Hey There Delilah➛Mason Mount

O N E H U N D R E D

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"For me in particular, watching my little girl go from this shy, quiet and introverted kid to being a massive name in Football, it's quite emotional. I've never seen her so happy to be doing something she loves so much, and even from when she was younger she'd always tell me that she was gonna play for Chelsea one day. And I have to admit, I didn't believe it in the slightest, I just assumed she picked this obsession up from Mason and she'd drop it in the next 6 months, but she never did, and she proved me wrong." Caroline speaks as she sits beside Antonio, Lilah's Step-Dad.

"Football has always been one of those things that you pick up randomly. My family weren't massive on football, my oldest brother Scott played Rugby so they all focused on that, and when Mason and I were growing up he was surrounded by football, so he bounced that interest off onto me and from such a young age both of us just loved to watch it and play it." Lilah continues, sitting beside Mason.

"What people don't realise is how much you sacrifice to be a footballer. I remember one day, coming home from University to see my family and Lilah was gone, so I was like 'Where's Lilah? Is she in her room?' and then my Mum told me that her and Mason had moved to London to be with the Academy." Freya admits, the older blonde sister sitting in between Scott and Jake.

"Lilah and I would always argue over which was better: Football or Rugby, and I always disagreed with Football because I grew up watching Rugby all day every day, but whenever I'd go watch her play on a Sunday I realised that she was actually correct, and I don't think I've ever seen her smile as much as she does when she's on that pitch doing the one thing she's always been so passionate about." Scott

"Just after her 7th birthday, we lost her Father quite abruptly. He was involved in a serious car accident and unfortunately didn't make it off the table. I just remember her coming home from school with Mason with the brightest smile on her face and she asked me 'Where's Daddy? We have training in an hour' and I broke down in tears." Caroline

"Losing my dad was a huge setback for me. He was my biggest supporter, he'd always take me and Mace to training, he'd always argue with people on the team if they picked on me and in Declan's case he got Rugby Tackled for stealing my boots. He was always telling me how proud he was of me, and at the time I didn't think much of it you know? I was 7, I didn't know I was gonna go on to part of one of the biggest Premier League clubs out there, I just enjoyed playing the game and didn't want to stop playing it." Lilah

"For both of us, it was always such a daunting experience to play for the Academy. I remember one time she got a red card, the only red card she's gotten, and we went back to our House Parents that night and she told me that the Ref wasn't being fair and she went on this massive rant about it." Mason comments, the two of them laughing at the memory they shared.

"I've always looked up to Lilah, she's always so enthusiastic and never cared about what people thought about her, you know? She always told me that people at the academy were being weird with her because she was the first girl to ever be in there, and I always thought, she's changing football, and she has changed football to what it is today. Watching her play from such a young age, I always asked her if I could help her train at home and she'd always say yeah." Jake

"Up until probably like 4 or 5 years ago, I was never close with Freya or Scott. It was always Jake and I who would do stuff together, Jake was like my little mini supporter, and being an older sister I always wanted to give him support on whatever he wanted to do, whether that be Football, Rugby or something entirely different." Lilah

"One of the biggest things both Freya and I regret is not being as close with Lilah as we should've been. When she left the house to go live in London, all of us were sitting in the living room thinking the same thing, and that thing was that it was too quiet. She'd always be sat in the living room with Mason watching football or if not watching it then she'd be playing FIFA with Dad, and she was always the life of the party, so when she'd gone, it was eerily quiet and all of us just wanted her to be sitting there playing FIFA again." Scott

"Going to Leicester City on loan was quite weird for me. I'd been split up from Mason, who'd been sent to the Netherlands, and it would be my first season playing without him. The first time I walked into that stadium, Chilly and Madders welcomed me with open arms, and I genuinely couldn't tell you how appreciative I was of that. My time there was well spent, I met two of my best friends for life, I got 23 goals in my first ever season playing for the Premier League and while that was all good and well, it was also terrifying for me." Lilah

"I was away from home, I was even further away from my family and the friends I'd made at the Academy, I was away from Mason and Declan. I think my initial mindset was to just get playing and get gone from the team so I could get back to Chelsea, and I stuck with that the entire way through the season. I was always trying to get goals and if I wasn't, I was assisting, and then closer towards the end of the season, LCFC got a new manager." Lilah

"I remember him walking into the changing rooms and he took one look at myself, August and Aila and shook his head in disgust, and then benched us for the game. Ben Chilwell was absolutely livid, because by chance the game that we were benched for, we lost. I argued with Rodgers at every training session, every match, over the phone at home, literally all the time. The last game I played with Leicester, I came out of the changing rooms and I overheard him telling one of his colleagues that I was useless, and that football is a man's sport, and that I only got into the team for obscene reasons." Lilah

"She rang me on the way home from her last match crying her eyes out, and I was like 'Lilah, what's wrong?' and the second she told me he laid a finger on her my blood was boiling. After making a massive breakthrough for the team she'd been so kindly loaned to, and then by the end of the season she's been slapped for being 'disrespectful' towards her manager, I was livid." Freya

"Getting through to the first team for Chelsea at the beginning of this season was such a relief. I was always told from a young age that Academy Players never make it, they never make it, so when I stepped out on the pitch for my first match, I'd made history not only as the first girl to play for Chelsea in the Prem but also as one of the first Academy players to break through to the first team." Lilah

"The only thing that was gonna stop me from breaking through was not being with Mason. When we were about 11 years old, we promised one another that if we did make it, if we did breakthrough, we'd do it together and we'd play our first ever match together, and when I found out he was being loaned out to Derby County I think I cried a little bit. I was sceptical of going on that pitch without him, but after some much-needed reassurance, I made my debut with the team I've been with since I was 6." Lilah

"When she scored her first goal, I saw the pure joy she had as she jogged across the field with the team and saw just how happy she was to be there. I've not known Lilah nearly as long as everyone else but in the short amount of time I've been her step-father, I've had the privilege to watch her grow into such a strong, independent girl and I'm so proud of everything she's achieved." Antonio

"I just hope she knows that we're proud of her no matter way. She's doing what she loves for a living and that's what matters to us the most, that she's happy and always has that gorgeous smile on her face." Caroline

"We love you lots Delilah, we're all so proud of you and we hope that you absolutely smash the final of the Europa League." Scott

"I love you lots, I'm proud of you always and I'm happy to be able to call you mine." Mason speaks to her, the girl looking at him with doe eyes before he pulls her into a soft hug.

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author's note - hello! i hope you guys don't mind this sort of layout for the chapter! I took inspiration from the video Mason did (it's called The Pride: Mason Mount on YouTube) for this chapter so I hope that's okay :) Happy 100 chapters!! <3