A World Alone

-Thalia.
"I am so freaking excited, you have no idea. I can't anymore, I can't." My best friend, Olivia Nieves, squealed as she looked out the taxi window. I smiled and put my sunglasses atop my head, sighing contentedly.

"Where are you ladies from?" the taxi driver asked, smiling at us through the rearview mirror. "Buenos Aires!" Olivia chirped, grinning back at the driver.

"Argentines!" he smiled, "You share the same blood as Lionel Messi!"

I smiled at him, "Yeah, Argentina loves him to death."

Loves him? Argentina more than loves him. Argentines practically kiss the ground he walks on. I remember my younger brother's room, plastered with posters of Messi, telling me that one day he was 'going to be just like Lionel Messi'.

"You watching a Barca game, then?" the taxi driver asked us again.

"Definitely! We've got it all planned out. Got our special Barca merchandise too!" Olivia smiled. "I've got Alexis on my shirt. Tell him who you have on your shirt, Thalia!" Olivia giggled. I chuckled at my best friend, knowing she shouldn't of had two cups of coffee on the plane.

"I have Messi." I smiled.

The taxi driver hummed in approval.

He finally pulled up outside our hotel that was just ten minutes away from Camp Nou in walking distance. He helped us with our suitcases and I paid him, giving him a tip. "Gracias! Enjoy your stay in Barcelona!"

"THANK YOU!" Olivia yelled, waving her hands as he drove away from the hotel. I chuckled at Olivia's craziness before checking in. I can't believe months of planning and we finally made it to Barcelona. Olivia and I had planned to take a small summer vacation to Barcelona to get away from the heaps of work we had back at Buenos Aires.

After saving up, we finally got enough money to stay at Barcelona for five weeks and snag two tickets for three Barca games--and the seats are pretty amazing too, might I add!

After settling our rooms, we quickly got in the elevator and I pressed on our floor number, Olivia humming along to the light music that was playing in the elevator. The doors opened and the two of us tumbled out, running towards the room. Olivia grabbed the key card from me and slipped it inside the slot and opened the door, sighing in awe as she looked around the room.

It was pretty spacious and it was definitely worth working to the early hours of the morning for. I smiled and sat down on the couch, propping my legs up on the coffee table. "Well, Liv, we worked hard and we reaped the rewards." I smiled, shooting her a thumbs up. She nodded and shot me a thumbs up.

Well, I guess the vacation starts now.

-

I looked at myself in the full length mirror, turning around to see the name and number. It had 'MESSI' written in big block letters atop the legendary number '10'. I was wearing blue skinny jeans that fit me well along with black flats.

I smiled and smoothed the blue and red jersey down. "Olivia? You ready?" I called out to my best friend who jumped out the bathroom. "Ready!" she grinned with a thumbs up, showing me the 'ALEXIS' on the back of her jersey.

"Got the tickets?" I asked her. "Yep, got it."

The two of us exited the hotel room and went down to the lobby and started our journey to Camp Nou. We walked for a few minutes, talking about the different places in Barcelona that we needed to visit. Finally, we stopped in front of the legendary stadium.

I bit my lip in excitement, feeling the adrenaline rush already. "Well, come on!" Olivia squealed, grabbing my hand and pulling me into the stadium. After flashing our tickets to the security guards, we finally got into our seats. "Perfect timing." I smiled, looking down at the players who were starting to walk out of the tunnel.

"HOLY CRAP, IT'S XAVI! LOOK, IT'S XAVI!" Olivia screamed, shaking my shoulders as she pointed at the Spaniard who was walking behind Sergio Busquets. We got a few dirty looks and I shot them an apologetic look for my best friend. I looked down to see Xavi and a few other players looking up at our section, looking for the crazy person who was screaming his name. Olivia took no shame in that, instead standing up and waving at the player who was beginning to notice that commotion.

I ran a hand through my hair, chuckling at my crazy friend. She sat back down and sighed, "Xavi smiled at me." Olivia grinned, sinking into her chair.

I rolled my eyes at her and focused on the pitch where the players were lining up. After a while, the game started. I watched in anticipation as the players ran around, trying to steal the ball.

After the first 23 minutes, Lionel Messi made the first goal.

"GOOOOOAAAAALLL!" everyone in the stadium yelled, standing up and cheering for the Argentine who was running down the field, pointing at the sky as he closed his eyes. I grinned and jumped up and down happily, embracing Olivia who was screaming beside me.

58th minute, Alexis Sanchez scores the second goal of the game. He runs down the field and makes his signature slide. He grins at the crowd and his teammates embraced him for the amazing header he just scored. "HE'S AMAZING!" Olivia yelled, nearly ripping her hair out of her head.

87th minute, a beautiful assist from Pedro gives Neymar the opportunity to goal. That marks the third goal for FC Barcelona for the night. The crowd goes crazy again, banners are raised and the Barcelona hymn is sang over and over again.

91st minute, Lionel Messi scores yet another goal.

And that ends the game for the night.

"THAT WAS SUCH AN AMAZING GAME TO WATCH!" Olivia yelled, throwing her hands up in the air happily. I grinned at her as we started to leave the stadium. "Definitely." I grinned, thinking about those four goals that probably would be etched into my mind until I was 78 years old.

"You've got the key to the room, right?" I asked Olivia who reached into her jean pocket with a small smile. But quickly dropped the smile after a few minutes. "Shit." she muttered.

I raised my eyebrow at her, "Shit what?" I asked, my heart beating in my chest. "Shit, I left it in the stadium. Come on!" she shrieked, running towards the stadium. I groaned and followed after my crazy friend.

I watched as Olivia tried to talk to the security guards, bribing them to let her get in the stadium one more time. "I swear, I had it when we were watching the match. I think it dropped out of my pocket out here or something." Olivia frowned.

I sighed and stepped back a few steps, turning on my heel to look for the key when I collided into something and fell on my bum.

"Ow!" I groaned out in pain, clutching my elbow which had a cut on it due to one of the sharp rocks on the ground. "Damn it." I hissed in pain.

I heard a gasp, followed by him cursing quietly.

"Lo siento." the person said as he kneeled down by my side to help me up. I looked up, finally facing the person I had bumped into when I came face to face with the one and only Lionel Messi.