Axel hung around the locker room for a while to hear what the coach had to say about their training session tomorrow.
He was aware that he was already excluded from the training session but he wouldn't have complained if the coach suddenly wanted him to be a part of it.
Their next game was against Brentford in three days and it wasn't going to be a particularly tough match given the fact that Brentford were currently in seventeenth place trying to move as far away as possible from the relegation zone.
Axel was left out of the training session just like he and everyone else had foreseen and with all the talking now done, it was time for him to start making his way home.
He had a hard time getting up from his seat and walking was going to be even worse for him so Peterson offered to drive him home.
He wanted to refuse the offer at first but then Davi got into the mix with the same offer.
With the fullback now also making the same offer to him, he just had to go with Peterson who to him, was the safer option.
Peterson helped him get outside, and after helping him get into the car, he went around and entered the car from the other side.
There was a moment of silence between the two as he started the car engine and slowly drove out to the road.
"So, do you have a problem with Davi?" Peterson inquired as he slowly drove down the road.
"No, I haven't known him for that long to have any problem with him." He shook his head.
"You hate him?"
"No, I don't just hate people when they haven't done anything to me."
"Then what is it? You were a bit hesitant when I asked but as soon as he proposed the same offer, you were quite hasty to say yes to me."
"Well, I just think he has ulterior motives." He replied.
"Ulterior motives?" The winger repeated with a hint of confusion in his voice.
"It's not anything that's going to harm me or anyone but it's still an ulterior motive if you understand what I'm saying."
A sudden smile appeared on Peterson's face as he shook his head a little.
"Oh, I get what you're saying now." He remarked before slowly turning his gaze to him. "After what happened the other day, I didn't think you would be the overprotective type."
"Overprotective?" Axel muttered sounding a bit irked.
For some reason having his actions be described by that word rubbed him the wrong way.
"I'm not being overprotective, I'm just…."
"You're just what?" Peterson inquired with a sly tone.
"Oh, forget it." He sighed before relaxing back on the seat.
"There's nothing wrong with being like that, it's better than not caring anyway." The winger said before turning his gaze back to the road. "Looks like we're already here."
Axel had gotten a bit lost in his chat with him that he didn't even notice when he reached his destination.
If Peterson had been someone who didn't know where he lived then they would have still been heading down the road until he realized what was going on.
"Thanks, Peter." The youngster said before opening the door to get out of the car.
He knew he could get to the door by himself but just before he could properly get up on his feet, Peterson was by his side to help him up and before he knew it, his arm was over the winger's shoulder.
"I can get to the door by myself." He insisted slowly trying to pull his arm back but Peterson kept a tight grip on it.
"I'm aware of that but you'll need to restrict your movement for a while if you want to recover quickly," Peterson responded with his gaze fixated on the door. "Now stop being stubborn and just come along." He added before using his leg to close the car's door.
There was nothing Axel could do at that moment besides letting out a sigh of defeat.
Peterson slowly led him to the door, and just before he could knock on it, it was slowly pulled open.
Axel expected to find his sister standing there but the moment he saw a strand of blonde hair, that thought went out the window.
"What are you doing here?" Axel asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
'If this isn't a sign of ill luck then I don't know what is.'
"Huh? I came to visit my big sister, I don't see anything wrong with that." Aurora replied sharply. "Hey, Mr. Peterson." She greeted before looking up at the winger.
"Hello, Aurora." The winger responded with a smile.
The two met during the funeral so he knew how things were between the both of them.
"Here, you can have him now." He uttered with a smug look on his face before giving Axel a push toward her.
"Huh?"
"What the?"
All Aurora needed to do was quickly move out of the way and Axel would end up hitting the floor but she grabbed him instead.
"Hey, he's injured, you can't just push him like that!" She yelled with a furious voice but Peterson was already a good distance away from him.
"I'm sorry, but it's a good thing you caught him. Tell your sister I said hi, Axel."
After that, he quickly got into his car and drove off, but even after he was gone, they were still stuck in that weird position because none of them knew what to do.
She seemed to have gone into freeze mode after yelling at Peterson like that and Axel was still processing things.
'Now why the heck did he push me? And I sort of understand her catching me but why is she still holding onto me? Her face seems to be sort of flustered.'
He was about to say something when a voice suddenly came from the kitchen area.
"Well, would you look at that?"
That broke Aurora out of her gaze as she suddenly let go of Axel in a way that almost sent him to the floor.
"Hey, careful."
"Umm…I'll get going now." Her voice sounded a bit shaky, and in order to avoid having to bear more of the awkwardness, she quickly dashed out of the room.
Axel just let out a sigh and shook his head before proceeding to close the door.
"I wasn't expecting to see that, I didn't know you were the one holding her up at the door," Ariel said before slowly removing the gloves on her hands.
"Please don't get any weird ideas, that was simply an accident." He responded with a poker face as he made his way to the couch and sat down on it.
"Yeah, and I wonder how that accident happened." She said with a coy smile before proceeding to sit down beside him.
"You know trying to tease me with things like this is never going to work." Axel sighed before turning his gaze to her.
"And I wonder why, it's like you're not even a boy in your teens." Her tone suddenly switched to a serious one. "It's sort of suspicious."
"You're getting the wrong idea again." The youngster snapped. "I just don't have time for that, and it's not like I have any reason to feel that way about her."
Ariel didn't respond to that immediately and just kept her gaze on him for a while without saying anything, and after a couple of seconds, she let out a sigh.
"That's a pretty bold statement, but sure, whatever you say." She remarked before pushing the table in front of them closer. "Now, put your right leg here, I'll go get the ice." She added before getting up from her seat.
Axel kept his gaze on her as she made her way to the kitchen, and before he knew it, a smile appeared on his face.
"The fact that you're going to leave tomorrow is what I'm really worried about." He muttered under his breath.