[ fourteen ] 

When Mariluz saw the pictures in Bojan's phone, there was only one thought that crossed his mind. Her hand shot out to snatch the cellphone away from his hand. Without thinking it any further, she threw the phone onto the ground, the glass shattering into a thousand pieces with a loud cracking sound. 

Bojan stared at the broken phone in shock, while Mariluz looked up at him with a smirk. "Now you have nothing. Ha." 

"Do you actually think I don't have copies of those?" He asked her.

"Of course you do." Her smile dropped. Finally sighing in defeat, she asked him, "What do you want?" Whatever it was, she knew she would have to hold out for three more days. The day of the Clasico against Barcelona was the day she would tell everyone the truth. But until then, she didn't need Bojan messing things up for her.

"I want us to get back together." He said simply.

"That's all?" She eyed him suspiciously.

"And," He added, "I want you to return to Barcelona with me. Your parents will be happy to see us together again."

Mariluz sighed. "I have nothing left in Barcelona. They cut the girls team because no one watches our games. But you don't give a shit how that makes me feel. People think that just because we're women then we don't play as well."

Bojan's expression softened slightly as he told her. "It happens. Nobody used to watch me at the youth games either." He reminded her.

"That's different." She argued. "You always had a full Camp Nou to dream of. You could achieve it one day because you're a man. I want that for me and my female team mates too, all the glory the male footballers get after they win a tournament. We want the same recognition any guy would get. And the only way I've been able to get it now is by pretending to be a boy. Do you know how sad that is, Bojan?"

"That's just the way society is, Mariluz." He said. 

"Well society needs to change." She responded.

.

.

.

.

She was forced to tell Bojan they would get back together, but she knew it was only until after the clasico game. The Barcelona footballer even offered her a ride to Santiago Bernabeu, but she lied and said she had her own car now. In reality, she didn't want to leave with him and she called Mesut when she was sure Bojan was gone.

When the German footballer arrived, she was ready and dressed in her Real Madrid uniform. She opened the door to his car and climbed inside, letting out a sigh. "You saved my life once again, Mesut. Thank you."

"Why didn't you get a ride with Ricardo?" He wondered, the expression on his face blank. It seemed like he was back to being upset at her.

"I had a little problem with my ex-boyfriend." She admitted. "He's trying to blackmail me into dating him again. He knows my secret, so he's planning on using it against me."

Mariluz watched as Mesut gripped the steering wheel tightly in anger. Running a hand through his dark hair, he growled. "Who is this guy and why is he trying to force you into dating him? Tell me who he is and I'll have a talk with him." He said talk, but by the looks of him he was going to do more than just that.

She shook her head. "It'll be fine. Let me deal with it."

"I'm still a bit hurt." He told her. "But that doesn't mean I won't defend you. We're...friends."

"Gah." Mariluz squealed. "Thank you, Mesut. You, Sergio, Gonzalo, and Ricardo mean so much to me."

They arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu a few minutes later. In the distance, they saw the team bus parked at the entrance. The team was boarding except for Sergio, Gonzalo and Ricardo who looked around desperately for their other team mates. Mariluz watched as Ronaldo said something to the three boys and then they followed him onto the bus. Ricardo was the last one to board, biting down on his lip while Mourinho urged him to get on the bus or they'd leave him behind just like Mesut and Michael. In the end he boarded the bus, feeling bad for his friend who would be missing out on his first game with Madrid.

Mesut parked as close as he could and the two got out of the car, prepared to run towards the bus which was several feet away. The German footballer was faster than Mariluz and when he saw she was falling behind, he grabbed onto her hand and dragged her along. "Come on." He urged the girl who was dressed as a boy. "The bus is about to leave."

She felt like her chance to play on the first team was lost when the bus closed its doors. She remembered hearing once that Mourinho took a player out of the starting eleven because he didn't arrive by the time the bus left with the rest of the team. Mariluz let go of her friend's hand and sat on the curb by the entrance, lamenting herself. But Mesut wouldn't give up. As the bus began to drive away, he chased after it and tapped on the side of it. 

His mates piled at the right sight of the bus, trying to get the driver to stop, but Mourinho forbid it.

"Its no use, Mesut." Mariluz called, her voice sounding like she was on the brink of tears. "We're fucked. We're out of the starting eleven now and its all my fault."

"No," He shook his head, refusing to accept it and made his way towards her. He offered his hand to help her get back on her feet. "Come on. If we leave right now we can catch up to them at the airport. You will play your first game with us tonight."

Mariluz wiped the tears from her eyes and took his hand. "Okay, let's go."

-

i've got a new update for you guys.

so i hope you like it.

there might be maybe five more chapters before this story ends and then i'll probably post a seven chapter cristiano ronaldo story i have planned. either that one or a messi one.

i don't know which yet. but i estimate that this story will end in one to two weeks, three at the most.

thank you for reading.

i love you.

-clary xx