Escape | Jude Bellingham

1

When nerves are eating you before a big game you find it hard to pay attention to the little things around you. The erupting sound of thousands of people filling Wembley stadium was ear-splitting however Jude found himself in a silence almost as if the noise had muted itself. The feeling was familiar to him but never this nerve-wracking as it intensified with the the moment. He knew that all eyes would be fixed on him, as they often were for any rising football star. Each of his teammates stood in a line as they tried not to let the nerves take over them. The little girl, who was assigned as Jude's player escort looked up at him and her smile was infectious. Returning the smile, Jude leaned down to talk to her.

"What's your name?" The brummie spoke kindly as his accent carried warmth. "Olivia" She said her voice sounded shocked, she knew she would never shut up once she got back to her friends as the Jude Bellingham just spoke to her. "And how old are you, Olivia?" Jude leaned closer to her to hear her answer and she smiled shyly "8" she whispered with the smile still plastered onto her face.

She held onto Jude's hand as she walked they began walking into the stadium, Jude kept his game face on. Speaking to the little girl helped him calm his nerves to a certain extent however this was the biggest game he could've played in his career, The Champions League Final. Mostly, what it was to Jude was sharing the pitch with his old team; Borussia Dortmund. The love for the game he shared with them, the tears, the laughs, the team efforts and the friendships before he moved to Real Madrid. This was one of the biggest games of his life. They stood in the field as Jude's arms wrapped gently across the little girl's  shoulders as he had genuine fondness for children  and had a huge soft spot for them. "It's my auntie!" She exclaimed suddenly pointing towards the sea of spectators. Jude couldn't help but wonder how she managed to find someone in the massive crowd as he followed where she pointed at.

To be fair, her aunt, Elliana Reyes, wasn't seated far back but rather up front. Jude glanced in the direction the little girl pointed. He wasn't exactly sure who he was looking at but he did notice a striking young woman. However, he didn't spend much time admiring her, his mind was mostly consumed by the upcoming game. "Goodluck Jude, I know you're going to win!" Olivia's voice sounding as an innocent melody. He laughed in response and patted her head "Thank you Olivia, Hope to see you soon!" Everything was getting real for the players. There they were, with  minutes to prove who of them is the Champion.

"Hala Madrid!" Ellie would hear people screaming in complete joy as the Real Madrid team had brought glory to their fans by winning against the underdog team from the Bundesliga. Ellie stood and clapped, smiling widely as the energy filling the stadium called for celebration in every way, She could not remain seated as everywhere she looked it was loud joyful celebrations. Her eyes were fixed on Jude Bellingham, who was in a euphoric state after the win. His smile was beautiful, and Ellie couldn't help but admire him.

Most people in the stadium were teary-eyed, either out of happiness for their win or heartbreak for their team's loss. Ellie picked up her niece and began to leave, listening to Olivia's excited chatter about her extremely short conversation with Jude. Olivia went on and on, and her aunt knew she wouldn't hear the end of it for hours. She had seen everything online—the obsession teenagers had with Jude and the endless edits of him. Those edits were really something, She thought to herself. As she scrolled through her phone, she saw posts congratulating the winners and  likes on her story where she had taken a picture of the field at Wembley and captioned it "Hala Madrid". Although Elliana grew up in England, she was half Spanish; her parents had met there and her father was a devoted Madridista.

Arriving at her sister's house, Ellie greeted Maya with a hug. "Maya, your daughter does not stop talking!" Ellie said with a fake annoyance but it was obvious that Ellie enjoyed the company of the little girl. Maya laughed. "Thanks, Ellie, for getting her for me." Ellie smiled back. "It was my pleasure."

"Mama did you see Jude!"  the little girl began, "have fun listening to her Maya" Ellie said as she left the house to return to her place.

After a good bath and slipping into her pajamas, Elliana returned to her phone and decided to stalk the football player that didn't leave her mind. He was her age, both of them young stars in the making in completely different industries, glamour and sports. She scrolled through learning more about the boy, nothing new really as she had already heard much about him as his name almost everywhere. Harmlessly, Ellie hit the follow button on Jude's Profile curious to see his life and where he ends up and secretly because she found him very attractive. She offed her phone and kept it on her bedside cupboard before falling asleep.

Jude's night was entirely a party, the fact that they won the champion's league is enough of a reason to party forever and so he did with the rest of his team. He was ecstatic. The next morning however was a major headache, literally. The partying had it's consequences and he groaned to himself knowing he is never doing that again but deep down he knows that's bullshit. He later managed to get back to normal and pulled out his phone to see it flooded with messages. Many which made him smile remembering the feeling of the night before where they emerged champions, it was a dream come true. On Instagram he didn't spend much time as he saw way too many messages that he could not reply to at once but one notification caught his eye.

EllianaReyes followed you

The name was familiar, he figured he must've heard it somewhere. Making his way to her profile his eyes widened slightly. "Wow" he muttered. She was ...wow. Instantly, as if it were a reflex, he clicked on the follow back icon. Tapping on her story he saw her at the game, "Hala Madrid" He read on it and the corner of his lips curved into a small smile. The thought of this girl being there last night and supporting him- or well not him exactly, but his team - felt like the same thing to him.