The captain and me

Secret?

Leah's POV

I'm left standing in with Kiera and Lucy in the room having just watched y/n walk out, I can't blame her I practically got her dressed myself.
" you should go after her" Kiera knows me better than anyone here
"I can't " I lay down on the bed and let out a huge sigh
"It's okay you guys stay ill go" Lucy walks over to Kiera and kisses her goodbye before heading out to find y/n
"Right no bullshit what's going on, I thought something was up when you tackled her so hard in training but put it down to a little hazing of the new kid but when she was tackled in the game you would have been sent off if we didn't pull you away"
"I like her"
"Yeah no shit mate, what's the problem you've been in relationships in teams before"
"You remember what it was like after we won the Euros, our lives were put under the microscope, and our relationships were in the public eye" I was single when we won but every part of my life was turned upside down I couldn't hang out with friends without a story that I had a new girlfriend. Kiera and Lucy nearly broke up due to people claiming they were cheating, obviously they weren't but some people couldn't accept that the women's team did better so would try to tear us down.
" you know I do, it nearly broke us! So you're worried it will happen again?"
"Theres so much expectation on this team to win and I believe we can but I need to be focused on being a leader and captaining the team not just y/n"
"You've always put the weight of the team on your shoulders, win or lose we do it together Leah, there 22 other girls here and we would follow you anywhere"
"I don't know im good enough" I sit up and put my head in my hands Kiera is sitting on the other bed facing me.
"For the team or for her?"
"Both, either, I don't know! I saw red when that girl tackled her I was across the pitch before I knew what I was doing, I let everyone down"
" what I saw was a Captain running to the defence of her team mate and that's what everyone else saw too"
"I'm just not ready for the attention to be put my private life again"
"How about talking to y/n and explaining how you feel, you don't have to put it out for the world to see you can keep it a secret"
"That's if she'll talk to me again after pushing her away from kissing me"
" Ouch that's rough, Lucy will help talk her round she's pretty charming" her eyes light up when she talks about her girlfriend
"I'm glad you two worked it out and you're happy"
"Me too, right enough sappy chats let's get down to training we have a world cup to win remember"
"Ohh that little thing yeah?" Kiera has always been able to talk me off the ledge. She is underestimated on the pitch all the time but to me she's the best there is.

I head down to training with Kiera hoping to catch y/n on before we get out on the field but I see her, less and Lucy hiding behind one of the barriers. They're all whispering and shushing each other, I start to make my way over to them but I see their plan and let it play out. Tooney is about 20 foot away walking the perimeter of the pitch and is making her way towards the girls. When she gets next to them all three jump up and shout "TOONEY!" causing her to scream and chase them. I have to smile as Y/N is being chased by Tooney and is giggling as she jumps on her. This is what camp should be, having fun with people that know what pressure you're under and enjoying every minute. Just as I make my way closer Sarina calls for everyone to come in to start training.

After a few hours of drills and practice games and skill training I am ready to get out of the heat and into an ice bath. I try to catch her on the way in but Meado stops to talk to me
"Leah what's up I have barely spoken to you for days?"
"Sorry Beth been a bit crazy and our interviews always seem to be at opposite times"
"It's cool I just haven't had a chance to thank you for suggesting the room change, I know you and G have always been roommates but I just wanted to be able to have time to talk to her in private" I have always known they've had a thing for each other but Beth was dating Dan during lockdown and was heartbroken when they broke up.
"No worries, the kids not too bad to share with"
"Yeah she's doing really well I overheard Sarina saying she might start her next game, she's really excited about her"
" she's a great footballer and was overlooked during her youth team days"
"Plus she's not exactly hard on the eyes" Beth nudges me in the side, I try to keep a neutral face
"I'm just here to play football Beth nothing else"
"Suuuure you are skip" with that she left me standing alone out side the recovery room, had Beth noticed something between us or is she just messing with me because I'm single and Y/n is hot?

I go through the motions of ice then heat then ice to make it easier for my muscles after training. No physio for me today as fingers crossed, I am in better shape that I've ever been in, and I intend to keep it that way.

I head back up to the room to change before watching another game with the team downstairs. As I walk in y/n is on her bed reading, the last time I walked in on her reading it ended in a very fun way, I don't think this will go the same.
"Hey"  great start. She looks up at me with a blank expression
"Alright?" At least she's talking to me
"Look I'm sorry for this morning I should have handled that better"
" no shit, you pushed me away whilst I was kissing you and then told me to get dressed. Literally anyone that knocked on the door wouldn't have thought twice about seeing me like that we're in a football team half the girls walk around in just a sports bra and shorts"
"I wasn't thinking" she gets off the bed and walks over to me
"Are you ashamed of me?" I knew this was coming but it was like someone had punched me in the stomach looking into her eyes when she asked me that I could see she was hurt
"No of course I'm not ashamed"
"Then what? Because Lucy and Kiera knew before they even walked in here"
"I want you but I don't want the world getting involved" I step closer to her and take her hand
"The world?"
"You weren't around when we won the Euros but our lives were picked through looking for the slightest bit of gossip or drama that would make us look bad"
"You're worried ill make you look bad?" She let's go of my hand and turns around, I'm really not doing very well here
" no not at all, I'm worried that this, us, will become more of the focus of the media and not what we are doing in the tournament for women's football" she turns back to me and looks me in the eyes
"So what do you want? "
"You, but I don't want to share you ...yet!"
"I want you too Leah but can we really keep this between us?
"Only until we win the world cup"
"No pressure to do it this time round then?"
"Ahh easy we have you as our secret weapon" I close the distance between us and kiss her quickly before she has a chance to answer, she hesitates but kisses me back.

Suddenly there's a knock at the door and I feel her pull away, I pull her back into me and continue kissing her, I've learned my lesson and feel her smile against my lips
"You're being very cute but we should head downstairs to watch the game"
"Yes boss but only if you sit with me"
"Ahh I don't know im actually really
popular and can't be seen hanging out with the captain, talk about teachers pet" she laughs as she walks to the door opening it to Beth and Georgia
"What took you so long? Georgia asks as all 4 of us walk down the hall
"Ohh Leah was asking me tips on being funny in interviews but I told her you can't teach natural humour" damn this girl I will get get back another time.  I just roll my eyes and continue walking behind them, best way to stare at y/n without anyone noticing.