"Okay ladies, welcome to softball tryouts. I'm Coach Smith and I can guarantee all of you are going to make the team since we had a surprisingly low turnout, so consider this more of evaluations," the tall man said. He looked to be about in his 50's and he had light brown hair. "Okay, partner up and start playing catch. I'll come around and make sure you're using proper form."
Beca stayed still since she didn't know anyone there until a redhead with bright blue eyes walked up to her. "Hey, I'm Chloe," she smiled.
"I'm Beca," the shorter girl replied, shaking her hand.
"You wanna play catch?" She asked, handing Beca the ball.
"Sure," Beca smiled.
They started tossing the ball back and forth in awkward silence silence before Chloe spoke up. "Are you a freshman?"
"Yeah, are you?" Beca wondered. "I haven't seen you around."
"I just transferred here this semester," Chloe explained. "My parents got divorced and my mom's job got moved here from Florida."
"Oh okay," Beca nodded in understanding. "Have you played softball before?"
"Yeah," the redhead shrugged. "I wasn't gonna play this season but my mom convinced me to pick it back up again. I apparently spend too much time in my room writing," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Funny, I spend too much time in my room working on music apparently," Beca laughed. "Do you sing?"
"A little. Do you write?"
"A little," the brunette shrugged.
"Fun! We should collaborate sometime," Chloe said excitedly.
Beca couldn't even comprehend the amount of sunshine that seemed to be in the redhead. So much, that she got completely distracted and zoned out.
"Beca? You ready?" Chloe asked gently, not wanting to startle the smaller girl.
"Oh.. yeah," Beca said sheepishly, catching the ball from Chloe. "Hey where do you sit at lunch?"
"By Aubrey," Chloe said nonchalantly.
"Aubrey Posen?" Beca asked. Aubrey Posen who bullied her into depression throughout middle school? Oh fuck no; there was no way Beca would be going anywhere near her any time soon.
"Yeah! She's my cousin," Chloe smiled. "You should sit by us sometime."
"Yeah," Beca shrugged, knowing full well she wouldn't be sitting by them unless she had her friends with her. They stood up for her during the worst things Aubrey put her through. "My friends will come too."
"Who?" Chloe asked.
"Jesse Swanson, Stacie Conrad, and Benji Applebaum," Beca shrugged.
"Oh Benji's in my American history class and I have home ec with Stacie!" The redhead said excitedly.
"Alright ladies, stick with your partners and go around to the different batting stations," Coach Smith said. "Rebeca and Chloe? You're the new ones, right?" They nodded and he took them over to the tees. "Okay, do either of you know the proper stance for batting?"
"I'm pretty sure," Chloe said with a shrug. She picked up her bat from the floor and got into the proper stance.
"Good," Coach Smith smiled. "Why don't you help Beca with it for awhile."
Chloe nodded as he walked away. "Hey Beca? Are you doing anything after this?"
"I wasn't planning on it, why?" Beca wondered as she tried to get in the same stance Chloe was in.
"Make your legs a little wider, just a little wider than your shoulders," Chloe said. "Do you want to grab a coffee with me?"
"Sure," Beca shrugged.
"Good," Chloe smiled. "I'll take you to my favorite place. I usually go there just to write and think, but I think I can make an exception for a new friend," she said happily. "They have the best mochas."
"I'm one for regular coffee with just cream and sugar," Beca said with a shrug.
"It's so nice there. They have this beautiful little outdoor place with a fountain and flowers."
Beca took a swing at the ball on the tee and completely missed. "Shit," she muttered as the weight from the bat caused her to almost spin around.
Chloe had to bite her lip to avoid giggling at the small brunette. "Shift some of your weight to the balls of your feet. It'll help you balance more," she said, helping Beca reaadjust herself.
"I know you're trying not to laugh," Beca smirked.
"That was cute, sorry," Chloe laughed. The brunette looked up at her with a soft smile
"Your eyes are amazing," she whispered.
"Thanks, yours too," Chloe winked.
She must be gay, Beca thought to herself, what kind of straight girl winks at girls? The brunette's heart fluttered at the sudden realization. She ultimately decided it was too soon to ask and tried to focus on hitting the ball.
Chloe stepped away so Beca could swing and the shorter girl successfully hit the ball into the net. "That was really great Beca," she smiled.
The brunette felt her cheeks flushing red at the praise from the taller girl. "Thanks," she said, staring down at the ground.
"It was, really." Chloe smiled at the brunette. "Do a few more and then we'll switch."
Beca hit a few more off the tee before she and Chloe switched. The redhead quickly hit the entire bucket of balls into the net. "Oh my god Chlo, that was amazing," Beca said.
Chloe shrugged as she put the balls back into the bucket. "You'll get there too. We can go to the batting cages sometime."
"That would be fun," Beca smiled.
"Okay girls, that's all I'm having you do for today. I'll email you all the schedule by tomorrow," Coach Smith said.
"Is your school bag in the locker room?" Chloe asked and Beca nodded. "Mine too," the redhead said.
They got their bags and headed to the coffee shop which was conveniently only a five minute walk from school. They ordered their drinks and Chloe paid before Beca even had the chance to get her wallet out. "Chloe you didn't need to-" she started before being cut off by the redhead.
"I invited you, don't worry about it," Chloe smiled as she handed Beca her coffee. "Are you from around here?"
"Yeah, I live about a ten minute walk away," Beca said. "How about you?"
"Yeah just about 5 minutes that way," Chloe said. "My mom got us a nice little house on a corner and we get to garden a lot so I'm really happy about that."
"Is it just you and your mom?" Beca asked.
"Yeah," Chloe shrugged. "It's okay though, we really enjoy it. How about you?"
"I live with my dad and step mom and my little step sister Hailee. She's 12."
"You're so lucky you have a little sister," Chloe smiled. "She has a pretty cool big sister to look up to."
Beca blushed. This girl was making her feel so warm and happy inside. It was strange for her. "Are you close with your mom?" She asked, trying to move the conversation along as best she could.
"She's like my best friend," Chloe smiled. "It was hard to adjust at first, but we've always been close, so we're really happy now."
"That's really nice," Beca smiled. "My step sister and I are really close."
"That's so nice," Chloe smiled. "Was it hard to adjust?"
"A little, but her dad was never in her life and my mom wasn't never in mine, so we all get along really well."
"That's really awesome," Chloe smiled. "I'll have to meet her sometime."
"I'll have to meet your mom," Beca smiled.
"Speaking of her, I have to get going. I promised I'd stop at the store for dinner," Chloe said she stood up from the table and wrapped Beca in a hug.
The brunette tensed up at the contact. It was unexpected and she had just met the girl, but she eventually relaxed in Chloe's arms. "I'm so glad that I met you," Chloe smiled. "I think that we're gonna be really fast friends," she said with a wink.
Beca smiled. "Me too," she smiled. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and unlocked it before handing it to Chloe. "Put your number in."
The redhead typed in her number and sent a text to her phone so she'd have the brunette's number. "I'll see you tomorrow Beca."
"Yeah," Beca smiled, waving goodbye to the taller girl before she disappeared outside.
Chloe stopped at Target quickly to pick up some pasta to make for dinner and went home straight after that. She put the food in the kitchen and went upstairs so she could take a quick shower before dinner. She came back downstairs 20 minutes later witb her hair wrapped in a towel and found her mom in the kitchen cooking the pasta. "You're home early," she said knowingly as hopped up onto the counter.
"Well hello to you too, Chlobird," her mom Kate said with an eye roll as she kissed her daughter on the forehead. "And yes I am, I need to go out tonight and buy an outfit for my conference tomorrow, and you're coming to help me." Kate was a lawyer and once or twice a year, she'd have to go to a conference to discuss things with her firm, and she was expected to dress nicer than usual for it.
"Go take your work clothes off, I'll finish dinner," Chloe said as she hopped down from the counter and walked to the stove, stirring the pasta as it cooked.
Kate disappeared upstairs and came down a minute later in a pair of yoga pants and a sweatshirt. "How was your softball tryout?"
"Good," Chloe said happily. "I met a girl."
"Is this girl girlfriend material?" Kate asked suspiciously. Chloe came out as bisexual at the beginning of the summer, and her mother had been nothing but supportive and proud of her. Her dad, on the other hand, had completely disowned her, which was why her parents had gotten divorced in the first place. Chloe felt awful for awhile that she had caused her mom so much distress. She still felt bad sometimes, but she knew her mom would always be there for her, so she started to feel better after a few months.
"Maybe," Chloe shrugged. "I'm getting a vibe from her, like gaydar."
Kate cracked a smile at that. "What kind of vibe?"
"I don't know, just the way she carries herself," Chloe replied with a shrug. "Her clothes too, and she never breaks eye contact when she's talking to me."
"What was she wearing?"
"Well she was wearing black running shorts and a grey t-shirt with cuffed sleeves at tryouts, and then she changed into black skinny jeans and a red tank top with a sweatshirt over it. And she had headphones around her neck. She's really into music."
"So are you," Kate pointed out excitedly. "You should invite her for dinner tomorrow."
"I'll ask her," Chloe said with a smile. "She's so pretty too. She has navy blue eyes and she's so tiny. And she has the most beautiful hair and her smile is so cute," the redhead gushed. "I went for coffee with her."
"You're totally crushing," Kate smirked. "Definitely invite her over. And ask what she wants for dinner too."
"Okay," Chloe agreed. She drained the pasta and poured in the sauce that she had heating on the stove. "Are we eating in the kitchen?"
"No, we gotta start Shameless tonight," Kate replied as she put some spaghetti on a plate.
"I still can't believe you're letting me watch it," Chloe laughed. "One episode, and then we have to go to the store because I still have homework."
"Alright," Kate agreed as she sat down on the couch and turned on the tv.
"Beca, can you take me shopping?" Hailee asked. "Our class color is green and I have nothing green to wear."
"Only because I don't feel like doing my chemistry assignment," Beca sighed as she stood up from her desk. "Where are we going? Kohls?"
Hailee nodded and read over the email on Beca's open laptop. "You made the team!" She said excitedly.
"Everyone made the team," Beca shrugged. "And reading people's emails is a crime, ma'am," she smirked.
"Shut up," Hailee smirked, smacking the older girl on the arm.
The two walked to Kohls and Beca took Hailee to the junior's section to pick out a shirt. The last time she had taken her little sister shopping, she had taken her to the children's section, which earned her a punch in the stomach and a lecture about how she was old enough to shop in the teen section. "Oh and Brianna said the funniest thing today!" Hailee said, about to start on another story. "She—Beca are you even listening?" She asked with a sigh as the brunette was staring at a redhead across the room.
"Hang on," Beca said, peeking around a rack of clothes. "Oh my god it's her," she whispered excitedly.
"Who?" Hailee asked, a little louder than Beca would've liked.
"Shhh," the teenager whispered. "That's Chloe. I met her at softball today and I went for coffee with her."
"Oh that's why you were home late," Hailee said. "She's pretty, do you have a crush on her?"
"Wait what? No!" Beca protested quietly. "Come on lets go closer to her."
"You're ridiculous," Hailee sighed, rolling her eyes at her big sister.
The older brunette started walking closer to where Chloe was standing and pretended to be looking at graphic t-shirts. "Beca?" Chloe asked as she looked up from the pair of jeans she had been looking at.
"Hey," Beca said shyly as she walked towards the redhead.
"It's so good to see you here!" Chloe said excitedly. "I'm here with my mom, you want to go say hi?" She asked with a smile.
Beca nodded with a small smile. "Hailee, come meet my friend Chloe."
"Hailee's here?" Chloe asked excitedly as the young brunette walked up to them. "So you're the little sister Beca kept going on about today," she smiled. "I'm Chloe, Beca's new friend."
"Hi Chloe, I'm Hailee," the younger girl smiled.
"Come meet my mom!" Chloe said excitedly, leading them over to the women's section. "Mom! Beca's here!" She said to the woman.
"Oh my gosh, Chloe wouldn't stop talking about you today," the woman smiled. "I'm Kate."
"I'm Beca, and this is my sister Hailee," the brunette said with a smile.
"It's so great to meet you," Kate smiled. "I actually wanted to ask Beca, do you want to come over for dinner tomorrow?"
"Sure! I'll ask my dad," Beca said.
"Alright," Kate smiled. "Chlo, I hate to pull you away from her so soon, but we gotta go. I have to leave early tomorrow."
"Alright," Chloe sighed.
"Don't worry about it," Beca shrugged. "We have to get going too."
"Alright," Kate smiled. "I hope to see you Friday, Beca."
"Me too," Beca smiled. "Bye Chloe."
The two redheads left which left Beca and Hailee wandering around the store. "What do you think of this?" Hailee asked, holding up a green shirt.
"It's green and it's Harry Potter, go for it," Beca shrugged. "We need to get home."
"Alright, I'll get this one," Hailee said, handing it to her sister.
They walked to the checkout to buy the shirt and went home right after. Beca had decided to go up to her room to work on her chemistry assignment and Hailee had stayed downstairs to watch tv. Her dad came into her room a few minutes later. "Beca I just checked your grades and-"
"I know, they're awful. I'm working on it, okay?" Beca rolled her eyes.
"Okay, I want A's and B's by the end of the quarter," John replied.
"I'll try my best," Bsca said reassuringly. "I actually have a favor to ask you."
"What is it?" John asked.
"I made a friend today, Chloe," she explained. "And I ran into her and her mom when I went to the store with Hailee, and they invited me for dinner tomorrow night."
"Sure," John shrugged.
"Alright, thanks Dad," Beca smiled.
"Chlo," Kate called upstairs. "I'm leaving early tomorrow so I won't see you until tomorrow night. Ask Beca what kind of carry out she likes."
"Okay," Chloe said as she appeared at the top of the stairs. She walked down and gave her mom a hug. "Good luck at your conference tomorrow."
"Good luck with your girl," Kate smirked. "I know you claim to have gaydar or whatever but I know your type of girl and she's definitely gay. See if she can sleep over."
"I'll ask," Chloe smiled. "Night mom."
"Goodnight Chloe," Kate smiled as her daughter went back upstairs.
Chloe was definitely crushing hard. She just hoped Beca was into girls.