AN: Hey guys, I know I'm not scheduled to post today but you guys were very supportive this last week so I decided to give you one more chapter this week. I hope you enjoy.
General pov
Dick opened his phone while sitting in the locker room, and instantly he saw photos of him and Rebecca kissing in multiple magazines and news sites.
"Teen Wonderkid Scores Off the Pitch Too — Brighton's Richard Grayson Spotted Locking Lips in Brighton lanes"
"From Goals to Girls: Italy's 16-Year-Old Superstar, Richard Grayson, Seen Sharing a Kiss — But Who Is She?"
"Richard Grayson's Scoring Streak Continues — But This Time Off the Pitch!"
"Is Richard Grayson Getting Distracted? Young Italian Star Spotted Smooching in Brighton Just Days Before A Match."
Don't even mention social media; his name was now a trending hashtag, with comments from people around the world all saying their 2 cents. His critics/haters especially decided to come out of the woodwork as well.
@Seaguls20fan: Defenders: can't stop him. Girls: can't resist him. Grayson is living in Career Mode on 100.
@Footy4life: Yep, this is the beginning of the end of Richard Grayson's career. The guy was talented, sure, but now he's going down the path of money, girls and clubbing. It's sad, really.
@TheBeast: Richard Grayson is over, this girl is going to dry him of his talent, it always ends up like this.
@godmode: Kid's 16 and already chasing girls instead of focusing on football. Classic downfall incoming.
Dick squeezed his phone tight. He was normally a calm and happy guy, but this was not what he needed now. People he didn't know saying he was done, that his career was over, that he was going down some 'wrong path'. But deep down, Dick knew this feeling wasn't about that, no. This was about a message he got on the way to the pitch from the very girl in those photos, his girlfriend, Rebecca, who said
"Dick, we need to talk tonight"
As Dick reminded himself of the message, he squeezed his phone tighter, before dropping his head into his hands and running them through his growing hair, before tilting his head against the locker and rubbing his face. He felt the scratchiness of his growing stubble, thinking how he hadn't shaved in 2 days, which is way too long thanks to his Italian hairiness.
Dick was so absorbed in his thoughts that he failed to notice his coach and assistant coach both talking to each other and looking over at him. He quickly put his phone in his locker, pulled up his socks, and then folded them once so it was just below his knee. He shook his head, as if that would help get his thoughts in order and tried his best to focus up and listen to what the coach was saying.
The pre-match tactics finished, and just as Dick was about to step out, his coach pulled him back in and said he wanted to talk to him. Dick groaned under his breath but relented.
"Son, are you sure you can still play? You look out of it…Listen, I know how stressful and demoralising it can be when these bloody scumbags catch you by surprise, but don't let it get to your head. You are a smart man, Dick; you should know that people only say these things because they wish they were where you are. Now, I noticed that you look dead tired, that you haven't shaved in a while, and that you just looked out of focus. So you will only play 45 minutes today, no matter the score at halftime."
"WHAT! But I feel fine, I am fine! Sure, I am annoyed as hell, but that won't affect how I play. Plus, I am not unfocused-"
"Son, listen to me. I have not been a coach for all these years, just for that excuse to fool me. I know what I saw, so it's going to happen. I know that you agree, so stop with the macho guy act and be the teenager you are."
Any words that Dick wanted to say just died in his throat, and all he could do was nod, because deep down he knew that Hughton was right; he just didn't like admitting it.
—----------------------------------------
22nd of October, Amex Stadium, Brighton Vs Norwich
Dick stood over the ball, thinking about the game, or at least trying his best to. And yet when he heard the whistle, it was like he woke up from a coma; just the familiar shrill scream was enough to wake up the competitive side of him. It was like chugging 5 Red Bulls in a row and just now feeling the energy kick.
Dick passed the ball back before just sprinting onto the opposition side. He saw a sea of Norwich players rushing towards the ball, only for Sidwell to spot Dick on his run and just boot the ball up. The ball flew over the Norwich players before landing right into the path of Dick, who just took one touch to smother it down and right through the legs of Olsson, who just looked shocked. Dick was now right outside the box, and he looked up and spotted an opening. And he just let it fly,
*SMASH*
*Ding*
*Rustle*
*ROARRRRRRR*
And my god did the ball fly, from around 25 yards out, the ball just flew up looking as if it would go over the bar, only for it to dip like crazy and curl to the left so it flew past the hands of McGovern, the Norwich keeper, and hit the inside of the post and settled into the net with venom.
"Gayson is past Olsson, he shoots. GRAYSSSSOOOOOOOON!!! OH MY WORD!! DICK GRAYSON IN JUST 12 SECONDS! THE FASTEST GOAL EVER SCORED IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND A RECORD I DO NOT SEE BEING BROKEN SOON! HISTORY HAS JUST BEEN MADE, AND IT ONLY TOOK 12 SECONDS TO DO IT!"
Dick roared along with the crowd, running towards the corner before jumping up and kicking the corner flag, causing it to fly to the side. He then landed and spread his arms out, tilting his head back and absorbing the sounds of the stadium, all chanting his name.
""HE SCORES WHEN HE WANTS
HE SCORES WHEN HE WAAAAAANNNTTTSSS
DICKIE GRAYSON
HE SCORES WHEN HE WANTS""
He opened his eyes, and he saw a sea of blue and white, people all jumping up and down while swinging their scarves. And for the first time in the last 24 hours, he felt peace, he felt calm, and overall, he was just relaxed. Then that was all ruined when he got jumped by all his teammates, screaming his name and cheering him on.
Dick laughed, high-fiving his teammates as they ran back towards their side of the pitch. While running, Dick spotted the practically depressed look on the Norwich players, and the one thought he had was
'This is going to be a murder scene'
The game started again, and Dick and the Brighton boys all sprinted towards the ball. They pressed the Norwich players, who played way too passively for a team that was a goal down. They were passing the ball around, trying their best to create chances or breaks in the Brighton defence, but they just weren't successful; they were too slow. Dick, however, was playing like a man possessed.
He was sprinting after each ball, running rapidly from box to box, and eventually it paid off. At the 15th minute, after a bad pass from Hoolahan, which was just too slow, Dick managed to slide in and intercept right by the midfield. Dick sprinted down the middle of the field. The Norwich players tried to catch up to him, but they weren't fast enough. Dick saw the 2 centre-backs behind trying to catch up to him, but he spotted an opening.
He first started faking a lot, going left and right, before he hit a la croqueta right between the two players. Dick then ran left, right where the ball was going. He then stopped and faked a shot, seeing the two centre-backs slide past him right before slotting the ball into the bottom right corner, where it settled in the side netting.
Dick ran to the side, jumped up and punched the air. He grabbed the camera on the side and gave it a kiss before saying.
"Talk about that!"
Before laughing and running into the open arms of Brighton, Dick jumped up and was caught by Murray. Dick was then dropped before they ran toward their side of the pitch again. The Norwich players just looked even more beaten; their captain tried to rally the troops, but it just wasn't working. Being demolished by what looked like a one-man mission really didn't help with the winning mentality.
More of the game passed with everything going the same as it had been. There was a lot of passing, and the Brighton strikers took a couple of shots but just couldn't finish their chances, with Dick being denied a very close one due to the crossbar. However, Murray managed to slot one in after Dick had sent a razor-sharp through ball that split the Norwich defence apart like the Red Sea, then Murray slotted it in calmly.
There were now 15 minutes left of the game, and Dick felt the strain of having run so much. It wasn't too much, but he was starting to feel it. However, he didn't mind because he was here to win and win he would. Dick was looking around when a ball got passed to him by Stephens. He took the ball and ran down the right-hand side. He got past one Norwich midfielder before he passed the ball to Murray, who stopped, letting Dick run past him before passing the ball back. Dick took it and ran down the left-hand side before passing it down to Murray, who had run down and was available.
Murray did a quick pass back, and Dick didn't even hesitate; he shot the ball first touch, just inside the penalty arc. The ball started swerving in the air, not knowing where it wanted to end up. McGovern tried to predict it and go left just for the ball to swerve right at the last moment and end up in the net.
Dick ran like a madman. He ran to the corner where all the Brighton fans were and jumped over the advertisement and jumped on the barrier where the fans were, who immediately mobbed him and grabbed him and hugged him. Dick laughed before the security guards came and told him to split it up, as he couldn't risk staying much longer.
Dick laughed as he left the crowd, giving them one final wave before running his hand through his hair, letting it drop perfectly into the curtain haircut.
The first half ended quickly after that, with Brighton being 4-0 up, a surefire winning position. Dick, like he was told, was taken off the pitch with the coach saying.
"I'm glad you found yourself on the pitch"
The rest of the game went by quickly. Brighton scored 2 more, with Murray scoring one more and Sidwell scoring one as well. After the game, Dick collected the match ball before cleaning himself up and heading home. Dick was tired, his phone was buzzing, so he just put it on silent mode before taking the train home. Thankfully, he wore a hoodie that covered him enough so that he wasn't noticed, but he couldn't hear some drunk fans talking about the game and how much they loved watching him play.
Eventually, Dick reached home, he shuffled inside, dropped his bag on the floor and walked into the kitchen before grabbing a protein shake for dinner. He was about to sit down when his dad came into the room and asked.
"Why haven't you answered my calls?"
Dick took a gulp before saying.
"I put my phone on silent after it was going crazy, sorry, I thought it could wait until I got home"
"Well, you were wrong. Rebecca is waiting for you in your bedroom, and she looks sad"
That's when the message from earlier came back to him; he groaned before dropping his head into his hands. He sighed before standing up and saying.
"It's time to face the music, I guess"