.one. 'so is the smile on your face'

-

Since Erik joined Borussia Dortmund in two thousand twelve, he hadn't seen the little girl he met back when he was a sixteen year old young player at FSV Mainz. Though, when he thought about it, he was certain she was no longer the little girl who sat on the bench with her coloring books while she waited for her father. If she was ten when he first met her, she had to be at least seventeen now and he wondered if she remembered the boy who would often leave small presents for her on the bench she claimed as hers.

It was on a particular day in September when he was remembering the small girl again. And as he walked out onto the training ground, he had to do a double take at what he saw on one of the benches.

There he saw a teenaged girl with a bob haircut, just like the one he remembered fondly. Her face had lost some of the childish roundness it once had, though not completely gone from her face. She was dressed in a uniform from a neighborhood school run by catholic nuns called St. Agnes Academy and a brown leatherbound book rested on her lap, open to a certain page. A yellow wooden pencil was nestled in between her index, middle finger, and thumb. It moved at different angles over the page, giving the impression that she was drawing, not writing. Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration.

Erik thought hard about approaching her, just as he did when she was a little girl. He was almost certain she was Arabella. His Arabella, the same little girl that asked for piggy back rides around the training ground after practice and colored pages of her Mickey Mouse book that covered the cool surface of his refridgerator back home.

He knew her and remembered her as a little girl, but she was no longer that. She was a grown up version of her former self. She was lovely.

The twenty-two year old footballer was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw a few of his team mates approach her, their eyes full of curiosity. They were Mats, Marco, and Sven. They were all young and attractive, Erik couldn't help but think that they might try to flirt with her and that upset him. They all had at least eight years on her, Mats and Marco both had girlfriends, so they had no business being around her anyway.

Erik took a few casual steps in their direction, just enough that he could listen to what they were saying without looking like those were his intentions. They all tried to catch a glimpse of whatever she was drawing in her open book and before any of them could speak, she shut her art book loudly and looked up to observe the footballers with a hint of annoyance. "Excuse me, you're blocking my light." She informed them. "Have you lost something over here?"

Sven chuckled at the way she was acting towards them. "We were just wondering why there was a little girl here all by herself." He teased, a smile playing on his lips.

"Little girl?" She seemed really offended by his words. Her eyebrows knitted together and her cheeks puffed up in a way that reminded Erik of her ten year old self. Whenever she was upset or annoyed at something, she had a way of knitting her eyebrows together and puffing up her cheeks. "I'm seventeen."

"Oh," Mats smirked, poking at her teasingly in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Sorry. We saw a seventeen year old woman."

"Was that supposed to be funny?" She eyed the dark haired boy, her face not amused. The blue eyed girl finally sighed. "I'm certainly not here to talk to cocky footballers." Her hand reached to her side to grab a school bag that she pulled onto her lap. She zipped it open and stuffed her art book into it. When she saw the footballers didn't budge, she continued, "If you absolutely must know, I'm just waiting for my dad."

Erik moved out of the way and went to a different part of the training ground when he saw Jürgen Klopp approaching. He was talking to another member of his coaching staff when he saw his daughter surrounded by curious footballers attempting to strike a conversation with her. His eyebrows knitted together in irritation. As his daughter Arabella grew up, he was sure to send her to the best schools in the country, schools which were free of distractions. Jürgen Klopp felt as though boys were all possible distractions for his daughter who was the light of his eyes, a living embodiment of all the hopes and dreams he had for her.

He walked up behind the three young footballers. All he had to do was clear his throat for the three to scurry off to practice. The last thing they wanted was to get into trouble with their coach.

From where Erik stood, he could watch her during practice. She had brought her sketch book back out and began to work on it once more when she was alone. The twenty-two year old footballer watched her throughout practice. 

A smile spread across his lips at a thought that came to his mind.

Maybe she would like a small present, like the ones he used to leave for her when she was younger. Only instead of toys and candy, he would give her something better. Something that would make her feel better about sitting on that bench everyday.

He knew just what to give her. 

When he returned home after practice, he went straight to his bedroom where there was a notebook on top of his desk. Erik pulled the chair out to sit on it and searched for a pen to jot down a small note to go along with Arabella's present.

"Bella, my bella." He wrote on the piece of notebook paper, "As on the cool stone on a stream, the water opens a wide flash of foam, so is the smile on your face, bella. --An Admirer."

-

guys, i LOVE christmas music.

i am listening to it right now. the mijares version of 'adeste fideles' is playing. 

honestly, i prefer listening to christmas music in spanish because i grew up with it. the english ones are good too, but the spanish ones really get me into the spirit of the holidays. my favorite are 'campana sobre campana (campanas de belen)', 'los peces en el rio', 'adeste fideles', 'el nino del tamborileiro', and 'blanca navidad'.

i like most christmas songs.

anyway, i hope you all enjoy the chapter and i don't know what else to say.

have happy holidays everyone!

i hope everyone spends their days with their loved ones and eat lots of good food and all that good stuff. thank you for supporting me with all my stories (and there are MANY).

you are all amazing.

i love you!

and as a closing statement i want to say pachelbel was a genius, canon in d is beautiful. masterpiece. brings tears to my eyes.

-clary xx