Shadows of the Pitch- a Virgil Van Dijk Fan fiction

Chapter 9: Comfort.

I plopped myself down quietly in a busy canteen with a simple bowl of fruit and a bottle of water, testosterone practically oozing out of every man in the room. Knees locked together, I swallowed my fears lodged in my throat, alongside my sheer defeat from the phone call I had moments ago.

I looked up to notice a young man had sat himself opposite me. Though, he hadn't said a word to me. He just stared, in all honesty, he looked just as afraid as me.

I gave the man a small smile, his dark eyes similar to Virgil's, his fragile smile seemed to fade as he felt more comfortable, gradually. He had long, dark hair, tied into a bun, with tattoos across his neck and arms.

Such intricate work.

'Hi, are you new?' I asked, trying to be as friendly as possible. At least I wanted some company in this alien environment.

He hesitated before answering, like he had to think hard before he knew what to say.

'Yes, I am new.' He replied, quickly staring back into his bottle of water that he had been peeling the sticker off of. He had a thick Spanish accent. Bless him.

'Me nombre es Connie.' I whispered, watching him look up to me and chuckle.

'Darwin.'

We shook hands for a second before two other men came to the same table, practically throwing themselves onto Darwin. He let out a small yelp before bursting into slightly forced laughter.

'So YOU'RE Constance!' One of them bellowed, slightly making me jump.

'I'm Harvey, it's lovely to meet you.' The young man spoke, his blonde, curly hair bouncing with an inch of movement.

'This is Trent, and you've met our new guy, Darwin!'

Trent gave me a friendly wave.

'It's lovely to meet you too.' I beamed, feeling less nervous after the shabby introduction.

We sat together laughing for a couple minutes before Virgil appeared and sat next to me, alongside with another guy.

'Hey, Connie,' He smiled, giving me a reassuring hand on my back. He seemed out of breath, the smell of sweat and muffled aftershave filled my nose. My eyes could have rolled back into my head from pure lust at that moment.

'This is Joe, we had some training to do, sorry I was late back to you.'

Joe gave me a wave across the table, I returned it with a little giggle.

'It's fine, you were busy.' I replied, pushing my thoughts and feelings aside. I didn't dare to let Virgil see what was going on in my mind.

For half an hour we all sat together, multiple conversations flung across the table, and around the canteen itself. I fiddled with my hair as I remained practically silent despite a couple of forced chuckles.

What was I doing here? Every person I had met seemed to be so kind, but I was out of place. I'm not from their world. My stomach churned with every glance I made around the room, solidifying that it wasn't some sort of dream.

I abruptly stood up.

'I'm gonna get some air.' I mumbled, hastily walking out the door before anyone could say anything. Anxiety was bubbling inside of me, with every step I took on the marbled floor I was worried I would spill all my emotions, in the middle of the training centre. I couldn't control my breathing.

This was too much for me. 

Stumbling outside, struggling to breathe, I saw Rebecca look up from her phone and ran over to me.