-Better

04- f o u n d

Barcelona, Spain- 17 years old

Ever since Leo left Rosario, he's been unable to control his thoughts, every single one of them somehow reverting back to the girl he had spent his most valued memories with. She never did successfully track him down, but Leo thought it was for the best, even if his heart was telling him it was wrong. He did, however, have his mom still keep in touch with hers to see how they were doing.

He didn't have much time to think, though, because today was his first official match with FC Barcelona. He was determined to make a good impression. Even if he didn't get to the top of the ranks immediately, he still wanted something to show for it.

As he sat in the locker room, only about 30 minutes until the game, he felt his stomach churn and his palms were sweatier than they had ever been. He didn't like being this nervous, it made him mess things up, but of course he was nervous, this was his first real match!

His first real game in his life. This was where the big dogs stood and made their legacies. It was also the place where many people fall. He just hoped he wouldn't be one of the latter.

Adjusting his jersey for yet another time, he sighed and stared at all of the other familiar faces he had begun to know. He knew a lot of them had skills and he knew he needed to match that skill, maybe even surpass it. Jade would've been so proud, maybe even a bit jealous, but a part of him was hoping she knew where he was. That she was watching to witness the history about to go down as a monument in his lifetime.

As he blinked a bit finally realizing that it was time to go, he followed behind his other teammates and found the hand of a little boy, around 7 or 8, smiling up at him widely in his kit. He looked so happy to just be there and it reminded Leo of himself when he was younger. Maybe a little bit of him now.

Leo was awaiting the time of his life while Jade, on the other hand, was still working towards hers. Her feet stilled the ball as she let it hit the ground once more, frustrated with her lack of patience. Mostly, her daily routine consisted of waking up, going to school, coming home, and going to play football out on the field, but today was different.

Her parents had moved with her to Barcelona as soon as Leo left and they could. It was a surprise her mom even listened to her hormonal 15 year old daughter scream about moving out to find her best friend— she guessed it was because they were needing a new start anyway. But he was yet to be found and she needed to stop searching— she had more important things on her mind.

With Leo gone, she threw herself into her classwork, even taking extra classes each day to graduate early. Today was the day she was graduating with the senior class at the newly-turned age 17. Her nerves couldn't be more screwed right now so she woke up earlier than normal and went out to go play keepy-uppy for a while.

After a quite frustrating session of that, she drove back to her house to get ready for her very last day in association with grade school. Packing her stuff, she let out a puff of air and looked in the mirror. Her brown eyes were red from the lack of sleep and her hair was tangled and filled with sweat so she quickly brushed it and put it into a tight ponytail.

After grabbing the granola bar her mother handed her, she gave her a kiss and waved to her brothers, who were now 14 and just as childish as always. Her heart raced as she flew out of the door, yelling her goodbyes as she went.

"Don't forget to smile, mija!" Her mother told her as she closed the door and skipped down the street. She was finally leaving school and moving on with her life and this was the first time in a long time she has been this happy.

At the graduation, she met up with her friend, Kila, someone she had met when she first move here and they've been friend since. They were both graduating early which made it easier for both of them, having someone to relate and share problems with.