vulnerable

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gioreyna posted a picture

Liked by headdturnerr judebellingham and 52,338 others

gioreyna It was in our hands and we let something we worked so hard for, slip away. Remember that setbacks are a part of life, and even though it may be tough right now, it's important to keep pushing forward and learn from the experience. Sorry to the fans and city of Dortmund but we can't thank you enough for the incredible support shown throughout all the ups and downs.

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The locker room was emptying out. The boys were all headed to the end-of-season dinner hosted by the restaurant across the street. Gio sat on the wooden bench with his headphones over his ears, blasting music. He rapidly shook his leg, feeling a boiling anger rising inside his gut.

Not only did he lose his girlfriend, he lost the finals.

The season was over and seemingly, so was his relationship. Stella hand't broken up with him, but he knew it was probably going to end that way. He prayed that she'd give him a second chance. But Gio had fucked up, he knew that.

"You coming mate?" Jude asked, slinging his book bag over his shoulder.

Gio slid his headphones behind his ears. "Y-yeah in a sec. I'll catch up."

"Where's Stella and the kiddos?" He raised a brow.

"Oh um." Gio cocked his head to the side. "She's not feeling well. Carolina and Joah stayed home to make sure she was okay."

"Oh, bummer. Tell her I hope she feels better soon." Jude clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "See you in a few."

"Yeah, see you."

Jude departed for the restaurant. Gio rested the back of his head against the cold locker. He closed his eyes for a moment, before he heard footsteps approaching. He opened them, wondering who else was left here on the team. Julian rounded the corner and stepped into the room. He cast a glance towards Gio with a straight face. Gio glared at him. He took her away from him.

Julian drove off with her.

"You about to head over to the restaurant?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder at his own locker across from Gio.

"Yup." Gio aggressively popped the P at the end. He was eyeing Julian's back with daggers in his eyes. "You?"

"Same." Julian agreed, turning around. He leaned against his locker with his arms crossed. "Have you talked to Stella?"

"Have you?" Gio shot back with rapid fire.

Julian ran a hand through his sweaty hair, nodding slowly. He clenched his jaw. "Yeah. I have."

Gio's heart dropped. Stella was talking to Julian but not him? What were they talking about? Gio sucked in another sharp breath. "About what?"

"Not much."

"Bullshit." Gio cursed, standing up quickly. "What the fuck are you talking to Stella about."

"I offered her my ear, that's it. She hasn't said anything else, okay? I'm just being a good friend."

"Oh, yeah, such a good friend." Gio took a step forward. "You offering her your shoulder to cry on too? Trying to step up and take a turn with my girlfriend!?"

Julian scoffed, taking off his headband in one fluid motion. "Well, Gio, if she was my girlfriend... I would have never hurt her the way you did."

Gio bawled his hands into fists. "What?"

Julian forced a sarcastic laugh. "You're an idiot, sometimes."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"That you don't even realize what exactly you lost, man." He breathed heavily, pointing an accusing finger at Gio. "You don't realize what you had! But I did! I saw it all the time. The way she looked at you, the way she smiled when you were around. She would have been there for you until the very fucking end and you gave that up for what!?"

"You have no right to judge me!" Gio roared back. His mind was all over the place. He shook his head, raising his voice even louder. "Where the fuck is this coming from, huh? You're all of a sudden in love with my girlfriend!?"

Julian chuckled again, lowering his head. "Like I said man. You're an idiot sometimes."

"Fuck you." Gio spat. "Like you're so high and mighty! Get over yourself. It's your fault you fell for someone whose taken."

"You know what, I did." Julian gritted his teeth. "I really did. I fell for Stella. I have feelings for her, but you know what I didn't do? Ever? Kiss her."

Gio paused, letting the words sink into his head.

Julian sucked in a shaky breath. "I would've never done that to you or Stella. But you did that to her... and you're her boyfriend."

Gio felt his nails digging into his skin. "You're such a pick me, Brandt. You think you're the nice guy? What happened with your ex, huh? You're just jealous."

"I am jealous." Julian admitted with a frown. "I'm jealous that a guy like you gets a girl like her."

"You better get the fuck out before I kill you Brandt."

"Go ahead, Reyna." Julian shook his head. "I really could care less."

"I knew something was off." Gio cocked his head to the side. "When I saw you sitting with her. I saw the way you were looking at her. I'm not a fucking idiot like you say."

"Maybe not with me." Julian shrugged. "But why'd you kiss Chloe? Was that not an idiot move? Why did you kiss her? Why!?"

Gio choked on his words. He didn't even know why. There was no good reason. Nothing. He melted into old feelings that he hadn't dealt with. Julian threw on a fake smile. "Where did that come from, huh? You wanna talk about how random my feelings are when you were making fun of Chloe not even a couple hours before almost fucking her!?"

"I was never going to have sex with her!"

Julian scoffed, slamming his fist against the metal behind him. "I'm glad you had that figured out, Reyna."

He gathered his belongings from inside his locker and threw everything into his book bag. He slung the bag over his shoulder and stepped up to Gio, not intimidated by his presence. Gio was the one who felt threatened. Julian was calm. "You're both my friends... and I know how much you loved her... but now? I don't know, Reyna. If she gives you a second chance, I'll be happy for you. But if she doesn't... just know that she deserves the world."

"Why did you say loved?"

"Because no one would cheat on someone they love... End of story."

Gio gulped. Julian patted his chest and walked out. Gio waited a moment before throwing his headphone at the door. He let out a scream and sunk to the floor.