Football imagines (Misc players)

Young love never lasts (Pedri)

If there was something you were sure of, it was that you would never have a boyfriend. Or so you thought when you were 8.

Parents, grandparents, friends, ...all obsessed over their theories of which kids could get married in the future because they looked so cute together. For you, there was only one option. And it was Pedri. You never liked playing with the boys because they were so mean to you, but Pedri wasn't. At first, he didn't want the other kids to see you together because they mocked him but over time, he stopped caring. He liked you, so they could think whatever they wanted about your friendship.

So everyone talked about what great friends you were and how adorable you looked together.

"Look at them holding hands", giggled your mum one day. "Maybe they're playing boyfriend and girlfriend".

You weren't. You were just walking over a pretty uneven area and held hands so you wouldn't fall. But from that moment on, you never held Pedri's hand again whenever someone was around.

Time made things easier. In high school, many of the mean kids were gone and no one cared about you two being friends. But your girlfriends teased you.

"Come on, he's cute. You have to like him. You're together all the time".

"I don't", you would always say.

And you meant it. He was your friend. Your best friend. But that was it. Not that you liked any other boys but...you definitely didn't like him.

For Pedri, it was a whole different story. He had always liked you as a friend and nothing else. But then puberty hit and he started to see you in a different light. His brother told him it was probably just the hormones. He would be attracted to every girl. But he wasn't. He liked a few girls just because they were pretty but it was different when it came to you. He truly liked you. But he never told you about it for fear of scaring you.

He feared losing you if he told you about his feelings. But despite not telling you, he lost you anyway.

"Hey", you greeted him one morning when you saw him outside of class.

"Hi. Where were you this morning? I was waiting for you and...".

"I don't think we should walk to school together anymore, Pedri".

"Why?"

"I've kept a secret from you. I have a boyfriend. And I just don't think I should spend as much time with you. Like, you're just my friend but you're a boy. What if that makes him uncomfortable?"

Pedri didn't know what hurt more. It should be that you had a boyfriend. That you had finally shown interest in a boy and it wasn't him. But that wasn't the most painful part. It was that you wanted to stop hanging out with him. How could he cope with losing you completely?

It turned out he couldn't. Everyone could see how sad he was, including you. The difference was that everyone else knew he was sad because you were dating someone who wasn't Pedri. You just thought he missed you as a friend.

"Why are you so sad, darling?", asked him his mum when she couldn't wait any longer. She tried to give him space and allow him to talk to her when he felt ready but he wasn't going to. And she couldn't stand seeing her little boy looking so sad.

"Has your heart ever been broken?"

"Yes. When I was around your age. Why do you ask that?"

"Because I think mine is broken too", he admitted, embarrassed.

"I heard about the boyfriend news...I'm so sorry, honey. But you'll get over it. That's teenage love. It feels like nothing you'll ever feel will be able to match this intensity, but then you realise it was just an overreaction".