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"What's the matter with you?" Keylor asked nursing his thigh where Karim had sent a particularly vicious shot.
"Nothing," he mumbled. "I'm sorry about that." He walked away, trying to get off the field and away from the confused stares of his teammates.
"Karim! Can I have a second?" Sergio called in his special captain voice. "You two, Pepe and Cristiano, don't try to slink away. You're coming too."
Pepe and Cristiano who were doing just that, froze in their steps and walked towards Sergio unwillingly. It was obvious Karim was going to get the pep talk and it really wasn't great to have someone listening in while you're being told off for a bad day but Sergio seemed to have other plans.
"Yes, Sergio?" Karim asked half-heartedly.
"Hey, bro, are you okay? You look a bit pale," Cris asked, touching his forehead.
"No, I'm fine."
Sergio took a deep breath, "You know I hate doing this but it's my duty as a captain so I'll do it anyway. Pepe is here because he has sense. Cristiano is here because he has a similar experience in lovestruck moping."
"Hey!" Cristiano protested.
"Now," Sergio ignored the vehement protest and the accompanying glare, "will you tell us why you had a shitty practice today? Why Keylor has become your punching bag?"
"I apologized for it already!" Karim said.
Sergio gave him a look.
"Its just-a lot has been going on, okay? I'm going to Dubai in two days and guess who lives in Dubai? Shaheen!" He finally blurted out.
"So that is good, right?" Pepe asked, calmly.
"No. I mean, yes. I don't know," he looked away. "I feel...she will always be Raphael's fan, you know? She likes to talk about him. Me? She probably doesn't waste a single afterthought about me. To her, I'm just her crush's best friend."
Cristiano gasped and whacked his arm, "Karim! Have you been hanging out with Toni or Keylor too much? Because why are you so pessimistic? She does like you for you, okay? She wouldn't spend so much time with you otherwise."
"We've never met. We've never even facetimed. We just snapchat which is even worse than texting! And it's driving me crazy, alright? Why why am I caring so much about her opinion? Why do I want her to cheer for me? Why am I being jealous?"
"Because YOU LOVE HER, KARIM PARIM," Isco butted in with a huge smile. "Ship is ready to sail. Au revoir, I'm off!"
"Isco," Sergio groaned, "I'm trying to be serious here and don't eavesdrop."
Karim was blushing profusely. He cleared his throat, "I don't love her, Isco. It's more like she's kind of really amazing."
"Ship ship ship," Isco was chanting now.
Marcelo came up, "So, Karim has finally confessed his undying devotion to the cool Shaheen and she has calmly refused the bald fucker?"
Karim looked like he was ready puke, "Guys, please. I don't want to talk about this."
Cristiano put an arm around him and walked him slightly apart from the fast-gathering team, "Look, I'm not saying you're in love even though I feel you are but that is your choice. All I'm telling you is this...if you behave this way and don't meet her, would you or would you not regret it for the rest of your life? And would it be fair to her? She seems like a great person and at least, you two should meet as close friends if nothing else."
"What if I do like her, Cris?" Karim asked worriedly. "I can't do this. I can't watch her love Raphael every day. This is why I want to stop before it gets worse. I hate this feeling, of being so dependent on someone that your world begins to revolve around them. I really like her and none of this is easy."
"I know," Cristiano smiled softly, "but has anything ever been easy?"
"I guess, I should meet her then?"
"You guess? You better do!"
Nacho called to them, "Guys, we just called up Alvaro. The love guru has spoken. Karim must go to Dubai and meet Shaheen with a bouquet of red roses."
Raphael ran up to Karim from where he had been practicing with Toni, "What's the fuss? What's happening?"
Karim looked at Sergio, Pepe and Cris with a pleading gaze. Don't let him know, please.
And they kept his secret while he decided he had to meet Shaheen. Maybe he would tell her that he had a tiny bit of a crush on her and that he rewatched her videos every day. Maybe, maybe, he smiled.
[ We updated so quickly yaaasss! OMG LOTS OF THINGS HAPPENING IN THIS UPDATE. SHARIM, YOUR TIME HAS COME ♡
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