Status: Active, updates may be very slow though, but bare with me
Shoulder to Shoulder
Thirty
“I don’t want to leave tomorrow,” Juan said into Elena’s hair as they lay together in bed, the morning sun streaming in through the curtains.
Elena turned to face him, “You’re going to have so much fun, and you’ve never been on pre-season with Chelsea yet. It’ll be good for you to bond with everyone again.”
He sighed, closing his eyes for a few seconds. “I know, I know. I just don’t want to leave, you’re almost 21 weeks now, we’re almost in the home stretch.” His hands moved down, pressing his palms flat against Elena’s stomach.
Juan rubbed the bump soothingly, when his hands slowed down, Elena felt a jolt. Her boyfriend’s eyes widened.
“Was that..?” he asked, his voice trailing off.
Elena nodded. “I think so.” They both smiled and a second later Elena felt it again.
“It was a kick.” He grinned, kissing her lightly.
That day, they’d decided to spend just the two of them. Juan had booked tickets for them to go and see a film at this amazing old cinema near Portobello road. The Electric was nearly a century old and instead of the standard cinema seats, you booked tickets for a sofa or an armchair to watch the film in.
Elena rested her head on Juan’s shoulder as they sat in the sofa, waiting for the film to begin, the pink lights casting a soft glow over the room, giving a calming atmosphere.
After the film, they went to eat in the diner that was attached to the theatre. As they sat waiting for their food to arrive, they both checked their phones. Elena replied to the waiting texts she had from her brother and from Susie telling her about her new life in Spain.
“Wow,” Juan uttered as he looked down at the screen of his iPhone.
Elena looked up, “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” he shook his head. “People are very curious about you.”
Confusion swept over Elena, why did people care about her?
Juan didn’t answer he just showed her his phone and scrolled through some tweets. Various people were asking about wanting to know who Juan’s girlfriend was.
“Why don’t we just take a picture, and you can post it to Twitter or Instagram?” Elena said.
Juan agreed and as the waitress walked past, Elena caught her attention and asked if she’d be kind enough to take a picture of them.
Elena watched Juan simply caption the picture ‘Mis amores’, before posting it to his Twitter account.
-------------------------------------------------
At Juan’s wishes Lila came to stay with Elena at the flat while he was away for Chelsea’s Pre-Season tour of Asia for 10 days.
“I’m not going to lie El – this place is swish!” Lila said flopping down on the sofa and putting her sock-clad feet up on the coffee table.
Elena sat down next to her friend, cradling her bump in her arms. “You’ve been here before!” She laughed unsure why Lila was so enthralled with the place.
“I’ve only been here to pick you up a few times and for dinner once – I never really got to look around!” Lila defended herself. Elena smiled, laughing at her friend. Although Elena loved juan, and she absolutely adored living with him, she missed spending time with her best friend. Nothing compared to a night spent watching TV, eating junk food and laughing almost constantly with Lila.
The week of Juan’s pre season was passing quickly, with only a few days left until he returned. Seeing as the time difference was between 7 and 10 hours, the matches were on in the middle of the night in the UK. So not wanting to disturb her sleeping routine, Elena had recorded the first two games and watched them the morning after when she woke up.
However, for the last match of the tour, she decided to stay up and watch. Lila had long gone to bed, so Elena sat in the dark living room with the space lit with the glow of the TV. There was around an hour until the match started and knowing Juan’s pre-match routine, she saw it was almost the point where he’d check his phone for the last time until after the match.
Keeping this in mind, Elena grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, and scribbled down a message on it. She used the camera on the front of her phone to take a picture of herself and the bump.
“Hola Papa!” read the piece of paper, accompanied by a smiley face.
--------------------------------------------
In the changing room in Jakarta, right on schedule Juan checked his phone, noticing a message waiting from Elena. When he checked it’s contents he couldn’t help but let a smile spread over his face.
“What are you so happy about, Juanito?” David asked, catching his grin.
Juan didn’t respond he just carried on smiling at the picture before turning his phone around and showing the Brazilian the image. After David cooed at how cute it was, he proceeded to show anyone who would look while Juan sat in front on his locker adjusting his socks with a proud blush adorning his cheeks.
-------------------------------------------------------
Although Elena had stayed up with the best of intentions, she barely recalls anything past the referee blowing the whistle to signal the start of the match. Her pregnancy had made her much more tired than before and staying up past midnight was an achievement for Elena.
In the morning, Elena awoke to the sound of her phone ringing; the screen notified her that Dan was calling.
“Hey Dan,” she answered her voice thick with sleep.
“El, how are you?”
Elena cleared her throat. “I’m good thanks, what’s up?” she asked pondering the reason behind his call.
“Just wondering when you and Juan decided to go public about the baby.”
Sitting up straighter, Elena had no recollection of them telling the media about the baby (not that they were too bothered). The only thing was the picture he posted on twitter, but it was very ambiguous, so no solid conclusions could be drawn from it – especially as Elena was sitting at a table, covering her bump completely.
“What are you talking about?” she finally asked.
“Check your email.” He said simply, before speaking again. “Alright El, I’m going to have to go, I’ve got a meeting and apparently I’m already late for it!”
She bid him goodbye and opened up her laptop. As the screen came to life, she turned on the TV.
The first email in her inbox was from Dan; the body of the email simply contained a link and nothing else. She clicked on it and the title of the video was ‘Mata Goal + Celebration – Indonesia’. The video began with a clip of the match, Juan making a late run into the box, and from an Oscar cross hit the ball on the volley straight past the keeper and into the back of the net. In celebration he ran off to the side of the pitch jumping in the air, pumping his fist. Seconds later, David Luiz trotted over with the ball and pushed it under Juan’s shirt, emulating a pregnant belly. Juan rubbed the ‘bump’ before cradling it in a way that was very similar to the way that Elena did all the time.
Elena couldn’t help but smile at the picture.
She sent Juan a text that read:
Telling the world about our baby! :O
He replied only moments later.
I didn’t have time to reply to your text, so David and I came up with a way that you were sure to see ;) x
Elena turned to face him, “You’re going to have so much fun, and you’ve never been on pre-season with Chelsea yet. It’ll be good for you to bond with everyone again.”
He sighed, closing his eyes for a few seconds. “I know, I know. I just don’t want to leave, you’re almost 21 weeks now, we’re almost in the home stretch.” His hands moved down, pressing his palms flat against Elena’s stomach.
Juan rubbed the bump soothingly, when his hands slowed down, Elena felt a jolt. Her boyfriend’s eyes widened.
“Was that..?” he asked, his voice trailing off.
Elena nodded. “I think so.” They both smiled and a second later Elena felt it again.
“It was a kick.” He grinned, kissing her lightly.
That day, they’d decided to spend just the two of them. Juan had booked tickets for them to go and see a film at this amazing old cinema near Portobello road. The Electric was nearly a century old and instead of the standard cinema seats, you booked tickets for a sofa or an armchair to watch the film in.
Elena rested her head on Juan’s shoulder as they sat in the sofa, waiting for the film to begin, the pink lights casting a soft glow over the room, giving a calming atmosphere.
After the film, they went to eat in the diner that was attached to the theatre. As they sat waiting for their food to arrive, they both checked their phones. Elena replied to the waiting texts she had from her brother and from Susie telling her about her new life in Spain.
“Wow,” Juan uttered as he looked down at the screen of his iPhone.
Elena looked up, “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” he shook his head. “People are very curious about you.”
Confusion swept over Elena, why did people care about her?
Juan didn’t answer he just showed her his phone and scrolled through some tweets. Various people were asking about wanting to know who Juan’s girlfriend was.
“Why don’t we just take a picture, and you can post it to Twitter or Instagram?” Elena said.
Juan agreed and as the waitress walked past, Elena caught her attention and asked if she’d be kind enough to take a picture of them.
Elena watched Juan simply caption the picture ‘Mis amores’, before posting it to his Twitter account.
-------------------------------------------------
At Juan’s wishes Lila came to stay with Elena at the flat while he was away for Chelsea’s Pre-Season tour of Asia for 10 days.
“I’m not going to lie El – this place is swish!” Lila said flopping down on the sofa and putting her sock-clad feet up on the coffee table.
Elena sat down next to her friend, cradling her bump in her arms. “You’ve been here before!” She laughed unsure why Lila was so enthralled with the place.
“I’ve only been here to pick you up a few times and for dinner once – I never really got to look around!” Lila defended herself. Elena smiled, laughing at her friend. Although Elena loved juan, and she absolutely adored living with him, she missed spending time with her best friend. Nothing compared to a night spent watching TV, eating junk food and laughing almost constantly with Lila.
The week of Juan’s pre season was passing quickly, with only a few days left until he returned. Seeing as the time difference was between 7 and 10 hours, the matches were on in the middle of the night in the UK. So not wanting to disturb her sleeping routine, Elena had recorded the first two games and watched them the morning after when she woke up.
However, for the last match of the tour, she decided to stay up and watch. Lila had long gone to bed, so Elena sat in the dark living room with the space lit with the glow of the TV. There was around an hour until the match started and knowing Juan’s pre-match routine, she saw it was almost the point where he’d check his phone for the last time until after the match.
Keeping this in mind, Elena grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, and scribbled down a message on it. She used the camera on the front of her phone to take a picture of herself and the bump.
“Hola Papa!” read the piece of paper, accompanied by a smiley face.
--------------------------------------------
In the changing room in Jakarta, right on schedule Juan checked his phone, noticing a message waiting from Elena. When he checked it’s contents he couldn’t help but let a smile spread over his face.
“What are you so happy about, Juanito?” David asked, catching his grin.
Juan didn’t respond he just carried on smiling at the picture before turning his phone around and showing the Brazilian the image. After David cooed at how cute it was, he proceeded to show anyone who would look while Juan sat in front on his locker adjusting his socks with a proud blush adorning his cheeks.
-------------------------------------------------------
Although Elena had stayed up with the best of intentions, she barely recalls anything past the referee blowing the whistle to signal the start of the match. Her pregnancy had made her much more tired than before and staying up past midnight was an achievement for Elena.
In the morning, Elena awoke to the sound of her phone ringing; the screen notified her that Dan was calling.
“Hey Dan,” she answered her voice thick with sleep.
“El, how are you?”
Elena cleared her throat. “I’m good thanks, what’s up?” she asked pondering the reason behind his call.
“Just wondering when you and Juan decided to go public about the baby.”
Sitting up straighter, Elena had no recollection of them telling the media about the baby (not that they were too bothered). The only thing was the picture he posted on twitter, but it was very ambiguous, so no solid conclusions could be drawn from it – especially as Elena was sitting at a table, covering her bump completely.
“What are you talking about?” she finally asked.
“Check your email.” He said simply, before speaking again. “Alright El, I’m going to have to go, I’ve got a meeting and apparently I’m already late for it!”
She bid him goodbye and opened up her laptop. As the screen came to life, she turned on the TV.
The first email in her inbox was from Dan; the body of the email simply contained a link and nothing else. She clicked on it and the title of the video was ‘Mata Goal + Celebration – Indonesia’. The video began with a clip of the match, Juan making a late run into the box, and from an Oscar cross hit the ball on the volley straight past the keeper and into the back of the net. In celebration he ran off to the side of the pitch jumping in the air, pumping his fist. Seconds later, David Luiz trotted over with the ball and pushed it under Juan’s shirt, emulating a pregnant belly. Juan rubbed the ‘bump’ before cradling it in a way that was very similar to the way that Elena did all the time.
Elena couldn’t help but smile at the picture.
She sent Juan a text that read:
Telling the world about our baby! :O
He replied only moments later.
I didn’t have time to reply to your text, so David and I came up with a way that you were sure to see ;) x