[  giggling over the olivia rodrigo edit I just posted on tiktok. need her unreleased songs like right now  ]

✵︎

FUCK HIM.

[ season 2 — episode 8 ]

"I HAVE A PROPOSITION FOR YOU," Keeley said as she met Daisy in the hallway of the Richmond facility. The woman was clearly in a good mood, a particular skip in her step.

"Oh, do tell? Hope Allora doesn't mind," Daisy said teasingly.

"Trust me, she'd ask to join," she said, nudging her shoulder playfully. "But no. Nike has a new line coming out and they've asked for one of our players to be the face of the football branch."

"That's great. Who are you choosing?"

"That's not the exciting bit," she said, rolling her eyes. "They're doing launches for lots of athletics — basketball, baseball, football. But they're also releasing a new line of dance gear including ballet wear specifically marketed toward people of color with darker skin tone-colored fabric. And they've asked specifically for Coach Lasso's talented daughter to model for them!"

"What?" Daisy asked, her eyes going wide. "But I'm not a real dancer any more. I just teach."

"You are so a dancer, and you're creating legions of new ones every day," she argued. "Please, say you'll do it. Not only will it be good for the club's PR, but for Richmond Dance as well. You'll have a small fluff interview with them as well. Please, oh, please, say yes."

Daisy looked at her friend, unable to lie to herself and say she wasn't excited by the prospect. "I mean, yeah, it sounds really cool."

"Amazing!" Keeley squealed. "I'll set it all up. Don't worry about a thing. Just be your cute little self."

"I just hope I don't mess anything up," she said as they headed to the locker room.

"Please, you're perfect. They'll just have you do some typical, easy ballet poses and you'll call it a day. Don't worry."

Of course, Daisy trusted her, so she didn't fret over it anymore. Instead, she entered the office, going right to Roy's side, who'd been staring down Beard silently.

"Hi, guys," Keeley said, needlessly knocking on the door. "So, I actually have a fun, new branding opportunity for a coach. It's only one public appearance. It's decent money. Would be really good for the club. Would either one of you want to help me out by being a spokesperson for this..." She trailed off, realizing neither had any interest at fucking all. "Right. Fuck you both."

"I respect that we didn't have to say a word," Beard stated.

"She gets us," Roy nodded.

Nathan then came into the office, buzzing with excitement. "I'm going to be a spokesperson."

"Congrats. I'm gonna be a Nike ballerina model!" Daisy exclaimed, not able to hide her excitement either.

"That's great!" Nate said, hugging her. Then the pair parted and looked at the others.

"What you mean, babe?" Roy asked, pulling her into his side.

"Keeley just told me. They want the coach's daughter to represent their new line of dance gear. It's so cool, right?"

"Fucking awesome," Roy told her grinning. "Fuck, I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks," she said shyly.

"So, where's Ted?" Nate then asked, sliding up on the cabinet.

"Uh, he called. He has some emergency," Daisy told him. "Didn't tell me what."

"You didn't ask?" he questioned.

"Course I asked, but he assured me he was fine. He just has an emergency."

"Why wouldn't he tell you what it was?"

"It's his emergency. If he wanted her to know, he would have said," Roy said, backing up his girlfriend's reasoning up.

"We have an FA Cup semifinal at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. Who's running training?" Nate asked, getting a little upset.

"Me," Roy said.

"You?"

"Ted asked. I don't give a shit." But then Roy's phone buzzed with a message from his sister. "Shit, I got to go."

"Where you going?" Nate asked.

"None of your fucking business," he said simply before offering Daisy his hand. "Babe, you coming?"

"Course," she said, taking his hand. "Bye Nate, Uncle B."

As it turned out, Roy's emergency had to do with Phoebe. Her mother got a call that the teacher needed to see her, but she couldn't leave work, so Roy had to go. And since Roy didn't really care about Ms. Bowen's opinion of him, he had no qualms about bringing his girlfriend and Phoebe's ballet teacher with him. Then again, Ms. Bowen knew Daisy well enough from the football matches, so she didn't complain when the girl came alone, sitting on the other side of Phoebe and letting her hold her larger hand.

"Thank you for being here, Coach Kent. You too, Daisy. I know how much she respects you," Ms. Bowen said.

Roy nodded. "My sister's at the hospital. She works in the emergency room. She can't really pop out 'cause there's always someone coming in with, like, a knife stuck in their eye or a torch stuck up their—"

"Yeah, okay, I get it," she cut him off. "She's busy. Phoebe, would you mind doing some coloring while I talk to your uncle?"

"Yes, Ms. Bowen," she said politely before going off to one of the small, child-sized tables.

"Can I start with a quick personal question?" the teacher asked. "Phoebe's dad?"

"Oh, he's a piece of shit."

"Is he alive?"

"Sorry, yeah. He's a living piece of shit," Roy corrected.

Ms. Bowen chuckled. "Right. Well, Coach Kent, we've got a bit of an issue with Phoebe's behavior."

"Let's have it," Roy said, looking at a guilty Phoebe.

"She's been swearing. A lot," Ms. Bowen told them, and Daisy winced.

"How bad is it?" he asked.

"Today she called one of her classmates an 'apathetic fucker'."

"Are they?"

"Oh, yes. But that's not the point."

"She's right, Roy," Daisy spoke up. "I had to get on her yesterday for calling Robert a dumb, clumsy, cunt in our lesson."

"Well, is he?"

"Um, he's eight, so no," she said, crossing her arms.

"Do you have any idea where she might be getting this from?" Ms. Bowen questioned.

Daisy watched in disbelief as Roy shook his head before noticing the look both women were giving him. So, he looked to Daisy and pointed to his chest, whispering, "Me?"

"Yeah, baby," she said softly.

He let out a drawn-out, "Fuck," proving their point.

"This was her fifth offense. She got warnings, then isolation. Now I'm afraid she has to go home for the rest of the day. You know the influence you have on her. Use it."

Roy nodded before looking to Phoebe. "Oi! We're leaving." When he stood up, his head hit some art hanging from the ceiling, making Daisy smile, who he offered his hand to.

"Sorry for what I said, Ms. Bowen," Phoebe said, looking genuinely apologetic.

"Thank you, Phoebe."

"Uncle Roy, can we get ice cream?" she then asked with an excited smile.

"Fuck no!" he snapped, unable to believe she'd asked after getting in trouble. And instantly, he realized his mistake and cleared his throat. "Sorry... F-no!"

Daisy sighed and gently pushed Phoebe forward. "Scoot your boot, youngin'. You ain't gone be getting ice cream for a while."

✵︎

Roy was so goddamn weak for caving and getting them all ice cream on the way to Phoebe's home. But Daisy wasn't complaining as she finished off her strawberry cone when he parked the car.

"Thank you for the ice cream, Uncle Roy," Phoebe said before sneakily trying to leave. But Roy wasn't having it, having already turned on the lock on the back seats.

"Oi!" he called, both him and Daisy turning to look at her. "You can't swear, Phoebe."

"But you swear all the time," she pointed out.

"Yeah. And it didn't hold me back 'cause I'm a footballer. No one cares if we swear. It's part of the job. It's encouraged."

"But, baby, you can't be a veterinarian for wild animals if you use that kind of language," Daisy reminded her.

"A veterinarian for wild animals," Roy muttered in confusion. "I still don't get how that works. You treat them in the woods and no one pays you? Do you know what? It doesn't matter. The point is you can't do that if you swear all the time."

Then Roy took in a deep breath, getting a bit more serious. "Look. You and I spend a lot of time together, and I love every second. But I weren't trained in how to be around a kid. And sometimes... I get concerned... that I've been infecting you with the worst parts of me."

Daisy frowned just as Phoebe did, not thinking of him that way at all. He was always so great and loving with Phoebe, being the father figure she needed in her life. And Phoebe thought the exact same thing.

"That's not true. Uncle Roy, you teach me great things. I called that boy a name because he's a bully. And because of you, I stand up to bullies," she explained. Seeing that he was semi-swayed, she added, "And referees." It made him smile the slightest bit. "And I can do that without swearing."

"Yeah," he agreed. "'Cause you are better than me. You'll be like Daisy from now on."

"I'm as good as the best you," Phoebe told him, not wanting him to think badly of himself. "Maybe we can stop swearing together."

"Fuck you," he said, shaking his head. "I can't. But you can." Phoebe didn't look convinced, so he let out an aggressive, "Pretty please?"

"Okay, Uncle Roy," she gave in.

"Good. Now get out of here."

"Can you come in for one game of Princess, Prince, and Dragon?"

He eyed Phoebe before glancing at a smiling Daisy. "Can I be the dragon this time?"

"No," Phoebe said, upset by the notion.

"The prince?"

"Heck no," Daisy said, grinning. "That's my role."

"Fine," he grumbled. "But you better have fixed the wand." Once Phoebe got out of the car, Roy looked at Daisy, who was smiling fondly at him. "What?"

She shook her head before leaning over to kiss him, cupping his strong jaw while parting his lips with her tongue. Then as soon as he tried to deepen it even more, she pulled back, speaking against his lips. "I just love you. So much."

"Yeah, I fucking love you, too."

✵︎

Phoebe was asleep in the cardboard castle that Roy built her, and he and Daisy were cleaning up all her toys so that her mother wouldn't have to worry about it when she got home. But when Daisy's phone buzzed with a FaceTime call from Keeley, which she took into the kitchen so she wouldn't wake Phoebe.

Keeley's face was covered in a face mask as Daisy answered the phone. "Hey, hot stuff," she greeted.

"Gonna call Rebecca. She's supposed to be on that Bantr date, but something tells me she's chickened out."

"Oh, she definitely has," Daisy laughed, waiting for Keeley to add her to the call. Soon, Rebecca appeared, her makeup and hair flawless, a sign that she'd at least gotten ready for the date. But she appeared to still be in a car.

"Jesus!" she exclaimed, seeing Keeley's mask. "Hello."

Daisy groaned as Keeley chastised her. "Why are you picking up right now? You were supposed to be in there five minutes ago."

"Right. I can't go in."

"Oh, come on. You've got this. Get in there," Daisy told her. "It'll be so romantic."

"She's right," Keeley added. "Either it's gonna be the most amazing night or it's gonna be so shit that you can punish me for it for the rest of our friendship."

"Hmm. I do like the sound of that," Rebecca teased.

"We're gonna hang up 'cause you're gonna go, yeah?" Keeley asked — or more like ordered. "You look so beautiful I can't bear it."

Rebecca chuckled before blowing them both kisses goodbye, which they reciprocated before all hanging up. Then Daisy returned to the living room and watched fondly as Roy picked up a sleeping Phoebe and carried her to her bedroom, doing his best not to wake her.

Once he returned, he dug his car keys out of his pocket before coming up to her, wrapping his arms around her. "Ready to go?"

"Your place or mine?" she asked, hugging him back and looking up at him.

"Mine's closer, and as the damsel in distress, I feel I owe my prince a reward for saving me," he said, smirking.

"I'll hold you to that, princess," she joked, kissing him slowly.

But then her phone buzzed, so she dug it out and checked her messages, expecting it to be Rebecca saying that she chickened out. But instead, she just let them know in the groupchat that Sam was also at the restaurant.

Becca the Babe 💋
Sam is here. Awkward!

"Oh, my god," Daisy muttered, the wheels in her brain turning. Because why else would he be in a fancy restaurant specifically at that time? And she'd heard from Jamie that he also asked for his haircut from Isaac.

Keeley's Heelys 🥵
Tell him I said hello.

"What?" Roy asked as Daisy typed furiously.

OH MY GOD!

"Sam and Rebecca!" she squealed. "I think, at least."

Becca the Babe 💋
What?

She scoffed at their silliness and responded.

ARE YOU STUPID?

But she never got a response from Rebecca, and that told her exactly what she needed to know. Rebecca and Sam were on a fucking date.

✵︎

"What was it like? What was she like? Did you kiss? Rebecca won't tell me shit!" Daisy said, bombarding Sam the next morning as the team gathered to get on the bus and head toward Manchester City. He was just lucky no one was around to overhear them.

"Shh! Sh!" he said, covering her mouth. "She said she didn't want anyone to know. Did she tell you?"

"No, she hasn't told me anything. I just know everything except for if you're in love," she gushed, unable to contain her excitement.

Sam sighed, unable to hide his smile. "It was wonderful — she was wonderful, but... I do not think it will happen again. Even if I wish for it to."

Daisy's smile fell, unable to believe Rebecca was squandering a chance at happiness again. "Well, maybe not. Maybe this is gonna be something really beautiful. Sam, you're so kind and handsome. She'd be an idiot not to want you back."

"Even so, just one night with her brought me more joy that I could ever imagine."

✵︎

Daisy was blowing up Rebecca's phone with texts to take Sam back and stop making him sad as she followed the Richmond team into the Wembley Stadium. It was massive compared to the Dogtrack, and quite overwhelming — and Daisy wasn't even one of the players, so she couldn't imagine how the others were feeling.

The coaching staff was clearly nervous, all four of them waiting around in a room connected to the luxurious guest locker room. Nate and Beard were muttering last-minute plays between each other at a whiteboard, Roy was anxiously rubbing his thumb back and forth on the back of Daisy's hand, and Ted was taking in breaths so deep that they all noticed.

"You good, Coach?" Beard asked him.

"Oh, yeah. I'm just doing some breathing exercises that Doc taught me, that's all," he revealed. Daisy frowned, not knowing that he'd started seeing Dr. Sharon. Why hadn't he told her about it?

"Hope it's not stomach problems again," Nate said.

"Tell me you didn't eat the prawn cocktail," Roy muttered.

"No, never."

Then the door opened and Higgins came in. "Uh, guys, it's time."

Before all of them could leave, Ted stood and got their attention. "Hey, fellas, Daisy, hold on a sec. I need to tell you all something. When I left the match against Tottenham, it... it wasn't 'cause, uh, you know, my stomach was bothering me. It was 'cause I had a panic attack."

Daisy frowned and reached for his hand. Ted squeezed it thankfully and looked right at her when he spoke again, moreso talking to her more than the others. "I've been having them from time to time as of late, and I'm working on it. But I just want you to know the truth."

"Thank you for telling us, Daddy," Daisy said softly. "You can always talk to me about this stuff."

He nodded before glancing at the others. "We good?"

"Oh, yeah," Higgins assured him while Roy just nodded.

"Yeah. Of course," Nate said.

"Okay. Okay, all right. All right, let's go get 'em. Hands in. Richmond on three—"

"Wait!" Higgins cut him off. Then he exhaled deeply before gulping. "I need to confess something too. Um, I messed up the time zones on our transfer deadline, which is why we didn't sign up that amazing fullback from Brazil."

"Oh, my God," Nate whispered.

"That's okay," Ted forgave him.

"I don't read the scouting reports you guys write," Roy suddenly revealed. "I've lied every time they've come up. They're boring, and I won't do it."

"I appreciate that," Ted told him.

"I pretend to get ideas in the moment, but they're just good ideas I've had for months. I just time them to look spontaneous," Nate added.

"Hmm, it's a good move," Higgins told him.

Everyone else agreed, and Daisy figured that he probably should've kept that to himself to keep looking impressive.

"There was one game this season where I was accidentally on mushrooms," Beard said suddenly.

"Accidentally?" Nate questioned.

"I'd been at Jane's house, and I drank tea from the wrong pot."

Roy eyed him suspiciously. "The Port Vale match?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah," he nodded, not surprised.

"It won't happen again," he promised.

Then all of them looked at Daisy expectantly, waiting for her to reveal something. So, she took in a deep breath. "I'm too scared to admit to myself that I want to go back to dancing as a career."

Ted's face softened instantly and he drew her into a hug. Daisy hadn't even realized she missed dancing so much until she said it out loud just then.

"Thanks, guys," Ted said, keeping an arm around his daughter. Their honesty meant a lot to him. "All right, let's go kick their butts."

"Butts on three," Beard decided.

"Works for me. One, two, three—"

"Butts!" they all shouted, making Daisy laugh. Then they all left, Roy holding Daisy's hand as they went.

"You wanna get back to dancing?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know," she said, shrugging. "Maybe. I guess it's kind of stupid given how I went out."

"Oi, it is not fucking stupid, you hear me?" he said, looking down at her sternly. "You are a strong, graceful, powerhouse when you dance. If you want to stop teaching and get back in it, then that's what you'll fucking do. I'll help you every step of the way."

"You will?" she asked with a small, hopeful smile.

"Babe, you went through so much to make sure I'm happy with what I do every day. I'd be a shit boyfriend if I didn't want to do the same for you."

"You'd never be a bad boyfriend," she said, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Now, go out there and win the semifinals for me."

✵︎

Richmond lost the semifinals — by a lot. In fact, it was probably their worst game that Daisy had every watched them play, and she was glad she was up in the stand with Rebecca instead of on the sidelines where the players could see her facial expressions.

After the brutal loss, the vibes in the immaculate visiting team locker room were off. Everyone was pouting and sulking, knowing they could've played better than they had against Man City. Daisy was with Roy, leaning against his side as he kept his head down, crushed by the loss.

A security guard interrupted the silence when he opened the door. "Uh, Mr. Tartt. You have a visitor. Says he's your father."

In an instant, all of Daisy's attention was on Jamie as she pulled away from Roy. Jamie looked like he was the last man on the planet that he wanted to see, but nevertheless, he signaled to let the man in.

An older man poked his head in, presumidly Mr. Tartt. "Are you decent?" he asked before laughing obnoxiously. Then he sneered at the security guard. "I told ya. Dick."

Daisy tried to step forward, but Ted reached for her wrist and kept her back, knowing this was the match that got them relegated all over again.

"Oh, gentlemen! Gentlemen!" Mr. Tartt said, laughing tauntingly at the whole team. "Hey, it's a tough one, lads. It's a tough one, but no shame to it, 'cause, you know, we only ever beat, uh, everybody we play. So you pups had no chance."

Then he gasped and laid eyes on Jamie, who was standing in the middle of the room, tense and skittish, not knowing what other horrible things his father would say in front of his team.

"Oh. And there he is, my son. My own flesh and blood. Poor Jamie, my son. Now, maybe I'm thinking his heart's still in Manchester and that's why he missed that sitter in the first half. Oh. Whoo! You absolutely balled it. You balled it. What were you thinking?"

Knowing that he had an abusive past, it made Daisy's stomach twist when he pretended to punch Jamie in the gut while laughing. "I'm only kidding, hey. Hey, look, do us a favor and get Denbo and Bug past security. They wanna go on the pitch, take a few snaps, yeah?"

"I'd rather 'em not," Jamie muttered.

"Yeah, they just want to look around. It'll only take a second. Doosh."

"I'd rather 'em not," he repeated, trying to stand up for himself.

"What? What, you're not gonna all go little moody bitch just 'cause you got your arse served to you on a plate, are ya?"

"Don't speak to me like that," Jamie whispered.

"Huh?"

"Don't speak to me like that."

"Huh?"

"Don't speak to me like that!" he said, finding his confidence.

"Okay, well, let's see if you can hear this, hmm?" his father asked him. "You know that ickle TV show you made? You made it easier for Manchester City to kick you to the curb. And look where you are now. Twaddling about with a bunch of amateurs. Look out at them. No offense, no offense. Huh?"

Jamie tried to just turn away from him, but his father pulled him back. "Don't turn your back on me, you pussy!"

In an instant, Jamie reared back and punched his father right in the face, sending him to the ground with a bleeding nose. Daisy gasped and covered her mouth, looking at Jamie with wide eyes, whose chest was heaving.

His father laughed humorlessly while stumbling to his feet. "Oh, yeah. Okay. You can have that one for free."

Both Daisy and Beard moved, one going to Jamie and the other going to his father. Beard hauled him back. "Time to go."

"You wanna go? Let's have it! Don't you forget where you came from!"

"Watch the door," Beard said while throwing him out, not caring that Mr. Tartt landed on his ass. "Oops."

When Daisy reached Jamie, she ended up stopped just a few feet away, because for once in her life, she didn't know what to say. But it was Roy who did the right thing, joining them. And as he got closer, it broke Daisy's heart when he flinched only for Roy to hug him instead of hit him as he was expecting.

It took Jamie a moment to gather his bearings and realize what was happening, but soon, he was hugging Roy back, crying into his shoulder. The two held each other for a good minute before Roy pulled back and held Jamie's face, making sure he was looking at him.

"That was a fucking good punch, Tartt," he praised.

Jamie managed a small smile before sniffing, more tears falling. And knowing that he needed more comfort, Roy caught Daisy's eye and nodded toward Jamie. She took the go ahead and hugged him tightly. Jamie practically fell apart in her arms.

"Member what I said when you got back from that show?" Daisy whispered, running her fingers through his hair as he hid his face in her shoulder, holding her waist. "Fuck him, Jamie. You don't need him, okay? Fuck him."