"What do you mean I have to play?" Beca asked her dad and stepmom as her little step sister Hailee sat down at the dinner table with them.
"Play what?" Hailee asked.
"Softball," Beca sighed.
"Oh my god, you suck at sports," The twelve year old laughed. "I can't wait to see this."
"Well you're not going to because it's not happening," Beca said, rolling her eyes.
"Beca come on, you have to do something," her dad John protested.
"Why? I just want to work on my music," Beca whined. She hated resorting to whining; she was 15 for christ's sakes, but her dad just didn't understand her love for music.
"Music is not a worthwhile activity Beca, it's just a dumb hobby," John said sternly.
"But dad-" Beca cut herself off with another angle to argue from. "Sheila, tell him!" She protested.
"It's not actually a bad idea," Sheila shrugged. "Honey you spend so much time in that room of yours."
"Because I'm working on music," Beca argued—that was true. She played guitar, piano, ukulele, and she made remixes and mashups.
"Honey you need to try new things," Sheila urged gently. "Just try out, okay?"
Figuring her parents weren't going to change their minds, Beca sighed defeatedly. "Fine, I'll try out," she muttered. She focused the rest of her attention on ignoring her family and eating the leftover chicken from last night on her plate.
After she ate, she went upstairs to her room and picked her phone up off her bed finding a message from her group chat with Stacie, Jesse, and Benji.
Jesse [6:57 pm]: frozen yogurt at 7:15?
Stacie [6:57 pm]: hells yeah
Benji [6:58 pm]: yeah I'll be there
Beca glanced over at her backpack and ultimately decided her homework could wait. She typed out a quick response saying she'd be there.
She grabbed her bag off of a hook in her room and went downstairs. "I'm going for frozen yogurt," she said as she walked towards the door.
"What about homework?" John asked.
"I'll do it later," Beca shrugged as she walked out. She was so beyond frustrated with her parents and the last thing she wanted to do was answer to them more. She put her headphones on and walked over to the frozen yogurt shop about 5 minutes away.
She walked in and her friends were already eating their yogurt. "Way to wait for me losers." She rolled her eyes at the group.
"It's 7:19," Stacie pointed out with her mouth full of chocolate yogurt.
"Bitch," Beca shot back with a smirk before going to get her yogurt and coming back to the table. "My dad and Sheila want me to play softball," she sighed.
"You? Playing a sport?" Benji laughed.
"I know," Beca said rollling her eyes. "Hailee's like their perfect little child. She plays like 8 billion sports and she makes perfect grades."
"She's still in middle school. I was the same way then," Stacie shrugged.
"Maybe you'll find yourself a girlfriend on the team," Jesse said with a shrug. "There's rumors that softball is like the gayest sport."
"Not with my parents," Beca said sadly.
"When are you going to come out?" Benji wondered.
"Is never an option?" Beca asked with a laugh. "They'd disown me."
"No they wouldn't, they're not like that," Jesse said seriously, wrapping his arm around the smaller girl. He and Beca had known each other since they were little kids and were the closest out of all the group. Jesse was there for Beca when they were younger through everything: her mom's death, her dad's remarriage, and her terrible time in middle school. They had met Stacie and Benji then as well, but Jesse and Beca were by far the closest. They were really glad to have such an amazing group of friends.
"Yeah they are," Beca protested. "I'll tell them eventually," she shrugged. "But not until I get a girlfriend."
"You're gonna get yourself a hot softball player girlfriend," Stacie laughed.
"I wish," Beca said with a laugh. "My parents won't get off my fucking case ever."
"You say that like we don't know," Benji laughed and they nodded in agreement.
Beca's phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her back pocket. "Fuck, my parents are going out to the store so I have to get home to watch my little sister."
"Do you want me to walk you home?" Jesse asked and Beca nodded.
"I'll see you guys later," she said to Stacie and Benji before grabbing her bag.
After they left, they began walking home and Beca had her headphones around her neck so she could still hear her music softly playing as she talked to Jesse. "I just wish they would lay off a little, you know? I feel like I can't do anything around them," she said with a sigh.
"I get it, mine are the same," Jesse said reassuringly.
"Oh stop, your parents are the greatest people on earth," Beca said, punching him in the arm. "They're like my second family."
"Same with yours," Jesse laughed. "You'll do fine in softball. We'll come to all your games."
"Thanks," Beca said genuinely. He walked her to the door and she gave him a quick hug. "Text me the answers to the literature homework."
"Just read the fucking book Beca," Jesse laughed, shaking his head as he walked away.
"Fuck you Jesse Swanson!" Beca yelled with a laugh as she walked into the house.
"Is Jesse your boyfriend?" Hailee asked from the kitchen where she was making herself a bowl of ice cream.
"No," Beca said quickly. "Bring me some ice cream too," she said as she flopped down on the couch.
"Really? Why not?" Hailee wondered. "You guys are really close. Why not just date?"
Beca sighed. She trusted Hailee with everything in her. They had been in each other's lives since Beca was 9 and Hailee was 6, and they told each other everything. "Because I'm never gonna have a boyfriend."
"Why not? You can't just be single forever," Hailee said with a laugh.
"Listen, you can't tell my dad and your mom this," Beca started off hesitantly. "I'm not gonna have a boyfriend because I'm gay."
"You like girls?" Hailee asked and Beca nodded. "Oh. Okay. I won't say anything," Hailee shrugged.
"Thanks so much," Beca said with a relieved sigh. "I've been wanting to tell you for a really long time, I just didn't know how."
"You can tell me anything," Hailee said wrapping her sister in a hug. "I'm proud of you Beca."
"Thanks," Beca laughed. "How about you? Any crushes?"
"Like I would tell you," the younger brunette laughed. "But for your information, no."
"Pretty sad, kid." Beca rolled her eyes at the younger girl. "I had so many crushes in middle school."
"All the guys in my grade are jerks," Hailee sighed.
"They don't get any better," Beca laughed.
"Of course they don't to you. You're a lesbian," Hailee scoffed. "I have to work on my homework."
"I'm gonna go work on some music stuff."
She went upstairs and began working on a remix to the song Drive by Oh Wonder that she planned on posting on her YouTube channel later that night. Her dad and stepmom got home a few minutes later.
Sheila knocked on her bedroom door before entering, knowing Beca would probably have her headphones on. "Hey honey, I'm gonna take you out to get some softball gear."
"Now?" Beca asked with a sigh.
"That's what I was planning on," Sheila shrugged.
"Fine," Beca sighed as she stood up from her desk. She put a hoodie on and grabbed her phone off the charger. The drove to the sporting goods store in silence before Sheila finally started talking.
"I'm sorry your dad is making you do this honey," she said sympathetically. "I know how much your music means to you." Beca and Sheila hadn't gotten along when they first had met (which was partially due to Beca missing her mom so much) but they got along better now and Beca felt that sometimes Sheila understood her more than she understood herself.
"I just don't get it," Beca shrugged. "Like what harm am I doing?"
"Nothing, I promise," Sheila said reassuringly. "He just wants you to try new things and make some more friends."
"I'm fine with the friends I have," Beca protested with a sigh.
"I know you are, and you have great friends, but it wouldn't hurt to try something new. If you don't like it, you don't have to play next year."
"I guess so," Beca muttered.
"You might even enjoy it," Sheila shrugged.
"Huh, doubt it," Beca scoffed. "I suck at anything involving athleticism."
"Hey that's not true. You like to run," Sheila replied, making good point. Beca did enjoy running sometimes. Usually only when she had a lot on her mind and wanted to forget about everything for a little while.
"I guess," the young brunette sighed. "Can we hurry up? I still have homework."
"Of course honey," Sheila smiled sympathetically.
She could tell Beca didn't want to play at all, but she was hoping the young brunette would grow to enjoy it.
A/N: short, I know, but I'm just trying to keep this on track since it got completely away from softball last time. Softball season is starting up again so I really wanted to bring it back to that, but I couldn't find a way without starting over.