× Mercury

The Royal Duo, a couple on the field and off.

If you were watching the game, either from the stands or the telly, then you know what I'm talking about. And even if you weren't, you sure know about it by now. The famous duo Lynn Mercury and Niall Horan of the London Lions have just been outed! No one knows for sure how long this little relationship has been going on, but it was only a matter of time until it did.

During half time on the game against Cambridge University, the big screens in the arena played a rather steamy video of Mercury and Horan. I won't get into detail, but it was verging on rated R. There have been some speculations as to who would do this to the two star players, going as far as accusing the two main subjects of the video themselves, but no one yet has to confess to such an act.

Everyone knows of the rule their coach had since Mercury had joined the team: any infatuations are forbidden. So naturally it was bound to happen. The only question left is, what's going to happen to Mercury and Horan now that the world knows what they have been doing behind closed doors?

I threw the local magazine down on the floor and sunk further into the bed.

I didn't think Niall wanted me to find his stash of media because of all the bad things they might have to say, but it was hard not to if he accidentally leaves it out on top of his desk.

Honestly, this past week has been great. I mean it sucks that everyone knows what happened and that I'm unofficially kicked off the team, but going to the cabin with Niall and spending those days doing nothing but stay in bed was equivalent to Heaven.

At first it was hard, I couldn't even step out of the room without being catcalled or slut shamed. It didn't help that the room I was stepping out of was Niall's, but it wasn't like I could go back to my room, not with Chloe there. I could stay with Jace, just until this all blows over (if it blows over), but this was where I wanted to be - with Niall. Even if he wasn't here, at least I could smell him on the sheets and his shirts that I wore.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. That had been pretty common the first few hours when the video first showed on the big screen, reporters wanting the juicy details to please their bosses. But that had stopped days ago.

Swinging my legs over the bed, I stretched and stood up and strolled to the door, thinking that it was probably Jace or maybe even Niall who had forgotten his room key. But I wasn't expecting to see a blonde head waiting on the other side of the door.

Abby wasn't even able to open her mouth before I started closing it shut again.

"No wait!" She shouted, sticking her foot out to stop me. "Please, hear me out. I know I'm the last person you want to see right now, but please let me talk."

I knew the world had stopped on its axis when Abby Moor had come to see me, and from the sounds of it, to have an actual civil conversation. Her short blonde hair was pinned back with fancy twists and she wore a long, soft green dress down to her calves with a matching winter hat and mittens.

"Actually, you're not," I said. "Chloe's the last person I want to see right now."

Her eyes went big. "So you know it was her?"

I rolled my eyes and walked away from the door, leaving it open for her to come in. "I'm not as dumb as you think I am."

Abby took the invitation and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. "I know we got off on the wrong foot, Lynn, but I came here to make it up to you. I knew Chloe was the one who did this because she told me before she did it."

I sat down on the bed and pulled my legs up to my chest. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I... I want to make things better between us," she explained, taking a daring step toward me. "I was a bitch to you from the start, and I'm sorry. Truth be told, I was just jealous. Jealous because you had Niall's attention and I didn't. I know this isn't going to make up from pushing you in the pool and the mean things I said behind your back, but you need to know that I tried to stop Chloe."

"Obviously not very well," I muttered.

"I had no details; no idea when, where, and how until it happened. All she told me was why she did it." Abby took off her hat and mittens and stuffed them into her messenger bag on her shoulder. "What was I supposed to do? I tried talking to her, but Chloe has a constant running mind to the point where she doesn't think through her actions and how much it can truly affect people. You're not the only person she's hurt."

Abby didn't have to say who all Chloe had hurt, because it was obvious who she was talking about. I looked at Abby and wondered what kinds of things Chloe had done to her.

"I'm only one person and Chloe wasn't up to thinking rationally," Abby continued.

I paused and stared at her, something occurring to me that I should have noticed the moment she stepped foot into the room. "You knew about us, didn't you?" I asked, sitting up now. "About me and Niall."

Abby nodded. "I knew for a while. I would ask Niall about you two and he would never give me a straight answer. He never told me that there wasn't something going on between you two and, I don't know, I just connected the dots."

"Why didn't you say anything, then?"

"I may not have liked you very much, but you didn't need to be exposed. It eventually became clear to me that Niall wasn't going to look at me the same way he looks at you and I just kind of accepted that fact." And then she smiled softly at me. "I do have a heart."

There might have been a time that I would have doubted that fact, but seeing her in this room and talking to me respectfully proved that she did. And I believed her, every single word. It would have taken more than just Abby to convince Chloe that this was a bad idea, but I was moved by the fact that she even tried at all. And if I was being honest, if I were to be put in the position she was in - falling in love with a guy who strictly did one night stands who ended up falling in love with someone else - I would have done a lot worse than push the girl in the pool.

"Thank you, Abby," I said. "For trying to stop this."

She sat down on the edge of the bed. "Wish I could have been successful."

Running a hand through my hair, I signed and spoke up. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around all this," I confessed to her. "I don't fully understand her reasoning. Like, does she honest to God believe Niall shouldn't move on from Alina? Or is she... I don't know, jealous of us and that's just her excuse?"

"She's not jealous," Abby said. "Nor is she insane or crazy or whatever word you want to use. She's... hurting." She looked over her shoulder and me. "I'm not sure if Niall told you this, but the sixth year anniversary of Alina's death was a little over two weeks ago."

My breath caught in my throat. "I didn't- he didn't tell me that."

Abby looked away. "Well it was, and I think... I think the guilt was getting to Chloe. She was Alina's best friend, even after she had moved away. She feels responsible for her suicide; for not being there for her, I guess. I can't imagine, but I can assume having someone you love kill themselves when you were helpless to do anything about it, probably made her react in a way where she didn't care about the consequences of others."

I nodded, taking in Abby's words one by one. "Guilt can make you do crazy things," I whispered under my breath. "I'm way too familiar with that feeling."

"Chloe was just trying to make up for not being there for her," Abby continued. "So she went and did this, clearly thinking it was what Alina wanted. This whole thing was to get back at Niall, you were just the one to capture his heart and get taken down with him."

Thinking that this was all literally black and white stumped me and I didn't know why. Maybe because everything in my life wasn't what it seemed, and there was always little details or backstories that made it all the more complex. So it didn't surprise me when I was reaching for more, where there was nothing there to grab.

"It still doesn't add up, though," I added. "If Chloe was so against Niall moving on to someone new, then why was she okay with you pinning after Niall?"

Abby laughed. "Because she knew nothing was going to happen between us," she said, a ghost of a smile on her lips. "She found it amusing, told me so every time I mentioned his name."

An awkward silence took over and I continued to sit on the bed as I watched Abby look around the room. If I were to tell Niall that Abby had come in here and apologize for all the bad things she had done to me, he'd never believe me. But he needed to know that Abby wasn't as bad as she comes across, and I think Niall is the one who needs to see that the most.

"You know, Lynn, you're lucky," Abby said into the silence. "You have someone who loves you. I never had that. I never know if I'm just loved for who I am or because of my looks."

I wasn't very good on the comforting act in the first place, so trying to make Abby feel better about this was completely out of orbit for me. But I tried my best as I adjusted Niall's shirt I was wearing and scooted to the edge of the bed next to her.

"I have this friend Macey who feels the same way as you," I explained. "She's always put off on dating because guys take advantage of her. They take her out for the purpose to just show her off like a trophy wife. She's been single for a year and she's loving it."

"I really thought that story was going to have a happy ending," Abby said sadly.

"It is a happy ending. She doesn't need a man to be happy."

Abby laughed. "Maybe you're right."

"I know I'm right."

× × ×

Two hours later, I was forced out of the room by Niall claiming he had a surprise for me and that we were going out into the world. Because it was the first time out in public since coming back from the cabin, that meant I had to do my hair and dress in something other than underwear and Niall's shirt.

I also needed to put on a bra. I think that was the worst of all.

To my surprise, when I stepped outside, no one was there to harass us. The sun was shining through fluffy white clouds and making the fresh snow on the ground glitter. I could hear the birds chirping and smell fresh air. It was like the earth was saying hello and welcome to civilization, ya vampire.

Niall's hand was in mine as he drove down the interstate. Normally I would scold him for driving so fast with only one hand on the wheel, but I didn't have the nerve. I needed his hand in mine just as much as he did.

"Where are you taking me?" I finally asked him.

He looked over at me and smiled without saying anything. I groaned and leaned further into the seat.

About five minutes later, we pulled into a parking garage. Niall sat up straight and alert as he looked for a parking spot, eventually finding one on the third floor. The moment he put the car in park, he dug in his back jeans pocket and handed me two slips of paper.

"Surprise," he said with a wide smile.

I gapped at him and took the tickets. They were to see a soccer game between Arsenal and Chelsea, two local teams that no doubt created a lot of hype. I really didn't know how to respond, so I continued to stare at the paper as we sat in the car.

"You're probably worried about being spotted," Niall said, taking my silence as fear. "But they are club seats at the top so no one would even know we were there."

I knew the whole big screen scandal was still fresh in the air so Niall had every right to take precaution when going out in public. But there was going to be a lot of people there and we still had to walk the rest of the way to the arena. I wanted to go, but my public image was still in the rocks and I didn't want to be seen and be called more names.

"Niall, I-"

"Please?" he bagged. "I brought hats and sunnies for the walk there and back. It's not a lot and probably won't shield us from everyone, but hopefully it will stop people from gawking."

I felt bad. Putting this much effort to see this game was obviously important to him. Not to mention he probably paid good money for them, despite the fact that he could afford them or not. He had taken me to the cabin for me; I could go to one game for him.

I pulled on Niall's hand and tugged on his shirt collar before kissing him. It was short and sweet but heavy and laced with a lot of meaning. It was a thank you, not just for the game and cabin trip, but for being there for me these past few days.

Niall must have gotten the message because when we pulled away, he smiled down at me. "You're welcome."

"Let's go," I grinned at him and stepped out of the car.

After putting on one of Niall's snapbacks he had provided as well as sunglasses, the two of us started making our way out of the car park and toward the arena to watch the game.

There was a longer walk than Niall had anticipated, but we had arrived early for this inconvenience just in case. But neither of us minded the walk. It was a rather decent February night, cold enough to wear a coat and gloves, but not too cold that we were shivering and in desperate need of any warmth. Besides, Niall had his arm around my shoulders and he generated enough heat for the both of us.

And not one person stopped or gawked at us, which surprised me most of all about this trip.

We were maybe three blocks away from the arena when I stopped dead in my tracks. From my sudden halt, Niall was jerked back slightly and then looked at me oddly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I ignored him and continued to stare at the transit ad outside the bus stop shelter. It was the cover picture of Niall and I when we did the photoshoot for Sport magazine. Except this image had an additional element added to it. Someone had spray painted SLUT! right over my face in big, nasty red letters.

Like I didn't feel like shit enough, someone had to literally write their opinion on my face.

"Lynn..." Niall said, drawing me away from the ad.

"I can't help but think about that little girl I met," I whispered, thinking about the girl who had come up to me after one of my games and asked for an autograph. "Her mom said she was my biggest fan and then I... I do this? She's never going to look up to me anymore."

Niall moved so he was in front of me, blocking my view of the vandalism. "Lynn, do you know the full extent of the movement you created? There are more and more schools allowing girls onto boy's teams. Not just with football, but with all sports. Not to mention the impact you had - have - on all the girls who want to be like you. If anything, this only makes you look tougher. I've seen it, on social media and in life, the respect people have for women has grown thanks to you. The tabloids may only be interested in the two of us, but everyone else can see right through that and actually understand who you are and what you stand for." He paused, his hands coming up to cup my face just as my eyes began to rim with tears. "Lynn... you can't let this little defacement take that away from you, okay? You are more than just a word."

With that, Niall's arms went around my neck and pulled me into an embrace. My arms snaked under his coat and around his waist, burring my head into his neck. I remember vividly of meeting that little girl. My brother was with me and it had been raining, and despite my dislike for children, she had made my heart swell and I'd give anything to go back to that day again.

"We don't have to go to the game if you don't want," Niall said into my hair. "We can go back to my place and watch it on the telly or something."

I shook my head and pulled away. "No," I said through sniffles. "No, you want to see the game, so let's go see the game."

Despite Niall's protest, I grabbed his hand and continued my way to the arena, Niall not having any choice but to follow me. As we got nearer, I found myself moving closer into his arms and keeping my head down so no one would see us.

But I was worrying for nothing because the next thing I knew, I was handing my ticket to the lady who scanned it and found myself walking down the hall to our club seats.

When I found the room, I opened the door only to stop in the threshold and stare.

A group of about fifteen boys all dressed in red sat in the seats facing the field or stood at the bar preparing some drinks. Every single head turned in our direction the moment the door opened. I recognized everyone in the room, first as the boys from North Carolina (which I was shortly told differently), then as the dicks from the London Lions, then soon after as my teammates, and now finally as some of my best friends.

"Lynn?" I heard Reece say, standing up from the seats and walking over to me.

I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, his large body crashed against mine in a huge bear hug. I was unprepared for the attack so we probably would have fallen over if Niall wasn't right behind me to steady us.

"We've been worried about you!" Reece mumbled into my hair.

Awkwardly, I started patting his back. "I'm fine, Reece. I mean, I could be better. But under the circumstances, I'm doing alright."

I gave Niall a pleading look which he responded by with a laugh. "Ay, Reece. Why don't you give the other lads a turn, yeah?"

"Oh, sorry, sorry," he quickly said and pulled away sheepishly.

I've been through confirmation, high school graduation, and moving out of the country, but never in my life did I get as many hugs then I did in that room. By the time the game started, the line of hugs was interrupted so they could take their seats and watch the game, knowing they would be back for halftime to finish what they started.

"Did you do this?" I asked Niall as we took a seat at the island counter.

"Actually, I did," Matt said, coming up and taking the stood beside me. "Well, really Jace paid for all the tickets, but it was my idea. Niall gave us a little information on the stuff you've been going through since the whole thing the last game, and I wanted to cheer you up the best I could. This was what I came up with. Hope you like it."

I smiled at him. "I do, thank you."

We all talked during the game, about anything and everything, as long as it had nothing to do with the looming conversation above everyone's heads: Have you talked to Coach?

Niall had asked Jace where James was since he was part of the team as well, but he informed us that he made sure to keep him as far away from me as possible. He also told us, since the incident happened, James had taken the spot of captain, despite Jace telling Coach that he was part of the reason all this happened in the first place. But something told me that even if there was proof he was part of it, it wouldn't have made a difference.

During halftime, the conversation had shifted onto me and Niall, like I had expected it would eventually.

"You two were good," Dylan said from his seat. "Some of us had speculations that something was going on, but then the next day you would be cold toward each other, like it was in the beginning, so we didn't really know what to think."

"And then later we all found at that this kid," Andrew pointed at Jace, "knew the whole time and kept it to himself. Honestly, give him a damn medal; I would've spilled the beans the moment I knew."

Like per usual, once the game began again, Niall and I found ourselves at one of the tables alone while the others sat in the front of the room and looked out the windows at the pitch.

For the rest of the game, we talked and we watched and it was honestly the best time of my life. Doing the simple things with Niall was everything that I wanted. It gave us time to learn more about each other, like when he told me he was suspended from school for a week because he punched a kid in the face. "He was talking shit," was what he told me as his reasoning and I couldn't argue with that. I told him things too, like the time I accidentally kicked the neighbor dog in the head. "I was trying to go for the soccer ball, but he just got in the way," I responded when he asked why I would do such a thing.

They were small things about us, but the small things made up the bigger picture; like a puzzle we both knew we were. And there would be more of those stories as the time would pass and I honestly couldn't wait to learn everything there was to know about the boy sitting beside me.

Eventually the game came to an end, and I couldn't possibly tell you who won because by the end Niall and I had gotten too caught up in our conversation to pay any attention to what was happening on the field.

We said our goodbyes and I promised them that I wouldn't be a stranger, and then the two of us left the room and made our way to the parking garage. I felt lighter and so much happier since seeing the rest of the team. I loved Niall, really, but talking to someone else really lifted my spirits.

We made it to the garage just as smoothly as we did going, minus the transit ad that Niall purposely avoided on the way back for my benefit. And I appreciated that.

"Can I drive?" I asked him as we got to his car.

"Uh, I don't think so."

I stuck out my bottom lip. "Why? I drove your car to get your drunken ass home and I did fine!"

Niall laughed. "That's a one sided opinion since I was in the backseat trying not to get sick."

"I got you home safe, didn't I?"

"Alright, I'll give you that."

Pressing myself against him, I looked up through my lashes and held my hand out for the keys. "Please," I said sweetly. "Driving will really take my mind off everything that has been going on."

Niall closed his eyes and sighed deeply before giving in and handing me the keys. But before I could walk to the driver side, Niall stopped me by grabbing my hand and pulling me back to him. It was dark in the car park, but there was no denying the desire in his eyes.

"You can drive as long as you keep this innocent act in bed tonight," he said lowly.

"Oh? Is that a kink of yours as well?" I asked, a sly smile forming on my lips. "Would you like me to put my hair up in pigtails and wear some stockings, too?"

"How about just the stockings... and my jersey. Nothing else."

"That can be arranged."

Fluttering my lashes at him, I ran my hand down his chest and placed my fingers on the waistband of his jeans. I knew the clear intimacy was getting to him, I could feel the growing hard-on against my lower stomach. His hands came up and around my face, fingers tangling in the hair behind my ears. That lust had quickly turned into adoration, I could see it easily though his clear, blue eyes.

I had read somewhere in some fancy magazine that lust and passion were two entirely different things, but I'd never understood what that meant until I was with Niall. I'd resented Bradley for taking that lust and maximizing it to its fullest potential until it was the only think I knew. Being with Bradley, I didn't have a choice; everything was vain and dysfunctional. With Niall, it was like opening up a door and discovering a whole new world where being close didn't mean just lust. I always knew there was more, there had to be. I wasn't happy with Bradley, and walking down the streets and seeing happy couples told me that I was missing out on something, I just always thought I'd stay on that one side of the door forever.

And the weirdest thing of all was that Niall was the one to show me the way out.

"I love you," I whispered.

Niall smiled and leaned his forehead against mine. "Please don't ever stop saying that."

"I won't if you won't."

Just as Niall was going to lean down and kiss me, there was a shout on the other side of the parking garage. "Get a room!"

Pulling apart, we turned to see William and Thomas walking to their car, making kissing noises and catcalling like they were twelve years old.

I laughed and stepped out of his grip before he could stop me. I walked up to the car and unlocked the driver side door before getting inside. Niall, in a huff, followed suit and slipped into the passenger seat. I took a moment to admire the leather and clean dashboard, but was soon getting anxious to start the ignition and get the hell out of there.

I sped out of the parking garage; the only sound was coming from the soft purr of the engine.

I was very unfamiliar with the London roads due to me staying on campus or being in someone else's car, but it came naturally to me, even driving on the other side of the road was like second nature. I passed buildings after buildings, blurring by as fast as the wind.

I needed this - I needed to have a little control over something since everything in my life seems to happen by someone else's hand. This would have to do - where I'm going and how fast I could get there.

As I was about to turn onto an interstate, both mine and Niall's phone dinged at the same time. We both looked at each other, knowing what the other was thinking.

Coach was ready to talk.

"What if we kept going?" Niall asked. "Kept going and never look back."

I thought about that possibility for a moment. It would be nice, to just start over someplace, maybe someplace remote. A little town a few hours out of London where no one knows our names and about the humiliation we left behind. We would never have to confront Coach or anyone ever again on that topic. Start a new life with new hobbies and new dreams.

That was when my thoughts halted.

"I've done enough running for a life time to know that it gets you nowhere."