Fever Dream ~ Neymar Jr

Chapter 16

2015

Neymar's POV

My phone rang and it was a text from Dani saying he was about to leave the house. I got up quickly, realizing I was very late. And the reason for that was I really, really didn't want to go.

Ever since this season started, people would constantly bother me with questions like: "Where is Neymar?", "Why don't we see you at parties anymore?" On one hand, sure I was more distant than I used to be, but it's not like I was just a party boy before!

We were in the middle of one of the most successful seasons of the club's history. With Luis Suarez coming aboard, me, him and Messi were already being praised as one of the best forward trios in history. It was amazing, things going so well for the team and for me. I felt like I was finally finding a home in Barcelona, both the city and the team.

There was only one thing missing, though, in many ways it was the most important thing. Olivia. I had seen her for hours only after New Year's. It was not enough, not by a long shot. I missed the summer, when we were together in the Brazilian compound, training together, being together all the time. Even then I couldn't get enough of her. So now, the distance was really taking its toll on me. I tried to downplay it every time we spoke, because I knew she was also having a hard time with it and on top of it she was worried about me.

I was lucky to have people around, my friends from Brazil would often fly out, my parents and even Davi came again. When I had people here, it was easier to distract myself. I almost went back to the version of myself I was before I had met her. We played videogames and had poker nights and even went to some clubs. But returning home after, I would always feel empty and in a way, it was worse than not having gone out at all.

So when at some point everyone had flown back to Brazil, I kind of stopped it all. I didn't really go out much unless it was for a team obligation. Olivia had asked me to give it a try and be more social then. So that's why I had agreed to go out with Dani and some of my other teammates tonight, to new club that had opened last month.

I dressed quickly, sending a text to Liv before I left the house. The night was cold, it had snowed a few days ago and there was still snow left on the side of the streets. I was relieved to see that no one was outside my door so late at night in this cold weather, because lately some paps and girls had taken to waiting outside my house to take pictures and talk to me. I suspected the team's success this season, mainly attributed to MSN (Messi, Suarez, Neymar) was the reason.

The traffic was not that bad and I reached the club quickly. I was glad to see it had an underground parking lot and a VIP elevator, so there would be no need to go to the door.

"Hey man!" my teammate Marc Bartra exclaimed when he saw me enter the VIP area.

"Hi everyone." I told them all. I poured myself a glass of whiskey and checked my phone. Liv had texted me: "Have a good time, love you." Along with a picture of hear with a towel wrapped around her head and a mask on her face. I smiled, saving the picture to my phone.

"Is that your imaginary girlfriend again?" Another teammate of mine, Adriano teased me.

I rolled my eyes at him. "She's not imaginary." I told him, although sometimes I'd have to reassure myself she wasn't a figment of my imagination.

Dani who heard us, came and sat next to me, laughing. "No, she's real. I've met her."

"Really?" Marc asked. "But why is she a secret?"

"She's not a secret." I replied. "You all know about it. We just don't want to go public with it. You'll meet her, when she visits." I pulled out my phone and showed them my screensaver which was a candid of her holding Davi in her arms from last fall.