Red Love

Chapter 5

Jordan's POV.

"Focus. That's all you have to do. Just focus on the task in hand. Simple," I quietly told myself.

I stood up from the bench I was sat on and walked out the changing room door and took my place behind Craig Bellamy.

Match days scared the hell out of me. Playing for Liverpool was amazing and I enjoyed it so much but playing football in front of 40,000 every week always gave me shivers. Sometimes they were excited shivers, sometimes nervous ones; it always depends...

I took a deep breath and stared ahead at my team mates in front. Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger, Craig Bellamy; all pro's of the beautiful game. I was blessed to be working with such natural leaders.

I ran my fingers through my hair and took some more deep breaths. I swear, one day I'm going to breathe so hard I'll start to hyperventilate or something.

As I focused on the task in hand, I couldn't help but think about yesterday.

Bea.

I could've easily killed the girl but, my god, she took my breath away. From the moment I opened her car door, I couldn't help but feel something for her. Whether it be sympathy or attraction; either way she sent tantalizing shivers down my spine.

I shook my head and frowned. No, I'd promised myself that Bea would stay out of my mind. Nothing could distact me today.

The two lines of players started to move down the tunnel and I carried on my deep breathing. We all descended down the stairs and I looked up at the wall ahead of us all. The mighty 'This is Anfield' sign glared down at both sets of players. This sign always kind of intimidated me whenever I came to Anfield as the opposition but now the sign humbled me and as I approached it, I happily tapped it with both hands and smiled; the feeling to touch such a famous sign every time I played here at Anfield warmed my heart.

We then climbed up the flight of stairs that lead to the pitch and the sight that hit my eyes made every feeling of nervousness just wash away.

My breathing was back to normal as I digested this sea of red. This scene was the one I looked forward to every week. Thousands of fans were clapping and cheering us on in their scarves and red jerseys. I stepped onto the pitch with my right foot like I always did and clapped the Kop end of Anfield. The atmosphere was intense and fierce. Just hearing the roaring applause echoing from each stand and witnessing this huge mighty red ovation pumped me up for the game ahead.

As the delightful tune of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' started to play over the tannoy system, I couldn't help but wonder whether she was out there somewhere. I studied every stand curiously but knew my investigation would be hopeless. All that was to be seen now was thousands of scarves held high in the air. Flashes of red, white and yellow hit my eyes as I surveyed the crowd; it was quite a sight. The noise that was being produced felt like it could be heard from miles around and it basically blocked out the song playing over the tannoy because the noise was that loud. I almost didn't acknowledge the Aston Villa captain Stilian Petrov holding out his hand in front of me for the pre-match handshakes because the sights and sounds were just spellbounding.

As the handshakes finished I got into position and waited for the ref's whistle. I again pondered the thought of Bea being in the crowd. It was possible...she did know who I was. What had she said yesterday?

'"Good luck for tomorrow's game,"'

That's what she'd said to me. So she could be here...

The problem was that I needed to focus and right now I couldn't get her off my mind.

***

"Jordan! Keep focused! Come on!" Stevie called to me. I'd just lost the ball for a fifth time this match. What was going on with me? Crap tackles and dodgy passes, my attacking movement was just awful and I was already on a yellow card and it had only been twenty minutes.

I was not focused at all. My concentration levels were at an all time low and my mind kept on wandering. Why couldn't the thought of her just go away?! My conscience just kept on floating back to her mesmerising face. On several occasions, I swear I had seen her in the crowd but when I had looked again, it was a totally different person.

"Just stop thinking about her," I told myself. I needed to focus on my game and I needed to step it up. Yes, that's what I'm here to do. I'm here to play football, not to think about...her.

***

"Substitution for Liverpool. Number fourteen Jordan Henderson is replaced by number twenty Jay Spearing,"

There was only a ripple of applause as my substitution was announced but it grew louder as I gave Jay high-tens and he ran onto the pitch.

I must've been playing that bad if the boss had decided to replace me five minutes after the restart.

As I sat down in an unoccupied seat on the substitutes bench, I gave a heavy sigh and put my head in my hands. I was so disappointed in myself; I'd let the boss down big time, I knew it. My mind was everywhere and I couldn't establish a connection with the game at all. Every pass I made was...well, shit, to put it plainly. I was so ashamed; I didn't deserve to wear the shirt of Liverpool today! There was no passion at all in my performance. I was lackluster and sluggish and my thoughts were elsewhere.

My thoughts and my focus was on her: Bea.

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Yay! Finally, i've uploaded!! It took me ages to write out, haha :P

I hope you liked it :P i thought I'd throw Jordan's POV in there to mix it up a little :)

littlekopiteluu xx