A World Alone

"I don't think this is a good idea," Diego Martinez frowned, shying away from his colleague's glare. "I don't care. Give me the information." Matthew growled. Diego Martinez worked with Matthew, Olivia and Thalia. He sat near Thalia and the two were pretty good friends. Matthew was walking towards the coffee maker when he overheard the two talking and he had to know what they were talking about. Diego looked down at his hands before sighing and telling him everything. "She's going to Brazil tomorrow in the afternoon. She's going to watch the World Cup and she's going alone."

Matthew raised his eyebrows, satisfied at the information. "Okay then. Don't say anything to anyone." he said before standing up and walking out of the quiet coffee shop.

-

"Buenos trades, pasajeros! We have landed in Sao Paulo! There is no time difference between Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires. Thank you for flying with us and enjoy your stay in Brazil!" the flight attendant chirped. Thalia ran a hand through her brown hair and smiled as she looked out the window. She knew she was going to have a great time in Brazil, and she hoped that Argentina would go far into the World Cup. After waiting for the plane to come to a complete halt, all the passengers got up and walked out of the plane with smiles on their faces.

Thalia went through immigration and retrieved her luggage. She took a few deep breaths before walking out of the airport. Immediately, the hot Brazilian weather slapped her in the face. It was really hot, but she knew that she had to get used to it. She bit her lip, fighting back a smile. Leo was going to be picking her up himself since training would start in the evening. It was around 2:30 in the afternoon and everyone was bustling about in the airport. She dragged her suitcase further down the lane, looking for Leo when she finally found him standing by a car.

He was dressed in a simple white t-shirt, blue jeans, Adidas trainers, Ray Ban aviators and a cap to disguise him. He was looking down at his phone, scrolling through. He was so engrossed in his phone that he didn't notice Thalia running towards him. Thalia threw her arms around him, taking the footballer by surprise. After being panicked for three seconds, thinking that a fan recognised him, he finally realised that it was his girlfriend hugging him. Lionel quickly wrapped his arms around Thalia, smiling happily.

"Thalia…" Lionel breathed out. The two pulled away and Lionel connected their lips in a passionate kiss that left the two of them breathless and blushing. Thalia bit her lip and the two just stared into each other's eyes for a while. "Should we go?" Lionel finally suggested. Thalia chuckled and nodded. Leo helped put her suitcase in the trunk and the two got in Lionel's rental car and he drove to the hotel. Thalia would be staying in the same hotel as the Argentina NT but obviously, different floors. The National Team players would be getting about five whole floors all to themselves. Security would be very tight and no one was allowed up there.

After reaching the hotel, Thalia checked in while Lionel sat down on one of the sofas there, keeping his head down. After getting her room key, Thalia and Lionel decided to go hang out in Thalia's room for a while to catch up on everything they missed out on during the last month.

Thalia let out a loud sigh and collapsed on her bed. Her hotel room was slightly cramped since this was one of the only rooms that the hotel had due to Argentina fans everywhere checking in as well just to catch a glimpse of their favourite players. Lionel kicked off his shoes and crawled in beside her. "I missed you," Leo smiled, pressing a warm kiss to Thalia's temple. Thalia smiled at him and hugged him tightly, "I missed you too." she told him. "I'm gonna go to training in about half an hour. Are you going to be okay alone for a few hours?" Leo asked.

Thalia nodded, "Yeah, definitely. I'll just walk around the area on my own." she replied. Lionel bit his lip, thinking about the elephant in the room. They had to tell people that they were together, it was better than hiding. Even though Lionel wished that he could be around all the time to protect Thalia from the media, he knew he couldn't keep her hidden forever. "Thalia?" Lionel murmured. "Yeah?" Thalia replied. "We're going to have to tell people about us dating." Leo said. Thalia bit her lip and nodded, "I know. But how?" she asked. Lionel shrugged, "We'll figure it out."

-

Thalia stretched her arms above her head after a short nap since she barely got to sleep on the three-hour flight. Lionel left an hour ago and he was due to be back to the hotel soon since it was already getting late. Thalia decided to go walk around the area for a while and get to know the place. She combed her messy hair, changed her clothes and slipped her feet into her navy blue ballerina flats. She made sure she had her key card before heading out of the room. She reached the lobby and walked out of the hotel.

She started walking and smiled when she heard Brazilian music blasting from some restaurants and hearing Portuguese instead of Spanish for once. She could see a couple of kids playing football in a nearby field and she grinned widely, already loving the Brazilian energy. She decided to get some coffee so that she could wake up a little bit. She headed to a café and ordered coffee before taking a seat by a window. She took a couple of sips of her coffee and checked her phone when she felt someone staring at her. She looked up from her phone to see Matthew standing there.

She jumped in shock and gaped up at her colleague. "Matthew? W-What are you doing here?" Thalia asked, standing up to give him an awkward hug. Matthew grinned at Thalia, excited to know that his plan worked. He was out to get coffee when he saw the familiar wavy brown hair. He knew he just had to say hello. "My brother scored some World Cup tickets for me so we flew out to Brazil." Matthew lied through his teeth, smiling down at the petite brunette. "Um, okay. Where are you staying?" she asked him, making conversation but secretly hoping he'd leave her alone. "Two blocks away." Matthew replied.

Thalia nodded, tapping her foot awkwardly. She didn't know what else to say, and she hoped he'd just leave. "Well, my coffee's probably done. I'll see you soon." Matthew smirked, walking away from the Argentine who looked at him weirdly.

-

"Hola." Leo smiled, pressing a kiss to Thalia's lips. "Hola." Thalia replied. She was left feeling uneasy and worried when she met Matthew. She had a weird feeling that he wasn't going to leave her alone anytime soon. It was too weird that he showed up at Brazil exactly when she did. "Is anything wrong?" Lionel frowned. Thalia shook her head, deciding to leave it alone. She wasn't going to bother Leo over nothing, especially with the next game against Iran coming soon. Thalia pecked Leo's lips before cuddling into his arms.

-

Matthew bit his lip as he ordered some tickets for Argentina's next game against Iran. He knew that Thalia would definitely be there. He rubbed his tired eyes and looked at his phone, seeing no new messages from Carla, his ex girlfriend. A few years ago, she left him for another man and that was where his depression started. He started drinking, taking pills and getting high absolutely when he wanted to. Of course, he sobered up just enough to get to work in the morning and get himself some money just so he could buy some more alcohol.

He sucked in a deep breath and took another sip of Vodka and shook his head, trying to stay awake. He pulled out his Argentina NT jersey from his suitcase and set it on the table, biting his lip and smirking at how his plan was slowly starting to unfold. He was going to have Thalia all to himself and he was never going to let her stray away from him.