In general, it was inadvisable to go after a girl who explicitly told you not to go after them. That was the kind of shit that lead to restraining orders and went straight into creepy territory. But was that still true if the girl in question misunderstood your intentions and didn't want to see you because of that?

Yikes, 'she misunderstood my intentions.' That sounded even more like a thing a creepy stalker would say.

It was almost enough to make Kiera want to turn around and just walk away from the soccer stadium. It was enough to bring her to a halt.

Layla and Carter immediately noticed and turned. 

"Why are you stopping?" Layla asked. 

Kiera bit her lip. "I'm not sure if I want to go to the stadium anymore. Maybe we can just... watch the match at home?"

"What? But you were so adamant about going to the stadium just now!" Carter said, shooting Kiera an odd look. "What's going on? You're acting strange."

Kiera breathed in deeply. She glanced at Carter, then at Layla. She released her breath. "Okay, before we go inside there are a few things I need to tell you first." 

Layla wrinkled her nose. "Oh no, did you drink five milkshakes in a row again? Will you be having disgusting lactose intolerant farts all night?" 

"No! And that was one time!" Kiera hissed, glaring daggers at her for saying that way too loudly in a public space. "No, remember that prank you two did with my phone?" 

Carter blinked. "Honestly, we do a lot of pranks, the three of us. Which one are you talking about?" 

"Tinderella!"

Carter blinked again.

Kiera sighed. "The lesbian one!"

Promptly, Layla and Carter looked at each other. "Ooh," they both said simultaneously, while Kiera nervously fidgeted with the edge of her t-shirt. 

"I started talking to a girl. At first it was just to explain it was a prank. She seemed nice and I didn't want her too think she was ditched mid-conversation. But now... I actually kinda like her."

Carter tapped his lip, thinking. Then he smiled broadly. "Oh! It's Nicki, isn't it?"

"I am..." Kiera said slowly, side eying Carter, "a little weirded out that you still remember her name, but yes it's Nicki." 

Layla squealed and clapped her hands. "Oh, yes! She was really cute!"

"Yeah, I know I'd want to date her if she wasn't a lesbian," Carter added. "So, what about Nicki?" 

Both Carter and Layla turned back to Kiera, their eyebrows raised curiously. 

Kiera opened and closed her mouth a few times before she managed to speak. "Wait, that's it? No questions about why I'm still talking to Nicki and like her? No teasing? I just came out to you guys, and... that's it?" 

A brief silence followed. Carter cleared his throat first. "That's it from my side at least. I mean, if you want I can tease you," he offered. 

Layla nodded fervently. "I can question you and tell you I'm surprised to hear it?" She put up big eyes. "Kiera, you're a lesbian? I had no idea!" 

"Alright, alright, never mind, that's enough!" Kiera scoffed, punching them both in the shoulder.

 "I'm...' She looked at the huge soccer stadium entrance in front of them. "Going to need your help. I'll send you two Nicki's picture, but I don't want you to talk to her! Under no condition do you talk to her, got it? Just... help me find her in there, so I can talk to her." 

"I mean... Sure," Layla said, hesitantly. "But it's really,really packed in there Kiera. How are we supposed to find her?" 

"I don't know," Kiera replied honestly. "But I need to try." 

The soccer stadium didn't just look huge to her now. It looked daunting, terrifying. Even more on the inside. Kiera's mouth was dry and she already felt herself sweating as she, Layla and Carter entered and decided to spread out to search. 

Technically, Kiera thought to herself, the stadium benches were still limited. If she only searched every individual bench, every chair, she had to eventually run into Nicki. 

Her theory was proven wrong. While the starting time of the soccer match inched closer second by second, Kiera scanned the last row in the stadium and didn't find Nicki. 

Kiera: Did you have any luck?

Carter: Nothing

Layla: Sorry, no x(

Kiera's shoulder slumped. She squeezed her eyes shut. Maybe Nicki had decided not to go after all because she had too much to deal with. Her phone was still switched off - or so it seemed because Kiera's messages weren't getting delivered. What if it was permanent and she'd blocked her number? 

Kiera clenched her phone, her eyes snapping open with a jolt of hope as it buzzed in her hands. But it wasn't Nicki. 

Layla: Hey, I hate to be that person, but the Belgium Tunesia match is about to start. We should take our seats soon.

Carter: Agreed - we can look for her again after, though? 

Kiera: ...Alright. I'm gonna get some greasy food. I need all the comfort rn

Layla: :(

Layla was still typing, but Kiera slipped her phone in her bag, not in the mood for being comforted as she walked to the snackbar with her arms wrapped around herself. 

What was there to be comforted about? What if she couldn't find Nicki tonight and she had in fact blocked her. What if this was her one shot? What was she supposed to do? 

Kiera pushed past the many people in the snackbar like a zombie to get in the long, long line. She stared straight ahead, her eyes falling on the cheese bite snacks Nicki said she'd liked so much. 

Honestly, she had to be a closet masochist. Because when she finally reached the front and the sweaty snackbar guy asked her what she wanted, her lips formed the words as if on their own: "Three portions of the cheese bites, please." 

It was too late to take it back. The man had already rung up her order, and he looked so under pressure due to the crowd in front of him, Kiera thought he might snap if she changed her mind. Instead, she just quietly took her number and spaced out in the corner, drowning out the noisy crowd.

"Three servings of cheese bites! Three servings of cheese bites anyone?" a loud, very annoyed male voice sounded a while later, making Kiera jerk up. 

"Oh, that's me," she said more to herself than the snackbar guy as there was no way he could possibly hear her over the sheer level of decibels in the room. 

"Excuse me, pardon," she told several people, making her way through the crowd. 

The snackbar man looked even more annoyed than he had sounded, having to wait for a slow customer to pick up their food  while it was already so crowded. "This is yours?" he asked with thinly veiled annoyance, raising a plastic bag with food. 

"Yeah, I think it-" I started, only to be interrupted.

"Wait! I ordered the same thing," a girl's voice sounded from Kiera's left.

"Oh sorry, let's check our numbers," Kiera automatically apologised. She turned her head to look at the other girl, and froze. 

Short brown hair in a pixie cut. Green eyes. That smile. 

Nicki. It was Nicki.