It had been months of secrets—carefully timed exits, coded texts, pretending like the heat between you didn’t exist whenever anyone else was in the room. It wasn’t that either of you were ashamed. Just cautious. Football culture was... complicated.

But all it took was one blurry photo. You, laughing in Isaac’s car at 1 a.m., his hand brushing yours on the gearshift. The headline was vague, but the image was clear enough.

You saw it first. A sick feeling settled in your stomach as you scrolled through your phone in the corridor of nelson road.

He saw it second.

Isaac barely said a word when you showed him. Just looked at the screen, jaw tense, then looked at you. “You good?”

You nodded, trying to smile but it wasn't genuine. “Guess this makes it real now.”

He gave you a small grin, but there was something steely underneath. Like he’d made up his mind.

The next morning, everything was tense. The lads were already whispering, Ted was trying to act casual, and Keeley looked way too smug to be subtle. You almost didn’t walk in with him.

But Isaac did what Isaac always did—led without making it about himself. He reached for your hand as you stepped into the meeting room. Right there, in front of everyone.

It went dead silent.

And then, softly—“About time,” Colin muttered with a smirk.

“You owe me a fiver,” Jamie whispered to Sam.