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𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑻𝑬𝑵
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When Ben showed up at training that same day, he had managed to make it bang on time. Before training had even had a chance to start, James was right next to his best friend and bombarding him with questions and Ben found it to be rather annoying.
James wasn't trying to be annoying. He was just a naturally curious person and he wanted to find out all of the 'tea' as the blond boy continued to call it. He needed to find out what had happened between Ben and Willow so that he knew whether to continue with his best man's speech or completely scrap it. James Maddison was like an over-excited and boisterous puppy and Ben Chilwell just wished that it would stop.
"James, we made up, okay? That's all there is to know." Ben sighed as he kicked a football to his best mate, wishing that he would shut up.
Despite making up with Willow and clearing the air after his outburst, Ben was still unsure about the whole situation. He had put his trust in his girlfriend and her lawyer friend but he still wasn't happy about the plan. He had felt that in the midst of all of the chaos that was currently surrounding them, nobody had asked him how he felt about the plan. Ben knew that he wasn't the one that was to be in an arranged marriage to please his parents but the marriage was still bound to affect him.
His girlfriend would technically be married and knowingly having an affair. He wouldn't be able to live in the same house as her since she would be living with Brandon and he didn't want that. Call him selfish but he wanted to be able to wake up and see her every morning, not have to sneak out of her bedroom window like they were teenagers. Ben was scared of what the media would say about this all if they got their hands on the information. They would portray Willow and himself as the villains and he really didn't want her to go through that.
Ben said it time and time again. The situation was beyond complicated and some part of him wished that it wasn't.
"You don't want her to go through with the plan, do you?" James watched as his best friend was deep in thought. The two friends had known each other for years and so James was able to read Ben like a book.
"Of course I don't." Ben scoffed at the stupidity of James' question. Ben didn't think it could be made any clearer that he didn't want Willow to marry Brandon. Any person in his position would feel the same way.
James could see that there was something more to it. He knew how desperately Ben wanted Willow to remain his and only his but the midfielder knew that there had to be something else that was bothering him to make him this snappy and irritable. It wasn't like him. In fact, Ben was usually the one who was always smiling at training but the scowl on his face told his teammates not to mess with him today.
"What's really going on, Ben? There's something else that's bothering you." James pulled his best mate to the side as they had finished their first set of drillsand were getting themselves a water break to replenish some of the hydration that they had lost due to sweating.
Ben inhaled deeply as he racked his brain for the words that he needed to express what he wanted to say.
"Is it worth it?" Ben questioned, catching his best friend by surprise,
"Is it worth all of this trouble? Maybe I should let her get married since she seems so keen. Maybe that's what's meant to happen." The footballer shrugged as he took a large sip of water to quench his thirst.
James couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. He was in a state of disbelief. How could his best friend possibly say that about Willow? He just couldn't understand it or wrap his head around it.
"Ben, what are you talking about? Of course it's worth it!" James exclaimed as they rolled their hamstrings out before the next set of drills. It seemed absolutely ridiculous that Ben would even dare to think about it.
Ben knew about Willow's circumstances after their third date. She had opened up to him, not wanting to take things further unless he was aware of her situation. He appreciated her honesty and decided to stick with her, truly believing that they would be able to get through it together when the time came but now, Ben was struggling to see a way through this.
"Ben, let me ask you something," James started, looking at his best friend with a serious expression.
"Do you love her?" The question took Ben by surprise. He didn't even need to think about the answer.
Ben knew how he felt about Willow, he always had. When he met his girlfriend for the first time, he felt his heart stop in his chest.
"Of course I do-" He started but wasn't given the chance to finish by James.
"Then don't give up at the first hurdle. It's not going to be easy but you'll get through it." James told his best friend as they headed back onto the pitches for the next lot of drills.
James couldn't let Ben give up on his relationship with Willow. Those two were meant to be together and he would never forgive himself for allowing Ben to make a mistake as big as letting her go.
He had found it difficult at the start of his and Poppy's relationship. Winning over her dad was a little tougher than anticipated but he eventually came round, wanting only the best for his daughter.
"Thanks, I appreciate it." Ben gave James one last smile of appreciation before starting in the drills. He could really do without Brendan getting on at him.
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a/n: just to reiterate that this was written when Ben was still at Leicester and I'm not going to change it to him being at Chelsea because it messes with the whole storyline and character dynamics and I'm not ready to go through that when writing this caused me enough stress as it is.
Let's expose ourselves. How many drafts do you currently have? It doesn't matter if you're never going to publish them etc.
- I used to have over 100 on this account but I went through them and I think I'm now down to 43! Not all of them are actual books because I used to write plot ideas in my drafts before moving over to my phone notes and 9 of those are books that at one point or another have been published and removed. I currently have 15 football-related story drafts :/
