And we're back…or Allie is to be precise. I didn't really want to go over what happened to Pete while she was away because, well the answer is not a lot, and the same goes for her little adventures in the US. So with that in mind, this chapter kicks off right before the Manchester match. I'm aware that standards of my writing were slipping in the last two chapters and I really feel crappy about it so I can only hope that this one makes up for it. Feedback is always welcome guys!

Pete climbed out from behind the wheel of his car and took a deep breath of the icy air around him before reaching in and pulling the seat back for Allie.

He'd not mentioned anything to her or Matt for that matter, but the adrenaline feed from the last few days leading up to the Manchester game was starting to wear off replaced by the tiniest hint of fear. The Reds were unpredictable and therein lie the danger; the GSE was still up and coming compared to them and they knew it, not to mention after what had gone down last year, he seriously had to watch his back.

"Christ, its cold," Allie shuddered and pulled her jacket sleeves down to cover her hands, blowing into them and trying to generate some heat.

"Oi," Pete smiled at her, pulling her to him and lowering his head so that Matt couldn't hear him. "Keep an eye on the yank for me, will ya?"

"He's not a kid, Pete," she rolled her eyes watching as her breath evaporated in front of her on the icy air. "And besides, I can't really see him going after someone without you lot here, can you?"

Grinning at her, Pete slung his arm around her shoulders and nodded in greeting as Matt made his way around the car to stand in front of them. The trio stood in silence for a second, each of them thinking about the next 48 hours for very different reasons. Pete couldn't wait to go, Allie didn't want him to go and Matt kept wondering why it was he wasn't allowed to go.

Glancing at the taller man out of the corner of his eye, Matt watched as Pete pulled his phone out of his jacket and checked it, flipping it closed and then repeating the process a few seconds later.

"You seem nervous," he wasn't even sure he'd spoken aloud until Allie and Pete both turned to face him.

"Piss off," Pete chuckled, shaking his head and checking his phone again. Where the fuck was Bov and the rest of the boys?

"What's on your mind then?" Matt pressed, leaning back against the car and shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Just two little words keeping every Hammer up last night," Pete met his eyes. "United Away,"

Matt's eyes flickered back to Allie who looked at the ground for a long moment, not wanting either of them to see the fear in her eyes. Obviously those words meant more to her than they did to him.

"Alright boys!"

The three of them snapped their heads up seeing Ike and Swill strolling towards them across the Victoria Station car park, Swill carrying what appeared to be a pack of beer. Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Allie straightened up and let Pete's arm fall off of her shoulders, ignoring the confused and slightly hurt look he gave her.

"Ay, ay," he called back, tearing his eyes away from his girlfriend. "Where's Bovver?" he asked as Swill pulled away from Allie and ruffled her hair.

"Fuck knows," he shrugged, pulling out his phone and seeing if anyone had tried to call him.

"He's been a pain in the arse all week," Ike rolled his eyes. "PMS,"

"Pre-Match Stress," Pete laughed and shot a glance at Matt who nodded in understanding.

Pete sighed and flipped his phone open, dialling Bov's number and waiting patiently; glancing at Allie, he wondered why she'd been quiet all morning. He knew that she hated it when he fought, but she never got like this, it was almost as though she didn't want him to be near her. Like the whole shrugging him off thing…what the fuck was that about?

"Come on, Pete," Ike rocked on his heels and shoved his hands into his pockets trying to keep warm. "The train's in five minutes,"

"Yeah, hang on," Pete snapped, slightly irritated. Between Matt looking restless, Allie apparently pissed off with him and Bov acting like a dick his patience was beginning to wear thin.

"His phones off," he almost laughed, flipping it shut a little harder than he intended to and fought the urge to slam it to the ground. "I can't believe he's gonna pull a runner for United away,"

"They'll be gunning for you, too," Ike snorted. "After the job you pulled on their top boy last year,"

Allie immediately tensed next to him and wrapped her arms tighter around her body, suddenly feeling even colder. She didn't need to hear this…she didn't want to hear this.

"What happened last year?" Matt asked curiously and Allie had to bite her lip to keep from snapping at him to shut the hell up. None of this was his fault after all.

"I may have gone a bit over the top," Pete shrugged, a slight grin pulling at his lips.

Remembering the blood she had had to clean off him, the wounds on his hands that she knew had been from the force of hitting another man, Allie actually felt sick and before she could stop herself, pushed her body away from the car and from Pete, shuffling from foot to foot trying to think of something to say as the five men stared at her.

"I uh," she shook her head. "I just remembered I have to call Lara quickly," she pulled her phone out of her pocket and moved away from the group, as though she wanted to give them some privacy when in reality she just wanted to be away from them.

"Just a bit over the top," Ike brought their attention back to the matter at hand.

"Well, where's Dave?" Pete asked. "Have you heard from him?"

Swill looked up from his phone slightly confused and shook his head.

"Have you?" he asked.

"Oh everything's just falling right into place, isn't it?" Pete stood up straighter and shook his head, the adrenaline kicking back in and mixing with the anger in his bloodstream.

Casting a glance at the blonde girl pacing the footpath still on her phone, Matt bit his lip and then cleared his throat.

"I'll go," he told them firmly, trying not to look offended when Swill snorted and shook his head.

"No, mate," Pete told him.

"What?" Matt demanded. "You can't just go up there with Swill and Ike,"

Pete sighed and stepped up, placing a friendly hand on Matt's shoulder and sending him a tight lipped smile.

"No offence mate," he explained. "But we can't take passengers on this trip."

Hoping to hide the disappointment on his face, Matt nodded mutely and cast his eyes downward for a moment; what the hell was it going to take to get these guys to realise that he was one of them.

"Go on," Pete gently slapped his face. "Piss off, I'll give you a bell later, yeah?"

Matt let out a deep breath, not having time to respond as Pete jogged over to where Allie was still pacing, pretending she was doing something on her phone.

Catching sight of him out of the corner of her eye, Allie flipped her phone shut and jammed it into her pocket, pasting a smile on her face as Pete came to a stop in front of her.

"What was that about?" he asked, gesturing to her pocket.

"What?" she frowned. "Oh, nothing, just…work stuff," she shrugged.

"Allie," he sighed. "I know you don't want me to go-…"

"I never said anything," she protested.

"Yeah, well you didn't need to," he snorted and reached out, tilting her chin up so their eyes met. "I'll be alright,"

"I know," she nodded, not wanting to get into this now; it was going to play on her mind enough as it was. "Go," she shoved him playfully, sending him a genuine smile this time. "Your train is about to leave,"

"I'll call you," he leant in and kissed her, hugging her tightly to him.

"Pete!" Swill shouted from where he and Ike were jogging across the car park. "Fucking hell mate, we're gonna miss the train!"

"Alright!" he snapped back, sending an apologetic smile to his girlfriend and kissing her once more before handing her the keys to his car and smirking. "Don't let Matt drive,"

Breaking into a run to catch up with the boys, he left her standing there, a faint smile on her face as she jingled his car keys in her hand, trying to appease the butterflies in her stomach.

"Hey,"

She glanced up and smiled at Matt who looked more than a little sullen; why she wasn't sure, they'd saved him from getting the shit beaten out of himself.

"So," she shrugged and laughed nervously. "What do you wanna do for the rest of the afternoon? I've got nothing planned so did you wanna catch a film or something?"

"I can't," he told her, shuffling nervously. "Are you ok getting back on your own?"

"Yeah," she laughed. "Of course, but where are you going?"

He didn't quite meet her eyes and in that second, Allie got her answer.

"Oh Jesus, Matt, you've got to be kidding me," she shook her head and yanked his face up so she could look at him properly. "This isn't a game, ok?"

"I know that," he told her, slightly annoyed that even Allie thought he was incapable of doing this.

"Then what the hell do you think you're doing going after them?" she laughed. "Do you really think you're going to step in and be the hero? Save the day, get your head cracked open and for what?" she scoffed. "A beer and a pat on the back from Bovver?"

"What do you know about any of it?" he shot back at her, his voice coming out harsher than he had intended.

"More than you do, believe me," she told him, her eyes trained on his. "I'm serious, Matt, for your sake, don't get on that train,"

"I'll call you when I get there," he told her, turning away and breaking into a full out run, knowing that he had a maximum of maybe five minutes to buy his ticket and get on the train.

"Matt!" Allie shouted after him, watching as the American disappeared around the side of the building and the space around her descended back into silence with the exception of the faint noise of passing trains.

"Fuck!" she hissed under her breath, knowing that she was pretty much powerless in this situation. Tilting her head up to the sky, she saw a plane pass overhead and as she walked back towards Pete's car wondered for the first time if she had made a mistake coming back from New York.

"I still can't believe you took that fucking risk," Pete laughed, practically stumbling into his flat with Matt behind him, still nursing his spilt lip. "I thought we were all fucked when they stopped that van,"

"So I didn't do too badly for my first meet, huh?" Matt chuckled, feeling pathetic for asking, but needing the validation, from Pete especially.

"Too badly?" Pete winked at him. "Mate, that ones going down in the fucking history books," he walked over to the fridge and pulled out two beers. "The Reds get their arses handed to them by a yank," he laughed and shook his head. "Fucking genius,"

"How's the head?" Matt pointed to Pete's eyebrow which had been split when he'd taken a pretty nasty hit with a bottle.

"Dandy," he raised his eyebrows and lifted a hand, feeling the dried blood. "Won't even need stitches," making his way back over to Matt, he slung an arm around his shoulders and led him over to the living area. "You on the other hand, yanky," he laughed. "I'm proud of you, you did fucking brilliantly." He winced and pointed to the bruise developing around Matt's blue eyes. "Just, uh, don't tell Shannon, yeah?"

Laughing, Matt flicked on the TV and caught the end of the sports news announcing that West Ham had won their match; despite having been there, Pete and Matt shouted loudly, the adrenaline still pumping through their veins.

"Come on you Irons!" Pete shouted. "I'm West Ham till I die, I'm West Ham till I die, I know I am, I'm sure I am-…" he stopped dead when his bedroom door opened and Allie stepped into the living room. "Ay, Ay!" he grinned at her, strolling over and waiting for her to fling herself at him like she usually did.

Instead, she shot him a withering look and stormed past him, crouching down and retrieving her shoes from under the dining table before sliding her feet into them.

"Oi," Pete laughed. "What's wrong with you?" jogging over to her, he leant down so that their faces were closer to each other. "We won!" he told her triumphantly. "I'm West Ham till I die, I'm West Ham till I die," he reached for her hand and stopped when she abruptly pulled away and shook her head at him.

"You know what?" she laughed. "I am in no fucking mood for you right now,"

Pete almost stepped back from her; where the hell had that come from?

"What's the matter with you?" he frowned.

"What's the matter with me?" she repeated, reaching for today's newspaper and slamming it down in front of him. "That is what's wrong with me, Pete."

Squinting down at the headline, he felt coldness rush into his stomach and looked back up at her.

MANCHESTER FOOTBALL RIOTS ARE 'THE WORST IN YEARS'

"Proud of yourself?" she demanded, raising an eyebrow. "You didn't call me that night, so when I picked this up this morning can you imagine what was going through my fucking mind?" she shouted. "I had no idea whether you were dead or in intensive care," she shook her head. "And look at you," snorted. "You actually don't give a shit, do you?"

"'Course I do," he shot back.

"Well apparently not enough to call me and let me know you're not dead," she hissed, shoving him out of her way and reaching for her purse.

"Look, I'm sorry, alright?" he lowered his voice. "Fucking hell, Allie, I just got carried away,"

"How many times have I heard that?" Allie whispered. "Jesus, Pete, I love you, but when are you going to fucking grow up and realise that all this isn't just about you?"

"You're going to try and make this about us?" he pinched the bridge of his nose and laughed. "Christ, I can't deal with this,"

"Oh, I'm sorry," she laughed. "Are you pissed off with me? I wasn't under the impression that by trying to call you all weekend and make sure you weren't dead that I'd been such an inconvenience to you,"

"What the fuck is going on with you?" he shouted, both of them apparently forgetting that Matt was still in the room. "Tell me what to do and I'll do it,"

"What?" Allie laughed. "Are you having a laugh? You want me to fix this for you?" shaking her head in disgust, she glared at him. "You really are a selfish twat, aren't you?"

"You know what?" he shrugged. "If you're not gonna calm down, then you can-…"

"What?" Allie raised her eyebrows. "Leave?" she tugged on her jacket and shot him a withering look. "Way ahead of you, Pete."

Not bothering to even say goodbye, she yanked the door open and strode through it, slamming it as hard as she could behind her.

"Fuck it!" Pete shouted, kicking one of the wooden chairs around the table. How had that just happened? Why couldn't he have shut his fucking mouth and just said sorry? Of course she was worried, he'd promised to call her and then forgotten…anything could have happened.

"Are you ok?" Matt asked tentatively.

Spinning around, Pete looked almost shocked to see his friend sat there staring at him with sympathetic eyes.

"Shit, sorry mate," he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, the energy suddenly draining from his body. "I didn't mean for you to see all that, I just…" he shrugged. "I'm just gonna go have a shower,"

Aware that Pete obviously needed to be alone, Matt wiped his palms against his jeans and stood up.

"I uh, I've got to head out anyway," he explained. "Do you want me to get anything?"

"Nah, you're alright," Pete smiled at him. "Cheers mate,"

Watching as the bathroom door closed, Matt ran as fast as he could out of the flat, determined to catch Allie before she got to the front door.

Swearing loudly when he almost slipped on the stairs, Matt ran full out, gasping for breath when he got to the bottom floor and spotted Allie just as she stepped out of the lift, rifling through her bag looking for her keys.

"Allie!" he cried breathlessly, bending over and placing his hands on his knees for support.

Looking at the young man uninterestedly, Allie shook her head.

"If he sent you, I really don't give a shit what he has to say," she shrugged. "Sorry you wasted a journey,"

"Pete…" he took a deep, shuddering breath and collected himself. "Pete doesn't know I'm here,"

"What you think it's just him that I'm pissed at?" she frowned. "Matt, you just left. I tried ringing you and you rejected my call," she threw her hands in the air. "I don't want to control you or Pete, I'm not about that, but you've got to realise that you're putting yourselves in such a huge amount of danger,"

"It's just a couple of cuts and bruises," Matt shook his head. "Nothing bad, look, it doesn't even hurt,"

"And you think that's as bad as it can get, Matt?" Allie shook her head I awe of his naivety. "You could get arrested, you can end up in hospital," she stepped forward. "The head of the Manchester firm, did you see his eye?" she whispered. "I'm not an idiot like the boys seem to think I am, I know Pete's responsible for that. And for what exactly? I lay awake last night, not thinking about what wedding cake I want, or when I'm going to start moving my stuff in" she laughed. "Oh no, I was wondering whether or not my boyfriend and his friends are still alive…or maybe they're in prison?" she shrugged and smiled sweetly. "The options are endless,"

"Christ, Allie," Matt shook his head. "I'm sorry, I never…"

"Thought of it that way?" she finished for him and smiled sadly. "None of you ever do Matt," she walked past him and towards the front door through which she could see the start of the downpour the news had been promising all morning. "None of you ever do."