Chapter Text
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“An impeccable pass from Bellingham to Haaland! Haaland catches easily! Followed by a powerful shot from the giant striker and the ball safely lands inside the net!! Cheers of the fans can be heard from everywhere in the country! It indeed is a good day for the Dortmund fans, don’t u think, Rick?”
“Hah, you really like to state the obvious that much, Mike ?”
“Cut me some slack man, it is not everyday that we get to be the commentators of such a great first 11.”
“Well said, Ricky. The score and the assist both are from very prominent young players.”
“Right! As we speak, the VAR checks are also completed, no offside!”
“You still gotta mention tho, the play we have just witnessed requires real high trust between teammates.”
“You got that right my friend, you got that right”
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Haaland
I know myself. Better than anyone ever could, so to say. I know what I long for. I know what I want to be and what I eventually will be. I am one of the most clear headed people when it comes to ambitions. The road is decided and open for me. I do what I want how I want. I am me and I would like to be me in my next life also. So why do I not feel the euphoria I am supposed to feel anymore? I am free out here, doing everything out of my own volition. Yet I am still restless?
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Haaland gets up timely as always, eats what’s been decided weeks prior that he should eat and prepares to leave the house for training. Doing everything by the book for your hobby is kind of contradictory isn’t it? But he doesn’t mind it.
He loves football, it is not an ordinary job for him. On the contrary, it is very much his passion. Then why did he not enjoy his breakfast today? He ponders on the way, not knowing the answer nor if the question is the right one to ask at all.
Deep in thoughts he bumps into something. Or someone? “Sorry, man. Didn’t see you there.” To his surprise, other party is not on the floor like he is used to see, “No worries mate.”. Haaland nods and keeps walking until the British voice calls again, “Hey, I think we are teammates eh, any idea where the locker room is supposed to be?”. You see, normally, Haaland is kind, helpful, generous. Normally, like %99 of the time. So, yeah…Is it really so bad that he was not like that for once? Thinking again, something is actually wrong with him today, isn’t it? He has been feeling irritated for no reason to point out. So he doesn’t turn around, does not answer back. It is so not like him, very very much not like him.
Luckily, the beautiful boy doesn’t seem to be offended, Haaland sees it when he turns back to apologize after having started to feel the embarrassment creep into him. But well, forget getting offended, the boy is practically unfazed. For some strange reason, this bugs Haaland. He then sees that the boy apparently found his behavior rather amusing from the way his lips slightly twitch.
“So…Locker room?”. Haaland realizes that he has been staring at his face in a funny way. He gets a pull on himself and answers while walking in the same direction once again, “Yeah, yeah, follow me.”.
“I am Jude btw”, the boy talks again seemingly unaware that the other would rather stay silent at the moment.
“And your name is?”, his question hangs in the air as they reach a greenish colored metal door. Inside are lockers of the same color, looking like they got to this state after some years of oxidization.
“YOOO, is this the new guy, coach?”, shouts someone.
An older looking, yet still fit guy silences the crowd that roared upon the door opening, “He is but you will be the old guy if you keep this up.”
Anyway, let’s say that at least he tries to silence them, because he definitely doesn’t succeed, very obvious from the way everybody flocks onto the youngsters coming in.
And well.
If Haaland wasn’t grumpy before, he was now.
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“Stay alive kids, last rounds!”
Training was almost over and everybody, well kind of everybody except Haaland, was tired at that point. Stamina exercises are not built for everybody you know?
The exercise being hard was not Jude’s only problem nonetheless. He was feeling a little out of the picture. Thats naturally to be on my first day with new teammates, he thinks. But he isn't sure. It’s almost like something is urging him to be unsure. Right. Like someone staring at him for example, but he never catches anyone. He notes that he should up his game with spacial awareness. Everything is a lesson, no?
They go for a last few slow rounds around the field to finish off. Jude stays perfectly in the middle of his teammates to not pick attention more than he feels the need to. He can’t be seen slacking off at the end of the row nor can he lead the guys who are his seniors on the team. What he does differently than others is tho, he doesn’t look for water as soon as the lap is over, rather he drops himself onto the hot hybrid grass and stays still for a few minutes. Few minutes that is, until a huge shadow starts cooling him down by blocking the scorching sun that arose complaints from the whole team the entire day.
“I know you know I am here.”
“Is that so?”. Jude opens one eye to acknowledge the blond standing behind his head against all his wishes to not be disturbed.
“I am Erling.”
“What’s erling?”
“Didn’t you ask my name before?”
“Right, I did”
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Jude wasn’t stupid, he knew when he had the advantage in a conversation. And yes, he also knew this was one of them.
“So?”, Erling after a moment of silence.
“So, what?”, Jude asks back, now both eyes open looking mildly intrigued.
“Nevermind.”
Erling says something under his breath that Jude doesn’t catch because of the playful stir between others. For real, everybody is so loud in this team aren’t they? He shuts his eyes back feeling very discontent, only to have to open them again, because for some reason, the grumpy shadow was back.
“What’s up?”
Erling doesnt talk, he just kneels, takes Jude’s hand and hands him a water bottle.
“Gee, thanks mate.” Jude calls after him after the latter had already walked away just as quickly as he came.
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Erling returns home in a daze, he is not sure what went down and why he acted like a child.
He doesn’t even remember why he was mad at someone who didn’t do anything else than asking him a simple question.
He thought so hard during the training to find an answer too on top of that but futile.
All he knows at this point is, being mad at him feels more satisfying than being mad at the monotony of a life he has been having. He unfortunately doesn’t know since when his view on his own life had gotten this way.
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Jobe welcomes his brother. “How was it?”
“How was what?”
“Your first day, cmon.”
“Ah” Jude smiles funnily “It was nice i would say.”
“Why are you smiling that way?”
“What way?”
“You know what way.”
“No, I dont.”
“Look at the fuckin mirror then.”
“Agressive much?”
“Bro, you are impossible”
“Only for you”
Jobe gives up and leaves his dear brother to his own pain in the ass self, that self being for some reason more cheerful than he usually was.
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Next Day
Erling, being as restless as he is from the day before, wakes up before his alarm goes off. He feels lighter than usual, to which he cant bring an explanation to. Lighter but in an uncomfortable way. Is he excited? Why would he be excited? Or rather, why would his excitement be weirdly unpleasant?
He feels the need to perform his ace game today, to show off a little.
Why?
He doesn’t know.
The sun starting to rise gets in his eyes as he opens the curtains.
He feels annoyed.
Very much annoyed.
Since when was the sun this much of an annoyance?
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Jude arrives early to the field, only to see that there is always someone earlier than you in this life. And that someone’s name is Erling.
He thinks about whether to make his presence known or turn back silently and wait inside. No one could blame him, if he chose to avoid the blondie, who has been a little weird to him all along. But against all his own inner protests, he decides to join him with team spirit in mind.
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Alright. Haaland is very well aware that he did not welcome Jude nice enough yesterday. But what the hell? He stops midway upon seeing Haaland? Should he call him out for that? Or act like he did not see Jude as a little mending for his previous behaviour? Well, fate doesn’t seem to like waiting for such dilemma to be solved. Because Haaland, being distracted now, loses the track off the ball he has been bouncing till now. Of course, a blind man could have guessed where the ball rolls over after that.
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Jude passes it back to Haaland smoothly and shouts “Morning!”.
Haaland, feeling embarrassed, waits until the younger one approaches him to answer, “Yep, morning.”
“Mate, I didn’t think anyone would be here this early. Is this a routine of yours?”
“Not really.”
Jude wonders if it’s Erling’s hobby to give dry answers occasionally.
“Okeey? I will start warming up over there then.”
He jogs to the other side of the field as soon as he finishes saying that, feeling a little awkward about the way he communicated that through.
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After a while, everybody was on the field finally. Their head coach arrives five minutes late, quite fashionably.
“Ok, people!” Claps his hands twice. “As you all know, upon our technical director’s little absence we have been doing mostly stamina trainings in order to cover for any technical difficulties we might face when the season begins.”
He clears his throat “But we got some tasks on our hands for the next week, since it has been decided that there won’t be any additional transfers this summer, we have to start considering some team formations already, else it will be late when the TD finally joins us.”
“We will start with the classic 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1, any questions?”
There were obviously no questions. If happiness was something that could be smelled in the air, you could get an allergy because of the over exposure in that moment.
Why?
Well, it’s because there is nothing these guys like more than actually having a match.
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But there was always an exception. In contrast to the general, Jude did have a question. I mean the guy is new, what do you expect? Just as he slightly lifted his left leg to step forward towards the coach for that purpose, someone intentionally or unintentionally pressed on his shoulder of the same side to move past him.
“May I captain, coach?”
“I don’t see why not as this will be a rather unserious first trial. Any objections?”
It was Haaland. Apparently he didn’t mind standing out, thought Jude.
“You guys decide the teams for this one. I will need to see newcomers’ compatibilities with everyone anyways, in which order I do that matters not. Just be careful having enough players for the set positions. I will go inform my staff for today’s schedule quickly, better I do not find all forwards on one team and all defenders in the other, understood?”
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As soon as the coach stepped out, people started to argue on which side who was going to play. Then someone put his arm on Jude’s shoulder as he was watching the crowd discuss this world changing topic at hand very passionately.
“Play with me on this round?”
Jude was a little surprised by the sudden interaction.
It was Reus. The captain. Like the captain of the whole team.
“Of course.”
“No need to be timid, welcome to the team once again.”
Jude then realized, that aside from team compositions, nobody at all was talking about who the captain on the other side should be. Everybody respected the guy that has been on the team since 2012 after all.
“Sure.” He smiled back at the man smiling at him warmly. The offer made him feel better than the transfer itself altogether. Reus had that effect on people.
Jude sat down on the grass while Reus walked over to the center of the crowd to pick out the remaining players needed for the team before Haaland got the bests to his side. Jude again felt a gaze upon him but was too content with the happenings of last five minutes to care about something like that.
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