Boarded

A/N:

Chapter 36 (Friendly and Unfriendly Competition)

Freddie and Kevin sat on the couch, playing a video game together. It was a very somber, momentous occasion. They had one more month left before Kevin graduated and then Freddie would be a senior. It had been a fun year together, filled with lots of love from their girlfriends. "I guess the board decided to keep you guys around." Freddie jokingly smirked at his friend and Kevin broke out in a laugh.

"They couldn't stand letting one of their star players go. I told them it was either they keep Penny at the school and let her graduate or they lose both of us." Freddie smiled as he hit the swing button and ran his character to first base. "Man real life beats this stuff."

"You can say that again."

"Real life beats this stuff." He grinned and Freddie chuckled to himself. It had been an interesting year thus far, filled with many surprises. Though in his mind, the greatest thing that took place was falling in love with Melanie. "So, are you guys going to go home for the summer?"

"Yeah, planning on it. Melanie's not actually gotten a chance to get home in a while." Of course, they'd have to get back by the end of the summer. He and Melanie had been 'recruited' onto the welcoming committee, taking Kevin and Penny's place. He sighed and relaxed his arms a bit, glancing over at Kevin. "Of course we can't stay the whole time because someone decided to appoint me team leader on the welcoming committee. Just randomly, out of the blue. I don't even know if they're going to look up to me like that." It wasn't like Kevin lived out a legacy or anything and Freddie was worried about living up to it, no it wasn't like that at all. It was more like he had not really been involved much with the welcoming committee, and now all of a sudden, he was going to be their leader next year. "Unless they have a requirement that their leader be a senior baseball player, I still think I'm under qualified to do the job and you should have appointed someone else who has more experience on the committee and was more active throughout the year!" Freddie tried to make his videogame character run to home base, but he'd been struck out. "Aw man, so close!" Kevin gave him a smug smirk and patted him on the back. "You are so going down!"

"Better luck next time, and you may try." It was his turn to strike Kevin out now. "You know, you were plenty active with the group. I mean hell, about as active as everyone else. All you have to do really is know everything about the campus." Freddie blinked as his friend shrugged his shoulders and watched the game switch the teams around. "So no pressure there, right?"

"No pressure? I have to come back a month early and memorize every little detail about the campus?"

"Yeah, did I neglect to mention that?" Kevin chuckled nervously while Freddie moaned and dropped his head into his lap.

"That's it dude, I am calling you out!" Kevin frowned and raised his eyebrow. He knew well what that meant. Freddie was challenging him to a game of actual baseball, but they needed a team. "Grab your bat girl, let's gather up our teams, I am going to crush you!" Kevin smirked as the two rose from the couch and shook each other's hands.

"Think you can rally up the dream team? Cause you're going to need a dream team."

"Oh, you want to talk the smack? Well bring it on little miss! I got a secret weapon, and I'm not talking about lady luck." They stared into each other's eyes, each of them twitching one eyebrow.

"See if you get that first."

"Oh I will. Meet me at the quad in half an hour! You are going down like yesterday's pie." He was referring to the pie that Melanie and Penny made. It did not last very long at all, for the boys scarfed it down in no time. They needed a team of three. A batter, a pitcher, and a runner. The girls would serve as the catcher and 'bat girls' for their team captain.

Half an hour passed and the teams made it to the quad, Kevin and Freddie eyed each other's team with mixed feelings of certainty and uncertainty. Freddie smirked at Kevin, crossing his arms as Melanie waved politely. On his side stood Terrance, from the welcoming committee, and Jeremy. Kevin's jaw fell and he pointed to the two. "That is not right! The best pitcher and the best runner on the basketball team?"

"Yep, and don't forget the best ball girl." Melanie blushed as Freddie wagged his eyebrows at Kevin. Kevin had a couple ballplayers on his team and hadn't actually found Jeremy, obviously. He hoped to find him first, but failed.

"You may think you have the best ball girl, but my lady, Penny, here is the best girl around." Penny closed her eyes and felt a hint of pink rush to her cheeks. Jeremy merely laughed at the display, these guys were having too much fun. Evidently that was the way it was with best friends.

"You two think you got the best ball girls around, huh?" Jeremy tried to think back and could remember playing ball out in the yard with Jessica and Gibby as children. Sam not so much, though she did get into it on occasion. He couldn't help but wonder if Jessica still could rock a ball cap and still look adorable.

"We know we do, unless you know something we don't." Freddie smirked at Jeremy and he shrugged. Jessica was just one of those girls who enjoyed playing the sport and couldn't help but to wonder if perhaps she still enjoyed playing it during some recreational time.

"Well do your girls actually play the game?" Penny looked at her nails and slowly lifted her eyes up, she never cared to play the game and only rooted for Kevin. She'd never actually been out on the field. Melanie was a tennis player, so she knew a thing or two about sports, but she never really tried to play baseball. Jeremy smirked as he watched the girls shake their heads. "Exactly. Now what would you say if I told you I knew a girl who could play baseball and probably kick your asses while doing it with one hand tied behind her back?" Terrance whistled and looked over at Jeremy.

"Where is this girl and does she have a boyfriend?" Jeremy raised an eyebrow as Melanie threw her hand to her mouth and stifled a laugh. He placed his hand on Terrance's shoulder and smirked deviously, his eyes lighting up in a friendly, but combative way.

"Are you sure you're on the right team, Terrance? I want to make sure not to hit you with my knuckler when you're running the bases."

"Yeah well you'd have to catch me first." Melanie's phone went off, so she grabbed it. She received a text message. "Hey, I thought we all agreed to shut off our phones for this, she's got hers on!" Freddie looked over and waved dismissively.

"Yeah but someone's meeting her on the campus. You know, for a visit. Her cousin hasn't seen the campus and wants to see what it's like." Jeremy's eyebrows rose and his heart skipped a beat. Cousin? There was only one cousin of Melanie's that he knew. Was Jessica really here to visit Melanie? "She needs to have her cell phone ready because Jessica doesn't know the way here."

"Jessica's coming here?" Jeremy's throat tightened up and he began feeling tongue tied. He looked down at the watch on his wrist and smiled, mint condition still. Damn he was proud. Melanie lifted her eyes to him and smiled as he tried to hide the fact that he was very nervous. Freddie and the others couldn't tell, but she could. "She's coming here now? I mean right at this minute?" Melanie looked at the text message and grinned.

"Yep, I told her to meet me at the quad and she just asked for directions. She's on the campus now! She said she found someone who's able to bring her here." Melanie told Jessica about the challenge going on between Freddie and Kevin, and how Freddie was going to wipe the floor with Kevin's team. "She's eager to see the game." Realization dawning on her, she placed her hand to her lips as her eyes widened momentarily. "Oh! I forgot to tell her who was on the teams! She might want to know you're on the team, Jeremy." Freddie raised his eyebrow and glanced over curiously at her.

"And why would she want to know that?"

"Well because…she just would." Freddie knew Jessica had been in contact a little with Jeremy, he just didn't know how much. It was one of those things where he felt he didn't need to know all the details.

"So is she going to show up? Can we get this game started or do we have to wait for her?"

"Well you're in luck, I just arrived." Jessica's voice wafted through the air and enchanted those around her. They looked in her direction and saw her grinning. "Melanie!"

"Jessie!" The two girls exchanged a happy hug and broke apart. That's when she noticed him, or felt his presence. A wave of heat flew over her body as she moved her eyes to him. The electricity sparked when their eyes met. He smiled at her, a smile that caused the blood in her to rise to her cheeks. Damn the effect he was having on her.

"Jeremy, hi." She spoke breathlessly as Jeremy made a mock salute. She trailed her eyes down his body and to the watch on his wrist. She smiled and moved closer to him. His heart matched each footfall she made. Everyone around them seemed to disappear as she lifted his wrist up. He looked down at the watch, then back into her beautiful eyes. "You kept it safe."

"I promised I'd keep it safe, didn't I?" His words were soft and quiet and her touch was like the touch of an angel. "How are you, Jessica?"

"I'm doing very well. Thanks for asking." She continued to gaze into his eyes, her heart pounding, growing in strength with each hit. The longer she gazed into those blue pools of his, the more she felt like crashing. "Didn't know you were on the team. Freddie pulled you into his friendly little competition?"

"Yeah, got me involved because of my pitching skills." Freddie rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, he was beginning to grow impatient. "It's been a month and a few weeks since…how are you doing with all that?"

"Coping with it one day at a time, it still hurts a little, but it's better now." Could he feel the tension too? She had to wonder that. She didn't know, though, he was questioning the same thing. So desperately they wanted to take the other in their arms. The fact that they liked each other before did make it easier, and the bad part of their past was behind them. Now, it was a matter of whoever was ready and were these feelings okay to have? "How are you handling everything, Jeremy? Is your family as happy to see you as I thought they'd be?"

"Yes. Very happy." Just then a feminine voice called out, it was the other female player on Kevin's team. She was becoming impatient as well.

"Are we here to play ball or are we here for crap?" Jeremy froze, recognizing the voice. He hadn't actually seen all of Kevin's teammates, she was a bit hidden from the rest. Jessica frowned and felt him tense up, she wondered who this girl was. The girl stepped into view and narrowed her eyes. She grabbed her baseball cap and took it off, letting her lush red hair fall from the hat and land upon her shoulders. Jeremy swallowed hard and his hands closed up as he looked away. She pointed to Jessica and glared. "And you can stay away from my man!"

"What?" Jeremy's head shot up and he glared angrily at the woman. There was no risk of him becoming violent though, as he was not that.

"Candice, we split up! I called it off!" Jessica's eyes widened and her lips turned down as her anger began to flare up. So this was Candice. Jeremy wondered where Kevin found her, because she was not on the baseball team. No, she was on the women's baseball team.

"I don't think I agreed to that. All you said was 'it's over' and walked away. You never answered my calls or anything after that."

"You slept with six other people just because I wouldn't…" Jessica growled and moved her eyes along the bewildered members of Freddie's team. Everyone in the area was not only afraid of a heated spat between a former couple split up, but a cat fight about to happen. They could see it in Jessica's eyes, she wanted to tear this woman apart. She walked to Freddie and narrowed her eyes.

"I'm on the team now, got that?" Jeremy paled and Freddie began to sweat under her intense glare. Her fiery demeanor could not be beat and he was not about to argue with her. He had to remember that Melanie was the sweet one in the family, Jessica and Sam could be the angry ones. Kevin was quick to protest.

"The teams are uneven!"

"So find another player!" Kevin groaned and closed his eyes, where was he going to find another player on such short notice? Freddie wasn't sure how Jessica fared at baseball, but if she wanted to play, she could. Melanie tapped her lower lip and looked around until she spotted someone on the quad reading a book. She nudged Jessica and pointed. Jessica looked over and smiled. "Hey! You reading the book!" The boy looked up at her and was dazzled by her appearance, she was pretty. Jeremy raised an eyebrow as the boy quickly ran over to her.

"What is it Miss?"

"Would you join their baseball team? They need a player." She winked and the boy nodded. Jeremy rolled his eyes and looked away. This kid had to be at least fifteen years old and he was crushing on an older woman.

"Gladly, I like baseball a little."

"Thank you!" Kevin sighed and rubbed his temples in annoyance. Penny chuckled lightly and kissed his cheek, which did calm him down a bit. "Okay play ball." She moved her eyes to Candice, who looked at her with a smug smirk. "But the bitch is mine."

"Jessica…" Jeremy had a warning tone in his voice, he did not want anything to happen here. No fight needed to break out, nothing needed to happen.

"What? Hmph." Jessica flipped her hair back and walked on to where everybody would be. Jeremy was first up to pitch, which really disappointed Kevin, he knew he was going down. Freddie and Kevin shook each other's hand and looked into the other's eyes.

"You know the run down, Kev. If I win, you have to come back here during that month and help me memorize everything. If you win, I will memorize everything, ten times more than I really need to memorize."

"Sounds good to me." Kevin smirked and walked off to his team. "Play ball!" The game began and carried on, the majority of Jessica's time was spent glaring down Candice. She watched this girl closely and was ready to pounce on her if she made so much as the wrong move.

When it was her turn to bat, Candice was pitching. Jessica narrowed her eyes and swung the bat in the air, warming up for the winning shot. They were ahead by six points, so she was going to give them a home run. Candice was confident she'd striker this girl out though. Candice narrowed her eyes and smirked.

"What's the matter bitch, can't stand looking at someone superior than you in every way?" Jessica's eyes widened and she stared at Candice with disbelief, how dare she say that!

"You're one to talk."

"Oh, well at least he didn't beat me." Jessica gasped and Jeremy froze, his eyes wide in shock. Everyone gasped and stared at each other, how did Candice know that about Jeremy? Jessica looked at Jeremy, he looked about ready to crack. She'd seen him appear ready to cry before on several occasions over the years, and she'd seen him actually cry within the last month, but this right here was bad. "He never laid his hands on anyone except you. I wonder why that is." She was trying to psyche Jessica out, but she was pissing her off more than anything, and everyone knew this. Jessica shifted her eyes over to Candice, then back to Jeremy, but he was gone.

"Shit…" Jessica closed her eyes and growled as Candice said something else, she wasn't sure what it was though. "Shut." She slowly opened her eyes to narrow slits. "The." Candice readied herself for the pitch, feeling she psyched Jessica out. "Fuck." The ball was thrown and everyone watched as Jessica swung the bat and cracked the ball far into the air, a definite home run. "UP!"

"Wow." Freddie whistled as he watched the ball, but more entertaining things were taking place now. Jessica roared and instead of running the bases, she ran to the pitcher's mound and tackled Candice to the ground. Candice screamed as Jessica pulled her hair and punched her in the face. "Oh god! Guys come on!" Melanie gasped and covered her mouth as Jessica slapped Candice's face multiple times.

"You will never talk about him like that, you hear me? He is so much more than that, you little bitch! He's got a heart, he's a good person, and unless you know what our past was like, I suggest you shut the fuck up right now!" Candice called out, but for some reason, nobody really wanted to help her.

"Help me, she's mauling me!"

"Oh I'm not going to do anything but beat the shit out of you! You will not talk about my m-" Stopping herself she shook her head and growled. "Jeremy, you won't talk about Jeremy in such a manner! He's changed, that crap isn't even important to me anymore! Don't you see I'm trying to get him to realize this? He doesn't need to feel guilty! I care! I care…" Tears stung her eyes as her heart raced. Suddenly she felt strong hands under her arm lift her up. She was livid and in such a daze that she wasn't sure what was going on. She screamed and turned around, punching the chest and face of the person who pulled her off Candice. When she realized it was Jeremy, she gasped and threw her hands to her mouth. "Oh god! I'm so sorry!"

"Ouch." Jeremy closed his eyes and chuckled to himself. "I deserved that."

"No you didn't! Oh god…" She lifted her hand up and gingerly touched her finger to the spot where she punched him. There was going to be a big bruise there for a little while. "I lost it…god…" She pulled away from him and quickly ran away from the quad.

"Jessica!" Jeremy sighed while Melanie watched her cousin's departing figure with prolonged hesitation. What just happened? Freddie and Kevin exchanged nervous glances while Jeremy ran his hand through his hair. Kevin felt guilty for having asked Candice to join his team.

"Damn it!" Kevin quickly helped Candice to her feet and glared at her. "I told you to tell me if you had a history with anyone! You lied to me!"

"Well I wanted to be here just in case there was any threat that might keep me from my Jerry." Jeremy growled dangerously and glared at her through the corner of his eyes. He swore off violence, so he wouldn't punch her, but he had a feeling Melanie was about to do that very thing. He looked to Melanie and could tell she was steaming. Her eyes were narrow, her face was red, and her gaze was giving off so much fury. He didn't want to stick around to watch this, he had to go talk to Jessica.

"Candice, I said it then and I'll say it now. I never want to see your face again! Now leave me the fuck alone."

"But Jerry!"

"My name is Jeremy, not Jerry! Another thing…You can't compete with her, so don't even try." Jeremy clenched his fists and walked away from the group in swift pursuit of Jessica. Right now, she was the only thing on his mind.

Hope you liked this chapter. It's more of a Freddie/Keith bonding chapter that goes bad in the end, and Jessica goes ballistic on the infamous Candice. The next chapter, you will LOVE the next chapter.