𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱𝘀 - 𝗠. 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 | ✔︎

𝟭𝟭. ➪ 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗜𝗻, 𝗢𝗿 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴

Mason's POV:

"This can't be serious, Venus." I sob as I'm sat on the girl's couch with her besides me, providing me with all the mental support she could. After training today I'd seen two text messages by Zoë. It was an article about me being with someone else, following up with a text that read 'I guess it wasn't worth it after all'.

The girl in the article talks about, however, is my long time friend Amelia, who I took out to dinner yesterday. The two of us go way back. We met at the Chelsea training grounds when we were still little kids. We have been friend for over a decade now, so it took me by surprise that the BBC has a headline which is quoted in the way it is, especially since she's a well known Chelsea player. Anyone who watches football knows her, which makes me even more anxious to people's reactions on the rumour, which was false. They'd know sooner or later that this 'mysterious girl' isn't even mysterious and people might think me and Amelia are in a relationship, which is something that'll never happen. I can't even think about being Amelia's significant other.

Despite knowing that me and Amelia aren't dating I did somehow feel a wave of guilt hitting me when Zoë texted me the whole thing. It made me doubt about the whole thing in itself . Maybe I should've cancelled my plans with Amelia the other day, but she's just a friend, my best friend. I can't stop seeing my friends just because I'm dating her. Besides, I didn't know the whole thing would escalate like this as I was just trying to enjoy my time with a good friend, something which obviously didn't go as planned.

"Maybe if you explain it to her she'll understand." Venus says as she tries to comfort me. Venus is also a good friend of mine and we have been ever since elementary school. We got to know each other when Venus showed me around my new school back when I first moved to London. She's been nice to me ever since and became best friends. Her words make me think, resulting in me getting up from her couch real quick, giving the girl a peck on the cheek in between as I make my way to my car. Her words make me realise I should resolve the damage that has been done instead of distancing myself from Zoë.

The ride from Venus' house to Zoë's isn't long, but in the moment it feels like an eternity. It leaves me in an impatient mood as time passes.

I then get to Zoë's apartment complex. The nerves are getting to me now. Even though the headlines hurt me much seeing the rumour spread about me was false, it must've been even harder for Zoë, especially after our date ended the way it did the other night. I've been thinking about it up until this day, coming to the same conclusion every time, which was that we both acted wrong. Zoë's reasoning was a very good one, but she could've been a bit more tender in the way she told me things. Now she might never want to see or talk to me again.

As I reach her floor I knock loudly on the door. I hear grunting on the other side before it swings open in a somewhat aggressive way. As she appears in the door frame her eyes are puffy, a sight I already despised. The tears she'd been shredding were still visible and some were still rolling down her cheek.

"Why are you here? Don't you have places to be with Mrs. 'mysterious blond girl'?" She asks, her tone noticeably unimpressed, which makes me think she already expected me to come by. Her question makes me roll my eyes, even though I already expected her to react to me the way she's doing at the moment.

"I don't, I needed to see you." I scratch the back of my neck, feeling a bit awkward. The girl rolls her eyes in response as she tried to close her front door, only for me to prevent it from happening.

"Can you at least let me explain it?" I ask in a more subtle tone, practically begging her to let me in. After shaking her head in unbelief she lets me in. As she already makes her way to the living room I take off my shoes. The girl pats for me to sit down besides her when I enter the living room, which I, without any complaints, do.

"So, let's cut to the chase." Zoë simply shrugs, something I can't blame her for. The girl seems moody, but with the news she got anyone would be.

"Okay, cool. So this picture was taken yesterday with my childhood best friend. We-"

"How do I know she's your childhood friend?" Zoë interrupts, seemingly irritated. I grab my phone out of my pocket and dial Amelia's phone number.

"Hey Mase, you doing okay?" She asks, probably out of concern. I haven't spoken to Amelia ever since the incident, so her question is one I'd already expected. It shows Amelia's true colours though. She's always been caring and lovely, hence why she's my best friend.

"I'm okay, how are you though? Has anyone asked anything regarding us?" I ask her, which makes Zoë sit up straight. A tense expression is noticeable as I look at her. I get it though, she doesn't knowing what kind of answer to expect from Amelia. Amelia, however, has this habit of teasing her friends, something which leaves me a bit worried about her answer too.

"Well some teammates, but I've explained them we're just friends." She shrugs, with leads to a sigh of relief from Zoë. She must've expected the worst of answers to come out of Amelia's mouth on the other side of the line, but Amelia proved Zoë, as I expected and hoped, wrong.

"I can't imagine us being together to be honest." She adds with a chuckle, resulting me to chuckle along with her. Of course Ive questioned my friendship with Amelia before, but with Zoë I've found someone I do want to get together with and I'm willing to do anything for her.

"I, by the way, want to introduce you to someone." I tap on the FaceTime icon on my screen, only for the request to be accepted immediately. As she appears on the screen the girl smiles at the camera. She looked comfortable in the tracksuit she was wearing as she was laying on her couch with Rosebud, her new puppy, on top of her. I slowly move closer to Zoë, which leads to her coming into frame.

"You must be Zoë!" Amelia cheers with an even bigger smile on her face, which makes Zoë blush a bit. Amelia seems excited to meet Zoë after all the times I've talked about the girl to her. The encounter seems to brighten up Zoë too as she repositions herself on the couch.

"You look even more gorgeous than on the photos Mason showed me!" Amelia compliments, making Zoë blush even more then she already does. She shows me a quick smile, one which I return as I take a hold of her hand, squeezing it a bit, encouraging her to keep the conversation going seeing Zoë can sometimes be shy.

"You look good yourself Amelia." Zoë compliments back with a smile on her face, making me somewhat proud. It can be anxious to talk to the best friend of the person you're dating, but she's doing well.

"Thanks, we definitely have to stay in touch." Amelia says.

The three of us chat a little longer before the girls exchange phone numbers, us ending the call afterwards.

"See, nothing is going on, with nobody." I shrug, causing Zoë to roll her eyes, probably hating to admit I was right all the time. It makes me chuckle a bit at her actions. She looks good when she pours and rolls her eyes.

"Mason?" She asks after some time of comfortable silence, which makes me turn towards her. I get a hold of her hand, trying to encourage her to say whatever she has to say. I give her a nod, indicating her to continue talking.

"Where do we stand now?"

"Well, its either all in, or nothing."

-Dɪғғᴇʀᴇɴᴛ Wᴏʀʟᴅs-