Warnings: Enemies to lovers, fluff, smut 18+ (eventually), angst, talk of parents dying, swearing.
Description: England’s star girl and England’s best defender hated one another. A single threat to “bash her head in” after a poor challenge from the defender was all it took to hate her more than anyone else in the world. Your paths had crossed for years, and it didn’t help that you both played for England. Everyone’s starting to get sick of you two bickering, so for the whole tournament, both you and Lucy were forced to share a hotel room. Who knows, maybe you will finally deliver on your threat, or will you regret it?
---
The notifications on your phone were never-ending after Lucy posted that video of you. Fans wouldn’t let go of the fact that you were wearing her England hoodie. Lucy certainly gave them something to talk about.
No one was talking about you and Kylian anymore, but more so, you and Lucy.
It was press day for England. The quarter final against Sweden was one day away and every single news outlet wanted to talk to you and Lucy. Interviews were taking place at the training ground where you were sat alongside Alessia, Ella and Michelle.
“So tell us how you ended up in her hoodie again?” Michelle asked, taking a bite of a pastry.
“I was out on the balcony, I was cold, so she gave me her hoodie.” You looked over at the three girls, who didn’t look convinced in the slightest. “I was still cold in bed so I just kept it on.”
“Why didn’t you just change into your own when you went to bed?” Alessia asked.
“Because I didn’t anticipate being filmed when I was asleep.”
“Good luck explaining that to the press.” Ella smiled. “They all think you and Lucy are fucking.”
You shrugged at her words. “Better than thinking I slept my way to the top with Kylian.”
“Just means they’ll be watching everything you and her do.” Ella replied. “They’ll pick at anything they can get because they’ll all want to be the paper that reports on the new romance.”
“There’s not a romance to talk about-“
“They don’t know that.”
She had a point. To everyone on the outside it looked as if you and Lucy had kissed and made up, literally. But you knew that wasn’t true so who cares? Right?
You didn’t say anything in response. You just pulled your phone out to distract yourself from the upcoming interviews, but not even that would help. Opening TikTok, the first video you came across was an edit for you and Lucy to Good luck, Babe!
The edit showed a video of you and Kylian.
When you wake up next to him in the middle of the night, with your head in your hands, you’re nothing more than his wife.
The edit then cuts to a video of you and Lucy.
And when you think about me, all of those years ago, you’re standing face to face with “I told you so!”
You opened the comments out of pure curiosity.
One user wrote: She went from smashing her head in to smashing her in bed.
Another wrote: God I hope they’re together, imagine the London Derby’s.
“Stop reading the comments.” Alessia didn’t even need to see your phone screen to know what you were doing.
“It’s everywhere.” You met her gaze before darting over to Lucy who was talking with Sarina. “And it’s all we’re going to be asked about.”
“Could be worse,” Ella chimed in. “At least you don’t sleep naked.”
“Guess that’s another positive.” You joined their smiles before a voice caught your attention.
“Y/l/n! Bronze! You’re needed for a press conference in two minutes!” A tall man with dark hair called out, making your eyes dart over to Lucy again who was already looking at you.
“Good luck.” Michelle smiled.
“I think I’m gonna need it today.” You finished your food and followed the man who’d called you over to the press room with Lucy not far behind.
“Ready for this?” Lucy leaned down and whispered in your ear.
“As I’ll ever be.” You looked over at her. “At least they have something to talk about now.”
“Want to give them more?” A cocky expression grew on Lucy’s face.
“What are you implying?” She had your attention. “Everyone already thinks we’re together-“
“And does that bother you?”
It didn’t, and Lucy knew it.
“Not necessarily, but are you not bothered?”
“Why would I be?”
You shrugged at her words before you spoke again. “Can I ask you something?” You looked over to her, Lucy nodded in response. “You could clear everything up, you could tell the world it’s harmless fun but instead you don’t. Why?”
Lucy thought on your words for a second, her face a blank expression as she replied. “Because it gives you a break.” She looked at you, her eyes genuine. “They stop talking about you in a way that’s just about your private life. Sure they hint at something between us but they’re focused on you without Kylian being attached to you. They talk more about your talent, not the person they wished you were dating.”
You lingered on her words for a second but her eyes didn’t show an ounce of dishonesty. “Why the sudden change?”
“I always thought you got treated like shit by the press.” She offered you a small smile. “Although you and I were rivals on the pitch I still defended you on social media when they thought you were dating Kylian. It wasn’t fair what they said about you.” Lucy looked away, hesitating to speak. “And you’re not as bad as I thought you were.”
“You mean that?”
“Which part?”
“All of it.”
“All of it, every word.” She met your gaze again. “Even the last part.”
“Guess you’re not so bad yourself, Bronze.”
“You’re still a nightmare to deal with.” Her smile grew. “But it’s not hard to put you in your place.”
“Put me in my place?” You scoffed at her words. “You mean humiliate me on the pitch whilst you carry me away from a fight? I’d argue that’s pretty tame-“
“That’s not even the half of it y/l/n.” Lucy turned to look at you, she inched forward. “But keep acting like you do and you’ll find out.”
“And how do I act Bronze?” A glint sparkled in your eye. “Does it rile you up seeing me beat you at everything? Every bet we make, every game I play, every -“
“If you keep talking I’ll find a better use for your mouth.” She snapped her gaze at you, a dark look on her face but that only made you want her more.
“Try me.”
“If we weren’t about to go in front of the press I’d be trying every inch of you.”
“All talk, Bronze.” You gave her a smirk as you both walked out into the press panel.
Lucy’s mind was racing. She wanted to be in control, make you wonder what you had planned next for the world to see but you’d flipped the script and made her the frustrated one but Lucy had a plan. You’d kill her but that was a risk she was willing to take. You’d scream at her until the hotel walls fell down but the headlines would make it all worth it.
Sarina sat at the end of the panel, Lucy situated her next to your manager which meant you sat beside Lucy with no one nearby. Perfect for her.
The press conference began with a tall, grey haired man asking the first question directed towards Sarina. “England had a tough start to the tournament but the goals have come flying in, what changed after that first game?”
“Well the girls are always very determined.” Sarina didn’t hesitate. “They never give up until that final whistle is blown and I can’t ever fault them for that. We won it last time, I have full faith they can do it again.”
“Thank you.” The man spoke again, now turning to you he spoke again. “Y/n you’ve scored some fantastic goals this tournament, you currently have the most goals scored so far, how important is it to get these goals early on?”
“Thank you, the goals bring confidence and with that a stronger team. Thankfully the right back isn’t too bad for England so I’ve managed to get a few decent ones from her.” You glanced over to Lucy who flashed you a smile as a low laugh echoed out from the crowd of journalists.
“Speaking of Lucy,” the journalist caught your attention again. “You two seemed to have set aside your differences for this game, videos on social media hint at the possibility of a -“
“This press conference is strictly regarding Englands play in this tournament, not player relationships.” The England representative spoke, his voice firm as he eyed the journalist.
“I apologise.” The journalist held his hands up, clearing his throat he fumbled with notes to ask another question.
Lucy took this as her first opportunity. She outstretched her right hand and laid it across the top of your thigh, pushing the fabric of your shorts higher so she could rest her hand as high as possible. Your head snapped towards her, a low whisper falling from your lips.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
“Doesn’t seem like nothing.”
“Sorry love.” Lucy began to graze her fingertips over your leg, starting just above your knee she moved her hand to your upper thigh, occasionally grazing your pussy through your shorts. “Is that better?”
“I’m going to kill you.” Your whispered voice died as you shifted in your seat, your hips bucking as she added more pressure.
Lucy watched your reaction, a smirk on her lips as she saw your body crumble at a small movement.
“Look at you.” Her fingers lingered at the top of your thigh. “I can’t give it to you now, not in the press conference… unless you’re into that-“
“Shut up!” You spoke through gritted teeth.
“Lucy?” A journalist caught both of yours attention. Her attentions turned to the lady asking a question but her hand didn’t leave your thigh. “Do you find it difficult to work alongside someone you have such a great rivalry with?”
Lucy’s hand gripped your thigh harder as she replied. “Not really, she plays decent football occasionally so we work well during games and then the goals come flying in.”
“It’s a shame you two play for opposite teams.” The woman continued.
“Who knows maybe she’ll join Chelsea.” Lucy’s grin was wide as she looked over to you but with her hand teasing you in every way it was hard to mirror her grin.
“I think there’s more of a chance of you joining Arsenal after I caught you wearing my shirt.” You shot back.
Lucy glared at you for a split second, her annoyance giving you an inch of confidence.
The questions felt like they didn’t stop. Thankfully after that one comment earlier on in the press conference, not a single journalist dared to ask about what was happening between you and Lucy. Lucy didn’t stop touching you throughout the whole press conference. Her touch darting from soft to hard as you squirmed in your seat. You needed her but that would give her what she wants and after this, she deserves to wait.
The three of you were dismissed from the interviews. You went to stand when a young journalist called out your name. “Y/n? Sorry I have one more question!” Your eyes met a young woman’s who began flicking through her notes fast, her hands shaking as she grabbed a pen.
You smiled at the woman, ignoring everyone leaving as you sat back down. “Sure go ahead.” You looked over to the England representative and sent him a small nod.
He nodded in response and gestured for Sarina and Lucy to leave. Lucy rose in a slow motion. A smirk on her lips as the plan she had in mind came into motion. As Lucy stepped behind you she raised her hands, one of them reaching into your hair, her grip gentle yet rough as she tilted your head back slightly. Her free hand sat under your chin as she leant down and her lips met yours.
The kiss was rough but quick, if Lucy had her own way she’d deepen the kiss and have you underneath her but you two had an audience. You let out a small whine at her gesture which only made her want you more.
You couldn’t deny it, you wanted her too but her constant cockiness made you want to make her wait. You had thought about walking around your hotel room in lingerie just to tease her, especially after her comment she made in training.
Lucy pulled away from the kiss leaving you stunned. She dragged her thumb over your bottom lip, causing your face to heat up. “3-1 to me y/l/n. See you back at the hotel room.”
1-0 was when she carried you off the pitch.
2-0 was when she took a photo of you with her shirt.
2-1 was when you posted her in your Arsenal shirt.
3-1 was kissing you in front of the whole press room with it being broadcasted to the world.
That fucking bitch.
You couldn’t focus on anything the press were asking you in that moment. Within minutes the entire team would have found out what happened and you gave it a couple of minutes before Martha called you demanding to know if you were dating Lucy or not.
God this tournament just got longer and longer.
—-
“So are you dating Lucy Bronze?” Martha’s voice rang out through the phone. She’d not stopped calling your phone ever since the press conference. “Because I thought you’d tell me first.
“I’m not dating her.” You huffed, your annoyance growing with every word.
“Then why’d she do it?”
“I don’t know Martha she kept saying she wanted to give the press something to talk about. It meant they’d stop talking about me and Kylian.”
“Maybe she cares about you?”
“I doubt it.” You decided to leave out the fact you continued to think about the way she touched you under the table. “I still hate her.”
“Hate and love go hand in hand.”
“I’m not in love with her Martha.”
Martha stayed silent before she spoke again. “You don’t think this is a bet do you?”
“A bet?”
“Think about it, she hates you, you hate her. The Chelsea team are pissed about your constant bragging that you won the champions league so they decided to get you back.”
Lucy wasn’t like that and you knew it. She wouldn’t play around with your feelings like that just to get a few laughs with her team, would she? She’d already told you that she’d defended you when the press were after you for stories about Kylian so why would she do that to you? Sure you hated one another and right now you wanted to smash her head in but she isn’t this cruel, right?
“Y/n?” Martha called you, breaking you away from your thoughts.
“I’m still here. Sorry just thinking.”
“Have you spoken to her?”
“Not yet, I’m walking up to the room now.”
“What are you doing to say?”
You ran your hands through your hair, a large sigh falling from your lips. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll just ask why. I know she’ll say she’s just distracting the press from the false rumours surrounding me and Kylian.”
“And do you believe her?”
“At first yes but now, I don’t know.”
“Do you think there’s more to it? Maybe she does like you… either that or she’s getting back at her exes.”
Another thought for you to overthink.
“I didn’t think of that…”
“Just talk to her.” Martha hurried her voice. “I’ve got to go. Kylian and I are boarding the plane soon.”
“Thank you Martha.”
“Let me know how it goes, I’ll see you tomorrow, and you better score a goal for me tomorrow!”
“We’ll see!” You smiled briefly. You hung up the phone. Your eyes now meeting the door.
111, yours and Lucy’s room.
Here goes nothing.
“Why would you fucking do that?” You slammed the door to your shared hotel room shut. Lucy was sat on the bed in a loose t-shirt, her hair no longer in her signature bun but down, hanging in a messy yet effortless look as her eyes met yours.
“Do what?” She smiled, acting as if she was none the wiser as to what you were talking about.
“You know what Bronze.” Huffing you shrugged your jacket off your arms and took off your top off, leaving you in just your bra and shorts. “You kissed me in front of everyone, that video is going to be everywhere! All to satisfy your ego-“
“My ego?” Her expression changed. “You were loving it when all those journalists wouldn’t stop licking your arse about all your goals you’d scored!”
“Is that what it is?” You spat. “You hate the idea of me getting my flowers to you’re trying to make everyone think we’re dating so it clouds my achievements?”
“You know that isn’t true!”
“Do I? Because part of me thinks it is!”
“You don’t know the half of it y/n.”
“That’s because you don’t talk to me!” You ran a hand through your hair. “All anyone is talking about is us-“
“I don’t care-“
“Well maybe I do!”
“Do you?” Lucy’s tone shifted as she stood up, walking towards you. “I saw the way your body reacted to me. I heard that moan you made when I kissed you-“
“Because you caught me off guard!”
“Don’t lie to yourself y/n.”
“I’m not.”
“We both know you are.” Lucy got closer. Your bodies within inches of one another. “Look, was it stupid to kiss you in front of everyone? Yes. But -“
“You said that about carrying me away from a potential yellow card.” You cut her off.
“I don’t regret it.” Her eyes met yours, she took another step forward but you took one back.
“Which part? The kiss or carrying me away?”
“Both.” She took another step forward, slowly backing you up towards the wall. “Was it stupid to do it in a public display? Yes. Do I regret stoping you from getting a yellow card? No-“
“And the kiss?”
“No.” Lucy took a breath, her hands against the wall as she spoke again. “And I don’t regret doing it in public.”
“Why?” Your eyes searched hers.
“Because if I kissed you behind closed doors then I wouldn’t be able to stop myself.”
“Am I bet to you?” You suddenly blurted out.
Lucy scrunched her face up, a confused look spread across her face. “Why would you ask me that?”
“Well, Martha suggested-“
“Does Martha know about what I said to you during training? Or what we spoke about before the press conference? Or how I touched you under the table?”
“N-no…” You stumbled over your words, quickly realising how close Lucy was and how you were pressed against the wall with only a few inches separating you both. “That stays between us-“
“Exactly so if I had a bet, a bet that would humiliate you in front of everyone just to get some bragging rights at Chelsea why the fuck would I say and do those things that only you and I know about?”
She had a point. A really fucking good one but you weren’t done yet.
“Well you could have text them everything.”
“My phone is on the bed, you’re welcome to go through it.”
“Are you using me to get back at your exes?”
“You’re full of accusations this evening, aren’t you? I know she’s your friend but you need to ignore her.” Lucy huffed. “I don’t need to get back at them for anything. I don’t care what they do, I only care about what’s in front of me.” She backed off for a split second, grabbing her phone and holding it out to you. “Unlock it and go through it. You’ll find nothing.”
I trust you…” Your voice was at a whisper.
“Do you?”
“I hate you but I trust you.”
“If you hate me,” Lucy leant her head down, her lips grazing yours before she trailed her up your neck. “Then why are you looking at me like that?” Her hand snaked around your waist, pulling you closer as your eyes met again.
Lucy moved her head down, your lips about to collide with one another, when a loud bang at the door made the two of you jump apart.
“LOVE ISLAND IS ON IN 5 MINUTES!” Alessia’s voice echoed down the hallway.
“I’m going to fucking kill her.” Lucy groaned, she turned her face back to resume what she had planned but you gently pushed her back.
“Not now, love island is on.” You smirked, trying to walk away but she grabbed your hips.
“Fuck love island-“
“Oh come on we have to, she’ll kill us if we miss it.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
“I won’t.” You smirked, scrambling out of her grip you grabbed your shirt before leaving the room, a suggestive look on your face encouraging her to follow you.
“Fuck sake…”
—-
Today was the start of the knockout stages and instead of being on the pitch and fighting it out against Sweden, you were sat on the bench with Chloe and Michelle.
England were 2-0 down, and they were running out of time.
Your eyes watched a frustrated Lucy do her best to coach the girls forward and press but exhaustion and defeat were creeping up behind them.
“We can’t go out like this.” Michelle huffed, her leg bouncing with anticipation.
“The English are never done.” You smiled over at her before focusing on your manager. “And by the looks of it some of us will be coming on soon.”
“Good, don’t think I can take being sat on this bench for any longer.”
“Tell me about it.” Chloe chimed in, exchanging a small smile to you both. “I hate being on the bench you just feel useless!”
“Don’t we all…” Your voice trailed off as England had a chance but the ball went wide. A collective groan sounded out from the England fans and the bench. “Fucking hell-“
“Y/l/n, Kelly, Agyemang, take your bibs off, you three are going on.” Sarina interrupted your conversation for the better. The three of you didn’t need to be told twice. You all quickly bundled your bibs up and threw them on the seats, eagerly joining Sarina.
You watched as your number flashed on the board, Hemp ran towards you, clapping the crowd before pulling you into a quick hug.
“Go smash their heads in.” She whispered in your ear before walking over to Sarina. Smiling at her words you jogged into the pitch with the roar of the crowd behind you.
You looked over at Lucy who was making her way towards you, she had a mixed look on her face, exhaustion with a side of determination. “If you score a goal to get us back in this, I’ll wear that fucking Arsenal shirt as much as you want.”
You held your pinky out to her, a smile on your face. “Promise?”
Lucy didn’t hesitate, she linked her finger with yours. “Promise.”
“Looks like we have a game to win.”
“We do-“
“COME ON STAR GIRL!” A loud voice made both you and Lucy snap your heads towards the small sector for friends and family. Standing and screaming was Martha and by her side, Kylian.
Your eyes were suddenly drawn to the sign she was currently holding.
EVEN RIVALS CANT GET ENOUGH
In the middle of the sign was the photo of Lucy in your Arsenal shirt. You couldn’t subside your laughter when the big screen inside the stadium projected her sign to the world.
“Brilliant…” Lucy rolled her eyes.
“So that’s 3-2 now, right?” You smirked at her as you spoke.
“Go and score a fucking goal y/l/n.”
The plan was simple, score two goals in a little over ten minutes. Get another in extra time and win the game. Plan B, hold off and pray everyone’s up for penalties. Easy right?
As soon as the game picked up, so did England. Alessia had the ball, seeking you out as you ran towards the box. She passed you the ball which you eagerly received but Sweden’s defence began to swarm.
Their plan was obvious. Defend like your lives depended on it and take out any striker with the ball.
Your ego told you that dancing around the defenders and scoring was well within your limits but your head said that if you did and you fucked up, you’d never forgive yourself if England went onto lose. Your eyes darted over to Lucy who was at the back post, basically unmarked. She may be a defender but she’s put a few decent ones in the back of the net before.
Don’t fuck this up Bronze. The thought ran in your head as you crossed the ball towards her. She didn’t hesitate and headed the ball straight into the back of the net.
One down. One to go.
A string of cheers erupted around the stadium, England fans rising to their feet. England got the goal they needed and now they had time to get back into the game.
You watched as Lucy ran into the barrier, screaming at the crowd before turning her attention to you. From across the pitch she smiled at you before blowing you a kiss. You rolled your eyes at the gesture but a smile stood proudly on your lips as you headed back into position.
No more than three minutes later England got what they’d been working for. An assist from Chloe saw Michelle strike the ball into Sweden’s net putting England and Sweden level. You heard Lucy’s cry from across the pitch as you all ran to celebrate the youngsters first goal for England.
“We can fucking win this!” Chloe screamed as you all gathered around Michelle.
“One more goal!” Leah yelled back before instructing you all to get back up the pitch.
Within ten minutes England had gone from complete write offs to potential competition winners. Everyone seemed to have woken up after that second goal. You and the girls tried to push for a third but it was to no avail.
The game was to go to extra time. Everyone huddled around listening to Sarinas plan for the next 30 minutes. Whilst partly listening you grabbed a water and moved to stand beside Lucy.
“How’s your leg?” You whispered, not wanting anyone to catch wind about her leg or hear the two of you talking whilst Sarina spoke.
“It’s fine.” Lucy replied. “It’ll be sore later but I’ll live.”
“Don’t push yourself.” You reminded her. “No one will judge you if-“
“I said I’m fine y/n.” She snapped, her harsh tone taking you back slightly. “It’s like you want me to sit out-“
“That’s not what I meant!” You glared at her before speaking again. “Can’t you see past your own arrogance and realise that someone might actually care about you?”
“I didn’t think you had the capacity to care.”
“Maybe if you weren’t so blinded by your own ego you could see that!”
“My ego?” Lucy scoffed. “Have you seen yourself-“
The whistle from the referee signalled that the short break you all had was over and extra time had officially began. You flung your water bottle to the side of the pitch and regained your position.
Chloe noticed your expression as you walked back onto the pitch. “Are you okay?” The blonde asked.
“Bronze.” You replied.
“What’s she done now?”
“She’s more emotional than Joey Barton.”
Chloe couldn’t hold back her laughter. “One of those domestics yeah?” Chloe smiled. “Trouble in paradise?”
“There’s no paradise to begin with.” You hit back.
“Liar.” Chloe smiled but before you could reply, the game kicked off.
England fought hard but so did Sweden. Neither teams wanted to be the first to falter. The second anyone let their guard down, the opposition would do their best to capitalise on the mistakes.
In the 116th minute you watched as Hannah was taken down in a scuffle with the Sweden players. The medical staff came sprinting on the pitch to attend to her bloody nose. Grabbing your bottle you took the time to slow your breathing, relaxing slightly as you stopped running for once.
Your eyes darted around when you saw Lucy on the floor. Your gaze was fixed upon her, you know she’d not been involved in the clash so part of you wondered what if the tiredness had finally caught up with her but you were wrong.
You watched as she started wrapping her own leg. Her eyes were focused on her right thigh and you couldn’t look away from it. You watched as her muscles flexed and her skin tighten as she wrapped her leg tight.
Your eyes were fixed on her, your heart racing as you watched her. Part of you longed to straddle her thigh and let her do what she wants with you but the half reminded you of your little argument a few minutes prior but if she kept this up, you’d forget all about it and do what she wants.
It wasn’t helping your thoughts that she was now wearing the captains armband. Leah had been subbed off a few minutes ago which meant Lucy now wore the armband.
She didn’t rest it on her shoulder like Leah did but on her wrist for the world to see. Your eyes flickered from the armband to her finishing up with her leg.
“You’re staring.” Chloe’s voice chimed in from behind you.
You whipped your head around to look at her. “I’m just making sure everyone’s okay-“
“By looking straight at Lucy and not taking your eyes off her?” She arched her bows, a smirk on her lips as she spoke.
“I’m not looking at her.”
Liar.
“Keep telling yourself that.” Chloe’s smirk stayed on her lips as she stepped back to grab her own water.
You turned your gaze back over to Lucy, watching her again for a second until she lifted her head up and her eyes met yours. You looked away as fast as you’d made eye contact. You took a sip of your water and walked over to the physio to place the drink back. As you walked away Lucy stood up, sorting herself out she walked towards you, brushing her hand across your waist and slightly pushing her body against yours as she passed you.
“You don’t need to stare y/n, you can have what you see tonight.”
“Fuck off Bronze!” You yelled back, still annoyed at her display earlier.
Lucy wasn’t far in front when she turned around and met yours eyes. “And I’ll put that mouth to good use-“
“Don’t finish that sentence!” You stepped towards her.
“Or what?” She mirrored your actions. “What will you do y/l/n?”
Her actions were intimidating yet insanely attractive but you wouldn’t let her win. “I’ll think of something.”
“Yeah?” She leaned down, her mouth above your ear as she continued to talk. “Whilst you’re thinking I’ll be doing exactly what I’ve been planning to do for a while.”
“Think of me often Bronze?” It was your turn to be cocky. “I can’t say I blame you. But I am curious, how are you going to put your plan in motion?”
“You’ll find out soon enough… thought of something yet?”
“As a matter of fact I have.” A proud smile on your face.
You had in fact thought of something. You’d brought along a white lingerie set, for the sole purpose of “you never know” not that you had Lucy in mind when you packed it, you were just aware that a lot of the girls had minor flings at tournaments. You knew it would drive Lucy crazy seeing you in the lingerie but with her shirt over it. It also crossed your mind that you all had free time coming up in a few days, a day where you could all go and see friends and family. Knowing you wouldn’t be out long as Kylian and Martha both had work, it would be the perfect time to send Lucy a photo of you in her shirt and lingerie when she was away from you and couldn’t do anything about it.
“I look forward to it.” Lucy replied.
“Me too.” A wide grin smiled on your face, your plan in motion in your head.
—-
No matter how hard England or Sweden tried, no one scored and now the game was going to penalties. You were never nervous when you had to score them in a regular game but when the fate of your country lay before you, nerves started to creep up.
You’d all agreed who was taking what penalty. Russo would take the first, James would take the second, Mead would take the third, Greenwood would take the fourth and you would take the fifth. If it went to sudden death, the rest of the girls would follow.
England went first, Russo didn’t hesitate and sent the ball to the left, scoring the first penalty of the shootout and sent England 1-0 up. You were stood beside Lucy as the shootout took place. You watched as Angeldal stepped up to take her penalty but Hannah denied the Swedish their first penalty. Cheers erupted from the England fans and the girls as Hannah smiled at you all.
1-0 to England.
James now went to take her penalty but it seemed as if nerves had begun to settle in. Following Russo she also sent the ball to the left but it was saved. Her head fell to the ground as she walked back, a few of the girls consoled her as she walked back. Nerves started to rise as you watched Olme walk up and score her penalty.
1-1 the game was now level.
Mead stood up to the plate but England were unsuccessful again. She ran her hands over her face as she made her way back to you all. A breath of relief waved over you all as you watched Eriksson miss her penalty.
Greenwood was next but England never made it easy. She missed her penalty, your heart sank as you watched the confidence grew in Bjorn. She took up and delivered, scoring her goal quick, the crowd screaming as Sweden took the lead.
1-2 nerves were boiling up inside of you.
It was your turn next. If you missed England would loose out on everything. No pressure then.
You could feel Lucy’s breath against your ear as you went to take your penalty.
“Score this and I’ll make you wish this night would never end.” Despite her teasing words you could hear the nervousness in her tone. She was always confident, sometimes too confident but she wanted this and she’d do anything to get it.
“Deal.” You sent her one last look as you stepped up to the penalty spot.
Your eyes met the keepers, staring her down for a few seconds before looking at the ball. You waited for a small amount of time before your run up. Make the keeper wait, make them second guess themselves, they’re likely to move before you do, they’re nervous too. Your dad’s words rung out in your head as you took a deep breath sending the ball flying into the top right corner.
You heard Lucy scream before anyone else, then the cheers of the crowd and the girls erupted throughout the stadium. You smiled brightly as you returned to the girls watching as Falk passed you to take hers. Lucy wrapped her arm around your neck, pulling you into her chest with a smile but you focused on Falk. The smiles didn’t fade when you watched Falk miss her penalty.
2-2 you were level now.
Your happiness didn’t last long. You all watched as Clinton missed her penalty. Nerves rose in your body again. Jakobsson needed to miss hers too otherwise Sweden would win. She sent the ball flying, she’d missed completely meaning England still had a chance.
It was Lucy’s turn to step up. Her eyes met yours as she went to take the penalty. “If I score this, will you wear my shirt?”
You already had your plan but Lucy never knew that.
“I’ll think about it.” You replied.
“That’s good enough for me.” She smirked, walking to the penalty spot, ever step oozed confidence. You didn’t doubt that she’d score the penalty. She was experienced enough, and if she scored you wouldn’t have to put up with a miserable Lucy all night.
Lucy did the same as you, she made the keeper wait, evidently playing with Falk’s nerves. She ran up to the ball, hitting it with such power, Falk has no chance. She dove the wrong way as Lucy fired it into the back of the net. She screamed into the crowd. Your head fell in relief as the brunette walked back to your side, a small smile on your her lips as she draped her arm around your shoulder.
“So when can I expect to see you in my shirt?” She whispered in your ear as Holmberg stepped up to the penalty spot.
“Give it time Bronze.”
“That’s not fair.” She replied.
“You need to be more specific Bronze.” Your gaze met hers. “Surely you’ve learnt that by now?”
“You’re gonna learn when you use that mouth.”
“You have a thing about my mouth, don’t you? Maybe shut yours and focus on the penalties, Bronze, we might win this.”
Lucy didn’t speak, she wanted to and you knew deep down that if you two were alone she would’ve put you in your place for that comment.
The pair of you watched as Holmberg stepped up for Sweden, the weight of the country on her shoulders but it was too heavy for her to hold. She was too quick, the ball went flying over the net and a huge cheer from the England fans meant you’d won.
3-2 to England, you were going to the semi finals.
—-
It was hard to sleep after that win. The girls were screaming the whole way back to the hotel, anyone would have thought you’d won the whole tournament. As no one was able to sleep, the evening love island sessions were in full swing. Still on a high, everyone turned their full attention to the scenes unfolding on the screen. Your eyes were glued as one of the girls started to scream at the boy she was coupled up with when your phone buzzed.
Lucy: I owe you an apology.
Your eyes glanced over at her but she was already looking at you. She mouthed an “I’m sorry” and held up her phone to you, instructing you to look at it.
Lucy: I snapped at you when I shouldn’t have. You were looking out for me and I took it the wrong way. I was so worked up in that moment. We can’t lose this tournament, u don’t want to lose it, with all the press and everything. I just need to win and prove myself no matter what the cost, even a fucked up leg. I’m sorry y/n I was a arsehole to do that to you.
You: Lucy you’re fine.
Lucy: You’re not just saying that?
You: No. Yes it pissed me off and it was coming from a place of caring. Not malicious intent.
Lucy: You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?
You: Does it look like I’m lying?
Your eyes met. Lucy mouthed a “thank you.” Your way. You didn’t say anything in return, just flashed her a small smile before turning your attention back on love island.
You knew she was stressed, everyone was, so you took her actions with a pinch of salt. You were no longer upset with her but that didn’t mean you wouldn’t accept her apology.
Lucy frowned at your actions, annoyed she’d lost your attention so fast. So much so, you hadn’t even noticed that she’d left the cinema room until Alessia spoke up.
“Where’s Lucy?” She asked. Her eyes scanning around for her before she looked at you.
“How would I know?” You arched your brows at her.
“You two are joined at the hip.”
“That isn’t true.” You huffed, pulling your phone out.
You: Where are you?
Lucy: The recovery baths down the hallway.
You didn’t hesitate, you quickly got up and slipped through the darkness without anyone seeing you. Part of you wondered if she wanted to be left alone for the night but if that was the case, why tell you where she is?
You opened the door to find her slowly lowering herself into one of the baths with nothing but a swimsuit on. You studied her face as the water hit her skin, her head falling back as she fell inti the sensation.
“Another ice bath?” You arched your brows as you shut the door behind you and walked closer to the bath she was in. The recovery baths were much larger than the simple bath you had in your room. These baths could easily fit at least two people in at a time.
“My leg is sore.” She replied.
“And your thigh?” You moved to sit on the small step beside the bath, leaning your head in your hand you watched as she began to relax.
“I could feel my muscles tightening.” She looked at you. “I can’t risk another injury.”
“That’s understandable.”
Lucy looked at you in a different way than she normally does, a cold hand lifted out of the water to push a strand of hair out of your face. “Thank you.”
“For?”
“Forgiving me.”
“I can’t stay mad at you for long, Bronze.” You both exchanged a smile. “Apart from my leg, I don’t think I’ll ever forgive you for that.”
The pair of you shared a small laugh before Lucy replied. “I could say the same about you smashing my head in.”
“I’ve not delivered that threat yet.”
“Yet.” She repeated. She tore her eyes away from you and to her leg, her face scrunching up as she did so.
“Are you okay?” Your expression turned to a concerned one.
“Yeah I think I’ve got some tape stuck to my leg still, could you just pull it off for me?”
You nodded, standing up you leaned over the bath as Lucy raised her leg. Your eyes scanned her thigh for the leftover tape that was causing her agro.
“Lucy, I don’t think there’s any tape on your leg?”
You didn’t get a chance to hear her answer. She wrapped her arms around your waist and pulled you straight into the cold water with her. You let out a little scream of shock whilst Lucy burst out laughing.
“So that’s 4-2 to me y/l/n.”
“Fuck you!” You tried to scramble out of the water, but Lucy held onto your waist firmly.
“You only have to ask.” She spoke into your ear. If you weren’t so col,d you probably would have moaned at her words.
You wriggled out of her grasp finally. You clung to the sides of the bath as you pulled yourself out. “Lucy I’m fucking soaked!”
“Already?” She joked, a smirk on her lips.
“Shut up!” You darted over to the towels, wrapping yourself with one in an attempt to warm up. “I thought we were having a meaningful conversation!”
“We were!” Lucy protested. “But the opportunity was there and I took it.”
“Two can play this game, Bronze.”
—-
You’d headed straight back to your shared room with Lucy. Your body was shaking with the cold that flooded your skin. You stripped your clothes off fully and jumped into the shower. The boiling water engulfed your skin, coating you with heat, but it wasn’t enough. By the time you jumped out of the shower, you had gone back to being freezing again.
Picking your wet clothes off the floor you went to dry them on the balcony when an idea struck in your mind. If Lucy wanted to play dirty then so would you. Pulling back the duvet you dumped your wet clothes on her bed before pulling the duvet back over what you’d done.
Discarding the towel that once covered your body you slipped on some underwear and started to place a hoodie on when Lucy opened the door. She watched as you quickly let the hoodie slide down your chest. Lucy caught the smallest glimpse, her head racing as her thoughts began to wander at the sight she’d just seen.
“I’m freezing, you know.” You huffed at her as you climbed into bed. “I told you I can never get warm after an ice bath.”
Lucy had sorted herself out downstairs. Already dressed in a hoodie she threw her shorts on the floor before climbing into bed. As Lucy planned to get settled she jumped straight back out, a horrified look on her face when she pulled back the duvet to find your wet clothes soaking the sheets.
“You bitch!” She called out.
“4-3.” You smirked as she looked over at you.
“Where the fuck am I gonna sleep?”
“The floor seems nice.” You pointed down. “You can always sleep on the floor by my bed if you’d like.”
“Fuck off y/l/n.” She ran her hand through her hair. “What about my leg?”
“You’ll live.”
“You know I could tell Sarina.” Your expression changed when she mentioned your manager. “I could go to her room now. You know I could ask for you to be benched as your captain-“
“Deputy captain.” You corrected her. “So what do you propose?”
“You have a double bed.”
“As do you.”
“Mine's soaked now, thanks to you.”
“Just sleep on the other side.”
“The water is fucking everywhere!” Lucy raised her voice slightly. “I think it’s evident what I want.”
You rolled your eyes, moving to the side closer to the balcony. “That’s your side, stay out of mine.”
You were annoyed how easily she’d flipped this onto you but the warmth radiating from her body as she joined you made the anger fade. “You know,” Lucy spoke as you put a film on. “If you wanted me to get into bed with you, all you had to do was ask rather than throwing your wet clothes on my bed.”
“Shut up.” You let out a deep breath as you focused on the film.
“Think it’s 5-3 now.”
—-
The film had ended, and you were desperately trying to fall asleep, but your skin was too cold to focus on sleep. Small shivers would ripple through your body, something Lucy could easily feel.
“Think I’d rather sleep on the floor than deal with this.” She turned her body to face your back.
“Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you pulled me into an ice bath.” You shifted in the bed.
“How do you normally get warm?”
“Benji.”
“What?” Lucy raised her head off the pillow slightly.
“He was our family dog.” You replied. “When I got injured and had to have an ice bath he would always come up for a cuddle. He was the warmest dog ever.” You smiled at the memory. “He passed away about a year after my parents.”
“I’m sorry.” Lucy spoke. “If Nala were here I’m sure she’d cuddle you.” Your smile stayed on your lips as she continued. “But as neither of them is here,” Lucy wrapped her arms around your waist, pulling you into her chest. “I think I’ll be a somewhat alright substitute.”
You didn’t even try to fight her. The warmth of her body made you melt. One arm snaked around your waist, pulling you as close as you could to her whilst the other lay just above your breasts under the hoodie. Your head fell back slightly into the crook of her neck as your whole body relaxed.
Lucy smiled at your actions, her legs tangled with yours as she spoke. “Goodnight y/l/n.” She let her head lie on yours.
“Goodnight, Bronze, guess you’re good at something.”
Just here to say I love this fic and your writing.
I am so intested in their story!
How many parts will there be?
🤍
Thank you so much love 🥺🫶 As the chapters are long I’m aiming for around four parts, the next part covers the quarter finals and the semi final and the final part will cover the final with a healthy dose of drama 😅🤍
Warnings: Enemies to lovers, fluff (eventually), smut 18+ (eventually), angst, talk of parents dying, swearing.
Description: England’s star girl and England’s best defender hated one another. A single threat to “bash her head in” after a poor challenge from the defender was all it took to hate her more than anyone else in the world. Your paths had crossed for years, and it didn’t help that you both played for England. Everyone’s starting to get sick of you two bickering, so for the whole tournament, both you and Lucy were forced to share a hotel room. Who knows, maybe you will finally deliver on your threat, or will you regret it?
---
You and Lucy were put through your paces with the interviews, every journalist jumped through hoops in an attempt to squeeze anything out of you and her about the events that had happened between you two just a mere few moments ago. You couldn’t blame them, it wasn’t every day a player manhandled another, carrying them away from the other players to defuse a situation.
Just as quickly as the interviews started, they ended, allowing you and Lucy to head back to the sidelines.
“You did well with that.” Lucy broke the silence as you two walked. “They wanted something more and you didn’t bite.”
“They wanted more about a situation that had nothing more to give.” You replied, referencing what had just happened. “You diffused the situation, there’s nothing more to it, right?”
You could see why Lucy was worried about you. After your parents died, you escaped from the media for as long as you could and even when you were happy to give an interview, it was always brief and strictly about the game. With a name like yours and the rumours tied to it, the media did their best to switch up headlines or twist your words all for views.
Lucy nodded, not saying anything else as the two of you walked towards the seats behind the tunnel where everyone’s families sat.
“At least they didn’t mention Kylian.” You sparked up the conversation again after she was silent.
“Why would they?” She arched her brows. “It’s an England game?”
“They’ll do anything to mention him. It’s a story that so many would read. Plenty of journalists still think there’s more to that nightclub photo than there is. When that photo came out, my parents had only passed just weeks before. Everyone labelled me as a selfish woman. Suddenly, stories about my parents being evil started to surface. Papers claimed I was celebrating their death, but I needed a distraction. I’d just moved to a whole new country, and Kylian invited me out with everyone, so I thought, why not?” Huffing, you continued your sentence. “Anytime he turns up to a game or anytime we’re spotted in public together, there’s a story, but he and Martha are the closest thing to family that I have left. I just wish they could see that. It’s just-“
Lucy could see you were getting flustered by your own words, your head spinning as you desperately tried to make her understand what it was like for you, but in doing so, you only made yourself get upset. With the day you dreaded fast approaching and the uncertainty of England’s fate in the tournament, everything was beginning to boil over.
“You don’t need to explain yourself to me.” Lucy cut you off, moving to stand in front of you so you could only focus on her. “I get it.” Her words may have been simple, but they were everything you needed to hear. “It’s a lot for one person to handle, and you’re doing better than most people would at this.”
Your eyes searched hers, almost as if you were looking for the sign of a lie or something that told you she didn’t care about what was happening and just wanted you to shut up, but there was nothing in her eyes that told you that. She meant every word.
“Thank you.” Your voice was weak as tears were threatening your eyes.
“They’ll always talk no matter what you do.” She replied as her face inched closer to yours, not close enough that anyone else would notice, but close enough that you could. “And if they’re going to talk, then we should give them something to talk about.”
You cocked your head up, looking up at her as you spoke, the tears subsiding as a curious look spread across your face. “Like your little display earlier?”
“Potentially, or something a bit more.” You caught onto her tone as she spoke, cocky yet smooth with every word.
“And what do you have in mind?”
“Well, I was thinking we could-“
“AUNTIE LUCY!” A sudden shout caused you both to jump back from one another, and your heads snapped towards the direction of the voice. Lucy’s whole family stood waving at her, her niece and nephew looking prouder than ever.
Lucy looked back at you with a guilt-ridden look on her face as she watched a sad smile spread across your face at the sight of her family.
“I-I’ll be back in one -“ She started to stumble over her own words as she looked back and forth between you and her family.
“Go!” You shoved her playfully towards her family, forcing out a smile as you did so. “I’ll see you back on the bus.”
“Thank you.” She gave your hand a quick squeeze.
“You don’t need to thank me, you’re allowed to go and see your family.” A small laugh left your lips. “Go, I’ll see you on the bus.”
She nodded and flashed you a small smile before turning on her heels and running towards her family, hurdling over the seats to be in the arms of her loved ones. A twinge of jealousy sprang through you at the sight. You wanted what she had: a family that would cheer her on at every single game and event she faced. Of course, you had Martha and Kylian, but when he had to play and Martha had work to attend to, you found yourself playing some of the biggest games of your career without a single loved one cheering you on. It was tough, but that’s how your life had been for the last few years.
Lost in thought, you continued to walk towards the tunnel when a familiar voice screamed towards you. “STAR GIRL!” Your eyes darted up to see a massive sign that read “MY BEST FRIEND PLAYS FOR ENGLAND, DOES YOURS?” Your eyes glanced past the sign, and there you met the eyes of your best friend Martha.
“Martha!” You called back to her as you ran towards the girl, climbing over any chair that stood in your path.
You two embraced in a hug, refusing to let go in case the other disappeared. “I didn’t see you in the crowd.” You muttered into her shoulder. “I thought you didn’t come.”
Martha pulled back, her deep green eyes staring at you with love. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world,” she looked over to her left. “And neither would he.” Kylian gave you a warm smile as you pulled away from Martha and hugged him.
“You did so well,” Kylian spoke as you two embraced. “Aside from that last incident…” Kylian pulled away from you. “What happened?”
“With Lucy?” He nodded at your response. “She just wanted to stop me from getting a yellow card.” You sat down on the back of the chair, your arms crossed as you leaned back slightly. “That’s all.”
“Seems like an odd way to remove someone from a situation like that.” Martha spoke.
Shrugging, you spared an odd glance over at Lucy before you spoke again. “She’s an odd woman.”
“Seems it… so how are things with her? Living wise?”
“Not the worst.” You turned your attention back to your best friends. “Could be worse-“
“Could be worse?” Kylian arched his brows at your reply. “How so?”
“She has ice baths at weird times-“
“That’s it?” Martha cut you off. “I could think of worse things.”
“Exactly why I said it could be worse.” You grinned at the strawberry blonde girl who sat before you. “So, do you think England is gonna win?”
“This tournament? No.” Martha quickly replied.
“Martha, you’re English?”
“Yea,h but did you see how well France played against you last week?”
“So you think France is gonna win?”
“I think they have a good chance.”
Your eyes glanced over to Kylian and then back to Martha. “I wonder how you came to that conclusion.”
Martha let out a slight laugh, looking over to Kylian before she turned her focus back to you. “And how are you?” Martha’s tone turned serious. “Like, now the day is nearly here? Mentally, how are-“
“I’m fine.” You gave both your friends a sheepish smile. “I promise you I’m fine. It’s a lot easier to deal with when you have a constant distraction.”
“Love Island?” Kylian tried to lighten the conversation.
“Alessia won’t let us go a day without watching an episode.” You mirrored the small smile he had on his face.
“Girls!” Your manager's voice made everyone turn their focus to the pitch. “Five minutes to get back in, the bus leaves in twenty!”
A sad look flashed across your face as you turned back to face your friends. “Thank you both for coming.”
“We’ll always be here.” Martha smiled, squeezing your hand as she did so.
“Will you two be at the Wales game?”
Martha’s face dropped at your question. “Sorry y/n but I couldn’t get the time off work for that game, they need me in the office as Alex booked holiday and I need to cover-“
“Martha, it's fine.” Reassuring her, you took her hand into yours again. “You two don’t need to be at every game; you two have your own lives.”
“It’s media day for Madrid, I’ll be watching still, and I’ll call you before the game,” Kylian spoke, his expression mirrored Martha’s as he continued. “We know it’ll be a tough day, but we’ll be with you through the phone, and we’ll both be watching-“
“Guys, it’s fine.” Your smile was doing nothing to convince them. “I promise you.”
“Better be.” Martha pulled you into a hug, smoothing your back before she pulled away. “Come on, let's get a photo.” The redhead smiled as the three of you posed for a photo that you knew would end up on Martha’s Instagram in a matter of minutes. She proudly held up her sign before snapping the photo. “One more thing…” Putting her phone down, you watched as your best friend rummaged through her bag for something. “Seeing as you and Lucy are on speaking terms, can you get this signed for me?”
She pulled out an England shirt with Lucy’s number and last name proudly printed on the back and handed it to you. “Are you serious?” You snapped your head towards her but her expression never changed. Martha didn’t utter a word, a clear indication that she was deadly serious. “Oh, you are… are you aware your best friend plays for England too?”
“Of course I a,m but I have loads of shirts from you.”
She had a point. Every club you played for meant a new shirt for her and every tournament you played in meant Martha had a constant influx of football shirts.
“I thought you didn’t like her?” Your expression was a confused one. “You said she was a cheating bitch when she cut my leg open?”
“Yeah, when she plays for Chelsea, but she’s incredible with an England shirt on, and she’s never cut up your leg with an England shirt on.”
“Well, when we play for England, we play for the same side, so I do think that would be rather difficult to do.” You replied, your tone laced with sarcasm. “Although it’s possible in training.” Your eyes darted over to her, only to see her already looking over at you. Snapping your gaze away, you concentrated on your friends before you, hoping she’d not seen the shirt Martha had handed to you.
“Please.” Martha ignored your response. “For me?”
Rolling your eyes, you let out a huff as you did your best to conceal the shirt she’d given you. “If we win the tournament.”
“Best keep scoring then.”
“Might fake an injury.”
“You will do no such thing y/n y/l/n.” Martha scowled at you, her face deadly serious as she spoke every word.
“I’d never.” You stood up and hugged both her and Kylian. “Thank you both again, I’ll see you two during the knockouts?”
Kylian was the first to speak. “I’ll see you the day before the Wales game, for training.”
“And I’ll see you for the knockout games.” Martha returned the hug. “If you win against Wales."
“For the sake of your shirt, you’ll want us to win.”
“You better.”
You bid your final goodbyes to your friends as you walked back down the tunnel. You quickly shoved the shirt Martha had given you into your rucksack, praying no one watched your frantic movements, but unfortunately for you the one person you wished didn’t see what you’d done watched your every move and she was determined to know why you now owned a shirt with her name on the back.
—
By the time you got back to the hotel, you were absolutely shattered and couldn’t wait to go to sleep. Your mind had forgotten about the shirt Martha gave you, and the one thing on your mind was sleep.
“Are you up for another film tonight?” Lucy asked you as she climbed into bed, her eyes looking over at you.
“You can pick one.” You shifted in your bed. “I think I’m gonna pass out at any second.”
“Scoring goals that aren’t offside really do make you tired.” Lucy smirked as you shot her an unimpressed look.
“At least I scored twice, might I add.”
“Keep it up for the next game, and we may reach the knockouts.”
“I plan on it.” You watched as Lucy loaded up Disney+. Immediately heading to the older Disney films. “Maybe you might get one too?”
“I aim to score at least three in this tournament.” She smiled, selecting Lady and the Tramp, her face illuminating slightly as the film started to play. “And you?”
“As many as I need to win the tournament and player of the tournament.” As your sentence finished, a buzz from your phone caught your attention.
MarthaOwen00 tagged you in a post.
You unlocked your phone to see the photo Martha took of you, her, and Kylian earlier with the caption “Our Stargirl ✨”. You couldn’t help but grin at the post, something Lucy noticed immediately.
“Was that girl you were with earlier, Martha? The one you mentioned a few days ago?”
“The red head? Yeah, that’s Martha. That girl might as well be my sister.” You glanced over to Lucy, who was already smiling at you.
“How long have you known one another?”
“Ever since we were kids. My Mum took me to ride horses when I was a child, and she was there too. She told me she had her own horse at home. I wanted to see it so badly, I begged my mum to let me go and see her horse. After a few more lessons, we grew closer, and my mum finally let me go round to hers. Turns out it was just a cuddly toy horse.” Your lips grew into a smile at the memory. “The rest is history.”
“You can tell she’s proud of you.” Lucy mirrored your expression. “That sign was hard to miss.”
“She has her creative moments.”
Lucy paused for a second, she looked deep in through almost as if she was debating whether or not to speak again, but her mind told her to. “I’m sorry for rushing off earlier, when you were upset-“
“Don’t apologise for having a family.” You cut her off. “Don’t pity me because I don’t have what you have. I might not have a traditional family, but Kylian and Martha are still a family to me.”
“It’s more the fact I left you when you were upset.”
“You managed to stop me crying, though.” Your eyes met hers. “You were rather distracting when you mentioned ‘giving the press something to talk about’.”
“My words are still in your head?” The familiar cocky smile coated her lips.
“You never finished that conversation.”
“I’ll let you linger on those thoughts y/l/n.” Lucy turned her body over, facing away from but her smirking tone still strong in her voice. “It’s cute to watch those clogs in your head turn.”
Rolling your eyes, you tried to brush her comment off as you asked her a question. “What did you mean by that?”
“You’ll find out.”
“That’s not fair!”
“Sometimes I don’t play fair.” Lucy replied. “You should know that by now.”
Huffing, you pulled the duvet over yourself even more, gathering more warmth to your skin as you sank further into the bed. “It’s not fair!” You hummed.
“Life isn’t fair, y/n, I’m sure your mind will wander-“
“It’s not fair, you snore the whole night.”
“Firstly, I heard that, secondly, that’s not true.”
“Should ask the rest of the team, bet they can hear you for miles.”
You heard the faint sound of Lucy mocking you from her bed before she huffed with annoyance. “Goodnight y/n.”
“Night, Lucy, try not to snore the whole night.”
“Piss off!”
—-
The best thing about the day after a game was that no alarm woke you up early for training. Sarina would always plan a shorter training session in the afternoon or evening for you all after a game. It was needed, but the way your phone continued to go off made you think you had accidentally set an alarm.
You groaned as you turned your body to face the bedside table where your phone was sitting. Your eyes darted around the room, but Lucy was nowhere to be seen. You could only assume she’d gone downstairs to the gym or maybe even had another ice bath. The first thing you saw was a message from Martha.
Martha: Have you seen Lucy’s story? Did you show her? Does this mean you got it signed?
You: What are you talking about?
Martha: Go look at Lucy’s Instagram story now!
You didn’t hesitate. You opened the app to see Lucy’s story first. There you saw a photo of yourself, dead asleep, with the England shirt Martha had given you. The shirt was draped over you as you slept, Lucy’s name and number proudly on display.
The caption read: @yourusername even star girls need someone to look up to. Could have just said if you wanted some of my clothes ;)
That fucking bitch.
Anger rushed through you. Immediately, you pulled up Lucy’s contact and sent her a message.
You: Righ,t just to clear up, that shirt isn’t mine.
Lucy replied almost instantly, as if she were just waiting to hear from you.
Lucy: It was in your bag.
You: So you went through my things?
Lucy: Well technically no, it was hanging out of your bag and it’s rather hard to miss my last name and number on the back.
You: Is this what you were implying yesterday? About giving the press something to talk about?
Lucy: I had something else in mind, but this works. You won’t have to worry about any Kylian rumours anytime soon.
You: So your counterargument is to create rumours about us?
Lucy: I never said that, but the media won’t be focusing on you and Kylian right now, will they?
You: You’re insufferable.
Lucy: I know.
You could practically see the smirk on her face as you read her last message.
You: The shirt belongs to Martha; she wanted me to get it signed by you because she thinks you’re a somewhat decent player for England.
Lucy: You don’t have to lie to me y/n, although if you wanted a shirt of mine, you could’ve just asked, would’ve saved you the trouble of buying one.
You: It’s not mine.
Lucy: Whatever helps you sleep at night.
You had no way of winning with her. Lucy knew you were telling the truth, she’d watched as Martha handed you the shirt and you desperately tried to hide it from anyone’s gaze but she saw you. But where’s the fun in telling you that she knew the truth?
—-
You didn’t see her until training that night. She stood beside Lauren and Hannah, a cocky grin plastered on her lips when she saw you walk onto the pitch. Part of you wanted to storm over and tell her that it wasn’t yours and she needed to fuck off but the one part told you to just keep your mouth shut and focus on the training. The more you bite, the more she’ll rile you up.
“Where’s your Bronze shirt, y/n?” Lauren called out to you as you joined the other girls for training, giggling with Hannah as she did so.
“I had to give it back to Lucy.” You replied, not wanting them to gain anything from your reply. “I don’t sign things for fans without my name on it.”
Hannah and Lauren smiled at Lucy, waiting for her reply as she stared straight at you, but the instructions for your warm-up had already started being read out to you. Everyone started with their stretches, keeping a distance from one another so they all had enough room. Everyone except Lucy, who found a spot next to you.
“Shame you didn’t wear the shirt.” She spoke, going into a lunge. “I think the number 2 suits you.”
“Not really a number that screams Ballon d'Or winner though, does it?” You arched your brows up at her. “More like Ballon d'Or runner-up. Your last name might be Bronze, but that’s not what I win.”
“Your ego will be the death of you.”
“Sounds like a good way to go.”
Most players thought you had an ego. With a name and statistics like yours you couldn’t blame them for ever thinking that. Although for you, it wasn’t ego, it was just confidence. Who could blame you when you were England’s star girl?
“I’ll get you to wear my shirt one day.” Lucy’s tone was suggestive, but yours was the complete opposite.
“In your dreams, Bronze.”
You wouldn’t be wearing any in my dreams. Lucy thought to herself, but decided against airing her thoughts out to you.
“Want to bet on it?” Her words caught your attention.
“Go on…” Your eyes had lit up at the suggestion.
“After training, you and I have a penalty shootout. Hannah in goal, five penalties each. If I win, you wear my shirt and I get to post another photo on my story.”
“And if I win?”
“You can have whatever you want y/n.”
“I wouldn’t put something you can’t handle on the line.” It was your turn to wear the cocky grin. Lucy’s interest piqued, a curious glance over to you caused her to speak again.
“Are you saying I couldn’t handle you y/l/n?” She arched her brows, standing up tall enough that she slightly towered over you. Lucy stood closer to you, her mouth hovering over your ear before she spoke again. “Because if I had my way, you wouldn’t remember your own name once I was done with you.”
You desperately tried to stop yourself from showing her how much that statement affected you and how your eyes were practically begging her to take you back to the hotel room and prove it. Opening your mouth, you attempted to reply, but Sarina saved you from potentially letting Lucy know how badly you wanted her in that moment. Your manager called you all back to the centre of the pitch to outline some further drills.
Lucy jogged away from you, sparing a quick glance and a cocky smile your way as she joined the rest of the girls. You jogged after her, making sure you stood beside her to talk to her.
“The same.” You whispered to her as she looked over at Sarina. “If I win, you put my shirt on and I get to post a photo of you on my story.”
Her eyes darted over at you as she stretched out her hand. “Deal?”
“Deal.”
Lucy and you kept your eyes on one another throughout training. The pair of you desperately trying to one-up one another during your drills, anything to get into the other’s head before the penalties started. It was a game, and one you were determined to win. Lucy had told the rest of the girls what was set to happen, so as Sarina headed off back to the hotel room, you all stayed behind to watch what was about to unfold.
“A right back vs a striker?” Jess spoke up. “Surely that’s unfair?”
“It was her idea!” You pointed to Lucy. “She knows what the stakes are if she loses.”
You waited for Hannah to get herself ready when Chloe approached you. “Just so you know, if you lose against a right back, especially one that plays for Chelsea, I will never talk to you again.” She smiled at you as she finished talking.
“No pressure then.” You replied.
“I have full faith in you.” The blonde patted your back. “Just know that if you do lose I will never let you forget it and you would have let the whole Arsenal team down.”
“Thanks, Chlo.”
She gave you a sweet smile before replying. “Anytime y/n, good luck.” She turned on her heels and joined the rest of the girls who were spaced around the penalty spot to watch you and Lucy play.
“Who’s going first?” Lauren called out to you and Lucy.
“You can.” You looked over at Lucy, your hands gesturing to the penalty spot. “Be my guest.”
“You know y/l/n,” Lucy spoke in a low tone as she walked past you, making her way closer to the penalty spot. “Statistically, you’re more likely to win a penalty shootout if you go first.”
“Statistics never tell the full story, Bronze.” You shot back as she got ready to take her first penalty.
You weren’t surprised when she scored her first penalty, sending the ball flying down the middle and into the net. Hannah had dived to the left, yet even she couldn’t get back fast enough to stop Lucy’s ball.
It was your turn, you stood up at the penalty spot. A glance at Hannah told you she was deadly focused on your movement,s but it wouldn’t be enough. You fired the ball at the top right corner, a ball Hannah wasn’t even able to get a finger to.
1-1
“You go again, Bronze.” You walked past the brunette with a smirk, lightly brushing her shoulder with yours as you stood to the side.
Four penalties later, you had scored all four and so had Lucy. The pair of you had to score one more, and then it went to sudden death. Lucy stepped up to the penalty spot, her eyes flickering to the ball and then Hannah before she did a quick run up. This time, Hannah dived the right way and stopped Lucy’s ball from entering the net. You couldn’t help but let out a small smile as you watched her frustrated expression grow.
She didn’t say anything to you as you passed her to put the ball back on the penalty spot. The only sound anyone could hear was the faint chants from the Arsenal girls on the sides. Hannah had a beam of confidence on her face after her last save, but it wouldn’t last long. You don’t waste a second, a quick run up gave Hannah no time to think as you fired the ball into the top left corner.
“My fucking goat!” Chloe called out, running to you and putting her arm around your shoulder, her words making Lucy roll her eyes.
“It was unfair anyway!” Lauren shouted. “Striker vs defender?”
“The defender suggested it!” Chloe jumped in to defend you. “Another loss for Chelsea.” The blonde laughed as you turned your attention to Lucy, who was now walking towards you.
“Your shirt.” She held her hand out, waiting for you to remove your training top.
“Oh, you’re not wearing this one.” You smirked, knowing Lucy was never specific with what shirt she had to wear.
“Fine, your England kit then-“
“No, not the England shirt.” She looked at you with a puzzled expression. “I’ve got an Arsenal one upstairs-“
“Absolutely not, no!” Her eyes widened at your words. “That wasn’t part of the deal!”
“You never specified what shirt. You said a shirt with the other's name and number on the back, and I think you’ll find my Arsenal shirt fits that.”
“Are you aware that I play for Chelsea?” Lucy snapped.
“Why’d you think I picked the Arsenal shirt?” Lucy knew she wasn’t going to win, your cocky expression told her that she’d never hear the end of it if she didn’t.
“Let’s go back to the room then.” Lucy huffed as she had already started to walk, not caring if you were behind her or not. With a wide grin, you started to follow her, slightly jogging as she was already halfway up the path to your hotel.
—
“Do I have to?” Lucy held your Arsenal shirt from last season up to her chest.
“That’s the winning kit from the Champions League, you should feel honoured.”
“You know I have won the Champions League before, right?”
“Not with an English team.” A proud smile spread across your face. “Only team in England to have ever won it, twice, might I add.”
Lucy huffed, not saying a word as she begrudgingly took her shirt off and put on your Arsenal shirt.
“Red looks good on you.” You grabbed your phone, waiting to take a photo of her.
“Blue looks better.” She turned her gaze to you. “You’d look better in it than red.”
“Not a chance, Bronze.” You nodded towards the balcony. “The sooner you get this photo, the quicker you can take the shirt off.”
“Where do you want me?” She spoke with a fed-up tone.
“The balcony, just have your back to me and look as if you’re just minding your own business, enjoying the view.” She rolled her eyes, doing what you’d asked.
Raising your phone, you took a photo of her, your name and number on full display for everyone to see. Although you couldn’t see her face, the tattoos gave it away that it was Lucy. Your grin grew like the Cheshire Cat as you looked back at the photo.
“That’s my new lockscreen sorted.” You joked as she turned around.
“Piss off.” She looked at the photo before speaking. “Do your worst y/l/n.”
“O,h I plan to.” You had something in your head planned for when Martha next came to the games and needed a new sign.
You posted the photo to your Instagram story, the caption reading: I love my fans 🫶 @lucybronze red looks good on you 👀⚪️🔴
“I’m getting you back.” Lucy took your shirt off, bundling it up before shoving it into your chest.
You held the shirt, your hands brushing as you took it from her grasp. “Yeah?” You took a step closer: “Do your worst.” Your words mirrored her own, the expression on her face told you she planned to do so, and much worse.
—-
Today was the day, the day you dreaded every single year and also happened to be the day you played against Wales. No matter how much this day affected you, you couldn’t show it. You needed to win this game if you wanted any chance to progress into the knockouts and if you were even slightly off or made a mistake that cost the whole team this game, then you’d never forgive yourself.
You didn’t say much to Lucy for the whole day; in fact, you didn’t say much to anyone for the whole day. Sarina asked if you were okay enough to play, and you eagerly said yes. You needed all the distractions you could get today.
You headed into the changing rooms, only minutes before England's fate in the tournament was revealed. You kept your headphones on and only took them off when Sarina needed to go through anything before the game started. She pushed the plan of feeding you the ball so you could put it into the net. She’d never normally push it to one player; everyone knew it was a team effort, but she also knew that today you needed two goals more than anyone else. One for your Mum and one for your Dad.
As you were about to face Wale,s your phone buzzed.
Kylian: How are you today?
You: I’m fine, just another day, isn’t it?
That’s what you kept telling yourself. It’s just another day. A hard one but you’ll get through it just like any other day.
Kylian: But it’s a tough day for you. Maybe ask Sarina to start you on the bench?
You: I can’t do that. I’ll never forgive myself if the game all goes wrong and I’m just moping around on the bench. I need a distraction.
Kylian: Then don’t get distracted on the pitch, you won’t forgive yourself if you do.
He had a point. You had to focus on the game, no sadness, no emotions about anything, just the game.
You: I won’t. Thank you for checking in.
Kylian: Anytime. Just go easy on yourself yeah? I’m watching, all the lads are. We’re all behind you.
You: Thank you ❤️
Lucy kept her eyes intently on you as you headed out. She knew something wasn’t right but for the life of her, she couldn’t work out what was wrong. As you were about to head into the tunnel, Lucy grabbed your arm and tugged you into a quiet corridor. She gently backed you up against a wall, her gaze worried as your eyes met.
“What’s up with you?”
“Nothing's wrong with me.” Your half smile wasn’t convincing her at all.
“You’re a terrible liar.” Her hands were placed on either side of your head so you couldn’t back away. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Lucy, nothing's wrong.”
Lucy didn’t say anything; she just held out her pinky. You’d told her you’d never broken one before, and she knew that was true. If you didn’t take her hand, she knew something wasn’t wrong.
You looked down at her hand, but you hesitated, something Lucy caught onto.
“See, you are lying to me! You won’t swear on it because you’re not telling the truth!” She shifted on her feet, ducking her head down, and she spoke in a soft tone. “Y/n? What’s wrong? You can trust me, I won’t say anything-“
You looked up at her, not being able to hold back your tears anymore. Lucy’s face dropped as she saw the tears that threatened to spill. “Hey, hey, hey, please don’t cry.” Her hands were no longer on the wall but cupping your face, her thumbs wiping away the odd tears that fell from your eyes. You shook your head, keeping your head down as you tried to keep your sobs at bay.
You never liked to tell anyone about how you felt with your parents. A few people knew what today was like, but you kept it at that. The world didn’t need to know everything. Despite the years that had passed, it still hurt to talk about it, and no matter how much you tried, you’d always end up crying your eyes out, so for you, it was best to keep it at bay. Not a lot of people in this world have lost their parents in a tragic way on what was supposed to be one of the best days of their lives.
“Please…” Your voice felt weak as you pleaded with the woman in front of you. “I can’t talk about it, not today just please-“
“We don’t need to talk about it.” Lucy stepped slightly closer to you. “I just need to know that you’re okay.” She put her hand under your chin, tilting your head up to look at her. “You can stay on the bench, no one will blame you-“
“No, I need to play. Today of all days, I need to be on that pitch.”
Lucy nodded, stepping back, and she put her hand out again. “Promise me you’ll be okay on the pitch?”
You linked your finger with hers. “I promise you.”
Lucy nodded again, she wanted to desperately pull you into a hug, tell you that everything was going to be okay and to just ‘let everything out’ but she just backed away, kicking herself internally that she just let you walk away into the tunnel without another word. Lucy may not have known the exact reason as to why you were not yourself but she could hinder a pretty good guess.
England started off as the stronger team, immediately the girls sent passes your way, and you were constantly doing your best to capitalise on every opportunity. In the 13th minute, you had an open shot, just you and the keeper, but before you could strike the ball, a body collided with yours, taking you straight to the floor.
Gemma Evans stood over you, pushing any loose strands of hair away from her face. The Liverpool defender meant no harm from her challenge, evidently, but Lucy didn’t see it that way. The brunette came running over to you, barging Evans with her shoulder slightly as she walked over to you.
“What the fuck, Bronze!” Evan’s called out.
“Piss off, Evans!” Lucy called back, her focus now turned to you as you pulled your socks up. You were about to get up when Lucy hooked her arms under you and pulled you back onto your feet. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a rash challenge. I’m okay.” You gave her a quick smile before looking over to the penalty spot where Georgia and Lauren stood, the pair of them discussing who would talk the penalty.
Lucy followed your gaze. She patted the small of your back before walking over to the other girls. “Y/n takes it.” She spoke in a serious tone. “You heard what Sarina said. We feed the ball to her.” Both girls backed off without a word, allowing Lucy to take the ball and hand it to you.
You stood beside her, eyeing the keeper as the referee did her best to split anyone up who dared to question the penalty decision. “You’ve got this.” Lucy looked at you, drawing her attention away from the Welsh keeper. “Just imagine you’re going up against me in training again.”
“And what do I get if I win this time?” You cocked your head towards her.
“Bragging rights.” She smiled.
“And if I miss?”
“Then you wear the Chelsea shirt.” A smirk grew on her lips.
“Yeah, I’m definitely getting it in then.” You gave her a small smile in return, placing the ball down on the penalty spot. Lucy backed off with everyone else behind the line, ready to run in case you missed.
You were quick with it, never letting the keeper have even a second to think before shooting the ball in the top right corner, sending England one goal up. You sent a kiss up to the sky as a celebration.
One goal for Mum, one more for Dad.
Lucy was the first to wrap her arms around you in celebration. “Guess I’ll have to try harder for that Chelsea top photo.” She muttered in your ear.
“Never gonna happen, Bronze.”
You scored your second goal only eight minutes later, a cross from Lucy saw you bury another in the bottom left. You blew another kiss to the sky before Lucy came over to celebrate with you.
One for Mum, one for Dad.
90 minutes later, one hattrick claimed and your final celebration being dedicated to Russo (at her request) saw England through to another knockout stage, winning the game 6-1. All the girls were screaming and shouting in the changing rooms, dancing around to some music Chloe had put on. On a normal day, you would have joined in, but today wasn’t a normal day, and the distraction you once had was now over.
—
On the way back to the hotel, you kept your headphones on, distracting yourself as best you could and keeping yourself silent in order to slip away into your hotel room without anyone following you well. Lucy would follow you in eventually, but you were hoping to catch some quiet time on the balcony just to think and process the day.
The second Lucy stepped back into the hotel, she was swiftly pushed into the cinema room, it didn’t matter how big or small a game was. The Love Island watch parties never stopped. You were grateful that Alessia knew everything and didn’t dare question where you were.
Lucy on the other hand, spent every second of the Love Island episode looking for you. She’d hoped after your performance, you would have joined everyone for the night.
Lucy: Where are you?
She didn’t get an answer.
Lucy: We don’t need to talk but I need to know that you’re safe.
You: I’m safe.
A breath of relief left her lips as she read your last message.
“Everything alright?” Leah leaned back after hearing Lucy’s sigh of relief.
“Yeah.” Lucy huffed, Leah didn’t look away from her, waiting for more. “Just wondering where y/n is.”
“She won’t be here tonight.” Leah glanced at the cinema screen and then back to Lucy her brows furrowed as she caught onto Lucy's expression. “What?”
“Why won’t she be here? She was upset before the game but she was smiling afterwards.”
“Do you really not know what day it is today?” Leah raised her brows.
Lucy looked taken back by her words, her face scrunching as she searched her head for the answer. “No?”
“It’s the day her parents died. It’s the same day she signed for PSG.”
It was that day. The day your world fell apart.
“Shit…” Lucy’s face dropped. She didn’t waste a single second. She jumped up and headed towards the exit, not caring if anyone yelled at her for leaving.
“Where are you going?” Leah snapped.
“To talk to her.”
“She won’t talk to you, she never talks to anyone about it.”
“I’ll take my chances!”
—
You were sitting on the balcony, staring at the same view for what felt like hours. When you came outside the air was warm enough to just sit in a t-shirt and shorts but now the air had turned cold, your skin felt freezing but you couldn’t get yourself to move. Everything just felt so still and calm, that was until the door to your shared room with Lucy opened.
You didn’t say anything, but you never got the chance because Lucy came running out to the balcony and broke the silence.
“I’m sorry.” She blurted out, moving closer to you. She sat down in the chair beside you, her body angled towards you. “I’m sorry I didn’t know what day it was-“
“Lucy, I never expected you to know what day it was.” You turned your head to look at her. “I’m not going to hold that against you.”
“I know but I should have known.”
“You had no reason to.” You offered her a smile. “This is the longest we’ve ever spent with one another.”
Lucy smiled along with you. “True, but I still remember the day it came out, the minute silence we had before the games. I should have known.” Lucy reached to touch your hand when she suddenly jerked her hand away. “Jesus Christ y/n you’re freezing, how long have you been out here for?”
“Since we came back from the game.” Lucy didn’t reply. She stood up and lifted her own hoodie off of her body and handed it to you. Arching your brows at her you spoke again. “You know my hoodie is just inside the door.”
“Mine's warmer.” You knew she had a poin,t and reluctantly, you put her hoodie on, the warmth engulfing you along with her scent.
“Thank you, I’m okay on my own. I don’t want Alessia to have a go at you because you didn’t watch Love Island tonight.”
“I’d rather be with you.”
“Not afraid I’ll smash your head in?”
“I think I could take you.” The pair of you shared a small laugh, your eyes glanced back at the view that lay before you both. “We don’t need to talk about it, I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“I don’t really talk to anyone about it.” You looked over at her again, holding your pinky out. “But I guess it’s good to talk about it to someone, even if that someone fucked my leg up.”
Lucy linked her pinky with yours. “Maybe I did deserve that threat.” You two shared a smile before you spoke again.
“They died when I signed for PSG, the same day. Today, to be exact. It was a car crash. They were coming off the motorway when their brakes failed.” Your eyes met hers. “ I remember getting some press photos with Kylian when I got the call but the press were everywhere. I couldn’t leave, and I couldn’t tell anyone what had just happened. I was so excited to move to PSG. It was a huge club in a whole new country yet the second I signed for them, I couldn’t wait to leave.”
Lucy didn’t say a word. She just watched you as you continued to speak. “PSG did everything for me yet I felt so guilty and miserable there. I kept thinking that maybe if I’d never signed for PSG or even dreamed about being in professional football then they’d still be here.”
“But would they want that?” Lucy spoke. “Would your parents want you to leave your dreams behind for them?”
“No.” You looked over at her, your gaze not leaving hers. “When I told them I wanted to play football, my dad did everything he could. My mum made cakes and coffees to sell so the team could afford better equipment and my dad was the coach. He moved his work around just to coach the team. He’s why I moved to Arsenal. He told me he’d disown me if I ever turned down Arsenal.”
Lucy laughed at your words. “They sound like wonderful people.”
“They were. When Arsenal reached out when I was at my lowest I knew I had to move. I don’t care if I took a pay cut. Hell, I'd play for free there. I just needed to get away.”
“You’re stronger than you think y/n, that would eat most people alive.”
“It did.” Your eyes started to well up with tears with every word.
“But you kept going.” Lucy jumped in. “And you didn’t stop. You came out on top, so much so that you won the Champions League and now you’re on your way to a second Euros.”
“God, I hope so.”
A moment of silence filled the air but Lucy broke it. She looked up, her eyes staring up at the sky before she pointed at something. “Look.” Your eyes followed hers, looking up you saw two stars close to one another and shining slightly brighter than the others. “I’d like to think that’s them and they watched you score those goals tonight.”
You wiped a tear from your face, looking away from the stars and towards her. “Thank you.”
“They’d be so proud of you.” Lucy reached out to grab your hand. “I hope you know that.”
You nodded, your spare hand wiping your eyes as you steadied your breathing.
“Do you often spend today alone?” Lucy asked.
“When Martha and Kylian aren’t around, yes. But in recent years Kylian made a plan to distract me if I was on my own.”
“And what was that?”
“Make the house really dark and watch a horror film.”
Lucy couldn’t help but let out a small giggle, looking at you with disbelief. “Why?”
“Well, any noise I heard made me shit myself, and that was pretty distracting.”
“It’s smart, I’ll give him that.”
“He has his moments.”
“I have an idea,” Lucy spoke up. “Fancy ordering a takeaway and then we can watch the Conjuring series tonight?”
“A takeaway? Sarina would kill us.”
“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” She smirked. “I’ll be smart about it.”
“You better be. I’m not going down for this.”
“It’s all on me.” Lucy stood up, holding her hands out for you to take. “Go and get ready and I’ll sort everything else out.”
Your gaze went soft at her words and so did your chest. The two of you looked at one another for a second longer than most people would, the pair of you stood in silence for a second. You thought about falling into her arms for a hug but your words took over before your body could.
“Thank you, for all of this.”
“Don’t thank me until I can sneak the takeaway upstairs for us.”
Laughter fell from your lips at her words. “Deal.”
—-
Lucy had managed to pull off what you thought was impossible. She’d managed to sneak two pizzas into the hotel and two tubs of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Never in your life did you think Lucy Bronze would be bringing you a takeaway mid-tournament and you’d actually be enjoying the situation.
Despite how creepy the films were, after you’d finished your ice cream, your eyes had started to slowly shut. Tiredness had started to take over, and you slowly fell deeper into the pillows, engulfing yourself in the duvet and sleep.
Lucy had noticed you asleep and a thought had crossed her mind. Was it cruel? Yes. But what was also cruel was making her wear an Arsenal shirt. She quietly grabbed a black wash robe which the hotel had provided, and draped it over her body. She set her phone up to record what she had in store. Crouching at the end of your bed she started to pull the duvet away from your body. The sudden cold air on your skin made you stir in your sleep. She started to make a low hissing sound and grabbed your leg; her actions made your eyes shoot open.
You looked down and saw a dark figure standing at the end of your bed. You screamed, kicking your legs towards the figure towering above you. Fear flooded your whole body as you desperately tried to move your body towards the headboard for safety.
A sudden laugh, which you recognised immediately, made the fear wash away from your body. Your eyes focused in the dark to see Lucy uncontrollably laughing as she grabbed her phone from the nightstand.
“You fucking bitch!” You yelled out.
“Look at your face!” She spun the phone around, showing you the video she’d just taken. “2-1 to me.”
Your head fell to the pillows behind you. “I fucking hate you, Lucy Bronze.”
“You fucking love me y/n y/l/n.”
In that moment, you’d completely forgotten that you had Lucy’s hoodie on still. The England badge proudly on your chest, but so was her number.
That part one of your series?? WOW love it 🥺 there’s not enough Lucy stuff on here and I’m so so glad to see you posting that 🤭
Any idea regarding the schedule?
Thank you so much love 🥺🫶 fully agree that there’s not enough Lucy stuff 😌
Schedule wise, I aim to get the next part up by Tuesday at the latest. I’m currently half way through writing the next part and I aim to finish it by Monday evening/ Tuesday morning. I hope to get parts out every few days 🫶
Warnings: Enemies to lovers, fluff (eventually), smut 18+ (eventually), angst, talk of parents dying, swearing.
Summary: England’s star girl and England’s best defender hated one another. A single threat to “bash her head in” after a poor challenge from the defender was all it took to hate her more than anyone else in the world. Your paths had crossed for years, and it didn’t help that the Euros was just around the corner. Everyone’s starting to get sick of you two bickering, so for the whole tournament, both you and Lucy were forced to share a hotel room. Who knows, maybe you will finally deliver on your threat, or will you regret it?
—
One stupid challenge was all it took to hate Lucy Bronze; you hated her more than anyone else in the world. Indeed, the two of you had a small rivalry before the infamous incident occurred. She was one of the greatest defenders in football, and you were hailed as the second coming of Thierry Henry and the Stargirl of every club you played for. Naturally, you both fought constantly on the pitch, but the day Arsenal played Chelsea in the WSL changed your views on one another permanently.
Being an Arsenal player meant facing Chelsea a fair few times in a season, one you’d look forward to when you knew Bronze was set to play. Arsenal were fighting hard to climb the table, but so were Chelsea. At the 87th minute, the game was set at 2-2. A stunning cross from Kelly saw you sprinting to the Chelsea goal when Bronze made a risky tackle, sending you to the floor screaming in pain. You both collided so hard that her studs ripped into the back of your right leg. The blood soaked through your socks as the medical team carried you off. The cut was so deep you needed stitches, and all Bronze received was a yellow.
A yellow for ruining Arsenal’s chance of winning and for fucking up your leg. As you headed down the tunnel, you ranted to the medical staff, claiming you were planning on “Smashing Bronze’s head in for what she done.” A fan caught the whole conversation on camera, and Twitter had a field day.
Chelsea went on to win. A surprising assist from Bronze led them to the three points, which only added to your anger. The TV in the hospital showed Bronze, the winning player of the match, with a gleaming smile on her face, while your eyes welled up with tears due to the pain. Later that day, she posted a photo of herself on Instagram, her face glowing with pride, with the caption “Smashing heads in”. You didn’t care if she played alongside you for your country, or the fact that you’d won so many duels against her in the past. You hated her, and nothing would change that.
—
The Euros were just days away, and you and the rest of the team all sat in the reception of your hotel in Zurich awaiting Sarina Wiegman to assign rooms. This wasn’t abnormal for Wiegman. She always wanted you all to be in rooms with those with whom you were close and played well with. She believed it drew her team together on and off the pitch. With this being the case, you knew you’d end up alongside your Arsenal teammates, so you thought.
“Has everyone been watching Love Island?” Alessia asked, a small smile on her face, knowing what she had planned. “Because we will all be watching it in the cinema room every night!”
“You wouldn’t let us not watch it after you told us your brother was on it.” You replied, mirroring her smile.
“Tournament comes first.” Leah chimed in, a smirk on her lips, a small indication that although she was somewhat joking, she was also deadly serious. Whilst the rest of the girls engaged in conversation, your eyes glanced around for Lucy. She was sitting as far away from you as possible, talking to Jess.
The Chelsea game wasn’t the start of your disgust for one another. At the World Cup, you two were at one another's throats. After Lauren had made the awful decision to step on another player, you snapped at the forward, but Lucy defended her.
“How can you defend that?” You spat at the brunette. “She just walked over someone-”
“She’s young-”
“And?” You stepped closer to Lucy. “That makes it okay, does it?”
Lucy rolled her eyes, her deep breath hitting your face as frustration grew. “No, but she’s learning still. We have no hope if we constantly argue.”
“I’m holding her accountable.” You stepped closer, your faces nearly touching. You could feel the tension between you both as you spoke again. “That’s what you should be doing, Captain.” You shoved her slightly as you walked past her, still pissed off at not only Lauren, but Lucy too.
The memories of the World Cup were cut short when Lucy snapped her head towards your gaze, your eyes meeting but darting away quickly. She’d seen you staring, and she knew you hadn’t just glanced over, but neither of you had time to react as a familiar voice filled the room.
“Good evening, girls and welcome to Zurich. As you all know, we face France in a few days, and I need you all to be well-rested and focused for the games ahead.” Wiegman smiled at you all as her words filled the room. “I have all assigned your rooms, which I will now reveal.” A small cheer sounded from a few of the girls, followed by laughter that postponed your manager's words. “Keepers, you are all in a room together, Beth and Ella, you two are together, Alessia and Leah…” Sarina’s words trailed off when your phone, lightly buzzing, caught your attention.
Lucy: Caught you staring earlier, what were you thinking? About smashing my head in?
Your eyes darted over to the defender, but her attention was glued to your manager.
You: More like smashing your ankles in.
Lucy: Classy y/l/n, what were you really thinking about?
You: And you care, why?
Lucy: I don’t.
You: Then why ask?
Lucy: Curiosity.
You: Killed the cat.
Lucy: Luckily, I’m not a cat.
You locked your phone, glancing over to Lucy again to see her looking at you.
“And y/n and Lucy, you two will be sharing this tournament.” Your manager's words made you both snap away from one another, your eyes widening in disbelief.
“What?” You raised your voice first. “I thought you said you wanted us to be in a good state of mind for this tournament. We’re reigning champions of Europe, and you expect me to be in that state sharing with her?” You pointed at Lucy, your eyes flicking over to her before focusing on Sarina.
“She might smash my head in!” Lucy called out.
“And she might slice my leg open again!”
“It was a small cut-”
“A small cut?” Your head jumped in her direction. “I was out for weeks! You’ve left a massive scar on my leg-”
“And you threatened me! That’s what you do when something doesn’t go your way, isn’t it y/l/n? Play like shit and then blame everyone else!”
“I play like shit?” Your face dropped in disbelief at her words. “Remember when you lost us the-”
“Enough!” Sarina’s voice ripped through the room, her eyes narrowing as she looked at you both. “You two will share a room in this tournament. You two are divided, and I need you both to work things out. Your room number is 111, go now and you will join us all in the morning for training.” She handed you both a key to the room.
Gathering your things, you stormed through the hotel, taking the lift and shutting the doors before Lucy could reach them, giving you even the smallest moment of peace before you shared a room with the woman you hated.
The room was gorgeous. Two double beds are situated in the middle of the room, with a large Television opposite, positioned between the two beds. There was only one bathroom, which contained a large shower with a separate bath next to it. The last thing that caught your eye was the large balcony that looked over the training grounds. You dumped your bags on the bed nearest the balcony and pulled out your phone to text one of your closest friends in football, the one and only Kylian Mbappe.
Before Arsenal was PSG and during your time there, the men's and women’s team mixed their training, and that’s when the two of you met, properly anyway. The pair of you had both played for Arsenal's academy when you were young, your parents were good friends but the two of you were both too young to really remember a lot. He understood what it was like to have the pressure from every single fan, manager and media outlet on your back, and it only got worse after your parents' death.
The pressure of being a player who stood out from the crowd was something he knew all too well. The two of you would have small training sessions in the evening, a time when you could both focus on your careers without the pressure of the world weighing in. He helped you get your name out to the world. Suddenly, men who only wanted to watch men’s football were flocking to women’s games after seeing their idols supporting the women.
You: I’m in Zurich, I arrived safely.
Kylian: About time I heard from you, how is everything?
You: Shit.
Kylian: Why? You love playing for England?
You: They’ve assigned me to a room with Lucy.
Kylian: You mean THE Lucy Bronze? Why would they do that when they know you two hate each other?
You: Because they want us to fix our issues with one another. That woman physically hurt me, set me out for weeks. I’m not fixing anything with her.
Kylian: I understand it’s hard, but you could try being civil with her. I’m not saying be best friends or anything, but maybe just act like that on the pitch. You want to win, right?
You: Of course I do, but I hated her at the last Euros.
Kylian: Not as much as you did at the World Cup. I’ll check in on you every day.
You: You’re still coming to the games, right? Both you and Martha are right?
You referenced your best friend Martha, someone Kylian could never stop looking at when the pair of them were together.
Kylian: Of course. She’s meeting me at the airport tomorrow.
You: I can’t wait to see you both.
Kylian: Me either, and we can plan some extra training sessions. Will Sarina mind?
You: She’s not said no yet.
Kylian: Be nice to Bronze and we’ll be fine.
You: We’ll see.
Kylian: Don’t smash her head in.
You: Don’t try and smash my best friend on the plane.
Kylian: It’s not like that. I don’t see her like that. She’s a lovely girl, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t see her like that.
You: Liar. See you tomorrow.
The door to your hotel room clicked open, signalling that Lucy had finally made it up the hotel stairs. “Enjoy your walk?” You called out to her, glancing at her as she dumped her bags on the bed beside yours. She huffed at your words before replying.
“I see you’ve chosen a bed.”
“Closer to the balcony, that way if you do my head in enough, I can jump out of it.”
“I’m not that bad.” Her gaze was fixed on you. Propping yourself up on the bed, you looked at her, an unimpressed look spreading across your face.
“My leg begs to differ.” You lifted your right leg slightly.
“I never asked,” she moved herself to the edge of her bed, her eyes flicking between your own and your right leg. “How many stitches did you need?”
“Four.” You threw your trainers off and pulled your joggers up past your calves. Your hand pointed to the scar forever on your skin, not that you needed to; the scar was so prominent it looked as if the injury had happened a mere few days ago.
A flicker of guilt shot across Lucy’s eyes, but it faded as fast as it appeared. “I did say it was an accident-“
“So I’ve heard.” You rolled your eyes. “It’s asked in almost every interview you do regarding me or Arsenal.”
A wide, cocky grin coated Lucy’s lips. “So you watch the interviews I do?”
“Kylian sent me one.”
“Ah,” she nodded. “Your famous friend.”
“My good friend.” You corrected her. “I’ve known him for years.”
There was always speculation around you and him. For years, fans thought you two were dating. You received comments like “Imagine if they have kids, football clubs would pay millions.” “Wonder if that’s her plan to be paid more?” And “definitely slept her way to that PSG spot.” When you signed for PSG, it made you one of the mist talked about players in the game. A title great for your ego and bank account but not for trolls on the internet.
It didn’t help that photos of you and him circulated on social media after a team night out. You were both pictured with Kylian's arm around your shoulders and him leaning close towards you. The truth behind that photo was simple. He was drunk, you helped him get home, and he was telling you how badly he was craving McDonald’s. That’s it. But of course, the world thought the stars of PSG were sleeping together.
“Poor bloke.” She smirked at you before her face turned serious after seeing the look on your face after her comment. “Look y/n, I don’t like this and neither do you, but it’s just a place for us to sleep. We’ll be with the team for most of the time; this is just a place to sleep.”
You nodded at her words. “Just don’t snore-“
“Or you’ll smash my head in?” She grinned whilst she rummaged through her bags.
“Right, a friendly reminder, you had just split my leg open. I was angry, and I have never delivered on my threat.”
“You were angry? Is that a small apology there?” Her grin grew.
“No, it’s an explanation for my actions.”
“You’ve been with me for five minutes and you’re already apologising to me?” Her teasing tone only pissed you off even more.
“No-“
“Sarina is going to be so proud of us -“
“That’s not what I meant!” You stood up, watching her grab her towel and wash bag from her case.
“I’ll be sure to pass it on, as your captain, that you’re already coming around to this idea.” Lucy opened the bathroom door.
“Deputy Captain!” You called out after her as she slammed the bathroom door shut, the sound of the shower blocking your voice out.
It was going to be a long tournament, longer if England kept winning.
—
England had lost their first game in the competition. A dominant France saw you walking off the pitch with a 2-1 loss. You’d scored within the first five minutes, but VAR had ruled you offside. From then on, you were off the mark, not playing as well as you should have, and you knew that the media would be talking about it.
You didn’t dare give an interview, but thankfully, they only wanted to talk to Walsh and Leah. After your bolocking from Sarina, everyone headed back onto the bus and to the hotel. You were shattered, to say the least. You’d played the whole game, and knowing that something wasn’t right only made you more exhausted.
Dumping your rucksack on the floor by your bed, you quickly gathered up a shirt to sleep in, not caring that Lucy was entering the room right behind you.
“Didn’t fancy a goal tonight?” The familiar voice belonging to the woman you hated most of all filled your ears.
Lucy placed her bag down on her bed, but her eyes were focused in front of her, staring straight at you. She watched as you turned yourself around, your back facing her as you peeled your sports bra off your skin and placed an oversized shirt over your body. She wanted to be cocky, but the way your muscles glistened in the light and your effortless movement made her mind wander.
“Didn’t fancy taking down any strikers to prevent a goal tonight?” Your words snapped her back into reality.
“Did you not see that run I made in the lead-up to the second goal?”
“Wasn’t fast enough.” You huffed as you pulled back the duvet, settling yourself into bed. You grabbed the television remote that sat on the bedside table separating your and Lucy’s beds. “It’s only the first game-”
“And now we need to win the next two if we have any hope of getting further!”
“The French aren’t easy to beat.”
“You’d know.” The brunette remarked as she changed into something comfortable to sleep in.
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Your face flew to meet her own.
Lucy shrugged her shoulders as she climbed into bed, putting her glasses on before grabbing a book. “You have your special friend you’re close with.”
“It’s not like that, and you know it.” You sat up in bed, flicking through the TV in an attempt to find something to watch. “He and I have never had anything happen between us, and if you must know, he really fancies my best friend Martha, not that he’ll admit it. In that photo, he was drunk, and I’m not leaving my friend alone when he’s drunk.” Without another word, you pressed play on a film, settling yourself back into bed as it started to play.
“Have you seriously put on Twilight?” Lucy arched her brows, changing the conversation entirely and now dismissing the book in front of her.
“Do you have an issue with Twilight?”
She shrugged, her eyes still glued to the screen. “No, it’s just an odd choice.”
“How is it?” You counteracted. “It’s dark outside, the weather is turning slightly, and it’s started to get colder. It’s perfect Twilight weather.”
“If you say so, y/l/n, just keep it down, yeah?”
You didn’t answer her, just spared the odd glance her way here and there. Lucy turned her attention back to her book, the small light beside her bed illuminating her face. You noticed how her eyes darted towards the TV, then back to the book. It was evident the film was catching her attention more than the words in front of her.
“I’d be team Alice.” Lucy’s attempt at reading her book had failed; her eyes were now glued to the television screen. “She seems to be the only one with a brain.”
“Just you wait until we watch the next films.”
“Not going to happen.” Bronze replied, her eyes looking at you. “Alessia will kill us if we miss any of her Love Island watch parties.”
You shrugged, only glancing over at her for a split second. “Can we watch them after?”
“If I’m still awake.” Bronze yawned, setting her book aside, she sank into the pillows behind her whilst she gave the film her full attention. “We have a lot to make up for after tonight.”
“We’ll get there.” You followed suit with her actions. “As I said, the French aren’t an easy team to face. We’ll get back to it.”
“Never thought I’d hope the y/n y/l/n was right about something.”
“Times change, Bronze.”
—
The training sessions were gruelling. It was non-stop after the loss against France, and for you, it only got worse when Kylian turned up. Sarina dismissed everyone for the day, but your training session was only getting started. You let out a huff as Kylian walked onto the pitch, saying a few hellos to the other girls as he made his way over to you. Pulling you into a hug he spoke. “It’s nice to see you.” He pulled away. “Especially after a blinding loss against France.” His grin widened as he watched you roll your eyes.
“We’re still in this tournament.” You grabbed your water and took a sip. “It was just one game.”
“One game can change everything.” He grabbed a ball and placed it on the penalty spot before moving into the goal. “And penalties can change everything, hence why we’re practising them today.” As he stood in the goal, his eyes darted to the gate. “And you’ve got an audience.”
Your eyes followed his, and there you saw Lucy leaning against the railing, but she wasn't alone. Lauren and Michelle were standing alongside her. Michelle looked more excited than a child at Disneyland. James was focused on Kylian’s teaching style, and Lucy was staring straight at you, her eyes never leaving you, no matter how much you tried to ignore her.
“Brilliant.” You muttered to yourself as you stepped up to the penalty spot.
“How has it been with her?” He asked.
“I try to spend as little time as possible alone with her.” You threw your bottle down. “We’ve both agreed it’s just a place to sleep.”
Kylian nodded. “At least that’s a positive. Any arguments yet?”
“A small one after the France game…” You thought back to that night, and a small smile spread on your lips, knowing you two had ended up just watching Twilight together. “Then we watched Twilight together.”
“Christ, the poor woman.” Kylian laughed. "Never thought I’d defend her.” But his sympathy didn’t last long when the loud laughter from Lucy caught both of your attention.
“Ignore them.” Kylian looked over to Lucy. “Especially Bronze.” You took your chance and did a quick run up and kicked the ball into the top left corner, sending the ball flying into the back of the net. He whipped his head around to face you. “That doesn’t count!”
“Yes, it does!” You smiled at the man as you grabbed another ball. “If that were during a game, you wouldn’t be able to tell the ref that the goal doesn’t count because you were distracted by another player.”
He huffed, clearing the last ball you kicked before he yelled. “Again!”
You kicked the ball into the bottom right corner, another goal.
“Again!” Kylian yelled again, and the penalties didn’t stop.
Forty penalties later, you’d scored thirty-four out of forty. Lucy was still on the side-lines watching. A few times, you glanced over to see her reaction, and you were shocked to see that she looked impressed at a few penalties you scored. After the penalties, Kylian made you do dribbling drills. The goal was to get past him as many times as you possibly could, all with the eyes of Lucy Bronze watching you.
Your heart was racing at the end of the drills, and thankfully, Kylian called it a day with you. Falling to the floor, you held onto your water bottle for dear life before pouring the contents onto your face in an attempt to cool yourself down.
Lucy watched as the water ran down your shirt, making the material stick to your skin, your breasts prominent as you rose from your spot on the ground. Lucy may have hated you, but she couldn’t deny how attractive she found you, and you felt the same. You hated her, sure, but she wasn’t hard to look at, and for you, it was such a shame someone who looked so good could be such a prick.
“Thank you for today.” Getting off your feet, you and Kylian embraced. “Will you be at the game in a few days?”
“Of course I will, so will Martha.” He smiled. “And hopefully your goal actually counts this time, you know the offside rule, right?” He smiled as he finished his sentence.
“It was tight!” You defended yourself.
“If you score, do one of my celebrations-”
“Absolutely not.” You smirked at him, gathering your things. “Only if I score a penalty, so you best hope Kelly isn’t on the pitch.”
“Least I know she’ll get it in.” His words caused you to shove him back into the goal he was once standing in.
“See you in two days, Kylian.” You called back out to him.
At this point, Lauren and Michelle had made their way back onto the training pitch to train themselves, which only left Lucy at the railing as you approached the exit. “Enjoy the show Bronze?”
She let out a huff before she spoke. “It was nice to see you score for once.”
“Should watch the Champions League highlights.” A smirk danced across your lips as you thought back to the day you scored the winning goal that took your team to glory.
As you walked past Lucy she turned on her heels to follow you but you watched her face scrunch in pain. “Are you okay?” You stopped in your tracks, your brows furrowing as you watched her attempt to play it off.
“I’m fine.” Her tone was sharp.
“You’re clearly not.” You gestured to her leg. “You’re in pain-“
“I’m fine y/n!” Her voice was raised enough that it caught the attention of your teammates and Kylian who was now getting ready to leave. Bronze huffed, her hand running through her hair before she spoke again. “I’m fine.” She spoke in a softer tone, her eyes meeting yours. “I just got a cramp, I’m fine.” Her words were lies and you knew it but you decided not to press, not now in front of everyone.
“Okay, okay…” You held your hands up in defence. “I’ll see you in the room later then.” You gave her a half smile to which she replied with a nod before you turned your back on her and walked back to your hotel. You knew something wasn’t right with her but whether or not she’d let you in was another story. Maybe after she settled down over Twilight.
---
Everyone was gathered in the cinema room to watch the new episode of love island. You were sat alongside the Arsenal girls whilst Lucy sat a few spaces away from you. You couldn’t help but spare a few glances towards her. Your mind wondered to your short conversation earlier. It was unlike Lucy to show even an ounce of pain. She wasn’t like that, everyone has always stood by the fact that the only way she would come off the pitch was if she was in a wheelchair and after playing with her for most of your career, you believed it.
“God what an arsehole!” Leah yelled out, pointing to one of the guys on the screen. “He’s just necked on with another woman, love, he doesn’t care about you!” She and the rest of the girls began to complain about the men’s behaviour on the TV show.
“He’s stringing her along to try and win it!” Ella yelled in agreement.
“He’ll definitely cheat on her on the outside!” Hannah added. A smile crept into your face hearing all the girls complain about all the men on this year’s love island, thank god you liked women.
Despite all the conversations happening around you, your mind was still on Lucy and her mystery injury.
You: How’s your cramp?
Lucy: Gone now thank you.
You: Are we going to talk about it?
Lucy: About a cramp?
You: About you lying to me.
Lucy: And when did I lie to you?
You: I know you didn’t have a cramp. I’ve seen you with a cramp mid game. You don’t even bat an eyelid.
Lucy: It was a bad one this time.
You: Liar.
Lucy: You’re not going to let this go are you?
You: Nope.
There was a pause between your last message and her reply.
Lucy: Come to the room straight after love island is finished. Say you need an early night, I’ll do the same.
You: Then you’ll tell me?
Lucy: Follow my instructions and yes I will.
You: Deal.
Lucy: Good to know you can listen. Maybe you’ll listen to me on the pitch now.
You knew exactly the moment she was referring to. Four years ago you took on Spain in Brighton during the Euros. The score was 1-1 and England were granted a free kick. Lucy told you to quickly take it and short pass to one of the girls. The plan was quick movements and reactions to get a goal Spain wouldn’t expect but you ignored her words. You fired the ball towards the net and sent the ball into the top left corner, curling it with such power the keeper couldn’t even get a finger to it.
You: If it wasn’t for my free kick we would have lost that game. Even you can admit that goal was good.
Lucy: I can admit, you looked like Thierry Henry in his prime.
You: Is that a compliment from you?
Lucy: Don’t get used to it y/l/n and if I were you, I’d focus on love island before Alessia throws your phone across the room.
You locked your phone before meeting the gaze of your teammate who looked as if she was about to ban all phones from the love island showing like it was an actual cinema. You mouthed a sorry and awkwardly looked away before she leaned towards you.
“Distracted?” Her scowl turned to a smirk.
“Of course not.” You shot her a half smile. “Maybe a little bored of all these shitty men on the tv.” Your smile grew as did hers.
“You’re a terrible liar.” Her eyes looked over to Lucy who now had realised Alessia had caught her staring and quickly darted her head to focus on the screen ahead of her. “Finally getting friendly?”
“Hardly.” You huffed. “I’m here to play in the tournament and not be best mates with Bronze.”
“Sarina would disagree.”
“Would she rather us win the tournament or be best friends with the woman who put me on the bench for months?”
“I think she thinks you can do both.”
“I don’t see it happening.” That was a lie well, partly. You could see yourself being civil enough with Bronze that you two could share a room and watch a film without ripping one another’s heads off but being friends? Nope. Maybe one day, but not this tournament.
The familiar sound of the love island credits filled the room. You looked over to Lucy who was already standing, her eyes meeting yours before she gave you a small nod, a small clarification that she was still happy to tell you about what was happening with her.
“I’m going up.” You smiled at Alessia. “I’m shattered after training-“
“We were going to put on Wicked,” She rose from her spot on the beanbag. “Will that convince you to stay up?”
You wanted to. The idea of singing your heart out with some of your best friends was something you needed right now, especially when that day was fast approaching but in that moment, Lucy’s trust was more important to you. You might not see her as a friend or even a future one but if she was willing to talk to you about something, you’d listen.
“Blame Kylian, I haven’t had an extra training session for a while so it’s taken it out of me today.” You offered her a sympathetic smile as she pulled you in for a quick hug.
“I better see you score a hat-trick against the Netherlands then!” The blonde laughed as she pulled away from the hug.
“I’ll dedicate the last goal to you, one for Mum, one for Dad and one for Alessia Russo.”
“I’m holding you to that!” Her smile beamed.
Shaking your head you left with a smile. “Goodnight girls! Enjoy the film!” You called back before making your way back to the room you and Lucy shared.
—-
Your room was dark, almost as if Lucy was still downstairs and had second thoughts about your talk. “Lucy?” You called out to her.
“In the bathroom, come in, I’m just running a bath!”
“We’re having our talk in here?” You arching your brows you pushed the door open to see her slicing a bag of ice open. “And you’re having an ice bath? At 10:30pm?”
“I didn’t realise there was a curfew on ice baths?” Her sarcasm made your eyes roll. Lucy dumped the last bag into the bath before lowering herself into the water, her breath fast as she slowly got used to the temperature.
“Sorry did you need me to leave or?”
“You wanted to know, didn't you?” And I'm wearing clothes so do you really need to leave?"
“So we’re having our talk during your ice bath?”
“Would you rather get in with me so we’re both having an ice bath?” A cocky grin formed on her lips.
“Absolutely not.” You sat yourself down on the toilet lid, leaning back on it as you watched her chest rise up and down. “I can never get warm after an ice bath. I only have them if they’re necessary for my performance or recovery.”
“You pussy.” She laughed at your words. “The star girl of her club and country is afraid of an ice bath?”
“I’m not scared of ice baths, I just don’t like them. If I was to get in there with you right now I wouldn’t be able to stop shaking all night.”
“I’ll give you my hoodie.”
“Thank you Bronze but I was grateful enough to get my own.” You mirrored her cocky grin before your tone turned serious. “So what’s wrong with you?”
Lucy stayed silent for a second, almost like she’d wished she’d stayed silent about all of this or never showed an inch of pain when you saw her earlier but despite those thoughts and the look of worry, she replied. “You need to promise me this stays between us, just you and I. No media, no friends, no teammates, no nothing… please.”
A flash of vulnerability coated her eyes, something you’d never seen from her before. To you, she was as hard as nails and the only time you’d ever seen her cry was the World Cup final when you lost to Spain. Lucy blamed herself for everything and although you two were not close in any way, you hugged her.
It was only brief and to those who didn’t care for football would have thought nothing of it but it was the first time you’d ever hugged her. You remember her arms wrapping around you for dear life, like she never wanted you to pull away because the world would get to her. You whispered three words in her ear, three words she longed to ask you about.
“You were perfect.”
Lucy didn’t know if you were being sarcastic in your words, wondering if you were mocking her for her performance but the way you hugged her told her head you didn’t mean it in a malicious tone but more a comforting one. She never forgot those words and she longed to know what you meant when you said that.
“I promise.” You held out your pinky towards her. She frowned but looked amused at your gesture.
“A pinky promise?” Her brows arched.
“I’ve never broken one before and I promise I won’t start now.” A proud look on your face grew when the brunette lifted her hand from the water and locked her pinky with yours. You let it sit for a few seconds before jerking your hand away. “Jesus Lucy you’re freezing.” Quickly grabbing the nearby towel you dried your hand which left Lucy in laughter.
“Sorry y/n am I going to leave you shaking all night?” Narrowing your gaze at her innuendo you replied.
“Not yet Bronze.”
“So there’s a chance?”
“Just continue with what you need to say!” Huffing you awaited her reply.
She took another deep breath before she replied. “I have a fractured tibia, it's not the worst fracture it’s just-“
“You shouldn’t be playing!” Your voice cut her off. “Lucy that’s serious how are you even walking-“
“Like I said it’s not serious-“
“I think it fucking is serious it’s a fucking fracture Lucy you should be at home resting it!”
“I’m not giving up this tournament for it, I’m fine. I can walk, can't I?”
“For now.”
“I will be fine. You need to trust me.”
“And I do but you need to put your health first. The whole country isn’t going to hate you because you’re injured.”
“But I need to prove myself from the World Cup. I messed up and I need to wipe that slate clean. I need to fix my mistake-“
“And you’ll have the chance when your leg is healed. You don’t need to fix anything because we win as a team and we lose as one. It was no one’s fault-“
“I should have been better and this time I can prove I am good enough and I can win another tournament.”
“You’re so stubborn.” You leaned back against the toilet. “You’re not going to let anyone convince you to rest, are you?”
“Nope.”
“Who else knows?” Your curiosity got the better of you.
“The medical staff, Sarina, my family and a couple of the girls.” Her eyes searched yours for something she didn’t quite know. A long silence filled the bathroom, the only sound was Lucy’s deep breaths as she let go of the secret and tried to stop her body from getting too cold. “Say something y/n…”
“Your secret is safe with me Bronze, just please listen to your body and if you need to slow down, do so. Don’t put your health on the line for a trophy. As much as I hate to admit it, we need you on this team but we also need you to be healthy. Don’t push yourself.”
Lucy lifted her hand from the water, stretching out her pinky just like you did earlier. “Promise.” Your grin grew like the Cheshire Cat as you locked your finger into hers. “Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me.” You kept your eyes on her as you rose.
“Did you want to watch another film?” She asked as you were about to leave. “I won’t be long and I saw that look on your face when Russo said they were all going to watch Wicked. Fancy putting it on for us now?” She had a hopeful look on her face, one you never thought you’d see on her.
“Deal, can’t promise you I won’t sing along to defying gravity.”
“Good thing I have headphones.”
“Your singing is worse than mine Bronze!”
You left her in the bath before changing into an oversized hoodie and getting the film ready. Lucy wasn’t far behind you either. Her hair was damp and clinging to the sides of her face as she got ready for the film.
“Ready?” You asked her as your finger hovered over the play button on the remote.
“Of course.” She replied, her eyes glued to the screen as the film played.
You tried to focus on the film as best as you could but your mind was racing at what Lucy had told you. You couldn’t believe she could even walk. You knew she had a high pain threshold, you’d seen her get slammed onto the floor and get up like nothing had happened but a fractured tibia was definitely new and here she was laying in the bed beside yours like nothing had happened to her. She didn’t give up, you’d give her that.
Despite your thoughts a song in the film caught your attention.
What is this feeling, so sudden and new, I felt the moment I laid eyes on you?
You glanced over at Lucy as the song continued to play.
Loathing. Unadulterated loathing. For your face, your voice, your clothing. Let’s just say, I loathe it all.
Lucy glanced over at you, evidently your minds thinking the same thing.
Though I do admit it came on fast, still I do believe that it can last. And I will be loathing, loathing you my whole life.
“You’d definitely be Elphaba.” You finally spoke up, glancing over to Lucy as her eyes met yours.
“And how did you come to that conclusion?”
“Odd looking.”
She couldn’t help but let out a laugh at your response. “Well you’re definitely Galinda, full of yourself.”
“I am not!”
Every little trait, however small, makes my very flesh begin to crawl.
“You definitely are. At least Elphaba is powerful and good at what she does, which is just like me as I did win an award for being the world's best footballer.”
“Yeah, years ago!”
“And it still stands!”
“And where’s your ballon’dor?” Your tone was cocky. “Because mine is at my house.”
“You’re aware I play in defence and despite that I came runner up one year?"
Dear Galinda, you are just too good. How do you stand it? I don't think I could?
“It’s anyone’s game nowadays.” You shrugged. “Besides you’ve scored some alright goals in the past, nowhere near as good as mine but we can’t all be strikers.”
“Are you implying your position is better than mine?”
“No, every position is equal, just some positions get better awards than others.”
“I don’t see you being named the best player in the world.”
Poor Galinda forced to reside, with someone so disgusticified. We just want to tell you, we’re all on your side!
“Because it’s not a real award.”
“Yes it is!” Lucky huffed as she fell back into the pillows. “You’re just jealous!”
“Of a made up award?”
“It’s real, I have a trophy!”
“Yeah a plastic one.”
My pulse is rushing. My head is reeling. Oh what is this feeling?
“It’s metal actually.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night Bronze.”
Lucy looked over to you to see you had the widest grin on your face. Her anger subsided but she still huffed in annoyance at how easily you were able to rile her up.
“You’re insufferable, you know that right?”
And I will be loathing, for forever loathing. Truly deeply loathing you. My whole life long.
“Oh I’m aware.” Your grin never faded as one crept its way onto her lips. She shook her head as you both turned your attention back to the TV.
The tournament was just getting started, good thing you had rather a long watchlist of films to get through.
—-
Tensions were high against the Netherlands, England had to win this game in order to keep their hopes of staying in the competition alive and so did the Netherlands. You had started the game and so had Lucy. As a right back she’d cross the ball into the box constantly in the hopes one of her teammates would deliver and by halftime, England were 2-0 up. Both you and Lauren James had found your way to the back of the net but England wasn’t finished yet.
With the constant pressure from England came frustration from the Netherlands and that frustration turned into constant fouls from their defence. Kerstin Casparij’s tackle on you was your final straw. The Man City defender took you down as you made an impressive run into the box.
When she took you down all the other defenders rushed to kick the ball away from underneath you. They’d lost their heads and part of you couldn’t blame them. The tournament they’d worked so hard to compete in was slowly slipping away from them. It didn’t help they were now 4-0 down and you had two goals to your name.
You watched as the ref didn’t even bat an eyelid to the fact that you had been taken down to the floor yet again. You winced slightly and rubbed the backs of your leg as Casparij spoke.
“Oh come on y/l/n, get up.”
You rose to your feet, glancing over at the referee who gave the free kick to the Netherlands. “Are you fucking serious?” Rolling your eyes you muttered to yourself. “Fucking blind referee.”
“Something not going your way y/l/n?” Casparij spat.
“Oh piss off.” You went to turn around and walk away from the situation when she pushed you.
“Cheats!”
“Cheats? You nearly took my fucking leg off!” Your face met hers with blinding rage.
“Your teammate knows all about that doesn’t she?” The defender shoved you away as you stepped closer which only pissed you off more.
As if she’d heard you, your eyes caught sight of Lucy storming up behind Casparij.
She’ll have my back, no matter how much she hates me.
The thought raced through your head as she got closer. You knew she’d put herself between you and Casparij and so her best to defuse tensions but her next move caught you by surprise. Instead of diffusing the ongoing argument, Bronze walked straight towards you, ducked her body down so fast that before you could even realise, she’d picked you up fireman style and was walking you away from the whole interaction.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” You smacked a hand on her back to get her attention. “Lucy!” You screamed.
Lucy turned herself around so now she was looking back at the Netherlands team. “Sorry she can get a bit aggie when it’s her time of the month!”
“It is not my time of the month!” You called back in protest.
When you were far enough away Lucy planted you back on the floor, her hands gripping tightly on yours so you didn’t bolt away. “Why the fuck would you do that?” Your eyes met hers, a cocky grin on her face which only made your blood boil even more.
“To stop you from getting booked.”
“So you humiliated me in front of everyone?” Your tone was not only angry but hurt.
“Look you wouldn’t have walked away if I’d just pushed you away. I had to get you away from her, we can’t afford you to get booked for something stupid. That’s their plan, they want to make you lose your head, if they can’t beat us now they’ll want us to fall at the next hurdle. Don’t let them win. We’re the ones winning, there’s no need to get booked when we’re 4-0 up.”
She had a point. It would be stupid to get a yellow and then risk getting booked again and potentially miss out on one of the biggest games of your career. But did she need to drag you off like that? Well that depends on who you ask. To you, no she didn’t need to do that but to everyone else, yes she did.
You may have had a habit with blowing your lid at a few defenders. Especially when they wouldn’t stop fouling you and referees just stood there and did nothing. Your leg would be sore for days at the constant tackles, you already had one scar from a shitty tackle, you didn’t need another.
You tried to pull away from her grasp but she tightened her grip and pulled you closer to her chest. You could see every small detail on her face, drops of sweats from where she’d not stopped running for nearly an hour and a half made her face glow. You could feel her breath on your face as you quickly realised how close the two of you now were.
“Y/n?” Her voice snapped you out of your thoughts. A smirk on her face when she noticed you staring up at her.
“Yes, I get why you did it. Whatever it’s fine.” Lucy let go of your hands and took a step back, allowing you to walk in front of her. “You do know this is going to be all of social media and the news, right?” You cocked your brows at her after seeing the ref decided to hand out a yellow to Casparij but spared you.
“I think I can live with that, can you y/l/n?”
“I’ll let you know in the morning.” You let out a little laugh but your laughter was cut short when you saw Sarina sub both you and Lucy off, evidently not wanting another repeat of what had just happened.
You clapped the fans that had come to see you as you jogged off the pitch, giving Chloe a quick hug as she replaced you. Sarina gave you a quick hug as she spoke.
“You did well, hat trick against Wales?”
“We’ll see what the game brings.” You looked back at Lucy who was following you at a slower pace. “And the papers, sorry for that.”
“Don’t apologise to me. I understand but it’s the group stages, I don’t need you to miss a game.”
“Thank you.” You gave her a final smile before grabbing a bib to cover your kit. You watched as Lucy exchanged a few words with Sarina, presumably her thanking Lucy for stopping you from gaining a yellow.
The right back grabbed a bib and sat herself in the chair beside you. You two watched on as the final minutes of the game unfolded before you.
“Are you mad at me?” Lucy asked, her tone low so no one could hear her besides yourself.
“I’ll get over it.” You replied, your eyes focused on the game. “You know we’re gonna get called into interviews over that, right?”
“And what will you say to them?”
You turned your head to face hers. “My captain did what she had to do to defuse the situation.”
Lucy leaned down so her mouth was hovering over your ear. “Good girl.” She smirked, her face turning to face the pitch whilst yours heated up at her words. You grabbed your bottle and took a long sip of water desperately hoping she didn’t notice the subtle effect those two words had on you.
You coughed slightly as you spoke. “How’s your leg?” You covered your mouth as you spoke in case any cameras were focused on you both.
“It’s fine.” She gave you a reassuring smile before holding her pinky out to you. “Promise it doesn’t hurt.”
“Promise?” You linked your pinky with hers.
“Promise.” Her smile stayed the same as you two focused back on the game.
The full time whistle blew and England had won the game. You were all finally back in the tournament, one game left to go of the groups and then the knockout stage began. You faced Wales in a matter of days.
“Y/n, Lucy!” Sarina’s yells caused you both to look around for your manager. “Media want you for interviews, five minutes!”
“Ready to face endless questions?” Lucy asked, her gaze fixed on you.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” You can say for certain that today would be a first when being questioned about your teammate you hated carrying you away from a conflict.
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