An analysis from afar

by Whavey

We had it all, we thought... It was shortly after my promotion when my feelings popped up. It was her that made me feel reborn, warm, safe and most of all, alive. In a period where homophobia was a thing, I wanted her more than I wanted anything. But was the team going to suffer too? (repost from my Wattpad story An Analysis From Afar, account name also Whavey)

18. Chapter 16

Liz

To be honest, a 4-0 week has never felt this great. While we felt bad for the rest of EU, Splyce and G2 lost pretty damn hard, we felt celebrated. We were welcomed back into the hotel with hugs and kisses, TSM and G2 telling us and C9 that we had to bring them pride. Splyce just shrugged it off, and told everyone that we would bring our regions pride.

Before we could fly out to Chicago, we had to be drawn into the groups. Every team had to send out a guy or girl to represent their team to shake hands with the other person they were drawn to play against. DMF had decided it had to be me. So there I stood, between SKT, ROX and SSG. The one EU girl between all Korean guys. Before the show we shook hands, greeted and talked. Then this rushed rioter came to push us onto the stage. The draw was simple, first all the first placed groups, then the second. So I stood there, waiting for the show to start. Jatt and Riv were talking to production guys and we stood there. The Koreans around me were talking in rapid Korean while I stood there awkwardly. Suddenly the lights flashed on and everyone silenced and moved back to their spot as the teamlogos appeared behind the players. I stood silently as Jatt and Riv introduced the whole thing and explained the rules. Wildturtle stood behind the bowls where the teamnames would be drawn from. Riv introduced the teams, and the players, one by one. First ROX, then SKT, then it was my turn. "From Europe and the only EU team left standing, from Darkness my Friend, Feed Me!" He belted out and I waved at the crowd with a small smile as I got a small cheer, like SKT and Rox. Then SSG was announced to complete the first seed teams, and onto the second seed teams. I stood there frozen, waiting for my team to be called in the drawing. After the last huge applause given to Sneaky (the NA crowd was of course only supportive of Sneaky, I mean, it's freaking NA.) Riv gave WildTurtle the go to draw the first seed teams. SKT and ROX on one side, SSG and us on the other. I was holding my breath now. WildTurtle moved on to the second bowl. The first team to be drawn was ANX. SKT walked up to them to shake hands and they were about to move over when Jatt suddenly stopped. "Wrong draw! ANX would end up in the same half of the bracket as ROX, meaning that ANX slides over into the next available spot, which would be Darkness my Friend!" He says. SKT walks back and I move over to the middle, in front of the cup. I shake hands and move with him to the lightened spot on the ground. The only words spoken are "Good luck, we won't go easy." From the ANX player and I nod

The rest of the draw goes quick and before we know it we are pushed off the stage and into shuttles and to the hotels. We pack up, catch a flight out and find ourselves in Chicago. We get the mandatory tour of the backstage area before we are led to our teamroom. We sit down and all eyes are focussed on me. "What?" I ask softly and Sabine sighs. "You have barely said a word since you went onto the stage yesterday and we did hear from a rioter that you and aMiracle did speak." She says and I nod. "Not lied, aMiracle said they wouldn't go easy on us. And that is all there was said." I say softly and look at Aidan. "We need to continue the roleswap. You were amazing this weekend and we need amazing right now." I say softly and he nods "You know, you are not too shabby of an ADC and taking care of my support. If it wins us the games, we will do it." He says and I nod. I look at Sabine, Luis and Freyja. "It is your call, of course, but I have an idea. I am 90% sure that C9 is out next round, meaning we will need to play SSG, and I do not trust that." I say and the nod. "I play out of my comfort zone, complete fill to whatever the teamcomp needs. If that works and we manage to 3-0 ANX, I am confident that we are able to at least snoop away one dame from SSG." I say and add "Right now, we are in the rumoured easiest group, and I cannot disagree with that, but if we make it out we come into a Korean slaughter fest I rather not be in, so we have to step our games and do EU proud. I know we can do this, maybe not take on SKT or a RNG, but we can take down ANX and show we are strong and can fight. We have to be greater than NA." I say and everyone looks at me. "I was silent the last few hours because I have been brooding up some ideas. And they may seem ridicule but I want you to know we can at least have one fun game if we know we are going down, but some may work." I say and Sabine smiles. "Tell us." She says and I start explaining.

The following days we spend hours gaming and practising and coming up with creative strategies. Oliver cooks for us and on late nights he makes sure we are in bed before twelve and up around 8 am. It worked, everything we practised. We scrimmed against C9, SKT and ROX and honestly tried our best. To our surprise we managed to get some wins against ROX and even one against SKT. Thursday afternoon Sabine and Luis gathered us all after lunch. "Tomorrow quarters start, we don't play until Monday but do want you to have some time to yourself, so you are all free to go and do whatever you want to do. Just be back before midnight." Luis says and we all jump up. I shoot a quick text to ask Eefje how late she gets off work and she texts me back directly saying they are already wrapped up due to some bug in the system and asks why. I text her the address of a café near our hotel and ask her to meet me there. I leave the group with the excuse I need some alone time and go to the café. I'm on my second mint tea when she enters and walks to me. "Hey babe." She says as she sits down across me. "How are you?" She asks with a gentle smile and I laugh. "Oh I cannot wait for it all to be over. All the scrimming." I say with a smile as the bartender comes with her mint tea and she smiles as a thanks to the bartender. "So, what has you off this early from all the hard work?" She asks and I shrug. "We spend last nights scrimming until midnight when Oliver would drag us from the computer so they decided we needed a break. And I couldn't agree more." I say with a small smile and she laughs and puts a piece of hair out of my face. "So how did you escape the gaming house alone?" She then asks and I shrug. "Said I needed alone time, Ezra and Erik seemed to know what I truly meant and the rest just thinks I am shopping now probably." I say softly and she looks me in the eyes. "Truly?" She asks and kisses me over the table. I kiss her back with a smile and she giggles and softly bites my lip. I smirk into the kiss and kiss her back. She suddenly lets go and helps me up, pays the waiter with just 20 bucks and pulls me out of the cafeteria. She drags me across the street as I finally manage to catch up to her pace without being drug everywhere. "What is up Eef?" I ask and she smiles at me. "Well you said shopping and I saw some shirts that screamed you earlier today, so we are getting those." She says with a huge smile and we walk into one small boutique. An old lady walks up to us and her face lights up as she sees Eefje. "You came to pick up the shirts?" She asks and Eefje nods. "This is the girl I wanted them for. Liz, meet Mrs Weir. She is an old friend of James. Mrs Weir, this is my girlfriend Lizzie." She introduces us and the woman smiles warmly as she grabs a few tees and hand them to me. "Go fit them girl." She says with a warm smile. The shirts are all funny tees and I fit them all. "They are perfect." I say and grab my card, but Eefje stops me. "They were already paid for." She says and the nice lady nods. "Go, enjoy them. And have fun with your girl." She says and I nod as we leave her shop. Eefje smiles and I look at her. "What next?" I ask and she shrugs. "Maybe wanna go to my hotel? Spend some time together and grab dinner later?" She suggests and I nod. "Let's go." I say with a smile as she grabs a cab and goes to her hotel.

The night goes quite nicely. We snog most of the time on her couch, on her bed and when she has to take a shower, she keeps yelling things like "Don't distract me and I will be with your cute butt sooner." Or "You know I work quicker if you don't distract me with your insane capability to make me see you in all kinds of poses." And all of them make me smile. She comes into the room about half an hour later, dressed in comfy jeans and a nice warm sweater fit for the Chicago cold in Autumn. She lets me borrow another sweater that is just a little large for me and we are off to some kind of Mediterranean restaurant with amazing pasta's and even better baklava. After dinner we go for a walk in a park and then decide to head back to her hotelroom where she makes me a coffee and we sit on her bed and talk. She begs me to let her braid my hair and do my nails, so I end up with a nicely braided hairdo of two braids starting in the front and go down all the way and with purple nails and our logo on my thumbs. I give her a massage as a thank you and we spend the night together happily. Around a quarter to twelve we doze off for a deep night's sleep together, she wrapped into my arms, spooned against each other as her calm breaths of sleep help me sleep.

It is a little after 6am she wakes me up with a deep kiss and my phone screeching some Halestorm song. "It is Oliver." She says and I sleepily pick up. "Where are you Liz? You better be somewhere safe." I hear Oliver say and I sleepily reply: "Chill out, I just spent the night with Eefje, no worries, I will be back." And I realise what I said. Oliver falls silent as well before saying. "Bring her with you, and we want you here before the team wakes up." He says and I turn to her. "This is bad?" She asks and I nod. "We have to get to them as soon as possible." I say and she nods, getting dressed quietly and grabs her keys. "They don't know about us?" She asks as we leave the room and I look at her. "Now they are about to do know." I say gently as we get into the elevator downstairs and she looks at me. "Nothing will change what I feel for you babe, if this works, it works." She says and kisses me gently. "I love you." I say softly and look her in the eyes as she smiles back with a broad smile. "I love you too." She says and she enters the recently arrived elevator. As we get downstairs, she turns to me. "I haven't slept more than two hours in a night for over months. So thank you." She says and I smile at her as we leave the lobby and get ourselves a taxi to my hotel. As we open our hotelsuite door, a group of 8 disappointed and curious faces sit on the couch and Oliver looks at us, one eyebrow up. "Explain," He commands as I let Eefje sit and take a deep breath. "It all started…"