The next morning, Will arrived at Rockliffe Park roughly thirty minutes past five.

He had slept poorly the night before. Not because he was anxious, even though he was, but because his mind couldn’t just let him rest. As much as he was anxious and nervous about the match, he was also excited. It was like his mind kept going in this rollercoaster ride of emotion uncaring about the consequences on his physical and mental well being.

Will released a sigh as he stared blankly in front of him. He thought that matchday was going to be free of a daily quest but he was wrong. Glowing softly in the dark, he saw the system’s notification panel with a message.

[Daily Quest]

[Complete 150 first-touch reps with the rebounder wall]

[Target: Each touch must set up a clean second touch within 1.5 second]

[Time limit: thirty minutes]

Will groaned internally when he read the mission. It wasn’t like it was difficult to do exactly, he just really want to sleep and didn’t feel like overexerting his body and using whatever little energy he had left was the wise thing to do.

Still, he brought out the football and dragged himself to the rebounder wall so that he could start with the quest.

Will just finished with the system’s daily quest and was smiling at the successful notification message in front of him when he heard footsteps on the gravel path that connected the main pitch to the car park.

He didn’t think much of it at first. He had been coming early for the past week, and he’d see the groundkeeper or some other maintenance staff come in to take care of things while he was training. But then he heard a voice, that definitely did not belong to a groundkeeper.

"Sorry- hi. Are you one of the players?" A feminine voice sounded.

Will looked up.

There was a girl standing at the edge of the pitch. She was roughly his age, or at most a year older if she were to be older. She had dark colored hair pulled back into a loose ponytail that was already unraveling due to the cold morning wind. In one hand she was holding a recorder and had a notebook in the other hand and she was wearing a puffer jacket that was a little too big for her, which successfully covered the rest of her attire.

She was looking at Will with a little bit of fascination as she had watched him train for a couple of minutes before interrupting him.

"Yeah". Will said, collapsing on the ground and breathing evenly. "Can I help you?"

"I’m from Teesside University". The girl said, while walking closer to Will. "I’m doing a journalism assignment on youth footballers. I got permission from the club administration to come to the ground today for the friendly and talk to a few players beforehand. I’ve got clearance and everything, even a letter". She said while fishing her jacket, presumably looking for the letter.

Will blinked a few times watching the girl search for the letter or pass, he wasn’t exactly paying attention to what she was saying, before stretching her hands out.

"You don’t need to show me a letter, I’m not a staff". Will said.

"Right, yes. Of course". She stopped searching. "I just- I wasn’t sure if anyone was going to be here this early. I came early because I thought the players might be more relaxed before a match than after. Is that naïve?".

"A bit". Will said. "Most of the boys won’t be here for another hour and half".

"Oh". She said, then scribbled something in her notebook. "But you’re here".

"I’m always here early".

"Can I ask why?"

Will stared at her for a couple of seconds, before letting out a light chuckle. "Are you interviewing me right now?"

She gave him a sheepish smile. "A little bit. Is that okay? I can go and wait by the main building if you’d rather".

Will regarded her for a moment. He considered telling her to do just that, but then if she left, he would be left by himself for an hour having nothing but the darkness and cold of the morning to keep him company, which paled a lot in comparison to having a chat with a pretty university student.

"Stay if you want". Will said, and played around with the ball. "Just don’t get in the way of the ball".

She moved to the side and sat one an advertising hoarding that ran all the way along the edge of the pitch, then she opened her notebook and spread it on her knee. Shortly after, Will heard a soft clicking sound which told him that she had started recoding.

"So why are you always here early?" She asked again.

"Because I’m not good enough yet". Will replied after a moment of thought. He struck the ball on the rebounder wall, before trapping it cleanly and collapsing on the floor. "If I only train when everyone else trains, I’ll only be as good as everyone ese. I don’t want to be as good as everyone else".

There was a silent pause, which made the sound of her scribbling in her notebook more pronounced.

"Is it working?"

Will let out a small smile. "Ask me in a year".

She laughed. It was a short laugh, causing Will to raise an eyebrow. He didn’t think he was being funny.

"I’m Chloe, by the way". She said after her short burst of laughter. "Chloe Marsh".

"Will Smithson".

"Nice to meet you, Will Smithson". Chloe said. "Are you a starter today?"

"Yeah"

"Does that make you nervous?"

"Why would I be nervous?" Will scoffed lightly. "It’s just a friendly against trialists"

"You say it like it’s not scary at all". Chloe said. "But you’re here for what? An hour already, before anyone else. In the cold".

"Alright, I’m nervous". Will smiled. "I was almost released this week. The coach was going to cut me from the squad but I managed to change his mind. But I still have to prove myself, so today matters a lot more than it should for a friendly against trialists".

Will wasn’t even sure why he said the second part of his statement, he just said it. It wasn’t like it was a deeply personal secret or something. He was just stating facts.

When he finished talking, Chloe stared at him intensely.

"That’s a good story". She said finally.

"It’s not a story, it’s my life". Will said

"Same diff". Chloe shrugged. "Our lives are all just stories unraveling if you deep it. Can quote you on the almost being released thing, or is that off the record?"

"You can quote me," Will said. "If it makes anyone reading it think twice before giving up, that’s not a bad thing."

Chloe smiled. It was a proper one, wide enough that it reached her eyes. "You’re much more interesting than I expected a seventeen-year-old footballer to be."

"How interesting were you expecting?"

"My previous interview was with a winger who told me his greatest inspiration was his FIFA Ultimate Team lineup."

Will laughed. It came out louder than he intended, and the sound of it bounced around the empty ground in the cold morning air. It felt strange coming out of him. He couldn’t remember the last time he had laughed properly, not the hoarse, slightly hysterical one he’d given to the sky two nights ago, but a real one.

"That’s genuinely terrible," he said.

"I know. I have to write eight hundred words about it," she said, and she was smiling too, and for a moment the two of them were just standing and sitting in the cold at half past five in the morning on a Friday in February, laughing about a winger’s FIFA team, and it was fine. It was more than fine, actually.

The session started at half seven. Will jogged back to get changed. At the entrance to the changing room block, he turned around and Chloe was still sitting on the hoarding writing in her notebook, the recorder still going.

"Will you be watching the match?" he called over.

She looked up. "That’s why I’m here."

"Then watch the second half," he said. "That’s when I’m usually better."

She raised an eyebrow. "Confident."

"Prepared," he corrected, and went inside.