Fireproof [João Félix]

P R O L O G U E

Louna's childhood

"Come on! He won't be happy if we're late!" my friend shouts through the giggles. Our feet collide with the puddles of the nearly flooded street, water splashes with every step we take. Some people will call us crazy running around while it is pouring, but we don't care. The sky is stark grey and the rain clatters against the concrete, also soaking our clothes.

A warm feeling surrounds us as it's the middle of summer. No sun to be seen, only drops of water falling like buckets from the sky, crashing with the ground. Laughter escapes my friends lips and it's angelic compared to the light rumbling of the sky, ready to unleash hell. 

My hood is pulled over my head, which does almost nothing to protect my already wet hair. I sigh and slide it down, knowing it obstructs my view.

Alexander, who walks a bit ahead of me, yells out in delight, his eyes fixed on the rumbling, dark sky. Arms spread wide and a satisfied grin on his face. The rain slowly falls to his neck and he shakes his hair like a dog. The laughter couldn't have been any better because of this silly brown-haired boy's antics.

We're a weird group of friends, for sure. We enjoy everything most common people don't, for example this. Running through the rain, almost storm. All for our friend who is playing a special match today. My bestfriend.

"Come on Isabella, you know we have plenty of time!" Alexander chases her through the rain and she almost slips if Alexander had not supported her...before they fell together in a large puddle on the side of the empty street. A burst of laughter breaks the silence.

The corner of my lip goes up at his failed attempt to save her. Théo trails lightly behind me, so I don't pay much attention to him as I watch the 'we're just friends couple' playfight in the water. Surely we can't show up like this, all soaked and mud stains covering our once dry clothes.

"Hey Louna-" I spin my head upon hearing my name, which is a terrible mistake as Théo splashes water on me from a nearby bucket.

I gasp at the sudden action that made my hair stick to my forehead. His soft chuckles could be heard while I am still recovering from this shockingly sly move.

My hand reaches into a puddle under my feet and I don't hesitate to take him back. He is the one gasping now, but before he can catch me,  I'm already running to Isabella who is talking to Alexander. We're a bunch of idiots, but fun ones.

"Hey Isa!" Panting heavily, I pass her and grab her hand, completely catching her off guard. Alexander looks bewildered and slaps his hands along his sides confused, wondering why I took Isabella from him. "Hey!"

Ignoring his confusion, we continue to run in front of our boys and laugh like we've never done before. I turn my head and slacken my stride a little. "Come on guys we're running late!" I shout as some drops fall into my mouth, making me contort my face in disgust

Théo places an arm over a grinning Alexander and it doesn't take long for them both to chase after us. "The last one is a rotten egg!" shouts Alexander. 

"Real mature, Alex!" I call back, but Isabella and I share a knowing grin and let our legs carry us along.

── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

"Shit, are we late?" Théo is rooting through his wet hair as we stand in the corridor of the local sports hall. Normally, João would have played outside, but as the weather condition is not ideal for playing football, they have decided to move the match inside.

We all catch our breath and Isabella leans forward, hands on her knees as a drop of water dangles from her chin. "I don't think so..." Alexander looks at her sceptically and kind of gives her the side-eye as if she said nonsense.

"You don't think so?" His eyebrow quirks up and I try to hold back the laughter bubbling up in the back of my throat. Isabella lifts her head and glares at him.

"Right...Remember love, peace and happiness?" Théo senses the tension and claps his hands together, breaking the couple's heated stare-off, then makes a peace sign. I disregard their bickering and start walking around, looking for a familiar brown-haired boy.

"Jesus, I didn't know you guys went swimming without me." A fake-hurt João comes into view, just in time where we had decided to meet. I snap my head in his direction and jog towards the smug boy, who gently hugs me. We both grin happily at the sight of each other. I knew this match was important to him, so I wouldn't miss it for anything.

His head is nestled between my soaking wet hair and I shake it on purpose, letting some drops of rain fall on his face. "Ah! Don't you dare!" He ducks just in time and lets out an airy laugh. 

My energetic friends naturally want to greet him too, now that they have finally ceased their bickering about The Beatles. I don't even want to know how they came up with that topic. Théo bro hugs him and Alexander does that weird handshake he once invented that he calls the Amazing Alexander handshake, AA-handshake for short. 

Very creative, I know.

Next is Isabella who wraps him in an embrace and meanwhile I have a look at his clothes. A fresh fancy football jersey clings to his body and his socks are slightly creased around his football boots. 

I can feel the stress radiating off him, and I cannot blame him for his nervous behaviour. Today is all or nothing. I smile at a joke from Théo and let my mind wander further. If he makes it today, he will go to Benfica. 170 miles (273 kilometres) away from us. But he absolutely deserves it. An arm slung across my shoulders snaps me out of my daze. 

"Are you all right, querida?"

I laugh softly at the nickname and lean my head on his shoulder. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"

I feel his laugh vibrate through his body and I crack a small grin. "Touché."

In comfortable silence, our eyes observe our friends doing odd dance moves. I sigh contentedly and let a small smile appear on my face before it falters as a thought continues to gnaw at my mind.

"João?" 

We both still look at our friends amusedly fighting in front of us, too busy to hear our conversation. 

"Yes, querida?" His eyes flick away from the scene and I feel his head shift in my direction.

I lift my head off his shoulder and straighten my stance; he seems to notice my serious expression and his eyebrows furrow in confusion. 

"Whatever happens today, I hope you get through. You are my best friend and I want the best for you. I know this will make you insanely happy and you happy-" My index finger points at him."-Me happy" I point to myself and give him a lopsided smile.

His eyes radiate a strange emotion and I fear he won't respond, but he does. A strong arm wraps around my shoulders and he nuzzles his face back into my hair, his breath tickling my jaw. "Thank you, you will always be my best friend, no matter what." His words sounded sincere and he still has that unreadable expression in his eyes as he releases his grip on me and holds out his little finger.

"Really?" I snort and cross my arms stubbornly across my chest. He raises his eyebrows convincingly and pushes his little finger forward slightly. A smug grin sticks on his face. "You know I hate pinky promises, right?" They have never worked out well for me, so I refuse to do them anymore. 

But how could I resist my best friend's pleading gaze?

I sigh defeated "You're lucky you're an exception Félix" I give in and interlock my little finger with his.

"Best friends, no matter what..." I mumble softly as our fingers gently touch.

A/N:

Surprise, I had this idea for a while and made a few drafts, so I finally decided to publish it. Eek, I'm very excited.

Y'all I'm also gonna cry so much while writing this book.

Lots Of Love

-Camille