𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞 ★ leah williamson

5 - i wanna dance with somebody!

"Ellie stop worrying, it'll be fine", Meado promised me, putting both her hands on my shoulders and shaking me slightly. I huffed.

Her and Viv had been the first ones to arrive, after Leah, who had spent a bit of her afternoon helping me with the decorations and sitting with me on the floor as we each did our makeup. It had been crucial to have her with me as to not overthink the evening, but now, as Flo Rida was playing via my speaker system and Leah finished up the makeshift bar on my kitchen island, I was nervous.

"What would you like to drink?", I asked both Beth and Viv as Vivianne took off her girlfriend's jacket.

"Just a coke for me", the Dutch woman hummed, but Beth lay her arm over my shoulder, guiding me to the kitchen.

"What have you got?", she asked cheekily as she stared at the countless bottles and glasses placed on the counter. I looked at our menu for the day, slightly worried this party was going to go overboard and I'd spent tomorrow scraping throw-up off my floor.

"Uhm, we've got Malibu, vodka, wine, jaeger, beer, korn and some mixers", I explained.

"I'll have whatever's in that glass of yours", she decided and I quickly poured her a glass of Malibu with cherry juice. I added the liquor graciously, not wanting her to scrap early on but anxious the mood wasn't going to be good as well. The girls had to be at least tipsy today, otherwise this would all just be a big mistake.

"Delicious", Beth smiled as she took her first sip, but her expression changed soon after. "Strong", she added. Leah came up behind me, placing her hand in the small of my back and laughing at Beth's face.

"Yeah, she's got that habit overseas, apparently." Leah gave me a glance from the side, noticing the glass in my hand was almost empty.

I walked back towards the living room. My apartment was lit dimly, with a star projector making little golden lights appear on my walls and ceiling. There were fairy lights strewn all over the place, but not in the typical homey way. It still looked cool for a party. Chips and other snacks were displayed on all of the surfaces, making sure the people ate enough not to end up on my floor, but I was still nervous.

"You'll be fine. It'll be fun", Leah promised once more, taking a sip of her wine.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right", I answered, sitting down onto the sofa. Before I even reached the cushion, the doorbell rang and I caught myself standing again, walking over to welcome more of the team- my team, into the house. Blinding Lights by The Weeknd was playing as I opened the entrance to my flat, and saw a crowd of people waiting in the hall. Most of the faces were hidden, as they held up a blanket of some sort, that read "WELCOME #8 - Ellie Weber" along with the Arsenal logo on the side. Tears came to my eyes as I finally made out one of the people standing beneath it, and immediately took Lotte into my arms.

"Thank you", I smiled into her shoulder, as she let go of the fabric to close her own arms around me.

"You silly girl, didn't think we'd show up here without a present?"

I laughed as I hugged Katie next, and soon, all of my other teammates. They'd apparently waited for each other in my hallway to make a large entrance- and they'd certainly succeeded. Leah had hung the banner on the large wall of my living room, which I now understood why she'd wanted to keep it empty, before making sure each of the girls had a drink in their hand.

The mood changed quickly, as most of the girls fell into a conversation or hummed along to the music, which they didn't realise was German.

After a few more glasses, I found myself near the beer pong table Leah and I had set up on my dining table, rearranging the red and blue cups.