Caught up Between Two Loves

29 June, 2008. Germany vs Spain. The day everyone had been waiting for to see which country is the Champion of Europe. I was rubbing my palms nervously after wishing the boys good luck and sitting on the stools like the rest of the crowd.

"Relax, you can do this." I said calming him down. Fernando was nervous as was most of the team. "You all can do it. Come on, have faith. You guys came this far, aren't you proud? Don't think about it too much and do your best that's what counts."

Fernando nodded then gave me a final hug before I left. "Good luck!" I yelled out to the rest of the team before heading to find my seat.

I cheered as loud as I could for Spain when the squad came out. The national anthem blared from every side of the stadium. I didn't know the words so I just stood up straight and waited till it was over. After applauding for the last time, I sat back down and waited for the game to finally begin.

First Half

The match started at a slow pace until the Germans get a corner, the first corner of the match. Fortunately, Casillas punches the ball away. Not long after Xavi gave a beautiful pass to Iniesta, the defense deflected it, but the ball still went towards a goal and the Lehmann took it out comfortably.

A few minutes later, Iniesta passed Fernando the ball and I got up expecting a goal at least, but he was too slow to reach the ball. I sat back down still not giving up on my team.

Twenty minutes passed and the game started to heat up. Both teams were playing well. It was hard to predict who would win the cup.

By the thirtieth minute, it got even more intense that you could feel it. Fabregas took a low shot making me groan from frustration. The German goalkeeper waited till the ball rolled over and reached him. I didn't sit down after that because by the thirty-second minute it happened.

Xavi sprang Fernando another of his beautiful passes. Nando went pass the defense and once the goalkeeper approached him, he flicked the ball over him and it made its way to the net.

Happily I jumped up and down, screaming and cheering loudly with the fans. I was happy for the national team I grew to love had scored and so far were winning. Most importantly it was my love who had scored.

After calming down, but not completely, I sat down and enjoyed the game. I prayed for the first half to be over so that Germany wouldn't score. As the referee blew the whistle indicating the first half was over I let out a sigh grateful for it.

Second Half

There was another Xavi and Torres pass but Lehmann punched the ball away. It seemed that Spain had the most possession of the ball. It was frustrating to watch so many shots by the spaniards blocked by the german defense.

Xabi Alonso got in for Cesc Fabregas and I stood up cheering for my friend. I couldn't wait to see his game. Not long after David Silva got substituted by Santi Cazorla. The Germans were building up attacks while the Spaniards built a strong defense.

I kept tapping my foot on the hard floor wishing the game would just end or for Spain to score to guaranty their win. Not long after Torres was off the pitch and in came Dani Guiza. I, along with the fans stood up cheering for the man who scored. Fernando applauded and gave a final wave before disappearing on the bench.

Every few minutes, I glanced at the clock then back at the pitch. The referee gave three additional minutes and I took a deep breath trying to calm myself. This was it, the last minutes of the game and so far Spain had the title.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes passed. Spain had won the cup! They became the Champions of Europe '08! Nagore was standing next to me. We started to jump up and down, hugging and cheering. She cried from happiness and I let a few happy tears fall from my eyes.

We watched as they all celebrated and tossed Luis Aragones in the air which made me laugh seeing his expression and look of horror thinking he'd fall. Not long after, The German team went up to the podium to claim their medal and lastly it was Spain's turn.

As Casillas lifted the trophy the crowd roared and cheered with everything they had. When it was all over and they went to their locker rooms, I remembered. Fernando had a dare to do if he scored at the game and won the cup. I was going to find out what it was.

I was waiting outside for him and the team to come out and congratualte them and wondered what was taking them so long. However, I only saw Xabi come out and I ran over to him and hugged him. "Congratulations, you guys did it. I'm so proud of you." I said then went back to hug him again.

Xabi chuckled hugging me back. "Thanks. Your little speech might of helped us." He let go and gestured me to come in.

"Aren't we supposed to leave?" I asked confused not getting in yet.

"Yes, but there's something to be done before we leave." He grabbed my hand and dragged me inside.

We passed the halls. It was dead silence which kind of scared me. Where were the others? We reached the pitch. I wasn't expecting he would take me there. The lights were still on and no crowd or fan had been on the stands. It was all empty except for one figure. Fernando Torres.

It reminded me of the last time where Xabi had tricked me and made me come to the field just to give Fernando a chance.

Torres was standing in the middle of the field still in his kit and his country's flag placed on his shoulder. "Go." Xabi whispered before leaving to God knows where.

Smiling I walked up to Fernando and almost instantly wrapped my arms around him. "You actually did it. Congrats! I'm still in shock though." I said grinning widely not letting him go.

He had returned to hug and pulled me closer. "I told you I would, didn't I?" He responded cockily making me laugh.

"So what's the dare?" I asked pulling away slightly to get a good look at him. Just when I asked he seemed nervous which made me worried especially when he talked in a serious tone.

"Rachel..." As he said my name he took my hands in his glancing at them before looking back into my eyes.

"This season was quite eventful: I broke up with Olalla, you came along, we started dating and I was over the moon, then like any other relationship we started to fight and over Ronaldo of all people. I told you that I loved you and I meant every word of it."

By now tears started to form in my eyes.

"Even if Liverpool didn't win the Premier League, it didn't matter as long as I had you by my side. And now my country won and became Champions of Europe and I was the one who scored the winning goal, do you know why?"

I shook my head not able to speak or I would start crying.

"Because I had you by my side, supporting me all the way even when I sucked in a match you were still there. Of course, if it weren't for the whole team we wouldn't have came this far but you still played an important role in this and my life....And I want you to still have an important role in my life always and forever."

As Fernando said that he knelt on one knee and that's when the tears started to fall. He took my left hand and took of a small box from his pocket and said "Rachel Annabelle Smith, will you marry me and make me the happiest man alive?"

I had to answer him, the answer was of course yes but I was afraid if I spoke I would cry hard but it was worth it. "Y-yes." I covered my mouth and started to cry.

Fernando got up grinning excitedly and wrapped his arms around me and lifted me twirling me around which made me laugh and stop crying a little. We could hear cheers and claps coming from a far and looked up to see the national team.

Fernando gave them a thumbs up before turning back to me and kissing me passionately. I was going to be Mrs. Fernando Torres. Boy were all the girls going to hate me, but I didn't care.