YOU'RE CRAZY - pablo gavi

9: fifth wheeling

PABLO.

my index finger rhythmically tapped the steering wheel of my car, as i drove the group out. miguel, morena, zainab where in the back, while pedri sat next to me in the passanger seat.

"let's go to a trampoline park - do they have good ones in qatar?" morena asked, enthusiastically - i adored her enthusiasm, the way she could make any situation seem exciting.

"let me google." zainab offered, her brows furrowed as she focused on her phone. her boyfriend, miguel, turned the brightness down for her, aware of her issues with reading without her glasses.

pedri shrugged, "let's just do something fun before pablo and i have to get our heads in the game for world cup."

the overpowering brazilian beats of 'parado no bailão' filled the car - zainab and morena began to sing the words. amused, i watched them through the rear mirror, angled perfectly so that i had a good view of their dancing. a great view of morena's beautiful face too.

"omg, there's a really good mall i came to, when i came to qatar 3 years ago! gavi, follow these directions." zai instructed, passing me her phone. i stretched my arm back to get it, keeping my eyes on the road.

"they better have good stuff there; good food as well." miguel decided. pedri shook his hand in agreement. my eyeroll was hidden behind my glasses; still, pedri was able to notice it.

"this was originally just morena and i, you realize." i reminded them. the boys fell silent immediately.

TIMESKIP - THE MALL.

"they have mcdonald's in qatar?" miguel exclaimed, surprise laced in his tone.

"yeah, dumbass. this isn't some post apocalyptic world or something." morena retorted with a smirk. i bit my lip, longingly - i wanted her to smirk at me like that.

zainab sighed, "come on guys - miguel's paying." she said, linking arms with a confused boyfriend.

"um, excuse me?"

"pedri pays then." she decided. pedri didn't even protest against it - bro just accepted the defeat.

the others went up to order, leaving morena and i alone... together.

the awkward silence between a guy who wanted to move to quickly, and his girl, who was patient and wanted to take her time.

"poor pedri." she began, "third-wheeling us all." she giggled, softly.

"actually, he's fifth-wheeling." i joked, causing her to laugh and agree.

"so, do you know who you're playing first? for the world cup, i mean." morena asked, facing towards me. i felt a slight shock, shoot up my neck as her pupils met mine.

"oh uh, costa rica. they're trash - we could wack 'em an easy 6-0." i replied, maybe acting a little too cocky. morena didn't seemed to mind though; she complimented my confidence.

"one of the 6 goals being yours?"

"i wanna be yours." i mindlessly responded, regeretting the decision instantly. i mentally smacked myself - luckily, she laughed it off. still, the words i just uttered, rang in my ears. a wave of embarrassment washed over me.