Love in extra time

3rd minute

Being entrusted with the captaincy of the Lionesses was always something Leah took pride and humility over. She knew that without dedication and hard work it could easily be placed into the hands of someone else. Major tournaments, however, always picked a bone with her. She'd been so close on too many occasions and the pressure to win the European Championships for the very first time was huge. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, but she was confident that 2022 was going to be their year.

Leah pulled her headphones snugly around her neck, the cold metal sending a shudder down her spine. A delicate hand reached out to encapture the door handle, slowly turning it clockwise until she heard a faint click. With practised ease, Leah slipped through a narrow gap that separated the door from its frame, careful to not disturb the innocent snores echoing between the mouths of her roommates. A slow rendition of ABBA could be heard softly through the speakers that sat just under her chin, providing a comforting reassurance to her pre-dawn ritual as it filled the silence of the corridor around her.

Her footsteps followed each other through the floors of the hotel as Leah began visualising her exercises. She found that it helped to focus her body and mind into her role, not only as a key starting player, but as captain too.

The muscles across the back of her shoulders flexed and moulded under her skin as she pushed open the door to the gym. The loud crash ricocheted through the room and a figure awoke in the distance. As the shadow unfolded itself, Leah recognised it as England and furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Have you been here all night?" Leah questioned with her head tilted to the side. It radiated a comfort of sorts to England and she wrapped her arms around her body to protect her vulnerability.

England nodded. "Why?" Leah asked, crouching down to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Silence hung between the two of them like a grey cloud threatening rain. Leah was patient as she sat on the floor next to England, listening to the soft music surrounding her ears until she was ready to talk. She wondered after a while if she should get on with the exercises she'd come to do. Afterall, it wouldn't be long before the rest of the team began trickling out of bed too.

"I feel like I'm losing Beth," she suddenly whispered, a tear rolling steadily down her cheek. Leah sighed, rubbing her hand up and down England's back in comfort.

"You need to tell her how you feel," Leah said plainly. It was in moments like these that England remembered exactly why Leah was their captain.

She nodded, quickly wiping the streaks of tears from her skin. A droplet of salt absorbed into the pores on the tip of her tongue, soaking up the last remaining visual evidence of her pain. She could hear Beth bounding through the corridors and a small smile crept onto her face as her girlfriend came skipping through the doors and straight towards her.

Beth's feet found balance on either side of England's hips as she bent forward and planted a soft kiss onto her lips. It was silly, a true testament to Beth's character. An undertone of salt tingled through her skin, triggering an alarm of worry and concern. Beth's soft fingers traced the unknown sadness that hid between the bone fragments of England's jaw. Their eyes connected with a mutual understanding and England nodded silently.

Beth's thumb explored the space over her girlfriend's cheek, wiping away a single tear before anyone else in the room had even seen it fall. Everyone had trailed in behind Beth, with the notable exception of Alessia who hadn't been on time for anything in her life.

"Sorry," she began sheepishly to Sarina upon arrival. "I... overslept."

The thing was, Alessia had a certain charm about her that made it impossible to be disliked. Sarina was particularly persuaded by her natural charismatic personality and offered up a warm smile before filling in the gaps that the young lioness had missed.