Better With(out) You (Sequel to Second Thoughts)

Prologue

May 2019

Things had started to seem calm in England. The league season had finished up and the craziness from the title race and Champions League had finished up. What was next was the Nations League for the the English National Team. A lot of the players were coming to the Three Lions on a high note as either Domestic Quadruple Champions or Champions League Winners. There were so many good vibes going around. 

John Stones was especially feeling the positive energy that was going around. Not only had he won four trophies with Manchester City this year, but he saw his older sister, Sarah, start to return to a peaceful state of mind. She seemed so much happier than she did 10 months ago, and he knew getting her out of Spain was the best choice for her. She came to Manchester to be with him and work for his team as well as the Three Lions, all while taking to time to tackle the battle that had been going on in her head. It was taking time, but she was a lot better. She was so much better.

He loved seeing her interact so easily with his national team members as they trained for the Nations League semis. He loved that she was able to open up and become close with them. It was a new life that he had brought her into. It was a life that she would have never had with that cunt in Spain. Yes, John saw Sergio Ramos as cunt. As someone who caused damage to someone he loved, John had a tainted view of him.

That view seemed to spread across the Three Lions, especially that one day. John had caught notice of it during that one day of training....

"They're talking about Ramos."John's best friend, Kyle Walker, had stated at one point. Of course, John never knew whether to talk the right back seriously, because Kyle wore this childish smile on his face, but John knew it was  serious by the tone of his voice.

"Who are? The Liverpool players? I thought they would be over that." John looked at Kyle curiously. The English Liverpool players were mature enough to get over what happened to Mo Salah, so John was confused. However, they were dragged back into the conversation as it seemed. Kyle physically shifted John so he could the likes of Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold speaking with Harry Maguire. The two Reds looked a little amused, but it confused John. 

"Just yesterday he was talking to Joe Gomez about the same subject." Kyle explained as the giant Leicester centreback had thanked them with a bit of a smirk. Harry was never one to get all sneaky like that, so this was unusual for John to see, especially when they were good friends. "Why is he so interested in that Spanish cunt all of a sudden? What does he need all of this information for?" 

With a childish grin, Kyle was about to open his mouth and say something he knew too well, but Harry came over with a proud smile on his face. "Why are you so chipper, mate? I think the scouse lads are too amused by you." John asked with a stern look on his face. That look of pride never left Harry's face. He was too happy by what he heard, but he knew his words were about to rock John's world. 

"John, we're pretty good friends, right?" Harry asked. Kyle could hardly contain his excitement as John looked at the one they called slabhead skeptically. Harry was a really good guy, a guy Harry could trust, but what was he up to? "Yes, carry on and tell me what is going on." John told him with his arms crossed. This was the one time John was afraid of what Harry would tell him. 

Blushing a little, Harry confessed why he went around for a little confidence builder. "Alright, is it okay if I try and win your sister's heart? There's no bullshit behind it. I just really like her and I love being around her. I would be the luckiest to be the one that gives her everything that she never got from that cunt. Seriously, she's one of a kind, John. She's beautiful inside and out." 

Initially, the bad memories of Sarah being with professional footballers crossed John's mind. He remembered what James Rodriguez had done to her last summer, but there was also the scar of what Sergio did. Although, those were two guys that John was not close with and didn't have time to build trust with. Harry was another story. Harry was a guy to have really good intentions always. He never did much wrong, except when he needed to on the pitch. The thought kept replaying over and over in John's head as they were walking inside of the training facility as the session had ended.

Finally, he came to a decision. He realized how good of a friend Harry had been both to him and to Sarah, especially within this last year. He realized he can trust Harry with his sister's heart. He knew what Harry was going to get into, but he knew it could be handled well. 

"Harry, I don't even need to have a full-blown conversation with you about this, but go ahead. You know the drill." he told his friend. Immediately, Harry lit up like a Christmas tree and started bouncing around. Nothing made him happier than to hear those words. He had a chance with Sarah Stones. 

Everything seemed like a celebration until they stumbled upon Sarah. It seemed as if she was doing an interview, but it looked like a positive thing. She didn't seem bothered, and that is what mattered. The three lads that were standing together decided to stand aside and listen. 

"Yeah, you know it is a lot of fun to be with Manchester City. The team chemistry is incredible, and I feel a lot less stressed than when I was at Real Madrid. I am really happy here too with the men's national team. They are a great bunch, and it made it easier knowing I would be working with friends. It's been a fun ride here." she explained. The three lads to the side were just all ready for shade to be thrown, and that moment would come with the next question.

"You say it's less stressful than at Real Madrid, and there's been recent trouble in the dressing room. What's your though on that?"

Sarah only shook her head and smiled.

"I do love the Real Madrid players that I worked with. They will always be like family to me. One thing, there is just underlying reasons that caused the tension between the players. One of those reasons is what caused me to leave, but I feel like I do not need to share that. People may know what happened, but it's something I moved on from and just don't want to waste my energy talking about." 

"Good girl." John whispered. The three of them smiled as Sarah was thanked and dismissed by the interviewer. The person interviewing her then turned to the men and smiled. "I know you three are all close with her. Any comments?" 

A wide smile came across Harry's face. To John and Kyle, that meant trouble. They slowly backed away and let Harry get in front of the cameras and watched from afar. He did what he felt like he needed to do, and that was stand up for Sarah.

"I've been friends with Sarah for over a year, but I have gotten to be pretty close with her. Her time at Real Madrid had some negative effects on her. She gave so much to that team, and she was a reason they got through so much. I believe that one of the roots to keeping a team together is the captain. Real Madrid's captain? Yeah, he was close with Sarah. There was a lot that he did wrong. There was so much that the team did wrong. There were issues that caused Sarah to leave. Did anyone stand up for her? No. Not even their captain, who was supposedly her best friend. If they all did love her, then someone would have stood up for her. As a leader, Ramos should have understood that he needed to stand up for her if she wanted to stay, but he didn't. The Man City team loves her. We love her here on the national team. We all stand up for each other, because we are more of a family than Real Madrid is. That is all I have to say."

Part one: done.

_____

Sergio Ramos kept being tagged. He kept being tagged in the same article with the same video in it. Everyone was talking about how he was being attacked, but also being exposed. He got called a bad leader for letting their best physio go. He had to see this about. He finally opened up the article headlined, "Stones on a better path, Maguire speaks up on the issue."

"Who the fuck is Harry Maguire?" he whispered to himself before watching the video of him being interviewed. It suddenly came back to him. This guy crashed Sergio's wedding with Sarah. It was full-team Sarah here, but he knew that this guy was right. He hated how he made Sergio look like an ass for it. Where in his right mind did he think it was okay to say this? Although, it hit Sergio.

He realized that he might have made a huge mistake.