Field of Dreams: Year 1

A memorable autograph

Paige's POV:

"I can't believe we escaped the guard!" I exclaimed and laughed at the same time, totally forgetting the fact that I had doubted her intentions and had been scared for our almost certain way to prison. 

"Me too," Liv laughed too, holding me, so I don't fall because of my giggling. "And did you see how the other fans defended us, so we could run away faster?" she asked. "It was amazing!" I sensed a smile creeping to her face, my laughs weakening with each following one. 

"Yeah," I finally managed to say. "They were staggering!" Liv was still holding me through my back because the after effects of laughs can be equivalent to the ones of alcohol-more laughing and/or dizziness. "They are the reason I didn't get caught," I let out, still trying to catch my breath. "How did you learn to run so fast, speaking of which?" I asked.

Contrary to my expectations for her to answer me, I saw her face going white like a canvas. She turned her head to the other side, finding it hard to look me in the eyes. I realized I had said something that I shouldn't have. 

"Liv..." I tried to say. "I'm sorry. If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine," I said, getting right on my legs, so I could let her be comfortable. 

"No," she turned her face to me, and I saw a single tear making its way down her left cheek. "Just not now," she wiped the tear away and grabbed my hand. "Let's just enjoy the rest of the match and the following events," she said mysteriously and laughed slightly, which didn't, however, hide that I had reminded her of something with my words. 

"What following events?" I asked, both surprised that there were events happening after the match and trying to make the atmosphere lighter. "I have to be home right after the match ends, or my parents will get suspicious," I told her seriously.

"It won't take too long," she explained. "But you'll like it," the truth in her words was showing by her sudden confident body language. "I promise," she held her hand like soldier taking an oath. I laughed but still saw that she was feeling sorrow. 

"Okay," I agreed, thinking that it'll distract her from whatever had happened to her. "But if it," I stressed. "takes too long, I'll tell my parents that you were distracted, and we needed a little more time to study," I said, raising my hand.

"Deal," she laughed and shook my hand. "Now come on," she suddenly squealed. "Let's get to the thing!" she told me in a way that I just couldn't resist on laughing so hard again. "What?" was her question. I shook my head as if there was nothing, took her through the elbow, and we headed to wherever she wanted us to go.

                                                                       ***

"Lewandowski, here!" I heard one man screaming behind me. There were a lot of people, to say the least. My eyes couldn't take rest of the blue, red, and yellow that surrounded us. To make the whole experience even better  I couldn't hear a person talking like a normal person. They were all screaming different players' names, trying to attract their attention. Ear-piercing noise in two words.

"I can't believe we got to the front!" Liv interrupted my thoughts by pulling me to get on the first line of fans.  

"Yeah," I said. "Only on the cost of my feet getting stepped on four times, and losing sight of you two times!" I wanted to sound both sarcastic and stern, but it was obvious I hadn't succeeded in that because I saw Liv trying to hold her laugh. "Go on," I said with fake dislike, and as expected, we both started laughing hysterically once again. 

"Excuse me," we heard a male voice with a heavy accent behind us. We turned only for me to recognize one of the players Liv had shown me before the match, standing right in front of us. 

"Was he Pedri?" I wasn't sure, so I turned to my dear football fan friend for help, but she was in a worse state. It was somewhat...odd. Her torso was like paralyzed, her gaze, fixed on the player before us, not moving it to any other direction. This behavior of hers made me excuse us to the guy because it was awkward. Definitely. 

When I turned to him, however, I didn't find him a better condition than Liv's. He stared at her with the same focused gaze and not moving body, neglecting all of the other fans who were trying to reach him for an autograph and photo. 

"Liv," I nudged her, and it seemed like her soul came back with her body because she looked me like I scared her. 

"Huh?" she asked, obviously confused. 

"You were standing like a tree," I explained. "And..." I turned to the still observing guy. 

"Pedri," he said and raised his hand, understanding what he had done. I shook it. 

"Paige," I smiled. "And this is Olivia," I introduced.

"H-hi," she said and waved a little, his smile growing wider as he shook her hand also. 

"Well, Paige and Olivia, would you mind giving me an autograph?" he asked with some expectation of us to agree? We looked at each other. Why was she asking us for an autograph. He was the famous one, after all. "You're the girls that ran to take that picture, right?" he asked us, sensing we didn't understand what he was asking about. We nodded synchronically. "Then what about this? You give me your autographs, and I'll give you mine and a picture up close this time?" he asked. I laughed, and Liv just nodded with a shy smile on her face. 

"Here you go," I said, still with a smile on my face, handing the marker to Liv, so she could also sign his jersey. She took it from my hand with hers, which I realized was slightly trembling. Before I could even do anything to help her come back to her everyday confident self, he placed his hand over Liv's and moved it closer to the shirt.

We took the picture, and he gave us his autograph before continuing his journey to the others, still screaming, fans, who, for my surprise, were mostly girls. 

"Liv, what was all that about?" I took her hand and directed her to the back of the crowd, so we could get out of the commotion faster.

"I-I don't know," she stammered. "I haven't felt like this since..." she suddenly stopped her thought.

"Since when?" I insisted a bit too harshly. You can't blame me. The situation was almost getting on my nerves.

"Since the World Cup," she opened her right fist, but I didn't have a chance to understand what was there because my attention was stolen by the person before us.