the best surprise was you...

Christmas break (part one)

It took a while before Viv realized that she needed to get off the plane. She had just been listening to Taylor Swift for an hour and had completely zoned out. She stood up, got her bag out of the compartment and made her way towards the exit. Viv moved rather slowly towards the luggage belt because she still wasn't too excited to be back home. She got a message from her brother asking whether she had landed. She quickly replied yes and stowed her phone back into her pocket.
When reaching the luggage belt she could already see her own suitcase on it. When making her way to the belt someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around but couldn't see anyone she recognized, but the moment she wanted to turn back around however she could hear a small voice saying "Sorry, I don't want to bother you, but are you Vivianne Miedema?" It was a girl in her early twenties. Viv smiled awkwardly "Yes, that would be me". She always got so uncomfortable when fans approached her. Not because she didn't like the fans but because she still after all these years wasn't used to the fact that random people recognized her on the streets. "is it perhaps possible... could I uhm..." The girl was blushing and couldn't finish her sentence. "take a picture?" Viv tried, and the girl turned even redder. She nodded and Viv smiled. She normally wouldn't say yes, especially after a flight; she preferred to keep private business as far away from her football life as possible but for some reason, she agreed. "yes, of course. No problem." 
"thank you so much. I really hope I am not bothering you too much." Viv smiled and shook her head. "no not at all. It's always nice to interact with fans. It means that the game is growing." The girl grinned and quickly took out her phone. they took the picture together and after waving away the stammered thanks, Viv got her suitcase and made her way to the exit. 

"Viv, over here" She looked up and saw her brother and his girlfriend waving. She put her hand up to let them know that she'd seen them. She quickly made her way over to them and hugged her brother tightly. She had missed him a lot the past couple of weeks. Especially after everything that had happened. "uh Viv you're suffocating me" Lars gasped. "oh sorry" she quickly let go of him and gave a quick hug to Kiki. "so everything went okay with the flight then I take it?" Viv nodded. "yeah it wasn't too bad." 
they started making their way towards the exit. It was a silent walk for a while. "so, where are you parked?" "Not too far away actually. It is the second door on the left." 

Back in England

"jeez, how much luggage did you take with you?" Ben sighed after he dragged what felt like the umpteenth bag inside the house. "oh stop moaning and come give me a hand. It's the last one I promise." Beth replied. Her brother shook his head but picked up the bag nonetheless and Beth swore she could see a faint smile on his face. 
When all of her bags were finally upstairs they both fell down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling for a good five minutes before... "So, how's life down south?" Ben asked as he looked up to his big sister. Beth couldn't suppress a smile, It had made her think of Viv and all the fun times they'd had over the past couple of weeks. The goofy grin must've really shown on her face and when she did not immediately answer, Ben pressed on "Soo? What's been keeping you busy? Haven't properly heard from you in weeks and... Why do you keep grinning like that?" he asked curiously. Beth sighed and said, "Oh just life". This was perfectly true, life had really turned around for her when she started hanging out with Viv. "Okay, who is it? Who're you in love with this time?" Beth shot up at these words and frowned at her brother. "What makes you think that I have feelings for someone?" She asked a little more demanding than she normally would've done, but Ben's comment had made her feel a bit uneasy. Was it that obvious that she had feelings for Viv and if it was, would Viv have picked up on it? Only just thinking about it made her feel sick. She did not in a million years want Viv to find out about her feelings for her as more than just a friend. For one Beth was absolutely sure that Viv did not feel the same way in the slightest and second, she was not planning on losing such a good friendship just because she couldn't contain her feelings. Her brother grinned at her "Well you're acting all dreamy, plus you always get like this when you like someone. So, who is it? Is it somebody I know? Is it one of your teammates perhaps?" Beth was just about to reply when a phone rang. "That's yours," Ben said. "I've got a different ringtone." Beth got up from the bed and went over to her jacket to get her phone. When she looked at her screen she saw that it was Viv. Beth quickly picked it up. 

Beth: "Hey, what's up? Are you in Holland? 
Viv: "Yeah, I made it. And you, have you made it all the way up north?" 
Beth chuckled 
Beth: "Yeah I have. Are you okay though? How is it with your parents?" 
It stayed silent on the other side a tad too long for Beth's liking and when she pressed on she could hear sniffing on the other end of the line. 
Beth: "Viv, you can talk to me you know that right?"
Viv: "Yeah, I uhh." 
It pained Beth to hear Viv in such pain, especially because she couldn't physically do anything for her.  
Viv: "I just got to push through it I guess. It's just tough is all." 
Beth: "Yeah, but it was bound to be hard wasn't it? I mean nearly all new situations are hard to manage. It's about staying calm, slowly working your way through it, and realising that this is not only a new situation for you but also for your family. Yes, it is tremendously difficult for you, but know that it is also hard for them. Now, this is not me saying that everything they say is okay and that you should just accept it, but give it time and you'll see that they will start to understand the reasons for why you did what you did." 
Viv gave a weak smile. Beth had a knack for always saying the right thing at the right time. Her chest felt instantly lighter as well. 
"Thank you. You are amazing you are. You know that right?" 
Beth blushed and giggled. 
Beth: "Well, obviously" 
They both laughed. 
Viv: "Well, I hear someone coming up the stairs. I'll talk to you later." 
Beth: "Yes, of course. Call me any time you need to okay." 
Viv: "Yeah, will do" 
And with that, Viv hung up the phone. At the exact same moment, her brother came into the room. "Here you are, grandma is downstairs and she wants to see you." Viv nodded and took a deep breath. She still had to tell her grandma about the breakup and she was not looking forward to it. She had always really taken to Lisa which was a surprise for Viv because her grandma had always lived in a small town but luckily she and her granddad weren't as closed-minded as most of them were. she took a deep breath and made her way downstairs. 

"There she is, my little football star." Her grandma smiled and Viv sat down next to her. "How are you Viv, haven't heard from you in ages." 
"yeah I know, I'm sorry. I've been very busy the last couple of weeks." She averted her eyes to the floor and started plucking the sleeve of her hoodie. "everything okay I hope? How's Lisa doing? Thought she would come with you. Don't you usually do a week here and a week in Scotland?" Viv closed her eyes. She really didn't want to do this, but what choice did she have? "Uhm yes, about Lisa. She uhm... well we've... uhhh decided it was best for us to uhm end things." There was a deafening silence at these words. Viv wasn't sure she wanted it broken though. This way she wouldn't have to hear the reactions. The first thing her grandma did however was put an arm around her and pulled her close. "Oh, my little Viv, that must've been so hard on you." Viv started crying. It was such a relief that her grandma just wanted to be there for her. She felt like a little kid again, wrapped under her grandma's arm and she did not want to move anymore. She wanted to stay like this forever, in the place where nothing could get to her where nothing could hurt her. 

Beth's place

Beth was sitting on the couch scrolling through the pictures on her phone when her mom came in. "There you are. I've been looking everywhere for you." Beth did not look up from her phone but merely grunted. She had arrived at a particularly good day. It was one of those days spent at Viv's place and they got a bit silly and started taking funny pictures. Viv looked cute in all of them she thought. 
"What are you smirking at?" June asked curiously. Beth finally looked up and turned a little red in the face. "A new flame in your life". Beth shot up at these words. Why did everyone think that she had a new relationship? "no" she she replied curtly. June shrugged her shoulders and said "Okay if you say so" but the look she gave Beth told her that she did not believe her in the slightest.  
"so now that I have got your attention, what are your plans while you are here for the holidays?" 
"Nothing much really. Not the first week anyway, just recharging for the next half of the season." 
"And the second week?" June asked, "I want to show Viv around town and go to some friends perhaps." June gave Beth a quizzical look "Viv? So you do have someone new?" Beth's face reddened once more and she shook her head vigorously. "No, no Viv is just a friend. I offered her to stay here for the second week because she is really struggling with the breakup she going through at the moment." 
"Why only the second week? Where is she now?" 
"At her parent's house in Holland, but she really doesn't want to be there right now. She was supposed to be there for two weeks but she just couldn't face that at the moment. So I thought I'd offer her a place here." 
"I didn't know you and her were that close" June said "Well, we weren't but we've bonded really well the last couple of weeks. She is really struggling with her breakup and I have some experience on how to deal with it. So I'm helping her." June smiled at her daughter. "You really are too kind for this world"