football imagines

b. saka

bukayo walked down the sideway, his eyes frantically searching his surroundings. although, his sight was limited due to the darkness that had fallen over the city almost an hour ago he didn't want to give up just yet. he knew you had to be here according to the message you had sent him half an hour ago, asking if he could pick you up. he was up and about in a few minutes, even though he was already laying in bed and didn't plan on leaving. however, the second you had texted – so vague and minimal – he knew something was off.

the two of you had been best friends ever since kindergarten, where you had met for the first time and had been inseparable ever since. after spending almost all of his life with you, bukayo could tell, when you weren't your usual self – even if it was just over text. while he kept on walking, keeping an close eye out for you, he tried to remember, if you had told him something that might have been the reason for your change in behavior.

too deep into his own thoughts, he noticed some movement only incidentally out of the corner of his eye. though, once his head registered, what it was coming from he immediately came to a halt. crouched in between two cars you sat on the curb of the sideway, your legs pulled close to your chest as your head was hidden in your hands. you looked so small and fragile in that moment that his heart ached for you.

carefully, bukayo sat down next to you, his arm brushing against yours, which gained your attention.

"kayo?" you sniffled, wiping the tears that had fallen down your cheeks.

"hey", the footballer mumbled in return. now that he was up close to you his expression softened as he let his eyes wander over your face. a frown adorned your normally soft features and your cheeks and eyes were glistening from all the tears that you had shed already.

"what's wrong?" bukayo asked, wrapping an arm around your shoulders upon noticing that you were slightly shivering.

you leaned into his touch and absorbed the warmth that his body radiated. after being in the cold for almost two hours you suddenly felt the impact it had on you. you were freezing and the thin jacket you were wearing didn't really help either.

"sam stood me up." you confessed, though, kept your head low suddenly feeling embarrassed about it.

at the mention of his name bukayo scolded. he had never been a fan of sam, although he hadn't met him yet. but by the things you had told him the footballer knew he wasn't genuine with you. oh, how he hated that guy. ever since you first started talking to him a few weeks ago he seemed to be off and the few dates the two of you had been on proved that once again. though, you seemed to be oblivious about it.

bukayo didn't hate a lot of people – especially ones that he hadn't even met himself – yet sam was one of them. it wasn't because he had insulted or mistreated you, but rather the fact that you were interested in him in a more than friendly way.

he was jealous. because sam had something that he could only dream about, though threw it away like it didn't mean anything. it had taken him years to understand and accept his feelings for you that he simply couldn't understand how someone could just deal with you like sam had.

pushing his emotions aside, bukayo tried to focus on the more important matter. that was calming you down and getting you home. although, it sickened him he knew that you needed someone to talk to and that someone had to be him, because no matter what you had always trusted in the english football player.

"do you want to talk about it?" he asked carefully, in order not to push you away by being too straight forward.

while his eyes were set on the houses on the other side of the street, bukayo could feel how you shrugged your shoulders in return.

"it's alright", he reassured, "but i'm here, if you ever want to."

silence laid over you as each one of you indulged in their own thoughts, unknown that the source was a similiar one. while your ache was caused by a man, who you could have seen yourself with in the future, bukayo's occured because he couldn't be this said man. his heart hurt, seeing you in so much pain. you didn't deserve any of it, if anything you deserved nothing but the best, because that was, what you gave others. yet you never received any of it in return. 

while bukayo tried to give you the love and recognition you truly deserved you were blatantly oblivious about his feelings for you. surely, he had never openly talked about it or mentioned anything to you, though, his eyes that no matter how many people were around him always found you and the way he smiled at you were obvious enough. despite being silent about his emotions his friends and teammates had caught onto it rather quickly, teasing him and leaving subliminal hints, whenever you were around. though, you never seemed to pick up on that.

the footballer told himself that maybe it was better this way, yet no matter how hard he tried to convince himself it didn't diminish the pain that he felt seeing you with another man. even though, he knew that it had to be like this. because if bukayo opened up about his feelings and you didn't feel the same your friendship would never be the same.

it was something that he just had to live with, even if that meant he was hurting. he didn't want to lose you and he was ready to pay the price that this costed.

"kayo?" you mumbled, disrupting the silence that had fallen over the two of you.

the footballer hummed, letting you know that he had heard you and you could continue. you turned your head, your eyes wandering over the familiar features of your best friend's face.

"thank you for coming. i don't know, what i would do without you."

and there it was again. the ache that shot through bukayo's heart. though, over time he had learnt to disguise it. so, as he turned around to face you – still keeping his arm wrapped around your shoulders – he kept his face straight.

"you don't have to thank me. i would do anything for you." bukayo told you. his words held so much meaning, yet you didn't understand the full extent of these sentences.

"c'mon, let's get you home." the footballer mumbled, diverting his gaze to the ground to hide the emotions that were swirling in his orbs.

if only you knew.