All or Nothing

Match Day

My first match day with Arsenal.
60,000 people.
I'd be lying if I said the nerves weren't taking over.

We had Chelsea and we knew it was going to be a tough game.

As I sat in the dressing room I felt a pair of hands grasp my shoulders.

"Nervous?" Leah whispered in my ear, sending goosebumps down my body.

"Yeh just a tad", I said rolling my eyes.

"You'll smash it", she said, kissing behind my ear.

Jonas came in and gave us the game plan. He said I'd probably come on in the second half depending on how the game was going.

As I stepped out into the stadium, I could hear the roar of the crowd. The fans were incredible and were already singing chants for the players. Lacasse's chant was my personal favourite, but don't tell Katie or Leah that.

I sat on the subs bench and watched the girls as they kicked off.

The first 30 minutes were tough. Chelsea were dominant as always and we could barely string 5 passes together. Then, just as we thought it couldn't get any worse, a ball is whipped in and Sam Kerr heads it in the back of the net. She does her signature backflip celebration and is haunting the Emirates once again. The half ends with Arsenal very much on the back foot.

HT: Arsenal 0-1 Chelsea

"What do Arsenal need to do in this second half Alex?" asked Ian Wright.

"I think we need to see more aggression, more passing plays and possibly some movement from the subs bench..." Alex Scott replied.

Jonas ran through the tactics again and told me to get changed. This is it. My Arsenal debut.

I stood on the touchline getting ready to go on. I could feel my heart thumping in my chest as I ran onto the pitch.

We kicked off and there seemed to be something different about the team. We were getting into the right spaces, creating good chances and it looked promising.

The ball was kicked out for a corner and McCabe stood over it. She swung it in and it curled beautifully to go into the back of the net straight from the corner. We all looked in disbelief as she celebrated with the fans. 1-1. Game on.

It was the 87th minute and Manu kicked the ball towards me. I sprinted past Cuthbert and was travelling towards the Chelsea goal. There's always those moments in football when you feel like time has frozen, and this was one of them. It was me versus the keeper. She came out and tried to sweep the ball from under my feet, but I was too quick. I took it round her and slotted it into the goal. 2-1. I ran over to the fans and jumped on the advertising boards. I can't believe that just happened.

The team came running over and congratulated me.
"Not too bad eh Banksy", Leah shouted.
"Great take girl!" Beth also screamed.

The game ended 2-1 Arsenal. It's safe to say Emma Hayes was fuming, but let's be honest, when is she not.

We were doing a lap of the field when I noticed a girl going mental in the crowd. She was holding up a sign that read, 'Ellie Banks can I please have a picture!'

I ran over to her and asked her name.
She was called Maddie and was the sweetest little thing.
I took a picture with her and also gave her my boots. I loved the idea of inspiring the next generation to play football, especially girls. I felt as though we'd been downtrodden for years and now with the success of England and the WSL, we were finally taking the right steps to encourage the youth.

One noisy coach journey and a few drinks later...

We arrived at a club after the win. I mean we just beat the previous year's winners, so why not let off some steam?

I was dancing away when I feel hands on my waist. I knew who it was, it was the same grip she had on my shoulders earlier.
"Hey Le", I turned round and my voice sounded small.
"Hey you, you played great today!"

"Didn't do too bad yourself", I joked, not making eye contact.

"Do you want to go somewhere a bit quieter?" she asked. I nodded. Why couldn't I get my words out?

She took me to a different room in the club. It was dark and empty, but you could still hear the music and felt the vibrations in the floor.

"You look stunning tonight", Leah said. We finally made eye contact and I couldn't look away. Her blue eyes were magnetic and were pulling me in.

"Yeh... you too Le", my voice faltered. I knew what was going to happen, there's just something about her.

Our lips connected. It was slow and passionate. All of the tension I didn't even know I was feeling was let out of my body. But then realisation hit me.

"Stop. STOP!" I shouted, pushing her back with force, "I have a boyfriend! You don't get to do this Leah, not now."

With that, I sprinted out the room with tears in my eyes. I couldn't believe I did that to Arthur. He'd been nothing but good to me. I had to speak to him. I'd let him down.

But...

I couldn't stop thinking about the kiss with Leah. It was everything and more. She made me feel so much but so little at the same time. She consumed my every thought. She took away all of my worries, my anxiety, my pain.

Maybe she even made me feel more than Arthur ever has. But, he was still my boyfriend who I loved dearly.

I ran out of the club and called a taxi. I reached my door and a note was attached to it.

'Come to the bedroom... x x'

I recognised the handwriting straight away. This was the worst possible timing.

I trudged up the stairs and opened the bedroom door.

There he was. Sat on the bed in the middle of an assortment of rose petals. Candlelight filled the room and a sweet smell was in the air.

"Hey baby..." he whispered.

This was going to be a long night...

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Hello!

Sorry for the wait, I was on holiday!

Not sure how to play out the Arthur storyline yet.

Would you like to see more tension build up between Leah and Ellie with a possible love interest for Leah returning?

Let me know!

Hope you enjoyed x