epilogue.

The first thing she did before going online on her webcam was to change into her Michael Bartra outfit one last time. When she was ready to begin, she opened up her twitter account, which she had created as Michael Bartra from Real Madrid, and sent out a tweet.

michaelbartra: twitcam in five minutes. 

She had her friends from the team, those who were still talking to her at least, retweet her post so that as many people as possible could watch her. 

Once the five minutes were up, she sat on her bed and pulled up her twitter account again. Mariluz took a deep breath and clicked on the live button to get her twitcam going. Marcela stood off to the side, just out of camara range in case Mariluz could need some help. But now that thousands of people were watching her, she knew there was no turning back. 

Waving awkwardly at the camara, she began, "Hola, everyone. Many of you probably know me as Michael Bartra from Real Madrid. I had my debut with the team a couple of days ago. And if you don't know who I am...then you're probably watching the wrong twitcam."

Just off camara range, Mariluz saw Marcela stifle a giggle.

Sucking in a nervous breath, she continued, "I have been training with the team for the last few weeks and I made many friends, who at first were hostile towards me because I used to play for FC Barcelona. And I feel really bad about what I did...but I think its time to confess." Her hand moved up to touch her hair and she pulled the wig off, tossing it to the other side of the room. That was the very moment when the comments on the side went crazy, refreshing too fast for her to be able to read the reactions. "The truth is I'm a girl. My name is Mariluz Bartra and I didn't do all of this to hurt anyone. I just wanted to play football."

Hot tears now brimmed her green eyes as she continued. "In my short time at Madrid, I never realized I would come to love the institution so much. They allowed me to follow my dreams, when FCB had taken me down. I will always love Barcelona, my home. But now there is a special place for Real Madrid, its players, and its fans in my heart. And by the way, Sergio, you owe a nurse at the hospital a date. That's what you get when you request my services as match maker." Her finger moved to the sign off button as she ended with the words: "Hala Madrid."

-

Mariluz spent the next several days locked up in her bedroom. She thought that if she remained there long enough, everything would die down. She had also disconnected herself from the outside world. She shut her cellphone off, her laptop, and didn't watch anything on television. She was too afraid to do it.

Marcela tried to get her out of her room, but she didn't want to see anyone. Mariluz had even asked her bestfriend to not allow anyone into the house that wanted to see her.

It was almost two weeks later when she emerged from her bedroom hesitantly.

She had been hearing noises downstairs all morning and wanted to check it out. Dressed in her pajamas, she tiptoed down the hall and hid behind a pillar on the staircase when she noticed Marcela was hosting a party.

Before she could be spotted, she raced back to her bedroom and locked the door. She wanted no part in a party when everyone probably hated her and she was so miserable. As if she had spotted her, minutes later came the knock on the door from Marcela. "Mariluz," She called from the other side of the door. "Come outside, we have a surprise for you."

"We?" Mariluz asked.

"The boys and I." Her friend replied.

Mariluz felt her heart race just knowing that Ricardo would be there. But she still didn't want to face him or the other guys. "Marce, I told you I didn't want to see anyone."

"But we want to see you." Came the Portuguese accented voice of the Brazilian footballer. Mariluz nearly fell off her bed in surprise. When Mariluz was left speechless, he continued, "I'm sorry about being a jerk to you at the hospital. I just needed a few days to get over it. Anyway," He added with a smile. "Marcela told me you have a crush on me."

Mariluz felt her face go red. "Marcela!"

"Its true." Marcela defended.

"Its nothing bad." He assured her. "I really like you too. I liked you since I saw you at the kissing booth."

Biting her lip, Mariluz blurted out. "What about Florencia?"

"I got over it." He replied. "And she already found someone to love too."

The young woman climbed off her bed and went for the door. Opening it, she informed the two of them, "Just give me a few minutes and I'll be right down. And you," She grabbed the collar of his shirt and brought him in for a kiss on the lips, "Its about time you noticed that I love you."

-

It only took Mariluz fifteen minutes to get ready. She put on a simple dress and combed the knots out of her hair, as well as put light make up on her face. She and Ricardo went downstairs hand in hand where a crowd was waiting for them.

There she saw Marcela was happily chatting with Cristiano, Mesut was making conversation with a young woman, and Florencia was making out with Marc in one corner of the room. Though when they spotted her, they all rushed to her side to greet her. "Hey Mariluz!" Sergio was the first to hug her. He added in a whisper, "Thank you for hooking me up with that nurse, bro...I mean, dude...I mean sis..."

Next were Gonzalo and Mesut. When she hugged Mesut, she nudged him, "I saw you talking to that girl." She winked once they pulled apart.

"You know you'll always hold a special place in my heart though, right?" He kissed her forehead.

Mariluz smiled.

Cristiano was the next to hug her. "I'm sorry I was a jerk." He said.

"All is forgotten." Mariluz replied.

Last were her brother and Florencia.

"You're fucking crazy, noia." Marc laughed. "Why didn't you say anything when I tried to beat you up?"

She shrugged, "I didn't want you to blow my cover."

Without saying anything, Florencia took Mariluz' hand and led her to the front of the room where there was a small stage set up with a microphone. Florencia grinned as she spoke into the microphone. "Here's our star player!" And everyone began to cheer. "Since she did such an amazing job at the clasico, my dad decided the team wants to offer her a contract for our girl's squad. What do you say, Mariluz?"

Mariluz was speechless. But after a minute, she composed herself. "I would love to."

"The next game is this weekend, and we've already sold a record amount of ticket's for the female matches." Florencia explained. "All thanks to our star player." While people cheered, Ricardo and the rest of the boys took her Real Madrid jersey onto the stage, the one which she had used during el clasico.

"We tried to get you on the men's team, but the football federation wouldn't allow it." Mesut told her. "You'll probably get a pretty steady fanbase at your female matches though. Maybe even more fans than us." He joked.

Tears began falling down her cheeks. "I don't care which team I play in as long as I get to live my dream, thank you guys." She grabbed the jersey from Ricardo's hands and slipped it on over her head. "Hala Madrid!" She said, and she truly felt it in her heart.

the end.

-

this story is finally over. omg. i honestly hope you all liked reading it because i had a lot of fun writing it. i'll probably post a new story soon since i have finished two stories this week. but thank you so much for all the support. it has meant a lot to me.

i love you alllll!

-clary xx