The Beautiful Game ~Neymar Jr~

Thin Line Between Love & Hate

"Great job today girls. Remember, practice starts again at 4 tomorrow." Coach Rita said.

"It's about time. I thought she was going to make us run around the field again." My friend Mila panted.

I loved football practice. It was tiring, but felt rewarding at the same time.

"Beatriz, what are we gonna do now?" Mila asked while gulping down some water.

"We can go over to the boy's field, I hear Oscar's group plays today."

"Great!  But wait, isn't -"

"Yes, Neymar's in Oscar's group. I don't like him any more than you do, but I really want to talk to Oscar."

"Okay, you're right. You've had the biggest crush on Oscar ever since you first laid eyes on him." Mila nudged while winking.

"Shut up." I mumbled while blushing furiously. She was right though. Ever since Oscar Dos Santos caught my eye, I couldn't stop thinking about him.

Once we made it to the boy's field, I quickly scanned my eyes over the field to a familiar set of chocolate brown eyes and wavy brown hair.

Mila and I sat on the benches, waiting for the boys to finish practice. I watched Oscar move swiftly. He was the only one who scored past the goalie. A few minutes later, a group of boys started to gather their belongings and leave their field, walking towards the benches we were sitting at.

"Mila, maybe we should just go. I don't want to look creepy. What if Oscar doesn't want to talk to me? I'm two years younger than him. He probably sees me as a little kid." I blabbered all at once.

I was definitely feeling nervous, and didn't even want to talk to Oscar anymore.

"Just be calm. Oscar's a really sweet guy, okay?"

"Shhh, here he comes!"

I quickly caught a glance at Oscar. His lean body was beaded with sweat, and his hair was messy, as if he just ran his hands through it.

He looked over at Mila and I and smiled a little. I instantly felt butterflies in my stomach.

"Do you girls mind if I sit here?" Oscar pointed at the bench.

"No problem." I smiled.

Oscar pulled out his phone, tapped at it a couple times, then set it down in his bag. Once he looked up, he glanced at my football boots, and the football I was holding.

"So you play football here?" Oscar asked.

He was making conversation with me. Holy cow. The guy I've been crushing on for the longest time is finally talking to me. Mila slightly nudged me and cleared her throat sneakily.

"Yeah, I've played for about ten years now."

"That's impressive. It's always nice to see people having a passion for  football. It's hands down my favorite sport. It's my dream to play for the Brazilian national team."

"That's amazing. Don't ever give up, that's an amazing dream to have.I'm Beatriz, by the way. And this is my best friend Mila." Mila gave him a small wave.

"I'm Oscar. Nice to meet you," Oscar grinned, but his phone started to ring. "Excuse me."

He stepped away from Mila and I, and once he was out of sight, we turned to each other with huge smiles on our faces.

We calmed down before he returned  and once he did, he started picking up his bags.

"My ride's here. It was really nice meeting you Beatriz. You too, Mila."

"It was nice to meet you too." I smiled. We both waved him a goodbye, and I couldn't be any happier at that moment.

"Well you finally talked to your main man." Mila squealed.

"He's not my main man, Mila."

"You mean, not yet."

We started to gather our belongings, then headed off to my house, which was a short ten minute walk from the field.

The walk home was comfortably silent for the most part. Mila probably knew I was too happy to even function at the moment. After a while I spoke up.

"Do you think I'm over reacting?" I don't know why, but I wanted her to say yes. I wanted her to tell me that maybe Oscar isn't the one for me. I felt like it would be too good to be true if anything good came from today.

"No way, Rizzy. I think it's fantastic that you finally are getting somewhere with this whole Oscar mission."

"Yeah. Thanks Mila." I smiled.

I knew my happiness couldn't last for long once we turned the corner to my street. I had the worst neighbor ever. He was cocky and smug, and was sure all the girls in town loved him. He was by far, the most obnoxious eighteen year old I've ever known. His name was Neymar.

"Hello pretty ladies." Neymar winked.

"Just ignore him Mila." I whispered.

"Aw, come on. Don't ignore me just because I'm a better footballer than you."

He must have noticed the ball in my hand. He always had a thing for making himself seem like a football god.

"I could've sworn that I saw you two at my field today. On the way out, you were trying to talk it up with Oscar, huh? Don't bother. Me and Oscar are incredibly close. He tells me everything. And I just so happen to know, that he has girlfriend. They've been together for about three years now. She's gorgeous, too."

As soon as Neymar said those words, I felt as if a car came out of the blue and hit me. I felt my heart drop into my stomach, and I couldn't breathe. I looked him in the eyes.

"For your information, I was just having a friendly chat with Oscar. I wasn't 'trying' anything. So before you open that big mouth of yours, why don't you go practice some football. You didn't score once today." I spat.

Mila stood there with her face a bright pink color. Neymar's face fell, but he quickly put a cocky smirk on his face.

"You know what, little girl, just go home. Isn't it getting a little late?"

I quickly flicked him off, and urged Mila to come with me.

Once we entered my house, I let out a long groan.

"Who does he think he is? He's not the best footballer. He doesn't have girls gathering around him, and he definitely doesn't know how to be a damn human being!"

"Calm down Beatriz. He's just trying to get you mad. I think he likes you. He annoys you on purpose so you notice him."

"You're crazy Mila. He hates me, and I hate him." I refused to believe anything as crazy as Neymar liking me.

"I don't know, Rizzy. There's a thin line between love and hate."

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