More than Friends (Neymar Jr. Fanfic)

II. Chapter 4: Chase

Neymar's POV Flashback: 6 Years Ago:

"Neymar." Her voice rang in symphonies at the back of my head, causing my heartbeat to move a little quicker.

"This is stupid, take me home right now." The wind was beginning to pick up as her brown hair blew in front of her face. The scorching Brazilian sun beat down on our backs. I peered over the edge, and shrugged my shoulders. We weren't that high up, and the waves were calm compared to the ones in São Paulo's beaches.

"Rosa, you said wanted to do something fun for your fifteenth birthday," I responded. She twisted up her face in disgust, looked over the edge, then back at me.

"Jumping two hundred feet from the sky wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I said 'fun,'" She told me. I walked closer to her, examining her expression. If I didn't know her I would have sworn someone pissed her off. But when I looked into her bright blue eyes fear looked right back at me. Her parents were off at work and planned a suprise for her when they got home. It was their idea for Rafa and I to take her to Rio for the weekend so she could see Cristo Redentor. I had seen the thing a million times, so while my mother and father were back at the hotel, I had another plan in mind.

"We're only 60 feet up and you know how to swim. You'll be alright, trust me." I assured her. "Look, even Rafa and Adrianno are jumping. They look fine to me." We watched as my sister and her brother leaped from the cliff once again, onto the blue waters below. Rosa scowled, rolling her beautiful eyes and turned around to sit by Mariana.

"I'm not jumping."

"Rosa..."

"No. I want to live to see another year, is that too hard to ask?" She sighed. Marianna looked up at her like she was crazy, then following her brother's path, got up and ran over the edge. I raised an eyebrow at her and she surpressed a grin. Even her 11 year old sister was braver than her.

"Promise me you'll jump?" I pleaded, giving her my best puppy dog face. She always told me that it was the ugliest face I could ever make, but it was worth a shot.

"I hate it when people make me do things I don't want to do," she said, crossing her arms over her chest and scowling at me.

"Alright I'll make you a deal. If we jump and you don't like it, you can push me off the highest cliff in Rio," I offered.

"Does that include Cristo Redentor?" She quipped.

"No." I held out my hand to her and she reluctantly took it while promising to get revenge on me later.

We walked to the edge, looking down at the beckoning water. Rafa and Marianna were engaged in a splashing competition with Adrianno. I could hear Rosa whispering prayers beside me.

"You're going to be fine Americana. Trust me," she glared at me in disbelief and laced her fingers through mine.

And then we jumped.

********

If it was one thing my father taught me when we first moved to Brasil, is that there is always an escape route. He, being the protective dad that he was, made sure to teach me how to avoid situations when roaming the streets by myself. Of course, my mother would respond by rolling her eyes and telling Dad that São Paulo was safe, for the most part. Despite Mom's reassurances, I still kept my father's word. However, right now, there was nowhere for me to swerve to with the dozens of people crowding the Center and the street vendors that blocked my path. Oh, and let's not forget Stranger Guy who for whatever reason, looks at me as if my name isn't the only thing he knows about me. Should I be worried or running for my life?