Alessia Russo Oneshot

Faking It (Too Well)

You and Alessia Russo had been dating for nearly six months, but nobody knew—not your families, not your teammates, nobody. The two of you had decided to keep your relationship under wraps for now, partly for privacy and partly for the fun of it. But the secrecy came with its own set of challenges, particularly because you played for the same team, Arsenal. To avoid suspicion, you'd gone with the opposite strategy: make it look like you absolutely hated each other.

On the pitch, you and Alessia played the role of bitter rivals with award-winning performances. Purposefully tackling each other in training, shoving each other during matches, and shouting over even the smallest mistakes had become second nature. Off the pitch, it was more of the same. You avoided sitting together, exchanged snarky comments, and even glared at each other during team dinners. It was all in good fun, of course, but you couldn't help but wonder how long you could keep this charade up.

The tabloids, unsurprisingly, had a field day with your so-called "feud." Headlines like "Russo and Y/N's Training Ground Showdown!", "Arsenal's Locker Room Tension: Is Y/N the Problem?" and "Russo and Y/L/N: Arsenal's Biggest Feud Since Henry and Keown?" were plastered all over sports media. Your teammates, bless their hearts, were starting to worry.

You huffed in frustration as Alessia clipped your heel during the last few minutes of training, sending you tumbling onto the pitch. "Watch where you're going, Russo!" you barked, pushing yourself up from the ground and glaring at her.

Alessia rolled her eyes, hands on her hips. "Maybe if you had some actual speed, Y/N, you wouldn't be on the ground so much," she shot back, not missing a beat. Your teammates watched on, eyes wide, a few muttering amongst themselves.

Later that day, you were sitting in the locker room, towelling off after a gruelling session, when Leah walked in with a newspaper in hand, her face thunderous. "Have you two seen this?" she demanded, slamming the paper down in front of you.

The headline read: "Arsenal's Dynamic Duo at War: Russo and Y/N in Bitter Feud!" Beneath it, there was a series of photos of you and Alessia exchanging heated words on the pitch, complete with red circles highlighting your furious expressions. The article went on to describe in detail your "explosive" arguments during matches, your "hostile" body language, and the "undeniable rift" that was supposedly tearing the team apart.

"Oh, come on," you said, rolling your eyes. "They're blowing this way out of proportion."

"Out of proportion?" Vivianne Miedema chimed in, crossing her arms. "Y/N, you practically body-slammed Alessia in training today. And last week, she kicked a ball at your head!"

"That was an accident!" Alessia protested, though she couldn't help but smirk.

"Not the point," Katie McCabe cut in, shaking her head. "We get that you two have some... issues, but for the sake of the team, can you at least pretend to like each other?"

You and Alessia exchanged a glance, barely able to contain your laughter. It was almost too easy.

"You know what?" Alessia said, standing up and pulling you to your feet. "You're absolutely right. Y/N, I think it's time we stop pretending."

Your teammates stared in confusion as Alessia leaned in, her hand gently cupping your face. Before anyone could react, she kissed you. It wasn't a quick peck, either—it was a kiss that left no room for misinterpretation.

There was a collective gasp from the team as you pulled away, both of you grinning like idiots.

"What the—" Leah stuttered, looking between the two of you. "Are you two...?"

"Dating?" you finished for her, wrapping an arm around Alessia's waist. "Yeah. We have been for a while now."

"But you've been acting like you hate each other!" Beth exclaimed, still processing what just happened.

"Exactly," Alessia said with a wink. "It's the perfect cover, isn't it? No one suspects a thing."

"Wait, so all the tackling, the shouting, the dirty looks..." Katie started, trailing off as realisation dawned on her. "That was all for show?"

"Pretty much," you admitted, laughing at their stunned expressions. "We didn't want anyone to find out, so we figured this was the best way to keep things under wraps."

"But... why?" Leah asked, still trying to wrap her head around the situation.

"We didn't want anyone to treat us differently," Alessia explained. "Plus, it's kinda fun messing with you all."

Beth shook her head, finally cracking a smile. "I can't believe you two. All this time, we thought you were seconds away from tearing each other apart."

"Well, now you know," you said, pulling Alessia closer. "But if you don't mind, we'd like to keep up the act on the pitch. It's kind of our thing now."

Leah sighed, but there was a hint of amusement in her eyes. "Fine. But no more kicking balls at each other's heads, okay?"

"No promises," Alessia teased, giving you a playful nudge.

The rest of the team burst out laughing, the tension in the room finally easing. It felt good to let the secret out, even if it was just a small part of it. You and Alessia might still be playing your little game on the pitch, but at least now your teammates knew the truth—behind the supposed rivalry, there was nothing but love.

As your teammates left the room, still shaking their heads in disbelief, you leaned in to Alessia and whispered, "Think they'll let us get away with it?"

Alessia smirked, giving you a quick kiss. "Only one way to find out."