Bellingham and Haaland

21)

It's been a few days since Dortmund has arrived back in Germany, ending their pre-season in Austria with a convincing win against Bologna.

Edin was sat in his office with an assistant of his, discussing the team's tactics for the season. He was deep in thought staring at the scribbled out whiteboard in front of him, his brows furrowed and his fist resting on his chin. His assistant was sketching formations and suggesting lineups to Edin, but was always met with the same disappointed answer.

Edin stood up abruptly. "No, you're getting this all wrong. Sit down." Edin wiped the board with his pearly white shirt, staining it in the proccess. "I think I have a better idea."

He started scribbling away at the whiteboard, with it barely being legible. He took a moment to admire his Picasso-esque artwork. "This is much better."

Haaland was put up as the single striker, and Bellingham had a duo partnership with Brandt, behind them Dahoud serving as a CDM.

Haaland and Bellingham had crucial squad roles for the upcoming season.

Edin's session was interrupted by an aggressive knock at the door of his office.

"Anyone in there?!" Edin immediately recognized the voice, Wolf was at the door. "Come in, the door is open."

Wolf stomped his way over to his desk. "Boss, I have a complaint." Wolf sat down across his desk.

"I hope it's not anything serious. Go on." Before Wolf could run his mouth, he took a moment to think over his words.

"Now that I think about it, it isn't that serious." Edin crossed his arms. "No, I want to hear it."

Wolf hesitated for a moment. "It's about Jude and Erling." Edin immediately shot up in his chair. "What did they do?"

The more Wolf reminisced about it, the more fueled up he got.

"Recently, ever since Austria, they have been occupying the locker room for long periods of time, God knows what reason and it is becoming annoying." Edin slammed his fist against the table, startling Wolf.

"Call them over immediately." Wolf didn't dare to oppose him.

Edin was so incredibly upset for believeing Rose that there was nothing between the two.

Now that he has concrete evidence, he was ready to give them a mouthful.

They arrived in about 5 minutes, Haaland opened the door.
"You wanted to see us?"

"Yes I did. Sit down, the both of you." Wolf followed after them, leaning against the door frame, with such worry in his eyes it could bring a man to tears.

Bellingham spoke, with an exceptionally dry throat. "What did we do?" Edin chuckled abruptly, confusing both of the men in front of him.

Edin stopped chuckling, and moved his focus to Wolf, who is now even more antsy than before. "Wolf, I appreciate your contribution, but I must ask you to leave now." Bellingham and Haaland turned to face Wolf, who gave them an apologetic expression before quickly slamming the door.

"I see you two have gotten very close lately." Bellingham cringed, visibly shifting in his seat in discomfort.
Haaland was avoiding eye contact, focusing his mind on a potted plant that sat in the corner of Edin's office.

"Yeah, I guess we have." Bellingham scratched the back of his neck.

There was a quick moment of silence. "Mind telling me what you do in that locker room?" The question was so blunt, it brought Haaland's gaze back to Edin.

He analyzed his face for any sign of malice. "..what is there to do in the locker room?"

Edin chuckled. "I assume you would know, since you two spend so much time in there." Both of them recoiled in unison.

Edin stared at them for a while, expecting an answer. "Nothing to say, huh?" He stood up, walked up to the mess that is his whiteboard, keeping eye contact with the two.

He turned his head to analyze the lineup on his whiteboard and harshly crossed their names out of the formation. "This could be an easy fix if you wanted to cooperate." Haaland clenched his fist underneath the table, Bellingham was fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

"You know you need us." Haaland crossed his arms, reclining in his seat. Edin closely observed Haaland's next move.

"Are you forgetting something?" Edin lightly tapped his marker against the whiteboard, highlighting their crossed out names.

"We play cards. In the locker room." Bellingham slyly butted into the conversation before Haaland could make it worse.

Edin gave Bellingham a short, sweet smile. "For such long amounts of time? And in such privacy? Must be high stakes in there."

Haaland scrunched his nose. "What's it to you, anyway? You could've just told us if you wanted to play with us."

"I find it hard to believe.. that you play cards behind a locked door." Edin clasped his hands, still keeping the sweet smile on his face.

Haaland squinted. "What does it mean to you, anyway? It's not causing you any problems."

Edin stared at him, almost as if his gaze was tearing through his skin.

He wheezed. "Not causing me any problems?! Drop the fucking act." He stood up, slamming both his fists on the table. "What you did in front of a live stadium in Vienna is none of my business!?" This caught both of them off guard.

"Listen, I know damn well what goes on behind that darned door. And if it happens again, I will bust that door down." Edin walked in circles around them, like an eagle circling its prey.

"I don't care what happens outside of this stadium, away from cameras and reporters. That is none of my business. But, because I am your coach and am responsible for public image, I guarantee you that if no changes will be made, these names..." he harshly tapped the whiteboard "...stay crossed out." Edin finally sat down.

His gaze didn't leave their side. Bellingham audibly gulped.

"So you have nothing to say?"
Silence again.
"Fine then, I'll let you think this through. Get out of my office." Edin spun his chair around, turning his back to them.

The two exchanged looks filled with confusion and stood up in unison. Haaland, still filled with some rage, made sure to slam the door a bit harder on his way out.

The moment they turned the corner down the hallway, Haaland felt the need to run his mouth. "Piece of shit.." Bellingham didn't respond.

"Hey, you two!" Wolf called from the other side of the hallway. He ran up to them, still wearing an apologetic look on his face. "Whatever happened in there.. I feel partially responsible. I didn't know it was such a big deal."

Bellingham shook his head. "We had it coming. It's not your fault."

That statement confused Wolf. "Why was he yelling at you so much? What the hell were you doing in there? Setting off fireworks? Doing drugs? I don't get it."

Haaland raised an eyebrow. "That's none of your business." Bellingham elbowed him hard.

"It was a personal matter."

Wolf blinked. "Okay.." He stood around them for another minute or two, before awkwardly excusing himself.

Haaland cracked his knuckles. "So what do we do now?" Bellingham cupped his chin. "Maybe keep our hands to ourselves?" Haaland crossed his arms.

"I know that, just.. How do we move on from this? To the janitor's closet?"

Bellingham slapped Haaland's neck hard. "Never say that again."