A Summer Fling (Aris x Reader AU)

31) Kickball

“So we're going this way, why?”

“Group plans today. Fry closed the diner and everything,”she explained without glancing back.

“Okay? Any idea what those are?”

“Nope, but I know Harriet was in charge of deciding so probably something athletic.”

Oh! Sports after my breakfast was a pie wasn't really in my idea of what today would be. It's just that the majority of my calories were from cherries and sugar, and I’m pretty sure that doesn’t make for a stable diet. Especially after lugging around a cooler so I’m also hot and sweaty.

“It’ll be something fun. Come on, loosen up a little,”she remarked, as though my thoughts were on full display. I held back a groan, fighting the urge to say my true feelings. I'm not mad about it, but I can already sense the disappointment from my teammates when I fumble like a foal.

“On a scale of one to ten, how badly am I going to humiliate myself today?”

“A zero. Nobody's expecting anything big. Even the competitive ones.”

Right. So Teresa. I have to either not be on her team or not lose and feel her glare at the back of my head she’ll insists never happened and she's fine. I absolutely cannot wait.

“Lighten up. We're going to have a lot of fun today, and you're going to love it. I even brought sunscreen,”she encouraged, lightly nudging my side.

“That wasn't really my main concern. But thank you. It probably should have been higher on the list,”I nodded. Clicking her tongue, she shook her head while mumbling what I swear was a “what would you do without me?” under her breath.

I was given no time to answer as our names were yelled in the distance, excitement etched in their voices. Looking up, I saw everyone set up in a neat row, with Thomas waving and Sonya smiling while standing extremely close to Harriet.

“About time!"Thomas shouted, stepping towards us.

“Easy for you to say when you're not dragging pies behind you!”I shouted back. Apparently one of those was his trigger word as he jogged over to us, a baseball cap I swear I know from somewhere but can't fully recognize covering his head.

“Stylish,”she teased, reaching up to flick it when he was close enough. He stepped back as he grimaced as though the action caused him pain before holding out his hand for one of the coolers.

“We’ve had it the last five miles. We’ll survive,”I promised, still rolling it along. Stubborn Thomas actually accepted that answer as he walked beside us, an extra pep in his step the closer we got.

“Ooh, treat-”
“Not yet. It’ll get too warm if we open them now,”she said firmly, physically slapping Frypan’s hand away, giving him a cold look to go with it. He put his hands up in an understanding surrender while we rolled them under a tree, providing a sorry excuse for shade.

“So what are we doing then?”I dared to ask, looking around at everyone only to see a kickball in Harriet’s hand.

“Kickball. You know how to play?”she checked, raising an eyebrow as though my answer were already a lie. Or maybe I’m just a paranoid overthinker. Both are valid at this point.

“Yeah. Kick the ball, run to the bases, uh, yeah.”

She exchanged a look with Sonya that I swear said “is he being serious right now?” Still, she looked back at me and shrugged, accepting my answer.

“Can’t argue with that. Anyways, who's the other team captain?”she asked, her eyes scanning over us.

“That would be I in the rotation. Unless you wanna go?”he offered, staring into the depths of my soul in the most concerning way he could. All eyes turned to me, wondering whether or not I was up to such a challenge.