art • joão félix

i waved

• • •

"everyone give a warm welcome to... joão félix!"

the press cheered, the team and the coaches cheered, the people on the bleachers cheered. it was madness.

a guy in a barça uniform stood up from his seat and took his place next to laporta. he beamed, his whole face lit up in a grin. he looked like this was the only place he needed to be in his life.

"hi everyone," he started, voice shy and shaky with nerves. "i'm joão, and i'm so honored to be here. playing for barça has been my dream ever since i was a little boy, so thank you for making my dreams come true." he concluded.

i noticed he had a slight portuguese accent, and to be honest, i found it really attractive.

laporta, the president of the club, started going on a rant about this joão guy, showering him with praise and compliments.

the brown haired boy looked so nervous, he was blushing, and i caught him doing deep breaths a couple of times to calm himself down.

as laporta finished his rant, they started taking photos for press, ones of him holding up his new barça t-shirt, ones of him shaking laporta's hand, ones of him with xavi...

and then came the time we were all waiting for. one of the crew members gave him a ball, and he started kicking and catching it in the air, showing his skills. he never let the ball touch the ground, he kicked it up in the air and brought it back down with impressive skills.

the crowd erupted in cheers. us four were being the loudest, whooping and whistling even though we didn't know the guy at all. "whoo! go joão!" i cheered.

i guess i was really loud, because he laughed and looked up to see who was cheering for him so loud, and we made eye contact for a second. i felt my cheeks grow hot with a blush, and, trying to play it cool, i waved.

he smiled and waved back, a small gesture that made my stomach erupt into butterflies. he went back to talk to the press and i released a breath i didn't know i'd been holding in. "holy shit." i breathed.

as joão went back inside for a press conference, the girls turned to me, their jaws practically on the floor. i felt watched by them.

"holy fuck, claudia! did he just wave at you?" sarah started, being so loud that almost everyone in the stands turned to see what was going on.

i was still shocked. i felt like my knees were going to give in if i stood up. "um, yeah? i was cheering, and i guess i was being really loud because he laughed and looked up to where it was coming from." i explained.

ronnie was ecstatic. "and then he waved!?" she yelled/asked, gripping my arm as if i was about to fall into an abyss or something.

i nodded. "yeah. ronnie your nails are digging into my skin, love." i laughed. my statement made her realize and mumble, "oh, sorry." as she laughed. "well, it was kind of awkward and i felt myself blushing so i waved first to not be weird. was i weird?" i asked, now worried.

sarah huffed. "please, you were so charming. i would have gotten down on one knee at that very moment." she giggled.

i laughed, but i felt like i was underwater. i couldn't concentrate. "holy shit. that really just happened? i didn't imagine it?" i asked, i felt like i was about to puke from the butterflies.