Chapter 3

It was the day before their pre-season opener and Lauren was exhausted. She'd spent all of fall quarter pretty much hating life and just wanting to get through the days as the practices became more intense and her schoolwork started picking up. Being a perfectionist Lauren was struggling with keeping up with all the assignments and reading for her classes while juggling her softball schedule which wasn't as easy as one would expect.

And then there was the Bo factor. The more Lauren spent time with her the more she was torn. A part of her was very intrigued by the beautiful brunette who seemed to ooze confidence and sexuality with little effort. But another part of her, a much bigger and semi-Tamsin influenced part of her was very weary of the All-American pitcher as well. She had seen Bo with that Ciara girl a few more times throughout the past few months and she wasn't sure if that was her girlfriend or just a close yet platonic friend.

Unfortunately she never really had the chance to find out what the deal with Bo and Ciara was for a couple of reasons. One being that when they were at practice Bo treated her and the two remaining freshman like scrubs and Lauren was sick and tired of her attitude. She had worked with her a few more times during practice as the coach wanted her to be a backup catcher for Nadia if she needed one and Lauren had to admit if not for Bo's personality, she would have quite the girl crush on Bo simply for how talented she was. It only took the blonde a few workouts to understand how Bo thought and when she was catching for her during a few scrimmages at practice she felt like she called a better game than Nadia did although she would never voice that opinion to anyone else.

The other main obstacle was Kenzi. Lauren wasn't sure why the feisty short stop disliked her so much but she made it abundantly clear the blonde was persona non grata. Tamsin reasoned it might be because she had a major falling out with Kenzi last year, but wouldn't say why, and so the hatred from her must just be rubbing off on Lauren but the younger Lewis didn't think that was the entire reason. Kenzi would literally go above and beyond to make sure Lauren knew her place within the team and Lauren had been tempted during more than one batting practice to put a line drive right at her head.

"Baby Lewis…you're up."

Lauren grunted as she grabbed a bat and took her place in the batter's box. They were having a scrimmage and so far the first string was looking pretty strong. Nadia smiled at her from behind the mask and Lauren gave her a small smile as she took her position.

"Be careful Baby Lewis, she's looking for revenge from last time."

Lauren glanced down at her briefly before sighing and turning her attention back to Bo. "Tell her I can do this all day."

Nadia chuckled slightly as she gave Bo the signal and waited for the brunette to nod. There was a runner on first and third with one out in the inning so Lauren had to be careful not to hit into a double play. Given those variables she knew she'd see a lot of off speed stuff as a fastball had the chance of being yanked to the outfield and score the run at third. Her best guess was either a drop ball outside or a rise ball inside. Either one of those should keep most batters off balance enough to not make good contact. Then again this was Bo Dennis who was still holding the grudge against her so on second thought she knew what was coming.

CRACK

Lauren was ready for the high fastball Bo delivered but her hands were just a few seconds late and the ball spun foul. She stared down the brunette who was now glaring at her and she smirked ever so slightly as she licked her lips and took her stance again.

"You got balls Lewis…and apparently a target on your back because she never comes after anyone this hard during a scrimmage."

Lauren just shrugged and focused on Bo. Again Nadia gave the sign and Bo nodded before taking a deep breath. Lauren thought she might go back to the fastball but a low curve caught her off guard and she swung and missed.

"STRIKE"

One of the coaches was acting as umpire and Lauren glared at her ever so slightly as the call was made. The count was now 0-2 and Lauren had to be careful as she really didn't want to be sat down by Bo. Even though this was just practice she knew the upperclassmen would take too much joy in striking her out and she didn't want to give her the chance.

Lauren licked her lips and took her stance as Bo nodded once she had the desired sign from Nadia. Once again Lauren tried to figure out what pitch Bo would throw but as soon as she saw the slight roll over of her wrist in her glove she knew the knuckleball was coming. Now, having caught her a few times already Lauren knew the balls tendency was to move up and in and more importantly out of the strike zone so she was going to take the pitch and hope for the best.

"BALL."

Lauren sighed as the count moved to 1-3 and she knew she still had some work cut out for her. She braced herself in the batter's box again and waited for Bo's wind up. She knew without a doubt this was going to be a breaking ball away and out of the zone so again she took the pitch even though for a split second she hesitated on her decision thinking it might end up in the strike zone.

"BALL."

2-2 was the count and Lauren could see Bo get frustrated, especially after that last pitch that probably 90% of the batters she'd face would swing at. But Lauren's patience at bat was one of her greatest attributes and right now it was the one thing pissing Bo off. Lauren could hear Nadia chuckling softly behind the plate knowing Bo was now aggravated and she called in the sign to the brunette who was looking more and more pissed.

"Any time now Dennis."

The head coach was rolling her eyes at the Junior pitcher who just nodded and faced Lauren ready to deliver again. Lauren didn't even blink as Bo started her wind up and when Lauren saw the extra flex in her arm during the pitching motion she knew the pitch was going to be a changeup. The problem was she didn't know where Bo was going to put it so she readied herself in case it came in the zone.

"BALL."

"Oh come on coach."

Bo looked annoyed that her pitch was called a ball since it barely missed the outside edge of the plate. The coach just stared her down and she took a deep breath to calm herself as she gave Kenzi a WTF look before turning back to Lauren. Tamsin was on the sideline watching the whole scene unfold with great interest and she was getting far too much pleasure out of seeing Bo frustrated. Even though she's only played with her for one year, she could already pick up on the minor signs that the brunette was pissed and right now she was furious.

Nadia took her position as Bo nodded once she had the sign she wanted and Lauren licked her lips slowly as she waited for Bo to start her wind up. She caught Bo staring her in the eye and the edge of her mouth tilted up ever so slightly causing the brunette to lose focus for the briefest of seconds. Bo stood up and backed off her pitch and the entire team looked confused as Bo had never done that before.

"Time."

The pitching coached walked over to Bo and gave her an annoyed look as Nadia trotted up to the mound. "Everything alright Dennis?"

Bo nodded. "Fine coach…uh just had something in my eye."

Nadia gave her a knowing look and Bo just turned to move back to the mound to start her stance. Nadia's eyebrows went up a bit as she walked back to home plate and Lauren looked at her with slight concern. "She okay?"

Nadia laughed. "You're about to find out."

Lauren sighed as she took her position again and looked at Bo who was staring at Nadia waiting for her to get in position. She was tired of messing around with the freshman and she was frustrated that Lauren was still at bat and that she'd gone from way ahead to behind in the count. Bo blinked slowly to calm herself before taking a big wind up. If Baby Lewis wanted to be a bad ass then she needed to deal with the big girls.

"STRIKE THREE."

Bo had thrown about as hard as she could and the fastball whizzed by Lauren on the inside part of the plate. The blonde had swung but her timing was thrown off by how fast it came and her bat glossed over the top of the ball without even grazing it and Lauren was left staring at Bo who gave her a smirk as the ball was returned to her from Nadia.

"Told ya…"

Nadia gave her a sympathetic smile as Lauren shook her head and walked back to the sidelines with the other girls. The next batter took her position and Bo didn't even look at Lauren for the rest of the inning. The same couldn't be said for the blonde however who was staring at Bo as if she were studying her movements. Lauren never got taken by the same pitcher twice so she wanted to learn everything about Bo's game to ensure she could one up her even if it was just in practice. The competitive nature in her is what always drove her to do this and Lauren was staring at her so intently she didn't even hear Tamsin come up beside her.

"Laur…Lauren?"

"Huh? What Tamsin?"

The younger sister was more intent on watching Bo than talking to her sister at the moment and Tamsin just huffed as she stood there. "Dude, stop already."

Lauren looked at her with a questioning gaze. "Stop what?"

Tamsin rolled her eyes. "She got you, let it go. Focus on everything else."

Lauren sighed and rolled her own eyes. "There's nothing else to focus on. There's no speed at first so no chance at a squeeze play even though third could probably make it home. Nadia's arm is too strong and they won't chance it and end the inning and besides, Bo's ahead in the count and with her change up the batter will be out."

"STRIKE THREE."

Lauren looked at Tamsin with a raised eyebrow. "See."

Tamsin rolled her eyes and shoved the catcher's mitt into Lauren's chest. "Fine, now get your ass behind the plate."

Lauren huffed as she finished putting on the catchers gear and she moved behind the plate to warm Tamsin up a bit before the first batter stepped up. She had been catching for her sister for so long that she didn't even need to physically call in signs to her, she literally could just look at her a certain way and Tamsin knew what she was thinking.

"Alright Kenzi first then Nadia then Bo."

This wasn't the normal batting order obviously but since they were the closest the coach just wanted to get them through. Being blessed with two outstanding pitchers it was obvious that Tamsin was competing with Bo for the starting spot in the pitching rotation. It would most likely go to the older girl though but Tamsin wanted to be damn sure to give her a run for her money.

"Lemme show you how it's done freshman."

Kenzi smirked at Lauren who rolled her eyes behind the mask and took her stance behind the plate. Lauren had watched Kenzi bat enough times to know she favored low and away pitches and struggled with high and inside. She gave Tamsin the sign for a rise ball but given that it was Kenzi at bat Lauren smirked a bit and Tamsin nodded with a similar smirk on her face as well. Over the years Tamsin had perfected the ability to throw her rise ball way more inside than was necessary without it looking like she was purposely going after the batter.

"BALL."

"What the hell Lewis?"

Kenzi shot the older sister a death glare as the ball sailed past her face and she looked down at Lauren with a raised eyebrow. "Your idea I'm assuming. Cute, keep it up."

Again Lauren rolled her eyes and this time she called for Tamsin's curve low and away. When the older sister threw her curve it had much more of a drop off than Bo's did as Tamsin was more of a placement pitcher and sure enough Kenzi took a big cut at the ball but missed as it died off as it crossed the plate.

"STRIKE."

Lauren smirked and just got in position knowing Tamsin's next pitch was going to be a high fastball without even calling it in.

"STRIKE."

Sure enough Kenzi couldn't catch up to the fastball and the older Lewis was now ahead in the count. Lauren chuckled as she called for a changeup inside knowing it would catch Kenzi off guard.

"BALL."

Lauren was surprised Kenzi hadn't swung but now she was really laughing to herself. They say for most pitchers the change up is the 'show me' pitch meaning you get the batter looking one way and deliver the next pitch hard another. In this case she knew Tamsin had enough heat to just blow by the petite girl so she called for a fastball down the pipe and with a hard swing and miss Kenzi was the first out.

"Next…"

Kenzi glared at Lauren who gave her an innocent laugh and Nadia walked up to the plate with the bat in her hands. Lauren knew Nadia was a pretty balanced hitter so she called a varied sequence of pitches before she finally got the other catcher to pop one up that Tamsin caught easily in the infield.

"Dennis…"

Bo walked up to the plate with the bat in her hands and shook her head slightly as she looked from Lauren to Tamsin. She kicked the dirt a bit to dig her right foot down some before glancing at Lauren. "She tell you why she's so pissed yet?"

Lauren looked a bit startled but just shook her head. "No and I don't care."

Bo smirked. "Okay freshman…whatever you say."

Lauren glared up at her and she wanted nothing more than to wipe the smirk off of Bo's face. She stared at Tamsin and the older sister knew exactly what she was thinking and nodded indicating she was ready. Tamsin went through her pitching motion before delivering a high rise ball that Bo didn't even flinch at.

"Gotta do better than that Lewis…"

Again Lauren rolled her eyes as she threw the ball back to her sister. Bo was a solid batter and actually had a pretty high batting average so she was going to be more difficult to sit down than the first two. The next pitch called for was a fast ball up and in and Bo let it go but this time the strike was called much to her annoyance.

"How's that?"

Lauren really shouldn't have said anything but Bo was pissing her off so she let the comment slip without even thinking. Bo looked down at her with a raised eyebrow and just nodded as if to say, 'okay bring it on' before turning back to Tamsin. The two breaking balls that came next were split with a ball being called on one and Bo tipping the second one foul.

"What else you got Baby Lewis?"

Bo was now fully goading her and Lauren huffed. Her instinct was to have Tamsin throw up and in to send a message but that would bring her to a full count and put her at a disadvantage. No matter how annoyed Lauren got during the game she never put her pitcher in a bad situation so she couldn't do that.

The next logical move was to have Tamsin throw low and away with the hopes that Bo either swung over the top of it or tipped it foul again but she knew the brunette was too smart for that. It's what Bo would do herself so she should be expecting that to come and Lauren did not want to become predictable.

Finally she called in the sign and took her stance. It didn't happen often but Lauren was actually just hoping Tamsin could out muscle the batter and even the older Lewis gave her a WTF look when she called for the pitch. Shaking her head slightly Tamsin nodded as if to say, okay then, and began her wind up. A fastball right down the middle was the last thing Bo should have expected with the count even and as she swung and missed Lauren breathed a sigh of relief as the ball snapped in her glove.

"STRIKE THREE."

Bo gave Lauren a disbelieving look as she couldn't believe the freshman had the audacity to come at her like that. As much as it annoyed her she also found herself respecting the decision a little and she had to smirk and nod towards Lauren as if to say, 'good going' as she trotted back to the sideline. Lauren gave her a small smile as she understood what the nod meant and even Tamsin raised her eyebrows at her younger sister in surprise.

"Don't pull that shit again Laur…"

Tamsin laughed as Lauren threw her the ball and Lauren just shook her head in agreement that she wouldn't. The rest of practice went by fairly smoothly and as she was picking up the equipment as normal a different voice stopped her this time.

"Hey freshman…"

Bo smiled at Lauren as she handed her the extra balls she'd gathered and helped the blonde put them into the bag. Lauren gave her a shy smile and tucked the hair that had come out of her ponytail behind her ear unconsciously. "Hey Bo."

The brunette stood up straight and gave her a curious smile. "So…good job today."

Lauren smiled. "Thanks."

The blonde wasn't really sure what to say since this was literally the first conversation she'd had alone with the older girl. They both kind of stood there in silence for a few seconds before Lauren finally just blurted out the first thing that came to mind in effort to calm her nerves. "You need to control your glove hand when you wind up for your fastball."

Bo laughed. "What? Oh my god freshman turn it off!"

Lauren just shrugged. "Sorry, it's what I do. When I'm nervous."

Bo smirked. "Do I make you nervous?"

Lauren shrugged again. "Sort of. I mean your reputation precedes you so…"

Bo raised her eyebrow. "Oh does it? How so?"

She was now leaning against the railing next to where Lauren was standing and the blonde's eyes bugged out a bit as she realized how that sounded. "Uh…well…no I mean you're a great pitcher so…"

She knew she was failing badly at trying to backtrack and Bo's laughter was not helping. She just glared at the brunette who just nodded. "You're hilarious Baby Lewis just like your sister."

Lauren sighed at the use of her team given nickname from hell. All her life she had been known as Tamsin's sister and now she was seriously reconsidering her decision to join Tamsin at UCLA. Lauren let out a frustrated grunt as she threw the equipment bag on the truck and turned to walk away.

"Hey what happened?"

Lauren just turned and looked at Bo with an even stare. "My sister and I aren't the same person you know."

Bo gave her an unreadable expression. "I know Lauren."

The blonde heard the different tone in her voice but at the moment she was too confused to try and figure out what it meant. She rolled her eyes as she saw Kenzi approaching and just turned to leave not wanting to stick around and be part of whatever conversation was about to unfold. If she had looked back though she would have caught Bo watching her walk away and even as Kenzi approached the taller brunette didn't break her gaze.

"Hey, Bo-Bo you alright?"

Bo just nodded as she finally looked down at Kenzi. "Fine."

She gave her a tight smile and nodded at the shorter girl who was giving her a confused look. Bo wasn't quite sure what happened just then with Lauren but now she was sort of interested in finding out. She shook off the thought however as Kenzi talked her ear off about something or other knowing her best friend wouldn't understand. She noticed Tamsin glaring at her as they walked to the locker room and she didn't realize Tamsin had seen Bo watch Lauren walk away and the big sister in her had kicked in full force.

It's not that she hated Bo, but she wouldn't be sad if her sister stayed far away from the brunette who she considered more trouble than she was worth. Bo just sighed to herself as she followed Kenzi to the locker room. She wasn't going to worry about the Lewis sisters at the moment as all she wanted to do was take a shower and rest before their game the next day. Softball came first in her mind, then school, then all the rest of the drama that seemed to follow her wherever she went.