hard feelings - an erling haaland story

nineteen

He frowned at her as she continously teased him about his posture when running. "Why do you look like that?"

He groaned as she zoomed into the photo before immediately cackling at the image. "I actually hate you."

This time it was her turn to frown. "Take it back."

"No." He shook his head.

"It's fine, I actually don't care about your opinion, Slenderman."

He rolled his eyes at the Australian, moving closer to her. Before she could even react, he began tickling her causing her to frail her arms and legs to deter him from moving closer to her. Her laughter was music to his ears, a song that he never wanted to end. He couldn't help but smile at her, stopping all his actions, just to sit in awe of her.

"Let me take you out on a date." He blurted out. Erling began to panic when she didn't respond, her body language was unreadable. He felt his heart race. Did he screw it up? Did he cross the boundaries between them? Did he misread the situation and they were just friends? "Forget I said that."

"No, no. Sorry, I was just surprised. I'd happily let you take me out." She smiled, taking his hand in hers, rubbing the back of it gently with her thumb. "I'm on nights this week so can we do it when I don't look vile and tired?"

"You could never look vile. Tired? Maybe. But vile? Never. You are so beautiful, Mia. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you."

Erling kept his gaze on her, watching as her face slowly turned red, her gaze on the floor. She smiled at his words, not realising the profound truth in them. He knew deep down that he had always thought about Amelia in that way, his heart always warmed at the thought of her, skipping a beat when he saw her and when he didn't he was always yearning for her. The childish part of him had pushed it away in fear of ruining their friendship. He wondered whether anyone else had known about his feelings for the girl or if he had hidden it well enough. He hadn't even realised the feelings himself, not until that minute with her.

"Thank you, E. That means a lot to me. I'm excited for our friend date." Her last words had been a joke, a joke that Erling hadn't realised causing his stomach to drop at it. "That was a joke, E."

That evening, as he lay awake, unable to sleep,  a rush of anxiety filled him. He realised that he didn't know of anywhere to take her out to, nothing that was good enough for her. Defeated, he pushed himself up, grabbing his phone to type a message to the one person on his team who knew what she would like. Jack. They had grown a lot closer since finding out that him and Amelia were just friends. Although, he couldn't ignore the nauseous feeling he got when he remembered that they had slept together previously. He felt a slight bitterness towards the man from Birmingham but he knew that in that current moment, everything between the Australian and Jack was strictly platonic.

The hours before their date simultaneously dragged and flew by. He hadn't told her much, other than to dress nice, to which he swiftly followed up with 'not that you don't always dress nice. Dress formally.'

Out of stress and panic, he had managed to tell his entire family groupchat about it, which turned into pure excitement from all the other members. It was like he had forgotten everything he knew about Amelia. He had forgotten what her favourite flowers were, what her favourite colour was. He felt overwhelmed at all the possible outfits to wear. He wanted to look good, good enough to impress her, unbeknownst that he didn't need to do anything.

He knocked on the door, taking a deep breath as he waited for her to answer. He felt in awe as she stood in front of him. She was beautiful, in the same way that you felt when you looked at a painting in the Lourve. To him, her beauty could not be described by words or actions. Erling questioned as to why he never noticed it before, how could he have been so blind to the girl that he spent all of his childhood thinking about and spending time with.

"You look amazing, Mia." He spoke, his voice breaking slightly. He knew she would tease him for it at some point during the night. "But I look better."

"Oh definitely. That top makes your eyes look stunnin'!" He blushed at her words, unsure how to take her compliment.

"You ready?"

She nodded, grabbing her bag from the kitchen island, shouting a goodbye to her flatmate. As they walked, he couldn't help but feel underdressed next to her. She carried herself with confidence and proudly, a difference to how she was when she wasn't dressed up. Her eyeshadow contrasted her eye colour, making them shine brighter than usual.

The restaurant was dark. Not dim, dark. He noted that he would flag up it up with Jack, annoyed he wouldn't be able to see his date properly. He could barely keep his eyes off her as he drove to the place, excited to sit opposite her and get the pleasure of calling her his date. Yet there he was in the restaurant, watching a candlelight flicker and mere shadows of her face. She sat, chatting away about some wonders she saw at work, complaining about how exhausting it had been recently.

Erling felt under qualified, he hadn't really gone on proper dates, not counting the ones he had been on, briefly, when he was fourteen. This was different, this one had meaning, he didn't want this one to end badly. He didn't know what to do on dates or what to ask. He knew so much about her to make small talk but yet he felt like he knew too little.

"Are you okay, E?"

He nodded, staying silent. He didn't want to lie to her but he didn't want to tell her the truth. He was stuck in a dilemma so he opted to stay silent.

After a long awkward silence, she excused herself to go to the bathroom. He ran his fingers through his hair out of frustration. He didn't know why he felt like this when he had been thinking about her at all hours of the day. It felt almost unnatural to him, he felt more comfortable getting to know her in a more intimate setting. The idea that people were watching them due to who he was made him feel nauseous. He wanted nothing more than to shield the woman from the public eye.

His pacing thoughts were interrupted by a reassuring squeeze on his hand. He looked up to meet her eyes, soft and welcoming, like they knew his worries. She mouthed some words of reassurance to him before burying her face back into the menu. The small action helped with the nagging anxiety.

"Erling, we can go if you want, you look pale as anything." Her eyes squinting through the darkness. "It's okay that you've changed your mind about this, I'll still be your best friend." It was clear from her voice that she was disappointed but she placed a smile on her face and took him by the hand, leading him out of the dark restaurant.

Outside he was able to think rationally, see clearly. He knew that with Amelia by his side, the rest of the world's opinions didn't matter. He felt unstoppable.