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

Four

It was finally Thursday, the day that Sarah would be going on her mystery date. It was a long day, but it was a long day that had a lot go on. Training was early in the day, but it was nice to get it out of the way. The City lads were able to rest up and get ready for another trip down to London for their first Premier League match of the season against West Ham. Normally, Sarah would be preparing for another weekend with Laura, but things were different. 

Initially, Laura and Sarah made for a chill night just to hang out at Laura's place and watch movies, especially when the City game was at 12:30 the next day and when Laura knew Sarah would be going out the night before. However, it all changed for Laura when both of her brothers and their respected spouses and children were coming for the weekend. It was going to be Sergio Jr's first time to London, and of course, Sergio and Pilar wanted a London resident to show them a good time for their son. What better way then to spend it with a family member? 

Of course, Sarah backed out of seeing Laura when she had been told. There was no way that she was going to deal with any awkwardness or bullshit. Pep always advised the players, the physio team, and any of the staff not to have any stress right before a game, and that was a high-stress situation for Sarah. She needed to be on top of her game for the early afternoon game on Saturday and having to deal with the witch was not going to help at all.

As for her date, Sarah was not that stressed about it. She was rather excited for it. Of course, there were a little bit of nerves to it. It came with all dates, but John kept reassuring her that it was all going to be okay. It was an opportunity that could go really well for her. There was a good feeling to it, and she had a lot of time in between training and the actual date to prepare.

For the early part of her afternoon, Sarah spent her time at Arndale shopping center with her close friend, Zara. She had only known Zara for about a year now, but they hit it off nicely. The two had met on a whim in a Cafe Nero one day near Arndale and just talked. It seemed like Sarah was always close friends with someone related to a centreback as Zara was the cousin of Mats Hummels of Dortmund and Germany. She was passionate, protective, and loving. She was engaged to Victor Lindelof of United, which would work out nicely if this date went well.

"Fella! You really need to look great tonight!" the German girl had told Sarah after they got coffee and headed to Arndale. Little to Sarah's knowledge, Zara knew who the date was tonight, and she couldn't be any happier. She met Harry and thought he would be wonderful for Sarah. She knew what Sarah went through and knew she needed someone that would be really good to her. Harry seemed nice enough for a job like that. 

As for Sarah, that was obvious that she needed to look good. She didn't care that this guy thought she was beautiful, because she needed to make an impression always. "I don't even know what to wear. It's not that fancy of a date." she pointed out. Zara always had ideas though. "You never wear dresses, so a nice simple casual dress. Something darker." she told her. Sarah knew she could usually count on someone like Zara. It was nice to have a friend to shop with, because, even though she loved Laura to death, Laura hated shopping. 

"Like a blue?" Sarah asked Zara. "I always thought a red would look nice on you too." Zara commented with a smile. The two were around one of the entrances to the mall portion of the shopping center when they came across the Adidas store, where pictures Manchester United players were in the windows to advertise their home kit. The Adidas store here was huge on United merch, and it only made Zara stop in her trash.

"HOLY COW! Vic looks so hot in that picture." she practically drooled over the man that she was marrying, and Sarah could only shake her head and laugh. "Well, he definitely knows that you love him." she commented before aiming her eyes to the window next to it. It surprised her as it advertised the new shirt that just came in for United's new #5, Harry Maguire. It was a moment that made her jaw drop. "He did not." she whispered under her breath.