“Everyone is cheering for the young man everywhere he goes, comparing him with Ronaldo and sometimes, his teammate Messi but ones the true Messi is out of the picture, Mbappe seems unable, in the least, to keep the fort down– what in the actual fuck- J'emmerde cet article stupide. Putain de merde.”
“Oi! Oi! Tranquilles!” Hakimi neared him, holding up his hand as a sign of good faith and took the article from his hands. He started reading it himself while Kylian paced around the room in anger.
“It’s not the first time this man has attacked me-” he started “he always has an opinion and never seems to be satisfied with anything-”
“He’s written things about me and Leo as well. I recognize the name. Don’t take it personally it’s just an angry journalist, there are a lot of those-“
“An angry journalist with views and reads. It’s like fucking gossip girl for football and why is it always about me-”
“You’ve watched gossip girl?” asked Hakimi raising his eyebrows. Kylian paused at his question, like he had confessed to a crime or something.
“My girlfriend used to- why do I have to explain this?” Hakimi shrugged, waving away his previous question. Although Kylian was certain that he would probably bring it up again at some point. “Can we please get back on the real issue?”
“Which is?”
“a fucking random guy who has probably never even touched a football in his life. Who the hell even is he-” Kylian snatched pack the article, searching for the name of the author. “J.W.” he read “is that even a real name”
“Ok!” Hakimi grabbed back the article, throwing it on the nearest table “I think you need a break.” He pulled him by the hand to drag him out on the training field.
“Im telling you it’s not a real name-”
“No, I bet it’s not. Let’s go.”

Kylian was grumpy for the rest of the training. Kicking the balls and imagining it was JW, running as fast as he could around the field to take out his anger and tackling even his teammates. When he was over, he sat on the bench in the changing rooms, a towel around his waist and nothing to cover his broad chest. He was holding the article in his hands, reading it again and again. His phone next to him was buzzing with messages and when he opened it his Twitter feed was spammed with the same article. J.W. didn’t have any of his personal information on his website or his socials. Following no one, liking nothing, there was nothing to connect him to an actual person but there were theories about him being a girl. Kylian laughed when he read one of them, it actually brightened his mood, like any girl was bold enough to write such harsh and-as much as he hated to admit it- on point reviews for football players and especially him, who was every girl’s favorite according to… well himself. No, that was just an asshole that was jealous of him. An asshole that probably couldn’t play football or get any of the girls he liked, so he had his fun ruining others. “Typical” he mumbled and shut off his phone but not before typing back a quick respond under his latest tweet “get a life”.

TAYLOR'S HOUSE / LONDON - NIGHT

“Oh no he didn’t!” Taylor’s mouth dropped when she saw his tweet. She got up from the couch, stumbling on the blankets she was covered with and falling on the ground.
“Oh my god, are you ok?” Yelled Trish while eating her popcorn on the other side of the small living room, leaning forward in her seat to look at Taylor, who was now laying with her face planted on the carpet.
“No!” she said putting strength in her hands to get up, groaning as she did that “no I’m not ok! I’m angry” she sat on her knees, staring at her phone “he’s such a cry baby!”
“Who? Oh god Tay, is it your ex again? Didn’t you block him?” she was still eating her popcorn.
“its not Alex! It’s Mbappé!”

Trish mouth remained closed. Her eyes opening wide. She left the bucket with the popcorn on the couch while getting up to get to her friend, sitting on her knees to look at the screen “the hot one?”
“Oh-” Taylor’s hands dropped and she let out a deep sigh of annoyance, looking at her friend like she was done. Trish shrugged her shoulders and got hold of the phone. She began to laugh, trying hard to keep it in so Taylor smacked her in the stomach, getting her phone back.
“What? I’m sorry! It’s funny!”
“It’s not funny!” she finally got up from the floor, untangling herself from all the blankets, throwing them right and left, one of them falling on Trish’s head. “He doesn’t even know me.” She walked over to her computer was, opening it quickly.
“I mean” Trish threw away the blanket she had thrown on her and got up as well “you don’t know him either but you’ve been writing about him every week, judging him-”
“I’m not judging him. I think he’s great! I’m judging the way he plays. Last night he missed 4 chances and ruined 1 because he didn’t want to pass the ball over to Junior-“ Trish had already lost interest but she let her go on for the shake of it “—I’m telling you There’s a difference, and also, it’s my job-”
“It’s not a job, it’s a hobby! Did you even finish that article about the sales, Miranda asked you for?” Taylor looked up from her computer screen slightly. Her eyes betraying her. Trish sighed, shaking her head “you’re unbelievable”
“There was a game last night- I had to watch and write a post. My fans are very demanding.”
“Fans aka creeps on a screen obsessed with football”
“Hey!” she pointed at Trish “I’m on of those creeps”
“Why don’t you just get a job at sports magazine?”
Taylor laughed, while moving the pad to get on her website. There were so many comments on last update about Kylian, it seemed she had really hit a chord. “When you find me one that doesn’t treat women like shit, I will. People find out you’re a woman in this world and suddenly your opinion has no place in their columns. It’s in fact, annoying.”
“So is staying without a job, which is what will happen if you don’t write about those goddamn sales in two hours.”
“It will only take 10 minutes, it’s fine!” she waved it off, hitting press on the new post tab but before her fingers met the keyboard, she got an inbox. She opened it quickly, it was a message from psg, one of their employees. “No shit” she mumbled, barely able to function.
“What now?”
“Galtier wants to speak to me.”
“Who’s that?” Trish walked over to her, a confused look in her face.
“It’s the coach of PSG.”

Trish stood next to her reading the message “Dear JW. My name is Julie Blanchet. I work for the PR of Paris-saint German. The coach of our team, Mr. Galtier, would like to get in contact with you, so I’m tasked to arrange a meeting with you and him in Paris. Please send us an email we can communicate with or a phone. Below you’ll find my personal ID CARD attached so you won’t doubt for the authenticity of this message. Thank you very much. Have a good day.” She paused “well send the email what the hell are you waiting for?”
Taylor was frozen. She was thinking of all the possibilities, fearing them even. Her heart sinking.
“What’s wrong with you?”
She looked up at her friend, desperate. “Any time someone has asked to meet me and I go, they minute they see me they think I’m the assistant and they don’t even believe me when I tell them it’s me. Do I really want to fly all the way to Paris just to get that same reaction?”
Trish bit her lip and kneeled down next to her friend, giving het a sympathetic look. “Just prove to them you are better than any man they could have wished for, no matter the hell they give you. I think it’s time for you to stop hiding, chase what you actually love and put your foot down. You’ve been wasting away your time in things you don’t love for years” She smiled “in the words Kylian Mbappé-”
“Don’t- don’t you fucking dare-”
“Get a life!” she finished the sentence and Taylor jumped on her. Play fighting with her on the floor. She was actually considering it, leaving everything behind in London and chasing something new in Paris, maybe. Or just the opportunity of seeing psg playing live, well that was enough to make her quit her day job and do something spontaneous for ones.

PSG TRAINING CAMPUS / PARIS – DAY

“he hasn’t stopped coughing ever since Saturday. You know how many days is that Ky? 5 days- 5 days off listening him cough his lungs out-“ Kylian wasn’t really listening. Not that he didn’t care about Hakimi and his baby, who apparently was sick, but his mind couldn’t focus. He was pulling on the sled drags and slowly coming up. These exercises were usual for him, he did them every day but today was different, he had this heavy feeling on his stomach. He stopped and released himself from the sled drags, nudging his friend.
“Let’s go have a run.” He said quickly and was already sprinting on the open field. Snatching a ball on his way there and throwing it back on the grass, kicking it. He did a few tricks, kicking it up in there and then pushing it with his head on his friend who stepped on it and kicked it back to him.
“You ok bro?” he asked, while they exchanged passes at each other.
“Sure. I may had over reacted with the JW thing.”
Hakimi laughed “No kidding.”
“I don’t know. There’s something awfully annoying about him-“
“GUYS!” Neymar Jr. ran about to them, out of breath like he had been running from the other side of the stadium. Kylian noticed he had a weird look on his face and ducked down to get the ball while Hakimi was approaching him “I went to see Linda, you know, new secretary, upstairs. Looks very pretty today by the way-“
“To the point Junior!”
Neymar took in a few more breaths, pointing up at the offices of Galtier. “JW is here. You know, football writer, he has a website-“
“Yeah we’ve heard of hm- Kylian where are you going? Kylian-“

Hakimi rushed behind his friend, who was walking very fast down the hallways. Kylian heard him yelling but he wasn’t going to stop, he wanted to meet that fool even if it got him in trouble with Galtier, see if he had the balls to say all that he was writing on his face. He brushed passed a few people who called his name until he reached the upper floor where the offices were. Linda, stood up when she saw him and walked towards him to stop him- “Mr. Galtier is in a meeting-“ The moment she said that the door opened, Galtier coming out first, Kylian moved closer to him, angry. Hakimi had just reached him, to hold him back.

“Is it true is that fucking fool here. Where is he? Scared to come out-“ he went quiet quickly when he saw a girl coming out, no older than 25 years old. Brunette hair, hazel eyes. Holding a pile of folders in her hands. She looked small next to Galtier, she looked nervous. Kylian laughed, rubbing his face “He couldn’t even come here himself? He had to send his assistant? Who the hell are you-“

Galtier went to speak “She’s actually-“ but the small girl raised her hand to stop him, faking a smile.
“I’m Taylor. JW’s assistant.” She answered, reaching her hand out for Kylian to shake. Kylian looked at her hand suspiciously before accepting the offer.
“Your boss is a coward, isn’t he?”
She laughed, taking back her hand. “Is there a message you want me to give to him Mr. Mbappe. Except of course the one you already sent him yourself.”
Kylian backed off, placing his hands on his hips “Tell him he should keep his nose out off thing he doesn’t have the knowledge on. And he was unfair for Friday’s game-“
“So you didn’t actually avoid passing the ball to Number 10 who was unmarked across from you because the defenders were occupied with the golden child, that’s you by the way, and instead chose to go with an impossible kick for the net which of course resulted to you missing a golden chance.” She spoke so quickly he could hardly follow her rhythm. She gave him a smile at the end, like she knew she had already won the argument.

Hakimi got close to him, putting his hand over his mouth and whispering repeatedly “abort, abort, abort.” Kylian had to slap him on the chest for him to stop and getaway.

“My boss writes what he sees. If you don’t like what he writes, you have to change what he sees.”
“Yes, of course!” said Galtier, in an attempt to cut the tension. Kylian was staring at Taylor like he was going to attack her any time now. “Your presence here, I’m sure will help with that.”
“Her presence?” Kylian raised his eyebrows, he could feel his anger raising as he realized what the situation he walked in on actually was.
“Yes, Miss-“
“Taylor” completed the girl, like Galtier was gonna go ahead and say something different.
“Taylor, yes. She’s here to journal your trainings and your games.”
“In what capacity?” Asked Kylian narrowing his eyes. “This doesn’t make any sense.”
“Well she’s-“
“My boss wants a better look at the team of the guy that insulted him on social media. Maybe he really was wrong. But before he gets here to apologize we wanna make sure he won’t be wasting his time.”
“Waste—” he laughed “wasting his time? Are you boys listening to this?”
“On top of that. He is writing a special article on the website. A month with Paris-Saint German.”
“Yes, of course, there’s that too.”

Kylian could understand just be her look that she only said the first part to piss him off and in all honesty she had succeeded. He walked closer to the girl, looking down at her. “He shouldn’t have sent a poor girl like you down here to clean his mess.”

“You’ll find I’m not easily intimidated sir.” She shot back “But very easily provoked.” Kylian let out another bitter laugh and he turned his back on her, leaving. Deep down knowing nothing about her being here would be easy and this next month would be the worst.