A/N: Let's just have a nice reminder that I'm Canadian so some things may not be accurate. Thank you pdshalstud for the request :)

Anytime he heard her name on the radio or would see her face on his 85-inch TV, his heart skipped a beat. Manchester United star Jay Halstead didn't dare say he had a crush on Manchester City's women's team captain, Erin Lindsay. In both their leagues, their teams had extensive rivalry. The Manchester Derby brought entertaining competition and turmoil between the fans, much to his enjoyment. Fans hated each other to the point where they couldn't be seated together, so he didn't want to admit his boyhood crush on her.

Jay had been lucky to be recruited by United when he was 18. He had aspirations to go to college and get a degree in criminology, however when he got an email one day of the chance to move to England to play soccer, he couldn't pass up the opportunity. It was a once in a lifetime chance and if he wanted his name to be known around the world, he needed to take it. He had dreamt of this moment ever since he was a kid, watching great footballers such as Thierry Henry and David Beckham on rewind.

The first couple of seasons had been difficult. Moving away from home—his entire family and friends—proved to be incredibly lonely. Sure he was the star on the team and everyone chanted his name and begged for photographs or autographs, but it just wasn't the same. He wasn't blind to the female attention he received and being that young, it fed his ego quite a bit. Whenever he talked to his friends back home they would always tell him how jealous they were—he was living the life while they were still trudging through classes, borderline broke. He got to party with his team, attractive women, and was "drowning in money" according to his brother Will. He debated many times leaving the team—going back home. But could he really leave his dream behind? If it meant going home to comfort, then Jay wouldn't hesitate.

Until that one day.

After the gym on a grey Tuesday, Jay was preparing a post workout meal while Sky News Sports played in the background, like it always did. He was peeling a banana when the words breaking news was broadcast across the screen, pulling his attention away from the fruit.

"Breaking news out of Manchester this morning. Women's football phenom Erin Lindsay—star player at FC Barcelona—is on her way to a new team, Manchester City WFC. This is quite surprising news and we will keep you updated. More at six."

Jay could have dropped the banana in his hand. There was no way possible that Erin Lindsay was moving to Manchester. Like him, she was an American. Her name was always thrown around different teams in the U.S. due to her incredible skill and her pleasant personality. She had been on TV interviews from the age of thirteen around the country and was also getting recruited by top European clubs. Everyone knew that Erin would eventually be playing in a European country, it was just a matter of when.

At a national tournament when Jay was fourteen, he saw her for the first time. Their teams had been staying at the same hotel and one morning during breakfast, they crossed paths. She smiled brightly at him before moving towards a table with the rest of her team with her plate. The French toast sticks that he held with the tongs dropped as his eyes followed her. That was the day Jay knew what love felt like. Well, maybe not love. Infatuation. The light shimmering in her hazel eyes as she looked up at him had been ingrained in his memory for the last ten years. He dreamt of them often and when he saw them again on his tv screen, he was taken back to that day. It was her last season playing in the U.S., she moved to Spain to play on a junior league team and had been there ever since.

The likelihood of bumping into her was slim, and the smile he noticed that he had on his face fell. They played in different stadiums and he unfortunately knew that the women's team didn't get as much attention as it did in Spain. Back in the U.S. he had been part of an advocacy group to get more funding for women's soccer before he moved across the ocean. He did however continue his efforts and was happy to see that girls were far more passionate for the sport in Europe.

His phone ringing brought his attention away from his current thoughts—her—and he got too caught up in his day to think about her again.

It was a day like no other—a day everyone would remember. Manchester was the epicentre of terrorism. Hundreds were hospitalized; dozens were killed. Everyone seemed to be speaking about it. It was the deadliest attack in the United Kingdom since 2005.

All events had been canceled and many were too scared to leave their homes. Terrorism had been increasing in Europe in the past decade but nobody ever thinks it'll hit home—until it does. Jay remembered the day well. The team was ordered to stay in their respective homes and travel was restricted. Social media saw an outpour of support from all types of celebrities—actors, singers, professional athletes.

He posted a picture of the United Kingdom flag and captioned it with a heart, knowing that many people would find comfort in him posting it. After submitting his post, he scrolled down on his timeline, viewing all the love for Manchester from his teammates. He stopped scrolling as he saw the name "Erin_Lindsay" come across one of the images. She posted a picture saying "Manchester Forever" and he scrolled further to read her caption. I have fallen in love with this city I now call home. I'm devastated. But if there's one thing I've learned about the people in Manchester—we always stick together and we will make it through this. Just as he did, she also added an emoji of a heart—although hers was blue.

Jay double tapped on the image before turning his screen off. A smile had subconsciously made its way onto his face that he didn't even notice. It had been a month since she moved to Manchester and he obsessively watched every sports channel to catch a glimpse of her highlights. She was good. No, she was better than good. He was always able to watch her matches now since local sports channels covered the games—and of course nobody wanted to miss a chance at seeing her play. He was itching to see her in another match as it had been over a week since her last game. But he knew that right now, the city was more important.

"I'm not asking you so much for the positive publicity, I know these things appeal to you. Let me know if you want to secure a spot." Jay listened to his agent over the phone as he relayed information about a charity soccer game for the victims. Through Instagram, he saw that Erin had visited those in the hospital and her kindness made his heart flutter. Jay scrolled through her Instagram profile—more than once, although he wouldn't admit it—and was always disappointed when he noticed she didn't follow him. Erin followed football greats such as Lionel Messi, David Beckham, Sergio Aguero, and many more but she didn't follow the star of Manchester United?! His ego would get the best of him and he would vow that he wouldn't stalk her again—until he caught himself doing it in his free time.

"Yeah, I'm down. Thanks for reaching out Tony." Jay hung up the phone and opened up his calendar to add the charity event. He wouldn't ever forget about it, but he always did it as a formality. Antonio—his agent—would send him a confirmed email as well, detailing the event. It was set up for Saturday evening at Old Trafford—the Premier League had the week off. It was meant to raise as much money as possible for the victims and their families to help with bills and anything else that would arise for those who were in recovery. Many players had already donated millions—including Jay—but he knew that collectively, it wouldn't be enough.

On Saturday afternoon, Jay made his way to the stadium as he usually did on match days. He parked his BMW in his designated parking spot before emerging from the car with his backpack in tow. After putting on his bag, he fixed his suit jacket and adjusted his tie before ensuring his car was locked and moving away. Even though the sun barely peaked through the clouds, he wore sunglasses.

As he made his way to the locker room, he greeted a few of his teammates and a few others he recognized from Manchester City. Today wasn't meant to be about rivalries, it was for those affected by the senseless act of violence. He scanned his card at the door and walked over to his cubby—his red jersey was displayed on the hook along with white shorts. Jay disposed of his luxuries—other than his cellphone—in the locker provided above his uniform before he started to undress from his professional attire.

He hung his jacket, dress shirt, and tie on the hanger first and stood shirtless in front of the mirror. He sat down and began to remove his dress shoes and socks before fumbling with his belt and removing his pants. He tossed them to the side and grabbed the white shorts and pulled them over his legs. After locating his slides, he slipped them on and went in search of a snack.

He mindlessly scrolled through his phone as he made his way to the room that housed food meant for the players. When he noticed movement, he looked up, expecting to see one of his teammates.

Oh, he was wrong. He was very wrong.

When she turned around at the sound of a gasp, she was surprised to see a shirtless—and very shocked—Jay Halstead standing at the door and staring at her. His eyes followed her legs up the tight black Nike sweatpants and full sleeve teal fitted jacket she wore—the Manchester City training outfit.

Jay could feel himself blushing—the heat was practically coming off his face. "I-I'm sorry. I have clothes." What the fuck is wrong with you dude?! "Th-they're in there." He pointed back towards the locker room. "I didn't think of putting on my jacket. I'll go get it now!" Hastily, Jay made his way back into the locker room, crashing into the doorframe first. He practically ran to his cubby and snatched the red training jacket off the hanger and put it on as he walked back. The sound of his zipper brought Erin's attention back towards the door—towards a very pink Jay Halstead. "See? Clothes."

"I believed you the first time." Erin laughed at the look on his face. "Try the fish, it's amazing. But I guess you would already know that." She smiled at him before leaving through a different door, shutting it softly behind her.

Jay stood dumbfounded. Erin Lindsay knew who he was. He realized his breathing rate was still high and he could still feel heat emanating off his face. Get a grip. Jay had no idea that she would be at the charity match, but as he made his way over to the table—over to the fish specifically—he realized that he shouldn't have expected any less of her. She was known as football's sweetheart.

As Jay made his way back to his cubby, munching on his snack, he realized there was a smile stuck on his face. He could honestly dance around the locker room at the fact that Erin Lindsay knew who he was. He looked around at others filing into the room and tried to play it off because he didn't want anyone teasing him about it. Since he was one of the younger guys, he was already getting most of the jokes thrown at him—but Jay didn't mind, he had a thick skin.

After he finished eating, Jay removed his training jacket and put on his jersey. He then put on his long white socks, his cleats, and slipped his shin pads into his socks before looking at himself in the small mirror. He ran his fingers through his hair a few times, smoothing out the areas that were sticking out as his gaze met his teammates through the mirror—Jay could see him smirking.

"What?" Jay asked cluelessly as he ran his hand through his hair again. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…It's just that I've never seen you like that. All blushy." His teammate laughed as he finished his sentence.

"I-I'm not blushing." Jay tried to cover. "What are you talking about?"

Jay watched his teammate walk towards him. "Was it her?"

"Who's her?" Jay asked casually, even though he knew who she was.

"Erin Lindsay. The new one on City."

"What? No. Why?" Jay scrunched his nose up, his tell for when he was lying.

"Jay, I've seen you watching her highlights on any TV you can find. Before practice. During practice. After practice. I think I heard you watching her interview on your phone once while you showered." Jay's teammate laughed at the blush that began to creep onto his neck again.

Jay turned around and faced the mirror once more, taking a look at his hair. After it passed his quick inspection, he grabbed his training jacket and slipped it over his jersey while simultaneously walking out to the player's tunnel. He saw the back of Erin's head and couldn't stop the smile from growing on his face. He felt someone watching him in his periphery and when he looked over, his teammate raised his eyebrows at him.

The teams had already been decided and much to Jay's dismay, Erin was not on his. The teams were equally male and female but Jay couldn't help and mope about Erin not being on his. They were set to play a recreational 90 minute match with each goal contributing $1000 to the charity. There were many celebrities in attendance, many of whom were also funding the event. This night had been hyped up for a while now, and the players did not want to disappoint.

Jay's team had won the coin toss and as he stood in the middle of the pitch—ball under his foot—he glanced over at Erin who set herself up in her own position. They were both strikers, so they would be near each other for much of the game.

When the whistle blew, Jay passed the ball over the midline to one of his teammates before jogging into the opponent's side of the field.

By half-time, each team had scored three goals, totalling to $6000 raised so far. During the break, most of the players remained on the field to watch a concert that was going to take place. The lights were turned down low in order for the stage lights to glow and as Jay hesitantly looked his way over to Erin, noticing the way the blue lights twinkle in her eyes. Erin had a smirk on her face as she turned towards Jay's gaze, catching him staring. If the lights were on, he was sure she would catch him blushing again.

Before he knew it, the second half was starting. This time, Jay watched the way Erin's foot played with the ball from outside the circle. He could see the way her quad and hamstring muscles moved with her body as she rolled the ball around in a small circle. It turned him on a little. When the whistle blew, Jay wasn't ready for her to speed past him. He stood shocked in one spot before he regained his composure and made his way further into his team's half. She's perfect.

At the 75 minute mark, Jay ran the ball along the sidelines before cutting into the middle of the field. He glanced around himself to see where his teammates were and realized he was on his own. He was still pretty far from the opponent's net but he knew he wouldn't be able to take them all on, so with all his power, Jay kicked the ball towards the net. He continued to jog after it as he watched the ball sail past a couple of defenders. The ball continued towards the net before Jay realized he put too much spin on it.

Within seconds, the ball began to drop from its height and hit Erin directly in the face. She immediately went down—holding her nose— but no doubtedly stopping the ball.

Jay literally felt his heart drop as he watched the scene unfold—the collective gasp from the crowd didn't help either. He picked up his pace and made his way to Erin, wanting to make sure she was okay. He felt like such an ass. When he looked around him, he noticed his snarky teammate from earlier giving him an unimpressed look. He got closer to Erin before squatting down, trying to remove her hands from her face.

"Erin. I'm so sorry. I didn't expect the ball to turn like that." As he got a closer look, he noticed blood. A trainer was already making her way from the bench with her medical kit and took over quickly.

After assessing Erin's injury, she pressed a gauze pad under her nose and helped Erin to the side of the pitch. Jay also followed while the rest of the players were set to continue the game. He could faintly see some swelling around the bone of her nose and there was no doubt that it was broken. Once they made it to the tunnel, Erin dismissed his attempts at apologizing, telling him that it happens in sports.

Jay stood at the entrance and watched her walk down the tunnel and towards the locker room. He wasn't sure if he should go with her, but decided to give her space while she got her x-rays and was seen by the doctor. There was only ten minutes remaining in the match at that point so he decided to finish the remaining time before going out to look for her.

Those ten minutes were excruciatingly long. His mind didn't ever waver from her and he essentially gave up at that point. After the game, there would be an autograph and photo session and the proceeds were also going to be donated to charity so Jay knew he would have to get off the pitch as fast as he could if he wanted to catch Erin before it was too late.

Jay ran to the visitors locker room when the final whistle blew—foregoing any interviews—to see her before others started to pile in. He found her sitting at a cubby while she held a bag of ice on her nose and his heart ached for her. The commotion brought her gaze towards him and she tried to smile as much as she could.

"Hey." Jay greeted timidly. Okay, maybe he should have thought about what he would say. "How's your face." Stupid. "I mean, like, how's your nose and stuff. I broke it."

Erin giggled shyly before replying. "Yeah, you did break it. I'm out of action for at least a month." Her tone of voice dropped as she spoke, obviously sad that she wouldn't be able to play for a while.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I swear." Jay tried to justify. "I just put a little too much spin on it and your face happened to be where it went. Wait, no. I mean the ball went to your face." Sheepishly, Jay offered a smile. "I'm sorry."

"You can relax around me, you know." Erin moved over in the cubby slightly and patted the open spot next to her. "Sit down."

Jay tried to play it cool as he walked over to Erin and sat down with a small thud. "Honestly though, I'm really sorry. I feel so bad."

"Don't. Like I said earlier, it happens sometimes."

For a couple more minutes, they sat next to each other in a charged silence. Jay turned his head back towards Erin, prompting her to do the same.

"What?" She asked. She noticed his gaze quickly looking down at her lips before returning to her eyes. Slowly, Erin moved the ice pack down to her lap and waited to see what Jay would do. Carefully, he moved towards her, waiting to see if she would pull back. When she didn't, his heart almost leapt out of his chest.

When their lips touch, Jay thought he felt a shock go through his body—he felt the electricity in his toes. After pulling back, he looked at her eyes for any kind of sign.

"What was that for?" Erin asked, her voice even more raspy than usual.

"I'm kissing it better." Jay said almost breathlessly.

"Well, you missed." Erin said, smirking at him.

"Yeah, I know. I'm kinda scared to touch it." Jay admitted. "I can give you another kiss on the lips? I-I think that could make up for it?" Bold.

"Hmm." Erin pretended to contemplate. "I think that makes perfect sense." They both leaned in again but pulled away quickly when hearing others making their way towards the locker room.

"Um." Jay looked around the room, a little bit sad. "I guess I'll see you later then?"

"I guess so." But before Jay could leave, Erin pulled him towards her, planting a quick kiss on his lips. "But I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other a bit more. You have to make up for this, you know." She pointed to her nose, smiling mischievously.

Jay didn't even try to hold back the blush that rose in his cheeks. All he could do was quickly nod his head as he felt his mouth dry up. Hastily, he made his way out of the locker room, a wide smile on his lips.

Erin wanted to see him more? He would definitely be making that happen.

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