Playing with fire - barca femeni x oc

five

"I'll see you both tomorrow, thanks for the coffee!" MJ embraced both of her friends as they entered the parking lot of the cafe.

"No problem M, see you tomorrow"

In the car, Ingrid turned to her partner with a curious look on her face.

"What is it mi amor" The blonde glanced across before setting her eyes on the road once more.

"It's just- I" She thought carefully about how to ask the question.

"I know everyone on the team says they love her, but I kinda just get the feeling that they don't actually know her. They're just in love with the idea of having someone to laugh at and do things for them. She's too caring for her own good"

The moment of silence made Ingrid feel like she'd gotten it completely wrong.

"I'm sorry I mean-"

However Mapi quickly interrupted her.

"No. You're right. Before you arrived and just after MJ left, we had a team party for winning the league. Late on, we were sitting around the fire and..."

Flashback

"Okay, Marta, truth or dare?"

"Truth"

"Hmmm. If you had to get rid of one player in the team who would it be?" Everyone listened intently as they waited for her answer.

"Well I would've said MJ but someone did that for me" She laughed and most of the team joined in.

"How come?" Patri asked from her position across from Marta.

"Well you know how she is, one minute she's fine and the next she's jittery and you can't talk to her. Don't even get me started on how clumsy she is, it's like a toddler walking about sometimes. She's just a liability to the team you know?"

Laughter followed the toddler comment as everyone recalled all of the times MJ would trip over air or misread instructions and end up in completely the wrong place.

But the laughter slowly dissipated as Mapi stood up, almost trembling with fury.

"Shut up. Shut up shut up."

"Mapi, come on it's not worth it" Aitana attempted to calm her friend by holding her arm back but she quickly shook it off and continued.

"You have no right to talk about her like that. Like- like she's just a fun idea to laugh at and when things get tough you just throw her away? Yeah that's completely fair.
She is not and has never been a liability to this team. When has she ever let us down? Go on"

She was met with silence

"Not once. Correct. So thanks for your opinion Mart and good job for sticking up for your friend guys"

Mapi stood up and walked towards the door, her chin raised and shoulders relaxed as she'd finally said her piece.

Now...

"So yeah it was an odd night. Aitana, Mario, Frido and Patri walked out with me after Mariona told Alexia off for being the one to incite all of this."

Ingrid paused for a moment, taking everything in.

"Is that why everyone pays extra attention now to showing that they care?"

"Yes, I never doubted that they cared, they just never showed it enough and that's what M needs to know she's not alone"

"I'm glad she's got you Mapi, and me too"

"Thank you amor, I'm glad I've got her. She's one of the most passionate people I know. She loves without fear and would give her last drop of blood to anyone in need."

She's a good person but the world has not been good to her.