Odds Against Us - Alexia Putellas

Chapter Twenty-Five

Sorry in advance for any timeline errors, I got confused half-way through the chapter ..

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It was the year 2012, and it was the seventh of December when Levante Femenino were playing against FC Barcelona.

Veronica Castellano walked on to the pitch in her kit, confidence clouding around her as her eyes fell onto her teammate who wore an exasperated expression, as she watched the game from the bench.

Alexia Putellas Segura.

If it wasn't for their own rivalry within their club, the two would be a powerhouse duo and were destined to be completely unstoppable.

But, with Alexia's arrogance and Veronica's stubbornness to hold a grudge—for now, they were destined to be just rivals.

As she shook the hands of the Barcelona team, they positioned themselves before the whistle blew. The ball was passed around quickly, while tackles were hurtled towards her—Veronica shone as she dribbled the ball, passing it to her teammate.

"I'm open! Vero!" One of them shouted at the top of her lungs, but the brunette had other plans—she felt the burning eyes of Alexia on the back of her head, instead shooting for the back of the net from twenty yards out.

The surrounding crowd ooh'ed at the sight, shouting when the Barcelona goalkeeper had easily caught the ball.

"Why didn't you pass?" Her teammate shoved Veronica, annoyed that the small girl had made a selfish decision to try make herself look better.

"Doesn't matter now." The brunette ignored, running past the girl and tracking back, "We still have a long way to go."

That statement was more than true, but Veronica wasn't aware she wouldn't be a part of it.

As the whistle blew, the Levante coach made a substitution and Veronica bent down to tie her laces—whole heartedly believing that it wasn't her, numerous of her teammates that she believed weren't performing well ran through her mind.

Not until Alba—number eighteen—tapped her on the back of the head, which caused Veronica to stand up and look around in confusion, "You're off, V."

Her jaw dropped as she slowly trailed off of the pitch, then piece-by-piece it was beginning to make sense. Approaching the bench, she was met by an angry coach and a slightly-smirking Alexia.

Having to shake hands, Veronica weakly shook Alexia's outstretched palm, annoyed that the girl was happy to do so, "Good game out there, Vero. But... It wasn't good enough."

Pretending like nothing had happened, Alexia ran past her not before grinning in an antagonising manner, then on to the pitch and replaced her position.

Sitting on the bench begrudgingly, she was approached by the coach, "We will talk later." He shortly said, then walked away not sparing Veronica another glance.

I don't belong on the bench, Veronica told herself as she stared at the match—no, Alexia for the entirety. Rolling her eyes every time the girl did a trick past her opponent, or got close too scoring.

There was always a feeling inside of her when she watched Alexia, whether it was at training or watching the girl play for other teams—she played like the ball was simply water, flowing through the defence.

Just like so, Veronica covered her face with her hands when the crowd erupted in to cheers for Alexia, when she scored the winning goal in the last three minutes.

Sitting up tensely with no expression, she took notice of how Alexia glanced sideways at her, Was she looking for her reaction? Veronica wondered, raising one eyebrow at the girl who realised she had been caught and looked in the opposite direction.

The match soon ended, and the team were huddled in to a circle.

"Well done girls, I'm proud of you, especially..." His eyes set on to Veronica, who lit up in hope that he had forgotten about her 'bad' performance. Though, this hope died when his eyes flickered towards the girl next to her, "Alexia. You shined bright today, you're the player of the match."

Anger seeped through Veronica, glancing sideways at Alexia who smiled and thanked the other girls who congratulated their teammate.

"We need to work harder, though. One of you disappointed me... Vero you won't be starting the next game," The coach pointed her out amongst the team, who looked at the brunette in both surprise and pity—knowing how she would react, "You're passes were sloppy, and pace was slow."

"Then who will start...?" Veronica questioned, afraid to hear the answer as she already knew. She knew it would be the girl she hated the most, the one who was hell-bent on ruining her image.

"Alexia will start, you've really been impressing me lately," The coach ranted about the girl's outstanding performance, yet Veronica blocked it out as she stared at the ground—the urge to cry grew as she stood there longer, knowing that her teammates were not-so subtly staring.

It wasn't until she felt a hand on her lower back that Veronica was pulled back in to reality, and the team had now left the pitch, readying themselves to go home.

"I'm sorry." The voice apologised, causing the brunette to turn in the direction of the source. Rolling her eyes when she realised who it was, and who was touching her, "My pa said if you roll your eyes too much, they'll get stuck."

"I only roll my eyes when you annoy me... You should leave then. Problem solved!"

Deciding to ignore her snide remark, Alexia smiled at the smaller girl, "You'll be back starting soon, you had one bad game..."

"It's easy for you to say, you've really been impressing coach lately." Veronica childishly mocked the man earlier, causing the other girl to laugh.

"I tried my hardest today, I could tell you were distracted."

"What's it got to do with you, Putellas?" Veronica grumbled, her eyes falling on the medal around Alexia's neck, due to being the best player of the match.

It should've been hers.

"It doesn't but," Alexia took off the medal noticing how the brunette was staring, "If it effects our best player, it'll become my business."

Opening her palm forcedly, Alexia dropped the medal in to Veronica's hand, whose lips parted at the gesture, "What... What are you doing?"

"One day, I'll play for them," The taller one pointed towards the Barcelona team on the other end of the pitch with determination in her eyes, "And I will be the best player in the world."

Suddenly, the medal in her hand became light and meaningless—as if her eyes had just opened, Veronica felt a fire set inside of her.

"One day I will play for Real Madrid," Veronica shouted back at her, relieved that the two were now alone, "And I'll be the best player in the world."

From then on, Alexia Putellas and Veronica Castellano made a promise to one another—but, only one could win in the end.

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