A few days later I was sitting next to Keira on our team bus. We were on the way to a friendly match against Lleida, which would be my first time to ever play with the girls. My nerves were already getting the best of me, but it was nothing compared to Keira, who was restlessly moving back and forth in her seat. Worried, I quickly swallowed the last bite of my sandwich and turned to her.

"Keira, what's wrong?"I asked her caringly.

"Nothing" Keira replied a little too fast for my liking.

"I don't believe you, Keira, come on."

She sighed loudly. "It's just... promise you won't tell anyone?"

I lifted my pinky finger in the air. "Pinky promise!"

Keira moved closer to my ear. "Lucy asked me to marry her" She whispered almost inaudibly.

"WHAT?" I exclaimed loudly which resulted to everyone turning around. I quickly waved it off, but I could still feel Lucy's eyes on me.

"Sorry, what?" I repeated quietly. "But that's good news, isn't it?"

"Yes, I guess it is. I'm just a little overwhelmed, you know?"

I nodded. "That makes sense. But you said yes, didn't you?"

"Of course, I did. I love Lucy more than anything in the world. It's just... I wish I could shout it out to the world, but she's a really private person. You're the only one from the whole team who knows, so please keep it to yourself!"

The bus made an abrupt turn and it seemed like we were getting closer and closer to our destination.

"I won't tell anyone." I promised quickly. "But you're gonna tell us eventually, right?"

Keira gave me a small smile. "Of course we will. Thank you, Emilia."

"I'm here for you, I hope you know that. I may not give the best relationship advice, but I will always listen to you."

***

My conversation with Keira still haunted me hours later, as I sat on the bench next to Ingrid and Jana Fernandez, a quiet defender, anxiously watching the game. Even though it was only a friendly against AEM Lleida, a team of the 2nd league, we knew no mercy. By the 62nd minute, we were leading eight to nil. Unfortunately, the aggression level of our opponents increased with each goal. Our opponent with the number 3 just pushed Lucy out of the penalty area, which was acknowledged by the referee with a loud whistle and a penalty for us.

"This game is a joke" Ingrid muttered annoyed. "If they keep this up, they're seriously going to hurt someone. And for what? A stupid friendly."

"I don't even want to know what happens after Lucy scores nine-nil" Jana nodded in agreement, pointing to the pitch where Lucy was getting ready to take a penalty. Our opponents lined up and unsuccessfully tried to prevent the ball from reaching its destination.

"GOAL"

On the field, our teammates ran towards each other and jumped into each other's arms. I would have loved to be among them, but I highly doubted that I would be subbed on in the next 25 minutes as Jonatan hasn't even told me to warm up.

So, all I could do was continue to follow the game from the outside. I watched as Laura dribbled the ball around any obstacles that came her way and then passed it to Alexia. The ball just missed the goal, but I could see the other team's frustration rising again.

"They better leave Jill again or I'll be ready to throw hands" Jana announced angrily.

I threw her a questioning look and was about to ask her if there was anything going on between her and Jill, when the inevitable happened. Lucy was playing the ball towards Lleida's goal area, but one of their players tripped Lucy in an attempt to stop her from scoring. Within seconds they were both laying on the ground, but while Lucy's attacker immediately rose again, she stayed down and buried her face in her hands.

"Something's wrong." Agitated, Ingrid stood up to get a better look at Lucy. Two paramedics were already rushing in her direction. Meanwhile, a visibly annoyed referee showed the attacker a red card, whereupon she stormed off the pitch without even apologizing to Lucy. The latter had meanwhile got up with the help of a concerned Keira and the paramedics.

"Shit" My jaw dropped. Loads of blood was pouring out of Lucy's nose, which she desperately tried to stop with a blood-soaked tissue.

"Emilia" I heard Jonatan call out.

"Yes?"

"You're going in for Lucy!"

Shocked, I looked at Jonatan. I hadn't moved from the bench since the warm-up two hours ago. Besides, Lucy was a defender - and I wasn't.

Jonatan clapped his hands impatiently.

"Let's go!"

I hastily did a quick stretch and jogged to the pitch where play was just resuming after Lucy left.

The next 10 minutes were relatively quiet and I couldn't shake the feeling that it was my fault, or rather the fact that Lucy was missing. When I thought about it, I hadn't had too much contact with the ball yet either. That had to change, otherwise Jonatan wouldn't substitute me in the next game.

Laura passed me the ball in the middle of the field. Determined I dribbled it around an opposing player and towards the goal. Shortly before the penalty area I suddenly found myself surrounded by opponents. Damn. Desperately I looked for a way out.

"Emilia! "I heard Mapi's voice somewhere behind me.

I turned around and passed her the ball through the legs of one of the girls who had surrounded me before running towards the goal. Mapi did the same on the other side of the field, but our opponents didn't let her go any further. A well-aimed pass from Mapi allowed me to shoot the ball towards the goal. The goalkeeper, who probably expected a shot from Mapi, desperately tried to catch the ball, but it was too late.

"YESSS!" I shouted happily.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my teammates running towards me. Mapi was the first to get to me and lifted me off the ground.

"Your first game with us and a goal right away!" she yelled. "You're unbeatable, Princesa! "

After a quick group hug and another goal from Alexia, the referee blew the whistle. 11-0 for us, five of which came from Alexia. No wonder they called her la reina. Without her, we'd be pretty much screwed.

***

A little later I entered the team bus and looked around. To my delight, I discovered four empty seats with a small table in the middle. Surely Lucy, whose nose had fortunately stopped bleeding, and Keira would keep Laura and me company. Maybe they'd even tell Laura about their engagement.

I threw my gym bag in the overhead bin and sat next to the window seat. Mentally, I reviewed the game. It could go on like that for all I cared, even if that was unrealistic of course. After all, we'd soon be facing much stronger teams, with the pre-season came to an end in about two weeks.

"You were fantastic" a familiar voice suddenly said next to me. I had been so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't notice Mapi sitting down next to me.

"Thank you, but I couldn't have done it without your assist!" I smiled, slightly confused why Mapi was sitting there, and looked at her, who was still digging through her gym bag. Since we were traveling as a team, we were all wearing the same dark blue athletic shorts and a t-shirt with a Barca logo. Like always, her hair was tied into a messy bun.

"We're celebrating on Sunday" she informed me. "Jonatan and our B team are gonna be at a friendly game, so we can do whatever we want. Eight o'clock at my house. I'll text you the address later."

"Did someone say party?" Alexia threw herself onto the two seats facing Mapi and me with Jenni following her closely.

While Alexia and Mapi were planning the upcoming party, I plugged my headphones into my ears and got my phone out of my back pocket. I had a few unread messages from Antonia, but I would deal with those later. Since our meeting two weeks ago, we had texted back and forth even more frequently, but with all the training, I just didn't have the time to see her. Pre-season was always hell, we had to practice all the time and when we weren't practising, my whole body hurt and I didn't want to leave my room.

I opened my chat with Klara. Ever since I texted her about Mapi apologizing, she hadn't replied. I wondered if she was still mad at me for leaving and decided to send her a message.

[26/08/2024 21:47:19] Emilia: Lebst du noch? ("Are you still alive?")

This time she didn't have to wait long.

[26/08/2024 21:49:01] Klara: Sorry, hatte eine stressige Woche. Ist Mapi endlich netter geworden? ("Sorry, it's been a stressful week. Has Mapi become nicer in the meantime?")

[26/08/2024 21:49:59] Emilia: Sie sitzt gerade neben mir;) ("She's sitting next to me right now ;)")

[26/08/2024 21:50:52] Emilia: Ich glaube, wir sind jetzt Freunde??? Oder wenigstens nett zueinander. ("I guess we're friends now??? Or at least we're civil with each other.")

I wondered if Mapi and I were actually friends. Ever since she brought me to the metro station, we hadn't really had any interactions apart from some minor ones in training sessions, but it was definitely better than before. 

[26/08/2024 21:51:28] Klara: WAS? Meine beste Freundin ist mit DER Mapi Leon befreundet?("WHAT? My best friend is friends with THE Mapi Leon?")

I smiled. So everything was back to normal. We texted back and forth for some time, but I noticed how my eyes were getting heavier. Finally, I fell into a short but deep sleep with my head eventually resting on Mapi's shoulder.

Liked by marialeonn16, lucybronze and 41'983 other

emiliacortes20: first win & first goal :) thank you for the amazing assist @marialeonn16 <3

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marialeonn16: the first one many, princesa

alexiaputellas: <3

buehlklara: Gratuliere!! ("congratulations")

lucybronze: you finished my job;)

keirawalsh: goat

Author's note: I tried something new with German, which way to you prefer? German with a translation or a bold font when something is in German?

Also, stay tuned for the next chapter, something is about to happen... ;)