Enemies - Katie McCabe

8- Arsenal vs Chelsea

Ellies pov:
We all lined up in the tunnel, ready for our game against Chelsea. Looking around, I could see most of my old teammates starting to make a line on my right hand side. "El bell?" Someone whispered as they pulled my arm. I turned my head to see a tall blonde woman with a messy bun. "Mills!" I said, hugging her tightly. We heard music, and I knew we were about to walk out. "I missed you, we can catch up after!"She called as she made her way to the front of her line.

I looked ahead and put my game face on. I knew I had to focus and not let the fact that I was playing against my old team get in the way of my performance this match.

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We were 10 minutes into the game. Nothing exciting had happened yet for either side, and it was starting to frustrate Chelsea. I knew that one of their best players, Sam Kerr, was still off with an injury, so that had to be hard for them.

Lotte passed the ball to me. I looked around but there were no reds to pass to. I decided to take my chance. I started running up the pitch back into Chelsea's half. I saw millie rush towards me, but I easily passed the ball through her legs and took control of it again. I looked up and saw Katie, who had managed to sneak behind their defence, i passed to her quickly. From there, she had a clean shot at goal, and I watched in slow motion as the ball flew into the top right corner.

As soon as she saw the familiar bulge of the net, when the ball hit it, she looked towards the offside flag, but it stayed down. When the whisle blew to say she had scored, she ran towards me and jumped on me, "brilliant footwork." She squealed as the rest of our team came rushing over.

At halftime, the score was 4-1 to Arsenal. We all practically ran into the changing rooms and started hugging each other. Jonas came in and sat on a bench. "Good work so far guys, keep it up! Stone. I'm going to keep you on and possibly sub you if you start to get tired, ok?" He asked, nodding towards me. "Yeah, that's fine!" I said, still smiling about the goal I scored.

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We were approaching the 90-minute mark. We had managed to score twice more, and chelsea managed to score once.

Katie had the ball. She looked up and started running towards chelsea's goal. I turned around and glanced back just as I saw a Chelsea player run into her, causing her to cry out in pain. I sprinted over, "Katie? Katie? Are you ok?" I asked, not knowing what to do. I stood up and signalled the medical team to come on and took a step back.

I looked around and saw the Chelsea player rolling her eyes. "What was that for?" I asked, shoving her shoulders. "It was a fair challenge!" She insisted, shoving me back. "No, it wasn't!" I said, shoving her harder. "Sounds like someone has a little crush!" The Chelsea player sneered. Without thinking, I bought my fist back and felt it connect with her cheek. By now, everyone had realised what went on and pulled me away.

"Go to the changing room." Millie insisted. I protested, trying to get away from her. "Ellie, go now!" Kim said, taking over. I turned around and saw the ref lift up a red card and a yellow. I rolled my eyes and stormed back into the changing rooms. Why did I do that? I punched the wall as tears rolled down my face.

I heard a small knock. I looked up to see Katie struggling to get through the door. When she came into full view, she had a boot and crutches. I looked back down at the floor. "Thank you." She said, sitting down next to me. "Although you do need to get that hand checked out," She said, holding it in her hands. "It's fine." I insisted, trying to pull away. "No, if I have to wear this stupid boot, then you have to get that hand sorted. Come on, " She said, dragging me up. I protested. "Dont make it difficult for the disabled person, pleaseee" She said, raising an eyebrow.

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After the match was over, we all had to go shake hands. I sheepishly walked onto the field. I looked around and soon guessed who I had punched by the blue bruise starting to form on her cheek. Niamh Charles.

I rushed over, she was one of my friends when I was at Chelsea and I felt so bad. "It's ok!" She insisted as I hugged her for the one millionth time. "I'm sorry, I really am." I apologised again.

"El bell!" I heard someone shout. I turned around and It was millie. I ran over to her and gave her a hug. "I missed you mills. Drinks tomorrow?" I asked. "Definitely!" She said, smiling.

"As cute as this reunion is, I need you to drive me home, Els," an Irish voice said impatiently. Millie raised an eyebrow. "And you are?" She asked, confused. "Katie," I said. "Oh, she's that Katie?!" Millie said, shocked. "I definitely agree with what you said on the phone the other day!" She said, chuckiling. "What do you mean 'that Katie'?" McCabe asked, confused. "Nothing, she's winding you up!" I said elbowing millie.

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Katie's pov:
On the way home, we sat in silence. I was annoyed at millies' comment. I was even more annoyed that Ellie wouldn't tell me what she meant.

"So Els? That's a new one. When did you think of that?" Ellie asked, smiling. "Everyone calls you els." I replied bluntly, looking out of my window. I heard Ellie sigh. "No, they don't, Kate." She said, rolling her eyes. "Kate?" I asked, looking at her. "I said Katie." She said, glancing in my direction. "No, you didn't," I said, raising an eyebrow.

Ellies pov:
As I pulled onto our street, it started to pour down with rain. "Great." Katie said, rolling her eyes. I looked down at what I was wearing. I only had my arsenal kit on, whereas Katie had her ireland jumper on. "We're going to have to leg it," I said, looking at her. "Very funny," she said, pointing towards her boot. "Shit." I muttered. I got out of the car, and the rain instantly soaked me. I opened Katie's door and helped her out, I put one arm around her and helped guide her towards the door.

I put a hand on my shorts where my jumper pocket would usually be and realised my key card to the building was still in the car. "Just use mine," Katie shouted, her voice barely hearable over the rain.

When we finally got inside, I was completely drenched. My hair was dripping, and my clothes clung to me. "Um, I think you're gonna need to change-" Katie said, clearing her throat. I looked down and saw that my t-shirt was practically see-through at this point.

I tried to pull my shirt off, but the big cast on my hand got in the way. "Need some help?" Katie asked awkwardly. "Yeah, if you wouldn't mind," I said, laughing. Katie walked behind me and pulled my shirt over my head. "Ellie?" She asked, concerned. "Yeah?" I said, turning around. "Your back -" She tried to ask. "I'm going for a shower." I said, cutting her off.