slowly sat up in bed, stretching her arms out above her head. It was sort of a morning ritual for her. Something she always did. Stretching, then going to the bathroom to pee, drink her first cup of coffee, after drinking the coffee she would prepare her breakfast.
Even though she had ended up sleeping away from home a second night in a row, she still kept to her routine.
Glancing down at the man lying beside her, the sheet barely covering his hip bones, she realized that he was barely awake. Leaning down she placed a kiss on his cheek. "I'm making French toast for breakfast" she whispered in his ear.
A low chuckle escaped from Pete, making his chest rise up and down. "That's alright. The fire alarm will wake me up" he stated, referring to the fact that the woman beside him was notoriously known for not being able to cook.
"Shut up or you're not getting any" Sarah told him, slapping his arm before pushing herself off the bed.
Wrapping a white sheet around her body, she headed to the bathroom. A few minutes later she was in the kitchen drinking her first cup of coffee.
Opening the window by the stove, she grabbed the pack of cigarettes lying on the dining table. Lightening one and taking a drag of it, she sighed. This felt so normal at the same time as it felt so abnormal. Maybe she just follow her friend's advice; just enjoy herself for now, and deal with the seriousness later on. There was no need to make it more complicated than it already was.
When she'd finished her cigarette, she begun cooking breakfast.
About ten minutes later, a small smile spread across her lips as she heard footsteps coming towards her from the bedroom. Feeling his hand sweeping away her curly hair, placing all of it on the other side of her neck.
Leaning in Pete placed soft kisses on her shoulder blade, kissing his way up her back to her shoulder to her neck. Moaning with satisfaction, Sarah enjoyed the feelings of his lips against her bare skin.
"I thought we could have a different kind of breakfast" Pete suggested as he slowly turned her around, kissing her collarbone.
"You did, did you?" Sarah asked with a smirk.
Feeling his hands travel down her back down to her bottom, she suddenly was hoisted up onto the counter.
"I think I'll prefer this one" she said with a laugh.
Sarah once again found herself working behind the bar during a match day. The difference was this time she would actually have the chance to sneak away before all the heavy cleaning started because she would be going to the match with the boys. Something she actually looked forward to. Even though she'd known most of them for over two years now, she'd never been to a game with them. Mostly because of the fact that she usually worked the entire day when there was a match since Terry went to them.
Snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of the door opening she looked up and saw Pete walk in. Behind him followed a shorter guy, who Sarah didn't recognize. Not having the slightest clue who the other man was, Sarah smiled at the blonde as he walked over to her. "Hello, love" he said.
Sarah gave him a questioning look before glancing towards the man practically hiding behind Pete. "Sarah, this is Shannon's brother Matt" Pete introduced, stepping to the side so that Matt was revealed to Sarah.
"Matt, this is Sarah, our favorite little bird" Pete introduced her.
Faking a smile, Sarah thought about the fact that he had introduced her as theirs, not his, theirs. Obviously she hadn't expected him to stand on the bar and profess that they'd slept together at the top of his lungs, but she actually thought she'd deserved something more than that.
"Hey Matt, nice to meet you" Sarah said politely.
"The same" Matt said, clearly nervous about the new environment that he was in at the moment.
"Your boys are over in the corner" Sarah told Pete before turning around and walking off.
A frown appeared on Pete's face at her behavior, but he decided to ignore it for the time being. He'd deal with her later. "Aye, aye" Pete greeted his group of friends as they reached the corner table. The boys all greeted him, and he shook their hands, greeted them back.
Then he turned towards the shorter man standing slightly behind him. "Alright boys, this is Matt, Shannon's brother" he explained, and started introducing his group of friends to the American.
"I'll get the drinks in then" Ike said as he was still standing from welcoming Pete and Matt.
"Does that mean I'm getting the drinks in?" Dave questioned looking up at his friend.
"Every fucking time" Swill commented from the side, with Dave echoing him seconds later.
Sarah could hear the conversation from her location at the bar and couldn't help but smile at the boys. Before Ike had reached the bar, the two first glasses of beer were already standing there waiting for him as Sarah continued filling up glasses with beer.
"You know us well, lovey" Ike said with a huge grin.
"That I do" Sarah replied with an equally huge smile.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Bovver walk up to the table, watched as Pete greeted his old friend. She also saw Bovver completely ignoring Matt's gesture of friendliness. "Bastard" she said to herself.
"What?" Ike asked, looking confused at the insult, which he thought was directed towards him.
"Not you, Ike, sorry" she said with an apologizing smile.
Ike nodded grabbing the beers that he could. "Someone will come for the rest, lovey" he told her.
Sarah simply nodded. Probably would be Matt the poor thing, he'd be the easiest to convince. Just like she suspected Matt came walking up to the bar just a few moments later. "I'm guessing you're here for the beer" Sarah said with a kind smile.
Matt nodded. "Yeah, and some salted peanuts" he added.
"Let me guess, they're for Dave?" she asked knowing that she was correct. None of the other boys loved peanuts as Dave did.
"They are" Matt confirmed.
"Here you go, Matt" she said pushing the beers towards him and handing him a bag of salted peanuts.
"Thanks!" he called out before heading back to the table.
As he sat down she saw Bovver rise from his seat and walk over to sit down at the bar, looking sullen. Sarah served a few customers before walking over to him. "Why do you have a constipated look on your face, Bov?" she asked him leaning on the bar.
"What the fuck is he thinking bringing with some bloody yank? We're not fucking babysitters" Bov complained.
Sarah chuckled making Bovver lift his gaze from the beer in front of him. "What the fuck is so funny?" he asked her sourly.
"Well, I'm sure you'll be overjoyed about the fact that I'm coming to the match as well. Even more babysitting" she joked with him.
A look of surprise appeared on his face. "Thought you'd be working" Bovver commented.
Sarah shock her head. "Nah, Terry gave me the afternoon and evening off" Sarah explained. "You know you could be a little friendlier to Matt. Seems nice enough to me" she added.
Bovver gave her a look. The look that told her that he didn't wanted to talk about it. Well, too bad.
"You were plain rude to him, Bov" she told him disapprovingly.
"I wasn't rude. I was-" Bovver tried to defend himself.
"Obnoxious. Dismissive" Sarah suggested, receiving another look.
"He's a yank" Bovver told her, like it would explain his behavior.
"And I'm a Swede" Sarah noted.
"Alright, I get your point" Bovver agreed reluctantly.
"Good, that's all I'm asking for" she said with a grin.
Sarah leaned against the brick wall, smoking a cigarette as she awaited the boys. She had finished her shift five minutes ago and needed some air.
They would be out any minute now, she could hear the sound of movements from inside. As they begun exiting the pub she kept her eyes on the door to make sure that she didn't miss the boys. Pete and Matt were among the first of the group to walk out.
Pushing herself off the wall she walked over to them. "Hey, Pete, I'm gonna head home. I'm not feeling so hot. Jet lag" Matt said, but the nervous tone in his voice gave him away. He was nervous; either about the game or about Bovver. Sarah knew very well that Bovver had had a conversation with him in the restroom. She considered it part of her job to keep an eye on situations that could get out of hand. That was one of them.
Apparently Pete wouldn't take no for an answer. "Fuck off. You're not missing the game. You wanted to learn about " Pete said, swinging his arm around Matt's shoulder as we begun walking.
After a few moments he removed his arm from Matt's shoulders, placing his other arm around Sarah's shoulders instead. Pulling her close to him, he leaned down and whispered in her ear. "I'm really glad you coming with today, love"
Sarah smiled up at him. "Me too" she said with a smile as she leaned into him.
The men walking together all begun singing. "I'm forever blowing bubbles. Pretty bubbles in the air"
Sarah sung along quietly, knowing the song by heart. Hearing it during every shift she worked at the pub meant that she'd learned it by heart within a week and a half.
Sarah smiled to herself contently as she realized how blessed she was to have these people around her, to feel this happiness, to be part of a family outside of her biological one.
Exiting the arena, Sarah felt the adrenaline kick she would only get from watching really well played football, flow through her body. It was a good feeling to say the least.
She felt Pete's hand on her lower back as he guided her through the crowd over to where Bovver was waiting. As they came close enough the boys complimented Bovver for his performance.
"There he is. Oi, Bov. Fucking quality, son" Dave told him.
"Stuff of legends" Pete commented as he walked forward and embraced his old friend.
Much like Matt, Sarah decided to remain in the background. What happened after the matches was not something she felt the need to be apart of, not in the slightest. If they were looking forward to going out and pummeling some rival firm members, they could go right ahead, but at the moment the only thing she was looking forward to was a hot drink, most likely hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows. Yeah, that would be perfect right about now.
"It ain't over yet. Word is these tats are gonna have a pop" Dave said as he rubbed his hands.
"What you heard?" Pete asked, clearly interested.
"The usual. Fucking Zulus. They're mobbing up on the tube right now. It's gonna kick off near East Ham" Dave explained.
"Time to go then, boys" Ike declared.
"What are we standing here for?" Swill wondered.
"Maybe I should head home" Matt suggested.
"Yeah, you know where you're going?" Pete questioned.
"No worries, I'll walk with him, show him in the way" Sarah told the blonde, who immediately shifted his gaze from Matt to her.
"Keep your head down, alright? Birmingham lot will be on the tube" he told her.
Sarah nodded. "I know the drill, we'll manage" she told him.
"Don't get on at East Ham. Any trouble, just walk the other way" he preached to her.
Sarah nodded looking him dead in the eye. "Don't worry, Pete" she told him. "It's me who should be worrying about you" she told him seriously. "About all of you" she said, directing it towards the rest of the boys as well.
"I'll see you later, yeah?" Pete said. After Sarah gave her answer by nodding, Pete took a step forward and placed a kiss on her head. "Look after him, alright" he said before turning around and walking away with the rest of the boys.
Sarah turned to Matt with a smile. "Just me and you then. Let's go" she said and the two of them begun walking down the street.
"I gotta' ask, where are you from? You're not from here, are you? 'Cause you don't have that accent" Matt asked.
"No I don't" Sarah said with a smile, knowing that even after two years of living in London, she had more of an American accent than a British one. "I'm from Sweden. I moved here little more than two years ago" she explained.
As the two continued walking down the roads of London they talked about all different kind of things. "So were you nervous about going to the match today?" Sarah asked, what she deemed to be her most recent friend.
Matt looked a bit embarrassed. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Matt, not at all. I know how it feels" Sarah told him sincerely.
"Really? You seem so secure with all of it" Matt stated.
Sarah laughed at the statement. "Fake it till you make it" she advised him.
Suddenly a glass bottle soared past her head, merely a few inches away from hitting her. Looking over her shoulder, her eyes widened. "Run, Matt!" she told him and took off spiriting herself.
"Get 'em!" she heard the men chasing them shout.
Suddenly Matt was tackled into the brick wall. As three of the men gathered around men, one locked his arms around Sarah holding her tight to his body as she struggled to get free.
"Look, I don't want any trouble!" Matt exclaimed.
"A fucking Yank" one of the men commented. "Why's a Yank running with the GSE?" the same man questioned.
Sarah managed to keep a straight face, not alluring to the fact that she knew exactly what the GSE meant. She kept struggling against her capturer though. "Let him go, he hasn't done nothing to you, you fucking wankers" Sarah said, her voice filled with anger.
The man holding her slammed her up against the brick wall next to Matt, making her hit her head on the same time. "Fucking cunts" she swore.
The man turned her around then backhanded her. Sarah's head slammed into the brick wall once again. She could feel the trickle of blood down her cheek.
"We're just tourists!" Matt exclaimed, like that would be in their favor at the moment.
"How about we leave you with a proper souvenir? Ever heard of a Chelsea grin, huh?" the man standing in front of Matt questioned.
Sarah grimaced at the thought, receiving a Chelsea grin would be extremely painful.
"Come on, please!" Matt begged them.
"Do you take American express?" the man asked gleefully before taking a step back. "I bet the Major gave out his share of Chelsea grins, back when the GSE weren't so sloppy to leave leave two of their own behind" the man said.
At that precise moment Pete and some of the other boys appeared. "We don't leave our mates behind" Pete stated before head-butting the man.
Sarah felt her capturer being ripped away from her by Ike. "Over to Pete" he ordered and Sarah, for once, obeyed.
As she reached the brick wall where Pete and Matt stood, Pete was looking for injuries on Matt. Then he turned to her. The second he laid his eyes on her, he swore loudly. "Fucking hell" he said as he inspected her injuries closer. "I'll kill these bastards. I'm so sorry, love" he said, lowering his voice so that only the three of them could hear what was being said.
"It's not your fault, Pete" she said quietly.
"Look, he's getting away! Let's go!" Dave yelled, and suddenly everyone was running after the short man, who'd punched Dave and then taken off.
As they reached the street, they realized that he'd disappeared. Some of the boys swore over his sudden disappearance while Dave leaned over, his hands on his knees. "I'm getting too old for this shit. Seriously, I could use a beer and lie-down" Dave said.
At that moment Ike came driving around the corner, beeping at them. Sarah gratefully headed towards the van, longing to getting some warm liquid in her.
As they begun driving away, the little man appeared once more and threw something at the window, cracking it. The boys all piled out of the van once more screaming about how they were going to get him.
Sarah followed, for the sole reason of not wanting to be alone in the van if someone showed up wanting to pick a fight.
As they rounded the corner they saw a huge group of men standing down the tunnel, all of the chanting the same word. Zulu. "Shit" Sarah swore under her breath, subconsciously taking a step back.
"Well, come on then! What you fucking standing there for, your cunts?" Swill shouted as he held out his arms, provoking them.
"Let's get out of here. They're twenty guys" Matt suggested.
A plan that Sarah would gladly agree to, although she doubted that any of the others would.
"You don't run when you're with us. You stand your ground and fight" Pete said determinedly.
"I don't know how" Matt admitted.
"Just think of someone you hate" Pete told him before looking over his shoulder at Sarah, who stood at the back. "Stay back, stay out of the way" he told her.
Sarah nodded, taking another step back. Then it all happened. The men charged at each other and the fight was on.
Suddenly a man appeared in front of her taking a swing at her. Grateful for her quick reflexes, she bent down avoiding the punch. Instead of backing away she punched him in the stomach making him double over. Even if she had backed down, he would have continued going after her. Might as well inflict the small injury she could on him.
As he bent over she saw her chance and brought her knee up, connecting it to his face. With a loud shout he fell down on the ground landing on his back, hitting his head on the ground in the process, which knocked him out completely.
Looking into the tunnel she noticed that Pete had three guys on him, punching and kicking him at the same time. Acting on instinct she ran over, throwing herself at one of the attackers, tackling him to the ground.
The moment that they landed on the ground; her managing to land on top of him, screams could be heard from behind her. Glancing over her shoulder she saw the remaining GSE storming down the tunnel.
Letting out a breath of relief, she punched the guy lying beneath her before standing up just in time to watch Pete knock a guy out. Bovver stood in the middle of the tunnel screaming at the Birmingham fans to get back.
Sarah sighed heavily as she began walking back towards the van. As she walked past him, Pete reached out and grabbed her arm. Letting his eye scan over her body once more to look for further injuries.
"I'm alright, Pete" she told him.
Not taking her word, Pete continued to look for injuries. When he couldn't find any he let her go and walked over and embraced Bovver.
Sarah wrapped her arms around herself, by now she was freezing her ass off. Walking over to Bovver, who was standing alone and smoking, she grabbed the cigarette out of his hand and took a drag.
Bovver glanced up at her, his eyes widening slightly. "Fuck happened to you?" he asked.
"Some slamming into brick walls, some backhanding" Sarah replied.
Bovver shook his head. "You are never going with us to a match again" he told her, his over-protective nature kicking in.
It was a natural reaction he had when it came to Sarah; he'd become extremely protective of her in situations like these.
The other boys were talking about Matt's fighting abilities, and Bovver was getting frustrated, Sarah could see it in clearly on his face. "Come on, you all want to get pinched?" he questioned.
The others agreed with him, and the group made their way out of there.