REECE WOKE UP TO AN EMPTY APARTMENT,

walking out shirtless with nothing but a pair of shorts on and sleep still in his eyes. All the curtains were open so that must've meant Jordan went out for his usual morning run, leaving him all alone in the house. When he sat down, everything was still. It was moments like these where he felt truly content and happy with his life, where he's come from and everything he's done so far. Feeling for his phone in his pocket, he decides to call Freda to check up on his favourite human being. The phone rings for a couple of seconds before the other side finally picks up, shuffling is heard and then a voice. 

"Dad?" Leila questions and he can just see his blonde haired daughter holding the phone against her cheek, brows raised and a curious look in her eye. "Hey, bub!" he cheers, sitting up in the chair. "You getting ready for school?" his daughter shuffles around before answering. "Yah. I'm just...Mum's just doing my shoes." Reece bit his lip as his eyes studied the floor, feeling the air all caught up in his chest. "Ngaaw, daddy called too late. I'll let you go then. I love you, Leila." the father said with a broken smile on his lips, wishing he was there to help his child get ready. "I love you too, daddy. Bye, bye." 

Bidding farewell, his daughter hangs up the phone. The 22 year old sits there for maybe a good 10 minutes, everything about his life attacking him. Was being a pro athlete really all he wanted? No, he wasn't doing that for himself. He was doing it for his family, everybody that loved him. It would be wrong to just leave all his progress now, that's 21 years of sports all down the drain. Shaking his head, he sits back in his couch, wasting his rest time by checking the latest trends on tiktok. A burning itch is felt at the back of his head and a forbidden thought gnaws at him, he finds himself wondering what Dominique would be doing right about now. 

Sunlight streamed in through the gap left between the curtains, awakening the resting and hungover girl laying in bed. Dominique rolls over to feel an empty space beside her, sheets ruffled and wrinkled pillow case. Before she could assume being left all alone so early in the morning, the smell of bacon wafts through the small space and a smile automatically spreads on her lips. Her feet find oversized slippers under the bed and she pulls one of Jayden's shirts over her head, a familiar emblem on her left boob but nothing to take note of.

"Good morning, beautiful." Jayden greets as he looks over his shoulder, flipping the pancake in the pan. Dom wraps her arms around his waist, careful she doesn't burn her hand on the stove. "Morning, handsome." she replies, smiling up at the green eyed beauty she'd bagged the previous night. "Did you have a good sleep?" Dom's stomach does hurdles when his free hand rubs circles on her forearm, leaning against his back to hide the fact that she's literally blushing over such a small gesture. "I slept great last night, how about you?"

Jayden places the pancake on to a separate plate before turning off the stove and placing the pan into the sink. "Couldn't be any better." is all the male says before yanking Dom against himself, careful to pull them away from the stove in case of a sever burn. "Well?" the girl asked with a quirked brow. "Are you gonna kiss me or what?" Jayden's lip upturned into a smirk, eyes raking over the fine sight before him. "Don't threaten me with a good time."

12 hours was a long time for Dominique to drop all contact with Jordan and his nerves started to get the best the of him. His teeth nibbled at the string of his team's jersey as they sat huddled in a circle, eyes frantically darting all over his phone screen as he prayed silently for her notification. Some outsider looking in might've assumed he was a crazed stalker or something. Reece pats his friends back as he takes the seat vacant next to him, peeping at his phone to see dozens of messages sent but none received from who he needed most. "Still no sign of her?" Reece asked and Jordan shook his head, regret and guilt filling his chest, causing his lungs and breathing to go taut.

"I texted her mates but they keep changing the topic." the māori rugby player said as he heaved a sigh, turning off his phone and placing it in his locker. "Maybe she just needed the space, Jords. Girls get dramatic like that, you know how it is." The younger male says as a light hearted joke but no laugh comes in response and he's left almost wishing he'd said nothing at all. Jordan decides to text once more before finally turning off his phone, preparing mentally for the match they'd been waiting for.

Gold Coast Titans, hailing from GCU, were the Brisbane Broncos most notorious enemies as the two schools often battled for the best team in Queensland title. So, as you can imagine being in Jordan's shoes right now, this match was more than important to him. As they ran out on to the field, he scans the bleachers and keeps an eye out for his nonchalant cousin. He'd spotted Karla, sending a flirty wink to her direction to which she gave him the naughty finger with a bright smile. The team's players are called individually, announcing which one will be playing each position. 

Dominique races through the queues, finding her friends instantly (thanks to Karla's botched highlights she thought she could do herself). "OMG GIRL! Where have you been!" Bel yells with scrunched brows, green eyes displaying worry and hurt. Karla smacks her elbow with a small flag she grabbed from the merch store out front, shaking her head. "Your cousin has been spamming the both of us." They both look disappointed in her which only hurts for a little while. "Sorry guys, there was just...you know how it gets." Karla raises a curious brow at her friend, nudging her to spill the whole story. "What? Dick so good you couldn't even text us back?"

 Dominique blushes at the sheer thought of her and Jayden's spent time together. He had been different from the other boys she'd slept with, he'd showed her how a man should take care of her. Heck, he even did amazing after care that left her practically begging for more. And it wasn't even just the sex (although that alone would have to be another story), he was also just a kind guy with a good heart. Dominique knew her standards were quite low when it came to the men of Australia but Jayden made her realise just how much she was missing and she liked him for that.

"He had a mullet, guys, need I say more?" Dom asks with a shrug. Her friend turns to her with a dead look in her eyes, shoulders slouched and her brain just on the brink of fizzling into non existence. "Mullets are cool and all, but I personally think that long hair looks better." Dominique is the one to roll her eyes now, having known for Bel's 3 year strong crush on the Brisbane Broncos infamous lock, Patty Carrigan. "Alright, so you're a little biased I get that." Dom's eyes avert her attention towards the field and she spots someone she thought she'd only ever see at night. "Jayden?!" She yells, standing up in pure shock. The Gold Coast Titan's fullback glances over before fulling turning his head, eyes darting between the girl and the Broncos who just so happen to be on their fourth tackle. 

As Reynolds kicks the ball and it soars through the air, the whistle to initiate half time blows and everybody shuffles around to go either get refreshments, toilet or just wiggle their legs. The two friends watch as Dominique races to the other side of the stands, calling at the opposing team's fullback while doing so. "What're you doing here, Dom? And why are you wearing that ugly t-shirt?" Jayden asks as he meets her in the middle, half a smile and half a frown, finger pointing at her Brisbane University of Sports jersey. "No, what're you doing here? I thought you said you were headed back to the Goldie when I left!" She smacks his head and he laughs in response, catching her hand and pulling her so that he's centimeters away from her face. "Stop being so rowdy before I take you back to mine after the match." 

Before anything can escalate, Jayden is yanked back and pushed to the ground, Jordan standing over the frail fullback. "What the fuck you doing, cunt?!" the second rower growls. Dom turns to see all the broncos players huddled, titans teammates running over in favor of their loyal fullback. "The fuck was that for?" Tino, their muscly and undeniably cute captain, yells as he pushes Jordan back. "Hey, hey, don't touch him, cunt." Patty steps in, collaring his Queensland teammate. "He touched J.C first! Don't fucking tell us what to do-" Alofi's sentence isn't finished as Reece's fist comes in contact with his face. Before Dom even notices, everybody is pulling punches and the referees from come flying in from every direction. The brawl ends in a matter of minutes and the players are forced to return to their locker rooms. 

Jayden turns to smile at Dom, bloodied lip and a swollen cheek from the punches endured. The sight physically hurting the māori girl. She waves in response, hand turning into a fist when he turns his back. "OI!" Jordan yells from across the field but she knew it was directed at her. His eyes burn red with rage and she can just tell she's in for a long lecture once she gets home by the way he mouths the words 'talk at home' barely managing to keep his jaw from tightening. 

"I can't believe it's only half time." Karla mumbles beside Dom, shaking her head, baffled that such a small incident could cause a full on fight (she was filming the whole thing). "Ooh, girl. You're gonna suffer..." Bel taunts but she knows it's true. 40 more minutes of pure pain and then hell once she gets home. What a beautiful thing to come back to. 

⊹ 𓈒 ۫ 𝗿𝙚𝗻 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝙚𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝙚𝘀 ─ 📝
bye i feel like this is shit 💀
anyways, Karla is none other
than quicksilvrs so everybody
CLAP. go check out her books
man they're the bombbbbbb

𝐢𝟎𝟖𝐫𝐞𝐧 ── ♡