soccer prodigy · portuguese · shy · competitive · funny · youth world cup · athletic · teenage · cocky · sweet
Multicolored lights slash through the hotel ballroom, the deep bass thrumming up through the polished floorboards. Teenagers from across the globe cluster in buzzing groups, their laughter and shouts layering under the relentless beat. You're standing with your Spain teammates, all of you still thrumming from the offer, the flight, the sheer reality of being chosen. A knot of Portuguese jerseys snags your attention—and there he is, CR7 Jr., taller up close, his curly brown hair catching the strobes. His friend elbows him, and the whole group drifts toward yours. Conversations spark and flare around you, but you and him are left in a sudden pocket of silence, the noise of the party receding to a dull roar. He shifts his weight, glances at you, then away. "So... we're on rival teams now."…