uncertain - trent alexander-arnold

a warm welcome ²

may seventeenth, twenty twenty-two

SHE WAS EVIDENTALLY NERVOUS, her breath had quickened, her hands shook. she was tense. this was the first time she had seen the lads since her surprise exit which left them all shocked and confused as to why, except one. he knew why, he was the reason and when he found out she had left, he crumbled. eventually his teammates had pieced the obvious clues together and realised that, they had broken up.

"don't worry, they'll give you a warm welcome back and everything will be back to normal" he wrapped his arm round her shoulder, an attempt to comfort the woman. "he might not even show up, he might have had an interview or something" the harsh scouse accent rung in her ear.

she glanced up at the boy, cracking a smile.

"i'm trying alright, i don't know how to comfort people" he rose his hands in defence, his voice raising in octaves as she broke out in laughter.

"you never have been, remember when we were like fourteen.."

march twenty-fifteen

alexia had just been broken up with, her first 'proper' boyfriend as she said. she was hysterical, tears streamed uncontrollably down her face as she sobbed, 'why did he break up with me i loved him', whilst a young curtis sat next to her on the edge of his bed, 'well at least you loved him' he spoke in a questionable tone as he shrugged.

'i got you these flowers' he shoved his fist in front of the sobbing girl, opening her eyes to a hand-picked selection of dandelions, buttercups and weeds. she burst out in hysterical laughter, replacing the previous emotion. curtis' face blew up red, he didn't know how to comfort someone and this obviously wasn't the traditional way how, but he had made her laugh, that's all that mattered.

present day

she mentally prepared herself as the first knock of the door sounded, releasing a breath she didn't realise she was holding. glancing upwards as she heard the loud footsteps, her eyes landed on an all-too familiar face. "hendo!" she exclaimed

"come here now" he commanded, wrapping his arm around the girl he had missed. "how've you been kid"

"really good thankyou, i've missed the kids"

"they've missed you too and believe me so has the missus, it's not easy finding a good baby sitter" he let out a laugh, relieved to see the girl happy.

"well i'm here whenever you need me you know that, i love them" she laughed, curtis was right. they would welcome her back with open arms and press play, picking straight up from where they left. she was nervous for no reason.

she greeted the rest of the players that showed up, ones that she was close with, just two missing, one being him and the other being robbo. she assumed they would come together and so, when the next knock boomed she wanted to crawl inside the blanket she was wrapped up in and let curtis' couch swallow her whole.

"lexiiiii" a scottish accent burst the air, robbo running towards the girl giving her a hug. the two had been especially close. you couldn't hate andy, he was the class clown and immediately made alexia feel welcome when they first met years ago when curtis broke into the first team.

"how've you been bug" she smiled at the nickname he'd used, reminding her of the memory. the nickname stemming from a hike that they all taken, in which she had accidentally swallowed at least four bugs, earning her the name bug for at least a month.

"great, Madrid was just the place i needed, lovely weather, relaxing, good food, what else do you need"

"well don't do it again miss, we all missed you and your babysitting skills. you're like a baby whisper-er. maybe you are a baby" robbo joked, earning a chuckle from a few lads in the room, including alexia, whose eyes wandered in search of another scouser.

and there he was.

trent.

he still looked as handsome as ever, the sunlight radiating onto his face as he leaned against the doorframe. their eyes locked and for a moment, they were the only ones in the room, the rest faded to a blur. his deep brown eyes penetrated her mind, emotions rising and memories flooding.

a loud laughter from the group stole her attention from trent. the only thing in her mind whilst conversations darted round the room was how good he looked. his hair slightly grown out from a fresh trim, exactly how she liked it. his eyes glistened and his smile was as sweet as ever. still in training clothes, his muscles on display. he had grown since the last time they spoke and it wasn't a bad look she had to admit.