"can you see right through me?"
rain perez, a social media star tired of creating a false reality online for her followers and wanting to branch out. when rebecca welton offers her the job as afc richmond's head of social media, she takes the opport...
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when ola arrived at the grounds, rain was the one to greet him, promising sam that she would look after his dad until sam was free.
"mr obisanya, hi," rain greeted.
"hello rain and you know it's ola," he returned.
she smiled, letting him pull her into a hug, "sorry, ola. i'm just so excited to see you and i know sam is too. he hasn't stopped talking about your visit. i'll take you to see him just before training and then you can watch if you'd like?"
"i would love to rain," he replied, following her as she skipped down the halls, asking him question after question.
except it was not a good experience for them. they walked into the changing room to sam ranting and yelling. she frowned, quickly checking her phone to see that ola's had been wrecked. it had made the local news. people had broken in and destroyed the place. simi, the chef, had filled rain in, the pair having bonded over their friendships with sam and simi's ability to speak her mind. she even sent her pictures. it was awful.
"samuel," ola exclaimed, hearing his son curse multiple times, which was so unlike him. their eyes met, sam's face falling further as he let out heavy breaths. his eyes watered until he began to cry, rushing towards his father and hugging him tightly.
rain blinked back the tears threatening to fall at the scene in front of her.
"it's okay," ola comforted.
rain wiped a stray tear, "the weight room is empty if you want to talk in there."
"please, rain," ola replied, leading his son towards the room.
---
the team were finally trying out total football in a match and it wasn't going well.
their match against arsenal was poor, they were tackling themselves and playing as if they had never played before. by the end of the first half arsenal had a three goal lead.
once the whistle blew, the team (and rain) made their way to the changing rooms. spirits were low and each of them was trying to give criticism and ideas.
until jamie, following ted's speech, was given the finger by everyone, including rain, and given permission to be a prick once again.
"you gotta stop going to me and start playing through me," he revealed. when he was met with confused stares, he went to the board, explaining that he should be at the centre, not up front. with a little more explanation, they all understood.
with this new understanding, they managed to score, passing so fast that arsenal couldn't keep up.
arsenal may have won but for the first time in weeks they had played as a team.
---
rain helped rangle the team together, filling them in on what had happened. she didn't have to say anything, them all offering to help before the words left her lips.
before sam could show ola the place, rain had grabbed a step ladder, and began rewiring and fixing the sign, while those around her began to sweep and paint. skye and steph were their too, helping to fix the chairs and tables that weren't broken beyond repair.
sam arrived, watching the team working.
van damme noticed him first, "yo, look who's here."
"ah, the surprise is ruined," dani sighed.
"what are you guys doing here?" sam asked.
jamie stopped what he was doing, "well we all just asked ourselves, what does this situation need?"
"and we thought that your situation needed us," jan finished.
"yeah, i got my cousin to fix your window this morning, didn't get a discount though, cause he's a prick," isaac told.
"and i brought some cases of wine from my personal cellar, not the best stuff obviously but still very very good," richard added.
"his best is saved for me," rain quipped.
richard chuckled, "of course, my love."
colin gestured to rain, "and rain is trying to fix your sign."
she turned in her spot, "neon signs are just a bunch of illuminated, gas-discharged tubes. so, i thought i'd give it a shot." she threw the tool she was holding to the person below her. "screwdriver."
"you never fail to surprise me," jan admitted.
she smiled, "more than just the prettiest face here."
"hey, you know that's me," jamie called. "you hurt me babe."
"guys, this is incredible. honestly," sam interrupted. "thank you all so very much."
rain took a few more minutes before she was finished, "light her up lads."
they turned the sign back on, eliciting a few cheers, getting the attention of sam and ola.
"security camera's get here tomorrow morning," rain informed. "i know a guy."
---
ola, sam and simi cooked the team dinner, the rest pushing the tables together so they could all sit around and enjoy each other's company.
"where'd you learn to fix neon signs?" richard asked.
rain shrugged, "i didn't. i watched a youtube video earlier today."
steph leant forward, "what?"
"i learnt pretty early on that i have a weird skill for watching a youtube video and just getting it."
steph raised a brow, "that's-"
she pointed, "except cars. i can't fix cars... or tables."
colin frowned, "you can fix a neon sign but not a table?"
"i know. i just don't get tables."
"but it's just-"
jamie shook his head, telling colin there was no way he would get an answer. not one that would make sense at least.
---
when sam stepped out of the restaurant, rain quickly followed him.
"hey sammy," she greeted. "how're you feeling?"
he smiled, reaching a hand out that she quickly took, "i'm better now, thank you for doing this."
"i know how much this place meant to you, especially that sign. i'm sorry some bigots tried to ruin this for you," she spoke. "you should be able to speak your mind without fear of being attacked or your property being destroyed."
"i don't understand how anyone could do this," he admitted.
she smiled, squeezing his hand, "because it doesn't make sense. we can't try and understand people like that because what they believe isn't logical. they lead with hate. and you don't."
"neither do you, rain."
"because i have empathy."
sam looked back into the restaurant, "how are you and jamie?"
"good. skye loves him and he's so nice to steph. plus, he takes the dog for runs in the morning if she's up," she revealed. she turned back to see jamie already watching her through the window. she waved and he waved back. "so, what's with you and simi?"
