Gavi

     I was sitting on the floor in Pedri's living room, drinking a can of Coke. João was slumped on the couch behind me. None of the other guys could make it today.

      "How'd your date go?" João asked, sitting up on his elbow. He looked at me with his eyebrows raised.

     "Terrible, actually," I spat.

     Pedri walked back into the living room at that moment, carrying his own soda can.

     "How could it be that bad?" He asked, joining João on the couch.

     I stood to my feet angrily, fuming.

     "Look, I think she's beautiful and I really like her. She's spunky. But I fucked up. I told her this was a one time thing and that I don't want to see her ever again. I told the future queen of Spain that," I retorted, taking a deep breath. Pedri and João just stared at me.

     "Oh wow," Pedri said, seemingly at a loss for words.

     "I also told her that the only reason I wanted to take her out was to help my reputation with girls," I added.

     This caused João to laugh, nearly spitting his soda all over the carpet.

     "Remind us to never let you go on a date again," he teased me.

     "When was the last time you went on a date?" I snapped back.

     "Like......I don't know," João stuttered.

     We all laughed at that, and the tension seemed to lessen in the air.

     "Why don't you invite her to our game this weekend? Maybe that'll help," Pedri said quietly.

     "She won't come," I grumbled. "I really fucked up."

     "Who knows," João said, standing to his feet and stretching. "Girls have a mind of their own."

     "Whatever, I don't really like her that much anyways. I've only met her once, properly," I shook my head and sighed.

     Pedri gave me a knowing look.

     He knew me to well to know that I was lying.

     Pedri and I were downtown, sitting in a restaurant. There weren't many people, which was surprising because it was almost lunchtime. He had invited me out for drinks. No one else was able to attend.

     I took a sip of my cherry slush before clearing my throat and crossing my arms over my chest.

     Just then, a group of three girls walked into the restaurant. One of them was tall with long brown hair and eyes. She caught my eye right away. The trio of them made their way to a table on the opposite side of the restaurant. 

     I snapped myself out of it. Pedri was looking at me expectantly.

     "What?" I questioned angrily.

     "Are you going to invite Leonor and her family to the game tomorrow?" He asked expectantly, cocking an eyebrow.

     "Why should I?" I spat back. He just laughed.

     "You have the princess of Spain in your fingertips, Pablo," Pedri whispered to me.

     "I don't like her like that. This all started because of media rumors," I laughed, shaking my head and rubbing my tired eyes. I had barely gotten sleep the night before.  Thinking about my date with Leonor, I guess. About how I had really messed up.

     "Do what you want," Pedri shrugged.

     I sipped on my cherry slush some more, glancing around the restaurant. More and more people were filing in. I could still see that group of girls, all laughing together. The brunette still stood out to me. No clue why.

     "I'm going to get another drink," I said, raising my glass to show it was empty. Pedri nodded.

     I was being careful not to drink too much today; we had practice in the evening to prepare for the game.

     I reached the bar counter and settled down onto one of the stools. When the bartender caught sight of me, he came over and took my order. I liked it when people didn't recognize me in public, and it wasn't too often that they didn't.

     As I was waiting for my second cherry slush, the brunette girl settled down next to me at the bar. I caught sight of her out of the corner of my eye. She was looking at me, a smirk on her lips.

     I turned to face her.

     "Can I buy you a drink?" I asked quickly. She narrowed her eyes at me.

     "I don't drink. I was actually interested in talking to your friend. I'm pretty sure I'm his neighbor," she said blankly.

     I turned to face Pedri. He was on his phone, oblivious to what was happening.

     "Who are you?" I asked her.

     "I'm Sasha. You've probably seen me around before," she responded.

     I wasn't sure I had. She was a very pretty girl. Her eyes matched her hair. I really liked that.

     "You're very beautiful," I said again. Maybe it was the alcohol making me so tipsy.

     "Oh, thank you," she said quietly. She glanced at Pedri again.

     Just then, the bartender handed me my drink. I began to sip it immediately, and I could feel Sasha watching me.

     "Aren't you dating Princess Leonor?" She inquired.

     I set my drink down on the counter and looked at her.

     "No, I'm wait out of her league," I laughed to myself.

     Sasha narrowed her eyes and scoffed.

     "Isn't your ego high," she retorted.

     I shrugged and continued to sip my drink.

     "Tell your friend that I said hi," she muttered before leaving with her own drink and returning to her table. Her friends stared at me as my eyes followed her. Strange girl.

     I returned to Pedri, who was still on his phone. He hadn't even noticed Sasha.

     "Practice starts soon, so we should probably go," I said blankly. He barely acknowledged me as he stood up. We paid the bill quickly and left a tip on the table.

     "Do you need a ride?" He asked me as we walked down the sidewalk.

     "I'm alright," I muttered.

      "See you there then," Pedri said, waving goodbye and hopping into his own car. I was parked directly behind him. I hopped in and stomped on the gas.

     Practice has gone good. I had gotten many compliments from coaches and teammates about how my footwork was coming along. It was hard to play soccer after barely playing for a year.

     I was home now; packing up my gear for the game tomorrow. It was an evening game.

     I had thought about messaging Leonor and asking her to come. The idea danced around in my mind for quite some time. She wouldn't say yes even if I asked her to.

     It was a hot day, and I had the windows open in my house. A cool breeze blew through the room. For being early August, it was excruciatingly hot outside.

     I stared at my phone for some time, contemplating what to do.

     I received a few texts from João and Hector, asking me to play FIFA at Hector's house. I said I was busy and that I would later.

     Later never came. I took a shower, washing my hair extra thoroughly. I dried off with a towel and squeezed the excess water out of my hair. Living in my own home, I could be as dressed as I wanted. I pulled on a pair of shorts and decided not to wear a shirt. It was too hot for that.

     I settled down on the couch, ready to relax and unwind for the evening. There were a few soccer matches tonight that I wanted to watch. 

     João called me, but I didn't answer. I wasn't in the mood.

     I needed to message Leonor, or I would go crazy. I don't know why I cared so much about her. It wasn't like I liked her or anything.

     I opened Instagram and clicked on her profile.

     Before I could second guess myself, I typed out an appropriately sounding message for the occasion.

     "Hello Leonor, I would love to invite you to the Barcelona game tomorrow. If you have things to attend, I understand. If you were able to come, that would be great. Feel free to invite your sister and family as well. Let me know. Gavi."

     I clicked send and shut my phone off.

     I tried my best not to think about her response for the rest of the night.

Hey guys! Sorry this is kinda a bad chapter but whatever

Do you think Leonor will accept his invite???