More than Friends (Neymar Jr. Fanfic)

Chapter 6: Broken Backs, Broken Hearts

"I'm getting a weird sense of déjà Vú here," I said staring down at the tickets as Rafaella held it out to me in her French-manicured hands. Damn I needed one of those right now.

"He wants to make it up to you, Rosa. I know my brother better than anyone, and trust me when I say that he's trying to be genuine," she pleaded, locking a gaze with mine. I got a brief flashback of when we would play Cinco Marias while Neymar and Adrianno were at soccer practice. We used to dress the same and tried to convince our parents that we were actually twins. There was so much similarity between her and her brother. The way their eyes turned gold in direct sunlight, or how they sparkled a beautiful green-

"Personally Rosa, I think you should take it before Rafa's hands fall off," my brother chuckled from behind her, snapping me back to reality. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on top of hers, the same way he always did to me and Marianna.

"I'm sorry Rafa, I can't." I muttered lightly grasping the tickets. They felt cool under my fingertips and I gave them back to her, trying to avoid the saddened look on her face. This was just another sacrifice I had to make.

"Well if you're not going to take them," Mari said, grabbing them from Rafa. "Then I sure as hell will," she beamed at the tickets like a little kid in a candy shop, showing off her award-winning dimples.

"Yay!" Rafa shouted before giving her a tight squeezed hug.

No matter how much I didn't believe it, I had to convince myself that this was for the best

Shut up, Rosa. You still have feelings for him, my conscience nagged at the back of my head. Great, even I couldn't come to terms with my emotions.

Yiptee fucking doo.

Later we all sat down on the couch and watched highlights of the game, my chest tightened when I saw Ney's face on the screen, a wave of both guilt and sorrow washing down over me. Rafa saw the look on my face, grabbed the remote, and switched the television off.

"So," she said setting the remote down and pulling out her phone. "What has the Cruz family been up to for the last 5 years?"

**************

Three Days Later: Brazil Vs. Colombia

Marianna's POV:

There were three things I was absolutely positively sure of.

1. My sister, as much as I loved her, was the biggest idiot in the world.

2. All of this planning with Adrianno and Rafa was starting to feel like a re-run of the "Parent Trap."

and 3. Watching football on television was one thing, but seeing it live was a whole new level of paradise.

It had only been a few days, but I had missed the familiarity of the loud cheers from the crowd; the stadium radiated enough energy to fuel New York City. Personally, I still don't understand how Rosa could miss out on this. Sure there was bad blood between her and Neymar, but come on. This was the goddamn World Cup for crying out loud! She didn't even have to look at him, there were tons of other gorgeous guys on the field.

But No. She wasn't willing to risk it.

The crowd went crazy as Thiago Silva headed the ball, and it flew straight to the back of the neck. I could feel the entire country rumble under my feet in celebration. I jumped to my feet and hugged both Rafa and my brother, my cheeks growing soar from smiling to much.

"Força Brasil!" I shouted from the stands. Clapping my hands in the air. This was a beautiful moment for me, I swear I was about to cry.

"Are you enjoying the game princesa?" Rafaella said to me. I nodded my head, but that wasn't the only thing I was getting out of this. It felt nice to be in her company again. I remember the times she used to comb my hair and dress me up; she had always wanted a sister. And although Neymar and her were close, they still bickered like typical siblings.

Later in the game, David Luiz scored, sending me soaring to my feet once again.

How could Rosa miss this?

Everyone on the Brazilian team began to celebrate, David Luiz running on the pitch like madman, his mane of hair making him look like a lion. As all of the players celebrated on one side of the field, I watched as Ney ran towards them but slipped and fell straight on his ass. Rafa and I burst into a fit of laughter, while Adrianno chuckled beside me.

"Has he always been this clumsy?" I asked her.

"Only on the weekdays," she responded. We all sat back down, eager to finish watching the rest of the game. I bit back a frustrated yelp as the Colombian player James scored a penalty kick.

It's okay, I reassured myself. They won't score again, they won't score again.

This game was super important. If Brazil won the game they would play at the semi-finals. I feverishly began to bite my nails, a habit I picked up from Adrianno. They can't score again they can't they can't-

And then something happened that would change everything forever.

It was almost as if everything moved in slow motion, but backwards. First I heard the crack, then Rafaella and my screams filled the ears of everyone in the stands. His body rolled onto the field as he writhed in pain. Zuñiga's eye was on the ball as it soared through the air, Ney was preparing to control it. Up went Zuñiga's knee into his lower vertebrae, sending him face-to-face with the ground. My chest felt heavy as the scene unfolded before me. There was no way a hit like that would end well for us.

Rafaella's eyes began to well up with tears as she covered her mouth with her hands. Adrianno was silent beside me; something he did whenever he was in a state of shock or upset about whatever.

Me? I couldn't believe what was happening, and my body began to react by itself. My hand motioned over to my back pocket and began to dial Rosa's number, my hands vibrating as I pulled it to my ear.

"Hello?"

______________________

A/N: I am so so sorry I haven't been updating lately, I'm even more sorry that this chapter was too short.

I will try my hardest to write another one by next week, but please stay tuned and stay active.

Did you guys hear that Dunga made Neymar the captain of the Brazil NT? What do you guys think?

Comment and Vote :*