Reassurance || Leah Williamson

Six

I was sitting in the changing room, trapped in my head, thinking about everything really. I'd gotten to training about 2 hours early just to be prepared. I was the first one here obviously; that was until the door clicked open and Viv, Steph, Beth, Lia, and Laura walked in.

"You're here early; when'd you get here?" Beth asked.

"An hour ago." She nodded her head and went to her spot. Everyone went about their own business, and the rest of the team slowly started to trickle in as training drew near. I felt someone sit down next to me, but I was too lost in thought to realize who it was. "What are you thinking about, Te?"

I looked over to Leah and said, "How I don't know where I'm going to fit into this team when my positions are taken by some of the best defenders."

"You say this as if you aren't a world-fucking class defender." I looked down and laughed a little. I turned to her and tried reading her face to find any hint of a lie. But I didn't find anything; it was sincere.

"C'mon, go prove to everyone else and yourself why you belong here." Leah offered me her hand that I took, but not without a blush; one can only hope she didn't see. Once we got to the field, Leah bounced over to Lia, and that made me laugh.

"Tess! C'mere!" I turned to see Kyra calling me over to her, Katie, and Vic. They're definitely up to trouble. "Hey guys, what's up?" I asked when I finally reached them.

"Ok, so we're trying to plan a prank on Less. Wanna help?" Katie asked with a smirk on her face. I thought about it for a moment. In the city, Kerstin and I would always play pranks on everyone. A little prank never hurts.

"I'm in. What are we thinking?"

"We were thinking during shooting practice we'd kick her ball away before she's able to shoot." Vic explained. It sounded easy enough and would probably be funny; now we've just got to wait until the end of training.

Training was honestly not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Don't get me wrong, it was hard work, but it was still fun. During a water break, Kyra came up to me, asking about the transfer.

"Yeah, it's been good so far. It wasn't too far of a move, certainly not as far as yours. You came from Sweden, right?" Kyra smiled, almost like she was thinking of the memories.

"Yeah, coming from Sweden's definitely farther, but I'm glad I did. Glad to have some of my mates around now too." Kyra's always with Caitlin or Steph, annoying them usually. That's what I've heard at least.

"That's fair. I'm definitely glad to have some more Dutch teammates here as well." Kyra nodded, and we soon went back to training.

As training neared the end, it was time for shooting practice. Vic called my name, and as I looked up, she gave the signal, telling me the prank was on. I was standing with Leah and Katie as Vic was with Kyra and Less. Beth kicked one out for herself to shoot, and she made top bins, causing me to yell, "TOP BINS!"

She laughed and gave me two thumbs up. Leah and Katie also laughed, causing me to laugh too.

Once it was Less's turn, she kicked it out sort of towards Vic, who smirked, and as Less started her runup, Vic kicked it out of the way, and Less almost fell. We all laughed, and Less tried to hide her laughter as she pushed Vic slightly. She then went to try again, and this time Kyra poked it away right as Less went to shoot. Frowning Less shook her head at Kyra, who laughed and ran to hide behind Katie, Leah, and me.

"You're turn, Tess." Katie whispered.

"What'd you say, Katie?" Leah gave her a questioning look.

"Nothing!" Both Katie and I said it in unison. Leah narrowed her eyes at us; I was getting concerned that she somehow knew our plans. "It's nothing, I swear." I told Leah, praying she'd drop it so we could continue the prank. She mumbled a 'yeah sure' and turned to Lia, who had joined us for a moment.

I started walking towards Less as she was getting ready to take another shot. Right as she started, she ran up. I ran and kicked the ball away from her before taking a step and shooting it myself. Right into the top left corner. "Hey!" Less shouted.

"Guys, can you let me shoot, please?" She begged. We all laughed at her, and eventually she gave in and laughed too.

"Oi Tess! Nice shot!" Kyra bumped my shoulder. She's always full of energy; at least that's what I've noticed so far. "Aye, thanks, Kyra. I used to be a winger, you know." It's true though; I played right wing for the longest time when I was a kid until I found center back. And I haven't looked back.

"Really? The more you know," Kyra said, and I giggled. We walked back towards Leah and Katie, though it looked more like Leah was giving a scolding to Katie.

"And YOU," Leah turned to me, making me freeze. Was she that mad? It was just a harmless prank; Less even laughed! I didn't plan it; it wasn't my idea! Blame Vic! Blame Katie! Blame Kyra! They dragged me in.

"I didn't take you as the pranking type. Now I've got to watch out for you too; I just know you're all going to annoy everyone with your guys' antics." She had a glint in her eyes as she suppressed a grin trying to be serious.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "The more you learn, Leah, the more you learn." I grinned as I nudged Kyra, and we continued our walk towards the changing room.