Would You Fall Too?

“Isla, I really don’t want to go anywhere right now” Emilie muttered as Isla stepped up behind her, pulling up the zip on the dress that her friend had managed to talk her into. It was New Year’s Eve and after a little convincing, Isla had managed to get Emilie into a dress, something she was a little proud of. She knew that it would take a little work, Emile had her mind set on spending the evening alone, but Isla knew she had to make her go.

It was a rough plan, getting Sergio and Emilie into one place was only one step, but Isla wanted to give it a go. She knew her friend, Emilie was quieter than usual and there was only one explanation, one that Isla wanted to fix. She knew that it wasn’t too late, from the way Cristiano spoke, the defender was just as mopey, and Isla wanted to at least give it a go. Emilie had almost been back to herself when she was with Sergio and Isla didn’t want all of her progress to be lost.

“I know that” Isla noted “But this will be good for you. You’ve not been out of the house since you and Sergio split up and I am not going to let all the hard work he put in go to waste. So find some shoes, because you and I are going out” she added.

Emilie rolled her eyes, but complied, finding a pair of Isla’s heels and slipping them onto her feet.

Isla smiled and slipped her feet into a pair of shoes before she linked arms with Emilie, leading her out of her apartment and towards her car. It wasn’t a fantastic plan, if anything, it was a little slapdash, but it was something and that was the most important thing to Isla. She knew Emilie, she was still smitten with Sergio, and all it would take was a little talking to fix it. Emilie had never felt like she did for Sergio before and Isla was convinced that it was more her own nerves than anything else that had led to their breakup.

~#~
“Please don’t make me go” Sergio muttered, his eyes glancing over at Cristiano who drove him towards the destination of the team’s New Year’s Eve party. He didn’t want to go, without Emilie around as his date, he didn’t want to go anywhere near a social event, but he doubted that his protests would bother Cristiano who had pushed him into the passenger seat of his car as soon as their match had drawn to a close.

“You’re going” Cristiano noted.

“Why?” Sergio replied, pouting slightly.

“Because you are” Cristiano quipped “You can’t sit around and mope about Emilie anymore, Sergio, she’s made herself clear and you pouting over it isn’t going to change a thing. You need to get out and this provides you with the perfect opportunity” he explained, peeking over at the defender.

Sergio sighed. “She can’t even look at me, Cris” he murmured softly.

“You know how she is” Cristiano commented.

“I do” the defender murmured “But she wasn’t like that with me for months and I hate that she is all of a sudden. I got used to her smiling and laughing, not avoiding me like the plague” he muttered.

Cristiano sighed. “Isla’s bringing her tonight” he confessed gently.

Sergio perked up. “She is?” he posed.

“We thought if we could get you both in one place, then maybe you could talk” the Portuguese man suggested.

Sergio smiled a little, touched by his friend’s concern, but it quickly fell. Even if he and Emilie were in the same room, he doubted that it would make much of a difference.

“You can at least try, Sergio” Cristiano commented, noting the concerned expression on his face.

Sergio nodded. Trying couldn’t make things worse.

~#~
Resting her back against the cool brickwork of the house that Isla had bought her to, Emilie sighed, her hand gently pushing back through her ginger hair. She hadn’t been able to stand it for long, between the bitter looks she had received from some of Sergio’s friends and being in the room with the man himself, Emilie had found herself a little overwhelmed, leading to her making her way outside.

“Emmy?”

Emilie shifted a little at the sound of Sergio’s voice, but didn’t move away, affording him the chance to sit down beside her. “Isla’s looking for you” he noted.

“Let her look” Emilie murmured “She should never have bought me here” she noted.

“She was only trying to help” Sergio commented “She thinks you miss me” he added.

Emilie sighed. “She’s not wrong” she admitted, not looking at him.

Sergio leant a little nearer to her. “Then what are we doing?” he posed gently “I miss you, you miss me. This distance you’re putting between us is ridiculous” he noted.

“It’s better this way” Emilie replied, finally settling her blue eyes on him, noting just how close he sat to her.

“For who?” Sergio posed.

“For us both” Emilie replied “You don’t need me, Sese” she commented.

“Why not?” he posed “What’s so terrible about you?” he questioned.

Emilie shook her head. “I can’t meet the people who meet something to you. I can’t hold a conversation with people without stuttering or running off. I can’t be confident about me, about us, and you don’t need the hassle of a girlfriend who can’t even open your shirt without shaking” she murmured, her voice growing heavy.

Sergio’s chest tightened, not missing the tears in her eyes. “Emmy, I want you” he insisted gently, the pad of his thumb brushing along her cheekbone “And I know you want me too. These ideas of yours, they’re ridiculous. None of it matters to me. I just want you, as you are” he insisted.

“But…”

“No buts” Sergio interrupted “There’s only one thing you need to do. Ignore all of the negatives thoughts and think about how you feel. Emilie, do you want to be with me?” he posed, his dark eyes admiring her tearful blues.

Emilie sniffed a little and peeked down at her hands. “I don’t know” she murmured.

“You do know” Sergio noted.

“Sese…”

“Emilie” he mimicked.

Emilie sighed and rested her head back against the wall. “I am scared” she noted.

“I figured that” Sergio commented, his eyes looking up at the sky.

“I don’t want to disappoint you” she added.

“You never could” he insisted

“I am not going to be good at this” Emilie muttered.

“I will teach you how to be” Sergio commented before he peeked down at his watch, noting the time. “Happy new year, Emmy” he noted with a small smile.

Emilie looked at the watch, recognizing it at the one she’d gotten for him, before she looked up at his face, offering him the chance to press a kiss to her lips. Emilie held onto him and let herself go in the moment, liking just how safe he made her feel.