see you later // Pablo Gavi

Chapter 3

𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒔; 𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆!

𝐈 𝐓𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐌𝐘 𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈'𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐔𝐓, 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐌 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓, 𝐒𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐌𝐄, 𝐀𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐄, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈 𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐓 𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐖𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄. Once we're seated with our meals and drinks, Aggie asks, "So, Em, what's the concern? Why'd you take us out for dinner anyway? There was a reason, right?"

"Yeah," I nod. "So, my parents broke some interesting news to me. They're moving to Barcelona." Charli is a full-out Barcelona fan, like me, but Aggie is loyal to Paris Saint-Germain, understandably. She was born and raised in Paris. Not to mention how good PSG is.

"What?!" Charli practically shouts. "So, are you going with them? Wasn't your plan to stay here? But how could you turn down moving to Barcelona?!"

"Well, that's just the thing," I sigh, glancing at the floor. "I want to go, but I don't want to leave you guys, at all. I have already had to say goodbye to a close friend, years ago, when I left Bilbao. I don't want to have to do that again, but at the same time, how can I turn down moving to Barcelona? I mean, I could go to college there and get an apartment there and everything, too, so that's not a problem. The problem is that I don't know if I can leave you two. I love you guys. You're like sisters to me."

Aggie and Charli exchanged thoughtful looks. "I do have to admit, I would hate to have to have you leave, because you're right. We are like three close sisters. Especially since none of us have siblings..." Aggie says.

"So I just don't know what to do..." I sigh.

There is silence while we eat, and finally Charli looks up and says bluntly, "Wait, Em, I just thought of the most obviously solution."

"What?" I look up, eager to hear it.

She grins. "You're not the only one who is an adult here now. Why don't we just all move to Barcelona?"

"Do you guys have passports?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

"Yeah..." Aggie says quietly.

"Yup! Remember that time I went to Germany for a vacation?" Charli says excitedly.

"Oh yeah," I nod with a grin. "Well, that'd be a great idea! What do you guys think?"

"I don't know..." Aggie says. "I've never lived anywhere but in France."

"C'mon, Aggie," Charli grins. "It'll be good. A good new experience. Your parents live in Spain now, anyways, don't they?"

"Yeah, but a while ago, they moved way south, to Granada. So that wouldn't even really matter, because we'd just be going to Barcelona."

"Yeah, just Barcelona!" I cut in. "It's not that hard, and we'll be with you. So can we do this? Please?"

"Sure," Aggie finally sighs, and me and Charli practically cheer out loud there in that restaurant.

When I get home, I tell my parents our plan, and how we'll get a flat together in Barcelona, and I'll go to college. They seem pretty impressed with our plan, saying it'll be good for us, which is a huge encouragement.

Then I set to getting out of the college I was planning on going to here in Montpellier. That isn't a very hard process, which is good. Then I go to my room and keep packing. I'll have to get rid of a lot of stuff, unfortunately, because I don't think any of us will be paying for a moving truck or anything.

I'm really pumped. I think this will be great. I have high hopes for my life. I have high hopes for our lives in Barcelona.

I text our friend groupchat, saying that my parents plan to leave on September 1, and that maybe we should just do the same thing. Both agree to that, Aggie a little more cautiously, but she agrees, luckily.

I know she's nervous now, but I think she's just being irrational. It'll be fine. She might just be one of those people who are a little scared of change. Maybe the only reason why I'm not is because I'm so used to things always changing in my life.

Fifteen days before September 1, I'm on the phone with Charli one night. "So, who is your favorite Barcelona player? You've gotta tell me, now that we are moving there."

I can hear her giggle on the other end as she says, "Are you asking which I think is most talented, or which I have a huge crush on?"

I grin. "Who is your Barcelona crush?"

"Oh my God, Em. Isn't it obvious? Pedri!"

I laugh. "You like Pedri?"

"Yeah..."

"He's hot, true. Plus he's got the kicks on the pitch, doesn't he?"

She laughs, "Well, yeah, he does!"

"Hey! And you're almost twenty, right?"

"Yeah, I'm nineteen, and my birthday is September 15."

"So you're like almost Pedri's age. You could marry him!"

"Oh, shut up!" Charli says, but she's giggling like a little girl. "Well, Em, I know why you're asking me like this!"

"Huh? Why?"

"You've got a Barcelona crush too, don't you?"

I grin. "Not really. There is one player, though, that I might like. But it doesn't matter, because I don't spend a lot of time thinking about that sort of thing..."

"Oh c'mon, Em. You're such a buzzkill. Just tell me who you like! I know you have a crush on a footballer."

"It's not a crush. I'm not, like, fourteen."

"Okay, which is the one that you think is the hottest, then, if you don't like the word crush, because it sounds immature?"

I roll my eyes, grinning, before muttering, "Gavi isn't bad."

"Who?! Gavi?" She asks loudly.

"Yeah..."

"I agree. I mean, Pedri is better, but I agree. But why do you think that?"

"Pedri is not better. And he's just handsome, is all. He's a handsome guy. And he's like the king of the pitch."

"Nah, no, he's not. Maybe, Lewandowski is the master of Barcelona, or Dembele, but it's not fair to say Gavi is. He's a newby!"

"Pedri is too!"

"I never said Pedri is the king of the pitch! He's not, and neither is Gavi."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever you say. Either way, you gotta admit that both of those guys are handsome and have impressive talent."

"Yeah," she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice. "You're right. I do have to admit that, for sure."