"Batter up," Coach Gleason shouted.
Lucas stepped to the plate. Maya was standing at first base, ready to strike him out as soon as he ran towards her. Unfortunately, Farkle was pitcher which meant that this would be a lot harder than it should have been. As Farkle struggled to put his glove on, Lucas tilted his head in Maya's direction. Maya had been absentmindedly appreciating his baseball pants but she looked up in his direction with a taunting grin. She made a fist at him and he responded with his signature smirk.
"Try not to the drop the ball, kid," he taunted.
"Try not to the drop the bat, Ranger," she retorted.
"MATTHEWS! Stop your cheering and help this fool put his glove on," Gleason shrieked irritably. Riley ran over and put Farkle's glove. "Hehehe, thanks Riley," Farkle giggled nervously. "No problem, Farkle," she chirped.
"If you two lovebirds are done over there, we have a game to play!" said Coach.
Riley went back to her position as cheerleader. "Far-kle Far-kle try not to lose your skull!"
Maya and Lucas laughed as Farkle attempted to take position. He threw the ball-not necessarily in a straight line, but enough that Lucas was able to swing it just past Maya's grip. Her outstretched fingertips touched the ball as it just barely whizzed past her. Maya ran as fast as she could to retrieve it with Lucas already halfway to base. The ball kept rolling on the ground with Maya right on its tail, refusing to accept defeat. She thrust the ball into her hand and raced Lucas to the base. Feet away from the white square, they both dived for it.
Sight was temporarily lost in the haze of dirt clouding the air as the gym quieted down. After a minute of silence, the dust cleared. Lucas had reached the base first, with Maya laying right on top of him. "SAFE!" Coach shouted. Maya and Lucas were coughing but Lucas still had a tantalizing grin on his face.
"What's the matter, Clutterbucket?" Lucas asked. "Did the poor pitcher get a little bit rattled?"
"I don't think you're in a position to talk," Maya said, as she pushed all her weight onto him, her elbow digging into his spine.
"Well I think you're pretty comfortable too," Lucas said, out-of-breath, "otherwise you would have gotten up by now."
This triggered a rare blush from Maya as she stood up. "You know, if this was a game of wrestling, I would have won." She brushed herself off and started to walk away. "But that was definitely a nice little sundance you did back there."
He smiled. "Good job, kid. Ranger Rick is proud."
She shuddered but as she turned away, a grin spread across her face.
a/n: sorry it's been so long since i posted anything on here. i have been swamped with high school senior year, all this college preparation and whatnot. i apologize for the long wait, and i'll try to post some more up this week to make up for it. thank you, and as always, keep reviewing. i love seeing what you guys have to say about this. also, don't be shy to prompt something. if i like it, i'll definitely do it. =)
