A World Alone

-Thalia.
I watched as the players scrambled to steal the ball from their opponents. Just like I had promised, I was sporting a Messi jersey with pride. The fans beside me were waving their banners enthusiastically as the first half came to an end with the score of 1-0 with a goal from Andrés Iniesta.

I sat back down and waited for the second half to begin. “So, what’s going on with you and Leo?” Olivia asked as she scrolled through her phone. “Nothing.” I lied through my teeth as I tried to fight back a smile. Olivia rolled her eyes and leaned back, “Yeah right.”

Soon, the second half started and the players were even more aggressive this time. Pedro currently had the ball and he cut by the defenders like it was nothing before making a long pass to Leo who quickly jumped up, his head colliding with the ball and netting the second goal of the game.

The fans stood up, raising their banners and yelling chants. I grinned and stood up, clapping my hands madly as Leo ran up and down the field, finally ending up in our section. He stopped running and looked up at me and winked, pursing his lips together as if he was going to kiss someone.

His teammates quickly embraced him, yelling cheers as well. The game flew by without anymore goals and soon enough, Barça was obviously declared the winner of the match.

“Leo did good.” Olivia commented with a small smile. “Yeah, he did.” I added. The both of us started walking out of the stadium when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to see a woman with a huge smile, “Ms. Morales? Please come with me.”

I looked at Olivia who shrugged, “I’ll see you back at the hotel.” She said. I nodded and handed her the key, “Don’t lose it.” I joked. She rolled her eyes playfully before walking away from me. I turned back towards the woman who still had a huge smile on her face.

She started walking and I followed after her, wondering what this was all about. She led me through a few halls that I’ve never been to in the stadium before she stopped in front of one of the rooms. She knocked thrice on the door before walking away from me with a smile.

“Yeah?”

The door opened to reveal a shirtless Alexis Sanchez. I held back a huge scream as I stared at one of Barça’s best forwards. I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming though I felt my cheeks burning.

“Can I help you?” he asked me, his eyes wide in confusion. I shrugged, “I don’t know. Someone told me to wait here.” I replied. “What are you doing, Alexis?” another voice said. I held back another huge scream when I saw Gerard Piqué behind Alexis, his blue eyes staring into mine.

“What’s all the commotion about?” suddenly, Neymar showed up behind Gerard. Then Dani Alves followed after him, then Cesc Fàbregas, then Marc Bartra, then Sergio Busquets.

I then realized that I was standing in front of the Barça dressing room. I held back a panicked squeal and started to back away from the door. “I think I should go.”

The door fully opened this time and Leo popped his head out with a huge smile. “Lia!” he gushed, squeezing through his teammates and finally reaching me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and grinned at his teammates. “Oh, sorry. Guys, this is Thalia. Thalia, these are the guys.” Leo said, introducing me to his teammates.

“Hello!” they all greeted simultaneously, huge smiles on their faces. I smiled shyly at all of them, still in awe that I was standing in front of all my favorite footballers. “Are you Leo’s new girlfriend, then?” Gerard Piqué asked with a childish grin.

My eyes widened in surprise at his question. Sure, Leo and I kissed but that didn’t mean we were together…did it?

“Gerard, stop.” Cesc Fàbregas said from beside Gerard. The two of them started bickering quietly, making the rest of the team roll their eyes. Alexis had now pulled his shirt over his head and the whole team was ready to leave the stadium. “Like an old married couple.” Andrés Iniesta joked, pointing at Gerard and Cesc.

Leo chuckled from beside me and I smiled nervously. “Um, let me just grab my bag.” Leo said, pushing through his teammates again. Gerard quickly moved forward and leaned against the wall, “So, how did you two meet?” he asked.

“He knocked me over and he took me to the infirmary here. Then we met again a week later when he accidentally made me spill my coffee all over me, we switched numbers then.” I said, making his teammates burst out laughing. “Clumsy Leo.” Xavi said, shaking his head.

“Not as clumsy as Sergio!” Leo shot back jokingly, hitting Sergio Busquets on the shoulder, making the taller Spaniard roll his eyes. Leo walked back towards me and smiled shyly at me, “Let’s go.” He offered. I nodded and grinned at the football team that was grinning at the both of us. “It was nice meeting you!” I grinned at all the footballers.

“You too!” they yelled in unison again. “Wow, do they rehearse that?” I joked. Leo smiled at me, “Yeah, whenever one of us brings a girl around, we never hesitate to tease them. We actually teased Jordi about dating the girl he brought and she turned out to be his cousin.” Leo laughed, making me laugh as well.

“Can I drive you home?” he smiled shyly.

“It’s a 10 minute walk from here.” I giggled. Leo shrugged, “I want to spend more time with you.”

“Well, if you drive me it’s basically a three minute drive so that’s not exactly spending much time, is it?” I smiled mischievously at Leo who glared jokingly at me. “Fine, do you want to come to my place?” he asked with a small hopeful smile.

I bit my lip and shrugged, “If I’m not being a bother, I’d actually like that.” My reply made Leo grinned and he quickly led me to his car, which was a black Range Rover. The both of us got in and he started driving to his house. I stretched my arms above my head and smiled at Leo who had his eyes focused on the road.

“That was a great goal, by the way.” I whispered. A small grin appeared on his face and he turned towards me, “You think?” I nodded and we started discussing the goal. Soon, we reached his HUGE house and I felt myself choke. “This is your house?” I asked. Well, what did I expect from the best footballer in the world?

Leo nodded and he looked at me worriedly, “Why? Is there something wrong?”

I shook my head and laughed, “No…it’s just really big.” I chuckled. He parked his car and he helped me out and we entered his house together.

-Lionel.
I smiled as I heard her chatting happily about her family in Argentina. I realized just how much I missed Rosario and I desperately wanted to go back to my hometown. Thalia’s eyes lit up and a smile graced her face. I noticed that I wasn’t actually listening to her talk but I was staring at her perfect caramel-colored hair, then at her huge bright brown eyes, then at her cute button nose then finally at her lips.

“Thalia?” I said, stopping her at the middle of her sentence. She looked into my eyes with a small smile, “Yeah?”

Without thinking, I rested my hand on her waist and leaned in to kiss her. She didn’t do anything for a while before she finally responded, kissing me back. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me closer to her body. We pulled away a few minutes later and I rested my forehead on hers.

“I know we’ve known each other for…three weeks. But…can we give this a try?” I whispered. She blushed bright red before nodding, “Yeah, we can.” She said before she connected our lips again.