Chapter 579: Futures!

By the time he reached his apartment complex, the snowfall had thinned considerably.

Leo parked, made his way inside and eventually reached his apartment.

He unlocked the door and stepped inside.

A tired sigh escaped him as he closed it behind him, and the unusual quiet of the apartment got to him.

Leo walked further inside, setting his boots beside the entrance to the storage room before heading back toward the living room.

The training clothes he’d worn that morning were already becoming uncomfortable, so he gathered them up and dropped them into the laundry basket.

A shower sounded like the better option.

A little while later, Leo emerged freshly showered and changed into a comfortable pair of clothes before dropping onto the couch.

He leaned back and exhaled, and for the first time that morning, he was completely still, but not for long.

His phone buzzed, causing Leo to glance down.

And when he did, he saw that it was a message from Vittoria.

Vittoria: Can I call?

A smile immediately appeared on his face, and instead of replying, Leo tapped the video-call button, and she picked up almost immediately.

Her face filled the screen, accompanied by a bright smile.

"Hi," she said, and that made Leo laugh.

"Why are you so pretty and busy this early in the morning?"

Vittoria gave him a long side-eye, although the smile remained.

"To your first question, I’m always pretty."

"I know, milady!"

She shook her head, amused, before turning the phone around.

The camera revealed a busy set around her, with several people moving in the background and equipment scattered across the space, giving Leo his answer as to why she looked so busy that morning.

"So you’re working."

"Unfortunately."

"You eaten?"

Vittoria turned the camera back toward herself.

"No."

"No?"

"I haven’t had anyone to feed me."

Leo laughed quietly before snorting.

"That’s tragic."

"I know."

Before he could answer, a voice came from somewhere behind her.

"Two more minutes!"

Vittoria rolled her eyes at the voice, and then she looked back at Leo.

"I guess you heard the man."

"Yeah."

Leo said and settled deeper into the couch.

"You should go."

"I know."

"I’ll call you later."

She nodded.

"And find something to eat. Seriously."

Vittoria narrowed her eyes.

"Don’t nag me."

"I’m not nagging. I’m just reminding you."

"It’s the same thing."

Leo smiled, and before he could answer, another voice came from behind her.

"Tori!"

"I’m coming!"

Vittoria looked back toward the set before returning her attention to the phone.

"Okay. I really have to go."

"Go. I will call you in a bit."

She smiled and blew him a quick kiss toward the camera.

"Bye."

"Byee," Leo answered right before the call ended.

Leo lowered his phone and placed it on the couch beside him before glancing at the controller on the table ahead.

He thought of it and decided to go ahead, but then his stomach gave a quiet reminder of its own.

"I should probably get something to eat too," Leo muttered while rubbing his hand on his stomach.

After that, he pushed himself off the couch and headed toward the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

He stared inside for several seconds.

There was half a bottle of water, some fruit that had probably been there longer than it should have been, a carton of milk and little else.

"I’m really starting to miss her more and more," Leo muttered as he thought of his complaints whenever Vittoria would ’overstock’.

He closed the door to the fridge and moved on, but the cupboards weren’t much better.

After opening one and finding nothing that looked remotely appealing, Leo sighed and reached for his phone.

He unlocked it and opened his messages before finding Jake’s name.

Where are you?

The reply came almost immediately.

With Ezra.

Another message followed.

We’re on our way to yours. Put something on. We’re getting food.

Leo smiled slightly.

Give me ten.

He put the phone down, changed out of his comfortable clothes and grabbed his jacket before heading out.

..........

By the time they sat down at a sandwich shop, the morning had properly begun.

The place wasn’t particularly busy, but there were enough people moving in and out to keep the room lively.

A few customers had recognised them almost immediately, although most had been polite enough to leave them alone.

Still, one young boy had approached Leo on his way in.

Leo had signed the sheet that the boy had given him and posed for a quick picture before the boy thanked him and walked away with his father.

Leo lifted a hand in farewell, and Jake watched him before leaning back in his chair.

"Don’t let that go to your head."

Leo turned toward him and gave Jake the look.

It was the same look he always gave him whenever Jake said something that made him question whether they had been friends for this long by accident.

Jake, naturally, didn’t notice.

"I mean it," he continued. "You’ve got people asking for autographs everywhere now."

Leo raised an eyebrow.

"Should I start charging?"

"If it was me," Jake said with a shrug while Leo shook his head, amused.

He reached for his drink before continuing.

"Anyway, Noah’s been talking to me about some offers."

"Offers about what?" Leo said as he lowered his glass.

"What else? Offers about clubs," Jake said, shrugging.

"Nothing serious yet. Just interest."

"From who?"

"Well, first he said he’s got one from Dortmund and then Tottenham."

Ezra looked over.

"Those are fair clubs."

Jake nodded, pleased that at least one of them was taking him seriously.

"Yeah. Noah said they’re interested, apparently."

Leo leaned back.

"Apparently?"

"That’s what he told me."

Jake took another sip before continuing.

"If it’s actually Dortmund, though, I think I know what they’re thinking."

When he said that, both Leo and Ezra looked at him, and with the attention on him, Jake went on.

"They’re trying to develop another Haaland. Like I meet all the physical requirements, so what else could it be?"

There was a brief silence as Leo looked at Ezra and Ezra looked at Leo.

Then both of them burst out laughing, leaving Jake staring at them.

"What?" Leo tried to get himself under control, but it was hard.

"Nothing," he finally managed.

"No, go on."

"Nothing," Leo repeated, still laughing.

Ezra shook his head.

"Second Haaland?"

"Why not?"

That only made Leo laugh harder.

Jake sighed and leaned back, folding his arms across his chest.

"Very funny."

Leo wiped at the corner of his eye.

"I’m happy for you."

Jake rolled his eyes and after a while, Leo finally managed to settle down.

"I like the confidence, though," Leo said sarcastically, but, as always, Jake couldn’t tell.

Jake glanced between them before turning toward Ezra.

"What about you?"

"Me?" Ezra said.

"I don’t really have any intention of leaving Wigan."

At that, Jake picked up his drink again.

"None of us are going anywhere right now. I’m just saying it doesn’t hurt to think about these things."

Ezra let out a quiet sigh and looked down at the table for a moment before eventually giving in.

"Fine."

Jake’s eyebrows rose.

"Fine?"

"Liverpool."

"Liverpool?" Leo said genuinely curious.

Ezra nodded and then went on.

"They’re apparently looking at me as an option if Salah doesn’t extend his contract."

Jake’s eyes widened.

"Whoa."

Ezra immediately shook his head.

"Don’t make it bigger than it is."

"Liverpool?"

"Interest."

"Still," Jake said looking between the two of them.

"So if Leo somehow ends up at Manchester United, and you go to Liverpool..."

He pointed between them, "You’d actually be rivals."

Leo shook his head.

"That is a bit far-fetched at the moment."

Jake shrugged, "I’m just saying."

After that, the table fell quiet.

A waitress arrived a moment later, setting their plates down one after another.

"Enjoy."

"Thank you," Leo said.

She smiled before walking away, leaving the trio looking down at their food.

After that, they simply ate, each of them quieter than they had been a few minutes earlier.

For all the joking, none of them could completely dismiss what had been said.