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We went back to the locker room when the practice ended where we would wait. My phone rang and it was a text from Michael. We had decided to watch the Opening Ceremony and the first game from the bleachers with Michael and everyone else, since we weren't much needed anyway. I had my reservations, I wanted to be on the bench with the team, but everyone wanted to watch the game from the bleachers so I agreed in the end.

Mr. Jones family had arrived too and he left to find them. He had a pass to all areas since he was technical staff just like we did, so it made coming and going that much easier.

"They are still stuck, waiting to get in." I informed everyone. "Michael says it might take a while." Everyone was sitting, listening to music or starring at the ground. No one was talking.

"Waiting is killing me." Marina said. She and Bernard looked at each other from across the room.

"Me too." I told her quietly.

Coach Tandres entered the locker room and everyone looked up.

"Croatia is done with their practice too." He informed us and we settled into waiting once more.

When the noise from the people got louder, I finally looked at my phone again. It was about time for us to go join Michael and the others. The Ceremony would start in about half an hour.

"It's time." I told Marina and we got up. The movement made everyone look up. "We are going guys." I said. "You are gonna do great. I know it. I'm certain of it. In fact I've bet money on it, so don't let me down."

"How much did you bet?"

"100 dollars. Hey that's a lot for me!"

"If we win I'll give you a thousand." David said.

"Then win." I gave him a tight hug not wanting to let him go. I hugged everyone and when it was Neymar's turn I reached towards him and kissed his cheek before he could object. I thought a hug would be pushing it. "Good luck Neymar." I said looking up at him. He looked at me but didn't say anything.

We left the locker room and headed up towards the bleachers. Thankfully we found the guys right away in the section they said they'd be.

"Hey guys!" Marina said and we greeted everyone. I sat next to Michael and Alex.

"How are the guys?" Michael asked.

"Nervous. But they've got this. I know they do."

The opening ceremony started and it was breathtaking. There were about 500 dancers and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte singing and in the end Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull appeared to singthe official World Cup song along with her. The crowd went ballistic.

It was so much fun but I couldn't shake the anxiety of the impending game out of my mind to fully enjoy it. When the Ceremony finally ended we settled on our seats once more to wait for the game to begin.

"Stop being so anxious about it!" Michael yelled in my ear. It was so loud around us I barely heard him. They guys had really bad seats but Scolari had pulled his magic and traded those up for some better ones. We were in the heart of Brazil's supporters, everyone around us dressed in yellow, blue and green. And we all had yellow NT shirts on so we fit there perfectly.

"Who are you wearing?" I asked Michael. He lifted his hands up and I saw the number 4 on his shirt.

"I know everyone is wearing the 10 around here..." He said pointing at my shirt, "But I have to stick to my number."

I chuckled.  Michael always wore the 4. "The others?" I asked, looking at the guys.

"Everyone's wearing theirs. Demis is wearing the 3."

"Thiago's. Of course he is. You two kind of remind me of the two of them."

"You mean they remind you of us. You have known us longer, you know."

I laughed. "Potato, potato."

"So I know we haven't had a chance to talk alone since I got here, so I have to ask now, what is going on between you and Neymar?" he asked me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to buy time. I couldn't believe it was so obvious, that I was so transparent.

"I'm your brother."

"Things are complicated." I told him, evasively.

"I knew it!" He said. When I looked at him quizzically he added: "I was fishing. I mean, I picked up on something but I wasn't sure."

"Oh God."

"But it's not a bad thing Liv. You've been alone long enough. Two years is enough."

I looked at him without saying anything. He understood though. Michael had been there too. He had been through it along with me. He understood.

The loud noise made me turn my attention back to the field. The teams were coming out. The Brazilian team walked in a line, hands to shoulders like they always did. I saw their faces on the giant screens but they were like paintings. I couldn't decipher them. It was like I didn't know the people I was looking at, like they weren't my friends for the last month. They had their game faces on.

The Brazilian Anthem started playing and I could see the players singing at the top of their lungs. Julio even teared up. It was very emotional.

The game started and I got completely engrossed with it. I had never seen a game of this magnitude before and the stakes were high.

And then at the 11th minute the worst possible thing happened. An own goal when the ball bounced off Marcelo and into the net after Nikica Jelavić deflected Ivica Olić's cross. The whole stadium went silent before screams and applause erupted from Croatia's fans. The giant cameras showed the Croatian players celebrating and then cut to Marcelo's face. He looked around lost.

"No, no, damn it!" I heard Marina yell as Peter started swearing uncontrollably.

"This is bad." Alex muttered next to me. The possibility of losing this game suddenly became real for the first time. This would be a disaster of epic proportions.

"No, it's still early." I said. "We will turn this around."

Fifteen minutes later Neymar was issued a yellow card for elbowing Croatian midfielder Luka Modrić. The crowd started protesting the decision with screams.

"He's lucky he didn't get a red." Michael said and I agreed. As we watched the replay of the moment I was glad that Neymar got such a lenient punishment.

"I can't believe Neymar did that." I muttered to myself mostly. He wasn't acting like himself. Before I could even finish the thought the ball was in the net again.

"He scored! Neymar fucking scored!" Demis yelled and we all got up from our seats screaming with joy. This game kept you at the edge of your seat.

As soon as the ball hit the net Neymar started running. But he didn't run towards the side of the penalty area, like players normally did but towards us. He threw his fist up and even though he so far away to be able to see me in the sea of people it felt like he did. Everyone went crazy and my heart was beating faster than I thought was possible.

The game resumed and soon we reached the half time. The referee blew the whistle and the players from both teams retreated in their respective locker rooms.

"Wow." Michael said resting back on his seat.

I felt a burst of energy through me, like it would be impossible for me to just sit down. I wanted to swim or jump or climb a mountain or...

I looked around me trying to remember which way we came from.

"Go." Alex whispered in my ear. I turned to look at him, suprised. "Go." He said again, a small unreadable smile on his face.

I got up so quickly I startled everyone.

"What's wrong? Where is she going?" I heard Michael ask but I was already on the staircase. I started running frantically, hoping I wouldn't get lost. I pushed people out of my way and got pushed as well, but nothing was stopping me.

When one of the security guards tried to stop me I shoved my all access pass in his face before I continued running. When I reached the locker rooms I thought my heart would explode in my chest.

"Olivia, what are you doing here?" Dani asked me. All the players were there in various stages of undress. When I locked eyes with David he run towards me a surprised look on his face.

"Where is he?"

"I don't— " He started telling me before turning to look back inside. "NEYMAR?" He yelled towards the guys.

Everyone looked around. "He isn't here." Bernard said emerging from the corner.

"Well where is he?"

Everyone had stopped what they were doing and looking at me. I turned around and hurried back out, still running. Even if I was out of breath it was like my feet couldn't go any slower. I got out to the main corridor where the cameras would be in a few minutes to show the players go out on the field again. Where the hell was he?

I looked around frantically. People were looking at me like I was crazy. Well, that was new. A wave of emotions came crashing down on me. I felt fear creeping back towards my soul. How did I—

 "LIV!" I heard and as I turned around his lips crashed onto mine.