Brightside | ✓

52.2 | take me out to the ball game

"Does anyone have eyes on those losers yet?" Moxie asked after the last of them had received their food from the concession.

Axel probably broke his arm to avoid the stink eye that Eddie received from ordering a slice of pepperoni pizza at a fucking baseball game. God, the things she did for love. If she'd switched spots with Mick, he could've dealt with the judgement from paying for Axel's stupid order and it would've been deserved considering he was the cause of the order. At that point, Eddie didn't even care if it was cold when he got there.

Then again, the update that Mick had texted the group on the way to the hospital involved a selfie of him with Axel cuddled into his side in the backseat. She was pretty sure it was from pain, but Mick looked happy enough for the both of them. Eddie knew that it wasn't a good time for her boyfriend, even before the trip down the stairs, but that didn't stop her from immediately saving the photo and making it her wallpaper. Axel would eventually laugh at it. He always did. She guessed he earned his pepperoni.

"They should be more than finished by now," Everleigh said. She looked like she was running the numbers on distance to and from, x-raying, plaster-casting. Part of her looked like she regretted not going because she could've just told them what was needed. (As Maverick had posted on Instagram back in May, Everleigh was a recipient of the Syme medal.) (Eddie wasn't going to pretend she knew what that was, but looking it up was free, and it was an esteemed medical award. Go Everleigh.)

"They're trying to park," Cruella said, her nose in her phone. "Shouldn't be too long."

"How do you—" Eddie caught herself. Most things she had questions for lately were answered by one word, "Boston?"

Cruella nodded. "Yeah."

"Wait," Moxie said, "doesn't Stev—"

"Yeah, parking lot," Stevie said. She made a face at her phone. "Maverick's still walking slow."

"Probably so excited to be watching sports," Eddie said. "Huge fan he is, and all."

"That's my boyfriend," Everleigh said. "The sports man."

Eddie had the feeling that Maverick thought a grand slam was something one found on a Denny's menu. And, once explained, the man would still argue that he wasn't technically wrong.

"Go sports," Moxie added. "Woo."

To Eddie's dismay, a pretty woman approached them while she was holding her boyfriend's stupid pepperoni pizza at a baseball game. That might've been her personal worst day ever. Worse than Axel's, even. That was what she got for dating a man, wasn't it? Some queer deity was punishing her and it wasn't fair that they had made her bisexual in the first place. How fucking embarrassing.

"Sports are cool," said the woman, notably in a Red Sox jersey. She eyed Cruella for a moment. "Would you ladies like to say hi for our socials? Julien Cortez would love to see he has Cruella Queen on his team."

Cruella immediately straightened up and threw on her starlet smile. She was the only one for miles wearing a Cortez jersey, for what that was worth to their social media. "Oh, hi! Yes, of course! We love Julien. Right ladies?"

Moxie looked stumped. "Is he on the Red Sox—"

Eddie would've been too if Axel didn't spend most of his time watching Red Sox games eye-fucking Julien Cortez and their catcher, Bobby Deville. The only time he wasn't was when they weren't in his view.