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billie_kent: match day kicks 💙❤️

COMMENTS:
colinhughes: LETS GO GREYHOUNDS

alfiesykes98: See you at the dogtrack!

isaac_mcadoo: sick creps

username1: COME ON YOU GREYHOUNDS

After everything that followed the gala Billie had been doing her best to avoid reading the tabloids or the comments on her social media. So the last thing she was expecting was her brother to burst into the office on the day of the team's match against Watford with a look that could kill.

"What the fuck is this?" Roy exclaimed as he tossed his phone on the desk, displaying an article from The Sun.

Billie glanced down at the phone to see a photo of her and Jamie smiling at each other when they were in the car at the traffic lights on their way to Brad's house, with the headline: TARTT'S NEW TART: MENDING A BROKEN HEART?

"That's not what it looks like," Billie insisted.

"Oh right, it's not what it looks like?" Roy laughed with little humour in his voice, "Because what it looks like to me is that Jamie fucking Tartt has driven you to a little lunch date."

"How long has this been online?"

"An hour."

"Have you spoken to Jamie?" Billie frowned, confused as to why she had received the brunt of her brother's wrath, given that he was the name in the title.

"Now that is a good idea," Roy replied with sarcasm in his tone before walking over to the open door and shouting, "Tartt!"

"Yeah?" Jamie appeared at the door of the locker room, dressed in his kit ahead of the match.

Without a word Roy beckoned him into the room like a disappointed parent, glaring at the two of them with heavy furrowed eyebrows.

"Have you seen this?" Roy asked, showing him the article on his phone.

"Yeah," Jamie nodded with a smirk that surprised Billie given the conversations they'd had in the car that day.

"And do you have anything to say about it?" Roy replied, staring at the striker with a look of anger.

"Me hair looks good." Jamie replied with that frustratingly cocky grin. 

Jamie's change in attitude startled Billie, given how open she'd been in the car about what her relationship with Brad was really like. She didn't expect to but she was truly grateful for Jamie's company that day. He didn't have the same emotional investment in her life that her family or close friends did, so he listened and offered her an honest opinion.

So hearing Jamie brush off the article as though it were nothing hurt, because no one except the two of them knew what the conversations in that car consisted of.

"He drove me to Brad's house to collect my stuff," Billie explained as Jamie maintained his smirk, "That's all that happened."

"Tartt?"

"Yeah, that's all that happened," Jamie remarked.

"You've clearly not read the article, have you?" Roy huffed.

"I have," Jamie answered, "So unless you've got anything else to say to me, I'm going back to the locker room to finish getting ready for the match."

Without waiting for Roy or Billie to answer, Jamie walked out of the office and back into the locker room.

"What does it say?" Billie asked, "The article."

"Bils-"

"Read it," Billie told her brother, "I want to hear it."

Roy glanced down at the phone, the article that his father had sent him without a message, just the link to the article, "AFC Richmond's striker Jamie Tartt was seen looking particularly cosy in the company of teammate Roy Kent's sister and recent ex girlfriend of Chelsea's Bradley Barker, Billie Kent."

Roy looked up at his sister before reading the next section, "Tartt seemed more than content in the company of Billie Kent who had split from Bradley Barker just the night before, it seems that she wasted no time filling Barker's side of the bed with Richmond's star striker."

"That's just speculation, it's not the truth," Billie sighed, in disbelief that even a tabloid would print something like that without facts to back it up.

"A source close to the pair told us that romance has been on the cards since Billie Kent arrived at the club last month," Roy continued to read the article, "It seems that the timing of both their breakups is more than just coincidence."

"None of that is true," Billie muttered as her hands began to shake and her voice started to wobble, despairing whether Keeley would have seen the fictitious article.

"I know," Roy sighed, shoving his phone into his pocket before wrapping his arms around his sister as tears escaped her eyes, "I'm sorry I came in so heavy handed."

"Brad's having a baby," Billie whispered, clinging to her brother as she cried, "Due in four months."

"Fuck, Billie, he's a fucking prick," Roy huffed, "Chelsea are playing at home tonight, as soon as the match is done I'll go down there and deal with him."

"No," Billie shook her head as it rested against her brother's chest, "I really need you to not be Roy Kent right now and just be my big brother Roy."

"Whatever you say, Billiebop," Roy whispered, holding his youngest sister close, making a mental note to unfairly tackle Bradley Barker to the ground next time he played against him in a match.

It felt like a better reason than any to get a red card.

"Roy?" The siblings looked at the open door to see Ted with concern covering his face as he noticed Billie's tear stained face, "Sorry to interrupt, we need you in the locker room but if you want me to cover for you that's fine."

"No," Billie shook her head as she pulled away from her brother, wiping her eyes, thankful for waterproof mascara, "I'm okay, we've got a match to get ready for."

"As long as you're sure?" Ted replied, having also seen the article after hearing Billie's name floating around the locker room.

"Yeah," Billie smiled halfheartedly as she collected her camera from the desk, "Can't have Watford getting all the best shots on the pitch, can we?"

"She's a Kent," Roy nudged his sister, "She'll be alright."

Billie followed Roy and Ted out of the office and into the locker room as Roy who was fuelled with rage for anyone who had wronged his sister, "Alright, everyone! Get in a fucking circle!"

"Come on boys!" One of the team clapped his hands together as the team grouped together in the middle of the room while Billie hung back beside the door.

"Right, hands in!" Roy instructed the boys as they all put their hands into the middle of the circle, "On three, one, two, three-"

"Richmond!" The team exclaimed as they lifted their hands in the air before clearing out of the room, and as the crowd thinned out it became clear that Jamie regarded himself above the team dynamic.

"You okay, Billie?" Colin asked as the pair of them hung back in the hallway outside of the locker room.

"Is it that obvious that I've been crying?" Billie laughed awkwardly.

"No," Colin shook his head, "But I've seen it, the article and I wanted to let you know that it'll be fine soon enough."

"Thank you, Colin," Billie smiled, looking into the locker room as Ted approached Jamie.

"And we've all got your back," Colin added before hurrying off to join the rest of his team in the tunnel.

Billie wanted to join him, she knew that she was meant to stick with the team, but she couldn't help but hang back as she heard Ted talking to Jamie, "Jamie, you a germaphobe?" He asked, "Cause I'm trying to think of a reason you didn't put your hand in with the rest of the team."

"Didn't want to," She heard Jamie answer with her back pressed to the hallway wall as she remained out of sight.

"Because of that article in The Sun?" Ted asked.

"No, that shit don't bother me," Jamie answered and Billie's heart sank further.

"I gotta say, man, sometimes you remind me of my grandma with the channel hopper," Ted replied with one of his many anecdotes that made Billie feel at home, "You just push all the wrong buttons."

"Well, then how's about you and me make a deal?" Jamie answered as Billie contemplated whether she should walk away from the conversation.

"Okay, I'm listening." Ted replied calmly. 

"You get to keep on preaching all of your yeehaw bullshit, and in exchange I'll keep ignoring you because this team is tragic," Jamie told him, and that filled Billie with something, be it rage for frustration, "I score all the goals, and I'm the only one they come to see, does that sound fair? Hands in."

Billie took the moment to enter the locker room, and Jamie seemed so wrapped up in admiring his appearance in his mirror that he didn't notice the girl's presence, but Ted did.

"You know, I'd love to hash out some of the nuances there, but I'm not having the best of days-"

"Actually, it doesn't matter what you say," Jamie cut Ted off, finally catching sight of Billie, his eyes widening as he noticed her leaning against the lockers beside the door, "Cause in my head, I'm just hearing the crowd cheer my name after I score a goal tonight."

"Jamie Tartt, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo, Jamie Tartt, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo," He sang, the same tune that the customers at the pub where she once worked would sing.

One of Mae's pep talks sure could help tackle all of this.

"As undeniably catchy as that tune is I need you to cut the crap right now-"

"Dad!" A young voice interrupted the conversation as a boy who Billie assumed was Ted's son ran into the room, followed by Beard.

"Hey, big guy, there he is, hey," Ted knelt down to hug his son as Billie glanced at Jamie whose eyes wandered from Ted to her.

"Jamie Tartt?" Ted's son looked up at the footballer in admiration.

"Hello, little lad," Jamie replied.

"Would you sign my shirt?"

Jamie glanced at Ted and then retrieved a marker pen from his cubby, "Alright turn around."

"You good, Billie?" Beard muttered as he stood beside her.

"As good as one can be given the circumstances," Billie whispered.

"Good to hear," Beard nodded, "It'll wash out in the cycle, always does."

"The tabloid article or the ink on the back of that kid's shirt?" Billie smiled at the coach.

"We'll see," Beard sighed, "That's Henry, Ted's son."

"Now, next time I score a goal it won't just be for me," Jamie told the boy as he signed his shirt, before turning him around, "It'll be for you too, and for me, but...just for us."

"Cool." Henry replied.

"Good lad," Jamie winked at the boy before walking out of the locker room, letting his eyes linger on Billie as he did.

Billie followed him out of the room, knowing that the match was due to start in a matter of minutes, so both of them would be due on the pitch in little time.

"You know," Billie sighed as she caught up with Jamie on their way towards the tunnel where the team was waiting to go out onto the pitch, "I'm actually a big fan of all that 'yeehaw bullshit'."

Jamie looked down at Billie with a regretful frown, "How much of that did you hear?"

"All of it." She patted him on the shoulder as he stopped at the back of Richmond's queue of players while she made her way past the team and  out into the stadium, heading for the safety of the dugout.

Two-nil down six minutes into the match. That's the sort of thing footballers have nightmares about. Billie's night could've been worse, she could've been the one who the fans kept calling a 'wanker'. She was grateful that she could linger on the sidelines, snapping photos of the boys anytime something big happened, which up until that point had just been two goals in Watford's favour.

"Hang on," Billie muttered to herself as Jamie received a ball roughly half an hour into the match, hoping that he'd learn from training and make the extra pass to Sam to keep the ball in play.

But he didn't, he kicked it straight into the net, the ball bypassing the goalkeeper and sending the Richmond fans into jubilation as he ran towards the sidelines where Billie stood with her camera. She hated to be so close to him, taking photos that he'd no doubt use on his social media that night, regardless of the outcome.

Because Jamie Tartt scored a goal and that's what mattered.

He held his hands to his ears as Billie took several photos, shouting 'Me!' as he pointed at the name on his back, which was something she felt was too distasteful to photograph.

"What are you stopping for?" Jamie frowned.

"Back to work," Billie huffed, walking further down the sideline in the hope of another goal from the Richmond boys.

Some minutes later Sam had the ball, and then he was robbed of it, getting knocked to the ground in an unfair tackle as Billie stood beside Ted and the rest of the team.

"Come on, ref!" Ted shouted, "They gotta knock that off!"

The referee took action and gave the Watford player a yellow card while Sam remained on the ground.

But that didn't matter to Jamie Tartt. He stepped over his teammate in an over exaggerated effort to get the ball. He could've helped his teammate up, he could've asked if he was alright, he could've gestured for medics to come onto the pitch.

But he didn't.

"Oi!" Roy shoved Jamie, and Billie wondered if it was partly motivated by what had unfolded about an hour beforehand, "Check on your fucking teammate."

Jamie dropped the ball, and for a moment Billie wondered if something had finally clicked, could he recognise the fault in his mistakes?

No.

Billie watched as Jamie rolled Sam out of the way as he lay on the grass helplessly, and Roy saw red. He'd been waiting for a reason to deal with Jamie Tartt since he saw the look on his sister's face after reading her that article.

"What is your fucking problem?" Roy shouted as he collided with the striker, who gave as good as he got, the whole Richmond team stepping in to tear them apart as Billie watched on in horror.

"Knock it off!" Ted shouted with no angst in his voice, "Let's knock it off!"

"This is my fault, isn't it?" Billie muttered to Beard.

"No, just boys being boys," Beard sighed, even though he hated the expression.

"Sam's still down," Billie remarked as she watched the referee serve Jamie and Roy a yellow card each.

The group watched as Roy made his way over to Sam, talking to him as he lay on the ground before hauling him up. Sam hobbled for a moment before finding his rhythm again, offering Ted a thumbs up.

"Attaboy, Sam!" Ted clapped his hands together.

With Sam supposedly injured but still on the pitch Jamie took control of the free kick. The power was his, the opportunity to level the scoreboard before half time.

He could've played it safe, he could've passed it to one of his teammates and ran decoy.

But Jamie Tartt never played safe, so why start then? He kicked the ball and hit the back of the net, the stadium applauding him in rapture.

The goal tasted sour on Billie's tongue as she lingered beside the coaches, she knew she was expected to run down towards Jamie and take photos. But as she watched him do the entire 'it's all about me' routine, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of her or the camera's attention. It wasn't what the team deserved.

"I'll be right back." Ted told Coach Beard before disappearing up into the stands, heading for the owner's box.

"You got a clue what that's about?" Billie asked Beard.

"I might have an inkling," Beard muttered.

"You gonna tell me?" Billie pried.

Beard shook his head, "I think you'll prefer to watch this one play out."

Ted promptly returned to the dugout, "Roberts, warm up, you're going in, let's go."

Billie stared at him in intrigue, wondering who he'd be bringing off at such a crucial moment in the match. Sam seemed like a natural choice, given his injury.

"Hey, highlighter, we got ourselves a sub," Ted gestured to the referee, "Sixteen going in for nine."

Beard was right, Billie did want to see it unfold for herself as the referee prepared to make what was bound to be a match defining substitution.

As the referee made the announcement Billie watched the look on Jamie's face change from charm to disgust. The sound of the crowd suggested that they agreed with the striker.

"Me?" He remarked in confusion.

Billie watched as Jamie left the pitch and her brother watched on in intrigue, unsure whether to admire or condemn the action.

"Hey, way to play out there," Ted held his hand out to Jamie as the striker reached the sideline, "Way to get us back in."

"Shut up," Jamie huffed, kicking one of the discarded water bottles, "Fucking stupid twat."

Not long after Jamie's departure the referee's whistle blew, calling half time. 

The team made their way back to the locker room and Billie headed for her office with the intention of transferring the first half's photos onto her laptop. She followed the rest of the team into the clubhouse, trying to put Jamie who was nowhere to be seen to the back of her mind.

"I'll see you boys in a bit," She told them as she hovered outside of her closed office door.

"You okay?" Roy asked.

"Yeah, I just need to do techy shit," She told her brother.

"Alright," Roy nodded as he followed the boys into the locker room.

Taking a deep breath, preparing to face the room where she had fallen apart almost an hour beforehand, Billie pushed her office door open to see a shirtless Jamie Tartt sitting in the spare chair opposite her desk.

"I didn't know where else to go," Jamie looked at her with lost eyes as she closed the door behind her.

"You're unbelievable." Billie scoffed as she placed her camera on the desk.

"Billie."

"What?"

"You're meant to say Jamie." He offered her a lacklustre smirk as he stood up from where he had been sat.

"No, I'm not playing your games." Billie shrugged him off as she turned away.

"Billie," he caught hold of her wrist, his touch setting her skin alight, "Everything that happened earlier, I didn't mean to upset you, if I did then I-"

"You can't help yourself, can you?" Billie laughed humourlessly, looking down at Jamie's hand wrapped around her wrist before pulling away from his grip, "Blowing hot and cold all the time."

"Lasso sent me off after I'd just scored two goals," Jamie muttered, "We'd still be two-nil down or worse if it weren't for me."

"You got booked, Jamie, keeping you on the pitch is a flight risk," Billie sighed, "And you weren't playing like you're part of a team, there is no 'me' in team."

"Well actually-"

"Just stop, please," Billie exclaimed, her breath was disjointed as she stood across from the man who she needed to loathe, "I know you think that the rest of them are only there to make you look good, but that is not how this works."

"Billie-"

"I've not finished," Billie cut him off as she took a step closer to him, "You used to play football because you loved it, I can see that, but no one else can because you treat it like a performance rather than a fucking game."

"Didn't know you cared about football so much, Billie," Jamie replied, her name rolling off his tongue in a way that got under her skin again.

"I don't," She wasn't fooling either of them with that line, "But I care about people, good people, like Sam who you treated like he was nothing to you."

"He were in me way," Jamie attempted to dispute her, the gap between them having got smaller as they talked.

"I don't get it," Billie whispered, "One minute you're being a cocky prima donna, the next you give me hope that there is just a flicker more than Jamie Tartt the cocky footballer in there," She pressed her finger against his chest, "So which is it?"

"Why do you care, Billie?" He muttered.

"I don't know," She answered softly, because it was the truth, she didn't know why and she hadn't realised that the team's fate did matter to her. She wanted to see Jamie be the man that she knew he had the capacity to be.

"I think you do know," Jamie quipped, letting his eyes trail over her face, "You're just too scared to admit it."

Neither of them acknowledged how close to each other they were, and if anyone had walked into that room at that point they no doubt would have something to say on the matter. Billie didn't know what she wanted, but she knew where she needed to be.

"Second half starts soon," She stepped back towards the desk, collecting her camera before brushing past Jamie without a word as she opened her office door, closing it behind her, not caring for whether or not Jamie would be there when she returned.

The greyhounds spent the next forty five minutes playing defensively, blocking any attempts Watford made to score a goal. A tie would be okay, it would get them one point, and it would give the fans something to be grateful for.

But Roy Kent didn't play football just to settle for a tie.

"A through ball from Cockburn and Kent is off to the races. Kent has only one man to beat, he could take it himself, but he makes the extra pass to a wide open Obisanya!"

"And he buries it!"

The crowd went wild as Sam ran towards them in jubilation. Billie hurried down the sideline towards him, camera at the ready, quick to snap as many photos as she could as Sam jumped into her brother's arms.

It meant everything.

She could feel it on her skin, the goosebumps, a win. It was all that any of them wanted, with less than a minute to go, and they did it all without their number nine.

The full time whistle blew and the crowd went even wilder than they had before. The team gathered together in celebration on the pitch as Billie ran over to them with her camera, snapping photos that would capture that moment of bliss forever.

"You did it, Sam!" Billie exclaimed, "That was fucking sensational!"

"I don't know what just happened," Sam muttered with the most joyous smile Billie had ever seen.

"They do," Billie smiled, pointing to the crowds cheering his name.

"He's one of our own, he's one of our own, Sam Obisanya, he's one of our own!"

Billie made her way over to Roy, wrapping him in a hug, "I'm proud of you, Royo."

"You too, Kiddo." Roy smiled, squeezing her close as he lifted her off the ground, spinning her slower than he did when she was little. 

"Nicely done, gentlemen, nicely done!" Ted clapped his hands together as he joined his team on the pitch, high-fiving each of them on his approach to the Kent siblings, "Way to do it! Yes, yes, yes!"

"Took balls what you did," Roy acknowledged his coach as he let go of Billie, holding his hand out to Ted.

"That's all we got is balls, Roy," Ted shook his hand, "It's all we got."

Ted left the two siblings as he made his way over to Coach Beard. Billie and Roy hadn't had much to smile about that day, but it was something to hold onto, something to hope for, something to believe in.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Billie glanced at her brother.

"What?"

"Winning."

author's note: i love them all so much...even if jamie is making mistakes...