Thank you all for the reviews on the last chapter!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! x

-Chapter 21-

"All That I Got"

Pop!

Landon hands vibrated as the ball connected with the bat. His ears were filled with cheers and screams as he delivered what was sure to be a homerun. He dropped the bat and ran the bases. In one hit, his team scored three points and it was all because of him. Landon practically skipped from the third base and back to the home plate. He knew he was milking the moment and didn't care. He was in the zone. Landon looked out into the bleachers and spotted his parents easily. They were cheering for him. He was making them proud.

Back on the home plate, his team had flocked the field as the announcer called out their win. He was greeted with a few manly pats and congratulations. It felt good to play again.

"Good job, Landon," the curly-haired girl said. Alexis. She smiled at him while one of her hands played at her curls and the other on her waist. "You're still as great as I remember."

Landon looked out in the bleachers as he searched for his parents. They weren't there. He knew they were coming down to the field just like all the other parents of the players. He had literally a moment's time to end this right now. Letting out a breath of air, he spoke. "What are you doing here?"

The girl walked closer to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. "Don't you miss me?" she pouted.

"Lexie," Landon began. He looked around and checked for his parents. "Let's forget about it, 'kay? My parents finally trust me again. I can't be seen with you."

Landon," Eric called excitedly.

Landon jumped slightly, but played it off as he ran his hand down his face. He knew the move didn't go unnoticed with his mom though. She smirked and looked at the girl standing next to him. He parted his lips to talk but his dad started talking first.

"Great game, you did great out there."

"You did great," Calleigh added in. "Who's your friend?"

Alexis face brightened at the mention of 'friend' from Calleigh's mouth. She extended her hand, "I'm Alexis, nice to meet you." She shook Calleigh's hand first, then Eric's. "I'm Landon's girlfriend."

Landon looked at her and then his parents.

"Oh, this is her?" Calleigh said, trying to recall her memory.

Landon's mind went back to what Jayden had said about Alexis. He never properly addressed the situation or had the opportunity to talk to her since he didn't have a cell phone currently. Still, Landon probably wouldn't have talked to her anyway. They went to two different schools at the moment…he didn't even know how she found out what school he went to. Then he thought about it. Jayden. She must have told her. Landon looked at his mother. "No." He needed to nip this in the bud as soon as possible. He'd just gained his parents trust and he didn't want to lose it again.

"Oh, she's new?" Calleigh asked, looking at Landon.

Alexis stood with a smirk on her face, clearly amused that Landon was trying to clear up the situation.

Awkward. It was the only word going through Landon's head at the moment. He wanted to spare Alexis the embarrassment but seeing as she was smirking now, he didn't care. "She's not my girlfriend. As a matter of fact, she's not even my friend."

"Landon!" Calleigh and Eric both said at the same time. Calleigh looked at the girl and bit her lip. She felt for the young girl, her eyes were glossy, indicating she was going to cry. Calleigh couldn't imagine breaking up like that. She and Eric needed to teach Landon breakup etiquette.

Alexis bit her own lip, her face breaking more into a frown with each passing moment. Finally she started talking. "It's okay Landon," she said, genuinely hurt. "I'm sorry about today." She walked away.

"Landon," Eric said. "I know this is none of my business, but you know there's a better way to break up with a girl. You kind of embarrassed her."

Landon let out a quiet sigh. "I know, but she really wasn't my girlfriend." It was of failed use. His special moment, the moment he just wanted to be about the game, had turned into a conversation about proper breakup etiquette.

…

Jayden sat cross-legged on the leather couch, her hand playing with the leaves of the plant that rested next to the couch. She eyed the certificates and degrees above her therapist's desk as she got lost in her thoughts. Today was the first day that she was doing this alone. Her parents weren't outside the door like usual…they were at Landon's game and at the moment, she was very jealous.

She already knew she shouldn't be but she couldn't help it. Lately, he'd been getting all of their attention. Landon had transitioned perfectly into his new school. He was able to join his school's baseball team and was recruited for their football team. That made him popular fast. He had friends, he had sports and he had their parents.

Was something wrong with her? Why wasn't it happening for her? She had a fair amount of friends but definitely not enough to have everyone wonder her every move. Landon still had people talking about him at her school and he was gone.

How? Just how much charm did her brother have over everybody?

"So," the therapist began. She made a mental note at how Jayden was pulled from her thoughts. From the few months that she'd known Jayden, she summed her to be a deep thinker. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but she knew being trapped in your thoughts can sometimes make you feel worse that how you initially feel. She tucked her hair behind her ears. "Your parents aren't here. We're trying this alone?"

"They're with my brother," Jayden answered. She watched as her therapist wrote down on her pad.

Her therapist sensed Jayden's apprehension. Most teens she'd come across are usually liberated to get some space away from their parents, but a look in Jayden's face let her know that Jayden felt dejected. Of course she wouldn't say that, but she wanted to know why and that's exactly what she asked.

Jayden shrugged her shoulders. "I feel like I still need them and they're not here. I feel like I'll make a mistake and I'm afraid of making mistakes."

"Can you explain that?"

Jayden shrugged her shoulders again, gathering her thoughts as she looked around the room. "It's hard to explain. I don't trust myself to make big decisions. With my parents it's easier. I follow their rules and I know what they want from me. But I feel I can't trust myself to make executive decisions."

"You're just lacking in self-confidence," the therapist said. "It's a common symptom of your anxiety and you would not believe how simple it is to gain it…" She pushed back to her desk and grabbed a pamphlet. She wheeled her chair back to Jayden and handed the pamphlet to her.

Jayden took it and read over the first few paragraphs. She looked at her therapist. "I don't know how."

The therapist nodded her head in understanding. "Jayden, I want you to think about what you do best. It can be anything from sports to singing."

Jayden thought over in her mind. She already knew sports was out of the window. She wasn't particularly good at any of them. Part of her didn't understand why. Her entire family seemed to be athletic. Great, now she felt like an outsider.

"It doesn't have to be anything major," the therapist said, seeing Jayden get lost in her thoughts.

Jayden shut her thoughts out. "I'm good at writing?" She said as a question. Seeing her therapist nod, she continued talking. "Not like essays but creative writing. It's easier to get ideas out of my head rather than having to research like I would have to do with an essay."

"That's great Jayden," the therapist said with excitement. "So this is what we're going to do. If your school has a creative writing club, you should join. And it's not just writing. You should join any club that fosters your interest. You'll find it as a way to keep your mind busy and doing and talking about what you know gives you the confidence you need."

Jayden's eyes lit up and she nearly broke into a smile. Of course she should do that. That's why Landon transitioned well. He was doing what he was excited to do. She couldn't wait to leave so she could start doing what she loved too.

…

I'm really sorry for this filler chapter. My imagination ran away from me and the more I wrote, I realized I couldn't take it back and I couldn't unwrite what was going on. Anyway, I'll try to post a new chapter up really soon. :)