A collab with the lovely @emetoandotherthings, featuring my Siofra and her Lindsey facing off in a football (soccer, for my fellow Americans) game and then getting v sick after. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope y’all like it!
Siofra took a deep breath, scanning the football field. The time on the clock was down to thirty seconds, and the score was tied, 1-1. The sun was going down, the orange light silhouetting the goalie in the distance. A cluster of girls were struggling to gain control of the ball when a flash of movement caught her eye - one of her teammates had kicked the ball her way, and she had a clear shot towards the goal.
The second Siofra kicked, the goalie dove for the ball, but she moved a fraction too soon. It flew over her head, smacking into the net. The time ran out, and Siofra whooped, throwing a fist in the air. She caught the eye of the other captain - a powerfully built girl with long brown hair - and waved her over.
“Good game.” She grinned. “I really thought ya had us for a while there.”
“Close, but no cigar!” She laughed. “You kept us fighting, that’s the truth!” She stuck her hand out for Siofra to shake.
The red-haired girl grinned, giving her opponent’s hand a firm but friendly squeeze. “I like the way you play. You’re definitely one of the better teams we’ve been up against.” She was sincere in her compliment, though a wild competitive fire still burned in her eyes - it was obvious Siofra was thrilled to have won.
“I can say the same about you guys…” Lindsey nodded towards the team that were congratulating each other. “I’d love to hear about your training and tactics regime…”
“If you wanna talk, I’ve got nothin’ but time.” Siofra offered. “We can get drinks, or somethin’ to eat, have a proper conversation.”
“That’d be great!” Lindsey nodded, then she pointed over her shoulder. “I just have to do de-brief… How ‘bout we meet out front in about 15 minutes?”
“Sounds good to me. Lindsey, right?” Siofra had heard her talking to her team earlier, one of the girls had called her by name.
“Yeah, you’re Siofra, aren’t you?” Lindsey said. “I’ve heard of you…”
“You have? Am I infamous?”
“Maybe a little,” Lindsey winked as she walked off towards her team. “See you shortly!”
“See ya!” Siofra smirked a little as she joined her own team, probably a bit too pleased with the title of ‘infamous’. As promised, fifteen minutes later, she was waiting out front. She’d taken her strawberry-blonde hair out of its braid, and it was waving in every possible direction, falling over her shoulders and reaching all the way to the small of her back. She waved to catch Lindsey’s eye in the dim light, not that she was really hard to miss.
“Hey!” Lindsey caught up with her, jostling her with her shoulder slightly. “You fancy grabbing something to eat, then you can give me details!”
“Yea, sure. You know anywhere good around here?” Siofra asked. She glanced at her phone when it buzzed, but put it away without answering.
“Is there anything you fancy?” Lindsey shrugged. “There’s a good chinese buffet a couple of streets away if you’d like it?”
Siofra grinned. “I love a good buffet. More food for less money.” She was the kind of person who’d gotten kicked out of a couple buffets for trying to stay from lunch to dinner (her argument was that she’d been eating the entire time, and was just having a very long lunch).
“Great!” Lindsey started walking, motioning Siofra to follow. “How long you been playing?”
“Ever since I could walk, really. I come from a family of rowdy boys, I was scoring goals before I knew my alphabet. What about you?”
“Same… apart from the family of rowdy boys, I’ve only got one brother and he hates football with a passion,” Lindsey shrugged.
Siofra faked extreme offense. “Ulch. Might as well get rid of him then.”
“I know…” Lindsey sighed, making a face. “I don’t know how I ended up with a brother who hates all sports and would rather read or sew than be outside.”
“Christ, what a boring life. I couldn’t stand that.” Siofra looked up at the flickering neon sign that said simply Chinese. “This the place?”
“Spot on!” Lindsey grinned, opening the door and holding it open.
Siofra strolled inside, the smell of inauthentic but deliciously greasy food hitting her at once. “Seems like my kinda meal. Do we pay up front, or after?”
“I always pay upfront, less faffing around afterwards,” Lindsey told her, digging out her purse as a waitress came to take them to a table.
Siofra nodded, producing her own wallet from the pocket of her jacket. She was already eyeing the massive spread of food, starving after a hard game. “What’s the best thing here, would you say?”
“Oooh,” Lindsey bit her lip, glancing around as though trying to decide, “they do fantastic noodles! Oh - and the prawn toast is fantastic!”
“Prawn toast? My local place doesn’t have that.” Siofra was as excited as she was hungry, bouncing on the edge of her seat.
“Come on, let’s go,” Lindsey led Siofra up to the counters, handing her a plate and then proceeding to pile food onto her own one. “You can always come back for more.”
“Oh, I plan to.” Siofra was stacking just about everything onto her plate, and she was especially interested in the prawn toast.
“So…” Lindsey said, once they’d both sat down again, she took a large bite of her own prawn toast. “How many days a week do you train with your guys? Do you all work in a team all the time, or do they do independent training?”
“We get together once or twice a week, but we do a lot of practice independently. Our schedules don’t allow for lots of meetings, but we try to make it work anyway.” Siofra replied, talking through a mouthful of toast.
“Is there any one thing that you’ve found the most helpful?” Lindsey asked, her hand in front of her mouth as she chewed her own food.
“It’s not fucking team-building exercises, I’ll tell ya that shit right now.” Siofra scoffed. “Honestly, I think a lot of it is that everyone gets on pretty well. If you cooperate well off the field, it’s easier to coordinate on the field. Like, I had a girl a while back, in theory, she was good, but she was also an arrogant bitch who always wanted her way. Ruined the whole team’s flow.”
“Ah yeah, I think I’ve got a few of them at the moment…” Lindsey muttered, screwing up her face slightly.
“Is one of them the squatty gal with the bad dye job?”
“Mmmm….” Lindsey half nodded her head. “I don’t wanna point fingers, but… if the shoe fits.”
“Shove your shoe up her arse then. Tell her to shape up or get out.” Siofra suggested. “Don’t let one bitch keep the rest of you from doin’ well.”
“She’s leaving at the end of this semester anyway,” Lindsey shrugged. “And her cronies will go with her.”
“That’s good, then. I’m guessin’ you’ll be a lot more formidable without her draggin’ ya down.” Siofra’s plate was mostly empty by now, and she was already eyeing the buffet again.
“Seriously, help yourself - the stuff here is great,” Lindsey told her, her tendency to be a slow eater was holding her back at this point.
Siofra nodded, hopping to her feet at once. “I’ll be back.” She promised, hurrying off to fill a plate as high as she could get the food to balance. Lindsey watched Siofra stacking her plate; she was well built and muscular, Lindsey wondered whether she might be into weight-lifting too… She made a mental note to ask her at some point.
Siofra finally returned with a mountain of meat stacked atop at least half a pound of pasta. She sat back down and grabbed her fork, asking, “What were we talkin’ about?” while she twirled up noodles.
“Uummm… tactics, or something?” Lindsey said, watching as Siofra dug in.
“Right! Getting rid of useless twats and all that. You have a great offense, though. Got a couple shots past our goalie, and she’s good.” Siofra added. As harsh as she was, she’d gladly give out compliments when they were deserved.
“We have some really good girls…” Lindsey nodded, “most of whom hadn’t played football at all until they came to uni!”
“Really?” Siofra raised her brows.
“Yeah! We’ve got three girls on the team that are novices - which is why miss bossy boots and her pals are such a problem, cause these girls are good, like naturally good,” Lindsey explained, getting rather excited, “but they’re being ruined by those others…”
“Ah, that’s a mess. At least the good ones will get a chance to show off once the bitch is gone.” Siofra replied. “it’s crazy to think of just starting football at uni… I’ve been playin’ long as I can remember.”
“I know… It’s good though, cause new blood is always good - and they can be moulded the way I want.”
“Ah, yeah. I hadn’t thought of that. No time to have built up bad habits.” Siofra mused. “I’ll need some new recruits soon. Couple of my girls are gonna be leavin’ soon, including my good goalie.” She huffed.
“You’ll find someone new, there’s always someone!” Lindsey nodded thoughtfully.
“I sure hope. Either that, or we’re gonna be fucked next year.”
“Nah… there’s always new talent,” Lindsey said, chomping her way through another bit of prawn toast. “Sometimes you just gotta hone it first!”
Siofra smiled, nodding at Lindsey. “You’re right. Guess I was just being negative. We’ll make it work.” She looked down at her empty second plate, weighing whether she wanted a third serving or just a heap of dessert.
As though reading her mind, Lindsey looked up then leaned towards her: “The dessert is really good in here!”
Siofra grinned. “Then I’m gettin’ some. You coming with?”
“Course!” Lindsey said this as though it was a stupid question.
Siofra laughed, climbing to her feet and heading for the dessert counter. Her eyes went wide. “Fuck me, I don’t know where to start!”
“My strategy is: take one of everything!” Lindsey laughed, she was piling her plate high.
“Sounds like a plan to me.” Siofra went about snatching up her own food.
When they returned to the table, both of them had piled their plates to tipping point - and despite this, Lindsey knew she wouldn’t manage everything on hers. Her sweet tooth wasn’t strong, but her eyes were always bigger than her belly.
Siofra on the other hand piled hers to the brim, and when she’d emptied it, she was eyeing Lindsey’s leftovers. “I’ll take anything ya don’t finish.”
“Go for it,” Lindsey pushed her half full plate across, leaning back with her stomach straining.
“Fuck yes!” Siofra immediately dug in, shoveling Lindsey’s leftover desserts into her mouth.
“Man, I don’t know how you can eat that much sugar…” Lindsey mumbled, rubbing her hand across her belly.
Siofra laughed. “I’m always hungry.”
“Me too,” Lindsey said, “but I’m always more savoury…”
“That’s fair. I’ll eat anything that doesn’t eat me first.”
“Fair! That’s a - hic! - talent!” Lindsey blushed slightly as she hiccupped.
Siofra grinned. “Ya feelin’ alright?”
“Just… jus’ really full,” Lindsey replied, grinning sheepishly.
“Ah, yea, I bet. Ya ate a lot. I’m pretty full myself. Wanna get outta here? Maybe get some drinks?” Siofra offered.
“Yeah!” Lindsey nodded. “That’d be really cool! Then you can tell me your training strategy!”
Siofra nodded. “Are there any good pubs near here?”
“The student’s union is just along the street!” Lindsey grinned. “Cheap and cheerful, but - hey, what else do you need?”
“Not a thing.” Siofra grinned back.
“Com’ on,” Lindsey grabbed her bag and pushed back from the table.
Siofra nodded, climbing to her feet and following Lindsey. Lindsey led her out of the restaurant and into the street, the temperature had dropped, and she shivered slightly. She was beginning to feel like she’d really overdone it in the buffet. Siofra didn’t seem as bothered by the cold, but she was rubbing her belly as they walked. It was sticking out a bit over the edge of her shorts, and gurgling furiously. She muffled a burp into her free hand and groaned.
“Fuck, I didn’t think I ate that much…”
“You suffering?” Lindsey asked, trying to straighten her shoulders as her own stomach felt uncomfortably heavy.
Siofra nodded. “Gettin’ a bit of a bellyache…” she sighed.
“Anything I can do to help? Do you wanna stop for some water or something?” Lindsey paused, they were walking past a small shop, and she pointed at it casually.
“Nah, I’ll be fine. I’ll get a ginger ale at the pub.”
“Ah, cool,” Lindsey nodded, “it’s just down these steps…” Lindsey nodded to the entrance which was down a rather narrow set of steps; the area around the door was busy, several people outside smoking by the door.
Siofra followed her down the stairs. “I like it. Seems like my kinda place.”
“It’s where my team normally come after a game,” Lindsey explained, then chuckled, “I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re all in here to be honest!”
“That’d be funny.” Siofra smiled, belching into her fist again. “We’ll see, won’t we?” She held the door open for Lindsey.
“Thanks,” Lindsey led the way into the overcrowded, and overwarm, bar; each little pocket of students huddling around tables. The low ceiling forced Siofra to duck and Lindsey apologised too many times for not having done something wrong.
Siofra wiped sweat from her brow, brushing her hair out of her face. “It’s a little warm in here…” She mumbled, rubbing her stomach and muffling another belch into her fist.
“Yeah,” Lindsey answered, “it’s the one disadvantage of having something underground!”
“Ah, right. Wasn’t thinkin’ about that.” Siofra nodded, approaching the bar. “I need a Jack and Coke, and a ginger ale. What’ll you have?” She asked Lindsey.
“Double that, then.” Siofra said to the bartender. He quickly returned with their drinks, and Siofra took a long swig of her ginger ale before turning to the liquor. She sipped at her drink, muffling a much bigger belch behind her fist. “Oof. The bubbles always get me.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Lindsey agreed, taking a long drink; she couldn’t pinpoint why, but she was feeling odd. Her stomach was still straining against her jeans, and she longed to unbutton them.
Siofra downed another swig of her drink before going back to the ginger ale. She was sipping slower now, and kept covering her mouth to burp. “God, I’m sorry. I’m not normally this bad…”
“Maybe it was the different food?” Lindsey suggested.
“Maybe. I’ve normally got a pretty strong stomach bu -urrrrp- but I guess not strong enough.” Siofra winced, gingerly rubbing the painful swell of her belly.
“Do you want some water?” Lindsey asked. “Or some fresh air?”
“Water might help, yea.” Siofra nodded, setting her glass down and muffling another belch.
“Give me two ticks,” Lindsey stood up from her chair and fought her way across to the bar, she returned carrying two pint glasses of water and she placed one in front of Siofra. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” Siofra took a few small sips, pausing when her stomach let out a fierce rumble. She set down her glass, both hands moving to cover her mouth. “BrrrraaahhhuuuUUAARRP!”
“Gosh, are - are you sure you’re okay?” Lindsey leant forwards towards Siofra, looking concerned.
“Well, I thought I was, but I’m not so sure now.” Siofra paused again to swallow down a belch. “My belly is feelin’ a bit funny… thought I ate too much, but it’s not so much a full feelin’, it’s more… bubbly?”
“Oh…” Lindsey bit her lip. “Maybe we should get some air?”
Siofra nodded. “Yea, maybe. Gimme a hand up, will ya?”
Lindsey gripped Siofra’s wrist, pulling her up gently from the chair. “Do you need a hand up the stairs, or are you cool?”
“It’d probably be safer to have a hand.” Siofra decided. Just from holding her waist, Lindsey could feel the gurgling in Siofra’s stomach. The blonde girl was looking a bit pale, and her freckles stood out like a reverse constellation on her ghostly face.
“Come on,” Lindsey said gently, supporting Siofra up the small set of stairs, past the smokers, and onto the street. “Shall I help you home? It sounds like your stomach’s pretty unhappy…”
“Not sure I can walk that far right now.” Siofra groaned. Her stomach gurgled again, bringing up an ominously wet belch. “Rrruueelllp!”
Lindsey winced, trying to ignore the way that Siofra’s belches seemed to encourage her stomach to gurgle in sympathy. “There’s a bench along the street a bit - we could sit there for a while?”
Siofra nodded. “That sounds good. I think I can walk that far, at least.” She kept one hand over her mouth as she walked, the other gingerly pressed to her belly. Lindsey led her, slowly, along the street, glad to see that the bench was mercifully empty.
“Is there anything I can do?”
Siofra paused, clearly thinking. “N… nah. It’s weird.”
“What is?” Lindsey asked, sitting down on the bench next to her.
“Well, I just… When I’m feelin’ sick, I usually like to have my belly rubbed. But you don’t have to do that. We barely know each other.”
“I can do that if you want me to?” Lindsey shrugged, “my pal Jack always gets me to if he’s not feeling right.”
“Are you sure?” Siofra sounded surprised.
“Only if you’re comfortable with it, like…” Lindsey said. “If it’ll help, then I don’t mind.”
Siofra nodded, moving her own hands from her belly so Lindsey would have room to work. “Go ahead, then.”
Lindsey gently placed her palm on Siofra’s stomach, she could feel the skin was taut, and it seemed to burble under her touch as she began to rub small circles around Siofra’s belly button - then extending the circle out slowly. “Is that okay?”
“Yea, that’s - uuuRRrrrp… that’s nice. Sorry.” Siofra sheepishly put a hand over her mouth.
“Just, let me know if it’s hurting you, alright?” Lindsey replied. “Whenever I do it for my friend, he has a habit of not letting me know…”
Siofra nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell ya. But don’t worry too much, I’m pretty hard to hurt.” Almost immediately, another huge belch tore out of her. “BrrruuuuUUUAARRRPP!”
“Oh…” Lindsey withdrew her hand for a second. “You sure you’re okay? That sounded… well, not good…”
“Please don’t stop… “ Siofra begged. “I feel sick either way, but the belly rubs really help.” She burped into her fist, the sour gas puffing out her cheeks.
“If you’re sure…” Lindsey nodded, putting her hand back onto Siofra’s belly.
“I’m sure.” Siofra’s stomach was gurgling furiously, and Lindsey could feel the gas shifting around. Siofra burped again, this one deep and wet. “Rrrruuuaallllp!” Lindsey eyed her warily, but said nothing. The next belch made Siofra’s cheeks puff out again, and she held up a wobbly hand.
“Fair warnin’… I think I’m about to spew. I’d rather ya not stop, but if you’re squeamish, feel free to move away.” She had one hand hovering by her lips, wanting to make sure she didn’t puke on Lindsey. When she was done talking, she leaned over the arm of the bench with a wet belch. “Oh, fuck… definitely about to spew.”
“Don’t worry,” Lindsey muttered, readjusting so she could rub Siofra’s back in between her shoulder blades. “If it’ll make you feel better, just let it come up.”
Siofra groaned, the next burp making her stomach convulse and her tongue poke out. “Keep rubbin’ my belly, will ya?” She begged. Her stomach was churning and felt painfully sick; she craved a comforting touch to soothe it.
“Okay,” Lindsey agreed, putting her hand to Siofra’s stomach, which she could feel tensing and convulsing under her touch.
The second there was pressure on her belly again, it hitched, sending up a massive burp that ended in a wave of vomit. “K’llhharrrrgguuuuuccchhh!”
“Oh god,” Lindsey muttered, trying not to remove her hand as it seemed to be helping, but at the same time, she swallowed with difficulty. “That’s it…”
Another burpy gag had much the same result, and Siofra continued to heave over the side of the bench. A huge puddle of half-digested Chinese food was splattered on the sidewalk, continuing to grow with every retch.
“Good -”she swallowed, “good job… You’ll feel better when it’s out.”
“I fuckin’ hope so…” Siofra mumbled, “Feel like shit right now.” She burped hollowly over the mess on the ground, and her stomach convulsed again, projectile vomiting the rest of her dinner onto the sidewalk. “Hhhuuuuaarruuuugggllluurrrkkk!”
“You will,” Lindsey promised, closing her own eyes as the puddle on the ground grew larger.
Siofra slumped over the arm of the bench, letting out a soft belch and gingerly rubbing her belly. Her stomach wasn’t as bloated as before, but there was still a bit of a painful swell. She groaned. “Fuck me, that was rough.”
“You -” Lindsey’s throat was tight suddenly, but she swallowed hard and continued to talk, “you feel any better now?”
“A little. Still got a nasty bellyache, but I think I’m empty.” Siofra replied. Her voice was rough from being sick, and she was still pretty burpy.
“D’you want some water?” Lindsey offered. “I - I could get ya some?”
Siofra shook her head. “I don’t think I could keep it down. I just need a minute to rest.”
“That’s fine,” Lindsey nodded. “You just take your time…”
Siofra finally sat up, leaning against the back of the bench and resting a hand on her belly. “God, I’m exhausted. I think I’ll call my brother to take me home.”
“Y-yeah,” Lindsey mumbled softly, “th-that’s probably ‘ good idea…”
Siofra pulled out her phone, but paused when she saw how pale Lindsey was looking. “Are you feelin’ okay? Ya don’t look very good.”
“Mmm…” Lindsey hummed, she’d closed her eyes, and ran a hand across her chest. “Hmmmll!” She suddenly lurched forward with a heave.
“Shit.” Siofra grabbed Lindsey’s shoulder to keep her steady, and her other hand held Lindsey’s long hair out of the way. “Fuck, there must have been somethin’ off at dinner…”
“Oh God… yeah…” Lindsey mumbled, fanning her face as a hot flush swept over her, and she leant further forward. “Sorry…”
“Hey, it’s not your fault. More of an assumed risk when eating cheap…” Siofra patted her back. “Can I help ya at all?”
“Hold my hair tight- heeeuuuuuurrrrggghh!” Lindsey pitched forwards, and a wave of puke splattered onto the pavement in front of her.
Siofra did as told, one hand securing Lindsey’s thick brown locks. She used her other hand to continue rubbing and patting Lindsey’s back. “Easy. You’ll be alright.”
“Ugh… god, yuck!” Lindsey wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, her throat still tightening convulsively.
“Think you’re done, or is there more in ya?”
“Think… thi-iink…” A gag pushed up Lindsey’s throat and she swallowed again. “Hkkkkuuuurrrgggllll!”
“Guess there’s more.” Siofra pulled Lindsey’s hair back again, rubbing up and down her spine. “You’re okay. Get it all outta ya.”
“Ugh, god…” Lindsey gave her head a quick shake, her hand pressing into her stomach as her mouth felt acidic from throwing up. “That’s disgusting…”
Siofra patted her back. “Yea, it’s rough. I’ll have Riagán take you home, too. You’re not in any shape to walk.” She declared, picking up her phone again to text her brother.
“You - huh - don’t have to…” Lindsey mumbled. “I can walk… it’ll be fine…”
“He’s comin’ anyway. I don’t want ya passin’ out or somethin’ on the walk home.” Siofra replied firmly.
“You sure?” Lindsey asked shakily. “Isn’t it like - going out of your way?”
Siofra shrugged. “He won’t mind. I’ve taken him an’ his stupid friends home from the pub plenty. He owes me.”
“If you’re sure…” Lindsey nodded, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “I’d really appreciate it.”
“Yea, ‘course.” Siofra nodded, giving Lindsey a friendly slap on the shoulder.
A few minutes passed in queasy silence before a red SUV pulled up outside of the pub. A young man who looked rather like a red-haired Thor leaned out the driver’s side window. “Oi! How much for an hour?”
“Stuff it!” Siofra rolled her eyes, climbing to her feet and offering Lindsey a hand. “Our chariot awaits.”
Lindsey wobbled as Siofra pulled her to her feet, tottering behind her a little unsteadily. “Thank you.”
“Ya didn’t tell me your friend was hot.” Riagán grinned as the girls climbed into his backseat. Siofra leaned over the console to smack him.
“Just shut up and take us home.”
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