.seven. 

Added to the list of curious eyes that wanted to know who Arabella's secret admirer was her father, Jürgen Klopp. He made sure to be out on the training ground long before the players, hoping to catch the one who was sending his daughter presents. 

Just as they had the day before, Mats and Marco accompanied Erik onto the field. The rest of the players would be done changing in a few more minutes and Erik had a new present for his beloved. This time it was an ipod nano he had purchased the night before and he had filled the memory in it with music that reminded him of her. His hand was stuffed in his pocket, with the ipod already securely in his palm so that he could leave it on the bench quickly.

The three players stopped in their tracks when they saw their team manager already outside. Jürgen didn't suspect either of the players who were the first to come onto the field. He knew both Mats and Marco had girlfriends. And he knew Erik had been Arabella's friend when she was a little girl. He didn't think the youngest of the three would see his daughter as more than the small girl who sat on the bench while she waited for her father. But he thought they could know something about her admirer.

"Hello boys," Jürgen began with a serious face. Erik could feel his hands dampening with a nervous sweat. They all nodded in response to his greeting and the older man continued, "I just want to ask if any of you know anything about this secret admirer Arabella has."

Both Mats and Marco looked to Erik subsonciously.

Jürgen noticed this immediately. "You know something, Erik?"

"No." Erik gulped nervously.

The twenty-two year old felt his face redden. He knew Jürgen was onto him and thought it would soon be time to tell the truth. "Are you feeling okay, Erik?" Jürgen wondered, narrowing his eyes at him suspiciously. "You look uneasy, like you know something, but you don't want to tell me."

"No," Erik assured him with a shake of his head, "I don't know anything."

"Is it Mats?" Arabella's father blurted out.

"What?" Mats asked, outraged that he would be accused of that. "Where do you get that idea?"

"Hm..." He thought about it for a second. "Then its Marco. Isn't he dating a twenty-year old? Maybe he has a thing for younger girls." He concluded.

Mats laughed at that. "Trust me, its not Marco."

"Then you know who it is?" Jürgen asked.

"No," Mats replied, "But I know its not Marco."

"Why didn't you accuse Erik?" Marco pointed out, "He's closest to her age."

"I trust Erik." Her father stated. "He cares about my little girl."

Soon the rest of the players went out to the field and Jürgen dismissed the three footballers. But he certainly wouldn't cease in his search to find who was trying to lure in his daughter.

All through practice Erik felt the ipod in his pocket and frowned. He wouldn't be able to surprise her that day. He would ocassionally look towards her spot on the bleechers. She looked upset, a look that was not usual on her.

During their small break, Erik gathered the courage to approach her. "Hey Bells," He began, rather awkwardly, "What's wrong?" His mates, Mats and Marco were close by, shooting teasing smiles and thumbs up signs at their friend.

Arabella let out a sigh. "Nothing."

A frown touched his lips at her response. "You can trust me." He encouraged. "Remember when you were ten and you would tell me everything? Even the little things like when a girl at the primary school stole your favorite pencil. And then you stole it back while she was in the toilets. What was her name? Something with a K..."

She smiled, genuinely surprised that he would remmeber that. "Karla. She hated me, but pretended to be my friend so she could steal my things."

"I remember." He said. Looking to meet her haze with pleading eyes, he added, "Can we be like that again?"

"You know," She started, "I must admit I thought you hated me when I returned."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because you've been avoiding the hell out of me." She answered. "Don't think I haven't noticed."

Erik bit down on his lip. Rather than telling her his real reasons, he decided to tell her a lie. He didn't like all the lies and secret keeping he was doing lately, but he didn't feel secure enough to tell her the truth. He feared her rejection. "I wasn't trying to avoid you." He swore.

"Then what?" She met his gaze with curious eyes.

"I just didn't want to annoy you with questions like my other mates." He said.

And just as she was about to tell him why she was feeling upset, Jürgen called the players back to practice. Erik offered a quick goodbye and she responded with a wave of her own. She thought it ridiculous, but she missed the presents her secret admirer was leaving for her. She thought herself spoiled by him, only to have him stop from one day to the other.

She wondered if he would leave her something the next day.

And she wondered if he would reveal himself.

-

yay. an update. no long author's note today cause i have music class in a bit. so i hope you all enjoy reading this new chapter. thank you for all your support. and hopefully erik will stop being a shy little cupcake and just confess already, no? haha.

i love you.

-clary xx