As always Manu and I are one of the first ones in the cabin. Only Lukasz and Dan are there already. I say hello to them and then start changing. I'm very happy right now. After the game against Braunschweig on Tuesday I'll fly to the US to visit my family. I have seen my mum a couple of weeks ago but I haven't seen my dad and my siblings for a few months and so I'm very happy to fly home. That's why I can't stop smiling while changing but as Jude walks in my smile is gone. My best friend looks terrible. He looks like he hasn't been sleeping for days and like he's about to cry. Since there are a few players who's seats in the cabin are between ours I can't ask him what's wrong right now but I will do that later. He's my best friend but to be honest I feel more than just that for him. Jude is such an amazing person and seeing him hurt is very painful.

Jude's POV

Why does Corona have to fuck up everything? It destroyed so many things this year and now I'm not even allowed to fly home for Christmas. If my mother who usually lives with me would be here that wouldn't be a big problem but she already went to Birmingham a couple of days ago and so I'll have to spend Christmas alone. That really pulls me down and that affects my performance in training today. I totally fuck up and that frustrates me even more. After training I just wanna go home without talking to anyone. I take a quick shower and then get dressed before I leave the cabin. Mats took me here but I don't want to talk to him on the way home and so I walk straight towards the bus stop. A bus that stops near my apartment will go in five minutes. On my way to the bus stop I hear someone shout my name but I just ignore it. I even ignore the noises of someone running after me but as someone taps on my shoulder I can't pretend that I haven't noticed anything anymore. I turn around and see my best friend Gio in front of me. I avoid eye contact and try to smile while saying: "Oh hey Gio, what do you want? I gotta get my bus." He lifts his left eyebrow and says: "Stop pretending that you're okay and tell me what's wrong. You're clearly feeling bad and I don't like that. I want to help you, Jude. Please tell me what's wrong." While saying that he puts his hands at my upper arms and looks at me. I know that he won't stop asking until I tell him about it and so I sigh before saying: "I don't want to talk about that here. If you come home with me I will tell you there, okay?" Gio nods, hugs me for a second and then asks: "Do you still want to take the bus? We could also ask Manu to drive us to your apartment, he just left the cabin." I decide for the second possibility and Manu agrees and drives us to my apartment. During the drive Gio's and my hands lightly touch which makes my heart beat faster. We are best friends but I've felt more than that for a long time already.
As we arrive at the building I'm living in we thank Manu and enter the building. In my apartment we take out jackets and shoes off and put out bags aside. I make some tea, then we sit down at the sofa. "Jude, now tell me what's wrong. I can't see you that hurt.", Gio says and softly puts his hand on mine. The light touch gives me goosebumps all over my body. I need a moment to find my words and then start talking. "This morning I got the message that from now on there aren't any flights between Great Britain and Germany because of the Corona mutation which means that I can't go home for Christmas. And since my mum flew there a few days ago already I will spend Christmas alone. And that makes me so fucking sad. I've been looking forward to seeing my brother and my dad for weeks already and now I won't even see my mum.", I tell Gio and while saying that tears start running down my face. Gio crawls closer to me and pulls me into a tight hug. I put my face against his shoulder and start crying into his hoodie. He slowly strokes over my back to calm me down. As I've calmed down enough to stop crying Gio takes my face into his hands and pulls it up a little so he can look me in the eyes. "I am so sorry that you have to spend Christmas without your family. But you won't have to spend it alone. If you want to stay here I'll stay here with you but if you want to you can also come to New York with me. I'd love to have you with me and my family would like that too. My mum loves you and I'm sure my dad and sibling would love you as well.", he says. I'm speechless. He would miss Christmas with his family or take me to his home just so I don't have to be alone. That's so nice. "Really?", I ask and smile at him, my eyes filled with tears again. Gio nods, says: "Of course. You're very important to me Jude and I don't want you to feel bad." and pulls me close to his cheast again. I happily snuggle up to him and after a moment of silence whisper: "I'd love to fly to New York with you. Thank you so much Gio. You're the best." He feathers a kiss on my forehead and I sigh happily. I feel so good and safe in his arms. "Gio? Can you stay here today? I don't want to be alone.", I say and nervously and look up to him. Gio smiles at me and says: "Of course."
We spend most of the day cuddling. I totally enjoy that. And who knows, maybe there'll be a romantic minute where I can tell him about my feelings when we're in the US. That would be perfect.