Nothing will stop me

“Thirty-seven! thirty-eight! thirty-nine!”

My arms couldn't take it anymore and I collapsed on the floor from exhaustion.

“Up Robin! You still owe me 10 more pushups!”

“You're crazy! I feel like my arms are going to fall off.”

“I don't want complaints! Is this the best you can do? If that's the case, you better not waste my time anymore!”

Damn it, when your pride gets hit it's the worst. I got up and continued with the exercise.

“Forty! Forty-one! Forty-two!”

It's been a while since that incident where I had an anxiety attack and Andrea saved me. In order to prevent something like that from happening again, I decided to go back to the best version of me.

I asked Leonel for help to get me back in shape, and every weekend I have been exercising with him in the park near our houses.

“Forty-eight! Forty-nine! Fifty!”

Again I collapsed on the floor, but this time in a better mood.

“Well done, next week we'll increase to 70 reps.”

I spend half the time regretting it for asking this exercise-loving mindless for help.

“I'm dead, let's take a break.”

“Well, okay, rest is also important.”

Leonel opened a bottle of cold water and gave it to me. I drank that bottle with great despair, as if I had spent a week in the desert.

“How are you doing with Andrea?”

I spit out the water and started coughing. Obviously I've already told my best friend that I'm madly in love with Andrea, but right now I'm not ready for one of his awkward interrogations.

“Don't bother me now.”

“Come on, at least you owe me that.”

It pains me to accept it, but it's true. Leonel has sacrificed his few spare time to help me with this.

“I-I… I feel like we get along better every day. We have certainly made a lot of progress: we talk more, we have shared many things about our lives and in general we have not had any problems.”

“So, what are you worried about?”

“At the end of the day, what I want is for her to fall in love with me, and I think in that it hasn't gone well for me at all.”

“She doesn't see you as a possible romantic interest?”

“Exactly. I have not been able to overcome that barrier. To her, I'm just her tutor and her friend.”

I have continued to be Andrea's tutor, and I am happy to say that her academic level has improved a lot, so much so that in the previous bimonthly exams we did not have to cheat again. Sure, she's still deficient in many subjects, but the progress she's shown is exceptional, to the point that even the principal has called me into his office a couple of times to congratulate me.

“Have you tried to flirt with her?”

“Flirt with her? Well, no... she's supposed to do that, right?”

“Of course not, idiot! The girl already does a lot for you, you can't ask her to do everything; she has even helped you with everything soccer related.”

He's right. During this time, we have attended most of the Golden School home games together. Of course, we have not held hands again, but she is always aware of my health.

In addition to attending the matches, sometimes we get together with Leonel and my sister to play soccer. I have to admit that it was a bit awkward when Marin met Andrea; my sister felt quite guilty when she found out about the anxiety attack I had in that game, so she spent the whole time thanking her for helping me… the problem was that she did it so many times that Andrea got so nervous that she didn't know what to do and ran out of my house.

But now they get along very well, they shared their numbers and now they text each other very often. I dare say that she is her first female friend.

“So, is it clear to you that you have to start doing something to win her over?”

“You say that like it's easy.”

“Sure it is! You just have to have confidence in yourself.”

“You're a charlatan! You've never had a girlfriend.”

“I haven't had a girlfriend, but I've rejected some women.”

“Idiot, that's not something to be proud of.”

“I'm not proud of rejecting them, but because despite that, I get along very well with all of them; I've even helped some of them to get a boyfriend. What I want you to understand is that you have to have the courage to express your feelings, even if it means getting rejected.”

This guy's social capacity is ridiculous. But, in a way, he has a point.

“I-I… I couldn't deal with the fact that Andrea rejected me. My heart wouldn't take a hit like that, I'm not that strong. I'd rather be her friend forever.”

Leonel didn't answer me immediately, he approached me and with the speed of a ninja he hit me lightly on the head.

“Ouch! Do you want to start a fight, you fool?”

“You know that you deserve it. You're going to regret it all your life if you don't confess your feelings to her. And you have to do it soon...”

“Why so much haste? There is still a long time before our school life together ends.”

“Oh yeah? Where is she now?”

“Well…”

Andrea was out of the country due to an archery competition. The prodigy girl was taking her first important steps in her promising career.

“She is out of the country, but what does that have to do with it?”

“Are you really that silly?”

“Andrea is almost like a celebrity at school, she's even on the news, it won't be long before her suitors have to line up.”

“You don't know Andrea as well as I do, she wouldn't be carried away by fame and stuff…”

“I'm just saying that if you don't seriously decide to try something with her, someone else will do it for you.”

“Shut up and leave me alone, idiot!”

I got tired of listening to Leonel and started running on my own through the park. Maybe I shouldn't have yelled at him like that, but at that moment I couldn't contain myself.

When I finished my exercise routine, I was already calmer, so I approached Leonel to apologize.

“Hey, I… I'm sorry.”

Leonel seemed a bit annoyed, he didn't pay attention to me, he just kept putting his things in his backpack.

“You know that this is the first time I like someone, half the time I don't know what I'm doing. A lot of new feelings are born in me every day, and I feel like I'm going crazy… please understand me.”

Leonel finally turned to see me and put his hand on my shoulder.

“God, what am I going to do with you?”

We gave each other a big hug and ended up going home. During the journey I was reflecting about everything I talked about with him. I couldn't help thinking that if I didn't do something soon, someone else would take Andrea from me.

“Welcome home, broth... my God, what's going on? Something bad happened to you?”

Apparently I had such a hopeless face that even Marin was worried about me as soon as she saw me.

“Nothing happened, I just… I want to be in my room. Let me know when mom gets here to serve the food, please.”

I went straight to my room, showered and lay on my bed. I took my cell phone to see if I had any messages from Andrea, and of course there weren't any, she must be very busy right now.

I logged in to social networks and the first thing that appeared to me was a publication from the Golden School congratulating Andrea on her performance in the archery competition. It seems that she got the first place and will return to the country soon.

I looked at the comments and it was just as Leonel said: Many students wrote her messages like “I love you”, “You are my inspiration” or “I hope and one day I can run into you at school.”

Many things were going through my head, none of them were positive. I was overwhelmed by the idea that Andrea will really start to like someone and I will be left behind.

I turned off my cell phone and stared pensively at the ceiling of my room.

Maybe making her fall in love with me is just as impossible as becoming a professional soccer player?

“No, enough of your doubts… STOP BEING A COWARD ROBIN!”

I yelled in frustration from the bottom of my heart. After that, I remembered a popular phrase that motivated me when I was practicing soccer: "Only those who dare to suffer great failures are capable of achieving great success".

I have to take a risk and push away negative thoughts; those damn foolish ideas that dragged me down for so long.

This time I won't give up: if what Andrea wants is to trample on my heart and tear it to pieces, go ahead, no problem, she can do it a thousand times, no, a million times if necessary; but nothing will stop me from confessing my feelings to her.

The decisive match for the love of Andrea will start soon, and I'm ready to give everything for the victory.