One day I'll have it all. // Williamson

Boot room meeting

"...why are we in the boot room?" I asked while Beth closed the door behind us.

"Cause we need to talk," Katie said, shrugging and crossing her arms.

"Can't we talk somewhere where it doesn't smell like feet?"

Katie grinned mischievously, glancing around the boot room with a playful twinkle in her eye. "Nope. It's the official private meeting room."

I sighed, resigned to the peculiar choice of location, and sat down on one of the benches, facing Katie and Beth. The air was heavy with the distinct odor of cleats and sweaty gear.

Beth leaned against a row of lockers, her expression serious. "We've been observing some things, Valentina," she began, her tone carrying a hint of seriousness. I furrowed my brows, wondering what observations they had made.

"What are we talking about here?" I asked, and Katie raised a playful eyebrow.

"You know what we're talking about," Katie said, and Beth nodded in agreement. I took a deep breath, running a hand through my hair.

"It's this about Leah and I?" I asked, and Beth immediately frowned.

"You and Leah? What about you and Leah?" She asked, and I immediately blemished, before stuttering;

"Nothing. Nothing. I-hum, what is this about, then?"

"No, no, no. You've started talking. We want to know. What about you and Leah?" Beth asked, and Katie glared at me so hard I actually got scared for a second.

"Nothing. Just, we spent the day together yesterday, and I thought maybe you wanted to know like, what we did and stuff." I lied. Lied so hard. This was definitely not what I was thinking in the first place. And I was not a good liar.

Beth and Katie exchanged a quick glance, skepticism evident in their expressions. Katie leaned forward, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized my response.

"We wanted to talk to you about your birthday, idiot. We know it's in on Saturday."

My eyes widened in surprise as Katie's words sank in. Birthday? I had completely forgotten that my birthday was approaching.

"Oh," I mumbled, my cheeks warming. "You don't have to bother about that."

Beth smirked, crossing her arms. "But now that you started talking about Leah..."

"Right," Katie chimed in, her eyes scrutinizing my reaction. "What's going on between you two?"

I sighed, realizing that my attempt to steer the conversation away from Leah had backfired. Beth and Katie had an uncanny ability to see through my deflections. And maybe I wasn't hiding them all that well either.

"We just... enjo-" I got interrupted by the sound of the door flying open, Leah appearing inside the room.

"What the hell's going on here? Why are you having a boot room meeting?"

Katie and Beth exchanged glances, a silent communication passing between them.

"Valentina's birthday is coming up, and we were discussing plans," Beth stated, trying to maintain an air of casual conversation.

Leah's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and her gaze shifted to me. "Oh? When's the big day?" she inquired, clearly interested.

I hesitated for a moment, caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events. "January 28th," I replied, my cheeks still tinged with a hint of embarrassment.

"And why did that require a boot room meeting? Couldn't you talk about it in the locker room or something? Doesn't sound like private boot room matter."