The Penalty || Marc Andre Ter Stegen

Introducing Adaline

Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful.   -Annette Funicello

ADALINE'S P.O.V:

"Hallo, sleepyhead, wake up!" I hear Thomas's singsong voice. Groaning, I wipe my eyes and swipe at my brother, who dodges it like a pro. Jeez. And I almost forget that it's my birthday.
"Happy birthday, Adaline! Also, we can't miss the game against Barça, so rise and shine, Schätzchen!" Thomas says in his usual brightness. He's right, today he has a very important game against FC Barcelona. Groggily I raise my head and let out a long yawn, snorting. I hear a couple of chuckles. How strange.
I blink, wiping my eyes once again. A gasp escapes my throat, the whole Bayern München team is in my room, with a wide smile and it seems Bastian Schweinsteiger is holding out a cake for me.
"Happy Birthday!" They all say, clapping and cheering. I smile warily and blow a kiss at them. Bastian pretends to catch it and place it on his heart. I smile, blushing a small bit. Thanks to Thomas, I know that Bastian has a massive crush on me. I like him as a friend, but I don't think I'm ready to be in a relationship with him. Or with anyone else.

"Well... Now I'm going to get dressed." I say tucking strands of hair under my ear. I get up and stare at the boys. They keep smiling brightly, standing in their places. I bite my lip and make a signal for them to turn around.

"All right, let's leave Adaline now..." Thomas says, opening the door, making them walk away. Bastian places the cake on my nightstand and winks at me. When they all leave, I change into my pants and Bayern shirt. Of course, I support my brother's team, so I take my scarf, also Bayern. I open the door and walk down the stairs of my house, and as a wild guess, maybe Thomas asked them all to come over to celebrate my birthday. How nice of him.

Mother and Father are in the table, smiling warmly. I return the smile, giving a small wave. My father has a heart disease, so that's why he can't move, so Mother does all the work with help of maids.

"Happy Birthday, kitten." Father says, kissing my cheek. I smile back and place a hand around him. I always pray for him to live longer. "Thanks, Father. How are you feeling?" I ask, sitting next to him.

"Oh, I'm feeling just fine, kitten, nothing to worry about." he says, raising an eyebrow. I chuckle, nodding. "Alright then." I say, taking a bacon strip. Bastian also takes a bacon strip, winking at me. I stiffen and muster a slight smile.

Mother and the maids are giving out breakfast to the rest of the team, except Pep Guardiola, their coach, who says he already ate. Mother refuses at Mr. Guardiola's pleas, anyways she gives him some toast. Mr. Guardiola finally decides to eat and accepts gratefully.

I eat silently, when suddenly Franck Ribery throws me a small box. I rip through the wrapping, opening the box delicately. It is a beautiful necklace made out of diamonds. I gasp and give him a big hug. "Thank you, Franck!" I say delightedly as I put on my necklace. The French footballer smiles at me and pats my back. "Anytimes, ma cherie." he says, smiling.

I sit back, glancing at Bastian, who looks at Franck expressionlessly. I try to figure out what's going on but suddenly I don't really care. I hear Arjen Robben call out my name and whistle. I tilt my head to a side, not quite understanding what this was all about.

Out of nowhere, a small puppy comes trotting from the living room, barking happily. I gasp, surprised, confused and excited all at the same time.

"Arjen, you didn't have to...!" I muse, almost breathlessly. I walk towards the puppy and hug it. Its fur is so soft. The dutch smiles at me happily. "Thought you'd like it, dogs are after all part of the family." He chides, placing a hand on my back. I jump up and give him a huge hug. He hugs back, grinning.

I return to my seat with the puppy on my arms. "I will name... Is it a him or a her?" I ask Arjen. He looks up from his breakfast and points at Thomas. I suppose it is a male.

"I will name him Vilhelm, it is a nice name." I comment, patting him and letting him go. Vilhelm walks down and sits on a corner. We eat in silence for the rest of the breakfast. That's weird, they all are so loud sometimes. But maybe today not, they're probably very nervous about the game. Barça is very good.

When we finish, I hug my father and plant a kiss on my mother's cheek and follow the team to their bus. "Good luck!" My parents call from the window. Thomas and I wave back, smiling widely.

It is a long ride to the Airport of Munich, so we actually play games and talk. I mostly just stare out of the window, I'm very shy and introverted. Then all of a sudden Bastian sits next to me. I look at him, almost uncomfortably. "Hi, Bastian." I say, almost raising an eyebrow.

Bastian caresses my face and hands me a small box. Please, oh please, don't let it be a wedding ring. Thank God it isn't, because when I open the small box I find a bracelet. A bracelet with charms, which are a soccer cleat, a ball, the Bayern jersey, and a heart. I blush and look deep into Bastian's eyes.

"Thank you, Basti.." I say almost breathlessly. I try it on and smile, hugging him. Bastian hugs me back, his usual wide smile widening. Then he takes me by my shoulders and kisses my forehead. Whoa there, Basti... I have to admit, he is very cute. But I don't think I'm ready for any kind of relationships. However I just smile sweetly as he leaves.
The flight to Spain isn't very interesting, everyone just chitchats and others just sleep. I decide to sit next to Mario Götze. We sleep the rest of the flight, which is very long.

Suddenly a slight nudge wakes me up. "Hm?" I murmur, blinking and looking up. Mario smiles at me and gives me a very soft pinch on my cheek and walks away.

We must've arrived. I get up and walk behind the teammates, wiping my eyes. When we get down, the sun is blazing. I almost screech like a vampire and cover my eyes. Hissing, I walk down the stairs quickly and reach Thomas.

"Ach! I hate the sun in my eyes when I wake up..." I complain. Thomas laughs and places an arm around my neck.

"Hey, it's Spain. What did you expect? Anyways we have a few hours to get ready for the game." He says, walking towards Mr. Guardiola. I shrug and follow them.

When we reach the Camp Nou, home to FC Barcelona, there are at least 30,000 fans screaming players' names, booing, and singing anthems. We quickly go through the back and get inside the dressers.

There are guards though, who stop me, shaking their heads. "Sorry lady, this is off limits." One of them says. I frown and look at Thomas. "Lady, you would be seeing men without their shirts on. And you would probably be going wild." The other one comments. I blush intense red. How dare he! However, I just smile.

"Alright, I can just cover my eyes." I say skeptically. Both of them exchange glances and take a step forward. I shrink back, looking at them. "Lady, you'll have to wait on the bleachers. But on a brighter note, you will be on first row." The first guard says. Angry at Thomas, I glare at him and turn away towards the bleachers and almost bump into a Barcelona player on my way. I mutter a small 'sorry' and glance up at him. Short blond hair, small blue eyes and tall. Very tall, he also has gloves on his hands. My guess is that he is goalie.

Then it hits me, I just bumped into Marc- Andre Ter Stegen. I look up at him and he flashes a smile at me. I suddenly feel warmer, brighter. I return the smile and walk towards the bleachers. I feel weird. Marc-Andre just flashed his brightest smile yet. I remember him when Thomas had to train for the World Cup.

I sit down, sighing. I take out my phone and look at my family's picture and a soft smile is brought to my face. What would happen if my father dies... Oh God. Suddenly I hear the welcoming ceremony start and I look up, small children holding hands with the players, from both teams, smiling brightly. I see Thomas smile and talk to the child down, who grins happily.

The loudspeaker says a few things and then all players go to their positions. Oh God, please let Bayern München win. I hope.