[ ten ] 

"Shit." Mesut cursed under his breath when his brown eyes caught of glimpse of his team mate who was supposed to be a guy. "I'm sorry. I didn't know-- I-- What the fuck is going on?" He rambled on in embarrassment.

The German footballer brought a hand to cover his eyes while Mariluz pulled her t-shirt over her head to cover her exposed skin. He was just about to leave quickly and probably avoid Michael for the rest of his life, until she stopped him. "Wait." She said in a whisper, her voice laced with worry. It was worry that he would tell everyone about her secret. "I can explain everything. Just don't tell anyone the truth."

When she was finished changing, she grabbed a hold of his hand and pulled him up to standing inside the moon bounce. She took him towards the other side of it where there was a back exit. Since the carnival took place in a park that had hiking trails, they began a few feet away, behind a line of tall and leafy trees.

They both went through there so that Cristiano wouldn't see them. Mariluz dragged Mesut along, to a secluded part behind the trees, where they would be able to speak privately. She knew no one would hear their conversation there.

She took one look at his shocked face and sighed. "Say something. Anything." She urged when he remained silent.

"Why are you pretending to be a guy?" Were the first words he could put together.

"It was a stupid bet." Mariluz began, ready to explain to him everything he might want to know about her.

"With you and your Barcelona friends." He guessed bitterly.

"No," The green eyed girl shook her head quickly. "It has nothing to do with the Real Madrid and Barcelona rivalry." She didn't want to tell him that indeed, it had been part of her playing with them, but she quickly learned to love all her Madrid friends. And she knew that if she ad met them under different circumstances, if it hadn't been for that stupid rivalry, they would have been friends just like they were now.

"But you were pretending to like us and be our friend." He made another assumption.

Mesut was such a sweet and funny guy. It scared Mariluz to see him so angry and hurt. Shaking her head once again, she told him, "No. You boys are my friends and I care about you. This has nothing to do with you. I just wanted to prove I could play just as well as any boy could. And if I could get on Madrid's first team, I knew it would start my career once more."

"You care about us, but you lied to us." He said, challenging her words. He didn't believe a single thing she was saying.

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she begged. "Please forgive me. And please don't tell anyone about this yet. I know I have to let everyone know eventually. But Ricardo's helping me perfect my skills so that I can be starter by the Barcelona game."

"I can keep your secret." He told her with a nod, though Mariluz knew by the look on his face that he was still upset at her. "But forgiveness is something I can't give you right now. I thought we were friends, Michael."

"We are." She said.

"We were." He corrected her and then walked away.

.

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.

.

When Mesut left, she knew she could no longer rely on him for a ride home and she regretted having let Ricardo leave without her. Her next options were either Sergio or Gonzalo. She texted Sergio first, but he warned Mariluz that he was going to be getting a ride with Cristiano. Mariluz was in no mood to deal with Real Madrid's diva. And so, Mariluz was left to rely on Gonzalo.

Mariluz was sat in the passenger seat with the Argentine footballer at the wheel. Gonzalo shot a glance at her, asking, "Why didn't you get a ride with Ricardo?" He asked, quickly adding, "Not that I mind taking you home. I was just wondering because the two of you are always together. I think you've probably replaces Cris as Ricardo's best friend. Maybe that's why he hates you so much." Pipita made a joke comment at the end.

She shrugged. "He disappeared and then texted me saying he was heading home. I asked Mesut for a ride, but he's mad at me right now." Just thinking about her friend hating her made her heart hurt. She could deal with Cristiano hating her because he hated her from the beginning. But not Mesut.

"Why is that?" The Argentine asked curiously, sneaking a glance at the girl dressed as a young man.

Mariluz sighed. "Something stupid. But I think he hates me now."

"Mesut?" Gonzalo asked in disbelief. "He's one of the nicest guys I know. He could hate no one."

"Then what I did must have really hurt his feelings." She muttered under her breath.

.

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.

.

Gonzalo dropped her off at Ricardo's house a half hour later and she thanked him for it. She watched her friend drive away before heading into the house. She knew Ricardo was already home because his car was in the driveway.

Mariluz walked past the front door to see the young Brazilian footballer sitting on the couch with his head tilted back and a woman's pad over his face, over his nose to be exact. On his white button up shirt were bright crimson stains.

At first, Mariluz was confused at the sight before her, but she remembered what she said to him about her pads. She wanted to burst out laughing in that moment, but held it in. Ricardo took one look at her and said in a tired voice, "Sorry I took one of your pads. But you said I could use them." He reminded her. "They actually work quite well." He finally told her with a shrug.

"Uh, yeah." She said, coughing awkwardly. "No problem."

"Did you have a good time at the carnival?" The Brazilian asked, trying to make casual conversation to distract himself from the pain he was feeling on his face. "You disappeared and I didn't see you anymore."

"I was working a shift at the moon bounce with all the children." She lied.

"Hm." Ricardo said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I met your sister today. She's so beautiful and I kissed her. I hope you don't mind, friend. I know some brothers are really over protective when it comes to their sisters."

Mariluz shook her head quickly. "Don't worry, mate. If you want to kiss her, you just grab her and kiss her."

Chuckling, Ricardo said, "I just want to be her friend. She seems nice." And Mariluz felt her heart break with his words. He didn't know it, but Ricardo was friend zoning her and she couldn't help but feel upset about it.

-

so i wrote this a few days ago.

then i went back, made corrections and added a few things. i hate the fact that i'm so impatient. i meant to post this next week, but i couldn't help myself.

like...i kid you not...i have like 100+ story ideas with the first few chapters written and covers already designed in my drafts on here. and i really want to post a lot of them. but i have 45 stories on here and i want to finish one before i post a new one.

but i can't wait. ugh.

anyway, thank you for reading. 

i love you all.

-clary xx