my knees to my chest.
- Looking down the opponent line for the person I mark and vice versa.

Looking down Australia's line I spotted the player. Number 7. The wonder. Steph Catley. I've never played with or against her before so I don't have much experience with her but I have seen her play during the knockouts against Canada, and damn. She is one hell of a defender. In all fairness, nobody had expected Australia, more known as the Matildas, to have even qualified for the World Cup let alone reach the quarter-final. We knew they had upped their game and they were not to be judged quickly. Walking out of the tunnel following number 2 Lucy Bronze with number 4 Keira Walsh following me, we were led out by our captain, Ellen White.

The uproar from the crowd always makes you proud to be English; you never want to let them down. I could hear Lena, who is one of my best friends, and her big gob. I could see Jude next to her giving her an extreme side-eye [Yes THE Jude Bellingham]. They both claim to hate each other but I think it's all bullshit and besides they would make a killer couple. Next to Lena, I saw my sister Mia and brother Harvey, Mia had a massive smile plastered on her face like always, her smile will always make me smile, Harvey was laughing with my son Theo in his hands who was also screaming with laughter. My parents couldn't make the match but I know they will be watching it from the cafè they own.

As the national anthems were sung and we took our positions, we all took the news to show that no sort of discrimination would be allowed. With the whistle blown, Ellen kicked the ball to the defence, Sam to be specific. From there, Alayah got the ball a dribbled it up the right wing. We were pressing the tillies as much as we could. We decided to switch things up and attack via the left wing, aka me. Chesting the ball down, I gracefully touched my first touch of the game. I knew I was one of the fastest players in the England squad and Chelsea squad, so I used this to my advantage gliding past Cooney-cross. However, I was lastly approached by number 7 who was putting pressure on me so I had to swing an early cross a lot earlier than I had wanted and my teammates had anticipated. In the corner of my eye, I saw Catley smirk I rolled my eyes at it.

The ball was safe in the gloves of Arnold who made for a quick break which neither I nor my teammates had expected. It was obvious we all started panicking as the ball immediately reached Kerr, who is phenomenal when it comes to finishing. Luckily for us, Alex always stays back in case things like this happen. She managed to block. For the next fifteen minutes or so the ball was back and forth between each team and the halves, being passed around. Ultimately no team had any big chances or goals on target. It wasn't until Keirahad spotted a gap to take advantage of that she did this swiftly. The ball was passed to me as I raced down the wing, I realised that when I touched the ball I was in front of the defenders only by a little bit but I noticed. One thing that Emma teaches us at Chelsea is that don't stop play until the ref blows their whistle so that is exactly what I did. I leant back swinging my right leg so the inside of my boot hit the balk with some power. It seemed decades had gone by as the ball was flying in the air from the angle I was at it looked like it wasn't going in until it curved into the top left corner. I watched with great satisfaction as the net rippled. The crowd uproared as I ran to the corner post tapping my badge whilst Freed from Desire blasted through the stadium. I couldn't help but hear the Australian accents complaining. Catley was the closest to me mumbling slurs under her breath something English fucking bastards.

Freya- I'm sorry, what was that I didn't quite catch it.
Steph- Well then that sucks for you then.
Freya- NO please enlighten me what the fuck did you just mumble about us.
Steph- I CALLED YOU AN ENGLISH FUCKING BASTARD.
Freya- WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE RAISING YOUR FUCKING GOB AT ME DID I DO IT TO YOU? NO I FUCKING DIDN'T, AND WELL DONE FOR ACKNOWLEDGING THAT I AM ENGLISH.

Before Catley could say anything else our teammates came and separated us before the ref could retaliate. I could see she was frustrated but it couldn't be anything that I felt after all I was half-Irish. The whistle went signalling halftime. Walking back down the tunnel I felt someone barge past me and of course. It's Steph Catley.

Freya- I'm a person with feelings you know.
Steph- NO fucking way you look like something on the bottom of my shoe.

As she said that she bent down and got a bit of grass from her boots and chucked it at me. Anger washed through my veins but I couldn't retaliate as the ref was stalking me like a hawk. Sarina did her team talk and then let the captain do another speech. Everyone was talking tactics but I couldn't socialise I was too angry. The second half had started and obviously, we were one nil up. Have you ever had a feeling like you are being watched? Well, that is exactly how I felt I mean obviously because I was in a stadium full of thousands of people but because one person was glaring at me. Catley. If looks could kill I would be dead. As the game progressed we became more and more dominant which was frustrating the matildas. They were they were sliding, pushing, gripping left right and centre. I was once again in the same position as I was just before I scored but this time Catley was nowhere near which was a bit suspicious, I had a bad feeling something bad was going to happen.

Catley suddenly sped up just about keeping up with me I was about to cross it when she dived, sliding under me and taking both my legs out from underneath me, my right leg first. For a split moment, I thought I was dreaming as I was flying in the air... Until I came crashing down on my left side and that was when I felt it. Pain shot up my right leg and my left arm. I looked down at my leg and fuck my life, my knee. My kneecap was not where it was supposed to be. I screamed and cried in pain. It was worse than fucking childbirth. The medics took me off on the stretcher where I was assessed and got told my injuries. My left arm was only sprained but I had dislocated my knee badly, so bad I needed surgery. They said it wouldn't have been so bad if a certain person's stand hadn't come in contact with my knee. I was told I would be out for at least 6 months if not longer or I could even never make it back to professional football again. All because of Steph fucking Catley.

A/N WOOHOOO FIRST CHAPTER. The next chapter may be a bit longer of a wait due to exams and coursework needing to be done😔😤 BUT HEY AFTER THAT I WILL PROBABLY HAVE LOADS OF TIME TO WRITE MORE CHAPTERS. Anyway, enjoy your evening. 1402 words.