Lines We Cross - Alexia Putellas

Ten. The Party

Apologies for the extremely late upload .. Life has been busy, but I am returning to this :)

This will be part one of a double update. Enjoy!

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It was the next week when Barcelona were advancing further in the Champions League, and the women were as vibrant as ever—smiling and dancing any time they could get during training.

Jonatan had pulled Veronica into his office the morning of, telling her that it would be soon that she and her captain would separate from their shared apartment.

"What's with the long face, hermana?" Mariona rounded the corner, eyes widening when spotting the woman she knew since young.

"Not a morning person," The brunette poorly excused, attempting to push past her ex-best friend but Mariona didn't deter, instead walking by her side.

The Mallorcan chuckled, "When we were young, you'd wake me up before sun rise to play football." Then the woman realised where Veronica had came from and stared at the frown across her lips, "What did Jona say to you?"

Veronica knew that she would be relentlessly teased and eyebrows would be raised if she admitted the recent news of getting her own home back elicited the frown, especially when the Putellas captain was involved.

"W...What would you do if you were being separated from something, and you don't want to leave yet?"

Though the Spaniard tried to be as subtle as possible, the knowing smirk across Mariona's lips were enough to show that she knew how Veronica was feeling.

"Well... First you have to realise why you feel that way," Mariona stopped the woman in the hall, aware of the team who were stood at the end—not-so subtly looking at the two women who looked in a deep debate, "And come to terms with the fact that even if you are no longer living with each other, it doesn't mean they're gone forever."

Veronica looked like a deer in headlights, holding her two hands in front of her defensively.

"I'm not talking about Alexia."

But Mariona laughed before stepping back, "Who else would you be frowning about but our capitana?"

At the mention, Alexia appeared round the corner from Jonatan's office too—quite evidently receiving the same news as Veronica.

Veronica had hoped for a moment that Alexia stopped in front of she and Mariona, but that hope died down when the captain stepped past them without a word.

"See," The Mallorcan smirked with pride pointing out the deep frown across Veronica's lips, "Our captain claims that frown."

The day had passed on when Veronica had finally returned home, surprised to find the apartment empty—Alexia was still not there, even though she had left at the same time as the Castellano woman.

Her thoughts were racing, but was soon interrupted by a knock on the door, "I know you're in there, Vero."

Mariona's teasing voice sounded as the door was opened, and Veronica's less-than-impressed expression greeted the Mallorcan, "How do you know where I live?"

"Because I asked Alexia where she lives." Mariona joked, hinting at the fact that the pair lived together—knowing she held that over her friend.

Veronica rolled her eyes, "Why are you here, Mar?" The use of her childhood friend's old name brought a light smile to both of their faces.

"¿La fiesta?" The woman furrowed her brows, "Mapi is throwing another party of hers... You didn't hear?"

Of course, the ex-PSG star has heard talk of the party throughout the day's training session and in the boot room; and though she would never admit it, Veronica's mind was undoubtedly focused on the meeting she had the morning with Jonatan.

Where she had been thinking of what it would mean to not longer live in their shared apartment, Alexia had joined in on the team talk about the party—sharing laughter and jokes, expressing her excitement.

"Sí." The brunette begrudgingly agreed, knowing that the excitement everyone else had was not reciprocated from her perspective.

"Good!" Mariona cheesed and clapped her hands, "Don't make that face, it'll get your mind off of Ale."

As the Mallorcan was pushing Veronica into her closet to find the perfect outfit, the brunette stilled and grew defensive.

"You're saying that as if I think about her."

But the smile on Mariona's lips never left as she allowed Veronica's words to linger in the air, picking out an outfit for the brunette who stood wordlessly with furrowed eyebrows.

There was no way in hell she would ever waste her thoughts on Alexia Putellas.

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By the time Mariona and Veronica arrived at the party, she had already been left alone as the Mallorcan ran off into the crowd to find Patri who was dancing in the centre of the living area.

Veronica smiled at her fairly-new teammates, stopping at the sight of Aitana who grinned at the sight of the ex-PSG player. It wasn't a secret that Aitana idolised the older woman, being the most excited when the news of her arrival to Barcelona was publicised. She would study online videos of how Veronica would play, and incorporate it into her own game.

"You drink?" Aitana shouted above the pulsating music, gesturing towards the bottle that laid on the countertop.

Veronica gulped at the sight of the liquid, turning away momentarily to forget about the bottle in front of her, "No... I'll only be drinking water tonight, mi amiga."

Deciding not to push further on the matter, Aitana only offered a smile and grabbed the woman by the arm, pulling her into a corner where they could hear another clearly.

"I'm glad we're all relaxing before the big game." Aitana smiled gently, looking over all of the team who were drinking and dancing, screaming in joy when a certain song played out of the booming speakers, "We're playing Real in the quarter-final, remember?"

Veronica nodded, playing with the cup of water in her hands instead of focusing on Aitana's curious gaze, "We're going to win."

Her opinion was reciprocated by all of the other women on the team, feeling that Barcelona had an amazing chance that year in the tournament—that they would resurface glorious, that they would taste the sweet flavour of victory.

Veronica then thought of her friends back at PSG, the team who had been knocked out of the semi-finals, watching back as their broken-hearted expressions filled the screen.

She had yet to talk to Sakina, knowing that the woman would be kicking herself.

"I feel it," The smaller woman remarked with a humbling expression, known for her authentic self—something that the Spaniard opposite awed at, "We all can."

With that, Aitana disappeared into the crowd and Veronica was left to follow—dancing sheepishly alongside the drunken women, before realising she was most likely humiliating herself and stepped out of the room and into the hallway.

The door to the bathroom was locked, and despite Veronica wanting to run head-down out of the front door, she stayed waiting outside regardless.

"How long will you be?" Her fists rapped against the wooden door, growing frustrated when silence welcomed Veronica as she leaned against the wall, watching from the hallway for the door to open and reveal the person behind it.

Before she knew it, the door slid open quickly and the person she had been trying to get out her head was now standing in front of Veronica.

Alexia.

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