𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎... // 𝙵𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚗 𝚃𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚎𝚜

5

MEETING THE BOYS

Jadrien's Perspective

I still remember the day a little over a year ago when Eric invited me to a party after a match, saying that nearly all his new Barcelona teammates would be there, and I'd be able to meet all of them.

I remember we drove together to the bar together, and it was bustling with fans, policemen, and footballers. On that night, I was wearing this:

I remember walking down that Barcelona street, where me and Eric used to walk when we were kids. We'd go to that restaurant on the corner after his football practice. We'd take the long way around, pass home, pick up Alicia on the way, and continue on.

We walked passed this club all those years ago, when Eric was with FC Barcelona for the first time. I specifically remember Eric always telling me whenever I asked if we could check out the club, "Nope, Jade. You know Papa would kill us." Although I'm actually older than him by thirteen days, he has always been the older sibling at heart. Always telling me, Oh, Jade, don't do this, because you'll get in trouble! or Jade, you should break that habit before it gets dysfunctional, or, one of the most common ones, Jade, you should stop getting so obsessed with random boys. I always describe myself as Eric's older sister, which is funny, because he's the one that acts older, and technically, biologically, we are not related at all. Although we basically are.

The summer air was hot, the trees slightly swaying in the light breeze, the world the perfect mixture of a quiet night in Barcelona and a night at the club for groups of different youngsters. Including me and Eric, I supposed.

The sunset was extraordinary that night, and I still have a picture of it on my old, crappy phone.

I remember that Eric held the door for me, and the first thing my eye was drawn to was Ansu, sitting next to a guy in an orange tank top. I couldn't tell if it was Gavi or Pedri, because he wasn't facing me.

I left Eric behind, ran up to Ansu, and hugged him from behind, exclaiming, "Ansu! It's been so long!"

He grinned at me. "Hey, Jadrien!" he said, hugging me back. "I knew I'd be seeing you again soon when I saw Eric again back here. Here, come on, sit down," he moved over, and Eric came over, sitting next to the other guy, who I now saw was Pedri. "So how have things been for you in Manchester?" Ansu asked me.

"Oh, great. Got lots of jobs there. I've mostly gotten back into the swing of things now here in Barcelona. Still working at it, but things are great. Wonderful." I then put my hand out to shake Pedri's, saying, "Nice to meet you, sir. You're Pedri?"

He nodded, smiling quickly. "Yeah," he responded, shaking my hand. "And you are...?"

"Jadrien Garcia. Forgive me for not introducing myself right away. I'm Erico's sister."

"Oh!" he grinned. "Of course! He never shuts up about you!"

"What?!" Eric said in annoyance.

I laughed, saying, "What kind of crap does he say about me, then?"

"Oh, nothing bad. He just always has to reference to you. 'Oh, yeah, my sister said she tried that.' 'Back in Manchester, my sister...' 'I think my sister is into that.' You know, he's just a proud brother," he teased, then added, which I'm not sure what he meant my this, "I would be, too."

 I nudged Eric, saying, "Pedri just exposed you, Eric."

"Shut up," he had rolled his eyes, shifting in the way he does when he's embarrassed.

Then I looked up to see Gavi coming over to the table; he was looking towards Pedri, until he saw me, and his eyes rested on me. For a little too many seconds. I shifted under his gaze, then decided to do the friendly method, and put my hand out to shake his, putting a smile on my face, saying, "You're Gavi, right? It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Jadrien Garcia, Eric's sister."

At first, he looked slightly surprised, but then a relaxed smile formed on his face, and he shook my hand with a nod, muttering, "Nice to meet you, too." Then he turned to Pedri, saying, "Nico wants to talk to you about something, man."

"Well, tell lazy Nico to come over here and tell me himself," Pedri said with a slightly obnoxious shrug.

Gavi rolled his eyes, asking, "So am I just your guys' messenger boy now?"

"Precisely," Pedri grinned wider, teasing his friend.

Gavi sighed, walking away to go get Nico.

"Hey, Jade, that's perfect," Eric grinned. "I said I wanted you to meet Pedri, Gavi, and Nico, and reunite with Ansu earlier, and look how that goes, eh?"

"Yeah, I guess so," I had nodded.

For some reason, I felt like something was missing in that moment.

Someone.

I didn't know at that time that the someone I was missing, that should've been there, was Ferran Torres, but now I understand it.

Gavi came back with Nico, who was much less grumpy and awkward, compared to Gavi. He was much more lighthearted, and easier to get along with. It seemed like to me that Eric really had kind of clicked with these guys- Ansu, Pedri, Gavi, and Nico. That made me happy. It always makes me happy to see Eric happy, with good friends, in a good place.

I was surprised that no feelings sprouted back up in me for Ansu. I like Ansu, and I value him, and he's a great friend, but that feeling of a crush that I had years ago as a teenager for him isn't there, and it wasn't on that night, either. I liked Pedri, too, with his loud laughing and sarcastic comments, but it wasn't a crush at all. Nico was great, too, with a quieter, more civilized sense of humor, and more of an ability to have a normal person conversation. Slightly more mature. I felt nothing like a crush for him, though. And, even though Gavi was a little strange with his quietness and zoning out, he had a nice smile, and once he started lightening up and talking a bit, I didn't mind him so much. I liked him, too, but not like a crush. No, not at all.

All this astonishes me. I'm very prone to falling in love, and going out to a bar with four new, hot, sweet footballers? It's not normal for me not to fall in love with at least one of them. But I didn't. I liked them all and their company in different ways, but all in the way as a friend.

It's like my heart belonged completely to someone else, but at that time, I didn't even know it.