"You ready, Kennedy?"

Here I stand with a bat in my hand, slightly crouched and feet firmly on the ground. Dante is standing about ten metres away from me, holding a heavy baseball within his gloved pitching hand and staring at me from underneath his hat. He's also trying not to smile and look serious for once but I'm not buying it.

"I'm good," I call. "Just... throw it, I guess."

My voice carries across the small makeshift field, making me feel kind of small underneath the scrutiny of everyone. I'm the last batter and we're pretty much going to lose if I don't get at least a double this round. Even then, we'll only be tied.

I heard one of the guys, a tall ginger named Sawyer, say that when I hit the ball earlier it must've been a fluke and I probably won't be able to do it again. Nicole gave him a dirty look and he turned bright pink but it made me feel slightly uncomfortable, for obvious reasons. Like, I mean, I know it wasn't a fluke because I know that I'm a pretty good batter, but –

Suddenly, a ball whirls right past my bat and the catcher behind me catches it with a grunt. Slightly alarmed, I turn and look at him.

"STRIKE!" He hollers loudly.

I hear Nicole groan loudly from the grass and watch as she flop back into it, obviously annoyed. "Sorry," I mutter, wincing. How am I so distracted, I hate myself, someone save me -

"I thought you were ready," Dante calls. When I look at him, he's grinning at me, obviously thinking that his team is going to win.

"I was, but then I wasn't," I call back, suddenly annoyed.

"Sure you were," The grin doesn't leave,

"Whatever, just pitch the ball," He laughs.

"Anything you say, Miss Kennedy," Dante takes a bow.

I get into stance again, rolling my eyes at his sudden cocky demeanour. This time I'm actually ready and survey the field for any blind spots so I can just get this over with and sit down.

Still with a visible smile on his face, he throws his hand back and then with a delicate flick of his wrist, the ball comes barrelling towards me.

With a lazy confidence, I hit it towards where Sawyer is doing jumping jacks (for why?). The ball sails over his head and he watches it, momentarily dumbfounded before looking at me. I give him a peace sign before sprinting around the makeshift bases, using all my strength even though I'm pretty much guaranteed a home run at this point.

Someone blows a whistle as I pass the last base and throw my arms in the air. There's a scattered applause which seems to die down as quickly as it started when they realise it's really not that big a deal.

However, I can always count on Nicole to make things a big deal. I mean, what kind of best friend would she be if she didn't?

"WOW, Ken!" She greets me with a hug, lifting me up and spinning me around like I weigh nothing. "You go girl,"

"Thanks Nic," I say when she puts me down, more than slightly breathless. Although I love playing sports, physical activity and I are very distant friends. "Where did the ball land though?"

She shrugs, "I don't know, I was just watching Danny's reaction when he realised that you were darn good," Nicole punches my shoulder with a smile on her face and I almost fall to the ground. She's so strong I don't understand.

"What did he do?" I bend down, catching my breath and praying that there aren't any bruises on my arm by the end of the day.

"He was watching you when you ran, with like, an expression on his face."

Oh sweet clarity, why have you left me? I look up at her, squinting because she's standing directly in front of the sun. "Is that a good thing?"

She shrugs and looks behind us. "Ask him,"

"Good hit, Kennedy," Dante calls.

It's so weird calling him Dante but I'll deal. I stand up and turn around, the short sleeves of my oversized shirt flapping in the breeze. "Isn't is Miss Kennedy to you?"

He grins, "I'm sorry; Miss Kennedy. Hey Nicole,"

Nicole nods at him and then wraps her arm around my shoulder. "S'up Danny?"

"Dante," he corrects.

"No, I don't want any tea." She dismisses. I share a look of confusion with him before shrugging. "Hey, who's your friend?"

"Which one?" He turns in the direction she's looking and squints.

She points at the guy with the tattoos who is standing around looking cool. Guys like him are her type so it's no wonder she's spotted him. "Him,"

"Oh, that's Max." Dante informs, looking at her questioningly. "Why?"

With her slow grace, Nicole removes her arm from my shoulder and begins walking to Max, not saying a word to either of us. We watch her for a few seconds before turning to each other and just, well, staring.

"Does she not like me?" He's the first to break the awkward silence surrounding us.

"It's not that. She's just really... silent." I shake my head and touch his arm casually. It's really muscular and it actually catches me by surprise. "Hey, do you work out?"

Dante blinks at me and I cringe, realising how stupid of a question this is. What do I mean 'do you work out', half an hour ago he did like forty sit ups and didn't even break a sweat. "Well, I'm on the baseball team," He states obviously. "Why?"

"It's just that your arm - it's big." I flex my hand, wondering why I'm not able to speak to him like he's a normal person. "And strong."

"I think there was a compliment in there," He cracks a grin and my heart begins to speed up. I don't think I'll be able to look at him for any longer without throwing up.

Oh God.

"You're welcome!" I say and look away and try to behave like a normal human. I can do this, right?

He chuckles. "I don't remember you being this cute, Kennedy. Stop it,"

Hah! Wrong!

"Are you flirting with me?" I ask, my voice squeaking.

Dante shrugs and his smile becomes more of a smirk. It's like the one my younger brother has when he's pulling a prank on my step brother Tyler.

"I don't know, are you flirting with me?"

Truthfully, I am not this awkward. I have little to no trouble with flirting with people; in fact most of the people I've ever dated say they liked me because of how flirty I am. I am the queen of flirting. You have to be good at flirting when you hang out with people as beautiful as my friends because if you have no redeeming qualities then you just get left in the dust. That's the only thing school has taught me to this day.

But this boy right here? He's fucking up my mojo. And if he mistakes this foreign awkwardness as flirting then I don't know what he's going to do when (if) I actually start flirting with him.

"I mean, like –"

"Dante, could you stop talking to your girlfriend and carry these bags to your car?"

I've been saved by a ginger boy who is giving me the evils. Mr Sawyer is evidently holding a grudge from my killer performance and I don't blame him because nobody was expecting that apart from me. And well, maybe Nicole. Maybe.

"She's not my girlfriend," Dante says after a long delay, giving me a sideways look. I think he was expecting me to say something. "She's just a friend,"

"Just come pick this shit up,"

"In a minute, I'm talking to Kennedy."

For the first time today, Dante actually seems annoyed. He looks at me and opens his mouth like he wants to say something but he is interrupted once again, which doesn't do Sawyer any favours.

"She can help you carry the bags and you can talk then." Sawyer throws his hands in the air in a sarcastic celebration. "Hurrah, I've solved the problem. Now come on,"

He begins walking to where the bags are and Dante mutters something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like 'dick head' before we begin following after him. I giggle because he's so annoyed but when he looks at me questioningly, I try to hide it underneath a cough. Try being the key word.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine!" I say dismissively and wave my hand around. "Um, what do we have to do?"

"Well," he releases a sigh and begins stretching his arms. "We've just gotta carry the equipment to my car so we can take it back to the high school,"

"And you have to do it?"

Dante shrugs. "I guess it's my responsibility."

Sawyer turns around and looks at the two of us. "Damn right it's your responsibility,"

Rolling my eyes, I whisper; "He's annoying," Dante simply shrugs but then the slight smile on his lips tells me he agrees with me.

We reach where all the stuff sits all packed up into three gym bags and one of those bucket things holding a bunch of baseballs in it. Sawyer picks up one bag with a grunt and Dante the other, veins popping in his arms as though the bag weighs a ton. I stare at the third for a really long time, fearful just in case it actually does weigh a ton.

"Do you want me to pick it up?" I ask after a pause. The two of them share a look.

"It might be too heavy," Dante rubs his chin. "Um, we could get Santiago to –"

Sawyer shakes his head. "Santi's gone, he and Sofia have dinner reservations for their sixth year together,"

"Jace?"

"He's gone too, something about that girl who was really into Star Wars,"

"Shit, um, Max?"

"He's flirting with your other friend over there,"

We turn around and Nicole is laughing at something Mr Max says. He's smiling at her too and they look like a couple already. See, that's what happens when beautiful people stand in the same vicinity or interact with one another. 

"I could go get him?"

"Nah, leave it, he'll never forgive you for cock-blocking," Dante sighs and looks at the bag with pursed lips.

"I'll carry it," I tell him nonchalantly. It can't be that heavy, right?

Nevertheless, he looks at me sceptically. "Kennedy, they're really heavy." He deadpans. "I'd rather you just carry the balls so you don't break your back."

I pat his (really nice) arms again and pull the bag onto my shoulder. It's literally the heaviest thing I've ever had the opportunity of holding, but I firm it just to prove a point.

"See, I'm fine!" I say, my voice straining slightly. "No problems here,"

"You sure?"

"Positive, see?" I do a little spin as well to show him I'm good, which is a huge mistake; the true weight of the bag reveals itself and I fall down. Dante drops his and helps me up, shaking his head.

"I told you they're bad," he says gently, holding my hand for way too long. I don't mind though because his hands are really soft and warm and make me feel soft and warm.

I feel like I did in middle school whenever we accidentally caught eyes with one another. The only difference between the two situations is that I can actually keep on staring at him without freaking out. At least, I hope I can.

"Bring it here," he pulls the bag off my shoulder and I instantly grow an inch taller. Sawyer watches him, looking impressed.

"Strong man Dante, huh?" He says. "I think Kenny and I approve,"

Oh, I approve all right. Imagine being with someone this strong and only having to take one trip to get all the shopping inside. That's the dream right there. Like, I could get all the shit I wanted and not have to worry about how long it'll take to get everything inside – and also living in an apartment and it being cool to take the stairs only once because -

"Kennedy?"

I blink a few times and look up. The two of them are a way off, standing there with patient expressions on their faces. I guess I zoned out.

Quickly, I pick up the baseballs and rush after them. "Sorry, I was just daydreaming," I apologise. Sawyer waves me off and speeds up but Dante keeps the same pace with me.

"What were you daydreaming about?"

"Er," I pull a face and think up a substantial half-truth. "I was daydreaming about living in an apartment by myself one day."

"Oh. Cool,"

We're fast approaching where Nicole and her new favourite person Max are standing and passive aggressively flirting. I'll have to ask her about how we're going to get to our respective houses. We walked to get here but I can't be bothered to do any more physical activity so I'll have to convince her to get an Uber or something with me.

"Hey, Kenny," She calls to me when I'm walking past, so I stop and tell Dante to go on.

He does but then he looks back at me a few times as Nicole comes over. The smile on her face tells me that she's having a ball of a time, and that also, she's more than a little bit smitten. "Max said he's gonna drive me home,"

Well there goes my plans.

"Oh, he is?" I say, struggling to keep my voice upbeat. The last time I got an Uber by myself was the first time I got an Uber by myself and it'll never happen again. "Okay, cool,"

"You don't mind, do you?" Her face falls just slightly as if she's remembering my horror story and even though I've done nothing, I begin feeling bad.

"Of course I don't," I tell her. "You two kids have a fun ride home!"

Nicole begins smiling largely again and she sends him a sideways look. "Thanks, Ken. I'll see you tomorrow morning, right?"

"Yeah, but er, text me when you get home, okay?" I say. "See you later Nic,"

She nods and then gives me a brisk hug before skipping away. I sigh and wrinkle my nose at my current predicament because it looks like I'm walking home. Which sucks but whatever, summer is coming up and my thighs need the workout.

I hurry after Dante and Sawyer who are nearing the edge of the field at this point. They seem to be talking about something so I lag behind when I do catch up. I don't want to intervene just in case it's important and my input is unnecessary.

It's weird seeing Dante again after all these years; I remember seeing him at some of Tyler's baseball games back in freshman year but he really didn't look that different back then. When we were in middle school he was the shortest guy in our grade but here he is suddenly six foot however many inches with cropped short hair and a dazzling smile. Well, his smile was always dazzling to me at least, but still. He looks like he has a girlfriend. He's probably got a girlfriend. All the good guys have girlfriends.

"Hey Kennedy, I didn't see you there," I look up and he's smiling at me.

It'd be a crime if he didn't have a girlfriend.

Someone should fix that.

"Yeah, I didn't want to intrude on you two," I offer a smile back and wonder how to work in the question about him having a girlfriend. He wouldn't willingly call me cute and then flirt with me slightly when I ask him if he was flirting with me if he did, would he?

Well, some guys are shitheads. Even though he was a sweetheart in middle school, he could've changed a hell of a lot after he got to high school.

"Do you need a ride home?" He blurts out.

I focus, stop walking and gape at him. He does the same, save for the focusing and gaping part.

"You're offering me a ride home?" I repeat, feeling joy wash over me all of a sudden.

"I overheard Nicole and you talking and it seemed like you needed one," He explains. I do nothing for a moment and he gulps. "I have a car,"

"That'd be cool," I say and try to stop the smile on my face from widening. I have no willpower to do anything.

Relief floods his face. "Okay, great,"

We reach the car park situated behind the field and I identify his car by the fact Sawyer's sitting on the hood looking impatient. Dante frowns immediately.

"Dude, could you not?" He asks. Sawyer rolls his eyes and slides off, looking like a petulant child.

"I won't leave a dent, I weigh nothing." He complains.

"I still don't want your butt marking up my hood." Dante puts the bags down and retrieves his keys from his pockets, unlocking the car doors. "Help me put this in the back,"

Sawyer sighs loudly and goes to help while I look around uselessly. His car is pretty slick, black finish, nice windows... wheels. And no butt marks on the hood, so that's always a plus.

"I'll take those." He takes the bucket out of my hands briskly and puts them in the back. "You ready to go?"

I nod, "Should I just –"

"I call shotgun," Sawyer hollers and then looks directly at me, a frown growing on his face. "You coming with us?"

If he had to call shotgun then wouldn't he know that I'm coming with them? And he also wasn't that far ahead of the two of us when he offered me a ride so he should know that I'm tagging along. But I guess I digress.

"Yeah, she's is," Dante says, propping his hands on his hips. "You should let her sit up front,"

"But I called shotgun,"

I wave my hand around. "I'll sit in the back, no problem."

Dante makes a face. "You sure?"

I nod. "It's cool, you're probably dropping me off first because my mom's is not too far from here,"

"See, Kennedy's a big girl, she doesn't mind!" Sawyer says and opens the passenger side door. "And I did call shotgun so it's only fair,"

The two of us watch him get into the car and Dante turns to me. "He's not this bad most of the time," He tells me. "I think he's pumped because the season's starting soon."

I shrug. "It's no big deal, I'm used to it around this time of year."

He gives me a knowing look. "Tyler?"

Tyler is my step brother who used to be best friend's with Dante back when we were all younger. He pretty much used to despise me back in middle school and made fun of me whenever he could. I always used to cry about it because, well, I'm a crier and I was going through a lot back when I was twelve.

We're cool now though; a while after our brother was born he decided that we should be best friends and now he occasionally sits with us at lunch. It's like one big happy family, sometimes we have heart – to – hearts over his dad's cookies.

"How is Tyler? I haven't seen him since, like Tommy's – you know Tommy, right?"

"Tall, has an afro,"

"Yeah, him. I saw him at the Christmas party, which wasn't that long ago but still. Yeah, so how is he?"

I shrug. "He's good,"

Sawyer leans out of the car window and tuts at the two of us. "Could you two hurry up? I wanna watch the game tonight,"

We both get into the car and Dante starts it up, the radio coming to life. A song I don't recognise blares out of the speakers and the two of them begin jamming out as he pulls out of his parking space. After I give him my address, I begin feeling slightly left out because I don't really have anything to do or say other than to text Nicole obsessively about my current situation and stare at the back of Dante's head. And even then, I have to be very careful with the latter option because he has a rear view mirror and would probably get really creeped out if he sees me continually staring at him.

The car ride is silent for my part. Nicole isn't really replying and I don't want to interrupt the conversation about game strategy occurring in front of me. It seems important.

In absolutely no time, we're at the house my mom and her new husband share together. I look at it and sigh loudly; my step dad David's car is in the drive way but my mom's isn't. She's getting home later and later nowadays and I hope she isn't stressing herself out with work. But if there's anything I know about my mother, it's that stress is her middle name.

"This is where I leave you fellows," I say in an upbeat voice. Sawyer gives me a strange look through the mirror and I don't blame him.

"Yep," Dante says and turns around in his seat with a smile on his face. "It was nice seeing you again, Kennedy,"

I smile back, feeling quite giddy. "Same here. Wait, I mean it was nice seeing you again, like in a vice – oh you get it."

He laughs. "Don't be a stranger, okay?"

"I won't," Sawyer clears his throat, attracting attention to himself. "It was also... interesting meeting you today," I tell him and he beams.

I get out of the car and stretch a little bit, wondering what I'm going to do when I get home. Maybe some trig homework, triangles are my shit. Or I could catch up with a show, I know they're doing -

"Hey, Kennedy?" I turn around and fight the surprise of the fact that Dante is leaning out of his car window and looking up at me.

"What's wrong?"

"Could I get your number?"

"My number?"

Dante nods and then bites his lip. I stare at him for a few second, unblinking and dumbfounded.

"My number?" I repeat.

"Yeah,"

"Me?"

"Yep,"

"Are you shitting me?"

He chuckles as if I'm telling a joke but I'm really not. "No, I'm not shitting you."

"Oh. Well," Licking my lips, I look around the front of his car for a pen or something so I can write it out. "Do you have a sharpie I could use?"

The look he gives me is priceless. It's like he wants to laugh but sees I'm deadly serious so he's not sure whether to laugh or take me seriously too.

"... This isn't 2003, Kennedy, you could just put it in..." He raises a hand containing his phone and I mentally face palm. "You know what? I'll check the glove box, I think I have like three in there."

With a shake of his head and a grin on his face, he opens up the glove box and brings out a metallic silver coloured sharpie that was just waiting for it's opportunity to be used. It's like it was put there for this moment. He hands it to me and bites his lip.

"Your hand please," I request.

He gladly obliges and I scribble my phone number on it, followed by a xo because I'm feeling confident. My confidence isn't misplaced because he has this small soft grin on his face when he sees it that literally makes me want to set myself on fire – in a good way.

"I'll give you –"

"Okay, I've put up with you two flirting for too long," Sawyer interrupts and I'm ready to fight him. "Can you just get – "

"Sawyer do you wanna walk?" Dante snaps and he shuts up. Then he turns back to me. "Sorry about that,"

I shrug. "No big deal."

He starts writing his own number on my right hand, the individual digits reflecting the sunlight. "There we go. I'll call you,"

"You should,"

His smile never fades. "See you soon Kennedy,"

word count: 7065

a/n:

this suxs lmao I hate nanowrimo