Hey all.
Okay, first thing. Credits. I unfortunately don't own any of the GSE characters, settings, etc. I do, however, own Chase and Jenna and any new characters that I might include later. The story is also entirely my own and if it bares any glaring similarity to another story, trust me when I say it is coincidence. Great minds think alike and all that, right. ^_^
Second, I want to apologize in advance for any cultural elements that are horribly incorrect in the story. I've never been to England in my life (though I very much want to) and so I'm not familiar with the colloquial jargon or the school system or the firm culture or anything. All those elements are based on what I can glean from the Hooligans film itself, other films and television shows set in England, the limited research I can do online, and, sad to say, cultural stereotypes (I hope there aren't too many in there). So if you see anything that is culturally wrong, feel free to point it out (nicely, mind you) and even make suggestion on how I might change it. If the change is small enough that it won't seriously affect the flow of the story, I'll make it. If not, please bear with me.
Enjoy!
Chapter 1: You Don't Look Chinese
"Chase, come on! You know I hate pubs. Can't you go later tonight?" Jenna whined as she followed her friend down the London streets.
"And leave you shut up in the hotel all night. No way! I'm making sure you stay out of your cave and get some sun," her best friend remarked, referring to Jenna's unhealthy habit of never going out.
"I'm not asking to go back to the room, just not a pub," Jenna begged.
"Too late. We're here," Chase said, pointing to the building on the corner of the next street.
"How do you even know about this place? It's not like you've ever been to London before. Did you look it up or something?" Jenna asked, scanning the buildings façade. It didn't look like much. It certainly didn't seem like anything special.
"No. Remember I told you I made a few British friends online while I was at Saint Mary's? Well, on of them is a huge football nut and recommended this place," Chase said.
"Great! So we're gonna sit at a pub while I drink nothing but water watching you and a bunch of other rowdy Brits watch a soccer game. Sounds like fun," Jenna muttered sarcastically.
"Firstly, it's FOOTBALL!" Chase stated emphatically. "Second, you like to watch it too. Admit it."
"Yeah! I like to watch it, but I'm not obsessed with it," Jenna remarked.
"Just try to have a good time. For me! You know I've always wanted to go to a real British pub," Chase pleaded.
Jenna rolled her eyes at her friend. Chase had this love affair with England and was madly obsessed with football. When they were both living back in Shanghai she would go to the only pub around just to watch the matches. Her obsession ran so deep that she had made an effort to abandon her use of American English and switched to British English. It was the one thing the two girls didn't have in common.
As the two friends entered the pub, which, Jenna noted, was called the Brigid Abbey Pub, they were assailed by the smell of beer and cigarette smoke. Jenna let out a cough and waved her hand in front of her nose. If there was one smell she couldn't stand, it was the smell of cigarettes.
"And this is why I didn't want to come here," she muttered.
Chase touched her arm and led her through the thick crowd to the bar. "Oi!" she called out, leaning over the bar and waving her arm to try to get the bartender's attention. "Can I get a pint of Carling and a glass of water?"
The bartender gave her a nod to acknowledge he had heard her then went about his business.
Chase turned to her friend who looked none to please about the unruly men that filled the room. Jenna was fairly introverted and desperately hated crowds, especially when alcohol was involved. Today was no exception. True to form, she looked like she just wanted to bolt right on out of there.
"Lighten up, mate. Just try to have a good time," Chase said, trying to ease her companion's anxiety.
Jenna let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah. Right."
Suddenly, a crescendo of singing filled the pub. "I'm forever blowing bubbles. Pretty bubble in the air."
Jenna turned to Chase who was also belting out the words to the familiar song.
"What is this?" she asked.
"Never mind what it is. Just sing with me. Come on," she said.
"They fly so high, they reach the sky. Then like my dream they fade and die." The singing just got louder and louder as the men belted it out at the top of their lungs. Jenna tried to follow along as best as she could. As she mumbled the words under her breath, she noticed that every person in the bar had their attention fixed on a group of men clustered around one of the tables at the back. There were two standing on the tabletop that seemed to be leading the singing. One was a tall blonde man who wore a black turtleneck. The other was relatively shorter than his friend, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes.
"Here you go, miss," the bartender said, placing both their glasses in front of them. Chase handed Jenna her water and took a sip of her beer.
By this time, the men had already launched into another song. Many were doing, what Jenna could only describe as a strange hopping dance as they splashed their various drinks around and clapped along to the beat.
"So tell me, when does the game start?" Jenna practically yelled to her friend.
"Haha! You're that anxious to leave, are you?" Chase said, noting Jenna's less than amused expression. "Don't worry, it'll start soon. It's highly unlikely that this mob will calm down though." Chase said with a grin.
Jenna sighed. "Well, let's at least find somewhere to sit down. I don't wanna be crushed if they suddenly decides to stampede," she said, scanning the room for any vacant tables.
"We should probably just sit at the bar. There don't seem to be any table's left," Chase said, looking around as well.
The two took their seats and Jenna prepared for a wildly boring and uncomfortable evening.
About an hour later, Jenna had taken to sketching on napkins while her friend cheered on the players on the television. She would glance over on occasion and admire the flow of the game and after a few minutes would return to her doodles.
"You okay," Chase inquired. "Look, if you're really bored, we can leave."
"No, no. We're here already and I'm having a good enough time. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. And believe it or not, my allergies haven't flared up yet from all this cigarette smoke. Just go on and watch the game. I'm fine here," Jenna said reassuringly.
"Are you sure?" Chase said.
"Yeah. Don't worry about it," Jenna insisted and waved her friend away.
"Okay," Chase said with a shrug before returning to the game.
Jenna was in the middle of sketching one of the boys on the table across from her when she felt someone elbowing his way towards the bar.
"Oi, Terry. Another round, yeah!" came a heavily accented voice to her right.
Jenna continued with her business until she felt the man's eyes on her. She looked up. It was the blond guy who had been standing on the table before. Their eyes met for a second and she flashed him a small smile of acknowledgement before returning to her napkin.
"That's pretty good likeness" he said.
"Huh?" Jenna replied looking back at him.
"You're drawing my mate, Bovver over there, right? Not a bad likeness," he repeated as he pointed to the man Jenna had been sketching.
"Oh. Um, thanks," she said.
"Ah, you're a Yank?" he inquired, noting her American accent.
"Oh, no. I actually come from Shanghai," Jenna replied.
"Bullocks!" the man stated emphatically. "You don't look Chinese."
"No, I have Spanish heritage. It's just that my grandparent went to Shanghai a long time ago. Both my parents were raised there," Jenna explained. It was always a challenge explaining where she was from. No one ever believed her.
"Well, you don't sound Spanish either," the man said with a smug grin, as if he was trying to catch her in a lie.
"Well, I studied in an international school my whole life, so I guess I picked up my accent from the American kids," Jenna offered.
The man looked at her for a second. He seemed amused, though Jenna couldn't figure out why. "I'm Pete," he finally said offering his hand.
"Jenna," she replied, taking it.
At that moment, the bartender put down a tray of mugs in front of her, splashing a little of the beer onto her napkin as he did so. Bovver's likeness became a mess of running ink.
"Sorry 'bout that," Pete said, indicating her drawing as he took the tray. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Jenna replied as she watched him carry the tray back to his friends.
"Hey, who was that?" Chase asked, turning towards her friend to grab her drink.
"Just a guy. Pete, he said his name was," Jenna said, grabbing another napkin to begin another sketch.
"He was cute," Chase offered.
"Yes, he was," Jenna agreed with a slight smile.
The two grinned at each other for a moment before getting back to their separate activities.