A Grand Slam Romance: Lars Nootbaar & Aaron Judge

Chapter 11- Noot

When Stella and I leave each other I can't help but feel a little upset. I'll be gone for like 20 days. That's a lot of time away from the people you care about. I wonder if she will miss me. I hope she will.

Leaving is always the hardest part, but you know, it's the life of being a baseball player. Ohtani said he's nervous because if Japan and America are in the final then they will have go against each other and he doesn't want his friendship with Trout to go downhill, but I doubt it will. They are really close. Kind of like Kizner, Bader, and I. We are all best friends.

I finally finish packing and there is a knock at the door. I open it to see Nolan Arenado.

"Hey uh what's up?" I ask.

"What's going on with you and my sister?" He asks a little mad.

"Nothing. We're just friends."

"Yeah yeah whatever. That's not what Gorman was saying earlier to the guys."

"What do you mean?" I ask with a very confused look on my face.

"Do NOT play dumb with me Lars Nootbaar."

"I'm not playing dumb! There's nothing going on between Stella and I!"

He's getting extra mad which is not good because he has a temper. He doesn't know how to control it sometimes.

"Why are you hanging around her so much?!" He asks almost yelling at me.

"Ok dude first you need to calm down. And second we hang out together because we are friends. And even if there was something going on why would it be your business!?"

"Because she's my sister! And you're my teammate! How is it NOT my business!?"

"You're unbelievable. There's nothing going on between Stella and I. Go ask her yourself."

"I will!" He storms off.

My god. What a drama queen. He seriously needs to take a chill pill.

*THE NEXT DAY*

I wake up and get dressed. Shortly after I grab my stuff I'll need for the plane and make it down to breakfast.

When I get there I see Zoe, Gorman, and Stella sitting down at a table so I decide to join them.

Stella smiles at me so I smile back.

"Hey missed you yesterday night. Where were you?" She asks me with her pretty smile.

"Sorry I was packing."

"All night?!" She asks shockingly.

"Yeah..." I scratch my head. "There was a lot of stuff i needed to pack. Why? Did you miss me blondie?" I say with a smirk.

"Maybe I did maybe I didn't." She looks at her watch. Avoiding my gaze.

I smirk at her and I go to get my food.

About 5 minutes later I come back with a banana and waffles. They are all done eating, but they don't get up because they know as soon as I finish eating I'll have to leave for the airport.

"Do you have to go?" Zoe asks me.

"Yes Zoe I do."

"Why?" Stella asks, making me almost choke on my food.

I cough.

"What do you mean why? You already know the answer to that." I respond.

"What if I begged you to stay?" She asks with her puppy dog eyes.
NO! I must resist.

I look away from her. Ignoring her question and continue to eat my food.

"I think you got him flustered, Stella." Zoe says.

"Oh yeah?" She says.

"ENOUGH." I say a little too loud.

Gorman chuckles a bit.

"Can't a man eat his breakfast in peace?"

"You're right. I'm sorry." Stella says as her brown eyes look into mine.

I look away from her, finishing my meal.

"I can throw that away for you." Gorman offers.

"Thank you." I say as I give him my plate.

He nods and walks towards the trash can. I get up and grab my bags. The rest of the team walks over to say their goodbyes to me and the others that are going to play in the WBC.

"Text me everyday." Bader says.

"Got it." I chuckle.

Kiz and Bader hug me and shortly after the team steps away from me and Stella comes over to me. Great. My hardest goodbye and no one even knows it. Not even Bader or Kizner. I might tell them. I'm not sure.

"Are you gonna text me everyday too?" She asks with a giggle. I smirk at that.

"I don't know. That depends. Will you miss me more than they will?"

"Definitely. They will forget about you within the next 48 hours."

"Ouch. That one hurt."

"I'm just stating the facts." She says with a giggle.

Her little giggle always makes me smile. I wonder if she can tell that I like her... it's not like I'm making it obvious. No one else had mentioned anything about it.

I look around me. All of these people and faces. They will miss me. I wish I could see my mom. I miss her the most to be honest. I wonder if she will come to any of my WBC games. I doubt it. Maybe the one in Japan. Now that would be cool. I miss my family so much.
Then my phone rings knocking me out of my thoughts. It's Ohtani.

Ohtani: "hey man. I'm at the airport. Ready whenever you are."

Noot: "I'm still at my hotel. I'll be there shortly!"

Ohtani: "A hard goodbye to a girl?"

Noot: "yes and no."

Ohtani: "can't wait to hear all about her. Now get your butt on this plane."

Noot: "you got it. See you soon!"

I hang up and realize that Stella is still standing right in front of me.

"Goodbye Stella"

"Bye Nootie." She says with a hint of sadness her voice.

Then she hugs me. I was not expecting that AT ALL. This is shocking to me. I wrap my arms around her as she hugs me. She doesn't let go for a while. I have to be the first to let go because I can't keep the team waiting.

"See you in 20 days Stells. Try not to miss me too much." I wink at her as I pick up my stuff and head out of the hotel.

I don't look back. I know if I do it will make me want to stay longer and I can't do that. I've stalled long enough.

I get into the Uber and 15 minutes later I arrive at the airport where Ohtani is still waiting for me.

"Took you long enough."

"Yeah.. this girl man. She wouldn't let me go."

"Tell me about her."

I then begin to talk about her and we get on the plane where we see the rest of the team and we introduce ourselves to one another. I can tell this is going to be a wild ride, but I'm ready for it.

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A/n: woah did I just update? Shocker.

Lmk what you think!

Word count: 1158