𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐈𝐍 𝐌𝐘 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 // 𝐦𝐮𝐟𝐜 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐬

✗ 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐀𝐘 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄 [ 𝐛𝐰 ]

NOTHING WAS AS disappointing to a footballer as when their team lost a game; especially one played at home. Brandon Williams was no exception, and though he had only played about 25 minutes towards the end of the match, he felt like he was one of the players to blame for the team losing ( and without even wanting to read the following day's sport's section of the papers, he knew they would be agreeing — after all, they were all that predictable ).

               He had not even exited the dressing room of Old Trafford, but he could hear the roars of the fans outside every time someone opened the door, making the teenager feel ( if possible ) even smaller than he had already felt.

                 Brandon sank back down on his designted spot within the dressing room, tugging his Bose–headset down over his ears and turned on the noise–cancelling. Lost in his own trail of thoughts ( accompanied by the soothing voice of Lewis Capaldi ), he did not even notice how Luke returned to his spot besides the young full–back. However, after being furiously tapped on the shoulder, Brandon turned his attention to Luke, lifting his headset off as he paid attention to his teammate.

"You've been ready to leave for about twenty minutes." Luke mused, though furrowed his brows as he couldn't quite pick up the vibe Brandon was giving off. "Hey, kiddo — are you alright? I mean, I'd be dying to get home and just play som ' Call of Duty ' to take my frustration out on animated characters after a match like this one, why haven't you sped off home?"

Brandon didn't even have the chance to reply before Marcus too stood by them, his shirt in his hands as he was still getting dressed after the shower. "Brandon, are you alright?"

The young full–back forced a smile and a nod, not wanting to worry his teammates; they had more than enough on their plate already, but they were not convinced about Brandon's silent reply. Marcus leaned over, whispering something to Luke, with the left–back hoisting Brandon to his feet. "Come on, kiddo. Do you have a friend or someone you want to call? I find it nice to just forget about the world for a while if I go for a ride around the city on a frustrating night like this, but I never go alone. Up until Reign was born, I would bring Anouska on night–long drives around the city, getting midnight–food and watching the sun rise, before we would return home."

               Luke kept a hand on the younger footballer's shoulder as he watched Brandon think, Marcus looking at him with a worried expression written across his face. "I might have some people I can call, yeah—," Brandon started, before stopping himself, swallowing hard. "Well, I've got one person I could call." He lifted his gaze, looking at Luke, who nodded at him. The next step for Brandon was to fish his phone out of his pocket, ducking into one of the quieter corners of the dressing room.

For a second, he was wondering if he should be asking her this over the phone, though he settled on sending her a text message. Patiently, Brandon Williams found himself waiting for Tatum Bell to reply. After only a couple of minutes, a message pinged into his phone, her name lighting up the screen as she informed him she would be waiting for him outside the ' Ibis Budget ' across the river. Slipping his headset back on, Brandon turned up the volume as he snuck out of the dressing room, breathing out a shaky sigh as he left the stadium, simply waving at the many fans who hoped to get an autograph from the young full–back outside Old Trafford that evening.

               Quickly, he got into his car, not removing his headset until he was on the road, his destination being the hotel across the river. He was familiar with the hotel; the very same hotel he had seen some of his best friends from across England stay at when they came to Manchester in order to see him play. The bluetooth on his phone connected with his car, transferring his Spotify–playlist from the headset to the speakers of the car as he found himself crossing the river, immediately spying for Tatum ( and, quite like any adult behind the wheel, he found himself turning down the volume of his music in order to ' see better ' ).