Jack Grealish - Number Seven | PART 2

                                    

                                          
dear my fellow england nt fans, this fic could be quite upsetting so if you still feel sad from last night, you might not want to engage with this.


your interests on the first part had been amazing and it's definitely my fic that has done the best so far. thank you so much. i would also like to welcome you guys who have fun my stories recently, i hope you enjoy them.
i considered to write something after the final, whatever the result would be, and i just decided to make a second part of this because i needed to pour out my feelings.
so proud of the three lions<3

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It didn't come home.
Jack couldn't describe the feeling he was feeling right now, all he knew was that he was heartbroken and completely devastated. His chest just felt so heavy and there was a lump suffocating his throat that he just couldn't shake away.
They lost the Euro final. They hoped that today was going to end in a sweet victory, but it turned out that they needed to swallow the hard reality that they couldn't bring the trophy home.
The atmosphere in Wembley was strange, there was immense sadness hanging in the air. The fans were silent and a lot of them had even left their seats as soon as the penalty shootout ended, so the players and staff were giving the lap of appreciation to the ones that were patient enough to stay and share the heartbreaking moment with them.
Jack quickly scanned the stands when they were approaching the family stands and could easily find who he was looking for.
In an England shirt number seven, she stood proudly right there beside his friends, giving him a round of applause to show some appreciation to the amazing team that had done the country proud, especially to the player she was representing.
Jack saw her looking at him and giving him a smile, but he just couldn't smile back as his chest felt heavier and heavier. He eventually looked away from her, feeling too ashamed to be under her gaze despite the distance separating them.
He felt like he had failed everybody. He had failed her, the one who had always been beside him through this camp and motivating him to keep going. He was disappointed in himself for not being able to win it and make everyone's dreams come true.
The players were allowed to go in the stands and meet their family and friends after the event was done, and Jack was having mixed feelings about it. Having some comfort from them would be nice, but he was covered in a blanket of guilt and it was just so hard for him to be proud of himself right now. He didn't want to present this version of him in front of them, especially not to her.
But they all welcomed Jack with open arms. Jack fell to his parents' embrace; they couldn't stop telling him how proud they were of him. His siblings gave him the biggest hugs and the brightest smiles. His friends gave him hugs and pats on his back, telling him to chin up and giving him other kind words to cheer him up. He greeted them one by one. Patrick, Edmund, Laura, Joe, Brad... And then there was only her left.
She was standing there looking at him with a fond gaze and his lips perked up into a sheepish smile. He froze right there for a second, wondering what he wanted more, to fall into her warm embrace and shed a tear or two on her shoulder, or to vanish from this place.
Jack was tight-lipped. Most of the time he always knew what to say but now not even a single word crossed his mind. There was only a simple thank you and sorry at the tip of his tongue, but he didn't even have the strength to say it.
Their eyes locked on to each other as Jack's concerned mind wandered around trying to figure out what to say, but she shattered it by taking his hand on hers.
Without thinking twice, Jack pulled her by her hand, closed their distance, and hugged her so tight as if his life depended on it. He managed to whisper "I'm so sorry" in her ear, before burying his face on her shoulder.
He knew he was getting stares from everyone around him. His parents would probably be surprised, his family and friends would definitely have questions to ask, his teammates certainly would wonder who this mysterious girl was, but he didn't care. He could do the explaining later.
There was a little worry on his mind for the potential shock he was giving her, but the thought was gone as soon as it came, when he felt her pair of arms moved and was now wrapped tightly around him.
"Remember what I told you last night? No matter what happens, we will still be proud of this team. Always. You've made history, you did us proud," she whispered in his ear as her hand rubbed his back gently, giving him some sense of comfort that Jack needed more than he knew.
There was a storm breaking inside his head and all he could do was hold on to her, hoping that it would calm down. He tried to fill his mind with the feeling of having her in his arms, the smell of her perfume, and how warm it was to be embraced by her in this awfully cold night.
He didn't know how long he had been hugging her in silence. She took her arms away and pushed him gently by his sides. Jack was reluctant to let her go and didn't actually want her to see his face, because he could feel his eyes were starting to water and he was afraid that the tears were going to fall any second. So he hung his head low and took a long deep breath to try to calm himself down.
"Hey, Jack?" she said softly, trying to get his attention. He was too scared to look up.
Then he felt her pair of hands running through his hair, fixing the strands of hair that were out of place. Her hands then went down to his face. She cupped his face and rubbed her thumbs on his cheeks, and her gesture surely caught him off guard.
Jack finally looked up and his eyes immediately met hers. Those beautiful eyes were gazing at him lovingly and her warm smile was painted on her face once more. The lump on his throat was suddenly there again and he bit his lower lip to stop his tears from coming back. Their relationship was indeed complicated, but she had always shown him her support and never failed to comfort him when things got rough. Today was just one of those days.
"I am so proud of you. And you should be proud of yourself too."
He didn't know what he was thinking, but he quickly removed their distance again to put a long kiss on her forehead. His hand went to the back of her head and he gently stroked her hair. He could feel her dropping her hands to his shoulders, giving them a light squeeze.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Jack, you hear me?" She said as Jack pulled away. She found his eyes again and Jack nodded.
"Promise me you're not going anywhere?" he asked, his hands fiddling with her hair.
She raised her eyebrows, seeming to be surprised with Jack's question. "Why would I? I thought you were taking me on a date?" She said gleefully, trying to make the mood a little bit better. And her words surely did put a little smile on his face. She giggled seeing his eyes crinkled, as she leaned closer to give a peck on his cheek.