^not sure if I'm more jealous of Hector or Thierry in this pic xD
Once Hector and Granit had left us, I turned to look at Thierry, who was observing me silently.
"So, I signed Neymar this afternoon, he joins us next week after his return from Brazil," he stated.
I couldn't help but chuckle a little.
"Nothing like being blunt about it," I responded. "Why are you telling me this?"
"As you can imagine, we paid quite a lot for him," he said. "But Barça also offered to take you, plus a small fee, in exchange for Neymar. I turned it down, of course."
I stared at him incredulously.
"Me?" I repeated.
"You, Nia Ramos," he chuckled. "I just wanted you to realise I'm not the only one who can see your potential."
"I'm not ready to leave yet anyway," I shrugged. "I know I'm from Barcelona, but..."
I broke off, not sure if I wanted to express how I was feeling to him. He waited patiently for me to speak, until I decided I could trust him.
"But Arsenal is my home now," I finished.
"Your blood's about as red as mine, I guess," he chuckled. "And maybe now is not the time for you to leave. But when the time does come, don't be scared to take a chance. I promise I won't try to hold you back from your dream, and you'll always find your way back home when you're ready."
I nodded, taking his words seriously.
"You did, I guess," I said.
"I did," he smiled.
"Thank you," I said honestly. Thierry had surprised me with his words, I hadn't expected him to be so thoughtful.
"Now go and enjoy the dinner," he grinned, patting me on the back. "And if you must date Sanchez, for heaven's sake don't ever break up! I'll be furious with you if you ruin your chemistry."
"Wait how did you know?" I asked him, incredulously.
"I know everything, it's in my job description," he smirked. "Now go!"
All of the others had already arrived, since I'd been talking to Thierry for quite some time. My seat was somehow between Hector, and none other than Neymar himself. Across from us was Alexis, Granit, and Mesut. This would be an interesting dinner, to say the least.
"Nice of you to join us, Nia," smirked Granit, who was the first to notice my arrival at the table. "Been chatting the boss up again, I see."
I glared at him.
"Ha Ha, look how hard everyone's laughing at your funny joke," I said sarcastically.
The other guys chuckled, whilst Granit rolled his eyes at me. I took my seat between Hector and Neymar, and turned to smile at the latter. He returned the smile cheekily, but before either of us could speak, Alexis introduced us.
"Maybe you'll stop begging me to introduce you to Neymar Jr now, Nia," he laughed.
"Hey!" I protested. "At what point did you hear me begging you?"
"You nearly died when Lex told you he might be transferring to Arsenal," Mesut chuckled, agreeing with his friend. "That was pretty funny."
"Oh, that explains it," Neymar chuckled.
"Explains what?" Asked Alexis, confused by his words.
"You couldn't wait for Alexis to introduce us, you had to come find me yourself, huh?"
"Hey, before you get cocky, let me just remind you who's currently winning the game."
Neymar's hazel eyes were alight with amusement.
"Winning the first game doesn't win you the title, you should know that."
"Alright then, where did you two meet before?" Asked Mesut, laughing at the two of us.
"Nia, you were literally talking this afternoon about meeting Neymar, what happened between now and then?" Alexis chuckled, glancing at Neymar, who was sitting with a smug look on his face, evidently enjoying the confusion he'd caused.
"I just bumped into him when I was going to look for you guys this afternoon," I gestured to Hec and Granit. "And then we talked too long, so I went to get ready for dinner after that."
"Oh, of course, I've just remembered," Mesut said, winking at me. "How was your date, Nia?"
My eyes met Alexis' across the table, both of our cheeks turning red. Of course Mesut would know, he's Alexis' best friend.
"It was good, thanks," I responded. "Would anyone else like to ask me that question, or shall I issue a statement about it?"
"I would," Neymar said.
I turned to look at him, taking in his dark blue button up, and black tie, and his hair, which was messily styled, but somehow looked perfect on him.
"My date was good, thanks," I repeated, blankly.
What else did he expect me to say?
The other guys chuckled at the stupidity of the question and answer, but were suddenly distracted by Reiss and Eddie further up the table, who had decided to balance their cups and cutlery on top of one another, whilst we continued to wait for our food to arrive.
I felt Neymar's hand resting on my thigh, and I looked at him in surprise. He leaned closer, so he could whisper in my ear without being heard.
"One day, you and I are going on a date," he said. "And it'll be better than just 'good', I promise you."
His breath fanning on my bare skin made me shiver, although wether from the cold, or something else, I couldn't tell. I turned to meet his eyes, and he stared back at me, his expression unreadable. I wanted to tell him no, because I knew that I liked Alexis, but my heart refused to cooperate, so I didn't say anything. Instead, I felt my muscles widen into a smile, which he immediately returned.
Neymar did not move his hand from my thigh until dinner came, and the electricity his simple touch created distracted me from being able to converse normally with the other guys. Of course, he noticed this, and every time I went to say something, he moved his hand around, squeezing my leg gently. My own attempts to move his hand were to no avail - of course he was stronger than I was. Finally, I excused myself from the table briefly, and walked outside to the garden to catch some air.
I leaned against the wall, and breathed deeply, feeling all the frustration of having my own body betray me. What was this boy doing to me? Our game wouldn't last very long if I couldn't control my own body.
I didn't have very long to myself.
Neymar startled me by appearing by my side, having passed quietly through the side door that led into the garden.
"I believe that's one all?" He asked, nonchalantly.
I shook my head at him, unable to keep the smile off my face.
"What makes you think I want to see you at all after that?" I raised an eyebrow.
"The smile on your face says everything, Nia," he chuckled. "I know you want more than that."
"I'm going back inside," I retorted. "If you do anything else during dinner, I swear I'll smack you."
"Noted," he nodded, with a smile. "I'll be back later."
He disappeared in the opposite direction to the dining hall, whilst I turned to go back inside again. Hector gave me a questioning look as he noticed my return, but said nothing.
"You okay, Nia?" Asked Alexis, looking at me with concern.
"I'm fine, thanks Lex," I smiled at him.
"Where did Neymar go?" Asked Hector, looking at me.
Not for the first time, I wished for the gift of being able to lie to my best friend. As it was, it was a physical incapability for either one of us to lie to the other. At least some of the truth had to come out.
"I saw him outside, he was heading back towards the other side of the hotel."
And then, as inspiration struck...
"He said he had a call from his mum, or something."
This had exactly the effect I was hoping for.
"Aw, he's a mummy's boy, how sweet is that," grinned Mesut.
"Maybe he has to tell her he's transferring?" Suggested Granit. "So cute."
"He is so getting it when he gets back," chuckled Alexis.
Hector's eye caught mine, and he chuckled a little, shaking his head in slight confusion. Somehow, he knew that wasn't the whole truth, but he didn't push it.
Neymar didn't return until our dinner had finally been served, a Spanish dish that both looked and smelled amazing, and was definitely worth the wait. Neymar glanced at the other guys in evident confusion, as they smirked at him. His eyes shot to mine, questioning what I had done in his absence.
"How did the call with your mum go?" I asked him innocently.
His eyes widened, but he played along.
"Uh, well thanks."
The guys immediately began teasing him, and he groaned, rolling his eyes.
"Why did I agree to transfer here again?" He asked, playfully.
"Uh, that would be me," Alexis grinned, raising his hand.
The boys fell to discussing the transfer market, leaving me space to turn to Neymar, who was already looking at me.
"Ten points to Gryffindor?" I asked.
"Well played," he nodded, smiling. "Don't think this ends here, though."
"Of course not," I laughed.
For the rest of the dinner, we behaved like normal people, and it turned out I was actually glad I was sitting next to Neymar, as it meant we got to know each other quickly. He talked about his life in Brazil, his mum, dad, sister Rafaella, and his two closest friends, Gil and Jô.
"How much will you miss playing for Barça?" I asked him.
"A lot," he admitted. "Leo Messi is such a hero, and I've gotten really close with him, and Luis Suarez as well. Also, the thing about Arsenal is there's no Brazilian players on the team like there's been on Barcelona, and Brazil will always be my home."
"That's true," I nodded. "We're mostly Spanish and French, with a few others here and there."
Neymar chuckled.
"On the plus side, I'll get to play with Alexis again, I've missed him a lot. He was basically my closest friend when he was at Barça."
"Yes, so he's been telling me," I smiled. "How's your English, by the way?"
"Uh, non-existent," he said. "You might have to help me out. I understand it, most of the time, but I can barely speak it at all."
"I'll help you out," I chuckled. "At least you speak Spanish, or you'd be completely thrown in the deep end."
"Can you speak Portuguese?" He asked.
"A little," he shrugged. "But it's pretty shaky. I'll help you with your English if you teach me better Portuguese?"
"Deal," he smiled, his hazel eyes laughing at me playfully, something they seemed to be doing all the time. But I could definitely get used to that.
~.~.~.~
The dinner party was over. Neymar and Alexis were catching up with each other, and most of the others were once again in the pool, leaving Hector, Granit, and I, who were way too exhausted to even consider swimming. Granit was, in fact, in his own hotel room, presumably dead to the world, whilst Hector and I were playing Portal 2 in my room.
"So, I'd love to know what game you two are playing at," Hector said to me, his eyes focussed on the game.
"Us?" I asked. "We're playing Portal."
"I'm talking about you and Neymar, idiota," he stated. "The poor guy was so embarrassed when you told everyone he was calling his mum."
"He wasn't, in fact, but believe me, he deserved everything he got," I chuckled. "But please don't ask me about it, Hec."
"I just feel sorry for Alexis, he's gonna wish he never introduced you two," Hector said.
"What?" I asked. "No, it's not like that. And he didn't introduce us, we'd already met. Did you not listen to that bit?"
Hector shrugged.
"Nia, I know you better than you think I do. Just be careful, okay? You can play all the games you want, as long as they're mind games, not heart games, yeah?"
"I get you," I nodded.
All the deep talk had made me loose concentration on the game, and suddenly my character was falling into electrocuted water.
"Nia, seriously?" Hector complained.
"You can take the blame for that," I laughed. "Stop talking about boys if you want me to pay attention."
I stood up, laying my Xbox controller on the couch.
"I'm going to grab water, do you want some?"
"I'm fine," Hector responded. "But thanks."
I wandered into the mini kitchen of the hotel room I was staying in, my mind occupied with Hector's words. I understood his meaning, but I was pretty sure I wasn't playing with my heart. I liked Alexis, Neymar didn't affect that. As I began to fill my glass with tap water, I heard noise and conversation out in the living area. Shortly afterwards, Hector entered the kitchen.
"Your fan club's here," he stated nonchalantly. "They want to go out for dessert."
"My fan club?" I asked, frowning.
"Ney and Lex, who else?"
"Talk of the devil."
"Devils," he corrected me. "Well, are you up for it?"
I sighed. I still felt exhausted, and I had a lot on my mind that I needed to sort out. But touring only happened once in a long time, and there was no guarantee we'd all still be around for the next one.
"Why not," I shrugged, suddenly looking forward to the idea. "I could do with some late night ice cream."
"Who doesn't want some of that in their life," Hector grinned. "Come on then."
"You're coming too then, right?" I asked him.
I wasn't quite sure I was ready to deal with those two by myself.
"Of course," Hector chuckled. "Someone's gotta be there to keep the third wheel company, whoever he ends up being."
"Oh, shut it, you, nothing serious is going on," I complained. "With either of them."
We laughed together, and he pushed me towards the door of the kitchen.
Alexis and Neymar were waiting idly in the living room, and smile appeared on both their faces as I entered, causing me to smile too.
"Neymar you've been signed for less than a day and you're already ruining our diets with dessert," I chuckled.
"Hey, it was Alexis' idea!" He defended himself. "Anyway, it seems like the four of us are the only ones not in the pool tonight."
"Granit's in bed," I informed them, "but yes, I think everyone else is swimming. Where shall we go?"
Alexis and Neymar glanced at each other.
"Is that place we used to visit still there?" Lex asked his long time friend.
"I think I basically keep it in business," Neymar chuckled. "Let's go there then. You guys will love this place, it's amazing."
A/N: Please vote if you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading :)