The One Underneath

|| The beginning ||

"Whatever. I don't care anymore." I told Alex as he ran his hands through his hair.

"I can't take this anymore." He told me, going out the door and slamming it.

Wait, this story doesn't start here. We need to go back to the summer of 2014.

"Addilynn, meet Alex. Alex, this is my niece, Addilynn." My uncle AJ Pierzynski introduced me to this Alex character.

"Hi." He awkwardly shook my hand, causing me to laugh as I shook his hand in return. He was wearing a white shirt with a red flannel tied around his waist, paired with jeans and red Converse.

"Okay, see you after the game." AJ told me, I nodded silently in reply.

"So, what do you do?" He asked me as we watched fans dance on the field. It was father - daughter night so AJ was on the field with Ava.

"I play softball." I told him simply.

"Really? That's awesome!" His eyes light up.

"Yep. I love it." I smiled.

"Who do you play for?" He questioned.

"Well, I just graduated from Vanderbilt and now I'm starting workouts with the USA team. I don't know if they'll actually want to play me any." I stated.

"Vanderbilt? You must be pretty smart. What'd you study? " He questioned.

"Civil engineer." I replied watching AJ put Ava on his back. I wish that my dad would've done that with me. That's another story for another time.

"That's so awesome. Have you designed anything?"

"I helped design a new eating area at the mall here. But I just gave ideas, nothing too big." I shrug.

"That's still awesome. I'm sure you made a chunk of change off that." He replied, us both laughing.

"It certainly didn't hurt me any, but it wasn't nearly as much as the higher ranking ones make."

"That is still so cool. I've never met a girl as diverse as you." He admits.

"Well thanks, I guess." I laugh, blushing a bit.

"Are you pitching tonight?" I asked him, wanting to change the subject and get off the topic of me.

"Yeah. I'm nervous, though." He said cutely. Oh crap. I need to calm down.

"You'll do fine!" I told him, smiling.

"Thanks for the inspiration." He laughed, the sun shining down bright on us. It was the middle of August in 'Hotlanta' as they called it, and you could definitely tell.

"So, AJ's your uncle, right?" He asks as we watch AJ and Ava take a picture together. He was an amazing uncle and an even more amazing dad and husband.

"Yeah. He's my best friend." I told him.

"Do you live with him?" He asks.

"Since I was two." I say quietly. He decided to drop the subject for a little until he spoke up again.

"Come outside with me real fast?" He asks me as he stands up.

"Sure...?" I trail.

"What are we doing?" I asked him as we stopped at his car.

"Just coming out here." He said, grabbing a lighter out of him pocket.

"Wait, you smoke?" I questioned.

"Um, yeah." He told me, lighting the tobacco up.

"What? Huh?" I said in disbelief.

"What's the big deal?" He asked, the cigarette sitting between his pointer and middle finger.

"That you're a professional athlete and you're ruining your body! That's the big deal!" I told him.

"Woah, calm down." He told me, putting his hands up in defense, the cigarette in between the left side of his lip.

"This is unbelievable. I'm going back inside." I told him, jogging off towards the Ted.

I showed the older man at the gate my ID and went in, back in the direction of the seats above the dugout where we had previously been sitting.

I made my way up to the second row of seats, then quietly sat down and propped my feet up on the seat in front of me. I know I sat there for a good hour just watching the grounds crew work on the field until they started setting the batting cages up, letting my mind wonder.

Would I ever actually be in a stable relationship with someone who isn't a 'punk' or isn't a jock that won't break my heart? Probably not. I really needed out of Atlanta, but I didn't want to leave at the same time. I was stuck between choosing family or chasing my dreams.

A/n: hey guys!! So I'm starting this new Alex Wood story. I know that AJ didn't play with the Braves last season, but I'm switching up some things to make the plot work, so please just bear with me. Hope you guys enjoy! :-)