Fever Dream ~ Neymar Jr

Chapter 13

2014

"Congratulations Livvie!" I heard my brother yell as I run up to the bleachers to join them. It was my first time playing and he had come to see me. I was subbed in early in the second half and I actually managed an assist in stoppage time! "You were amazing!" He told me, hugging me.

"I'm so proud of you Livs." Marina told me.

I couldn't believe what I was feeling. My heart was racing so fast, I felt it would jump out of my body. I headed to the locker room to grab my stuff and quickly change and saw my teammates in various stages of undress.

I quickly put my tracksuit above my sweaty kit and walked back out. Me being the only girl in the team meant I was the only one that didn't have the luxury of a shower after the game or practice, although Martin would always make the proposition of me showering in the communal showers with all of them.

I fished my phone out of my bag, wanting to text Neymar. He was as excited as I was about my first game and I knew he'd be waiting to hear from me, even if it was late at night for him. I saw I had a missed call from him already and called him back, but to my dismay he didn't pick up.

I found Michael and Marina hanging out with Alex and Rafaella in the parking lot.

Rafa gave me a hug. "I've managed to grab a video of your assist Livvie." She told me. "Already sent it to my brother." She added and showed me her phone. I saw Neymar had texted back about 20 different emojis.

"Thanks." I told her. "Peter should be out soon." I told Alex.

"Are we meeting later? We need to celebrate." Rafa said. Me and Alex looked at each other. These days it wasn't easy to have Peter and Marina in the same room.

Alex gave me a look that said, maybe let's make an exception?

"Sounds good. Let's meet in an hour at O'Riley's." I suggested an Irish pub near campus.

When we reached the campus, Marina left us to go to her dorm and get ready so it was just me and Michael. "I'm gonna go for a shower." I told him, as I unlocked the door for him to go into my room.

I had tried Neymar one more time but he didn't answer. I showered quickly, wanting to get ready as fast as possible so I'd have time to try him again before we had to leave.

When I reached my dorm room I saw my brother chilling on my bed, a huge bouquet of flowers on my office. I reached for it quickly and saw the note from Neymar.

"How is that even possible?" I asked. "How did he arrange this so quickly?" I felt my cheeks get hot. He continued to surprise me with showing so abundantly how much he cared.

"He's got moves, on and off the pitch, I'll give him that." Michael said when my phone rang.

"It's him." I told him.

"Alright, I'll be waiting for you in the lobby." My brother told me, leaving the room.

"Hey." I said, as soon as Neymar's face appeared on the screen. I took the bouquet of flowers on my other hand, burying my face in them. They smelled wonderful. "These are amazing. You're amazing." I told him.

"No, you were amazing." He told me. "Your assist was so good. The way you dribble past three guys there. You've already improved so much since Barcelona! I wish I could have seen the whole game."

"Me too." I told him. "Oh baby, it was amazing. I've never felt like this before. Is this how it always is?" I asked him. I knew the games he played in front of thousands of people, with so much on the line were nothing like being a substitute in a local league in a small state but still, I was willing to bet the feeling was similar. When you play, you forget who's watching.