.:Chapter Twelve Point Five:.
♚Neymar's POV♚
I woke up with a start, my alarm blaring at me from its place on the bedside table on the other side of the double bed.
"8:00 am." I groaned to myself, profusely wishing I could go back to sleep as I turned it off aggressively. It was match day, Brazil versus Mexico, and the entire team was meeting up for breakfast. Why they decided on 9:00 am was beyond me considering the match started at 1:00 pm. I could've slept the time away.
I swung my legs to the side and sat up on the bed. For a couple of minutes, I just slouched there with my eyes closed, occasionally swaying from side to side, letting my body slowly fall back to sleep.My alarm rang again, nearer my ear this time, and awakened me with a jolt. I straightened my back and sat bolt upright, my eyes flew open as I turned to glare at the alarm clock that was wailing continuously.
"Puta." I grumbled darkly as I turned it off, but then realised I was swearing at an alarm clock. Sighing loudly and swiping my face with my hand, I stood up and shuffled to the bathroom.
By the time I was done showering and getting ready, it was 8:30 am and the faint smell of toast was travelling upstairs. I jogged down the steps, taking two at a time because of how hungry I was.
"Good morning Neymar!" Rafaella smiled brightly as she fried an egg on the pan. "Breakfast?" She nodded her head at the table behind her, which was full of an assortment of breakfast goods. My mouth watered at the sight and my stomach growled in agreement.
"Good morning Rafa..." I replied skeptically. Normally, Rafa would only do something out of her way for someone when she wanted something really badly. "What do you want this time?" I leaned my elbow against the top of the chair.
She gasped. "Can't a girl make a delicious breakfast for her dearly beloved brother out of the pure kindness in her heart?" She emphasised the compliments.
"Not if it has anything to do with you." I raised an eyebrow as I threw a grape into my mouth.
"Fine." She gave up on maintaining a perfect posture and sighed. "Can you take me to meet the Dos Santos brothers today?" She pleaded with her puppy dog eyes.
"Giovani and Jonathan? Why?"
"Uh, no one can deny they're drop dead gorgeous." She clicked her fingers in a zigzag formation on the last three words.
"Uh, I can."
"Uh, well you're just weird."
"Uh, no, you are." I retorted smartly whilst popping another grape in my mouth. They were so good. "And no you can't see the Dos Santos brothers." I finalised, putting an end to the argument.
"Stop eating all the food!" She screamed and started hitting me with a random book. "It's not for you anymore!"
"You're hitting me with a book called 'Peace on Earth'! Will you stop?!" I tried to get away, but each time she'd grab me and hit me harder. "And what? Are you going to eat all that food by yourself?"
"No of course not. I'm going to eat it with a friend." She stopped hitting me and straightened out her clothes.
"And what friend would that be?" I scoffed and folded my arms.
"Peyton." She said simply and strutted out of the kitchen, leaving me to dwell in my shock.
"Oh and here's my ticket." She popped her head around the door frame and gave me a small, rectangular piece of paper. "Peyton and I are going to watch the match in the tv room." She had a smug smile on her face and in that moment, we both knew that she had won.
"Wait, wait, wait! What's Peyton Adamson doing in Brazil?" I asked her incredulously. Last time I checked, Peyton was snoozing peacefully back in Rafa's dorm room in London. Not within a 50 mile radius of me.
Rafa gave me a flat look. "Name a major event that's happening in our country right now."
Realisation flashed across my features. "Oh." I said sheepishly.
"Yeah, oh." She mocked. "She's coming to support her most favourite player in the whole, wide world. Gee, I wonder who that could be." She tapped her chin in mock thought and then turned around and walked back out of the kitchen.
"Okay. Looks like I'll be out of the house today." I said to myself as I took a final grape and picked up my car keys from the glass bowl in the hallway.
"Adeus Rafa!" I shouted out loud in a general direction since I had no idea where she had gotten to.
"Adeus brother!" A voice shouted out from somewhere downstairs.
Chuckling to myself at my sister's abnormal, but fairly normal, behaviour, I started the engine of my car and heard the familiar crunching of gravel beneath the tyres as I left the driveway.
The cafe where we were all meeting was a good fifteen minutes away; it was somewhere close to the city and boasted a number of scrumptious breakfasts and lunches. I heard their hot chocolates were amazing, but who's going to have a hot drink in the midst of Summer?
As I drove, I thought about everything. I thought about my parents and how they were doing, I thought about my friends and if they were enjoying themselves, whatever they were doing, I thought about my son and wondered if he was proud of me. I even thought about Milena, what she was doing, who she was with, how she was feeling. It seemed as if my life revolved around her now, as if she was the Sun in my galaxy, the one who brought light and strength, happiness and loving. I guess she did bring me all these things, but what am I saying? I haven't even known her for long. Maybe I'm building up a perfect image of her in my mind. A perfect girl who'll bring me out of my sorrows. Not that I'm sad, but being single can get a little lonely sometimes. Whenever I saw her, I instantly became a hypnotised fool, was that normal? I wondered if she felt the same way, or if this was a one-sided feeling. I prayed it wasn't.
I stopped at a traffic light. An old couple was slowly hobbling their way across the road, leaning on each other for support, maybe in a metaphorical sense as well. Their hands were clasped together, like a magnetic force that refused them to let go. When they were safely on the pavement, they shared a small smile full of love and continued on their way, not once looking back at the bundle of cars and pollution fumes behind them.
The traffic lights turned green, and I drove along the road again. I wished for a love as strong as theirs. Only they knew how many hardships they had to face, and now it doesn't matter because they'll always have each other. I longed for that, and hoped one day I'd get it.
I spotted the cafe and parked my car on the side. I could see the majority of the team inside, laughing and having a good time. David stood up and shook his head around for a bit, his giant hair waving and flopping everywhere, which caused an outburst of laughter from the group. I lightly chuckled and looked down; they sure were a lively bunch.
It seems as if they'd spotted me through the glass windows of the building, because when I looked back up at them, they were beckoning me over with wide grins on their faces.
"Olá pessoal!" I greeted them in Portuguese. Whole-hearted replies flew back at me, some strained because of the interrupting laughter. I'm guessing they hadn't ordered yet since there was no food on the table.
"When did you guys get here?" I asked.
"Not too long ago. Don't worry, we haven't ordered yet. Just waiting for Dani." Marcelo winked, answering my unvoiced question, and ruffled my hair, which I was quick to smooth back again after swatting his hand away. This was the first time in months my hair was actually looking good and my hairdresser hadn't botched it up. But I was thinking of dying it, perhaps blonde since yellow is the colour of our kits.
"Has he texted anyone of his-" I was going to say 'whereabouts' but I was cut off by my phone ringing. It was a text from the latecomer himself.
From: MI AMIGO MEJOOOOOOOR
I'm outside and I'm going to make a grand entrance okay? Don't tell anyone, it's a surprise. See you in a few seconds :)))
"Who is it Juninho? Found yourself a pretty lady already?" David teased, using my nickname, as I put my phone away. Oh, if only they knew...
"When the time is right, dear friend. When the time is right." I clutched my heart and pretended to sob furiously into Oscar's shoulder as he stroked my head, his other hand clutching his heart too, along with the rest of the table. David nodded solemnly and also pretended to weep. A few moments later, we all burst out laughing, something we've been seeming to do a lot lately. This whole thing originated from when we were playing charades with David Brazil and he'd tried to act out a movie (we still don't know which movie by the way), and he'd performed it like the way we'd just done but ended up pinching his nipple when he'd tried to clutch his heart. He screamed so loud and for so long that the neighbours thought we were abusing him and called the police. It's safe to say, we never played charades with him ever again.
"Oh that never gets old." Willian wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, he'd been laughing that much.
Suddenly the door flew open and Dani walked in. Okay, more like... shimmied in. There were dancers all around him and a tall person at the back of the group was throwing confetti everywhere. A trumpeter was playing a snazzy tune to the right of him, to which Dani was shimmying along to. The whole scene looked like something from the movie Madagascar, or a street party in Rio compacted into a few people. So this was the 'grand entrance' he was referring to.
The cafe owner came running out of the back room. "What? What is this? What are you-" The confetti thrower threw confetti in his face to get him to stop talking.
There was silence as everyone stared at the scene in front of them. I blinked. And then...
"DANI!" David roared and ran to join him, encouraging the trumpeter to play more music so he could dance. Well, 'dance'. We all went up to join the fiasco, and soon the small cafe started slowly filling up with more and more people from the streets.
Even the cafe owner decided to join. "Anybody hungry?" He yelled over the music. Everybody cheered his way. "Claudio's Cafe will serve YOU!" He bellowed and everyone swiftly crowded him over the counter, screaming their orders at him.
"Wow Daniel." I patted him on the shoulder as we danced. "You sure do know how to make a great entrance."
"Ah yes, I am, as they say, the keeng of entrances." He emphasised the 'keeng' as he waved his hands in the air and took a dramatic bow.
"Keeng?" I asked, giggling.
"Sim, keeng." I blinked. "You know, like King, but keeng..." He trailed off in the end, searching my face for even a hint of realisation.
"Ohhhhh!" I chuckled.
"It's Italian - I didn't expect you to understand." He ruffled my hair (what was it with people ruffling my hair today?) and went to order some food for himself.
"What sort of Italian?" I murmured to myself.
As I was fixing my hair, I noticed the door open and close in my peripheral vision. Thinking nothing of it, I turned around to get some water since I was getting kind of thirsty from all this dancing. That, and the heat was really beating down on us today, and the fact that we were all squished into a tiny cafe really didn't help the situation. As soon as I turned around, I bumped into someone, accidentally whacking their face with my arm.
"I'm so sorry! It was an accident! Are you..." I asked the person frantically, but trailed off when I saw who it was.
"Neymar?" She questioned incredulously. She seemed surprised to see me here, in a good way.
"Milena! How are you?" I asked her as my face lit up, pulling her into a hug. Woah, where did I get the extra confidence from? She smelt like apples, my favourite scent, and I couldn't help but snuggle into her a little bit more. Her hair was left open today, and tickled my cheeks softly. Her small arms made their way around my neck, pulling me closer into the embrace. I wondered if she could feel my heartbeat through the thin material of my white t-shirt; I wouldn't be surprised if it was beating at 1000 miles per hour.
"I'm good thanks." She smiled as she pulled away, making me long for her once more. "How are you?"
"Nervous for the match today." I clasped my hands together in an attempt to stop me from lunging out and pulling her into my arms again. I couldn't help it, it felt like electricity just flowing through our bodies. Like an addictive electricity, with sparks here and there, sparks that I never want to stop feeling.
"Don't be. I know you'll do great today." She lightly punched my shoulder to humour the situation.
"And what if I don't? You'll resort to violence?" I asked as I jokingly held my shoulder as if I was in serious pain.
"I guess we'll have to wait and see then. These guns might just come at you." She winked as she held up her arm and flexed it, showing me her biceps. I poked it.
"What guns?" I laughed as I continued to poke her nonexistent muscles. "Do I need a magnifying glass to see them?"
"Oh shut up." She put her arm down and pushed me, but I could see the ghost of a smile on her lips.
"These are the big guns." I lifted up my own arm and flexed, the muscle bulging. Milena's eyes bulged too, seemingly glued to my arm. She poked it.
"Woah it's not squishy." She spoke as if she was hypnotised.
I chuckled, grabbing her hand since her pokes were leaving a red mark because of her nails. She blushed. "It's not meant to be." I whispered to her as if I was talking to a child.
Suddenly, I had an idea.
"Are you going to the match today?" I asked her, all the while patting my pockets for the ticket that Rafa had given me.
"Nah, it was sold out before I even got the chance to look." She pouted adorably, her cheeks puffing out, and I had to fight the urge to squeeze them.
Bingo.
"Well what would you say if I told you I have a spare ticket?"
"Really?" Her eyes lit up, Actually, her entire face lit up in excitement. I nodded solemnly. "Well I'd scream and hug you to death! I have to support my country, you know." She added the last sentence as an afterthought.
"Yes, yes you do." I nodded as I handed her the ticket. "But obviously you're going to support me the most because I'm your favourite footballer." I pretended to flick my imaginary long hair back over my shoulder.
"Yeah. Obviously." She scoffed but then broke out into a grin and shocked me by engulfed me into a tight hug.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" Her voice came out muffled. My stiff body soon relaxed and I wrapped my arms around her too.
"It's okay." I said into her hair and for a good while we just stood there, basking in each other's warmth as everyone around us partied on.
"Hey Mil!" Someone came and called out to her. Milena let go and turned to face the mysterious figure, and suddenly I felt cold, even though it was absolutely boiling.
"We're goin- Oh, did I interrupt something? I'm sorry I'll just, er, come back later." She fumbled over her words and hastily left. There was something about her that seemed familiar...
"Who's that?" I asked Milena.
"My best friend." She glowed as she said that, like she was proud of her. "Her name's Melissa."
That rang a bell. Melissa...
"Wait, Alcàntara?" I asked her.
"Yeah!" She exclaimed, shocked. I suppose I would be too if she just happened to know the surnames of any of my best friends. But this was different. "How do you know her?" She asked as she scrunched up her eyebrows in confusion.
"She's dating a friend of mine."
"Marc Bartra?"
"Yeah!"
"How do you know Marc?" She asked. I just stared at her.
"We play for the same team." She looked at me, even more confused than before. "FC Barcelona..." That seemed to clarify it because her jaw slackened as she stared.
"Wait YOU play for FC Barcelona?"
"Yeah... Why? Is that a crime?" I asked her jokingly.
"No it's just... How have I never seen you before?"
I shrugged. "Fate works in weird ways."
She put her arm around my shoulders. "True words, my brother." She attempted to sound smooth and jazzy, even beating her fist on her chest and throwing out the peace sign.
"Did you just brother-zone me?" My mouth opened and I placed my hand on my chest in mock offense.
"Maybe I did, brother. Maybe I did." She updated her 'cool' look by pretending to smoke, blowing out imaginary smoke rings.*
After a few seconds, we burst out into a fit of giggles. "What are we doing?" Milena asked as she clutched her stomach.
"I don't know." I couldn't keep the laughter in as it forcibly bubbled out of my mouth. I think I was always laughing around Milena. Well, either laughing or smiling. I was always happy, never upset or bored.
"I want to give you a nickname. Something no one else calls you." I mused as I rubbed my chin and looked at her closely.
"Then I want to give you a nickname too." She mimicked me, rubbing her chin at the same time I did and tapping her feet along with mine as well.
"How about Lena?" I offered after a few minutes of thinking.
She made a face. "Lena? No one calls me Lena."
"That's the point." I flicked her forehead and gave her a dumb look.
"Okay okay, you can call me Lena. But I'm going to call you... JayJay." She crossed her arms.
"JayJay." I felt the word roll off of my tongue, tasting it. It was foreign, but a good foreign. I guess everything was good when it came to Lena though. No, more than good - it was absolutely amazing. "I like it."
"Good." She clapped happily. "Lena and JayJay. This is where our adventure begins."
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Puta - Bitch (Portuguese)
Olá pessoal - Hey guys (Portuguese)
Dedicated to obi-wan-kenobii because she is just life tbh.
Lena and Jayjay omg I just. wow.
A liddle bit o' Neylena action fo' you der. They're so cute :')
I want my own Neymar *sigh*
* I am in NO WAY trying to glorify smoking. Yes, I do understand that it is quite serious and leads to serious health concerns and in most cases, death. However, please don't tell me that you've never 'pretended to smoke' with your fingers before because, trust me, we all have.
Stay lovely, my lovelies.
-plaidskinnyjeans
P.S: David Brazil is a friend of the Brazilian NT btw :) the story about him is fake but idk it seems like something he'd do lmao
P.P.S: I know I'm delayed but OVER 100 VOTES AW YOU GUUUUUUYYYYYSSSSS THE LOVE I HAVE FOR YOUS IS UNREAL :')