Chapter One

~Olivia~

Through the open window, Olivia smiled as she heard some FC Barcelona fans walk by singing the Cant del Barça. Since she had been lucky enough to live in the same district as Camp Nou that had become a regular occurrence – she was still stunned to be living in La Maternitat i Sant Ramon neighborhood of Barcelona, Spain.

However, she’d found a great little apartment in one of the Torre Melina buildings.

She had also lucked out to have such a nice neighbor, who only introduced herself as Aina. However, she was funny and very amicable. The first night they’d met she’d insisted on going out to dinner – at the nicest restaurant in the neighborhood, and then paying for the entire thing without flinching. The thing was, the other female was rather young too, still in university. She was majoring in linguistics at the Universitat de Barcelona.

“Tot el camp, és un clam…” the group sang loudly, reaching up to her ears. She enjoyed the fans of the Catalan team, much more so than those of Los Blancos.

She heard the door next door open, and then close. That meant Aina was back from class.

She opened her own door after grabbing her key, and headed over to the door that was to Aina’s. They lived, in the fourteen story building, on the thirteenth. The floor directly above them was the ballroom, and the first floor was the second floor housed the lounge, exercise room, and computer room.

The reason her apartment was affordable was it was smaller than the others, as there was a cut away to allow an architectural feature. But she didn’t mind, for she didn’t need an obnoxious amount of room.

The kitchen was spectacular, and that was what mattered.

She headed toward the door where the numbers 1300 hung, and knocked on the door. She waited, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

When the door opened, she found herself staring at a chest, which was very much masculine. Her eyes traveled upward to find it was indeed a very tall man who’d answered the door, and very attractive. “Can I help you?” he asked lightly in Catalan. She understood enough of it. “Is Aina in?” she asked, praying he’d understand her Spanish. He brightened immediately, “Yes, hold on!”

He turned around, and shouted, “Aina, a cute girl is here for you!”

She didn’t understand all of the Catalan, and hoped he didn’t distort anything at all. But seconds later her friend appeared, and smiled brightly, “Liv, it’s been ages!”

Her English was heavily accented, more so than her own, because she had lived in the States. If anything, her Spanish was accented anymore. “Are we speaking English now?” the male asked, his voice also accented – he was looking between them in minor confusion.

“Idiot…” Aina muttered, shaking her head, “Liv, this is my older brother, Gerard. Geri, this is Olivia, my neighbor and friend.”
The female couldn’t help but smile at the use of friend. She often wondered if Aina liked her that much.

“How was class?” Olivia asked, uncomfortable under the scrutiny of Aina’s brother. The other female noticed, and roughly shoved her elbow into his side. “What? I’m curious as to why she doesn’t recognize me!” the male exclaimed. The sister rolled her eyes, “Try deflating your ego.”

She then smiled at Olivia, “Today was great. I got accepting into the study abroad program.” “Oh, great…! To where, if you don’t mind me asking…?”

“Not at all – I’m going to London, England.”

~Cesc~

The condo he lived in was quiet, as usual, save for the dull roar of the television. It was showing the Manchester United vs. Chelsea match, but he wasn’t really watching.

Instead he was flopped on the couch, running his hand through his hair, thinking about home.

The transfer window had closed, and he was still at Arsenal. At first he didn’t mind being away from Barcelona, but the more the years went by, the more he yearned to return to los Blaugranas. He loved the Gunners, he truly did, but it would never be the same.

He sat up as his phone rang, and considered not answering, until he saw the caller ID. Aina!

“Hello?” he answered, instinctively in English. ‘Hey Cesc,’ she replied, and he suppressed a groan at how attractive her accented English was. He was sure Geri would kill him for even thinking such a thing. “To what do I owe this pleasure?” he asked, trying to push it to the back of his mind. He heard a laugh, almost able to distinguish a smirk in it. ‘I have a surprise for you,’ she said lightly.

“Are you an Arsenal fan now?” he tried hopefully. She laughed, ‘Yuck, no way! I’m coming to England for study abroad, so I’ll be in London for a few months!’

He smiled widely, “Really?” ‘Would I lie to you?’ “Yes.” ‘Shut up!’

~Olivia~

Gerard was still staring at her like she was the most unusual person on the planet.

“Do I have something on my face?” she asked at last, praying nothing was caught in her teeth, or stuck in her hair. He shook his head, “So you really don’t know who I am?” She shook her head, “Should I?” He bobbed his head fervently, “Everyone should.”
“Geri, stop with your damn ego!” Aina said, moving the phone away from her mouth. “How can she live in Barcelona and not know?” he whined.

The younger sibling stood, and walked out of the room, resuming her conversation on the phone, muttering something about idiotic older brothers. “So what is it that I should know?” Olivia ventured, her curiosity getting the best of her. He grinned at her,
“I play for FC Barcelona.”

“No way – you’re too much of a pretty boy,” she immediately replied.

His eyebrows rose, “You think I’m pretty?” Her mouth dropped open, and no words came forth. He chuckled at her state, and returned his attention to the football match he’d pulled up on the television. “That was meant as an insult,” Olivia finally forced out, “besides, I grew up in a house full of Madridistas. Can you blame me?”

He suddenly spun around, “Are you a Madridista?” She shook her head, “No, I never liked their style…too defensive. I mean, have you seen Pepe and Marcelo? Besides, I’d be ashamed to support a team managed by Mourinho.”

His eyes lit up. “Aina, your friend is amazing!” he hollered. “Aye Dios – silencio!” the female called back.

~Aina~

Shutting her phone, Aina exited her room, praying that Geri hadn’t tortured poor Olivia with what he called his ‘outstanding sense of humor’.

She was glad to see that her brother was pouting, and her friend looked rather victorious.

Not bothering to ask, she returned to her perch on the sofa, and sent her brother a rather proud smirk, daring him to start complaining. “Who did you call?” he asked, breaking the silence. “My boyfriend,” she said dryly, but it was enough for the older sibling to jerk upright. “You’re dating? Who? I’ll kill them! They can’t touch my baby sister!”

She cleared her throat, “Next time I’ll make my sarcasm more apparent. Forgive me.”

He blinked, and then fell silent, realizing his mistake. “Oops,” he offered. “I called Cesc,” she supplied for him. “Ah! How is he?” “Good. He said you still sound like your same, idiotic self.” “My best friend said that?”

Aina rolled her eyes, and then nodded.

Suddenly Gerard pointed an accusatory finger at Olivia, “She knew who I was all along! She supports La Selección!” The younger sibling laughed lightly, “Glad she managed to puncture that inflated head of yours some. Just listen to that ego deflating…”

“You’re crueler than Marc is,” he pouted. She grinned wickedly at him, “Damn straight.”

~Gerard~

“So her name was Olivia?”

He watched Aina roll her eyes, “She prefers Liv.” “And she likes Barça?” “Sí, Geri,” she answered firmly, cracking open her can of soda. He smiled, stroking his beard. “So while I’m gone, I can totally house sit for you,” he offered. She looked at him suspiciously and rightfully so.

“So you can try and hit on my neighbor?” she correctly deduced. He pouted, “I like her.” “So do I, and I don’t want you scaring her off.”

“She already gave me a nickname. I think she likes me.”

Aina arched an eyebrow, “Nickname?” “Yes – Rosy…that’s affectionate, right?” “Probably because you’ve got huge lips – you’re like the male Angelina Jolie.” “But she’s hot!” Shaking her head, his sister turned up the volume, shooting him a glare, daring him to continue. Wisely, he fell silent.