Christmas With The Captain

For Arsenal

The following day went by quickly as there weren't many fan meetings. Which meant getting in and out of appointments without too much hassle. The few fans I did meet however were sweet and respectful. There was one girl in particular that was wearing a shirt with my concert on it and carrying a football. She asked me to sign the ball as she was a fan, she also knew I was a player once and wanted to show her friends. I was definitely no celebrity when it came to football so I was taken aback but still signed it as I couldn't say no.

It was interactions like this that made me regret not coming home more often. These meetings kept me going, I mean the hate also pushed me to do more and show people I'm great at what I do but this, this felt so unreal. I think most of my problems were centered around my family and mom. I know she missed me and I did miss her too but it sometimes felt like too much. My emotions often got the better of me and I felt as if I was about to explode.

Now, I was on my way to my favorite place here. The Emirate Stadium, home to Arsenal, I was alone today as Diana went to see her parents for a day out. Of course I have other people working for me but unless she's there I normally feel alone.

Today however, felt different. I mean you can never feel alone here as a fan, there was always someone wearing the shirt and shouting "FOR ARSENAL!" like their life depended on it.

As we got out of the car I stood there just taking in the air and looking at the huge building I hadn't seen in a while. Carl, my main body guard and good friend stood behind me and placed one hand on my shoulder.

"Happy to be back?" he asked, fully knowing the answer. The question almost sounded sarcastic so I just sent him my 'why are you such a joker' look which he responded to by laughing. We made our way inside and someone from the staff led me to hair and makeup.

After a while, we made our way to the set, the background was the stadium itself and it was pabsolutely beautiful. The camera crew was ready and the interviewer was here. As a matter of a fact calling him an interviewer is insulting, the amount of times he has interviewed me we were as good as friends.

"Ronnie!"

"Julien!" We both screamed as we hugged each other. He was the one that requested I get interviewed here at the stadium. He knew me too well. We took our seats and the interview started. We played games and I filled him in on my work like new movies, photoshoots, songs etc. It felt so natural with him, he was funny and he didn't make me feel uncomfortable like some interviewers do. After a while we started on our last game. Truth or Dare, the classic.

"Ok Ok, after that dare I'm not going easy on you with this one." He said out of breath as I made him do 50 push ups.

"Oh dear." I regretted my previous dare immediately. I tried to laugh it off but all I could think of was embarrassing myself during my so called ‘homecoming’. He asked he question and I decided to go with the cowardly response.

"Truth." I answered genuinely scared of what he had planned.

"Who's your favorite player on the lionesses team?" He said innocently, too innocently there was something behind it. Nevertheless the question was easy.

"Georgia" I answered in some sort of a 'duh' way which made Julien smile.

"Easy enough, I have another question." He said.

"Now hold on, this isn't true or dare anymore then." I say dramatically, gaining a laugh from the crew.

"You're right, so here's the question: If you wanted to have a chill day which player from the Lionesses team would you spend it with?" He said with a smug look on his face which confused me but after going through my options I understood the face completely.

"Umm, maybe Leah. As long as Plain Jane has her ham sandwiches she'll be fine." I said with a small smile recalling the memories with her.

"That was clearly thought through." He said as he took out a blindfold and handed it to me. “So we're at the end but I have a surprise for you. Put this on.”

He made me stand up and then he led me towards the door which led to a big hall, going down the few steps at the door he told me to stay still and remove the blind fold when I was ready.

"Oh and Diana said to tell you that it was for your own good." He said apologetical
That sentence struck me and immediately I took the blind fold off revealing  so much more than what I could hope for.