Chapter 20

"So you ended it? Just like that?"

Anna eyed the margaritas Rapunzel and Tiana had in front of them. Alcohol would have made retelling what happened with Kristoff a little less painful. But Anna just sipped her ice tea and hummed, "Hmm."

"Well you're going to get back together right?" Rapunzel pressed.

"Punz." Tiana warned.

"They have to! It's like, like they're meant to be!" Rapunzel's voice was a whisper as if she was just speaking to Tiana. Anna sighed and stirred her drink.

"What do you need from us?" Tiana asked softly.

Anna looked up and gave them her best smile. From the worried looks on their faces it must not have been very convincing, "Nothing. I'm fine. Everything is fine."

Rapunzel and Tiana exchanged looks and then moved around the kitchen island to hug Anna from both sides.

Anna knew the girls told Flynn and Naveen what happened. Because every time she saw them they was awkward beyond belief. Which only made it worse. She wanted everyone to ignore this and pretend like everything was fine. It was working for her after all. But every time the guys would tip toe around her, it reminded Anna of why they were acting that way. It wasn't long before she stopped accepting invitations to hang out with the four of them.

Even though it was September, Arizona was still fucking sweltering. Kristoff had only been here for two weeks and he was tired of the heat. At least San Jose had some breezes off of the Bay, but Arizona was a literal fucking desert.

Kristoff was currently living with a host family in Scottsdale and playing in the Arizona Instructional League. The AIL was used for the players fresh to the Minors. So Kristoff was meeting a whole slew of guys from other organizations that were in his Draft class. He knew multiple guys from college ball but only four came from the Giants organization. Unfortunately, Kristoff didn't know any of them. Two were from Salem-Keizer and two from Richmond. They stuck together which was fine with Kristoff, he never had issues making friends on the field.

His season in San Jose had flown by. And he was thankful for that. Leaving the Airbnb and moving in with Ryder helped. He was a goofy guy and was always good for a laugh. Ryder was also pretty straightlaced. He rarely went out and didn't seem interested in partying. Kristoff was happy with that. The two became fast friends, but then Kristoff got the call to head to Arizona once his season was over. He had no idea if and when he would see Ryder again but they were keeping in touch. It was nice to have someone going through the same experience and who understood the struggles of working towards the Big Leagues.

"Bjorgman! We're going out tonight. Meet us downtown." One of Kristoff's temporary teammates yelled in the parking lot as they exited the stadium.

"Yeah! I'll catch up!" Kristoff had zero plans to meet up with them. Sure it was nice to be included but he was here to work. And if they wanted to be hungover the next morning at workouts, that only made him look better.

Kristoff got into the decades old Toyota Corolla his host family was lending him when his phone rang with an unfamiliar number. Sliding his thumb across the screen Kristoff answered, "This is Kristoff."

"Bjorgman, it's Alan Lee, Director of Arizona Operations with the San Francisco Giants."

Kristoff froze at his title. He didn't know if this was a good call or a bad one. "Hello sir, what can I do for you?"

"I just got word from the front office. They want you to report to the AFL tomorrow. Welcome to the Scottsdale Scorpions."

The Arizona Fall League. "Oh wow, thank you sir."

"Congratulations Bjorgman, we're excited to see how you do. The itinerary should be in your inbox now."

"Yes sir, thank you."

The call ended without the Director saying anything more.

The Arizona Fall League! Holy shit this was fucking huge. Kristoff worked his ass off but he was still skeptical he would be asked to go to the AFL. Only the top six prospects from each orhanization were invited. And he was just a rookie, in every sense of the word. Kristoff knew there were plenty of players who had years of experience in the Giants' system. He was fighting against all those guys for this spot. But he still got the call. Holy fucking shit. Kristoff wanted to stay calm and level headed but he also knew that going to the AFL was a strong indicator of who would be invited to the team's Spring Training camp in February. Holy shit. Holy shit.

Still holding his phone in his hand, Kristoff quickly opened his contacts. But with his thumb hovering over the first name in the As, he had to stop himself. Fuck. She was the only one he wanted to call to tell about this huge news. But he couldn't. Fuck. His head thudded against the headrest as he stared out of the dirty front window. They hadn't spoken at all since she walked out of their place in San Jose. He had drafted a thousand texts to her but he hadn't sent any of them. He knew nothing he said would change their situation. She was still in Colorado until June and he had no idea where he would be even three months from now.

Instead, Kristoff swiped his finger down his contacts until he landed on D.

"Hey Kris, what's the news?"

"Hey Mattias," The grin was apparent in Kristoff's voice, "Looks like I'll be staying in Scottsdale until Thanksgiving."

"Yes!" Kristoff could tell that Mattias had taken the phone away from his mouth to shout. "You've been working your ass off Bjorgman, you deserve this. I'm going to reach out to the Big Four and we'll have a shoe deal by the New Year."

'The Big Four': Nike, Adiadas, Under Armour, New Balance. That was where the big money was.

"Sounds good, I should call my parents. I'll email you the info when I get it from the front office."

"And I'll let you know when we get some offers. Talk soon." Mattias hung up and Kristoff's body relaxed. He still had the nagging feeling in the back of his mind but he ignored it like he had been for weeks now.

Anna was good at compartmentalizing. If she stayed busy she wouldn't have time to think about Kristoff. And it was easy for the most part. She was taking a full load of classes, she had weights in the mornings and practice in the afternoons, then dinner and homework, then bed. And she would do it all over again the next day. It was all oddly familiar to last year before she met him.

It wasn't all mundane. She enjoyed her course schedule and was able to make friends in some of her classes. Softball was always a good distraction and Anna found herself laughing and joking around with the team more and more as the weeks went on. And as the fall progressed, Anna was feeling lighter than she had when she first arrived back at Arendelle. It wasn't all perfect but she was confident it would be some day.

One Saturday night, The Palace was quiet. Rapunzel and Tiana were out with the guys and Anna had resolved to watch a new series on Netflix. But then her bedroom door was opening with a delayed knock from Merida. Merida was the wild one of the house. She got along fine with the other girls but she didn't limit herself to just hanging out with the softball girls. She seemed to always be busy and had a multitude of friends in different circles throughout campus.

"Hey, get dressed, we're going out." Merida's parents were from Scotland so she had the residuals of an accent in her voice.

Anna cocked her head, "What?" Her and Merida had never hung out just the two of them. Let alone gone to a party together.

"Get dressed." She said slower as if Anna was stupid, "We're going out."

"I-"

"You've been a real downer, let's go have some fun." The words hurt more than Anna would ever admit.

The college house Anna walked into was nothing like The Palace. It had low ceilings, was poorly light and far too loud. There were flags hanging on multiple walls and a pyramid made out of beer cans in one corner. If she had to guess, boys lived here. Shocker.

"Mer, whose house is this?"

"Basketball players maybe?" Merida shrugged over her shoulder.

There were people everywhere. Some Anna recognized and some she had never seen in her life. Even though it was late October the house was stiflingly hot. She needed to get outside before she sweated through her blouse. Anna lost Merida in the crowd within minutes of arriving and was annoyed with how her night was turning out. She made it to the kitchen and filled a Solo cup with ice and tap water.

"Anna right?" A short girl with a dark ponytail asked her. She was cute, if not a little young looking.

"Yeah...are you in my Kinesiology class?"

"Yeah! I sit in the back, I'm Vanellope."

"Vanellope? That's a…"

"Yeah yeah I know it's a weird name. I don't know what my parents were thinking." The girl rolled her eyes playfully. Anna lightly laughed, trying to become comfortable with this girl.

"Who did you come with?" Venellope asked.

"Merida, the one with the-"

"Red hair, oh yeah I know Merida." Anna didn't know what that was supposed to mean. "So are you on the softball team with her?"

"Yeah I am." Anna answered, looking around the kitchen for her teammate.

"Cool! Well it was great officially meeting you, I'll see you in class!" and then Venellope was gone. But Anna didn't care. She wasn't in the mood to talk to new people anyways. She wasn't really in the mood for a party either but she didn't want to be a total downer. She would give it twenty more minutes. If Merida didn't reappear, Anna would call an Uber. It wasn't as hot in the kitchen so Anna took out her phone and started scrolling through the News app. It was the best she could do since she still didn't have an instagram.

"Hey." This time, the voice greeting her was distinctly male. Anna looked up to a tall guy with dark hair and a matching, scruffy beard. He was objectively good looking and his blue eyes were staring right at Anna.

"Hi." Anna smiled up at him, unsure what else to say.

"I haven't seen you around here before. I'm Brandon." He stuck his large hand out for Anna to shake.

"Anna." She replied, his hand was warm if not a little clammy.

"You on a team?" He leaned his hand against the countertop. He wasn't too close, but Anna wanted him staying where he was.

"Softball. What about you?" She would play the polite party goer and hopefully he would go away just as Venellope did.

"Yeah I'm on the basketball team. I'm the Center."

"Should have guessed with how tall you are." He had to be at least 6'6".

"So what year are you?"

"A senior."

"Oh sick, I'm a junior."

"Hmm." This conversation was starting to get painful. Anna looked back at her phone, hoping he would take the hint.

"So you wanna go back to my place?"

Anna sharply inhaled through her nose. Was he fucking serious? "I'm actually waiting for someone, thanks though." She wished she could say what she was really thinking.

"Well I'm sure we could find a room her-"

"Hello? Yeah I'm here, where are you?" Anna lifted her phone to her ear, faking a phone call and walked right out of the kitchen. When she knew she was out of his line of sight, Anna took the phone down and opened the Uber app.

That night was the first time she googled 'Kristoff Bjorgman baseball news'.

Kristoff walked through the door of his hotel suite, dropped his bag and flopped onto the floral couch in the "living room". Behind him came a behemoth of a man who had to duck under the door jam.

"Fucking hell! Trying to kill me with this bag Bjorgman?" Sven Gundersen: left-handed pitcher in the Atlanta Braves farm system, 6'5", 220lbs, currently with the Double-A affiliate in Mississippi. And Kristoff's suitemate for the duration of the AFL.

The Arizona Fall League was unique in the fact that each team was comprised of players from multiple different organizations. Their team specifically, the Scottsdale Scorpions, was made up of players from the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, and Toronto Blue Jays. Each member of the coaching staff was from one of the five clubs as well and players roomed with someone from a differing organization. They were also put up in extended-stay hotel suites for the six weeks they played.

"My bad man but if I didn't drop it there my arm was literally going to fall off." Kristoff mumbled, his face buried in the couch.

He heard Sven shifting around and then he too flopped down into the chair next to the couch. The chair was comically too small for the man. "So where are we eating tonight?"

"I heard Peterson talking about this vegan place up th-"

Sven interrupted, "Hard pass. Meat is a non-negotiable."

"Saw that there was one of the Medieval Times places by the stadium. We can get you a whole turkey leg." Kristoff had shifted his position and was now lounged back on the couch with he feet on the coffee table.

"Ok, that is amazing and we will for sure be doing that before the league is over but I might have to fast for a few days to prep."

Kristoff was now scrolling through his Yelp app, "Ok what about," he paused and looked hard at the restaurant name, "Fogo de Chão Brazilian Steakhouse?"

Sven snorted, "First of all, I am one hundred percent sure that is not how you say it. But if 'steakhouse' is in the name they must be doing something right. Can we walk?"

"Ummm," Kristoff drawled as he switched his apps over to Google Maps, "Hour and eighteen minute walk. I'll order an Uber."

Kristoff felt way too underdressed when the hostess was leading them to their table. And when he saw the price of the Wagyu New York Strip he wanted to gag.

"$125 for a fucking steak?" Sven sounded appalled, "Well shit, that must be some good meat, sign me up!" he grinned and slapped the menu shut. Kristoff opted for the $40 Top Sirloin.

"Bjorgman, I watched the draft and I can only assume how much your signing bonus was. You've gotta live a little sometimes." Sven teased him. The tall pitcher was a few years older than Kristoff and had moved around the Braves farm system quite a bit ("They just wanted me to get some time in against experienced hitters.") He was confident this was his year though.

"Does that mean you're buying my dinner tonight bud?"

"If I knew you were putting out then maybe." Sven wiggled his eyebrows at his roommate.

Kristoff grunted a laugh, "You're a real sweet talker Gundersen."

Sven, suddenly distracted, only hummed in response. Kristoff followed his eyes to two women at the bar talking. The one on the left then looked over and licked her lips before turning back to her friend.

"Kris, come on." Sven said sliding his chair back from the table.

"Nah man, you got it."

Sven stopped his motion of standing to look at his teammate, "Dude, you saw that right? That was a clear invitation to come over. Let's go."

Kristoff leaned back, placing his arm over the empty chair next to him, "Sven, I have all the confidence in the world that you don't need a wingman. Or are you saying you can't talk to women alone?" Kristoff cocked his eyebrow challengingly.

"I see what you're doing but also fuck you I don't need you. I'll be back before my steak gets here. Don't touch it!" Kristoff laughed and took out his phone.

Sven was back within ten minutes, "One for me aaand one for you." He said as he slid a cocktail napkin across the table towards Kristoff. On it was a phone number written in pretty handwriting. Kristoff left it on the table.

"Ok fine. Let's talk about it. I just assumed you didn't have a girl back home because you are literally never on the phone besides with your agent. So what's the deal then?" Sven and Kristoff had only known each other for a couple weeks and most of their conversations revolved around baseball.

"It's...complicated."

"Of fucking course it is." Sven rolled his eyes.

"It's nothing. I just won't be taking girls numbers for now."

Sven eyed Kristoff skeptically, "Fine. But it's a real buzzkill because I'm pretty sure both of those girls were more interested in you than me."

"My condolences buddy." Kristoff smirked.

As the semester wined down, Anna felt great. At least physically she did. Fall ball had gone better than she hoped and she was chomping at the bit to get the spring season started. They really had a chance this year and she couldn't wait to show out. Her mental health...could have been better. But she was back to meeting with Dr. Yelena every week and that was helping. And with Thanksgiving coming up, Anna knew she shouldn't be alone. So when Rapunzel offered to drive them to Utah just like she had the previous year, Anna agreed. And as a gift to Rapunzel (or herself because nine hours in a car both ways was her nightmare) Anna bought them flights from Denver to Salt Lake City.

Anna had never been to Utah before but just flying into the airport had her wanting to explore the whole state. Rapunzel's parents lived east of the city in the hills and open space. Their house was beautiful (like what Pinterest boards were made of). It was huge and luxurious and was only enhanced by the scenery surrounding it. The hills were peppered with some residual snow from the storm that had hit the week before. There wasn't anymore in the forecast and Anna was only a little bummed by that.

"Girls! Come in, come in! Fred made brunch and I made mimosas!" Rapunzel's mom hugged them each tightly as they walked into the foyer. "I made yours without champagne dear." She whispered into Anna's hair.

"Thanks Mrs. Corona."

"Anna I have told you twenty times to call me Arianna. 'Mrs. Corona' makes me sound so old." Anna just laughed as Rapunzel's mom pulled at her non-existent wrinkles.

"Is that the sound of my credit card being used on more Botox?" Rapunzel's dad called from the kitchen.

"Fred!" Arianna shouted in appall but soon was laughing along with the girls as they all entered the kitchen. Rapunzel's dad was amazing, he was nothing like Anna's own father but he was great in his own respect. He was a huge teddy bear and gave the best hugs. And he had great facial hair.

"Dad!" Rapunzel jumped into her dad's awaiting arms.

"Anna we are so happy you're here for Thanksgiving." Fred said as he gave her a hug too.

"Me too, thanks for having me." Anna smiled at the small family in front of her. She truly was glad to be here.

"Ok buddy, last chance to come with me to Montana." Kristoff stood in the suite's kitchenette. He was making eggs as Sven came out of his room shirtless, having just woken up.

"Don't tease me like that Kris. You know I want to." Sven pouted. Kristoff only laughed at his teammate.

The Fall League had ended a few days ago and Kristoff was leaving for the airport within the hour to head back to Living Rock for the holidays. He did actually want Sven to join him as the two had become close in the weeks they lived together. But he had plans with his own family back in Florida and felt guilty bailing on them.

"Ok well if you change your mind, let me know."

Sven came around Kristoff and hugged him from behind making the shorter man laugh, "So it's not gonna be easy, it's gonna be really hard. And we're gonna have to work at this everyday, but I wanna do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever. You and me. Everyday."

Kristoff tried to control his laughter but Sven only held him tighter, "If you're a bird...I'm a bird?" Kristoff offered.

Sven released Kristoff and shoved his shoulder, "We watch The Notebook twelve times and that's all you've got for me? That cuts deep."

Being back in Living Rock felt strange. It was already a small town, but now he was like a living legend. Everywhere he went, the townsfolk wanted to shake his hand and ask him about life as a pro. People bought his meals at restaurants and kids asked for his autograph. His mom loved the attention but that's because bragging about him was like a drug to her. She memorized all his stats and would talk to any and everyone who would listen.

Even though he had the time off from the field, Kristoff was still putting in work. He hired a strength coach from the University of Montana who was on break from his school job to train him. Even though the college was three hours away, Kristoff lucked out with the fact that the trainer, Coach Brutus, was originally from a town twenty minutes from him and he could stay with his aunt for the few weeks. Kristoff would have footed the bill for a hotel for the man but he was glad he didn't have to.

Kristoff's parents' house, however, was the worst part of being back. The last time he had been there was Christmas the previous year. With Anna. He loved his mom's decorations but everything reminded him of her. Kristoff desperately wanted to know where she was, how she was spending the holiday, how she was doing. That was the closest he had come to actually reaching out to Anna. But then Flynn had posted a picture of himself, Rapunzel and Anna in front of Rapunzel's Christmas tree with the caption "Merry Elfin Christmas". They looked like they had just woken up. Anna's auburn hair was in a messy bun and her t-shirt was wrinkled. She looked better than he remembered. But it was her pants that had Kristoff's palms clammy. They were the same green and red striped ones his parents had gifted her Christmas morning last year. Kristoff continued to stare at the picture, only seeing Anna. His chest hurt and he dropped his phone on his stomach.

Anna was glad she went back to Utah for Christmas too. The snow was beautiful and the skiing was even better. Her and Flynn stuck to the bunny hills while Rapunzel and her dad took on the Black Diamonds. The trio had returned to Arendelle before the new year along with Tiana and Naveen.

And on the morning of January 6th, while Anna was getting ready for her first class of the new semester, her phone went off with a Google alert. The San Francisco Giants had released their Spring Training invitees list. Opening the press release the first sentence had Anna's throat tightening, "SAN FRANCISCO - Top Giants prospects Sean Hjelle and Kristoff Bjorgman are among the 18 non-roster invitees to Major League Spring Training announced by the club on Monday."

She shot up from her make up vanity and proceeded to bang her knee on the underside, "Son of a-" Anna whispered. Multiple items had toppled over in her excitement but she ignored them to read the article. Kristoff was going to Spring Training. Kristoff was going to Spring fucking Training! Anna jumped around her room, silencing the shriek in the back of her throat. She hadn't told anyone that she was still keeping tabs on him. That was a little too crazy ex-girlfriend for her. And her friends never brought him up even though she knew they talked about him. This was her guilty pleasure. She really tried to limit it to just news articles. But if she was feeling truly masochistic, she would open his Instagram in a web browser.

Kristoff was back in Arizona and he still couldn't believe he was actually here for the Giants' Spring Training camp. The February weather was much more tolerable compared to the late summer heat and that only added to his good mood.

His mother taught him to be humble, but even he could admit he had done very well the last few months leading up to this. His game had already been good by college standards but working with professional staffs elevated him to the next level. And the term 'five-tool player' had been thrown around enough times for Kristoff to think he actually had a shot here. It wasn't completely unheard of for players to have a quick turn around from being drafted to making it to the Majors, but the odds were not in his favor. Still, he was here and he would give it his all. Even if he didn't make the 26-man roster for Opening Day, he would have countless more opportunities to get the call up. Hell, it even took Bryce Harper two years before he was called up.

There were plenty of familiar faces from his day touring Oracle Park all those months ago. The guys greeted him and some even had some small talk with him before the first team meeting started. Being in this clubhouse was surreal. Being in it as a player was mind boggling. This was just another step to making it to the Majors. Kristoff was seasoned in schooling his emotions but his insides were going wild. He was either going to puke or shit himself. Both were bad so he just kept breathing until his stomach settled. He knew once he was on the dirt everything would be fine.

His player sheet consisted of his Spring plan, per say. They would be focusing him at third base and left field. Kristoff had never pictured himself as an outfielder but if that's what they wanted, he would deliver. He had some experience there in San Jose and even in the Instructional League. But Kristoff knew he would be far more comfortable at third base. He also knew Evan Longoria was the starting third baseman the last few season. And he was a straight up legend. And Kristoff was trying to take his spot? Well, he did love a challenge.

Anna always prided herself on her multi-tasking abilities. It's a reason, she thought, that made her a good shortstop. So when it came to watching Giants Spring Training games while simultaneously trying to take notes in class, Anna took it as a challenge. If this was her guilty pleasure, she couldn't sacrifice her GPA. She told herself if her grades suffered then she would cancel her livestream subscription. Combine that with hiding the fact that she was watching these games, she really had her work cut out for her. Most of the games started at noon or one in the afternoon and were over by the time practice started. But there were the occasional evening games that started around six. Practice was winding down by that time, if not over completely. With preseason games approaching, Coach was focusing them on more game-like scenarios and released them when he was satisfied.

Anna felt like an addict getting her fix the way she would rush home and lock herself in her room. Rapunzel and Tiana could never know what she was doing. Not only would she be humiliated but it would only reopen the door to the endless conversations of 'What does this mean? Do you still have feeling for him? Are you going to get back together?' And then it was only a matter of time before Naveen and Flynn found out and Kristoff himself is hearing about his pathetic ex-girlfriend who can't miss one of his games.

He didn't even play most of the time. But Anna couldn't risk missing a game just in case he was put it.

Evan Longoria started about sixty percent of the games at third base but Kristoff was holding his own too. There were even a few games Kristoff played the entire nine innings. His hitting had started slow but he rarely struck out, just like in college. Anna was glad to see that. The team was about eight games in (Kristoff having only played three of them) when he really caught fire. After that it was like 'when Bjorgman hits it' not 'if'. The coaching staff even started putting him in left field the days he wasn't at third just to have his bat in the lineup. His defense there wasn't as strong as some of the other strictly outfield guys but he was adjusting well.

Then, seventeen games into the season, it happened. Evan Longoria, starting third baseman for the San Fransisco Giants, dove into second base and broke his wrist on his throwing hand. If Anna hadn't of been in the middle of Anatomy lab she would have screamed. Instead, she excused herself to the bathroom and silently dance in front of the mirror. Anna felt guilty for being excited but this was huge for Kristoff. If Longoria was out, that made room for him to swoop in and potentially make the 26 man roster. Anna thought Kristoff was better than Longoria anyways (and was definitely hitting better than him), but it was always hard for a ball club to give the spot to a rookie over a seasoned veteran. There were still two weeks left in the Spring season and now Kristoff was the everyday third baseman. This is was his time to really shine and go full out.

Kristoff was at his locker cubby, relaxing before the team started batting practice. They were playing the White Sox today. Kristoff had hit their starting pitcher well the last time they faced off but Chicago's ace was on the mound this afternoon. Kristoff had just finished reading an email from Mattias when one of the coaching staff called to him, "Bjorgman! Kapler's office."

This wasn't the first time he was called into the manager's office this season, but it didn't make it any less nerve wracking. There was no one else in the spacious office when Kristoff walked in.

Gabe Kapler, this was his first year as Manager for the Giants. He had replaced Bruce Bochy, who was a legend in his own right, and a lot of people didn't think Kapler had what it took. But Kristoff liked him enough. He liked his style and he liked how he viewed the game. But right now Kristoff did not like how the man was looking at him.

Kapler was sitting behind his desk, hands folded together, blocking his mouth. He was still wearing his street clothes but he did have the batting practice hat on. He eyed Kristoff hard as he sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"Sir." Kristoff greeted with a nod.

"Bjorgman-" It sounded like the beginning of a statement so Kristoff stayed silent. "As you know Longoria is out. Doc says he's got six weeks in a hard cast then who knows how much rehab after that. You've stepped up this Spring and have impressed the entire staff. I'm happy to say you'll be on that field come Opening Day. Congratulations son."

Kristoff's mind exploded. He saw white dots in his vision and his legs went numb. And then Kaplan was standing to shake his hand and everything snapped back. Sound flooded back into his ears and it was like the entire locker room was screaming in his ear. Kristoff couldn't control his emotions as he stood to meet the older man. Tears stung his eyes but he didn't care.

"Tha- Thank you sir. This means a-" Kristoff's voice broke and he didn't finish his sentence. Something between a laugh and a sob came out of his mouth as he gripped his Manager's hand.

Kapler slapped him on the shoulder with his other hand, "You earned it Bjorgman. Make us proud."

"And then the girl stood up, looked at the professor and spit! She actually spit!" Tiana exclaimed.

"Oh my god! No!" Rapunzel whispered in shock.

"Shut up! You're not serious." Anna gave a disbelieving look.

"Hand to god. It landed right on the desk."

"See this is why I don't mess with Poli-Sci girls." Anna mumbled.

The three girls were sitting in the dining hall having a late breakfast between their morning classes. Preseason games had started and even though they seemed to spend endless hours together with softball-related activities, they hadn't sat down and just talked in what felt like forever. Tiana was entertaining them with the latest Political Analysis class drama while Rapunzel ate her fifth bowl of Lucky Charms. Anna had decided on Froot Loops but was just now starting her third bowl. No one could keep up with the blonde outfielder. Tiana was talking about the aftermath of the spitting incident when Anna's phone vibrated on the table. She spooned another bite into her mouth and then picked up her phone.

Before Anna's brain could catch up with her mouth, she was choking on her cereal. Her friends stopped talking and turned to her. Tiana, who was sitting next to her, pat her on the back and looked on concernedly.

"Ffu-uck!" Anna managed to sputter out as she finally was able to breath again. Her could feel a residual Loop stuck in her throat but she ignored it for the time being. "Oh shit you guys I'm so sorry I-I forgot I have this, uh assignment due. I have to go home and finish it!"

Anna was gathering her stuff before the girls could even register what was happening. "Ok, uh, don't worry about this, we'll clean it up for you." Rapunzel said.

"See you at practice!" Tiana called after her as Anna hurried out of the building.

Anna hoped they missed the huge grin on her face. When she slammed her car door, she didn't even start the thing, she just shrieked and laughed and slammed the steering wheel. Then she read each and every article about the Giants' 26 man roster and the predictions for the starting line up. Everyone was confident Kristoff Bjorgman would be at third base Opening Day.

Anna didn't even realize she had been crying until she tasted the salty tears drip onto her lips. She laughed out loud and wiped her nose. Opening the Southwest Airlines app, Anna didn't hesitate in buying a round trip ticket to San Fransisco International Airport for the morning of March 27th, Opening Day. Her return flight would be at 11:15pm so she would be back in time for classes the next day.

Now she just needed a lie to get out of practice that day...

AN: Seems like its been a while. Hope this didn't disappoint. Reviews let me know people are still reading and caring...so if you are and you do...let me know?