Chapter Twelve

~Aina~

Instead of spending spring break at her home like normal, Aina had bought a ticket to England. She told her parents the night before, and they had been fine with it. Gerard wasn’t but he kept silent. Marc hadn’t seemed to really care.

She stepped off the plane, adjusting her jacket as she waited for her luggage.

She couldn’t wait to surprise Cesc. Once her suitcase appeared, she caught a cab, and headed out to Cesc’s condo. It wasn’t a long commute, and paid the driver with a tip before walking up.
She knocked on the door, and seconds later it was opened by a woman wearing only a too large Arsenal jersey. “Who is it?” an accented voice. After a pause, Cesc appeared, shirtless. The three stared at each other in dead silence, all frozen in spot.

And that was when her world came crashing down.

~Olivia~

Aina returned after that week followed by tabloid news articles, and some real ones. She wasn’t sure what to believe, and neither was Gerard. But all of them said one thing – Cesc and Aina had broken up.

The female confirmed it, saying they decided they were better off as friends, and that the long distance had made them realize that. Gerard was content, because his baby sister wasn’t heart broken, and he could keep his best friend, instead of having to kill him.
Olivia, however, felt like something was off.

However, Aina had grown up in the media, practically, and was skilled at hiding her feelings. She simply applied herself to her classes, and stopped going out as much. Others noticed, and would ask of her often. The only thing she was guaranteed to
make appearances for was a game at Camp Nou.

She sighed, hoping whatever was troubling Aina would be resolved soon. It made her doubt that the breakup had been mutual.

But she didn’t want to push her friend. She needed space, and was willing to give her that.

~Cesc~

Dear Cesc,

It was not the mature response to run away, I admit that. I should’ve stayed, and done this with you face to face. My cowardice won that battle. But it must be addressed, which is why I am writing you now.

I think it is fairly obvious what was happening between you and that woman. You need not try to explain yourself, or make excuses. In fact, do not bother with excuses, for I don’t want them. I don’t even want to know why it happened. I can surmise it could be the distance, that I was often busy, or who knows what. But I can’t worry myself with that. If I do, I fear I will go insane trying to figure out why I wasn’t good enough. That is not healthy, for I could spend all day doing that.

So, I will be headed home at the end of this week. I planned on spending it in London with you, but now I am on the train to Manchester to surprise Sir Alex, since surprising you didn’t go as planned.

I have also decided not to tell Geri. Your friendship does not need to be ruined over this. My life will go on.

All I ask is that you do not try and win me back, because I am not interested. I thought you were different, but obviously that wasn’t the case. I don’t know how people continue to do this to themselves, but it must be worth it in the end. I will move on, find a new boyfriend, and perhaps suffer from this same fate. But it is obvious that I will not make this mistake with you again. Once bitten, twice shy, as they say.

I wish you luck with whatever her name is. She is really pretty, and you two suit each other. I wish you the best of luck on the team as well.

-Aina

His eyes scanned the letter for the hundredth time. It was full of self-loathing on her part, and he was disgusted with himself. But he had cheated on her, and deserved nothing. But she was preserving his friendship with his best friend, a truly selfless act.

He couldn’t believe he’d fucked it up.

It was his fault. And he couldn’t change it.

~Gerard~

He smiled as he looked over at Olivia. She was putting the final touches on Carles’ birthday cake. It was a three tier work of art, decorated in the Blaugrana, with the club symbol appearing on it, as well as the number 5.

The other players were scattered around her restaurant, waiting to surprise him.

Carles was out with Malena, supposedly on a date, just the two of them. “Alright everyone, they’re on the way. Hide!” Aina called, looking up from her phone. They all hid in the back as everyone else in the restaurant got into position. The door opened, and the couple walked in.

“Isn’t this place cute?” Malena asked with a smile. The male nodded, taking an appreciative look around. They were seated and given menus. As they were getting settled in, everyone burst out singing.

He looked stunned by it all, but happy.

Olivia brought out the cake, which was appreciated by all of the players, each demanding which part they wanted, and it soon became a free for all. He laughed as he picked up a small pit of icing, and plopped it onto Olivia’s nose. She squealed, and sent him a halfhearted glare. He just grinned innocently. Sighing, she wiped it off with her finger. But before she could put it in her mouth, he took her hand in his, and did the honors himself.

He looked into her eyes as he took his time licking off all the icing. With each passing second her blush darkened. Once finished, she quickly excused herself, only to run straight into Dani. He smirked, proud to have that effect on her.

New POV

~Leo~

Everyone at the party was having fun. All except one. Aina was sitting off in the corner, a half-smile plastered on her face as people talked with her. But when she thought no one was looking, it disappeared. It had been that way for several weeks, and he wanted nothing more than to see her smile again.

After an hour, she slipped outside the restaurant, and since no one was giving him much notice, he followed after her.

She wandered into the park that was adjacent to the small restaurant, and collapsed on one of the benches. Then, to his surprise, she broke down crying. He had not seen that sight often. The first time was when one of her grandparents died, the second her first breakup, and the third he had never found out the cause. And that was it.

He was torn – did he try and comfort her, or give her space. But as she hugged her arms around herself, he headed over, hesitating several feet from her.

“Aina?” he asked softly. Her head jerked up, but she relaxed upon seeing him.

He sat down next to her, and waited for her reaction. She was trying to hold back her tears. “Don’t worry about it…go ahead and cry…” he murmured. She turned her head, and softly continued to cry, her sobs silent, but racking her entire frame.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked. She shook her head, not looking at him. He sighed, “Do you want a hug?” She slowly leaned into him, but eventually her face was pressed into his shoulder, his shirt dampening from her tears. He rubbing a soothing hand on her back, hoping he was helping her in some form.

“Cesc cheated on me,” she said at length.

It startled him, and he was sure he had heard wrong. But something told him he hadn’t. It explained her behavior, and her tears.

“When I went to visit him over spring break, I discovered him with another woman. There was no denying it. I thought he was different, but he wasn’t…” she confessed. He just held her tighter. Cesc didn’t know what he was missing. He had gotten rid of the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Leo was incredulous as to how it happened. He understood then why she couldn’t tell Geri or Olivia, as it would jeopardize Cesc and Geri’s friendship

If they couldn’t be there for her, then he would, as much or as little as she need.







GUH! Well, hopefully the story will remain decent...