Mr. Brightside || João Félix

F I F T Y - F I V E

Friday, December 16, 2022 6:00AM

I yawn and stretch as I begin to wake up.

"Sorry baby, did I wake you ?" João asks.

"It's fine," I smile at him, "what time is it ?"

"Six," he says checking the time.

"I should be getting up for practice anyway," I sigh struggling a bit to sit up.

"How you feeling ?" He asks.

"Fine," I shrug, "just a little sore."

"You sure you're up for practice ?" He asks.

"Mhm," I say, "I'm just a bit sore, I can jog it off, now help me up."

"Yes ma'am," he says going over to help me up.

I get off the bed and walk over to the bathroom, "you're limping," he says.

"Slightly, just cause no one is around, I'll be fine," I shrug him off.

I brush my teeth and braid my hair. After, I go over to the room to change into clothes for practice. I shove my cleats, socks, shin guards and other necessities into my bag.

"Ready ?" I ask.

"Ready," he says coming up behind me and taking my bag from me. "About last night, I'm uh, im sorry if," I cut him off.

"Last night was perfect," I give him a reassuring kiss, "let's go."

We walk over to the practice area and begin warming up. João keeps subtly checking up on me but I keep reassuring him and telling him I'm fine. We begin practicing in groups and after about an hour I'm passing the ball around with Bernardo Silva. I kick the ball a little past him and Gonçalo traps it, lifts it up a bit and kicks it straight back to me. The ball comes at me with full force and hits me on the side of my knee. I grab my knee and dramatically fall to the ground.

"It's killed meh, it's killed meh," I laughed, "you're gonna regret this, you and your bloody ball."

"Such a nerd," Pepe laughs walking up to me to help me up.

"My father will hear about this," I joke glaring at him.

"You alright ?" Gonçalo asks.

"Yeah," I laugh, "just being dramatic, that's enough practice for me."

I walk over to my dad who is playing one-two with a few guys. "I'm done for the day," I tell my dad.

"Already ?" My dad asks.

"Yeah, Gonçalo took me down earlier, I'm gonna head out," I laugh.

"Walk her back, please," my dad tells João.

"I can walk back on my own, I don't need a body guard," I roll my eyes.

"Shut up, I want a break," João whispers to me.

"It's not about you needing a body guard Sofia, it'd just make me feel better," my dad says. "Fifteen minutes," he tells João.

"Why is practice longer today ?" I ask João as we begin walking back to the hotel.

"We're playing the final," he sighs, "tensions are high, especially because, you know."

I nod knowing exactly what he's thinking. It's Cristiano Ronaldo against Lionel Messi and it's stacked in favor of Messi. "You alright ?" I ask.

"Huh, me ? I'm fine," he says.

"To be fair, I did warn I'd disappoint," I sigh thinking he regrets last night.