Title: Natural

Summary: An unknown batter named Edward Masen takes a losing baseball team to the top of the league. Edward lives out his fame but can't seem to shake the idea of the mysterious woman he meets on the train.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. No profit is being made from this work.

A/N: Thank you to my amazing mind soulmate and awbffe, LoveBadBoyVamps, for beta reading this chapter. *muah*


I was in a hitting slump.

Carlisle warned me not to get involved with Bella. But, I didn't listen. I truly believed I could make Bella fall in love with me and break through the wall she held up for everyone. She said it herself that I was different. That I wasn't like other guys. Why couldn't she see that she wasn't her mother? Bella couldn't be a pawn she was too strong for that.

STRIKE!

Even with my slump the team was doing moderately well. We didn't have the same lead we had lately but it was enough. It was just pissing me off that I couldn't make a name for myself. Carlisle and Phil had put so much faith in me and I was letting them down. I was letting my team down.

STRIKE TWO!

Aro Volturi was still on his quest for full ownership of the Knights and now I was in no power to stop him. Even worse, Eric Yorkey had gone searching through old newspaper clippings and figured out how he knew me. He remembered I struck out the famous Felix "Deep Field" Demetri and now I was letting him down. Eric even remembered the beautiful girl on my arm.

"I didn't even know her." I told him.

"The girl on the train?" He sipped his beer. "You liked her, didn't you?"

I nodded. "Yes. But I didn't see it coming."

"How could you know she'd hurt you? How could anyone?"

"I didn't see it coming." I repeated.

He slapped me on the back. "You should've?"

"Yes. But I didn't." I pulled at my hair. "Why didn't I?"

He whispered like we were the best of friends. "You were so young."

The next day in the paper the headline read, "Edward Masen Slumps over Girl!" Now all of New York, including Bella, knew the reason for my slump. The guys ragged on me even more. Needless to say, I was a mess.

STRIKE THREE!

The crowd booed and yelled out profanities as I made my way back to the dugout. This had turned into commonplace. I was now at my low and wasn't making the Knights look any good. A guy in the stands threw a bag of peanuts at me.

"You're a bum!"

I ignored it while Carlisle shouted at him. At least Carlisle was still my friend. He hasn't once told me he tried to tell me 'I told you so'. All he did was try to cheer me up. He constantly offered new ways to get out of my slump.

"Maybe you should try a new bat." He stated.

I shook my head and sat down on the bench. "Whatever's wrong it aint the bat."


A home game versus the Cubs. Sam Uley stepped up to bat and hit a short ball sending Paul Meraz to third base. The outfielder threw it to the third baseman just as Paul touched the bag. The umpire called it safe.

We were tied with two outs and you'll never guess who was up.

Me.

I was zero for four and the fate of the game now rested on my shoulders. Just great. I could practically feel the stadium shooting daggers into my back. They all hated that Phil kept me in. I even hated that he kept me in. The truth was, Phil still believed I could come back. Little did he know without Bella there wasn't a chance.

I turned towards the third base coach who gave me the signal and I stepped up to the plate. The pitcher checks Paul at third and then wound up and pitched it. I didn't swing and the umpire called it a strike.

Carlisle could be heard yelling from the dugout about how bad that call was. I shook it off. The next pitch came in and I swung and missed. Strike two. I took a deep breath to relax and regain my concentration.

Suddenly, I felt an odd calm take over me. My shoulders relaxed and I looked over my shoulder towards where my body told me the calm was coming from. I couldn't see the silhouette of someone standing but I couldn't make out the figure because the sun was blinding.

I shook my head and squared up at the plate. The calm feeling was helping me concentrate. The pitcher wiped dirt on his hand and rolled the ball before wiping it on his pants. He stood, checking third and first, and then looked towards me. The sneer on his face was evident. He knew he had me. But, for the first time in a long time, I didn't know if he was right.

He wound up and sent the ball right into my bat. The power in my swing sent the ball flying way into centerfield towards the scoreboard where it made contact with the clock—shattering it in a million pieces.

I ran around the bases following Meraz and Uley and was greeted with my whole team. We won the game and instead of rejoicing with my team I found myself searching the stands. The figure was retreating from their seat but the sun still blocked them from view.

Luckily, a cloud obstructed the Sun and I saw a woman in an all white dress and matching hat leaving the field. Who was she?

"Masen! Where you going?" Carlisle yelled.

"Turn around, will you?" Phil called. "What's he looking at?"

It wasn't until Carlisle broke my thought that I realized I was about to hop the wall and race after her. I relaxed and turned towards him, running my hand through my hair.

Carlisle approached me. "You ever hit one that far before?"

I shook my head. My mind was trying to pay attention to the conversation and the reporters asking me questions but I was stuck on the girl who left the stadium. It was her presence that broke my slump. I had to find out who she was. Had to meet her.

I ran to where Jasper and Alice were sitting with Rose and Emmett. "Did you see that girl that just left?"

"What girl?" Jazz asked.

"She was just over there wearing all white."

Emmett shook his head. "We didn't see her, Edward. That was an amazing hit, though!"

Alice looked at me warily. "Why you looking for that girl?"

"It was her. She made me do that." I pulled at my hair. "She broke the slump."

The four of them exchanged a glance before Jazz stood and put an arm around me leading me away from the crowd.

"You're doing it again."

I looked at him confused. "Doing what?"

"Getting consumed by a girl." He sighed. "First it was Bella, now it's this girl. Edward we're all worried about you."

"Bella." I whispered and something clicked.

Jazz gripped my shoulders. "Don't get all catatonic on me, man."

"No, wait." I tried to get my thoughts under wraps. "It was Bella. The girl in white—it was Bella. She came to the game!"

Jazz threw his hands in the air mumbling phrases like, "He's lost it!" and "I'm done!" He congratulated me on my hit and returned to the group who all waved as they made their way out of the stadium. I raced back to the locker room knowing I'd have to wait until she arrived home which wouldn't be for awhile.

The locker room was empty when I made it except for Seth Clearwater. He was lining up all the bats in their places. When I was with Bella, Seth and I worked on creating his bat. I showed him the technique and told him to take good care of it and give it a good name. I smiled back on the thought, and quickly grabbed my bag and hat and made my way out of the locker room.

My body couldn't stop shaking the whole ride to the hotel. I had to call Bella, but would she answer? She had been ignoring all my calls and eventually I stopped calling. Surely, she had to pick up some time.

I paid the cab driver and raced to my room throwing my stuff on the ground and picking up the phone. I dialed Bella's number and it rang twice before she answered.

"Hello?" her soft voice brought shivers to my body.

I took a deep breath. "Were you at the game today?"

"Edward, I told you not to call."

"I asked you a question," my voice was hard, "were you at the game today?"

She released a breath. "Yes."

"Why did you come?"

"Maybe I shouldn't have."

"I'm glad you did." I smiled.

"Edward, just worry about the pennant, okay? For Carlisle. He gave his heart and soul to this game only to get trampled on. I'd give my right arm to get him the pennant." She sniffled. "I have to go. Please, don't call again."

She hung up the phone and I stared at it wishing it had all the answers to the world. Why was she pushing me away when she still cared about me? I thought she loved me. Now, I was beginning to think she never did. My attempts were useless. Loving Bella was useless.


The Knights were on a seventeen game win streak and I had been playing brilliantly. I could tell Bella attended every game because I felt her. It helped me play well but I was no longer who I used to be. Loving Bella took it out of me. I went out with the team drinking after every game and spent my nights with Jessica Stanley. It wasn't the same as it was with Bella but she was decent enough.

We were now one game from the pennant and we all were in high spirits. Coach came in and congratulated us on making it this far, saying he enjoyed working with each and every one of us. I could tell he was fighting back tears because tomorrow would make or break his career.

"No worries, Coach." Sam Uley boasted. "We got this covered!"

The room erupted into hoots and hollers and Phil shut us all up. "Knock it off! We still gotta win another game before this is over. Don't jinx this. Go home, sleep, and no booze tonight. You hear that? No booze!"

I chuckled because we all were going to a party hosted by Jessica tonight. We nodded along agreeing with the coach but we were going to do no such thing. After all our hard work we needed a party and we needed it now.

Carlisle tapped my shoulder. "Hey Edward, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"We're talking now."

I didn't like talking to him this way but it was just the new me. My attitude took over and I didn't have a care in the world.

"I think you should talk to Bella." He whispered. "I was wrong about her, you two can build on your issues. Build on your relationship."

Despite my best attempts, I snorted. "You can't build on what you don't got."

I walked away and went to the phone to call Jessica. She picked up on the first ring. "Hi, baby!"

"Hi. Where are you?"

She giggled. "I'm here in my room sitting in a white slip thinking of you. I miss you."

"I miss you, too." I whispered. "Did you hear we won today?"

"Heard it on the radio. Congratulations!" she yelled. "You on your way over?"

"Yeah, I'm leaving now."

Jessica started squealing. "See you soon! Love you!"

I hung up without answering and went outside to join the guys in a cab. We drove to Jessica's booming with laughter. The team was in good spirits the whole ride there when we entered the party was in full swing. Jessica launched herself at me crushing her mouth to mine. The whole room broke into applause and I pulled her off me grapping a bottle of Vodka.

"Boy, did I miss you!" she crooned.

"Nice place you got here, Jess."

She giggled. "It'll be completely mine in a week."

"Really? How can you afford it?" I asked.

"I chipped in." I turned towards the voice and was met with the smug smile of Mike Newton. "Jess, go dance with Ben." She kissed me on the cheek and ran off. "Welcome to the party, slugger. How's the team holding up?"

I chugged on my Vodka. "They can do no wrong."

Mike laughed. "When you're on a roll it's like that sometimes. When you're not, every little thing gets you down. I see you dug yourself out of that nice little hole you were in."

"Must've cost you."

He flip-flopped his hand. "You're up. You're down." He leaned in. "How's Aro treating you? It's a shame that son of a bitch is paying a player like you rock bottom salary."

"I can live with it."

Mike looked to where Jess was dancing. "Just looking out 'cause I know Jess is crazy about you. Fame isn't enough to keep that one around."

"I'll take my chances." I downed the rest of the Vodka. The room was starting to spin and I didn't care. I didn't care about much anymore. "I wouldn't bet against me."

"You're missing the point, kid. I already have. You can't hang on to the game forever."

That was the last thing I heard before everything went black.