AN: Hey guys, sorry for the delayed upload, it was meant to go out yesterday, but it appears that I didn't click the post button, which is just awesome. Anyway, I'm trying to move the season a bit more forward, so there will be some games skipped. This chapter is more of a slice of life. But the next chapter will have some good games. Also, this chapter introduces a Girlfriend who will be Dicks girlfriend before Billie. Anyway, enjoy.
General pov:
The game was just finished, and Dick looked pretty happy. So far, he had scored at least one goal in every game; he was on fire, and people, as well as brands, were starting to take notice. However, that was a matter for Mendes to handle; currently, Dick was standing in the tunnel and being interviewed. He had already been asked some of the boring and regular questions when the reporter asked the one question the entire internet had already been talking about.
"So, Richard, a lot of people have been talking about the scuffle and screaming that happened after Van den Berg brought you down. As the one who started the screaming, all of us are curious about what you said. Do you mind enlightening us?"
Dick smiled at the camera and said
"Well, you know how it is. Football is a competitive sport, and it brings out the competitive side of people. And when people get excited, they tend to just speak their minds. So I just gave him some words on what I thought about the situation, but it wasn't anything bad hahaha"
"So what exactly did you say?"
Dick then smirks before he says
"Well, as my Nonna would say…A buon intenditor, poche parole." (Literally: "For the good listener, few words are enough. Figuratively: "You don't need to explain much to someone smart enough to understand)"
He then nodded and said his goodbyes before leaving to change and go on the team bus. Not knowing that his dropping that little nugget of knowledge on live TV would have its revelations to the Italian nationals.
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General pov
It was the next day, and while Dick had been sleeping, the internet had been doing its endless thing of spreading clips from both the game, where Dick had saved Brighton from losing the game, and from his post match game where he had given a pretty iconic response, at least to those that knew what he was talking about.
However, the man responsible for that was currently asleep and using his rest day appropriately. He was currently drooling on his pillow, dreaming about winning a Ballon d'Or, when his phone started ringing. Dick grumbled a bit before picking up the phone and answering with a raspy
"Hello…???"
"Dick, it's Mendes. I'm on the way to your place. We have a lot to discuss. And, you are trending right now, you might want to check that out before I get there. Ciao"
"Sure, I'll see you then. Ciao"
Dick then hung up, before rubbing his eyes and sitting up in bed. The duvet fell off his bare chest as he raised his arms up to stretch. He felt his legs shake as he reached the peak of the stretch. He let out a satisfied sigh before picking his phone back up and opening Twitter to see that he had become an Italian sensation overnight.
@Fede: Quando tira fuori i proverbi della nonna capisci che è uno di noi (When he drops his grandma's proverbs, you know he's one of us)
@Azzuripower: La Nazionale ha bisogno di un bomber vero… ecco la risposta. Convocatelo subito! (The national team needs a real striker… here's the answer. Call him up now!)
@Badb1tchesonly: Yo, who knew Dick Grayson spoke Italian? Someone needs to nerf this guy.
@football4life: Sorry, but bro scored 2 set piece goals, and sure one pretty fucking decent assist, but why are y'all treating him like he's the next Ronaldo or Messi? Like, he's only 16, so why do you guys think he's the second coming of Jesus himself?
@D1CK_Lover: All I have to say is that Dick Grayson has to be the best youngest playing right now, I mean the guy hasn't got a game where he hasn't scored at least 1 goal, he's my goat fr
Dick continued reading through some messages before he got bored, and started checking his messages. He ignored the ones from his school "friends" who had ignored him for most of the year, but now, all of a sudden, wanted to be best mates after he got popular. He then saw a couple of messages from his Nonna, so he opened them and was met with photos of multiple newspapers, all on the sports segment, and all having a close-up of his face with different headlines.
"Grayson, il bomber che manca all'Italia: 16 anni e già fa impazzire l'Inghilterra"
(Grayson, the striker Italy is missing: 16 years old and already driving England crazy)
"Riccardo Grayson: talento internazionale, cuore italiano"
(Dick Grayson: international talent, Italian heart.)
And then the one that impacted him the most
"Serve un goleador: ecco Grayson, il futuro è adesso"
(We need a goalscorer: here's Grayson, the future is now)
The next message was then a…strongly…worded message from his grandma, practically threatening him that if he didn't play for Italy, then she wouldn't bring him any more Gocciole chocolate, which was his favourite Italian cookie brand, well, that along with Pan di Stelle. He laughed and replied with something to placate her.
He then popped on a blue tank top before walking into the kitchen and making himself some eggs and coffee, making sure to make enough for Mendes as well, who should be pulling up soon.
*Ding Dong*
'Well, speak of the devil and he shall appear, huh, hehehe'
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General pov
"Mendes, I get that I've been playing well and all, but…isn't this a bit too much?"
"Honestly, Dick, it isn't enough. More and more brands have been reaching out to me, offering more and more money for you to endorse them. Let me get this straight, you are a fantastic football player, and as you know, clubs have already been talking to me, but there is another, and honestly, a much larger benefit that you have"
"And that would be?"
"You are ridiculously attractive. I mean, it doesn't hurt that you are model levels of attractive, it's honestly the bigger reason that these bigger brands are reaching out to you, because while you are getting more and more attention from football, it's your look that is pulling in most of these brands"
Dick nodded, more to himself than to what Mendes was saying. I mean, sure, he understood it, and he didn't mind that Dick understood that he was pretty attractive. So instead of thinking about it too much, he looked through the pieces of paper on his dinner table, reading through different offers from different brands. He then asked
"And who were the ones that you thought would be the best to partner with?"
"Like you know I've chosen three from the dozens offered to you, the first is Lucozade, the second is Beats by Dre, and the last is Adidas who wants to include you in their "first never follows" campaign as well as some more after that, they are even pushing for a boot deal, not your own but they are saying they'd be open for renegotiation if you continue to perform like you are now"
He looked down at the deals and instantly thought of how cool his life is, I mean, these brands are paying HIM to be in something of theirs. I mean, he has been using these brands since he was a little kid, and now he's the one they're trying to connect with.
Lucozade contract:
Length: 2 years (2016–2018)
Value: £250,000 total
Deliverables:
Appear in 1–2 national ads (TV + print)
Social media promotions
Photo ops in training gear
Angle: "Fuel the Future" – positioning Dick as the face of young athletes.
Adidas Contract
Length: 4 years (2016–2020)
Value: £450,000 per year at first (scales up if he hits clauses)
Deliverables:
"First never follows" ad campaign.
Social media + photo shoots
Clauses: Bonuses for:
International debut (+£100k)
Promotion with Brighton (+£200k)
18+ goals in a Championship season (+£50k)
Angle: "The next global star – raised on Adidas."
Beats by Dre Contract
Length: 2 years (2016–2018)
Value: £200,000 annually
Deliverables:
Appear in 1–2 promo shoots wearing Beats.
Walk-in photos (tunnel arrivals with headphones on)
Short online campaign ad ("Silence the Noise")
Dick looked through the contracts one more time before signing under all three of them on the spot, quickly stacking the papers up before handing them to Mendes, who smiled and placed them in his bag. Mendes then gathered the rest of the papers before turning to Dick and saying.
"Also, I've been hearing a lot of talk from different countries' national teams. Both Spain and Italy have contacted me about you, trying to get you to their side. The US has also tried its best, but I shut that down quickly, just like you told me to. I have had progressive talks with the Italian head coach, and I'll be meeting him soon to see their plans and how they would try to implement you into their team. However, knowing your clear preference, I'll do my best to make them see your worth. Plus, with how their current strikers are performing, I don't think it'll be too hard"
He then gave me a quick handshake before leaving to finalise the deals that I had just signed. So what I did was finish my scrambled eggs and quickly go back to sleep, I mean, it was my rest day after all.
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3 of September
After that, a couple of weeks passed, with nothing really exciting going on for Dick. He kept up his form against Oxford United in the EFL cup, scoring a hat-trick to make the game 3-1, the goals all came from great linking play between him, Murray and Sidewell. They then drew against Newcastle for their 5th round of the Championship, with the score being 2-2. Dick managed to score 1 goal, and it was to tie the game up in the 86th minute. Otherwise, the rest of the game, he was quiet and kept locked down by the glue-like man-marking and parked bus strategy from Newcastle.
So far, he had scored 13 goals in just 7 matches ( 5 from 2 rounds of EFL), and a lot of people were talking about it, most sports medias were covering it, people online were discussing him talking about everything that he could be, comparing him to players both currently and from before he even played professionally.
Other than that, the deals that he had signed under had become official, and he was currently doing his advert with Lucozade. It was a continuous montage of him training, doing football drills, working out, running outside in the sun with sweat dripping on his face. There was upbeat music in the background while a man narrated the ad before it ended with him sitting on the bench, pretending to be exhausted, before someone called out to him, making Dick open his eyes, and a bottle of Lucozade orange was thrown at him. He caught it, thanked the kid who threw it to him before chugging half of it, jumping up with a smile on his face and sprinting away, leaving a CGI dust cloud behind him. Just as the narrator said
"Fueling the future"
—--------------------------------------------
Dick smiled as he read all the positive comments from his ad There was a lot of praise pouring in for his acting skill, but there was also a shit ton of thirsting in the comments, especially from teenage girls who were thirsting over the scene of him running outside in a tank top.
A little part of him liked the attention, but he ignored it because his dad would roast him to hell if he found out. He was always called 'pretty boy' by his family around him, and now it was spreading, with both his teammates as well as people online calling him it. Although he really didn't mind, he was used to it, I mean, he had been called it since he was a kid, so really nothing had changed for him…although there were more and more guys also calling him it. Dick shrugged and walked into the store where he was going to buy a new TV for himself and his dad.
Dick was looking around, not really sure what to buy, when a melodic voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Um, excuse me, do you need any help?"
He turned around and was honestly taken aback. The girl was pretty, very pretty. She had curly orange hair, green eyes and freckles that painted the middle of her face perfectly. The owner of the voice was now staring at him, a smile on her face as she waited for his response.
"Uhhhh, yeah. Yes, you can help me, I'm uh looking for a new TV for my house"
"Of course, and are there any specifications you had in mind regarding size and whatnot?"
"Yeah, I think the max it can be is 43", so I'd be looking for something like that. So, as long as it's around that size, I'll trust your judgment"
The woman, whom he later learned was named Rebecca Boyd, then led him to a section with the TVs and started using very intelligent-sounding words that just enraptured Dick more. He was slowly putting his moves on her, and their conversations started shifting from the TVs, which, to be fair, Dick had already made his choice, and turned more towards what their lives are like. He learned that she was studying to become a computer engineer. And she made a joke about already knowing who he is and that she "already read the comics and saw the TV shows", which made Dick laugh.
Dick was now at the counter, paying for the TV, a PS4, and some games that he spotted, such as Dark Souls III. And when Dick finished paying, he made a bold move; he asked for her number, making a joke about possibly needing her tech knowledge to help him set everything up. Rebecca smiled and wrote down her number, saying.
"And maybe after I help you, we can go on an actual date"
Dick just smirked at her and said
"Well, you just read my mind"