You followed your older brother into the hall. The German national football team was holding a celebratory dinner for the World Cup win. Your older brother had brought you as his "date" because his girlfriend was away on business. You were nervous for the dinner. You didn't have to do anything at the party and in no way would everyone's attention be on you, but you were about to be surrounded by world class footballers. You were just an undergrad studying journalism and no where near the level these footballers were.

Your brother had always been the more outgoing of you two, he enjoyed the spotlight. Especially after he scored the winning goal of the World Cup Final. "Mario, what if they don't like me?" you whispered to your brother as you entered the building.

"Don't worry about it, just be yourself," he shrugged, leading you into the dining hall. Shrugging off your jacket, you followed Mario over to where you were supposed to sit for the dinner. Setting your jacket on the back of your chair, you allowed Mario to drag you over to a bunch of other men who you recognized from watching the World Cup and Mario's Bayern Munich games. They smiled and greeted Mario warmly before turning to look at you. "This is my sister, (Y/N)."

"Hi," you replied, shyly. A few guys stepped forward, shaking your hand and introducing themselves. They seemed nice enough and you quickly fell into a conversation with Lisa Muller.

"Is everyone here?" someone asked. A head count was taken and apparently somebody was missing. Tuning out the conversation the footballers were having, you looked around at the large room. The door opened and you set your sights on one of the cutest guys you had ever seen. He was tall with blond hair and bright blue eyes. His cheeks were tinted an adorable shade of pink from the cold and he licked his pink lips as he walked over to the other footballers.

"Erik, you're late!" Bastian jeered, teasing the guy. He couldn't be that much older than you, around the same age as your brother. The rest of the guys joined in on the teasing but Erik seemed to be used to it. The head coach, Joachim Low, stood up and gave a speech as well as a few other people before dinner was served. Making your way back to the table Mario had showed you to earlier, you noticed that Erik was to sit next to you. With your brother on the left and Erik on the right, you sat down quietly.

"Erik, this is my little sister, (Y/N). (Y/N), this is Erik Durm," Mario introduced before turning to talk to whoever was on the other side of him. Erik smiled at you and you smiled back. You initiated small talk. You hadn't recognized him from the World Cup because he was usually benched. You told him about your college life as a studying journalist when dinner was served. You two continued to talk until it was time to leave. You bid Erik good bye before following your brother back to the car.

Three months had passed and you and Erik had developed a sort of silent relationship. You went to as many of Mario's games as possible and since Erik was also German, was usually there. Even though he sat on the bench for a good portion of the time, your eyes always seemed to catch his. You two hadn't talked to each other since the night of the party but you couldn't help but feel you had a connection to him. Germany was currently winning, 3-1 and there was thirty minutes left in the half plus extra time. You hadn't looked over at the bench for a while but when you did, you noticed Erik was no longer sitting on the bench.

Confused, you looked around for the blond German but you couldn't find him until you looked near the fourth official, seeing Erik about to go in. You smiled and watched as he ran onto the field, getting into his defensive position quickly. The game resumed and you alternated between watching your brother and Erik. You watched as the ball was passed to Mario. You stood up to get a better look. Mario was nearing the goal before being surrounded by defenders. Turning around, he passed it to a wide open Erik, who dribbled it before taking a shot on goal.

You held your breath until the ball landed successfully into the back of the net. You jumped up and cheered. The guys piled onto Erik at the corner, each giving him their own congratulations. As he ran back to the defensive position, his eyes once again locked with yours.

He winked at you before focusing back on the game. You blushed and sat down in your seat, waiting for the whistle to blow. When the final whistle blew, the final score was 4-1. You made your way to the locker room, showing your pass to the security guards. They let you pass and you walked over by the locker room door, waiting for Mario to emerge and give you a ride home. The first to exit the locker room was Erik. His hair was wet from a shower and his shirt clung to his toned body. You averted your eyes. "Great goal, Erik," you stated.

He smiled at you. "Thank you." A silence fell between the both of you until Erik broke it. "If you wouldn't mind and you weren't too busy . . . would you . . . I don't know . . . go on a date with me? You don't have to if you don't want to," Erik stuttered, his cheeks pink.

You blushed before replying. "I would love that, Erik." He smiled and the two of you exchanged numbers before your brother walked out. Erik bid you goodbye before walking away. Mario walked over with a confused expression.

"Did I miss something?" he asked. You waved him off and smiled at the thought of your date with Erik.