Chapter 14

Anna awoke in her own bed the next morning. She felt surprisingly refreshed after a dreamless sleep. But the dread was lingering in the recesses of her mind.

"Stay here tonight. I don't care about our rule. Just…" Kristoff pleaded with her. He had long since showered and joined her in his bed. But now she was getting up to return to The Palace and her roommates. They never spent the night together before a game.

"I should really check in with the girls to let them know I'm alright. Trust me. Plus I don't want to be the reason you're unfocused tomorrow."

Kristoff knew even if Anna left, his mind would be filled with nothing but her. "We play them tomorrow. I will set up the live stream for you here so you can watch and we can meet up after."

Anna turned, face hard, "No. That fuckface doesn't control me. I'm going and I can't wait to watch you kick his ass."

Anna had of course meant that figuratively. Although the thought of Kristoff knocking Hans out did appeal to her darker side.

Arendelle University was scheduled to play University of Southern Isles that morning at eleven o'clock. Kristoff didn't know how he had navigated through his morning routine or even warm-ups. Because all of his energy was focused on not punching the ever loving shit out of USI's third baseman, Hans Westergaard. Guess that spoke to his advanced muscle memory.

The game was in the bottom of the fourth inning. Kristoff was up to bat and he needed to get to third base. All of his previous attempts had failed and he was running out of patience. Then he got the perfect pitch and hit a ball deep in the gap. Now he was standing on second, hoping for something to get him to third. That's when the catcher bobbled the next pitch and Kristoff stole the base. The throw had been close but there was no doubt that Kristoff slid in before the tag.

Anticipation coursed through Kristoff as he was bent over on the bag. He was dusting some of the dirt from his pants when he heard, "Nice hit man." Hans's words were casual.

"Fuck you." Kristoff grounded out, teeth clenched. He kept his body neutral so as not to draw any attention to their exchange. As the Southern Isles pitcher readied himself to throw the next ball to Naveen, Kristoff took a small lead off of the base. He kept his body facing the rest of the field, and Hans in particular.

Hans didn't look too taken aback with his words but snorted out, "Ok fuck you too then." The USI pitcher threw a breaking ball to Naveen in the batter's box. The umpire called it a strike.

"I've heard of you Westergaard. Worst ball player out of all your brothers? Biggest bitch at Southern Isles too." Kristoff barely recognized his own voice. His blood was boiling just looking at this fucker's face and he could feel his blunt nails cutting into his palms. Hans was standing near the base in case his catcher tried to pick off Kristoff. He remained silent but Kristoff saw the tell-tale tick in the third baseman's jaw.

Kristoff led off again, the pitcher kept looking over at him but Kristoff wasn't worried. He kept his words directed at Hans, "You think you're going to make it to the show? You've got the worst fucking swing I've seen in someone older than 14."

The pitcher threw Naveen a ball outside, he didn't swing.

Kristoff made his way back to third base and sneered at the opposing player, "How did you even make it on the team? Suck the coach's dick? I bet you're good at that, huh? Bet you take it nice and deep in your tight little puss—" Before Kristoff's could finish his crude insult, Hans's hand was balled into a fist and was flying at his face. Kristoff saw it coming and could have easily moved or blocked it. The moment the sucker punch connected with Kristoff's jaw, his helmet flew off. Kristoff back pedaled away from Hans, the blonde's hands in the air in a signal of innocence. He held back his victorious smirk, keeping his role as the victim perfectly in place.

Everything halted in the stadium as all eyes went to the two men. Arendelle's third base coach had been unaware of any of the verbal exchanges until Hans was chucking his glove at Kristoff's retreating form. The coach, quickly reading the situation, stepped between the two players, effectively blocking Hans's next assault. Then chaos erupted. The two benches cleared instantly and dozens of players surged towards the epicenter. Everyone in the crowd started jabbering, no one really knowing what was happening. The umpires and assistant coaches were on the scene breaking apart players as fast as they could. But besides the first punch, no one else made contact.

As the crowd of baseball players parted and returned to their respective dugouts, Kristoff was being 'held back' by one of his assistant coaches near the outfield. In reality, it was just for show. Kristoff wasn't going anywhere. He watched as his head coach was talking animatedly at the three umpires gathered at home plate.

The umpire-in-chief responded and, of course, no one could hear what he had to say. Kristoff's coach stomped back to the dugout and everyone watched as the three officials circled up to discuss the situation. After a minute, the head umpire walked to the phone in the corner of the backstop and picked it up. Kristoff held his breath. The man hung it up, walked towards the Southern Isles dugout, pointed to Hans and then pointed out of the field-the universal sign of being ejected.

Outrage engulfed the visiting team and their fans. Then, the three umpires returned to their field positions, signifying that was the only punishment being handed out and that game play would continue. Of course the Southern Isles coach burst out of his dugout, arguing that Kristoff should also be ejected. But Kristoff knew what that phone call had been. They had video in the upper box. And it clearly showed Hans throwing the first and only punch while Kristoff threw his hands up in innocence.

According to the NCAA rules, Hans was suspended for the remainder of this game and the 3 games to follow. Just like Kristoff had planned.

This game was being televised on ESPN 2 and numerous major league scouts were currently in the stands. Being ejected was one thing, being ejected for fighting was a whole nother ball game. Scouts don't take kindly to fighters, they're a liability and bad press. That's the quickest way to get black balled in the MLB. And this clip would be on a loop on Baseball Tonight along with all the online outlets. Hans's baseball career was done for.

From the time Anna had arrived at The Stables, her nerves were on edge. She tried every technique her therapist had taught her to calm down but they were all falling short. Nothing had prepared her to watch the man she loved play fucking baseball against her abuser. She was nervous Kristoff wouldn't be able to focus because of her shit. But what terrified her was the possibility of Kristoff doing something to Hans. The draft was so close and nothing was written in stone until he signed that contract. She just prayed that the two men never came close to each other. But then Kristoff stole third.

Any other player would have stayed at second when USI's catcher bobbled the ball. It could barely even be considered a bobble, but Kristoff had a great read and took advantage. It was stuff like that that major league scouts loved to see. But Anna's stomach turned horribly. She could see the intensity Kristoff had been playing with since he stepped on the field. And now, with Hans near him, Anna feared Kristoff would snap.

Anna watched intently as Hans said something to Kristoff. It looked friendly enough. Every team knew who Kristoff was and it wasn't unusual for opposing players to chat with him in the field. And Hans wouldn't have known he was Anna's boyfriend so she wouldn't have to worry about Hans trying to manipulate Kristoff in any way. What she was worried about was the tension coming off of Kristoff in waves. The guilt stabbed at her chest. If Kristoff did something irrational to Hans because of her, he would lose all hope of making it to the league. And she couldn't handle that. She silently pleaded that he could keep his cool.

And then it happened. It was so fast.

One second the Southern Isles pitcher was getting the signs from his catcher, the next Hans had decked Kristoff in the face and the field was in utter chaos. Anna's brain did not compute. Hans had punched Kristoff? Hans had punched Kristoff! Holy shit.

Anna stood from her seat, Rapunzel and Tiana quickly copying her. Anna watched everything unfold and she didn't return to her chair until Kristoff was standing on third base again, a new player substituting in for Hans and Naveen resumed his at bat. She was waiting for the other shoe to drop. But it never did. Naveen hit a sacrifice fly to right field and Kristoff easily tagged up and scored.

When he jogged back to his dugout, Anna watched him in awe. Just before he went down the steps, Kristoff removed his helmet, looked up at Anna and gave her a knowing wink.

Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. He had done it on purpose.

When realization showed clear on Anna's face, Kristoff smirked and held his index finger to his lips, as if telling her it was their little secret. Anna was glad she was seated because she felt light headed.

Hans was escorted out of the stadium, Kristoff played an amazing game and Arendelle went on to beat Southern Isles 9-3. The next day Arendelle won again to advance to Super Regionals.

AN: Feelin guilty about the length of this one. I didn't really want to end this chapter here but idk I had nothing else. I went through my outlines for the rest of this story and it's looking like it's going to be 21 chapters long. The last 'chapter' might just be a short epilogue though. Reviews always help with my motivation!