𝙄𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙌𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩 𝙈𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 - 𝘊𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘯 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘥

𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣. 𝘜𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴

"Heads! Heads!" Katie warned everyone to cover their heads when sh'd accidentally kicked her ball to high.

Unfortunately for me, I was too busy watching a cat that was walking around outside the pitch fence to listen to Katie's warning. The ball collided with the top of my head and I immediately grabbed my head and fell onto my knees.

"Elena, are you okay?" Leah and Jordan being the closest people come running over towards me.

"Everyone step back!" Jonas comes over to me with the team's first aiders.

They kneel infront of me and do all the necessary procedures to check if I have a concussion. "She doesn't have a concussion, but I'd encourage sitting out for the rest of the training and putting ice on your head."

I groan as I get up and sit on the side while the first aider goes to grab me an ice pack. "Katie!" I yell at the girl.

"Sorry." She scrunches her face up at me with guilt.

"It's fine. Atleast I got out of the harsh leg excersizes."

"Lucky." Beth murmurs.

I sat on the edge of the pitch watching the girls do their excersize, my eyes strained on a certain teammate of mine, Ona's words replaying through my mind.

After we'd talked in the tunnel and the team had gotten back to our hotel in Manchester for the night, I sat outside on mine and Beth's shared balcony, though she didn't once step foot on it, and watched the night grow darker as I thought and thought and thought about what Ona meant.

The team all lay on their backs and began doing leg raises to Jonas' count. Each time, he made them hover thier legs in the air slightly longer. After that, I watched Caitlin roll over onto her stomach and push herself up to do press ups.

My eyes looked over the muscles in her arms. They were more than mine for sure. I liked them. Why did I like them? Why did I like watching her do simple tasks? Why did I like it when she'd come and sit next to me in the changing rooms or choose to be my partner when Jonas wouldn't assign them? Why did I always look for her in the middle of every crowd?

"Elena."

"Hmm?" I hum and look up. Caitlin stands infront of me, with a concerned look on her face as she kneels down and checks my head. "I'm alright, don't worry." I give her a reassuring smile. "Let's go on a walk later."

"I don't think I'll be able to do any more walking after those excersizes." Caitlin jokes and I let out a chuckle.

"I'll meet you at yours and we can make it short." I suggest.

"Deal."

I stand at the bottom of Caitlin's apartment building and buzz for her to come down. She doesn't take long to skip down the stairs.

"You took the stairs instead of the lift?" I ask, knowing her legs were probably aching.

"I was warming the up for this walk." She says as she links her arm in mine, bringing us closer as we leave her building.

"Caitlin?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember what I told you about my old girlfriend?" I ask her, quietly.

"Yeah, why?" She looks at me with question in her eyes.

I pause for a moment. "Ona is my... old girlfriend."

"Ona Batlle?" Caitlin questions, kind of shocked.

"Yeah." I nod. "After the United game, I built up the courage and appologised to her."

"Els, I'm so proud of you." Caitlin pulls me into a hug as we stop walking in the middle of the street. I hesitate for a moment, surprised by the sudden hug, but I soon wrap my arms around Caitlin's body and enjoy the moment.

Just as we pull away from each other, the UK weather kicks in and it starts to rain on us heavily.

"Shit, I didn't bring a jacket." I say as we begin to get wet.

"Neither did I." Caitlin says.

I grab onto her hand and pull her down the street to the park gates. We giggle as we splash our feet in puddles while running and how soaked we look.

Caitlin and I pull each other under a tree, still giggling at the sudden downpour of rain. I brush through my now wet hair, trying to squeeze the water out of it. I notice Caitlin watching me from the corner of my eye, a smile tugging on her lips. "What?" I turn to her.

"Nothing, it's just funny how unexpected life can be." Caitlin let's out a small chuckle, the sound of rain hitting the leaves above us creating a rhythmic backdrop.

"Sometimes the best moments come from the unexpected." I say while I look down at my shoes.

"We've been through a lot of unexpected moments." Caitlin jokes, our eyes on one another's, and I can't help but think she's on about the moment we'd shared in her apartment with the guitar.

"Those are the ones that mean the most." I say as I feel a wave of emotion. I reach my hand out and grab Caitlin's, our fingers intertwining naturally. The touch sends a warm shiver through both of us, despite the cool rain.

There's a moment of silence between us as we both just look into each other's eyes. I notice my breathing get uneven, a little faster too.

"Elena..." Caitlin finally speaks, her voice soft but clear. "I've been trying to figure out what's been happening between us. And I think I've known for a while now, but I was too scared to admit it."

I look at Caitlin, my heart pounding. "Admit what?" I ask, though I think I know the answer.

I watch Caitlin take a deep breath, her thumb gently stroking the back of my hand. "That I'm falling for you. That I have been for a while, and I just didn't know how to say it... until now."

My breath catches at Caitlin's words. The world seems to slow down as I look into Caitlin's eyes, searching for any sign of doubt, but all I see is sincerity and something deeper-love.

Without saying anything else, I seize the moment, taking a few steps closer, closing the distance between us. I place a hand gently on Caitlin's cheek, my thumb brushing away a raindrop. Caitlin's eyes flutter shut as she leans into the touch, and I don't hesitate any longer.

Our lips meet.

They meet in a slow, tender kiss, the rain continuing to fall around us, but we're already lost in each other. The kiss is soft and exploratory at first, but it deepens as all the feelings we've been holding back finally come to the surface. It's a kiss that says everything we've been too afraid to put into words-a kiss that marks the beginning of something new and beautiful between us.

When we finally pull back, we both smiling, breathless and slightly giddy. The rain is still falling, but it no longer matters. We're wrapped up in each other, the rest of the world fading away.

Caitlin laughs softly, "We're really soaked now."

"Totally worth it, though." I grin.

We walk back to Caitlin's apartment, hand in hand, not caring about the rain or the cold anymore. Once inside, we dry off, but the warmth between us lingers, and the night continues with us curled up together, talking about everything and nothing, just happy to finally be where we are

-together.