Jay had packed her case the night before so all she had to do was get changed and make her way to the airport. She'd been told a private car would pick her up and take her there at 5pm, but she could hardly believe it when a top of the range black Mercedes' with tinted windows pulled up.

'Wow!' Gasped Olly, who had been waiting by the window next to her. 'Do you think one of the players is in there already? No offence aunty Jay, but that car is a bit fancy just for you'

'Oi you' she replied. 'As far as I know the players are going on the team bus. I'm just too classy for that' she joked.

In all honesty though, she couldn't quite believe the car they'd sent either. She'd been expecting a Prius, but this was just so extra, she almost felt like a celebrity herself. The driver even got out and opened the door for her, then put her case in the boot. She wondered what Josh and Anna's must have been thinking.

The experience at the airport was completely different too. There was no walking into the terminal and queuing up with people off on their holidays to Benidorm or Tenerife. She was taken straight through the VIP secure entrance at the side of the airport, and the car pulled up at the side of the tarmac.

The team bus was already parked up, and the last of the players were just filing up the stairs to the plane.

The driver opened the door for her and she went to get her case, but the driver shook his head and explained the airport staff would take it from there. She just nodded, thanked him and headed for the plane, trying to act as if she wasn't a total noob to this high life.

As she boarded she was even more impressed than she'd imagined she would be. Everything was so clearly 5* and expensive, she felt like a little bit of a fraud. She made her way though the cabin and began to look for a seat.

She couldn't help be reminded of school coach trips by the way everyone had sat down;
Pep was up front with the rest of the technical staff, followed by some of the older players, with Jack and Phil up the back acting like the cool kids. As she passed by, most of the players acknowledged her, but John was quietly sat by himself with his AirPods in, staring out of the window and looking terribly forlorn.

She took a seat in the empty row behind him, but on the opposite side of the plane, so as not to interrupt him, even though the conversation around them was buzzing.

She was about to take out her novel when Ferran surprisingly came and sat next to her, looking to discuss his English lessons for the following week. However he'd ended up staying next to her for the whole flight, and they'd ended up talking about all sorts. She was pleasantly surprised to find that he had a surprisingly wicked sense of humour, and was extremely charming.

Their chatting hadn't gone unnoticed though, it had caught the attentions of a few of the players.

'I know I said £50 on Ferran, but I think I might up that amount' joked Aymeric, referring to Jack's comment the first day about who could pull Jay first.

'The worst of it is, he's not even trying' said Rodri.

Jack and Phil had been playing cards most of the way, but Phil had brought the deck with the naked girls on that he'd brought back from Mykonos, so every time they turned one over they burst out laughing like naughty school boys. Still though, even he'd noticed the apparent closeness of Jay and Ferran.

At the other end Jay boarded the team bus with the team, again sitting next to Ferran who was telling her about his rescue dog Milo.

'I'll show you him on my Instagram' he said opening the app.

'In that case, I'll show you my old cat Alfie. He lives with my parents but he's really mine' she told him, opening her app too, as if it were some kind of pet top trumps.

'This is your Instagram account?' He asked.

'Yeah' she replied.

'Cool, I've just sent a request to follow you' he said with a smile.

She had no idea what the etiquette in this situation was. A premier league footballer had just followed her on Instagram, did she accept him now and follow him back. Did she quickly delete all the really embarrassing pictures she had on there of herself before accepting? She felt him looking at her so she went with the first option, he probably wouldn't even look at her profile anyway.

'We're friends now' he said happily. Wait until she told Olly about this.

Jack noticed what they were doing. Looked like Ferran really was going to win that bet.

The hotel they were staying in was stunning too. She could hardly believe the grandeur of the reception area, but it was like none of the players around her even batted an eyelid at it as they waited in line for their room keys. They were mostly too busy on their phones.

'It's well nice here, innit' said Jack from nowhere.

'Yeah, it's amazing. I thought I was the only one that had noticed'

'Nah, I know how lucky I am to be here, you know. I like to appreciate everything about it' he replied.

She was quite surprised to hear him say that, but before she'd had a chance to reply, his name was called for his room key.

'See ya' he said, walking off.

Okay, so he definitely maybe wasn't a dick head she reflected.

After checking out her room and a quick freshen up it was time for dinner in the hotel restaurant. Again Jay wasn't quite sure of where to sit, but this time Pep signalled for her to join him and the rest of the technical team.

'It's okay Jay, this is the adults table, the boys will get their happy meals in a minute' he joked.

She could actually quite imagine Phil and Jack on their BMX bikes heading to McDonalds for two chocolate milkshakes and 20 chicken nuggets to share.

The food here though was exquisite. Pep had helped her to decide what to have from the menu, but the players meals had all been preordered to meet their dietary requirements. Grilled meat, fresh vegetables and just the right amount of carbs. She almost felt guilty tucking into the chocolate dessert she'd been unable to resist in front of them.

'Don't worry, after they win tomorrow, then they too can have chocolate cake' Pep joked.

******

Jack was absolutely buzzing the next morning when he saw the team sheet and saw his name in the starting 11. This was going to be his first taste of the Champions League and he was actually starting. He hoped that this would be his chance to prove the haters wrong and shut all the keyboard gangsters up once and for all. Premier league goals were good but champions league goals.... Different gravy.

The worst thing about Champions League games is the wait. Even though their day was filled with light training or physio, tactical stuff, then press conferences and whatever, the only thing that Jack could think of was the game at the end of it all. He'd always been one to thrive under pressure, but even for him this felt massive.

'Jack, I have complete faith in you' Pep reassured him in the changing room.

'Fanks boss' he said stretching a bit more, flexing his calf muscles.

'Jesus, you'll have someone's eye out on them one day' joked Kyle.

Jay did have to admit, his calves were pretty hot, but she made sure not to look on this occasion.

The game began and Atléti came out strong. Jay could hear the coach shouting in Spanish to his players; 'pressing' 'pressing' 'don't give them space'

Griezmann managed to get past Rodri and took a shot that grazed the top of the cross bar.

Pep was out of his chair shouting and swinging his arms around. He was shouting at Jack, and Jack was nodding but she knew he had absolutely no idea what Pep was saying.

It was still 0-0 despite some amazing chances from both sides. Theo had been explaining a lot to her about the game as they watched, and she was starting to get really into it. At one point she nearly shouted 'oi ref' forgetting where she was.

Suddenly there was a commotion down in the City box. She saw it on the screen, a bad tackle from Aymeric, and she remembered from Olly's game.

'Penalty?' She asked Theo, who nodded.

Pep was waving his finger at the ref and shouting, but it made no difference. Suarez stepped forward and placed the ball. Jay held her breath as he kicked the ball. It was like it moved in slow motion through the air, but thankfully Ederson saved it. Without missing a beat, he kicked the ball up the pitch and a City counterattack was on. KDB crossed the ball in and Jack slammed it into the back of the net.

The whole City bench erupted, Pep even looked happy for a moment.

The adrenaline of the goal coursed through Jacks body, he didn't even know what he was doing. He slid on his knees into the corner of the pitch and his team mates piled on to him. This feeling was second only to his first England goal.

Once play re-started, one of the technical team caught Jay's attention and called her over.

'Jacks getting player of the match and they want to interview him for Spanish TV, can you translate for him, because they probably won't get his accent, and let's face it, Jack definitely won't get theirs' he laughed.

'Yeah, sure' she agreed, she was excited to congratulate him herself.

Jack could hardly believe it when his name flashed up and the announcement was made-
Jack Grealish
UEFA Player of the Match.
He wanted to cry happy tears, knowing his Mum and Dad were at home watching. It made all the upheaval feel worth it.

He stood with a big beaming smile clutching his trophy whilst he spoke to Spanish tv with Jay. It was so obvious what it meant to him, and his enthusiasm was infectious, she couldn't help but smile widely too.

After the interview was over Jack gave Jay an unexpected hug, the adrenaline still carrying him. Jay's first thought was how good he smelled, even after a full game of football. She pulled back quickly though, and they made their way towards the tunnel.

'Thanks for that Jay. I was dead nervous but you being there kept me calm' he said.

'I don't know how, all I did was tell them your words' she shrugged.

'Well, no one's ever asked me questions in Spanish before ave they' he laughed.

'I love speaking Spanish, I actually prefer it to French. There's just something about the accent I think' she explained.

'I noticed you and Ferran having a good chat on the plane in Spanish'

'Yeah, he's really nice, we seem to have a lot in common' she replied.

Do you like him? Like fancy him?' Asked Jack.

Jay couldn't quite believe her ears.

'Jack, believe it or not a woman is capable of talking to a man without wanting him to rip her clothes off' she was riled, yes she did find Ferran attractive but she would never be so unprofessional as to get involved with someone she was working with.

'Jay, I didn't mean that' he said as she stomped off.

Back at the hotel Pep said the players and staff could have 3 alcoholic drinks before bed. Jack waited for Jay to appear so he could apologise to her again, properly. He realised now how it must have sounded to her and wanted to make things right between them.

'Ave you seen Jay? I wanted to thank her again for earlier' Jack asked Ferran.

'No, she said she was going for an early night' he replied.

Sometimes Jack wished he didn't have such a big mouth.