𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐔𝐄𝐒 | 𝐍𝐞𝐲𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐉𝐫

Football Practice pt. 2

We arrived as it looked to be spinning in all directions. For someone who claimed to have visited the site often, he didn't really explain that he had to use all the shortcuts and other routes yet still faced traffic. To my surprise, I didn't have a headache when I stepped out of the car. It was possible because I was able to convince Juan to switch his radio and change it to whatever song from Taylor Swift's album I had started listening over the previous couple of days.

It was far superior than any kind of Spanish songs that Juan enjoyed playing. To top it all off, I managed to persuade him to like the song - I saw him bobbing on the chorus of 'You Belong With Me,' and even when he tried to sing it, he still added his thick accent. For a few seconds, I thought he was singing another Spanish song with the same melody.

"Here we are. Welcome to the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, Miss!" Juan said this with such pride that he put his hands in his pants pockets.

It was a large, flat white structure. I could see what I assumed was the club's symbol in front of it, as well as lettering on the side. So, here's where my brother went to train, huh?

"Barcelona Football Club." I said it aloud to myself.

Juan heard me and took a deep breath. "The best football team in the world, in my opinion. Would you like to look inside?"

I said nothing and simply followed him from behind.

My gaze traveled over the building's contents on every side. On each wall, there were a few picture frames with small text that were too small for me to read from a distance, as well as some images of the players. It was all quite simple, and I couldn't get away from blue, red, and yellow everywhere I looked.

I also noted that they had a lot of fields. As I passed through the pane, I noticed several individuals playing and kicking the ball. which, given that they had this lanyard in their pocket, I didn't assume they were players. They also didn't wear socks or any other gear while playing, just plain blazers and jeans.

That's when I realized I wasn't seeing many people while strolling. The amount of people working here was likely quite low; aside from them, only workers might be sweeping floors and doing other basic work.

I tapped Juan on the shoulder, causing him to turn to face me. "Why are there so few people here?"

"It isn't open to everyone. Only they have access to things like this-" He stopped in his tracks to show me his lanyard. I nodded as I read the wording within. "-those who have entrance to this area. I used to think it was to limit the number of crazy fans who could interrupt or threaten the players."

Leo came to mind immediately, and I raised my head. "Has anything like that ever happened before?"

Juan shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

"I've never seen or heard of such happening in all my years working for Mr. Messi. They probably have a pretty strict system other than giving access to a few people."

I nodded, took Juan's response, and then turned to look around. I realized it was strange for me to forget that I had a popular elder brother, even if everyone around me constantly reminded me with their eyes or murmurs when they pointed at me. The thought of Leo being surrounded by people who consider themselves 'fans' but don't respect boundaries and could harm Leo, on the other hand, never occurred to me. It was because I assume Leo already had everything, including a personal driver and enough bodyguards to beat up any freaks who tried to annoy him.

I never considered what it would be like if Leo wasn't with the bodyguards. Which sounded insane and impossible, because I knew his manager would never let it. But it was still a little unsettling to think Leo went in without any protection. I knew he was strong and capable of standing up for himself, but I could only speak for him. I couldn't say the same for anyone else; they could have been stronger than Leo.