***

Just as Sira had prophesied, Sophia woke up sharply to her 8am alarm.

Well, almost.

She was alerted at 8am but simply knew she'd end up fainting again from exhaustion. So she snoozed herself alarm, and found herself rising at 10am. Her finger tapped the phone ringing at her bedside drawer, promptly ending the alarm before it could drive her to insanity.

She stumbled a little as she got out of the bed and onto her feet. Sophia gathered soon enough and was happy it didn't have anything to do with a headache but more to do with the throbbing red lump on her head. It hurt.

Right. Last night.

Well, a mere 6 hours ago, more like. When she and Sira got driven home by a Barcelona player named Pedri González after a Manchester City player named Ferran Torres gave her the bump that now sat very visibly on her head. Oh, Ferran Torres whose boss happened to be Sophia's own cousin, Katherine.

She was so hoping she'd wake up and find out that last night was a nightmare of sorts.

It wasn't.

But then, it wasn't too nightmarish either. Maybe even thrilling, despite Sophia almost passing out multiple times in Pedri's backseat. He was really kind to her last night, and she appreciated that. She felt horrible for the earful she knew Ferran would be getting from his two team managers, especially the one Sophia was related to.

Speaking of cousins, when she gets back after refreshing herself in the bathroom, coffee in hand, a message pops up on Sophia's phone:

From: Katherine Adams

Katherine Adams: good morning my dear
Katherine Adams: how are we feeling
Me: buenas dìas kat, feeling refreshed
Me: you want to meet the new friend on my forehead?
Katherine Adams: a new pimple?
Me: ew, no, it's the lump i got after falling in the club last night
Katherine Adams: you mean when ferran assaulted you?
Katherine Adams: gonna fucking destroy him in training
Me: he did not assault me, it was merely a horrible attempt at flirting
Katherine Adams: are you sighing rn
Me: what makes you think that
Katherine Adams: my seventh sense
Me: what's ur sixth sense
Katherine Adams: knowing when there's an Enrique and Adams-Diaz family dinner coming up
Me: you are good
Me: next weekend in seville, mum and dad want to celebrate matt & clary finishing school for the year && me being done with first year
Me: them acting like me finishing exams (🤞) means i've already gotten passes with distinction
Me: oh but most importantly you winning the prem league with city
Katherine Adams: everybody knows you're going to pass
Katherine Adams: it's a non negotiable
Me: DO U WANT ME TO SHOW U THE LUMP OR NOT
Katherine Adams: sighs
Katherine Adams: show her to us then
Me: 📸photo
Katherine Adams: i am going to kill that fucker ferran
Me: you will do no such thing
Me: you will go put your red and white england football boots on
Me: and kick some balls
Katherine Adams: ferran torres', you mean
Me: HE IS YOUR PLAYER DONT ATTACK
Me: ok gotta go wake up sira
Me: will facetime you with clary later
Katherine Adams: fab
Katherine Adams: enjoy ur day hon text me if u want revenge on Ferran
Me: no
Me: enjoy ur day too love you
Katherine Adams: love u

Sophia dropped her phone onto her bed and slid her magenta-coloured Crocs on, venturing into the upper hallway of her flat. Sira's room was only at the opposite end and right enough, the girl was still slumped asleep. She sits by her bed and shakes the girl by the shoulders gently.

"Wake up, Saz," she says.

Sira groans. "...Soph?"

"Who else?"

A groggy laugh falls from the older girl's lips. "What's the time?"

"Nearing half ten," says Sophia. She passes over the glass of water and paracetamol beside her. "Thought you could do with this."

"I should be the one taking care of you." Sitting up, Sira asks, "How you feeling?"

"Fine," shrugs Sophia. "Doctor said there was nothing wrong with me after all. Just need sleep and nutrients. Did you not have equestrian practice today?"

"Yeah, at 12 today." Sira rubs her eyes, brown hair falling in strands over her shoulder. Then clamps a hand over her mouth, eyes widening in realisation.

Sophia frowns. "What is it?"

"I completely forgot... I was supposed to tell Rico to bring your car around this morning but didn't message him... shit, I'm sorry, Soph... I'll go message him now...—"

"Don't bother," Sophia grimaces, stopping Sira from picking up her phone from her beside table. "It's chill. I'd rather pick up my car myself than deal with Rico's questionable parking. Going into Uni, anyways."

"You're getting the subway to Uni?" Sira says.

"Nah, I'll rent a bike. Weather's too nice to spend money on a train ticket."

"Well.. alright, then." Sira nods, flipping the covers off of her to get onto her feet. "You want breakfast? Think there's still some pancake batter from yesterday."

"Sounds good. I'll grab us some fruit to go with it."

With that, they set off to make their breakfast. Sophia showers afterwards since she still reeked of sweat and BO and booze and the club in general, because the girl just dived straight into her pyjamas after getting in early that morning and went to sleep. She left her wet hair in a bun, the current 25°C heat of Barcelona enough to do the work of a blow-drier. Knowing she'd be in the library till late afternoon, she pulled on a pair of green joggers and a cropped white tank top. She rented and reserved her bike online, stuffed her laptop, chemistry notebook and textbook into her bag and her biker jacket too. It would probably get a little colder when she'd be making her way back. She pats the pocket of said-jacket and frowns at its empty contents.

Sophia yells across the hall, "Yo, Sira, you haven't seen my card holder have you?"

Sira walks in to Sophia's room moments later, frowning. "Did you not have it when you rented your bike online?"

Sophia shakes her head. "Apple Pay. Swear I had it with me."

"Didn't you take it to the club with you? When you had to stop for petrol? Surely it's in your purse from last night?"

"That's a shout..."

Sophia rummages through the pile she dumped all her stuff into when she got in that morning. I'll sort through it later, was what her drowsy mind assured her, but later would have to be... later, now. Girl's got things to do.

"Nope, not here." She huffs out a breath. "No sign of my purse either... it had my car keys in it too."

"Dios mio, you can't have lost it, can you?" says Sira. "Could it have got nicked?"

Sophia shakes her head. "Swear I had it with me the entire time at the club. I left the club with it in my hand. I..." Sophia sighs. "This'll have to wait. My bike's only held for a short amount of time, I need to go. We can sort this out later."

"If you say so," Sira nods, trotting downstairs. "Want a lift to the bike depot?"

"Please," grins Sophia at the exact time Sira took her car's keys from the key holder in the hallway.

Sira dropped Sophia off at the bike rental space five minutes away from their flat, and from there, Sophia collected her bike, dumped her bag and jacket into the basket attached to the handles, strapped on her helmet and pedalled through the streets of Barcelona, basked in sunlight. Ten minutes of cycling saw Sophia arrive at the grand library of Universidad de Barcelona, well within the campus of the university. Since her currently-missing card holder also included her student ID, the librarian on reception had to manually check Sophia into the building. She really needed to find that purse of hers.

But she desperately needed to study for this exam.

And so the rest of that morning she had spent in a quaint corner of the library sipping on her water bottle, scanning her MacBook, etching notes on flashcards, banging her head on her desk... she thinks she fell asleep for ten minutes, so went and got a coffee from the Costa Express machine in the library. That kept her going for a few more hours, and it was around half four in the afternoon when Sophia was rocking back and forth in her chair, slouched with a fork and a Tupperware container containing the baked potato she made herself before she left the flat. Her eyes were training on her MacBook screen at the exact time she was eating, using this break of hers to continue her binge of The 100. She was currently on season 3.

Her phone buzzes, causing her to put down her container while ceasing the rocking in her chair.

She raises an eyebrow.

From: Palmero

Palmero: hola 😄
Palmero: how are you feeling?

There was no need to wonder who Palmero was. Even after last night's exhaustion, Sophia remembers the shorthand entertainment she received at realising what to put Pedri's called ID as. It was a non-negotiable. Still, she had to smileat the message. He was sweet.

Me: buenas dìas! feeling much much better now tyvm for asking 💙
Me: any news on Ferran?
Palmero: I'm glad to hear it☺️
Palmero: he's just moaning mainly about being out for the next few weeks but on the road to recovery anyways
Me:🤣🤣🤣
Palmero: was actually going to mention... I'm in my car just now and found a purse in the backseat, feel like it might belong to you or Sira?
Palmero: 📸photo

Sophia's eyes widened. She felt like an idiot. How on Earth, even in her addled state last night, could she have forgotten to lift her purse from Pedri's car? But sighs relievedly despite that, because it hadn't been stolen.

Me: oh bless you pedri
Me: i was looking for that everywhere!! can't believe i was so careless with it
Me: thank you so much
Palmero: don't sweat it :)
Me: where can i meet you? i'm in the library rn and have a bike rented too (need to return it by 6 tho)
Palmero: I'll meet you at the bike depot? I can give you a lift to your car too, i take it you weren't able to pick it up without your keys
Me: so you had a wee peek inside my purse then👀
Palmero: caught me there 🫣
Me: kidding hahahahah
Me: that works perfect for me, i'll drop you the shop's address! see you at 6?
Palmero: works for me too. see you soon 😊

Thank god for Pedri Gonzàlez. The 100 was still running in the background and Sophia just knows she blanked out for most of the last ten minutes, through the Spanish footballer's messages and the disbelief-slash-relief that her belongings were safe. After finishing her food, she stayed in the library for another forty-five minutes — a period of time including finally getting that one question right (the annoying one she couldn't wrap her head around for weeks), running out of paper for her emergency notes, and checking in over the phone with her little sister Clarissa on the way back from her training. It was still bright outside thanks to daylight savings in the summer, so although warm, the ride to the bike depot was spiritually refreshing in the glowing skies.

"Gracias," she tells the worker at the desk after passing over her rented helmet, her bike clicked back into the locks of the cycle rack with the other bikes.

The shop was filled with pieces of bicycle equipment that was enough to motivate anyone to convert their lifestyle into that of cyclist's. Sophia figured it would actually make more sense to bring her bike in from Seville rather than increasing her would-be debt once she'd finished uni (but she hopes that the job she'd get as a result might cover that). Her eyes scan over a pair of cycling goggles that she wouldn't think to use as much in Spain but would be perfect for Glasgow. She picks up the biggest pair, thinking they'd be perfect to fit her cousin Katherine's dad, who was staying in Scotland at the moment. Even tries them on, despite them being far off her size.

"They suit you," a kind of familiar voice calls out as Sophia examines herself in the mirror.

She halts at the sound, winding herself to face the person — looking absolutely fucking ridiculous in these fluorescent-tinted glasses — and understands why the voice was familiar. Sophia surprised herself actually, because she's that person who remembers names and not faces — but she supposed in this case it would be kind of difficult to not remember the face of the guy who took her to A&E after fainting last night.

"Ah—er, hola, Pedri," She scrambles to take the glasses off, slotting them back in with the rest.

"Hola," chuckles Pedri. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Nah, you didn't. It takes more than that to scare me. You merely... gave me a jolt."

Pedri sniggers. "Jolt, sure."

Sophia grins. "But, er, thanks for coming. And not nicking my purse."

"Don't mention it," he insists. "You ready to go? I'm parked outside."

"Let's head," she agrees.

They exit the bike depot towards the car park, however this time Sophia's memory did fail her and she did not have the ability to remember what Pedri's car looked like. Thankfully he was a step ahead of her and led her to the car. When he clicked the button on his key she saw the lights of a navy Cupra flash on; he walked to the driver's side, she walked to the passenger's, placing her backpack beside her legs.

Before Pedri switched on the car's ignition he reached into the back seats. Sophia frowns, but understood when he came away from it with her purse in his hands.

"As promised, princesa," he says handing over the garment with a dramatic bow of the head.

Sophia chuckles. "You're a lifesaver, Palmero."

"It just felt right you got it back," he shrugs like it was nothing. "Your car was parked at the club?"

"Not exactly," she answers, "there was none available so I had to park us at the barber's on the next street. The one with the orange sign?"

Pedri hums for a moment. "I think I know where you are. You may have to direct me, though."

"No worries," says Sophia as he sets off. "Were you training today?"

"Just a bit of light work with my trainer," he says. "He knew I was out last night so wasn't too... strenuous, let's say."

"Nice of him."

Pedri snickers. "I was shocked. The guy never takes mercy on me."

Sophia laughs at that. "Fair."

"How was the library?" Pedri asks. "Feeling any better about your exam?"

"Quite productive, actually." Sophia said, sounding like she surprised herself. "I'm trying to keep myself composed because a last minute freak-out will benefit no one, and I've revised a lot, so I just hope it shows on paper."

"I'm sure it'll be okay," says Pedri. "Effort and hard work always shine through. Everything else isn't in your control, but you've done what you can."

"Yeah..." says Sophia "That... is true. Thanks."

He smiles. Turning his wheel around a corner, Pedri takes a fleeting look at Sophia. "I'll admit, Sophia, I was kind of hurt when I saw the joggers you were wearing."

"Uh-" Sophia frowns, then looks down, and understood. "Okay."

Pedri chuckles.

"In my defence, I did tell you I was a Betis fan."

Because the bottoms Sophia was wearing with her white cropped tank were green Hummel training pants with the Real Betis brand on the side.

"True." He agrees. "I guess I just realised it'll take more than driving you to A&E at the crack ass of dawn to convert you."

Sophia raises an eyebrow, laughing. "Is that why you took me to A&E last night? To convert me into a Barca fan?"

Pedri clicks his tongue. "Caught me, again." One hand on the wheel, he takes his eyes off the road and onto her for a second. "Nah. I just... got scared when I saw you faint. Even if I didn't know who you were, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I am, thanks to you," Sophia smiles. Pointing to the lump on her forehead, "And came out with a souvenir too."

Pedri laughs. "Ferran must see the damage he caused. You got his number didn't you?"

"Indeed I did. Actually..." Sophia pulls her phone out her bag, taps into her front-facing camera and angles the device to fit her and Pedri in the screen. They were stopped at a red light so Pedri looked over and posed for the picture with Sophia. She clicks it and looks back at it, grinning. "Perfect," she tells Pedri, "Will send that to the perpetrator."

"Send it to me, too," Pedri says with a smile.

"Definitely."

"I'm actually pretty impressed by how genuine your joggers seem," says Pedri. "As far as public-sale merchandise goes."

Sophia has to laugh at that. "They're not, actually. They are the authentic player's track pants."

"Really?" Pedri frowns. "How did you manage that—Your boyfriend play for Betis or something?"

"No boyfriend I'm aware of..." She traces the stitched green and white logo. "My sister plays for the academy. They're hers, the uniform she receives. But these were last season's before she jumped 2 inches above me so she let me bring them along. Perks of having a footballer sibling."

"That's actually... really nice," says Pedri. "That your sister plays for Betis. How old is she?"

"Turning seventeen in November," replies Sophia. "My little brother's followed in her footsteps too; he's nine and is just about to finish his first year at the youth academy."

"Could that ever have been you? A footballer?"

"Maybe," She smiles. "I played my high school's girls team — I was never as good as Clarissa was to be able to make it professionally. And it was through Clarissa's place that Matthias got in. I'm glad I can still kick a ball around whenever I wish, and I'm happy at where I am, so I've never questioned what could've been. I like seeing my siblings live the dream."

"Very fair," says Pedri, smiling. "Might have to make a mental note if their names. You know, future stars."

Sophia grins. "What about you? Any footballer siblings?"

"My older brother Fernando used to play for the local team," he explains. "But he's a lot like you. Just enjoys playing when he can and likes the perks that comes with being the older—oldest—sibling of a footballer."

"Is it just you two?"

"Yep," says Pedri, "Just me, Fernando and our parents. We're quite close in age which is really nice. Do you have any older siblings or just the two younger?"

"Three younger, actually," Sophia laughs. He frowns and she explains, "I have a baby sister too, Rosie. Turning one in August."

"Damn, that is a baby," Pedri marvels. "Some age gap there."

"Eighteen years, to be precise. Second-biggest shock of my life when my mum announced her pregnancy."

"The first?"

"When Brendan Rodgers upped-and-left Celtic in the middle of the season to join Leicester."

"Huh."

"Karma got him, though. He lost his first games in charge."

"Good to hear," he laughs.

"But, erm, to answer your question, no older siblings. I'm the oldest. But my cousin Katherine, who was shouting at Ferran over the phone, she's practically a big sister to me. I'm grateful to have someone like her in my life."

The Andalusian looks out the window, and realised how close they were.

"Is it this street or the next?" asks Pedri.

"The next," says Sophia. "Just turn right and—ah, yeah, that's my car there."

"The blue BMW or navy Seat?"

"The Seat." Sophia grins, "I call her Rebekah."

Pedri raises an eyebrow, "Any particular reason?"

"I was obsessed with The Vampire Diaries when I bought her six months ago," she shrugs. "And I can't go back now that I've named her after an original vampire."

"True," he says, a grin breaking across his face. He pulls easily into a parking spot not far from Sophia's Seat, putting on the handbrake once they were stopped. "Well... this is you."

"Um, yeah, well..." Sophia has a hand hooked under her backpack strap and the other holding her purse and phone. She didn't really know what to say now that they had to part... and a portion of her that she couldn't explain didn't want to. But she gives him a smile, car keys hooked around her fingers. "Thanks again... this was so kind of you. I do appreciate it a lot. Multiple saves in one day, and you're not even a goalie."

"Honestly," Pedri returns with a light laugh. "It was really no hassle. Good luck with your exam tomorrow."

"Good luck with Euro qualifiers." Sophia returns, and after saying goodbye, she steps out of Pedri's car and strides towards her own, his door lightly shutting behind her.

Sophia managed three steps before she halted, without warning. She turns back and sees Pedri making his mirror observations.

She didn't want this to be the last time that she'd see him. At least... until the next time some accident or miracle brought them together. It's exactly like Sira had said... there weren't many like him. The past twenty-four hours proved that, and Sophia knew that he deserved much better than a million thank yous, and they'd been through a lot just for them to go back to being strangers. She gave him her number, for goodness sake.

"Actually." Sophia retraces her three steps and ends up back at the door she exited from. Pedri turns to meet her gaze with confusion. The road was quiet right now, so she bent down at the open window with no worries.

"Everything okay, Sophia?" He frowns.

She takes a deep breath. "If my parents found out that a stranger from the club had bought my drink only to then escort me to A&E, take me home, then text me the next day about the purse I left in his car to then bring it to me and drive me to my own car... well, you'd be getting a five-course meal at the very least. And they'd be disappointed if I let you go without a thank you gesture, and frankly, so would I. So... I'll make you dinner at mine and Sira's one night?"

"That's lovely, but you don't need to do that—I—"

"You're not saying no, Palmero," Sophia laughs. "I'll text you the date, and bring Ferran over too. I'm not my parents combined, but I know how to play about in the kitchen."

"Alright," Pedri chuckles.

"Alright," Sophia grins, "I'll see you later, Pedri."

Pedri nods. "Adios, verdiblanco."

With that, Sophia left in her car soon after Pedri left in his. That night, sat with peppermint tea to ease her nerves for her impending exam, her Instagram scrolling led her to find the account handle @pedri. The prompt within her clicked the follow button. It wasn't that much longer when a notification popped up from the same Instagram app.

sophadiaz: Pedri Gonzàlez (@pedri) has
requested to follow you.

She clicked accept, because after everything that went on in the last day, this didn't seem as much of a big deal as before.

***

hihihi :))
super apologies for the shitty updating
uni has taken NO mercy on me and exams szn being in less than a week hasn't made it any better :")
thank you so much for all ur support lately tho. i'm loving how many people are enjoying this, i did not expect it at all. ur enjoyment means everything to me!!!
not sure when the next update will be but bare with guys :)

question: who's everyone rooting for in the world cup???

mine will ALWAYS be argentina - would love spain to get far bc of all the barca players but morocco is a small team that has my heart so them going thru would mean a lot too :")
(my country would be scotland if those dumb mfers knew how to qualify for tournaments)

take care angels <3
- saar xxx