𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗦𝗬 - FERMÍN LÓPEZ

007.

fermín

"what the hell is wrong with you all?" i storm back to my table after sophia had joined my family.

lamine is the first to defend himself, "you didn't say she was-" i knew what he was going to say.

"stop it! all of you! she's off limits."

"why, cuz you want her?" my eyes land on gavi, shooting lasers with my eyes as i sit down next to pedri.

"stop it, guys. leave it alone," pedri defends me. at least he understood where i was coming from.

i knew my friends were going to react like this. i only introduced her to them because she admired them as footballers.

and gavi at the moment, was making my blood boil from the way he was behaving- like it was some joke, like she was some joke. i trusted that both mine and pedri's warnings were enough to get them to drop it, and they had.

training went fine, and so had the preparations for the first group stage game against croatia.

it was hard to make time to see my family or sophia, but i'd text her every day after training and made sure she was adjusting fine. her and marina had gotten close, which i was grateful for. they, unlike me, had the time to explore the city and take pictures which i saw on her instagram stories.

spain vs. croatia was officially underway. i, unfortunately, did not get a chance to play, but we won regardless. and therefore i was happy regardless.

i was bombarded with a series of congratulations with my family when they were allowed on the pitch.

"congratulations!" i feel a tap on my shoulder. that was the only congratulations i wanted to hear. i turn around from the conversation i was having with a friend, my face immediately lighting up at the way she was looking at me with sincerity.

"thank you, soph. this was was just the first game though..."

"yeah, but it was my first game. that calls for a celebration..." her eyes lighten up, suggesting exactly what i'd been thinking, "ice cream!" we let out at the same time, giggling.

"i'll meet you at the hotel in an hour, yeah?"

"of course minnie," she watches me walk back to the team who were thanking the remaining fans in the stadium.

sophia

"did you enjoy the game?" i whip my head around... gavi...

i only saw him during breakfast because it was the only time the players and their families got to mingle. but he hadn't said a word to me ever since the day i've landed. i knew i was just being delusional.

"yeah, i did... you were amazing," i smile up at him. he looks down, smirking. not cockily, just enough to make my knees tremble.

"i'm glad you did. fermín said you really like football."

"i do... big fan..." gavi's comment sends me back to what pedri told me that first day at breakfast. i ask only out of curiosity, "does fermín really talk about me that often?"

"only to us. and only because we make him. he's always running to his phone after every game that we win... and it's always your contact... i saw ice cream emojis once. weird way to say congratulations, but you do you," he teases, laughing at his own joke.

i chuckle, a little embarrassed, "just a little tradition we had as children. ice cream every time he scored. can't exactly send ice cream through a parcel, can you?"

"i guess not..." his eyes settle on mine, "so ice cream today?"

"i'm supposed to meet him at the hotel in an hour." gavi looks a little disappointed. i assume i shouldn't have said anything if i wasn't going to invite him. i try to fix my mistake a little too quick, "you should come too!"

he shakes his head negatively, "oh, i don't want to impose on such a sacred tradition-" he jokes. i laugh a little before offering him an assuring smile.

"it's nothing like that. come. please?" why was i acting this way... desperate.

"okay," gavi nods in agreement before joining the rest of the team like fermín.

i make my way back to the hotel with fermín's family. i don't think fermín would mind me inviting gavi, only because they were friends too. it wasn't that serious.

i wait at the hotel lobby for both of them. gavi is there before fermín is.

"you came?" i prop myself up to look at him better. gavi takes a seat on the sofa next to me.

"of course! i wanted a taste of the tradition too," he smirks.

we both look up when the elevator dings and fermín walks out. i immediately stand up, noticing a slight irritation to his expression.

"what are you doing here?" fermín completely ignores me, his eyes burning gavi.

i notice gavi slightly nervous. i speak up, "i invited him. it's just ice cream..." i nervously add, "right?"

"right..." fermín's eyes never leave gavi's. the tension is obvious. i thought he'd be happy that i was getting along with his friend. regardless, i realize perhaps i should've asked fermín before i did such a thing.

the taxi drive to the nearest ice cream store was silent, and quite frankly, awkward. i still didn't understand why my invitation irritated fermín so much.

"2 small vanillas, please..." i didn't know fermín's german was so good. i look at him smirking, and he smiles back. it disappears when gavi talks, however, "hey i want a vanilla too."

fermín rolls his eyes, "3 vanillas."

fermín

it wasn't the fact that sophia had just met one of her favorite players, and invited him to get stupid ice cream. it's the fact that he accepted the invitation at all.

he completely ignored me when i said she was off limits. and i knew he was going to use the excuse of, "i just want to be friends with her."

that was a lie. gavi could never be 'just friends' with a girl to save his life. this time wasn't any different.

but if i said anything, i knew i would screw up the chemistry the squad already had. it would become way bigger than i wanted it to. i didn't want to say that bringing sophia to the games of her dreams was a mistake, but dear gavi was beginning to test my last nerve.

it was like i wasn't even there. they ate their ice cream while sophia started telling him about why she was into photography, and other things i zoned out for because all i could see is how punchable gavi's face looked at the moment.

the promise i made her dad- that was the only reason i was getting so defensive.