Fireproof [João Félix]

N I N E T E E N

I sink back in my chair and don't look as happy as before. This whole vibe today is weird and I don't know why.

Isabella and Hunter seem fine, as everyone else, but the moment the game resumes, João is less focused. He is still doing well, but he seems to have seen a ghost.

I bite my lip but relax a little more, realising that I am probably paranoid and may have seen it wrong.

There are seven minutes left on the clock and I notice Portugal putting more pressure. It's not long before the second goal lands in the back of the net and I jump up again with Isabella's nudge. She screams it out like Hunter and I watch him as he throws his arm up in joy and that is the moment I gasp.

Not of joy, but realisation.

I see it. My eyes are wide and my mouth falls open. Standing still in my spot, I see the yellow ribbon wrapped around his wrist. I can barely contain the sound of the whistle signalling that the match is over.

In the corner of my eye, I see João jumping over the fence and a few people gasp and call his name, but he walks towards us. He sees me staring and I swallow. I turn my head and meet his worried eyes. He is still far away and struggling to get through the intrusive fans.

Hunter has now noticed my stare and his face drops quickly as he covers his wrist with his sweatshirt.

"You-" I exclaim, but before I can continue he sprints out of the stadium. A gust of wind pushes past me and I don't hesitate to run after him. A vague shout of my name echoes, but all I am focused on is reaching him.

I run through supporters and feel myself getting short of breath. I can't lose him now, not while I'm so close. How could I be so stupid? But why him? I don't understand why he would do such a thing? It just doesn't make sense. We haven't spoken to each other in ages, so why would he interfere with our group of friends?

I slip through the crowd and follow the familiar cap that jumps out. I am lucky he is taller than the average person.

"Hey, where are you going?!" An exasperated Isabella yanks my wrist, making me lose concentration. "You completely left me there!" My face turns guilty at the realisation. And then I also realise that I forgot to tell her about the yellow bracelet.

"I-sorry-but there's no time to explain, I-" I turn my head and curse when I don't see a cap anywhere. I turn back to Isabella and am a little angry. " Damn it! I almost had him" I sulk and free my wrist. Suddenly João walks by in a hurry and seems fixated on something.

"There! He's there!" We didn't even speak to each other after the match, but our moment earlier tells us that we saw the same thing and know what to do. He is now the one gently grabbing my wrist and moving us through the crowd.

But Isabella puts both her hands on one of our shoulder blades. "No! Will you tell me what's going on first?"

I sigh and João keeps his eyes on our 'target', trying to gently drag me along. "Isabella, either you come with us and we'll explain when we've found him or you stay here. I'm so sorry, but it's really urgent, just trust us, please?" I bite my lip anxiously and watch her shake her head.

"I'll call Alexander and Théo..." she mumbles and I sigh in relief as she hopefully gets help. Alexander wasn't here today because he had a family dinner and Théo was visiting his grandma.

"Thanks" I breathe out and this time we walk through the crowd, at a faster pace. "Come on" João urges me to go down the stairs first and I do, skipping a few steps. We have reached the end of the stadium and are outside. We run after Hunter who has started sprinting through the streets.

We enter shady streets, but suddenly a group of paparazzi is around the corner. "Shit what should we do?" I anxiously tap my foot on the ground as they move closer to our alley. Either they stop and find us or they just walk by.

"Do you trust me, querida?" he whispers. I turn my head and nod frantically. "Of course I trust you" At all costs, we need to get to Hunter before it's too late.

"Well, then you won't mind if I do this?"

Just as the paparazzi approach us, he presses me against the wall of the alley. His lips quickly touch mine as his hand slides down to my neck. We are slightly hidden by a piece of wall that sticks out more than the others, so now we are practically unrecognisable to anyone who walks by and takes the time to glance down this alley.

His lips move over mine and I stiffen a little at his sudden action. He kisses me so intensely, I become weak.

A set of footsteps runs past our alley, but even when they are gone my lips don't leave his. The feeling in my stomach is intense and I grab the hem of his shirt and pull him a little closer. His lips move in sync with mine and when it is momentarily quiet, we part to catch our breath. Lost in the sudden moment of euphoria and shock, I realise we need to find Hunter.

João, who gazes at me with half-closed eyes, also seems to remember our task and grabs my wrist again. He pulls me deeper into the alley where we see Hunter just in time, turning a corner.

Having no time to talk about it, we sprint through alleys as we intertwine our hands in the meantime. I can still feel the addictive energy coursing through my veins. But I have to concentrate. We turn another corner and there we see that it leads to a dead end. Hunter stands at the end and tugs at his hair, then slowly turns and looks at us.

He knows he has nowhere to go. Finally we have him.

A/N:

I just realised that my last author's note wasn't even finished lmao. Don't worry, this is not the end, not even the plot twist.

Lots Of Love

-Camille