035 | things unsaid

The game had just kicked off, and Gianna was sitting on the bench, her leg elevated and a bottle of water in hand. Her coach had given her a brief break after a solid 20-minute run on the pitch, recognizing that while she was in good form, she still had to ease herself back into her full routine. Hector had insisted she take it easy today, his ever-present concern for her well-being lingering in the background like a steady hum.

Despite his earlier assurances that she was doing great, she couldn't shake the guilt from pushing herself too much in the past. She had been working hard to recover, but she still felt like she was letting everyone down.

As she sat there, lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed someone sit down next to her.

"Hey, Guiu."

Gianna looked up, startled, and smiled when she saw it was Lamine Yamal. The young star had been making waves in the men's team and had become a staple on the field. He was also one of the few players who, despite being busy with his own success, always made time to chat with her.

"Oh, hello Yamal," she replied, grinning. "Going by last names are we?"

Lamine chuckled, stretching his legs out in front of him. "What can I say, I like to keep it professional," he teased, nudging her playfully.

Gianna laughed, rolling her eyes. "Professional, huh? Well, I guess that makes me sound important."

"Of course," Lamine replied with a smirk. "You are important. But, uh, you also look a bit... distracted."

Gianna raised an eyebrow, confused. "Distracted?"

He nodded, giving her a knowing look. "Yeah, you've been staring over at Hector like he's some sort of trophy."

Gianna's heart skipped a beat. "What? No, I-" She paused, catching herself. She didn't exactly have an explanation for why she had been glancing over at Hector, who was off talking with Marc. But it wasn't anything strange. They were friends.

Lamine smirked, clearly enjoying her reaction. "Oh, come on. I know what I see. The way you look at him, it's like you can't take your eyes off him."

Gianna froze. The heat in her cheeks told her everything she needed to know, but she quickly tried to brush it off. "That's not true," she said too quickly, then tried to recover. "I mean... he's my best friend, of course I'm looking at him. What's wrong with that?"

Lamine chuckled, crossing his arms and leaning back against the bench. "Nothing, except that it seems like you're looking at him like... well, like you want to kiss him."

Gianna's mouth dropped open, and she quickly turned her head to make sure Hector wasn't looking in their direction. She couldn't believe what Lamine had just said.

"Seriously, Yamal?" she hissed, her voice barely above a whisper. "You're crazy."

"Am I?" Lamine teased, not backing down. "I don't know, Gianna. You can try to deny it all you want, but it's pretty obvious."

Gianna crossed her arms defensively, but her heart was racing. She was trying to focus on the game, trying to act like everything was normal, but her mind kept replaying Lamine's words. Was it that obvious? Did she really look at Hector like that?

"So, are you two... a thing?" Lamine asked, leaning forward slightly, his voice taking on a teasing edge.

Gianna blinked, completely caught off guard by his question. She opened her mouth, but no words came out at first. She wasn't sure how to answer. There was a part of her that wanted to scream 'no,' to tell him that there was nothing between her and Hector, but deep down, she knew that wasn't entirely true.

"No!" she said quickly, louder than she intended. "I mean, we're just friends. Best friends. We've known each other forever, Lamine. There's nothing more to it."

Lamine raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. "Really?" He leaned back, stretching his legs again as he gave her an appraising look. "I don't know, Guiu. I've seen the way you both act around each other. You two are practically inseparable."

Gianna's stomach flipped uncomfortably. "We are just friends," she repeated, trying to sound more confident. "Nothing's going on between us."

Lamine didn't seem convinced, but he didn't push the issue any further. Instead, he changed the subject. "Well, I'm just saying, you two have something different. Whatever it is, you can't deny it."

Gianna was quiet for a long moment, her mind swirling with thoughts. Lamine's words were echoing in her head, making her question everything she had been ignoring for so long. Could there be something more between her and Hector? Or was it just the familiarity of their friendship that made her feel this way?

As if on cue, Hector glanced over at her from across the field, catching her eye. He offered a small, reassuring smile, and for a moment, everything else faded away.

Gianna's heart skipped another beat. She turned her attention back to Lamine, who was watching her closely. "You're just messing with me," she said, trying to deflect.

Lamine grinned. "Maybe. But I'm not wrong, am I?"

Gianna didn't have an answer for that. Instead, she just focused on the game in front of her, doing her best to shake the unsettling feeling in her chest. But as the match went on, she couldn't help but notice that, no matter how hard she tried, she kept finding herself looking at Hector. And the thought that maybe, just maybe, Lamine was right wouldn't leave her alone.

Was there something more between her and Hector?

She couldn't quite figure it out yet. But the more she tried to convince herself that it was just friendship, the harder it became to ignore the pull she felt when he was around.