UNPREDICTABLE
XII. TOO VALUABLE
"CAN WE JUST TRAIN ALREADY?"

➖
SURPRISED wasn't even an understatement, when Emery had arrived home to find that Ashes had fallen asleep curled up on the spare pillow on her bed. A small grin overtook the blonde's face at the sight of him, quickly taking a photograph of him on her phone.

She'd plugged it into the charger, before giving Ashes a small pat. He let out a squeak, awakening from his small midday nap. She giggled, giving him another pat as she rose from the bed to walk into the bathroom so she could shower.

Turning the shower on, she felt her Fitbit vibrate on her arm, alerting her that she had a message. She looked down, finding a message from the person she'd least expect it from. It'd been a while since she had last spoken to him.

PA:
Darlin, I know you're still upset with me, and I'm really sorry. Can we please talk in person sometime today?
sent at 12:21pm

Emery just undressed herself and climbed into the shower after removing her Fitbit, the warm water running down her back and down her body. She instantly felt refreshed, quickly brushing a comb through her hair, careful not to tug on it because hair is most sensitive when it's wet, before she climbed out again.

She then wrapped a towel around her body after drying herself off. She made her way back into her bedroom, finding that Ashes was still asleep in the same spot, causing a small chuckle to escape her lips. She grabbed her basketball clothing out of her cupboard and threw them on after searching for her sports bra and underwear.

She made her way into the kitchen, grabbing a banana from the bench to eat before the game. The bing of her phone made her jump in surprise as she made her way into her bedroom again. She picked it up, finding a message from her least favourite person in the world.

P'S FAVOURITE LIL BITCH:
Wow, how dare you ignore your boss. You know you have your read receipts on right?
read at 12:38pm

EMERY ELLWOOD:
You know I have a life outside of work right? And I know. It's so I can tell when Lainey ignores me, and I can shove it in her face when she says she didn't get it.
read at 12:40pm

PA'S FAVOURITE LIL BITCH:
Oooh, smart ass. I can get you fired you know that right? And it wouldn't surprise me, she ignores mine a lot too.
read at 12:43pm

EMERY ELLWOOD:
Was raised by the biggest smart ass of all, also worked for him too. And try me. You won't. And yeah, it's a habit of hers.
read at 12:45pm

Emery started packing her basketball gear that she'd forgotten to do the night before. She grabbed her shoes, quickly shoving them into her bag along with her towel, drink bottle and towel. She placed her headband around her neck so that she wouldn't forget it.

She slipped on her basketball club's long sleeve training shirt, before picking up her bag. It was a requirement to wear all the gear, otherwise you'd get in trouble for being out of uniform. She hung her bag off her shoulder, sliding her feet into her Nike slides.

She said goodbye to Ashes, who was curled up on the bed, playing with his favourite piece of string. He meowed back in response to Emery saying goodbye, which made her heart swell in admiration. She grabbed her keys and phone, and made her way downstairs after locking her apartment door.

PA'S FAVOURITE LIL BITCH:
It wouldn't surprise me. You want to bet? I can try.
read at 12:56pm

EMERY ELLWOOD:
Yep haha. You won't. I know you won't, because you need me. You don't have to admit it, but you do.
read at 12:58pm

PA'S FAVOURITE LIL BITCH:
No I won't. You're too valuable to the company to get rid of you.
sent at 1:00pm

PA'S FAVOURITE LIL BITCH:
You took a while to reply. You okay?
read at 1:01pm

EMERY ELLWOOD:
That's what I thought. Sorry that I have a life outside of texting you. Kidding. I was getting ready for basketball. I have to go, gotta drive.
read at 1:02pm

PA'S FAVOURITE LIL BITCH:
Ooooh, okay. Okay byeeee. Drive safely x
read at 1:03pm

Emery tried to ignore the little "x" Shawn sent at the end of his message, but she couldn't. Was he really interested in her? Is that why he wouldn't let her walk home? Why he let her stay over at his house? Let her use his clothes, his shower? Sleep in his bed? He couldn't like her, could he?

She suddenly remembered what she was told as a child by her grandfather. Relationships in the work place are chaotic, and cause problems for everyone in that same place. Don't date a co worker. Everything will go downhill. She'd always followed that rule, as it was also said by law. It was against any rules.

She couldn't date Shawn. There's no way. She'd get hated on by so many people. Rumours about her trying to sleep with the boss would circulate, and she'd get called a gold digger because everybody would assume she's trying to get a promotion. But she would never. She wouldn't do that to her grandfather.

Speaking of, she was supposed to reply to a text message from him before hand, but had completely forgotten. Emery had made it to the stadium, parking in her regular spot. She quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket.

EMERY ELLWOOD:
I'm not mad. I was just disappointed. And I can't, sorry Pa. I have basketball today. Maybe another time x
read at 1:11pm

PA:
Okay darlin. Good luck. Text me whenever you're free next x
read at 1:13pm

EMERY ELLWOOD:
Thank you, and will do x
sent at 1:15pm

She climbed out of her car after grabbing her bag from beside her, and placing her phone back into her pocket. She locked the car and was making her way to the entrance of the stadium, when someone grabbed at her shirt.

The blonde turned around, finding a little girl dressed in her team's uniform, with Emery's number and name on it. She looked to be about 7 years old. She bent down to the girls height, noticing the ball and hat she had.

"Hi darlin', how are you?" Emery asked.

The little girl grinned. "I'm good! Can you sign these for me? One is for my little brother. He's not feeling too well today."

Emery noticed the small pout on her face, which made her a little saddened to see the little girl upset. She unzipped her bag and pulled out the spare sharpie she kept in there, taking the lid off.

"Aw, that's no good. Which one is for your brother?"

The little girl held out the ball to her, making Emery smile. She took the ball from her grasp gently, placing it on her knee so she could sign it. She then asked what her brother's name was, which was Alex, and her name was Josie. Emery then signed the ball.

"Alex,
Hey buddy, stay strong and keep fighting. You'll be able to do anything. Thank you for support! Hopefully I'll meet you at another game!

Lots of love,
Emery Ellwood #89"

Emery handed the ball back to Josie, who smiled up at her in admiration. She was then given the hat to sign, as Josie's mother walked up and stood behind her.

"Josie,
Thank you for supporting me. I appreciate it! Hopefully you'll grow up and be an inspiration for children your age. Continue being cute too, you gorgeous thing, and keep the boys away too.

Lots of love,
Emery Ellwood, #89"

Emery then placed the hat on Josie's head, which made Josie grin wildly up at her role model. Emery placed her sharpie back into her bag, picking it up again.

"Thank you so much Emery!" Josie said.

Emery grinned. "You're welcome love. Did you want a photo?"

Josie then looked up at her mother, who just nodded her head with a smile. Emery pulled her phone out of her pocket and handed it to Josie's mother, before picking up the little girl as she held her arms out for her. Josie looked down at the ground, realising how tall Emery was.

"You're so tall!" Josie said.

"Haha, thank you! I wonder if you'll grow to be this big!"

Josie giggled. "I hope so! Then I can rebound all the balls!"

Emery let out a chuckle at her, the mother taking a handful of photos, before she told them to look at her. They took a nice photo, and a few silly ones, before Emery had to go into the stadium. She gave Josie a hug, and a kiss on the forehead, before she was waving goodbye at the both of them.

Emery smiled to herself. She loved her fans. She had so many that she'd met, and so many that she hadn't. She hoped to meet all of them one day, no matter how long it took. Her fans were everything to her. Emery was greeted by Jake, who gave her a hug and a "hello" on her way in, before she was making her way to the change rooms to find her team mates.

There they were, all changing and putting their shoes on. Emery quietly entered the room, grateful that the door didn't squeak like it did a few seasons ago. The group of them were chatting amongst themselves, laughing and shoving one another around.

"BOO!" Emery yelled.

There were a few yells, and a few screams of surprise, while some who didn't get scared,  laughed like maniacs at those who did. Emery was bent over in laughter, walking over to take a seat so that she could put her training shoes on.

The group of girls started catching up on things from the past week, as this was the only time they did it. They didn't have time to do it when they were training during the week, as they were so busy during those training sessions.

The conversation turned from Ringer's daughter's birthday, to work, and then suddenly, the topic was on Emery and her job. She had no clue as to how her job became the sudden topic, but it did.

"So, how's work Emery?" asked Bartsch.

"It's busy, but it's alright," replied Emery.

The girls started giggling between the group of them. Emery just frowned, and continued stretching on the floor. She'd already put her shoes away, and was now getting ready to train.

"How's Mr Mendes?" Stark asked.

Emery looked up at the group of them, a confused expression on her face. "He's fine," she shrugged.

"He was looking for you," mentioned Ringer.

"Shawn? When?"

"Bout fifteen minutes before you got here. He's been walking around the stadium since then I think."

Emery nodded her head. She rose from the ground as she'd finished stretching, grabbing her bag and then leaving the change room. She'd made it into the stadium doors, pushing them open. She was met with the empty seats and the empty court. Just the way she liked it.

She jogged her way down the stairs, making it onto the court where she placed her bag down. She unzipped her bag and grabbed her ball out, quickly dribbling onto the court, where she'd taken a quick layup. She spent about fifteen minutes shooting by herself, when a voice startled her.

"I see why they call you the lone gunman," said a voice.

Emery quickly turned around, finding the man who had partially ruined her chance at a career. He had his hands in his pockets, leaning against the score bench, watching her like he owned the place. It honestly wouldn't surprise her if he did own the stadium. His family were awfully rich.

"Why's that?"

Shawn pushed himself off the score bench, making his way over to where her ball had rolled over to when he'd scared her, and distracted her enough for her to forget about her ball entirely. He had that kind of power over her.

"Every single shot of yours just went in," Shawn said, handing the ball to her.

Emery just shrugged. "I just train a lot."

"An awful lot by the looks of it."

"To stay big, you've got to," explained Emery. "What are you doing here anyway? The game doesn't start until ten to three."

"I came to give you this. Left it at my house the other night."

Shawn reached out for her. Emery's eyes locked on the familiar clear case that held her purple mouth guard. She frowned, not even realising that she'd even lost it to begin with.

Emery took it from his hands, smiling at him gently. She opened the case, pulling out her mouth guard and sticking it under the strap of her bra, so she wouldn't forget to wear it in the game.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

It was silent as Emery walked over to her bag, sliding the case into one of the pockets. She then made her way back over to Shawn, staring down at the floor, with her ball in her grasp. But not for very much longer. Shawn quickly snatched it, running around her, dribbling the ball away.

Emery was on high alert, quickly running after him. She quickly defended, two hands up in the air as Shawn laid the ball up. Emery let out a laugh, quickly grabbing the rebound, dribbling back up to the three point line.

She stood, dribbling the ball back and forth between both of her hands. Shawn stood in front of her, watching her intensely to try and figure out her next move. She quickly stepped to the left, swinging the ball low to the right, quickly dribbling past Shawn, but he was too quick. He was in front, defending her, so she bounced the ball behind her back to her left, taking a seat around Shawn, laying the ball uP into the ring easily.

"Nice moves."

Emery shrugged. "Nothing I haven't done before."

The sound of the stadium door opening caught their attention, familiar voices echoing around the stadium. Shawn noticed the rest of Emery's team, including her coach, walk into the stadium. He then decided it be best if he left them alone to train.

"I better go. You have to train," said Shawn.

Emery quickly looked over at Shawn, noticing that he also heard her teammates walk in. She just nodded her head at him, as she took the ball from his hands that he was holding out to her.

"You don't have too."

Emery found herself wanting to slap herself. Did she really just say that? She sounded so desperate in that moment, she wanted to crawl up into a ball and cry. Shawn just let out a small chuckle at her, noticing the small blush on her cheeks.8

"I'll be here at two thirty anyway."

Shawn winked at her playfully, making his way out of the stadium, walking past Emery's team. Ringer smirked over at her, which Emery then stuck the finger up at her.

"How was your make out session?"

Emery stuck the finger up again, rolling her eyes at her team mate. The rest of the girls let out laughs, causing Emery's cheeks to flush bright red. They all grabbed their balls out making their way over to Emery, who was already on the court.

"Can we just train already?"