IMAGINE. (wsl)

𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗲 - 𝗵.𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗼

𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦: 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘧𝘧, 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵
-----
it was one of the best days and worst days of my life. england had won the semi finals of the world cup, we were through to the finals, but at the cost of australia. the looks on their faces were distraught. they had fought so hard against us and they did so well, sam kerr scoring a miracle goal against us in the 63rd minute, but they couldn't pull through. it ended 1-3 for england, and i could feel my heart break for hayley. i could see her across the field, with tears in her eyes, trying her best not to break down entirely.

i hugged each of my teammates before making my way over to where she stood. she practically falls into my arms and sobs, and all i can do is hold her. we stand there for what seems like ages, hayley crying into my shoulder and me just hugging the girl. i knew how much she wanted this and how hard she worked for it. i was so proud of my team for making it through but i was more proud of my girlfriend for getting to this point.

"it'll be ok. you made it this far, i'm so proud of you." i whispered into her ear as she calmed down and stopped crying. they still had the third place match to play, and potentially be able to take home a bronze medal for their country. we finally separated as i had to go back to my own team and hayley had to join hers but i gave a her one last hug and promised i'd see her soon.

when we reached the change rooms, it was a whole party. everyone was cheering and singing, jumping about in happiness. i enjoyed it as much as could before we all started getting changed and ready to head out. all of the girls wanted to go out and celebrate our win, and as much as i wanted to join them, i wasn't feeling it. i decided to head back to the hotel to see if i could get some rest.

i didn't manage to get much sleep but i did get some. it was the next day, and we had the day off because of the game last night. i wanted to surprise hayley at her next game with something so i called up some of her teammates that knew me. sam, alanna, mackenzie and caitlin all agreed to help out and keep hayley occupied.

——
i was buzzing with excitement on the day of australia's third place game against sweden. i had talked to sarina and she had let me off the hook and cleared me to go to the game that night. i was wearing the 'raso' jersey hayley had bought me this year and grabbed the pass that sam had hooked me up with. australian fans and sweden fans alike were flicking to the stadium to see their favourite team play off and hopefully win the medal, but i just wanted to see my girl win.

i was shown to the family section and had a pretty good view of the field, and the players. hayley didn't know i was here, only the four that i had talked to over the phone; sam, alanna, mac and caitlin. the whole team walked out onto the pitch alongside sweden before they walked off again and ran back on to play. the players all took a knee before the ref blew the whistle and they started play.

it was enthralling watching hayley play, she was like lightning with the ball and she had some decent shots at goal within the first half hour. it was 0-1 to sweden at the end of the first half and i was praying that the girls could pull through. they took their break and you could see both tony and sam giving their speeches to the team before they ran back on for the second half.

it was the 60th minute and sam had the ball, closing in on zecira who played with her for chelsea. she was close the goal but made an unexpected play and shot the ball to hayley, who kicked it behind zecira and scored the equalising goal for australia. i cheered from my place in the stands, happy that we were tied with sweden. the girls kept playing and they were so close, they just needed one more shot to win third place. it was the 89th minute and only seconds on the clock when kyra had the ball and ran it up the field before passing to sam who shot it into the net. the stadium erupted into cheers as the score flicked to 2-1 for australia.

there was only 5 minutes injury time so i made my way down to the sidelines and joined tony. he shook my hand in greeting and when the ref blew the whistle for game over, the whole team ran together and hugged each other. i waited for them to come back to the sidelines so i could see hayley. when they finally did everyone created a circle around us and i stepped forward to hug her. "y/n! what are you doing here?" she was shocked to say the least.

"i came to see you play." she grinned at me and hugged me back, before i stepped back and held her hands in front of me. "hayley emma raso. you have been the light of my life since we met, always making me smile and laugh when i was down. i have got to be the luckiest person to have you with me. i love you so much. will you marry me?" i knelt down and pulled out a ring for the last bit. hayley was stunned and didn't know what to say for a good couple of minutes before i whispered name. "yes. yes. a hundred times yes." she finally responded and i slipped the ring on her finger.

everyone started cheering and clapping, the crowd included. i hugged my now fiancé as everyone around us was still cheering. it took me a bit to let it sink in but, i was engaged.