Shameless | Mason Mount

1. Injury

7:00 am. You feel around your bedside table, trying to find your alarm clock. The noise rings through your ears, snapping you out of any dream you were in.

Finally finding it, you hit it, causing the ringing to end. You slowly climb out of bed, stretching as you do. You have a long day at work ahead of you, so you might as-well start getting ready now.  

You work as a private medic and physician for the England football team, and today is the first match in a while. It's very rare that a player gets badly injured, but you're the one to treat, massage and clean them up if they do. You can never really know what to expect on the job, but most of it is just watching the boys play through the large glass window of your medical room in the stadium.

The only big thing you did before coming to the England team as a medic was when you were a part time physician at Chelsea for the academy players a few years back.

You've always remembered there being this one boy there who you helped once, he fractured his ankle in the middle of the game. You were there next to him the whole time as the main medics took care of things, and you always liked him, and he even admitted to liking you back.

But one day he just left. Apparently he was taking a break to recover, but you never saw him again. You never even got his name.

That's all in the past though, and if it was really meant to be, you'll meet again. Today is a new day.

You get dressed into your work uniform, brush your teeth and put a bit of makeup on, trying to look your best for the team of 26.

...

Finally arriving at the huge stadium, you get out of your car and walk over to the entrance. You tap your keycard onto the scanner, and a security guard moves out of the way so you can make your way through the tall doors.

You can see the team sitting in the waiting room, spread out, but in a few separate groups.

You awkwardly walk past clutching your bag, feeling everyones eyes on you. A certain pair of eyes catch your attention though; Mason Mount's.

You try to avoid eye contact with him as you shimmy your way between bags and suitcases, praying you don't trip and fall on something.

Just as you're about to reach the doors to go into another room Gareth Southgate, the teams coach, appears in-front of you with a warm smile on his face.

"Y/n, it's nice to see you again." He says, In a welcoming tone. "Let's re-introduce you to everyone to refresh their memories, okay?"

"Oh, no it's okay-" You start talking, but immediately get interrupted by Southgate's loud voice, calling for the squad's attention.  "Listen up boys, this is Y/n, the head medic and physician from now on. You've met her before, but I wouldn't be surprised if you don't remember her, as she was just an apprentice." You can feel your face going red as everyone looks at you intently.

"No I remember her." A voice sounds. Your eyes shoot to Mason, who was sitting there with a smile on his face. "Of course you remember her Mase." Jude says, the whole team laughing. Mason rolls his eyes at the comment, before they land back onto you.

"Perfect." Gareth says, before walking out of the room. You try to follow him, but stop halfway when you hear a voice call out your name.

"Y/n! Come here a sec." You slowly turn around to see Jude Bellingham, gesturing for you to come over to where him and Mason are sitting. He's splayed out on a bean bag, with Mason on a sofa facing him.

"I should really start setting up my equipment in my room-" you start, but once again you're interrupted. "It will only take a minute." Mason says, patting the space on the sofa next to him. Something about his voice made you feel the need to oblige.

You reluctantly walk over, regretting it more with every step you take. Eventually making it to the small velvet sofa, you sit down, sinking into its soft padding.

"So, you're the head of the medical team now, right?" Jude asks. "Yeah, I guess you could put it that way." You say, smiling. "I really wasn't expecting to get the job as there were so many other talented medics, but I'm glad I did."

"I'm glad too." Mason says. "That last massage you gave me was amazing." You try to hide your blush as you try to convince yourself that he was just saying it as a compliment, and not in any other way.

"Um, thanks." You say, still trying to get your heartbeat back to normal.

"Do you think you could give me another one? My legs have been aching all day from training." Mason says, still keeping eye contact. You notice Jude looking at him in a confused sense, before a slight grin forms on his face.

"Maybe, I've really got to go now, bye." You splutter, sounding clearly flustered. You quickly reach for your bag and walk towards the doors, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

After walking around the stadium and getting lost a few too many times, you finally make it to your new private medical treatment room. It's surprisingly spacious and fancy, with a huge glass window that covers a whole wall, facing the pitch. Definitely an upgrade from the shared, cupboard-like "room" you and the other apprentices had before.

Still questioning what just happened a few minutes ago, you get to the conclusion that Mason was just being welcoming and trying to make you feel comfortable in the huge, industrial-like stadium. "It was literally just a perfectly normal conversation between two people." You tell yourself, in the most convincing way you can.

There's still two hours until the game starts, and fans have already started to take their seats. You expect there to be no major injuries for a few games, as most teams are civil with each other and don't create many incidents. The game today is against Argentina, and you don't really know what to expect as you weren't working the job for the last England vs Argentina match.

The only time you really get any action is if there's a bad injury, as most the time the players are able to keep going and the pitch medics are there to help with minor collisions and bumps.

...

About an hour before the game, you decide to go and get a quick snack from the staff room. You're gone for about 30 minutes as you find yourself talking with another employee, then eventually make your way back to your room.

It's empty when you get back, but you see a few muddy footsteps near the door. They're big, and definitely didn't come from your feet. "Must've just been a cleaner... who didn't clean up after themselves?" you tell yourself, as it's the only thing you can really think of. "Whatever, the game kicks off in a few minutes."

...

The whistle to start the game is blown, and you keep a close eye out to see if you can notice any injuries that are yet to peak, but keeping an even closer eye on Mason.

It starts to lightly rain, but that quickly turns into it pouring down more than it has in months.

The first 20 minutes are as expected, no action for you yet, but a few collisions and foul play. Just as you're about to look away to reach for your drink, you hear the crowd gasp and grimace.

You quickly turn back to the window to see Mason on the floor, clutching the side of his face in pain. There are a crowd of players around him, all looking concerned. He moves his hand away, and it's covered in blood.

You pick up a walkie talkie (intercom) and immediately order for him to be brought into your medical room, as the damage could be serious. A voice on the other end agrees, and they help Mason walk over to you.

You go over to the door with an urgent pace, to see Mason with wet hair and blood covering his hands, with it lightly smeared across the side of his face.