Looks can be deceiving (Mapi León x OC)

Chapter 15 - Tibidabo

A/N: Remember, usually they speak Spanish with each other (or German).

On Sunday, the day after our match against Bilbao, I allowed myself to sleep longer than usually as I had arrived pretty late the night before. We had won the match 3-1, but rightfully so, Jonatan wasn't happy with the performance Mapi and I had delivered. Well, there goes my starting spot, I thought to myself while getting out of my cozy bed.

After a quick breakfast which consisted of an oatmeal with berries, I decided to go for a run. While we had gotten today off, it didn't mean I could just sit around at home and do nothing, so I quickly got changed, grabbed my running shoes, and left my apartment.

The temperature was still comparatively low with only 18 degrees, so the run wouldn't be too exhausting. I put my air pods in and slowly started my run as I noticed I had been added to a group chat by Keira.

[14/09/2024 10:01:02] Keira W.: Hi guys, Lucy and I are hosting a dinner party tomorrow. We have some exciting news to share with you :) Please let me know if you can make it! Hola chicas, Lucy y yo vamos a organizar una cena mañana. Tenemos algunas noticias emocionantes para compartir con vosotras:) ¡Por favor, díganme si pueden venir!

I instantly cringed when I saw that she had written her message in both English and Spanish. If there was something I disliked, it was speaking English for sure. It wasn't like I didn't know any English, but I definitely preferred German or Spanish as I grew up bilingual.

While increasing my speed, I looked at all the participants in the group. I recognized Alexia's number, but there were two unknown Spanish phone numbers, however I recognized Jenni on one of the profile pictures while the other number didn't have a visible photo. For a moment I felt bad because Laura hadn't been invited, but then I remembered that Keira told me she only invited her closest friends at Barca and Laura, when she wasn't with me, usually spent her time with Claudia and Patri. As well as the Spanish numbers, there were three foreign numbers, most likely English ones from the Arsenal players. I quickly checked their profile pictures and grinned when I saw a photo of Leah Williamson who I'd always admired deeply.

I texted Keira back that I was definitely coming and then tried to focus on my run, but it was hard as my thoughts always circled back to the upcoming international break. Laura and I would be leaving on Wednesday evening and be gone for a whole week to train with the German national team and eventually finish the week off with our last Euros qualifier. The thought of at least having Laura by my side made me a little less stressed, but nevertheless I really didn't want to face Sydney and Klara. I knew I had to succumb to my fear eventually as we'd be spending a lot of time together with the upcoming Euros in summer, but I was still hurt from what I witnessed just two days ago.

Suddenly, my music stopped abruptly as a call from an unknown number appeared on my phone.

Confused, I picked up. "Hello?"

"Good morning, princesa."

"How did María León get my number?" I asked her, slightly out of breath as I was just running up a hill.

"Keira's group chat" She replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But I was just about to dm you on Insta anyway. How are you today? Do you feel better?"

I couldn't believe that she called just to check on me after my break down on Friday night.

"I feel a little better, thank you" I smiled.

"Can I pick you up in an hour? I can't take your pain away, I really wish I could, but at least it will hopefully make you think of something else." Mapi offered hesitantly.