Chapter Text
There was an air of excitement in the changing room when Beth walked in. She was still relatively new to the squad, having only made the move to Arsenal only a few months ago, but she had grown close to some of the girls quickly and some she knew from the England youth ages and her Sunderland days growing up.
Once she sat down next to Leah, Beth finally asked, “What’s got everyone so excited?”
“You don’t know? Vivianne Miedema is arriving today. C’mon Beth, it’s all anyone’s been talking ‘bout,” replied Leah, giving Beth an incredulous look.
“That’s today?” Beth had honestly forgotten.
Of course she knew who Vivianne Miedema was. Anyone who followed women’s football in any capacity knew all about the up and coming rising star. Miedema had broken records that she could only dream of breaking, and she was only 21! It wasn’t as if Beth was not happy that such a talented player was joining their squad, she just didn’t share the same excitement the rest of her teammates did.
It's just, Beth, for all she had known, was a striker. And now that was all changing with the arrival of Miedema. Joe had taken her into his office a few weeks prior to explain how she would be moving over to the wing. Something that she certainly wasn’t used to and definitely did not prefer. But she had bitten her tongue and nodded along. It wasn’t as if she could do much; how could she argue her case against a world class striker?
Despite that, Beth has decided to be optimistic. Maybe this partnership would be a blessing in disguise and, hey, if she made a new friend along the way, who was Beth to fight that?
*
Beth was not feeling optimistic.
It had been a few weeks since Viv had arrived and pre-season had started up for The Arsenal. The Netherlands had also just won the EUROs so the dutchies on the team were still riding that high.
And it seemed to be rubbing off on them. Everyone was playing great and team morale was higher than ever.
Everyone except Beth.
Well, that wasn’t necessarily true. Beth, herself, was playing great (okay, maybe she had been a bit too quick to judge playing right-wing but could you blame her?) and, on the pitch, she seemed to link up beautifully with Viv. It was as if they had this telepathic nature when it came to communication; they were always on the same wavelength. They were unstoppable, especially in goal scoring.
Off the pitch, however, they couldn’t be further apart. Beth could count the number of times the striker had spoken to her on one hand. She, for the life of her, couldn’t figure out what she had done. Did she somehow offend the Dutchwoman? Had it been something she said?
It wasn’t as if she didn’t try. She did, on multiple occasions, try to engage in conversation with the younger woman but all she was given was short replies, as if Viv couldn’t stand talking to her for any longer.
She probably knew a total of 5 facts about her, even though it had been weeks since her arrival:
- She’s Dutch
- She’s 21
- She’s a European champion
- She has a brother
- She prefers being called Viv.
(Beth never claimed it was an impressive list.)
She didn’t think the language barrier was a problem. Viv wasn’t fluent in English, but neither were a few of the girls in the team. Like Daan. And Beth got along with Daan just fine (and maybe she had a bit of a crush on her, but that’s besides the point!). She decided to ask the other Dutchwoman if she had any idea about what was going on with Viv.
“Hey Daan,” Beth called out, catching up to her as she walked to her car.
“Beth,” Daan replied, giving her soft smile (one that definitely did NOT make Beth blush), “What’s up?”
“Oh right uh…” Beth stammered, thinking of the best possible way to go about this. “Is everything alright with Viv?”
Confused, Daan asks, “What do you mean? Why? What's wrong with Viv?”
“Nothing! At least I think it's nothing,” Beth rushed to explain, “I was just wondering if she had a problem… with me… perhaps?” Beth murmured the end part to her question.
“No, of course not! Why do you think that Beth?” Daan only seemed to be more confused than before.
Beth flushed, all of a sudden feeling silly, but nonetheless explaining her questioning to Daan, “It’s just that VIv seems to not like me? I dunno but every time I speak to her it’s as if she’d rather be anywhere else so i just thought…” she trailed off at the end.
Realisation flashed through Daan’s eyes.
“Oh Beth,” she laughed, “Viv does not hate you. She is just extremely shy. I’ve known Viv since she was very young, trust me this is how she is with people before she opens up to them. You did nothing wrong.”
That made Beth feel significantly better. At least now she knew that Viv didn’t actually have a real problem with her yet. But it did make Beth curious.
The next day at training, she made sure to keep a close eye and observe Viv. She realised how Viv always seemed to stay on the outskirts of the group, as if trying to stay hidden. She hated being the centre of attention, despite her status, and mostly sticks to the Dutch girls on the team. When Beth caught the other woman’s eye in the changing room after their session, she sent her a smile, and was secretly thrilled when Viv sent one back, albeit more subdued.
That only strengthened her resolve. Beth was going to make it her mission to figure out this mysterious Dutchwoman, even if it took her forever. She made a mental note of what she already knew about the tall striker.
- She’s Dutch
- She’s 21
- She’s a European champion
- She has a brother
- She prefers being called Viv.
- She’s painfully shy
She has a beautiful smile