this is me trying

I did end up wearing her jersey, along with a black miniskirt. It was in this jean material, which I found looked great with the jersey. I wore a pair of dark blue sneakers, some black sunglasses, and a Barcelona cap that I had bought in a small store here. Most of the clothes I had no idea where they were from, and these were no different. I bought a lot of clothes, and it was impossible to know where everything was from. My hair was braided into two French braids, and I was wearing some light makeup, as I did every day. I was looking forward to watching this game, and it helped that it was Alexia who invited me.

A taxi picked me up at the hotel and drove me to the arena. Someone who worked there showed the way to my seats, their name was Lisa, I read it on her name tag. Before the game started, I got myself a soda to drink. I had packed some cucumber sticks, along with some carrots to eat while watching the game. I had also packed some chocolate to eat.

Beside me there was a few other people. I think I had ended up in the family and friends' section, because the two women next to me were also wearing Alexia shirts. A few rows in front of me there was a family who all were wearing Rolfö shirts. I think we were grouped based on who we knew and who's tickets we used. That meant I was sitting next to Alexia's family. Was this really optimal?

"¿Conoces a Alexia?" the older women asked. I did not know Spanish, at all. In school I had studied German, which might have been the worst decision I had ever made, considering how hard the grammatic rules were. "Are you talking to me? I'm sorry I don't speak Spanish" I apologized to her. "Then I am the one who should be sorry. I asked if you knew Alexia" the woman clarified. "She invited me here" I answered, trying not to reveal too much about the circumstances. If this was a person Alexia knew she deserved to be the one telling people that she knew me.

I continued to talk to the two women sitting next to me and I found out that they were Alexia's mother and sister. Her closest family. It was cute that they were there to support her for this important moment in her career. My family almost never watched my shows. It was not that strange, considering that my father was currently in rehab for his alcohol addiction, and my mom was working full time. My mom had found the time to watch my three shows in Sweden and I was happy about that. Most of my family had been there, smiling and singing along to the songs. I stayed for almost an entire week, spending some time with the people I loved.

The two women ended up explaining how important this game was for the entire team. It was the final of the Champions League, which I knew, but it was the league where the best teams from all of Europe played against each other. Winning this would mean that Barcelona would be the champions of Europe. Something that was very big.

I knew they were playing a final, but I did not think it was this important. The show I had invited Alexia and her friends to attend was not that special. I mean I announced that I would release my next album, but other than that it was not as special as this game.

The entire team walked out of the tunnel, along with the other team. I recognized Alexia, the neck tattoo girl, wait I should call her Mapi, and the Swedish girl, which must be Rolfö. Alexia looked our way, and her face sported a new expression. She almost looked mad, but I think it was her concentration face. All I can say was that she looked really hot. I mean insanely hot, way hotter than she had looked at my concert. This was her place, and I was sure she would shine.

In the sixth minute Alexia fell over this girl, I was sure it would be a freekick, but it wasn't, and the other team was allowed to continue playing. This ultimately resulted in Lyon scoring a goal. I don't think football was for me, I liked watching it, but I think I would have too much anxiety to play.

In the twenty-third minute Lyon scored their second goal. It was beautiful, with a nice run and then a pass in the air to Ada Hegerberg who scored with her head. Alexia's mom told me her name, and how she was one of the best players in the world. I would not want to be Barcelona in this game, but I really hoped they would win. Two goals were nothing, right?

The game continued and both teams had the ball almost as much. I did not know why Barcelona had not scored yet, they had several chances, and I was surprised by how good Lyon's goalkeeper was. Alexia was playing like nothing else mattered, and she was good. It amazed me how someone could be that good at football. Her mom explained how she had won the Ballon D'or, which was the equivalent to artist of the year. That was not something I was surprised by, considering how good she was at football.

Before halftime a third Lyon goal was scored. Alexia's mom, who insisted that I should call her Eli, explained how the last final between these two went, with Lyon scoring four and Barcelona only scoring one. A result no one in the entire Barcelona team appreciated. I hoped they would turn it around and win.

In minute forty, Alexia scored a goal. The crowds and stands went wild, and I jumped up to celebrate with everyone else. This was exactly what they needed. Alexia did not celebrate her goal, instead she took the ball and ran back to their half. She was trying to make sure every single minute of the game was used, so that they could score three more goals and win the game.

Halftime rolled around and just that single goal from Barcelona and Alexia had been scored. During halftime I got myself a beverage, asking the two girls next to me if they wanted something. I returned with all our food, insisting that I could pay for everything. They both complained about that and wanted to pay, but I was insistent that the food was on me. Saying something about how they had explained the game to me and that this was the least I could do.

The second half ended without another goal being scored. But Barcelona was close several times. Alexia played the entire game, and she must have been exhausted when it was over.

Still, she came to see us after the medal ceremony. Tears were falling down her face, she must have felt awful in this moment. Losing such an important game. I had no idea how it felt since I didn't play a team sport. If I lost it only affected me, but if her team lost it affected everyone there. What if she thought it was her fault? Because it was not her fault. She played amazing the entire game and even though we barely knew each other, I was beyond proud of her.

Alexia jumped the barricade that was separating the pitch from the spectators. She made her way towards me, and I opened my arms for her, hugging her tightly. "You did great" I whispered in her hair. I felt her tears on my shoulder, and I felt bad for her. She did not deserve this at all. "I loved your goal. I could never score something like that. Just the way you played made me breathless. How can someone be as good at football as you are?" I continued to whisper.

"I am not that good at football" she argued back. Her voice was barely above a whisper, but it was angelic. "Your mom told me that you are the best player in the world, and that you even got trophies to prove that" I answered, smiling big. Alexia's head was no longer buried in my shoulder, instead she looked up at me again. "You talked to my mom?" she asked. "We were sitting next to each other, so conversation was bound to happen" I explained with a big smile on my face.

I wiped away her tears before we pulled apart from the hug. Her eyes moved over my body, almost like she was scanning it. "You look great Odette" she said, and it made me feel great, like I had impressed her. "You should wear my shirt more often" she continued, a big smile on her face. "I would prefer if I got a match worn one" I answered her cheekily. I was not expecting that she would actually give in to my demands, but she did.

Here I was standing in front of her, and she was no longer wearing her shirt. The shirt was in my hand. She was standing there in just her sports bra, and my eyes gravitated towards her incredibly toned abs. It was almost like my body had a reaction to this.

Instead of standing there and drooling, I handed her a hoodie from my tote bag. "We can't let those muscles get cold, can we?" I said with a smile. Eli and Alba made their way towards us, and I left them to their own devices while talking to the neck tattoo girl.

"Did Alexia invite you?" she asked, sounding very surprised by the fact that I was here. "Yes, she did" I smiled back at her. The neck tattoo was quite intimidating. If I had not spoken with her before I would have automatically been scared, but she was very nice. A bundle of energy and you could not see that she had played ninety minutes of football. "I think you should wear my shirt the next game, because you are watching more of them, right? We have the Euros in the summer" she said. Wait, she wanted me there? "If you send me one, I can wear it, and I'll be sure to think about the summer" I answered.

Soon after they both had to leave. I hugged Alexia goodbye and promised to wait for her outside. I did just that. I waited for her, and while I waited, I just scrolled through TikTok. There was a lot of edits about me, but I scrolled past them immediately. It was not something I wanted to see. Somehow, I ended up seeing a video of me at the game. This was strange, I did not know that people were this obsessed with me. I don't know why they cared so much about which people I was friends with. There were a lot of videos of my hug with Alexia, and then some of me wiping her tears. I scrolled passed them after watching the first.

"You waited" I heard from behind me. "I told you I would" I answered. We stood there and talked for a few minutes before Alexia had to leave for the team bus, but we agreed to go out for breakfast tomorrow.

I spent the night talking to my friend back home. We had been friends since we were two, going to school together and living in the same tiny city. Together we planned a road trip for early June, where we would explore the south of Sweden. I had booked us a few rooms in different small cities all over the southern part of Sweden. Then I looked at the schedule for the Euros, deciding that I could attend a few of the games. A productive day to say the least. 

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I want a girlfriend. For reals!

Anyway, third chapter is up. I actually have a total of 11 more chapters already written, so I will update this every day this week. Aren't I a nice author?

Check out my other books if you haven't already read them!









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