Ferran Torres

Everyone thought that Ferran and Pedri were just two teammates who got along too well.

They never denied it. It was easier that way.

They saw each other almost every week, but always away from the stadium. Cafes where nobody knew them, walks at night, or Pedri's apartment when the rest of the team was away.

Nobody should find out. Or at least, that's what Ferran thought. He was afraid of everything that could happen afterward.

From the networks. From the team changing. From being seen differently. In the following days, the tension began to show. In a training session, Pedri set him up for a goal, and Ferran didn't even go to celebrate with him. In the locker room, they barely spoke. If someone observed them, they seemed more distant.

"Are you angry?" Dani asked as they changed.

"Why?" Ferran replied.

—Before you didn't separate for even a second.

—You're making things up in your head.

Dani shrugged.

—I was just saying... That conversation left him uncomfortable for the rest of the day. That night Pedri knocked on his door.

Why are you avoiding me?

—Because they are starting to talk.

—They're just joking.

—Today. And tomorrow?

Pedri looked at him for a few seconds. Are you ashamed of me? Ferran quickly denied it.

-Never.

—Then stop treating me like having something with me is a problem. The words hung suspended between the two. Ferran wanted to answer, but he couldn't find the words. Pedri wasn't the problem. It was fear.

The next morning, while having breakfast with the team, Nico smiled again.

—Hey, have you made up yet?

Ferran and Pedri raised their heads at the same time.

—What are you saying? — asked Pedri.

—Nothing, man. I'm just saying you two looked like exes yesterday.

Several of his teammates laughed. Ferran tried to laugh too, but his smile came out forced.

Pedri noticed it.

And, for the first time since they started seeing each other, she decided not to wait for him after training. Ferran watched him leave from the locker room. He wanted to follow him. But he remained motionless.