Chapter One : Oblivious

Author's note : Okay, I know these are really annoying but after this note, they'll all be at the end of the chapters. First off, thank you for choosing this story and I hope you enjoy it! Secondly, this basically follows the same plot as the film and explores Pete and the boys of the GSE's lives before Matt showed up and (I'm hoping) will create a brilliant romance fan fiction!

I hope you enjoy this story! Reviews would be grand! xo

P.S Apologies for the long-arse first chapter. Following ones will be shorter, promise :)

Pete threw a mighty punch to Frankie's right cheek, sending blood shooting out of his mouth and sending his body to the ground. Pete quickly threw himself onto the vulnerable man and threw another punch to his opposite cheek with the same velocity as his previous hit. His mind fogged out as he continued to throw his fist across the man's face without mercy, completely oblivious to the pain ringing out of his knuckles. He furiously threw his forehead onto Frankie's nose, hearing a crack, but nonchalantly continuing.

"Pete!" a familiar feminine voice - evidently riddled with fear and horror - caught his ear "Pete! Stop!" she screamed at him, draining the adrenalin rush from his body.

At first he didn't listen, and continued to throw a furious punch to Frankie's face, the sound of his teeth cracking under Pete's fists.

The sound of hurried footsteps was only processed in the part of his brain that wasn't tranced in his furious adrenalin rush, and the thought of stopping his assault was yet to become an option.

"Pete!" he felt the woman's voice closer to him, and a small hand tugging at his shoulder "Pete, it's the police!"

...

3 hours earlier

Winona traipsed down the sidewalk, the cold London air breezing through the waves of her chocolate coloured hair and raising goosebumps on all exposed parts of her skin. The unnerving stench of alcohol and drugs invaded her senses as a group of 13-year-old looking boys - dressed in Hammer shirts - chanted and cheered their way passed her, their wolf-whistling and hollering at her almost drowned out by their indistinguishable cheering.

She tried to understand why young kids felt the need to grow up so quickly, and immaturely at that. 12-year-old booze heads would be screwing about East London with no other intentions than getting munted and pissed out of their bloody tree and having a good ol' shag with a fit bird. See, she remembered being a teenager and doing unnecessary things to pass the time. Yet in a sense, she never grew up herself. She guessed she had Steve Dunham to thank for that.

It had been years since Winona saw Steve - one of her best mates. And although she intended to visit him on many occasions, he always seemed to be too caught up in starting his own family. However, going on 21, something told her that she needed to see him. Nonetheless, she understood that he had his ankle biter and his wife to think of, and the glow that began reflecting off of him as soon as Shannon said 'I do' was unmistakable - almost abnormal. It was as if 'Crazy madman Steve Dunham' had been replaced by 'Schoolboy wooed Stevie'; it sure as Hell looked like it.

But well before that, he was a crazed man, driven by genuine love for the world's greatest sport - football. His anger, his love and his downfall all stemmed from his passion for the game, and the more he was bruised, beaten and battered, the more war scars he was able to wear like medallions.

Winona knew it. Winona lived it.

The sight of his tiny two-storey home came into view. It was mediocre; nothing too stand-offish. She guessed it was like Steve in that sense.

She breathed in a big breath of cold London air and let it sit in her throat before exhaling. 'Please, don't be too different' she thought to herself 'Please, be the same good ol' Steve'. For the entirety of the time in between making the decision to go back to England and that moment, she had been riddled with an unpleasant scenario of seeing Steve - scratch that - seeing everything again, and all of it having been completely shifted.

Nonetheless, whoever was in that house by the name of Steve Dunham, she would never know unless she grew a pair and walked to the front door.

"Don't be a pussy" she whispered to herself, finally bringing her feet to move.

Winona knocked on the front door thrice, her hand trembling as she slid it back into her jacket pocket. It became apparent to her just how cold England really was, and how different it was to Australia. Compared to England, she guessed she must have been living three miles from the sun back there, and she wouldn't return to it for anything.

No more had it been than twenty seconds when she realized nobody was coming to answer her. Sighing, she pressed her face against the glass of the door, wiping away the foggy clouds from the surface. Her window eyes travelled this way and that, and her cheeks felt wet from the glass. She predisposed someone was home, seeing as the lights in the kitchen and lounge were switched on, and the warmth of the house made itself known even through the window.

As she noticed an unmistakable shadow appearing behind the arched door jam, she pulled herself away from the glass of the door, her legs suddenly begging to pull a runner. 'Here we go' she thought to herself.

To her relief, a familiar face appeared behind the glass - an attractive, clean-shaven man smiling at her with pearly white teeth and deep blue eyes.

"Nona?" he asked as if he believed she wasn't really there "Nona!" Steve erupted as he realized that she was there - that it was actually her.

...

"Are you fucking joking!?" Ned cackled through the phone.

"Nah, mate. Told her straight up to piss off" Pete kicked a can onto the road as he continued sauntering along the sidewalk.

"You're a brutal cunt, Pete Dunham!" Ned laughed boisterously, forcing Pete to pull the phone away from his ear for a few seconds.

"Aye, Pete" another voice abruptly greeted him through the phone chorused with crackles of static.

"Alright, Bov?" Pete internally laughed, recognizing his rusty smoker voice.

"So, what's all this bollocks I'm hearing about you not shagging that bird from last night?" Bovver nosily asked, clearly already knowing the answer "What the fuck? I picked that one out specially for you" Bovver protested.

"Mate" Pete sighed "She wasn't all that great. Sure, she was fit-"

"Then what the fuck are you having a bitch for?" Bovver chuckled, the sound of him taking a drag of a cigarette becoming familiar to Pete.

"Listen here-"

"Nah, you listen here. You need a shag. No one has the brass balls to tell you, though" Bovver played his 'brutal honesty' card again.

"Hasn't been that long" Pete lied.

"You fucking joking?" Bovver scoffed "Can't remember the last time I saw you take a bird home. Makes me wonder if you're gay or something"

Pete couldn't help but smile at Bovver's laughable persistence.

"I'm not gay, Bov. There's just no one I fancy at the moment" he rubbed his forehead, thinking through ways he could escape the conversation

"You don't need to fancy them, you arsehole. Not if you're only looking to unwind on 'em"

"Oi, I gotta go. I'm heading to Steve's now but I'll meet you at the Abbey-"

"Tell you what, I'll get ya a bird at the Abbey"

"Bov-" Pete stretched his name, hinting at him to piss off.

"You get drinks. Beers for a bird. Whaddyou say?" Bovver insisted.

"Bov, you're breaking up" Pete lied "Bo- brea- up"

"Oh, fuck off, you cock-munching cu-"

Pete snapped his phone shut, an unmistakable grin spread across his clean-shaven face.

Bovver never ceased to cheer Pete up. That being said, there's a hundred and one ways Bovver could make Pete snap like a twig. He guessed that's what being mates was all about - two people knowing each other at their best and worst, and me, oh my did they know just that.

Evidently, when you're a part of a wide-known football firm - living the life of drinking, fighting, bathing in glory, repeat - you see who really has your back, and the lengths you'd go to have theirs. There were no exceptions when it came to his boys, more or less known as the GSE - Green Street Elite. Although Bovver was Pete's closest mate, there wasn't one bloke in the GSE he couldn't rely on. Being the head of the firm just added to Pete's mateship with his boys, but it also added to the possibility of things taking a turn for the worst for him. The fact that he was filling the mighty big shoes of his father and brother at the age of 22 didn't ease the pressure, but Pete was persistent on bringing back the GSE's heightened reputation. Any bloke who got in the way of that would regret that they did.

His thoughts were interrupted at the familiar sound of his phone singing at him, funnily accentuating the caller's desperation.

"Hello?"

"Why'd you hang up on me, arsehole?"

...

"Oh!" Winona yelled in surprise as Steve threw the door open and pulled her into a tight embrace, wrapping his arms around her waist and taking in the warmth of her body which he had come to miss. Winona returned his hug, indulging herself in the memories that seemed to flood back at something so simple.

"I'll be damned" Steve muffled into her shoulder. Winona didn't respond, too immersed in their embrace to form a sentence.

She hadn't realized that her feet had left the ground before he began to lower her, and she felt awkward tripping on her own feet as he did so. Letting herself catch her breath again, she loosened her grip on him and allowed herself to take a good look at him up and down.

"Still can't get over the fact that you chopped the mullet off" she giggled as he messed his hair with her hand, earning a boisterous laugh from him.

"And look at you" he exclaimed, grabbing her cold hand and spinning her around "You're a vision, sweetheart. Where the Hell has little Nonny Sommer gone?" he jeered, earning a tight-lipped grin from Winona.

"Still me. Still Nonny Sommer" she giggled, shrugging her shoulders "Without the acne, vivid hormones and schoolgirl mentality" she joked.

She really was a vision. Looking at her up and down, at first Steve thought she was one of those models who came to your door to tell you that you won the lottery. Then, he saw those doe, deep green eyes of hers and he knew just who he was looking at. But, he couldn't believe it. Her light ebony hair had transitioned to dark brown, and her short stature that he had come to love was non-existent anymore. Her black hoodie clung to her tiny waist, and her jeans did the same to her endless legs. He guessed blokes must've been lining up behind her just to get a look.

But, even through her immaculate beauty, she was still Little Nonny to him. No matter how she looked, acted, walked or talked, Nonny Sommer was still there. She was still looking up at him with those big doe, green eyes above freckled cheeks, her long ebony hair still flowing in the wind.

"So, what brings you down here? I hadn't realized Hell had frozen over" he asked through his muse, reminding Winona of the last thing she had said to him - 'I'll come back to England when Hell freezes over'.

"Not yet, Stevie. But, seeing as it's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey, you're bloody well close" Winona hinted to him to invite her into the house, earning a snicker from him "I hope you're alright with the sudden drop-in, I wanted to surprise you guys" she sputtered, her mouth feeling dry from the cold air.

Steve noticed her typical clean English accent had transitioned to something along the line of Australian and English, and it sounded magnificent.

"Shut up, Nona. Just glad you're here" he said warmly, waving off Winona's comment and issuing her into the house.

Looking about, to Winona it was a house only fit for a family. You wouldn't find a bachelorette painting their walls light lily or deciding whether orchids or sunflowers were more inviting. That wasn't Winona's fitting. This - this was uncomfortable.

"Want something to drink?" he offered, glancing back at her.

"Wouldn't say no to a beer"

Steve chuckled as they sauntered to the kitchen, and was still trying to process the fact that Winona was back in England - back home.

He ripped a bottle of beer from.a sixer whilst Winona pulled herself atop the marble kitchen counter. Her lacking etiquette was always something of a trademark to her, and Steve was somewhat happy it hadn't shifted. Given the fact that Shannon had bet Steve that the next time they saw Winona, she'd be a tad more lady-like.

"Here you are" he smiled as he handed Winona the beer and lied himself against the table opposite her. He snickered internally as Winona twisted the cap of the beer bottle with the flesh of her arm. She really hadn't changed "So, how's Australia going, Nona? Any big scoops?"

"Mm" Winona muffled as she poured the groggy alcohol down her throat "Not too great. I've been stuck reporting things like oil leaks and Africanized bees for the past year"

"I thought you were looking at doing journalism?" he questioned, tilting his head slightly.

"I was - am. But, things haven't panned out as I hoped" she frowned, taking a long gulp of her beer.

A small sympathetic simper spread across Steve's small lips.

"So, are you thinking of staying here? Permanently?" he sputtered.

"Well, I haven't decided yet" Winona paused as she took another gulp of her beer "Guess I'm just hoping life back home'll be good enough to keep me here"

"Is that right?" he said, pursing his lips.

"Guess so" she smiled, looking at her watch "I'm going to head off to the Abbey soon if you're interested" she asked, raising her eyebrow at him.

"The Abbey? Ah, Nona" he said, shaking his head "Haven't been back there in years" she nodded understandably "And are you sure that's the best idea? I mean, going back to the Abbey before the Hammers game. It'll be pretty wild"

"Steve" Winona rolled her eyes and laughed at him "I'm going there for old times sake" she giggled, oblivious to Steve's genuine concern.

"Baby!" a familiar voice called, followed by loud footsteps trailing down the staircase "Who is that?" she called, swinging into the kitchen.

"Winona!" she exclaimed before bolting to Winona and throwing her long arms around her before she could respond.

"Hello to you too, Shan" Winona giggled through a crushed stomach. Shannon's warmth compensated for her unbearable grip on her, and her muffled laughs let Winona know she was happy to see her.

"It's been forever! You look incredible! My god" she exclaimed in her floozy American accent, making almost every 'o' sound like an 'ah'

"What the heck are you doing back here?" Shannon asked.

A harsh round of knocks came from the front door, annoyingly interrupting another conversation.

"'Scuse me" Steve said politely before traipsing to the front door.

"Oh, God" Shannon threw her face into her hands, apperceiving who it was just by the way they knocked on the door.

"What's wrong?"

"Steve's brother. That's what's wrong"

Steve's brother was almost like an urban legend to Winona. She heard stories about him. She saw pictures of him. But, she never met him. That being said, Steve always tried desperately to keep him away from the lifestyle he had grown accustom to. But, that never stopped him from bragging about this 'Pete' fella.

"Ah, I've heard a lot about him" she mused, nodding her head.

"He's not the kind of guy you want to get involved with, Non. Trust me" she lectured.

"He can't be too ba-"

"Oi, Bruv!" a loud voice suspended Winona followed by heavy footsteps that echoed through the house.

"Just don't get involved with him, okay? You're too good for that" Shannon stomped her way out of the kitchen, leaving Winona to herself and a half-empty bottle of beer.

"Wouldn't fancy a beer. Would ya, bruv?" a young man walked into the kitchen and immediately traipsed towards the fridge.

"Doesn't matter what I say. You'll get me one anyways" Steve raised his eyebrows at Winona, and rubbed his forehead in frustration.

Pete cackled at his brother and shoved a bottle of beer into his hands, twisting the cap of his own with his teeth.

It took Winona a while to really see this 'Pete' bloke. He was all over the shop; he was pacing back and forth and turning his body here and there. She could already tell he was uncontainable - exciting. However, when she did get a good look at him, it took her a while to admit to herself his evident attractiveness. His face was handsome - masculine, and his clothes didn't compliment his unobvious muscular physique. But even so, his muscles made themselves known slightly through his dirty cream coat.

"Pete" Steve said firmly, issuing Pete to stop funning about "This is my mate - Winona Sommer" he motioned towards Winona with his head, signalling Pete to look at the girl he had been completely oblivious to.

And boy, did he feel stupid.

She was beautiful - impeccable, with flowing raven hair and piercing green eyes. His baby blue ones instinctively travelled from her clean mahogany brown combat boots and up her long legs covered in blue jeans to her tiny waist, and trailed up her flawless dark chocolate waves and back to her deep emerald eyes. And that moment was the first time she really 'looked' at him with those endless emerald eyes of hers, and it felt incredible for him.

"How are we, love?" Pete managed to let slip.

"Can't complain" her sugary voice responded.

A sudden eruption of high-pitched cries and screams echoed through the house, signalling the distress of Ben - Steve's son.

"Christ" Steve breathed.

"Steve!" Shannon called from above them.

"Coming, babe!" he marched his way out of the kitchen and up the stairs, leaving Pete and Winona to themselves and each other.

Winona beamed at Pete as she pulled herself atop the marble counter again.

"So, you're the famous Pete Dunham" Winona smirked.

"I'm him. But, don't let the stories fool ya. I'm actually a halfway decent bloke" he joked, taking a gulp of his beer.

"No, no. I believe it. And if rumours are to be believed, you're quite the athlete" she subconsciously flirted, tapping her fingers on the marble.

"Ah, well" he simpered "I've got brother Steve to thank for that"

"Sounds about right. Always been a good teacher, Stevie Dunham" she laughed "Taught me everything I know"

"How unfortunate" Pete joked, forcing his eyes away as he caught himself watching her long legs cross over one another.

"Well" she pulled herself off of the marble counter to the floor "We were all teenagers once"

"I see" Pete laughed "Were we a bit of a troublemaker in our youth, Sommer?"

The way Pete said Winona's last name sent shivers running up her spine - the good kind.

"I'd be lying if I said I was all rainbows and sunshine to me teachers and parents" she giggled, making the same feeling shoot through Pete "And that's Miss Sommer to you, mate" she joked, scolding him with her finger.

He raised his arms in defence and traipsed to the sink, sitting his beer bottle beside it. Winona pulled her watch to her sight and sighed heavily at the time.

"Problem?" she turned to Pete's voice and laughed awkwardly at herself.

"No problem. Just gotta head off to the Abbey soon" she spoke nonchalantly.

The words stood out to Pete as he stared over the sink at the half-dripping tap "Abbey?"

"Hey, Nona" Steve suspended their conversation as he marched into the kitchen with his typical 'chin up, shoulders back' stride in his step. "How would you like to go with Pete here to the Abbey?" he asked abruptly, placing his hand on Pete's wide shoulder.

"Steve" Winona laughed, scraping her hair back with her hand "I think I'll be alright on my own"

"A bird like you goin' up and down East London at this time of day?" Pete said in an unsure tone, pursing his lips at her "You really think that's the best idea?"

She rolled her eyes and laughed at the face Pete was making at her, telling her she's mad. It seemed that the protective nature she constantly saw in Steve ran in the family, and she'd be lying if she said she was over the moon about it.

"I can take care of myself, Pete. Don't worry your pretty arse over me" she blurted out, and she immediately wanted to take the last part back. However, Pete's confidence had sky-rocketed as soon as the words left her lips and it was evident in his simper.

"Well, I don't feel right with you going out by yourself, Nona" Steve broke the awkwardness.

"Steve" she stretched his name whilst giving him a weak push "You know I can handle myself. Have a good time with Shannon" she winked at him.

"I-"

"Have a night in with her" she suggested, making her way out of the kitchen before he could argue "Don't take her to a restaraunt or any of that bollocks and ah, watch Grease! She'll never tell you but it's her favorite film!" she yelled as she reached the front door "Ta!"

The cold air hit Winona's face and hands again without mercy. She stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets, and fiddled with her neck so it was sat warmly inside her jacket collar. Recalling the direction to the station, she followed her nose in what was more than anything, a wild goose chase.

"She always that stubborn, bruv?" Pete asked Steve, still staring blankly at the front door from the door jam, as if expecting her to waltz back into the house.

"You don't know the half of it" Steve laughed, snatching a beer from the fridge and making his way to Pete.

"Why'd you never tell me about her?" he snarled.

"Never came up" Steve lied, twisting off the cap of the beer bottle.

"Bruv, no bloke in the right mind meets a bird like that and doesn't bring it up" he jeered, his back still to Steve.

"You'd be surprised how much doesn't come up when you want to keep your nosy brother out of your business" he lectured Pete, earning a weak glance from him "Tell you what" he said, positioning himself in front of Pete so he was looking at something other than the door "See this?" he asked, holding up a hundred "You catch up with Nona, talk her into going to the Abbey with you and the boys and it's all yours"

Pete tongued the inside of his cheek, thinking over the proposition thoroughly. He was getting a hundred from his brother to chase down a beautiful bird and take her to the pub that she was headed to anyway. Where was the downside? He guessed he would find out soon enough.

Without a word, he snatched the hundred off of Steve and traipsed to the front door.

The cold air Pete had always began to think he had gotten used to hit him like an avalanche, grazing the almost bare skin of his head more than anywhere else.

As he reached the sidewalk, Pete couldn't help but notice a young boy collapse behind a woman - presumably his mother - and graze his knee on the concrete, crying boisterously.

"Fuck me" he almost shouted, helping the toddler to his feet "Ma'am!"

The middle-aged woman spun around to him and ran to her son's side, her heels clicking on the concrete.

"He just fell over, love. No problem" he said as she took her sons hand in hers.

"Thank you very much" she thanked politely before walking off with her crying son, scolding him as if it were his fault.

Dealing with kids had always been a specialty to Pete. But, dealing with women; that was a different ball court.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he trailed his eyes up and down the long sidewalk.

Fortunately, he caught sight of a familiar slender figure; her trademark waist and legs immediately gave her away. With a deep breath, he chased after her, his head running over scenarios that could take place in the minutes to come.

"Oi, Sommer!"

She spun to her name, giddy with excitement at the sight of Pete. The gait in his jog told her that he was an athlete, and even behind his jeans, his leg muscles made themselves known.

"Where're you off to?" Pete asked when he finally reached her, standing a close distance from her.

"The Abbey?" she raised her eyebrows at him and parted her hands through her jacket pocket.

"Is that right?" he raised his eyebrow at her "Tube is in the other direction" he said, motioning his elbow up the sidewalk and simpering proudly.

"Well" Winona laughed, pushing her fringe back with her hands "Good to know" she cursed at herself inside her head as she made her way passed Pete.

Pete noticed as the wind fought against her, making her wavy hair blow gracefully behind her. As she sauntered passed him, the unfamiliar yet enticing scent of her hair hit Pete mercilessly, throwing him off for a split second. He wondered how she can get such impeccable beachy-type hair in the not-so-beachy weather that was constantly over East London.

"Alright?" she snapped him out of his muse.

"Tell you what. Ten minutes. A pint on me" he suggested, turning to her and smirking at her insistently "If you don't like it, you can drink to your hearts content and not hear a peep out of me"

Seconds passed as Winona thought it over. Pete seemed like a nice enough guy; a nice guy and attractive as all Hell. One pint wouldn't be so bad, and he seemed to have plenty of confidence in his ability to deliver the goods. Then again, Winona hardly knew him. Sure, Steve bragged about his 'smart-as-fuck, monster athlete' of a brother. But, it wasn't the same, and it didn't help that Shannon's words still stung in her ears - 'He's not the kind of guy you want to get involved with, Non. Trust me'. Shannon meant well - a bit too well. And still, there was something about the bloke that interested Winona... said the naive kid about the friendly man offering candy.

'Well' Winona thought to herself 'You never know unless you try'

"Fuck it" she shrugged "I'll go with you"