Pressure | Pablo Gavi

12

The game that the Barcelona team played listed both Pedri and Gavi as midfielders for the starting eleven. However, the game went in every direction but right for Gavi. Being involved in a few too many fouls in the first half, and being carded after an incident with another player. Gavi essentially aided the opposing team to win, by which he made a poor pass, twice in the defending half. Allowing for this opposing team to score twice.

He knew he played a poor game, knowing he was going to get a talk when he was taken off as a substitution for Ansu Fati at the 70th minute.

Xavi didn't do his usual patting of the back to Gavi, looking at him with a sense of disbelief. "What's up with you today?" Xavi asked covering his mouth to stop others from lip syncing the conversation. Gavi didn't reply, he stood there his tongue gliding over his teeth.

Xavi raised his eyebrow awaiting an answer, "Give me some sort of benefit of the doubt." Gavi said, trying not to shout at Xavi, ever, especially in the location they were in.

"So what did you do wrong?" Xavi asked, asking the question a few more times before Gavi answered.

"I crumbled under pressure." Gavi whispered, terrified of the man in-front of him. The man who could make or break his career.

"Sorry, didn't hear you?" Xavi said, holding his hand up to his ear to indicate Gavi to repeat himself.

"I couldn't deal under pressure." Gavi repeated.

"Go home, clear your head. Will see you for training in a couple days." Xavi said, gently pushing Gavi away.

Gavi knew he got away lightly with that one, but he couldn't help but keep a guilty conscience. He knew that single-handedly he ruined the game for his team. The young player felt nothing but pure anger and hatred, wanting to rip the throats out of the opposing team.

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Blair was still in Gavi's place, having stayed there the night before. She had watched the game on Gavi's tv, not bothering to go back to hers but also knowing that Gavi wouldn't be back to his place until later on. Or so she thought.

Keys clattered outside the door which paired with a turning the handle. Gavi walked through almost scaring himself with Blair sitting on the sofa. "Forget I was here?" Blair asked, in which Gavi just nodded. He placed his keys on the counter and avoided any eye contact.

Blair knew the game was bad, but that bad? To the point of which he was ignoring her, not what she had thought. "You okay?" She asked, getting up from the sofa and slowly walking over to him. He was standing towards the cupboards, his face looking down. "Gavi?" She said, hoping that he'd reply.

"What do you want?" He snapped, Blair was taken aback. She was almost speechless, trying to get words out of her mouth, she just couldn't.

"Are you okay?" She finally spat out repeating the words she said before, her voice soft and reassuring. But none of that meant anything to Gavi.

"Can you just go away, give me a minute." He snapped at her once again, yet this time he was looking directly at her.

Blair felt her cheeks start to flush, she felt embarrassed to be there. "What?" She said, her voice quiet, almost at a whisper, but she couldn't make it any louder.

"Go." He said, pointing towards the door. Blair couldn't move feeling frozen to her space. Gavi picked up his keys, throwing them full force at the wall, "Go!" He said one last time, Blair didn't say anything after that, she picked up her shoes and walked straight out.

As soon as she left she dialled Torre's number, standing hopelessly in the rain outside Gavi's place putting on her shoes. "Blair?" Torre said, confused by the call. Pablo wasn't called to be in the starting eleven for the game, or even in the substitutions, so in theory he had a day off.

"Can you pick me up please?" She asked, knowing that he didn't live far. "Actually can i just walk to yours." She continued knowing that it was only a 5 minute walk, looking back at Gavi's door to see if he had opened it to apologise. But he didn't.

"Come over, let me know when you're nearby okay?" Pablo said, ending the call after. Blair quickly rushed over to his place, feeling on the verge of tears the entire time.

Pablo opened the door to be met with a very soaked Blair, she stood at his door for a second and just couldn't hold it in anymore. She bursted into tears, she was an emotional person, and that was knowledgeable.

Pablo pulled Blair inside and pulled her into a hug, "What happened, who do I need to beat up?" He asked, rubbing her back to try sooth her.

"Gavi." She said, trying to speak more but mixing up her words as she did so. "He was angry about something and he snapped at me, shouting and threw something at the wall and I'm terrified I don't know what to do". Blair said, shaking from the cold. LI know he said he had some sort of anger problem, but why does he have to take it out on me." She said, not wanting anyone to be angry at her, especially Gavi.

Pablo hadn't broken the hug yet, he pulled Blair back slightly so that he could look her in the eyes. "Just know it has nothing to do with you okay, he will surely be in a better mood later on. Are you okay though?" He asked, walking to his kitchen to make her a hot drink.

"I will be okay, just kind of rattled." She said, taking a seat on his sofa after he instructed her to do so.

Blair spent a couple hours round Pablos, checking her phone every ten minutes to see if Gavi ever messaged, and he never did. Not even after she got home, not before she went to sleep. Radio silence.