read 28 first!!!

"Billie, are you crying?"

"It's fucking hayfever," Billie sniffed as the credits rolled, following Rosie and Alex's happy ending, a much happier ending than Me Before You.

"Bils, we're inside and it's January," Jamie reminded her as he watched her wipe her eyes.

"I know," Billie rolled her eyes with a smile, looking away from the TV screen to focus on him as he sat at the other side of the sofa, "That film just always fucking gets me."

"You're a proper softy, ain't you?" Jamie smirked.

"When I want to be," Billie sighed with a smile as she leant back against the sofa, "I've watched this film hundreds of times, and Sam Claflin still melts my heart."

"He does?"

"Mmhmm," Billie hummed, looking to Jamie, "What did you think of it? No pressure, but Love Rosie is one of my favourites."

"It was good, I suppose," Jamie sighed, scratching the back of his neck.

"It's better than just 'good', Jamie," Billie sighed, leaning towards the coffee table to collect her and Jamie's league table of rom coms that was sitting amongst their various Chinese takeaway boxes, before shuffling back into the sofa and leaning against Jamie.

He stretched his arm out across the back of the sofa, allowing her to rest her head on his chest as she showed him the list which consisted of some absolute classics, "I'm not saying it were bad, Bils, but it's not The Notebook or Love Actually."

"So, where are we putting this one on the list, below Bridget Jones or The Notebook?" Billie asked, gesturing towards her list.

"Above Bridget Jones, definitely," Jamie told her as he looked over her shoulder at the handwritten league, "And below The Notebook."

"Fuck, who knew you were such a fan of Ryan Gosling, hmm?" Billie grinned as she looked up at Jamie, not caring to debate the matter of Love Rosie's ranking with Jamie as she scribbled the title on the sheet.

"You love it though," Jamie smirked as he slipped off the sofa, collecting both their empty cider bottles and walking over to Billie's fridge, collecting two fresh bottles and opening them.

Jamie paused for a moment, looking down at the bottles and then up at Billie, or rather the back of Billie as she focused on her phone. He hadn't felt that comfortable around someone in...well he couldn't remember ever feeling like that. They just understood each other, everything that mattered to Jamie seemed to matter to Billie. And yes there were some things that their opinions differed on, like gravy or curry sauce on chips, but life would be pretty boring if they were the exact same.

He pulled his phone from his pocket, reminded of a conversation that they had months ago, his lockscreen was a photo of him, Billie, Colin and Isaac on a night out in Soho. Colin had his arm around Billie's shoulders, while Isaac and Jamie were crouched in front of them, Billie's hands resting on Jamie's shoulders.

After getting sidetracked, he opened his music app, finding the playlist that Billie had made him of songs she thought he'd like, hitting shuffle before allowing himself to think about it.

Billie looked over her shoulder at the sound of Valerie by Amy Winehouse playing through Jamie's phone, "What are you up to?"

"Come here." Jamie gestured for her to join him.

"What?"

"Just come here," He approached where she was sitting on the sofa.

"You're being fucking weird, Tartt," Billie half frowned as she met him in between her small kitchen and living area.

"Billie."

"Jamie."

"Would you like to dance?" Jamie asked, his voice wavering slightly.

"You don't dance." Billie couldn't help but smile.

"I'm making an exception," Jamie took her hand in his, "For you."

"You're unbelievable," Billie laughed as she placed her free hand on his shoulder while his found its place on her waist, the pair moving to the music, as Billie was reminded of the times when Jamie had insisted that he didn't dance, and yet there he was, dancing in her kitchen to one of her favourite Amy Winehouse songs.

Jamie quickly let go of her waist, spinning her under his arm as she smiled, he'd do anything to see her smile like that. Billie then spun around, twirling back towards him, until her chest was resting against his, the pair smiling as they matched the music's tempo again, Billie's hand interlocking with Jamie's as his heart thumped against his chest.

"Is this romcom enough for you?" Jamie smiled as they two stepped to the music.

"You remember?" Billie muttered, recalling their conversation on the night of the curse reverse.

"How could I forget Richard bloody Curtis?" Jamie laughed.

The truth was that Jamie Tartt remembered every word Billie Kent had ever spoken, with complete ease and care, not in the painstaking way he might have memorised facts for an exam at school. Remembering someone like Billie was easy, he realised that the hard way when he tried his best to forget her after she asked to be just friends.

☆ ☆ ☆

"Hey, I'm sorry about that, Coach," Ted apologised as he stepped out of his flat, catching sight of both Billie and Coach Beard, "Oh, Billie, didn't know you'd be joining us this morning."

"Well, I bumped into Beard in the cafe on the corner while I was getting my morning hot chocolate, and he asked if I wanted to join you both walking to work," Billie explained, gesturing to the half full coffee cup in her hand.

"Well, I apologise for keeping you both waiting," Ted nodded at the friends as he locked his front door.

"Set your alarm for PM instead of AM?" Beard asked his friend as they set off towards Nelson Road.

"Yes, sir, Steve Kerr," Ted nodded as Beard handed him his morning coffee, "Thank you."

"Still, you got down here pretty quick," Billie replied, standing in between the two men who were both at least half a foot taller than her, as though they were her two American uncles.

"Yeah, well, I think a fella should only take as long as the tune 'Easy Lover' by Phil Collins and Phillip Bailey to get dressed in the morning," Ted told his friends.

"Makes sense."

"It is a beautiful Saturday, and we are playing Sheffield Wednesday," Ted declared.

"AKA The Owls," Beard nodded.

"Hey, how 'bout that?" Ted smiled to himself.

"You never finished your joke," Beard replied.

"What joke?"

"What does a British owl say?"

"Oh, right," Ted nodded, "Whom, whom."

Billie couldn't help but smile as she rolled her eyes at one of Ted's many Dad jokes that never failed to make her smile. Although she'd always had a Dad growing up, she'd always found herself looking elsewhere for someone who resembled a father figure. When Roy moved to Chelsea, he became that to Billie, picking her up when she needed him, teaching her to drive during the off season.

But when Billie became an adult, Roy became her big brother again, he still looked out for her in the way he always had, but he knew that she could stand on her own two feet (because he had effectively raised her that way). So meeting two men like Ted and Coach Beard, Billie felt instantly at ease in their presence, and in some ways they both filled the gaps she'd been missing when she was growing up.

"I fell down a Buzzfeed quiz shaped hole last night," Billie told the two coaches.

"Do tell." Ted smiled.

"I went from 'which Friends character are you?' to 'which One Direction album are you?'" Billie told them both.

"And the results?"

"Midnight Memories and Rachel," Billie replied, "But my favourite Friends character is Joey."

"Figures," Beard sighed as he sipped his coffee.

"Figures? What figures?" Billie frowned.

"You'll see."

After a brisk wall to Nelson Road, Billie wound up in her office where Dr Sharon, who was already waiting for her, was sitting in one of the fluffy chairs, her notepad and pen in her lap.

"I got your message," Sharon smiled at the young woman as she closed the office door, "Everything alright?"

"We danced in my kitchen, that's normal right? Like that's completely and utterly platonic?"

"Your message said that this was an emergency," Dr Sharon raised her eyebrows as she watched her unpack her kit bag.

In Billie's eyes this was an emergency. Of course she was comfortable around all of her friends, and she'd always been more than happy to be physically affectionate with her friends. She'd fall asleep on Alfie's shoulder, or cuddle Colin while they watched a sitcom, that's just the kind of person she was.

But with Jamie, it wasn't just that she was comfortable in his presence, it was the way he made her feel when they hugged or they danced. As they'd danced together in her flat that night she could feel her mouth aching as she smiled and her heart thumping against her chest.

"This is an emergency," Billie sighed as she sat in her desk chair, "Because at present there are dozens of feelings whizzing around in my head the way greyhounds whizz around the track."

"Can you identify those feelings?" Sharon asked as she began writing words in her notebook.

"I don't think I want to," Billie whispered.

"Because if you admit to what those feelings are then you'll have to face up to them?" Sharon asked.

"Fuck me, you're really good at this stuff, aren't you?" Billie remarked.

"I should hope so," Sharon smiled, "Tell me, when you think of this person, what's the first feeling that pops into your head."

Billie still hadn't told Dr Sharon who the person in question was, because she worried that it would complicate things, because she knew that Dr Sharon had also spoken to him, and she feared that that might create a conflict of interest.

"Erm," Billie sighed, as she thought of Jamie, "Trepidation."

"That's a big word," Sharon replied.

"Mmhmm," Billie nodded, "He doesn't make me anxious or unsettled, but the idea that one day something different could happen, that does."

"Why do you think that is?"

"Because I like things the way they are, I like what we have, and I don't want to ruin it," Billie answered honestly.

"You seem pretty set on depriving yourself of something that could bring you true happiness," Sharon told her.

"Neither of us know that it would do that," Billie sighed, because ultimately she was frightened, not of Jamie, but of what admitting her truth might mean for them both.

"Did you try the dating app?" Sharon asked, concluding that her previous line of thought wasn't having much success.

"Yeah."

"And how's that?"

"It's alright," Billie replied, "I've been talking to this one guy, we have quite a bit in common, he seems nice."

"So why don't you suggest a date?"

"No way," Billie shook her head.

"Why not?"

"What if he's a weirdo?"

"And what if he's not?" Sharon remarked.

"I just...I don't feel ready," Billie admitted.

"People rarely are, if we all waited until we were ready, things would never happen," Sharon told her firmly, "If you don't try, you'll never know."

"I've got to get down to the pitch," Billie sighed, "But thank you for this."

Billie was thanking Dr Sharon for her time more than anything, because despite the therapist's valid and insightful advice, Billie still struggled to see what was right in front of her, she was a typical Kent when it came to burying her head in the sand.

"And we're back, let's round off the Premier League with Arsenal heading to Newcastle where seventeen year old Matthew Kerr will make his debut," Jeff Stelling spoke to the camera as Roy shuffled in his seat, "They're calling him the Irish Ronaldo, what can we expect today?"

"Well, I think we can expect to see a commanding performance from the lad," George was quick to answer.

"Roy, what do you think he'll do today?"

"I don't know, he's seventeen," Roy answered the same repetitive question, "He'll probably have chips for dinner and a wank before bed."

"Oh, apologies for the language," Jeff addressed the audience at home, "Roy, I was looking for some insight about how he'll play."

"I told you, I don't know," Roy huffed, "All we do is sit around here and guess what a bunch of little pricks are gonna go and do out there, then we come back at half time and we complain 'cause they didn't do exactly what we thought they'd do."

"We don't know," Roy continued as his colleagues stared at him in intrigue, "We're not in the locker rooms with them, we're not on the pitch with them, we can't look 'em in the eyes and encourage them to be better than they ever thought they were capable of being," His sister's advice played on his mind, "We're just on the outside looking in."

"Okay, Roy," Jeff nodded, "Well, here's a look at your old team warming up in an interesting new way."

A video of the Richmond team began to play, the players stood in a circle, stretching as Isaac approached each player, one by one, offering unique handshakes.

"It's all pretty loosey-goosey, isn't it?" George scoffed, "Especially for a team that's at the business end of the relegation zone."

"But it's good to see McAdoo with a smile on his face," Chris Kamara sighed, "He's been a shadow of himself all season, I wonder what's gotten into him."

The camera caught Isaac as he made his way over to the sidelines, greeting his head coach with a handshake, bowing as he shook hands with Coach Beard, posing for Billie's camera before wrapping her in a hug, and playfully messing with Nate's tie before running back onto the pitch.

"Bloody cold out there today," Jeff remarked, "Bet you don't miss that, Roy."

"What?" Roy muttered, his eyes trained on the monitor as he watched the team who had welcomed his sister with open arms, who had made her part of their family.

"Said, I bet you don't miss the cold, hey, Roy?"

"I miss all of it," Roy shook his head with a smile, realising just how correct his sister had been, "Excuse me."

"What are you doing?" George remarked as they watched Roy stand up, removing his microphone pack.

"I'm sorry, fellas," Roy sighed, "This isn't what I'm meant to do."

"Roy!" Jeff called out as Roy headed out of the studio.

"Jeff, I have to go," Roy replied as Jeff gave him an understanding nod.

"You alright, Bils?" Jamie asked as he made his way back to the dugout, where Will was on hand to offer the striker a bottle of water.

"Mmhmm," Billie hummed as Jamie jogged on the spot, keeping his body warm as kick off approached, "I'm always okay."

"I just mean, I saw you with Dr Sharon, and if you weren't okay, and wanted to talk about it, that's cool," Jamie insisted.

How could she talk to Jamie about what was on her mind when it was him that was on her mind?

"I appreciate the offer," Billie told him, "But if I told you all my secrets then I would have to silence you."

"You've been watching too many James Bond movies, Bils," Jamie smirked as he handed his water bottle back to Will.

"Whatever you say," Billie rolled her eyes with a smile.

"I just want you to be okay, Billie," Jamie insisted as he stopped jogging for a moment.

"Jamie, I promise that I'm fine," Billie told him, "The minute I'm not, I'll let you know."

"Good," Jamie quickly wrapped her in a hug.

There were seconds to go until the first starting whistle blew and kicked off the first half of the match against Sheffield Wednesday, Billie was sitting beside Will as she changed her camera lens, answering the kitman's various questions about which cameras she recommended.

"I tend to shoot on a-"

"He's here, he's there, he's every-fucking-where, Roy Kent, He's here, he's there, he's every-fucking-where, Roy Kent!"

Billie stood up from the bench to see her brother walking along the side of the pitch as the stadium roared in applause for their former captain. He was dressed in his black suit so she assumed he'd come straight from work.

She couldn't stop herself from grinning as her brother approached the greyhounds's dugout. Isaac and Colin smiled too, having been subjected to Billie's multiple rants about how brilliant her brother would be as a coach.

"Hey," Billie nudged Ted, "Look who the cat dragged in."

"Hello, Coach," Ted smiled at Roy.

Beard and Billie smiled at each other, Nate looked disappointed.

"Really glad you decided to-"

"Shut up," Roy cut Ted off, "Just shut up, you had me at 'Coach.'"

Billie squealed with excitement while Beard gasped.

The old dog was home.

author's note: you have no idea how ready i am for the dynamic between billie, jamie and roy

hope you loved the chapters <3