FROM FRIENDS TO MORE || Gavi x Pedri

Chapter 51 :: Locker room

The locker room was a cacophony of frustrated sighs and mumbled curses. The air hung heavy with the stench of defeat, a tangible reminder of their crushing loss against Girona. Pedri sat slumped on the bench, his head in his hands, the weight of the loss pressing down on him like a physical burden. He'd felt it all game - the missed passes, the defensive lapses, the agonizing near misses. Every missed opportunity echoed in his mind, a painful reminder of their failure.

He glanced across the room, catching Gavi's slumped shoulders and the way his gaze seemed to be fixed on a point far beyond the locker room walls. He wanted to reach out, to offer a word of comfort, but the unspoken tension between them, the silent wall they'd erected, held him back. He couldn't bring himself to break the silence, to acknowledge the hurt that festered beneath the surface.

The coach's post-match speech was a blur, his words lost in the echo chamber of Pedri's own thoughts. He couldn't focus, couldn't concentrate, his mind replaying the missed opportunities, the agonizing near misses, the cruel twist of fate that had robbed them of victory. He felt a deep sense of responsibility, a feeling that he had let the team down, that he had failed to live up to the expectations placed upon him.

He caught a glimpse of Gavi leaving the locker room, his head down, his shoulders slumped, his footsteps heavy with the weight of their defeat. He wanted to call out to him, to offer a word of comfort, to share the burden of their shared disappointment. But the unspoken tension between them, the unspoken words that hung heavy in the air, held him back. He couldn't bring himself to break the silence, to reach out to the one person he knew would understand his pain.

Later, in the quiet solitude of his apartment, Pedri found himself replaying the match in his mind, each missed opportunity, each defensive lapse, each tactical blunder, replaying like a broken record, a constant reminder of their failure. He felt a sense of responsibility, a feeling that he had let the team down, that he had failed to live up to the expectations placed upon him.

He felt a pang of guilt, a sense of inadequacy. He knew he wasn't playing his best, that his usual spark was missing. He missed Gavi's presence on the field, his playful banter, his unwavering support. He missed the way Gavi could lift his spirits with a simple smile or a knowing glance.

He knew that Gavi was feeling the weight of the loss too, that he was hurting just as much, if not more. He wanted to reach out, to offer a word of comfort, to share the burden of their shared disappointment. But the unspoken tension between them, the unspoken words that hung heavy in the air, held him back. He couldn't bring himself to break the silence, to reach out to the one person he knew would understand his pain.

The silence between them was a constant reminder of the chasm that had opened up between them. The loss had amplified their existing tension, a stark reminder of the fragility of their bond, a bond that was slowly unraveling under the weight of their unspoken words.

Pedri knew he had to do something, to break free from the chains of his pride, to reach out to Gavi, to let him know that he missed him, that he cared, that he wanted to fix what was broken.