Alessia Russo x Ella Toone - The Winner Takes It All, The Loser Has to Fall.

Building Me A Home.

Just across the hallway, Kiera and Lucy curl up together on their bed.

"You think they'll figure it out?" Kiera yawns. She'd decided to forgo her shower, opting for a few minutes more in bed with her lover.

"Nah, they're all so dense. Don't think Tooney will realize Less was with a girl last night unless Less tells her straight up. Can't see her doing that anytime soon, poor thing's so scared, bless. Still, I think Ella's blind if she can't see that Lessi likes her." Lucy responds. She stretches out her aching limbs and presses a kiss to Kiera's cheek before rolling out of bed. Kiera snorts. 

"Honestly. Don't know how Els still thinks Alessia's straight after their dancing last night. Practically shagging on the dance floor, they were. Did you see how far Less's hand was up Tooney's thigh and shorts? Any higher and it'd be public indecency." She jokes. "Oh, my head's banging."

"Mhm, those two are hopeless. And no idea how Lessi doesn't realize Ella's into her! Like, hello, she was literally grinding on you last night, it's not that hard." Lucy giggles at her own immature joke. "Ha, hard." She pulls off her pyjama shirt and starts to search for a clean one to put on.Her lover, still lounging on the bed, rolls her eyes. 

"Yeah, very funny, babe. You're a five-year-old in a 32-year-old's body, I know. Now come back here." Kiera reaches out a hand and pulls her girlfriend crashing back down onto the bed, rolling on top of her and pressing an open-mouthed kiss to the defender's neck. "We're winners, baby. I'm not done with you yet."

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Alessia and Ella split up as they walk into the packed, ketchup-smelling breakfast room. It's an ugly fucking room, Alessia thinks. All too dark grey carpets and too-bright lights. Predictably, it's full of girls in dark glasses, nursing headaches and almost falling asleep at the bacon-butty-littered tables.

"Alright, girls?" Ella sits down with a thump, "How's them hangovers?"

Lucy responds with a groan and a raised middle finger as she sits heavily down onto her seat. Her hair is rumpled, lips swollen, bitten red, and Kiera looks suspiciously proud.

"Alright then!" Ella adds cheerfully. "Not good. Here, sit next to me, Less." She shuffles her chair over with a screeching noise that has half the girls swearing rather violently at them.

Alessia's own head twinges, despite the aspirin this morning and further two Paracetamol, taken with a half-swig of vodka, even earlier this morning at Lily's place.

She forcefully plops herself onto her chair, clutching onto her (undeniably revolting) sickeningly sweet jam on toast, even as her burning stomach desperately screams at her to eat, she can't help but obsess over the  overload of calories on her plate. A nightmare of her own making - the bread (200), with the creamy, calorie-packed butter (142), dollops of sugary jam (104) and fresh orange juice (98), not to mention the apple- She clamps down these nagging thoughts and soldiers on. After all, she'd just scored the winning penalty in the World Cup, she needed the energy, Mary had insisted. 

But would Mary think so if she saw all the fat, piling up on her, choking her lungs, pushing out her figure until she was bulbous, grotesque, and pig-like, barely able to walk, let alone play football? She had to be good enough, she had to be fast enough, and lighter was faster, lighter was better.

A voice breaks through her disordered, tangled thoughts.

"Here she is!" Leah cheers, "The star of the match!"

"Leah..." Alessia groans, feeling heat flood her cheeks. "You're so so embarrassing."Jill's head flies quickly up from its previous position, face down on the table. She stares at Alessia with narrowed eyes and takes off her sunglasses. 

"What're you wearing that jumper for, Alessia?"

Alessia feigns innocence "Bit cold, is all, Jill. Why're you asking?"

Jill laughs "Yeah, just cold in 20-degree weather, of course. Hiding something, Miss Russo? Any romantic endeavors you want to share with us, huh? Any handsome men?"

"No, Jill, nothing." Alessia laughs. "No men, just a bit cold."

"Yeah, Jill, that's what I said." She fakes anger. "D'you need your ears cleaning, old woman?" A round of gasps and laughs rise from the table around them.

"She's got you there, Jill!" Tooney cackles, "Unless you need a hearing aid to hear that too?"

"Yeah, Jill, I think you're seeing things. Need some glasses, grandma?" Lucy mumbles, face down in her egg and bacon butty.

"Mm, honestly, Scotty." Kiera teases. "Going senile in your old age and retirement?"

"All of you are awful and I hate you." The older midfielder groans.

"What did I do?" Ella butts in. "I'm just sitting here, enjoying my bacon sarnie and all of yous just go for me!"

"Oi! You were going after poor Jill too, so don't be giving me any of that! Acting all innocent, when you're as bad as the rest of us!" Alessia grins. Tooney sticks her tongue out and flips Alessia off. 

"Actual arsehole." She drapes herself over Alessia's shoulder, leaning down to steal a bite of her jammy toast.

"Oi!" The blonde nudges her, "Get your grubby hands off my food, I won a World Cup yesterday, you know!" But, inwardly, she breathes a sigh of relief. less food that had to be eaten by her, more calories for Tooney, who wasn't a grubby pig like her and actually deserved the food. She continues. 

"I didn't do anything, my arse! Stealing a poor woman's only food source!" She clutches her heart dramatically.

Ella raises her hands in the air, laughing and returning to her seat. 

"Ok, maybe I'm bad, but what about Hannah? Done nothing wrong, she has, and Jill's just going after all o' us."

Alessia looks pointedly over at Hannah, who's fast asleep in her cereal. "Don't think she really cares.""

Ok, well." Tooney defends herself. "Shut up." She steals a chunk of Alessia's apple and flips her the middle finger. "Arsehole."

"Lightweight."

"You take that back-" Ella dives over the table to grab Alessia in a half-hug, half-headlock.

"Don't know why I put up with you, honestly." Alessia huffs from beneath the shorter girl's arms.

"Aw, you know you love me, Lessi." Tooney crows through a mouthful of apple and a beaming smile.

"Yeah." Alessia risks a glance up at the midfielder, gaze softening. "I do." She swallows the mouthful of dry toast and sugary jam. It sticks, clumped together, in her sore throat.