"Run dammit!' Hailey screamed from the sidelines. "Why aren't you running?" Her words were very much directed at Jay, who had chosen to stay on third base, when clearly (according to Hailey) he could have made it home. She threw herself back down on the bench, pouting. His team was down by 3 at the bottom of the fifth, and it wasn't looking good.
Stella laughed beside her, "Nice to know that some things are still exactly the same."
Hailey gave her a look, rolling her eyes. It had been three weeks since Kevin's party and all their friends had really warmed up to the idea of them being together. It had been lowkey, stolen glances, holding hands, flirting, all the works. It was pretty fun if Hailey was being honest. "Hahaha." She said, pushing her sunglasses up on her forehead.
There had only been two Camilla interactions, both of them being rather unpleasant. One was at Kim's sorority's charity car wash (where all their friends took off their shirts and washed cars, it was a great day) where Hailey was safely behind Jay and a water hose, the other being at the Target right off campus. Unfortunately, she was alone, fortunately, all Camilla just stared at her and walked away. On that end of their deal, things seemed to be working out. She hadn't tried to talk to Jay since Kevin's party.
Adam was a different story, him and Wendy seemed happier than ever. The only difference was that he was avoiding Jay. The boys were teammates, and close friends, but Jay said they had barely spoken in the last few weeks, despite Jay staying at their house for the whole weekend last week. Hailey felt bad, him and Jay had been close for years, but it gave her a little inkling of hope that their plan would actually work.
"This is cute," Stella said, pulling on the sleeve of her jersey. It was Jay's practice jersey from a few years ago, matched with this year's white Alabama Baseball dad hat. She was playing the part of supportive girlfriend pretty well.
"Thanks?" Hailey asked. She found it strange that Stella only commented on it now, she probably would have worn the same exact thing before. That was where the lines blurred, somehow they were exactly the same as before. The only difference now was that all of their friends thought they were dating.
"Oh look, Ethan's up to bat." Kim said from her other side. Hailey looked up, finding Ethan Choi in the batting stance. Adam prepped like he always did, throwing a pitch that Hailey swore was flying at 90 miles an hour. It was a bit aggressive for a charity game.
At the start of every school year, the baseball team plays a charity scrimmage game to raise money for the university's childhood cancer wing at the hospital. It goes to help the parents pay for treatment, and anything left over is saved to buy the kids Christmas gifts. Usually it's a fun game, the boys play around and do tricks for the crowd. Their sophomore year, Adam threw every pitch in the 3rd and 4th innings under his legs and Jay cartwheeled onto every base. This year though, the two boys were out for blood.
Ethan striked out, Adam was pitching so fast you could barely see the ball pass the batter. The next boy up to bat was Crockett, Hailey loved him. He was from New Orleans, and Hailey could listen to him talk all day. He was also the catalyst of the night where Hailey swore to never drink that much again, keeping up with him and Jay was no joke. On Adam's first pitch, he hits it out of the park. Their side of the field erupts as Crockett runs the bases and Jay jogs into home.
"Yeah!" Hailey screams, jumping out of her seat. Kevin and Severide cheer from behind the girls as they all scream for Jay and the other boys. Usually he and Adam are on the same team. They let the two pitchers pick by one until everyone is on a team, but Adam didn't choose Jay, Greg Grainger did.
Jay hears his girlfriend (?) cheering as he runs by, turning around and blowing Hailey a kiss and wink as he jogs to the dugout. Their section began whistling, catching all the players' attention. "That your girl up there Halstead?" Crockett called over to Jay.
"Yes sir." Jay said, ducking into the dugout.
The next batter took their stance, and Adam threw a side ball, resulting in a walk to first. Much to his teammates disappointment, that continued as the theme for the remainder of the inning.
Kim elbows her side, "I'm swooning for you." She says.
Kevin leans down between the two of them, speaking in a high pitched voice, "He's so dreamy."
Hailey pushed his head back, "You're so funny Kev!"
Pretty soon it was starting the bottom of the seventh, and they were switching teams once again. Hailey watched Jay jog to the pitcher's mound, speaking low in Adam's ear. Adam scoffed, nudging Jay's shoulder. Jay got the hint to back off, locking eyes with Hailey and shrugging as he picked up his bat.
He stood at attention, legs bent and bat behind his head. Hailey watched as Adam winded up, looking determined as ever. It was a look she usually liked on him, but today she wasn't a fan. It was supposed to be a fun charity game, but Adam was playing like he was in the major leagues. He threw the pitch and there was a loud bang, the bat hit the ground and Hailey watched in horror as Jay fell backward..
She jumped to her feet as Stella shrieked in fear, plastering herself against the metal netting. In less than 2 seconds, her feet were carrying her down and around the stands, running to the small gate at the end of the row that led to the field. Before she knew it she was sprinting across the field to where he was. Adam was hovering over him, hand on his shoulder. Hailey full on body slammed him, pushing him away.
"Back the hell up." She snapped.
"Hailey-"
"Adam." She said, he knew that voice.
He left them alone, taking a step back. Hailey turned back around, kneeling beside her best friend. "Jay, Jay can you hear me?" She asked quietly. His eyes were open, and he was flat on his back.
"Yeah," He breathed out, squinting his eyes. "That hurt."
Hailey laughed, blinking back the tears that were pooling in her eyes. "I'm sure it did."
Pretty soon their coach was standing over them. "Hey Halstead, I know you hate running, but that's a hell of a walk to first." Voight knelt down beside Haily, giving her a little nod.
She scooted back, "Yeah, well, you know me." Jay said in a low voice.
"Coach, it was an accident…" Adam started, making himself known once again.
"Talk a walk Adam." Hank snapped in a low voice. This time he actually did, admitting defeat and jogging to the dugout. By now, several of his teammates had crowded around and the crowd had grown louder, wondering why one of their favorite players was still laying on the ground. "How does your head feel son, does it hurt?"
Hailey watched as the trainers made their way onto the field, pushing most of the guys back and sitting down beside Voight. "Yeah, a little. I think that's where it hit." Jay said, like they all didn't hear the ball collide with his helmet.
"Us too," Voight looked at Hailey, nodding his head for her to come back over and pointed to his hand. Hailey grabbed it. "Alright son, I'm going to go round up the boys while you get checked out. That's good with you?"
Jay smiled a lazy smile, "Sounds good."
"Hey, Jay. Heard you had a nice bonk on the head." Maggie, one of their trainers said as she sat next to him. "We just need to check a few things out before we get you up, okay?" Hailey watched as Hannah, her assistant, grabbed a light out of their bag. "Can you give Hailey's hand a firm squeeze for me." Hailey let out a breath when she felt his hand tighten around hers.
"Good?" Jay said, slightly looking at Hailey, careful not to turn his head.
Hailey nodded, "Great."
Maggie leaned over him, shining the light in his eyes. "Pupils look okay, a little more dilated than I would like, but they are okay." She holds up two fingers, "Jay, how many fingers am I holding up?"
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Two, and your nails are pink. I think I'm okay! Can I sit up now?"
Maggie sighed, "Yeah, let's get you up."
Hailey placed her hand softly behind his head, helping him ease himself up slowly. Jay groaned, leaning forward and placing his hands on his knees. "How are you feeling?" Hailey asked.
"Fine. A little dizzy, but I'm good." Hailey was about to respond, but Jay's face contorted and he leaned over in a hurry, throwing up onto the turf next to her.
"We need to get him to the hospital."
…
Several hours later Hailey sat in the waiting room at the local hospital. Jay had agreed to go after some serious persuasion from her and his coaches, but he insisted that someone drive him because he did not need nor want to pay for an ambulance. So, Voight drove his car as close to the field as he could and took Jay, leaving Hailey, Kevin, Kim and Stella to follow. Since they came themselves, they waited a lot longer than they would have wanted to see a doctor, leaving only Hailey in the waiting room.
Jay had only gone back a half hour before, but that was plenty of time for her to think over the past few weeks. She didn't think it was possible for her and Jay to be any closer than they already were, but their new dynamic proved them wrong. It wasn't even difficult to pretend anymore, and she finally understood why people always asked if they were together. There was something natural about them, seamless.
Honestly, she hadn't really thought about Adam at all. She felt crazy, for years he was all she could see. Hailey was starting to think that maybe her feelings were just an infatuation, something steady and unattainable. Something that didn't really have the ability to hurt her.
Jay though, Jay was her best friend. He was her person, the only person that she trusted completely. The thought of losing that because she might have a small crush almost broke her. Yet, here she was, sitting in a plastic chair while he was checked for brain injuries, and all she could think about was kissing him again.
Another hour went by before Hailey was brought back to see him. For as long as she had known him, Jay had hated hospitals. It was very ironic actually. Ever since his mom died, he couldn't stand the smell or the constant beeping, so Hailey knew he must be going crazy. She had always thought that his determination to be a doctor was to take control of those feelings, to make new memories and help people the way his mom couldn't be helped. When she reached the door of his room, it wasn't a very pretty sight. He was hooked up to a few machines and there was a subtle beeping noise, hailey hadn't anticipated it being this bad.
"Hey," He called, pulling her out of her trance. "Welcome to the cave."
Hailey noticed then that the lights in the room had been dimmed and the TV wasn't on, she assumed he definitely had a concussion. "Hey, it's serious then?"
Jay shrugged, "It could be. That's why I'm still here," He gestured to the room around him. "They want to keep me overnight to monitor my brain activity, since the hit was so hard.
Hailey grimaced, thinking back to all those hours ago, watching him fall. "I thought you were dead." The words were tumbling out of her mouth faster than she could even comprehend them. "I know I'm being dramatic, but there was a split second where you were just lying there and I thought -" She could feel the tears pooling in her eyes, "I thought my best friend was dead."
And the feeling in the pit of her stomach in the moment was the reason that she knew she could never tell him how she was really feeling. The thought of him not being in her life, no matter the circumstance was too overwhelming to even think about.
"Hailey." He said softly, "Come here." That was all she needed before she hugged him (gently,) letting his chest muffle her tears. "I'm fine, it's probably just a concussion." She sat up, finally getting a hold of herself. They locked eyes, and she could see that his were slightly gazed over as well. She loved him so much, but the line between her platonic love for him and whatever it was her heart was doing was getting harder and harder to find.
"Yeah, I know. Just don't like to see you in pain." She said, gaze fixed on her hands as she pulled on her fingers.
It was a nervous habit, one that stemmed from many years of panic attacks and nightmares. Jay knew this, and he covered her hand with his, stilling the motion. "I'm okay, I'm not going anywhere Hailes." He promised.
Hailey smiled, not really knowing what to say. Three weeks ago, him saying that would have never fazed her, but now she swore her heart skipped a beat. "You better not be."
She was really in trouble.
a/n: Hey guys! I know this chapter was on the shorter side, but chapter 4 is a doozy! So get ready! Thank you so much for reading!
