LENNOX ▸ RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK

THIRTY-FOUR • NOSTALGIA

Lennox Rousseau felt nervous for what seemed like the umpteenth time this weekend.

Herself, her family and the Loftus-Cheeks were at Stamford Bridge on this fine Sunday afternoon, ready to watch Ruben and Chelsea take on Arsenal. As an avid supporter of her boyfriend and a part of the London crew that despised the Gunners, Lennox thought this to be the perfect game to bring her brother to; growing up, both siblings bonded tremendously over their hatred for Arsenal.

And now here they were, sitting at the back of one of the sections at Stamford Bridge, all nine members of the party huddled together, eyes glued to the pitch where Ruben was playing.

She tried to make conversation with Bennett multiple times but they were really going nowhere. It wasn't because either party was aggravated about participating in a conversation, it was just that they didn't have anything to say.

So, in order to exit from this awkward situation, Lennox left her brother to converse with his girlfriend and her parents and instead turned her attention to Isaac and Lavinia. The conversation there flowed easily. It wasn't forced. She felt like she'd known the two for her whole life, and she practically had. There was still an unsettling feeling in her stomach about the fact that she found it easier to talk to some family friends than she did her own brother.

Nevertheless, she tried not to let it bother her and spent the rest of the game intently watching Ruben and laughing at the jokes Isaac seemed to pull out of thin air. And when the match whistle blew, and Ruben came hustling towards his family and friends, Lennox felt the weight of the world disappear. His smile was enough to brighten her whole day in any scenario.

When he was done greeting everyone, he pulled Lenny a little ways away from everyone.

"Hi, Rubes," she greeted him, forcing Ruben to bend his knees a bit so that Lenny could wrap her arms around his neck and press a loving kiss to his lips.

"Hi, bean," he softly spoke as they pulled away. He leaned against a seat in their section, decreasing the height difference between himself and his girlfriend, who stood upright still. "How did you like the game?"

"Loved it, as usual," she giggled.

"Did you talk to Bennett?" To that, Lennox broke their eye contact and crossed her arms over her chest. "Baby..."

Lennox was quick to defend. "It was just so awkward!" she tried to explain. "I mean, we tried to talk. But every conversation came to a halting stop. I don't know. Maybe we just don't get along anymore." She frowned then, trying to process the severity of what she'd just said.

Ruben pulled her closer to him, his large hands resting on her hips as she uncrossed her arms and rested them around his neck. "Now, you know that's not true. You're just going through a tough time."

"How do I fix it?"

"Try harder, babes," he suggested. "Remind him of the good old days. When we were younger, maybe? Memories and nostalgia tend to illicit emotional responses."

Lenny liked the idea a lot. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it. She leaned forward, squishing Ruben's cheeks between her fingers and feeling her heart light up as his famous grin appeared on his face. "How did I get so lucky by finding you?"

"I'm your type," he shrugged. "Tall, dark and handsome."

"I've never been with anyone else that's tall, dark and handsome."

"You technically haven't officially been with anyone but me," he grinned widely, taking pride in that fact.

Lenny rolled her eyes, playfully pushing him away. "Ok, ok, go shower so we can get dinner please," she chuckled before turning back to Bennett, who was now sat by himself, watching the rest of the stadium as it was clearing out. "One last try. Wish me luck."

"You don't need it," Ruben confidently told her, standing upright and leaning down to press his lips against hers.

When they parted, Ruben headed to the locker room to shower and Lennox sat down beside her brother.

"Do you remember the last time we went to a Chelsea-Arsenal match?" she asked him, trying to strike up a conversation. She didn't think he would remember but he surprised her by nodding and letting out a brief chuckle.

"Yeah," Bennett recalled, "it was.... what? Five, six years ago now? It was us, mum and dad, and Ruben and his parents. And boy were you two at each other's throats then." He laughed.

It was slightly true. When Lenny was thirteen or fourteen, they had gone to their last Chelsea-Arsenal match. She remembered it very vividly because it was around the time she had told Ruben she liked him. They'd kissed in the treehouse behind her old home. And yet, here they were, bickering over the smallest of things. Lenny couldn't remember what it was that triggered both of them to act so unpleasant towards one another but she remembered both of them were too prideful to apologize.

Nevertheless, their parents had seated them right next to each other, forcing them to either confront their problems or spend the entirety of the match silently grumbling to themselves. Instead, they chose option three: yell and scream mean things to one another. They continued on like that until Ruben had taken it a step too far. He said something that made Lenny freeze, her eyes watering and her hands shaking.

Bennett took matters into his own hands then, when he saw how Ruben's words had hurt Lenny. He got right up from his seat and leapt at Ruben, throwing one solid punch on his best friend's face.

"He had a black eye for weeks after that," Lenny recalled, an innocent smile at her lips.

Bennett frowned. "He hurt you. He deserved it."

"It was a long time ago," she easily shrugged it off. "Ben... are things ok with you and Ruben? Are you still mad at him about something?"

"No. Why would you say that?"

Lenny shrugged. "I don't know. I'm probably just overthinking it. It's just––I don't think you're happy that we're getting married."

"I—"

"And I don't know why because you two were best friends growing up," Lenny went on. "And then suddenly you were kind of hostile about the engagement. I don't know. It just came out of nowhere."

Bennett sighed, turning back towards the pitch, eyes following the ushers' every move. "I got angry... but, not at Ruben. I was angry at myself when you told me you were getting engaged. I mean, I'm your brother; I should be able to keep up with my own sister and know when her and her boyfriend's relationship is getting serious enough for a ring to be involved.

"I don't know; I'm just kind of disappointed in myself. I mean, I have Sarah and I have my life in Manchester but I was just mad we don't talk enough. I'm mad that we're not really that close anymore. But I'm not mad that you're happy as hell and getting married and I hope I didn't come off too bad. I'm so happy for you, Len."

That made a wide grin appear on Lenny's face. "Thanks... also, you're not the only one whose been having thoughts about how estranged our relationship got. I don't like it either. How about from now on we keep each other updated on everything happening in our lives. More than just once a month over the phone," she added.

Bennett nodded, pulling his sister into a side hug. "It's a deal, baby sister."