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Game day.

It was finally game day and after spending the morning at the hotel with the team, it was time to head to the stadium. I had thought about my first game back at Barca for so long, almost since the day I left and I was beyond excited that it was finally happening.

As I walked onto the coach, I saw Mapi, Ingrid and Alexia sitting at the back. Before I left to go to Manchester I always sat with Mapi and Alexia on game days. It was a part of my routine and something I had missed a lot.

I slowly walked down the aisle of the coach towards them, deciding to listen to what I had said yesterday on the plane. It was time to stop avoiding Alexia.

I stopped by the table where they were sitting and looked down at them.
"Is it ok if I sit here?" I asked, gesturing towards the empty seat next to Alexia.

All three of them looked up at me, my eyes meeting Mapi's. She looked shocked by my question. It wasn't surprising really, after what she had seen when she walked in on Alexia and I and how we had been avoiding each other at training over the last few days. She drew her eyes away from mine for a moment, looking at Alexia across the table.

"Of course Isa, you don't have to ask" Mapi answered happily.

As I sat down next to Alexia she gave me a smile, before turning her attention back to Mapi.

The coach soon started its engine and our journey to the stadium began. It was about 30 minutes away from the hotel, so it wouldn't take too long. After talking about the game for a while, Ingrid changed the subject.

"It's such a beautiful city, you grew up here didn't you Isa?" she asked while gazing out of the window at the city as it passed by.

"Yeah" I smiled.

"How many people have you got coming to the game today then? Is the stadium going to be full of Martinez's? " She asked jokingly.

"Just my parents" I smiled, thinking about seeing my favourite people again.

In the corner of my eye I saw that Alexia was fidgeting with her fingers. She looked uncomfortable.

Alexia always got on well with my family, my parents welcomed her into the family the first time they met. I hadn't thought about how she would feel about seeing them again, she probably thought that they hated her after how she ended things, but they didn't.

I never told my parents what happened, I had simply told them that we had grown apart. I didn't really tell anybody what happened between us, except from Ona and Elena, who was my childhood best friend.

Once we had arrived at the stadium, we headed off the coach and into the away locker room. My locker was in between Mapi and Pina's as usual. It felt so good to be back where I belong.

Once I had dropped my bag off at my locker, I headed out onto the pitch for our usual walk around before warming up. Just as I was about to step onto the grass, I was joined by Alexia, who began to walk alongside me.

"Hola" she greeted shyly.

"Hola"

Neither of us really knew how to act, we were both unsure of what our relationship was now.  We said we would try and be friends again, but we had been more than that for so long, it was difficult to remember what our friendship was like before we became more.

"How are you feeling about the season then captain?" I asked.
Deciding that it was best to stick to football for now.

"Good... really good. We've got such a strong team, I think it could be our best one yet" she smiled.

"Let's hope so. I need to get a champions league medal around my neck" I joked.

She looked over at me and smiled. Just as she was about to say something else, I heard my name being shouted from the stands.

"ISABEL!!"

I looked in the direction that the noise was coming from and saw my mum and dad waving at me from the stands, both of them wearing my shirt.

"Ay dios mío" I mumbled as I returned their wave.

I turned back to Alexia, her face was pale. She looked nervous.

"You go... I'll see you back in the locker room" she said nervously.

I nodded and just as I was about to turn and walk towards my parents, my mother began to shout again.

"ALE!! come here!!" She shouted gesturing for Alexia to join them.

Alexia was now even paler than she was before.

"Ale, they don't hate you. I never told them what happened, they just think that we grew apart." I explained.
"They've missed you"

Some colour began to come back to her face, which now wore a confused look.

I began walking over to my parents and after a few moments Alexia began to follow me.

Once I had been released from the tight embrace of my parents, they turned their attention to Alexia.

"Ale, it's so good to see you!" My mother said as she wrapped her arms around her.

I saw Alexia relax into the embrace, wrapping her arms around my mothers back.

"It's good to see you too Camila" she smiled.

My dad simply greeted her with with a pat on the back and a smile. He had never been an overly affectionate man, so I hadn't expected anything else from him.

After catching up with my parents for a few minutes, it was time to head back inside to get ready for the warm-up.

As Alexia and I walked back towards the locker room, I could feel her eyes burning into the side of my head.

"Why didn't you tell them what happened?" She asked, not once looking away.

"I didn't want them to hate you"
I said, before looking into her hazel eyes.

"Why?" She asked
"I deserve for them hate me" her eyes leaving mine as she looked down at the ground while we continued walking.

"Because I never hated you Alexia..."