My dad had always been great lover of football, supporting his local team Holmes Chapel FC ever since he was little. And so every year to mark the anniversary of his death I would attend the local derby. I never understood what on earth was going on but could appreciate the sight of, on the whole, attractive men running around in shorts.
Today was derby day and I was heading to the footie ground. I always sat in the same seat which was the seat my dad had always sat in. It was just behind the home team's players bench, as my dad liked to keep an eye on what was happening and feel involved. The stadium today was buzzing with excitement over a new player. A local boy that had been signed up and who would be playing his first game today.
"And wearing our shirt for the first time today, at number 17, Harry Styles" the announcer shouted proudly over the tannoy. His picture flashed up on the screen and suddenly this match had my attention. My god this boy was beautiful. My eyes scanned the players on the field and I suddenly spotted him warming up on the sidelines. Head to toe in a black track suit and his unruly curls tied up in a half ponytail. I wondered how long I would have to wait before I could see him in action.
I was too busy staring to notice he had finished his warm up and was heading over to the bench. I quietly thanked my dad for picking this seat, as I could now certainly see the benefits. He sat his long frame down a few seats in front of me. This was going to be the first football match I would really enjoy.
The whistle was blown and the match had started but my eyes were focused on the bench not the pitch. Suddenly he turned round and looked me right in the eye. I felt like I'd been caught spying on him and could feel myself going a nice shade of red. He smiled at me and mouthed "enjoying the view?" I simply nodded and looked away quickly. It wasn't long before our eyes met again. "What's your name" he semi shouted across to me over the noise of the crowd. "Sophie" I shouted back. "Nice to meet you So" but he couldn't finish his sentence as his manager walked over and told him to start warming up. He was about to go on as a substitute.
He clearly knew my eyes were focused solely on him as he ran through his stretches right in front of me. The time had come for him to get on the pitch and he took of his track suit. As he peeled off the top his shirt lifted a little and revealed a hint of tattoos and an amazingly toned stomach. As he ran on to the pitch he turned round and mouthed at me "If we win I'll show you more later".
Never had I been more interested in HCFC winning their game and I shouted words of encouragement all through the game. The game went down to penalties and after a tense shoot out the deciding shot was about to be taken by none other than Harry Styles. What an amazing first game he'd had. The result of the game now resting on his shoulders and I found myself secretly hoping that his promise to me earlier was of some motivation to him. I could feel my heart racing as he walked up to the penalty spot. As the referee blew his whistle I could feel myself holding my breath as the ball soared past the goalkeeper in slow motion. As Harry ran to his team mates I realised he'd done it. He'd won us the match.
The crowd started filing out of the grounds but I stayed firmly put in my seat. I had to talk to him. I had to see more of that body that he had revealed a little of to me earlier. It was then that I saw him running over his hand gesturing wildly for me to come down to the hoardings along the pitch. As I made my way down I briefly wondered what on earth was about to happen but cared very little as long as it involved seeing more of him. "Hi Sophie. I'm Harry, nice to meet you. Did you enjoy the game" he said as I met him at the edge of the pitch. We got talking and I explained to him why I was here today. He was very easy to talk to and his eyes were focused on me making me feel like we were the only two people here. As I looked up I realised I wasn't far off, as the grounds had now completely emptied and the flood lights were being turned off one by one.
