Just Friends - Neymar Jr

24

It was the early morning of the quarter finals. Brasil had worked so hard to get where they were and I was so proud of all of the team. We were about to play Colombia and we all knew it was going to be a hard game but as long as we tried our best, I knew we'd be capable of getting to the finals.

"Madam," Ney joked as he held open the car door for me to step out.
I laughed, "Why, thank you kind sir."
He laughed too, grabbing his kit bag with his left hand and putting his right around my shoulders.

Neymar Sr had insisted on renting us a car for the time we spent here and we knew it would be useless to argue with him.  Besides, I missed mine and Neymar's car journeys together. It felt weird with a stranger in the car with us, which is why I was always quiet in taxis.

We walked into the stadium through the back entrance, where the teams would enter. We were one of the firsts here as the car park was mostly empty apart from two cars parked on our far left.

"I get you wanna practice but surely you should be resting before a big match like this," My voice echoed as we walked through the tunnel, onto the dimly lit pitch.
"I just wanna practice on my own for a bit. I'll rest then come back when the whole teams here for training," he said, dropping his bag and swapping his flip flops for his boots.

"Alright, whatever. Do your thing," I kissed his cheek before sitting on one of the thousands of stadium seats.
"No! I didn't mean on my own, on my own. I meant like without the team. You can play too," he said before smiling shyly, "I bought your boots," he held them up from his bag and I laughed.

He did some keepy ups as I tied the laces and stood up, gesturing for him to pass it. I did three kick ups before panicking and passing it back to him. He laughed as he let the ball hit his chest before catching it with his foot and doing a few tricks before passing it back.

We did this back and forth, increasing the distance with each pass until it became nearly impossible and we were both running for our lives each time. He booted it from his end of the pitch and I got a good touch on it causing him to shout. I did an around the world before booting it back at him but the ball went way too far to the right. I laughed as he sprinted, eyes set on the ball but it wasn't gonna work and it landed about two feet in front of him.

"Ha! That means I'm better than you," I taunted as he drunk his water.
"No, no, no princesa. Your pass was shocking. That was your fault!" he laughed as I rolled my eyes jokingly even though I knew it was true.

"Go practice your shot," I suggested so I'd get a break.
"I'm gonna need someone in goal for that," he smirked.
"Neymar Junior, you are not pelting balls at my head," I said, crossing my arms as he laughed.
"I would never!" he said, very unconvincingly.
"You're lucky you're playing in the World Cup and I want you to win," I said as I trudged over to goal.
"Obrigado, meu amor," he winked at me as he set the ball down.

He ran up toward the ball and pretended to kick it, making me flinch and duck as he laughed hysterically at me.
"You'd be a shit goalie!" he breathed out, from where he had collapsed on the floor.
"Ha, ha. Very funny, you be in goal then," I said, hoping the competitive side of him would make him do it to prove he was better than I was.
"Alright I will."

We swapped places and I smiled to myself, I knew him too well.
"Come on Marchado, show me what you're made of," he said tauntingly, as he touched each side of the goal before standing in the middle.
I rolled my eyes, "Shut up, Junior."
Before he could respond, I booted the ball with my left foot and it hit the right side of the net as the man himself dived left.

"You're right footed, why did you shoot with your left?" he said as he got up and I laughed at him.
"Because you would expect that, duh."

We spent the next forty five minutes doing some defensive drills and finished with a 1v1. Neither of us scored until he gave up toward the end and let me past him.