my better half | c.w. ✓

Chapter 3

{the video attached is of the game I wrote about in this chapter; skip to 7:53, 13:30, and 18:56 to see Cole's highlights that are talked about in this chapter. also, I'm writing this as the U.S. championship, so just pretend that it's Texas instead of Missouri, if that makes sense lol} and can we talk about his grand slam for a sec bc holy shit that was freaking amazing

update: the vid got taken down :/ but hopefully you guys remember the game, it's pretty hard to forget a game like that lmao

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McKenna's POV

A cheer rose up from the crowd as Cole stepped up to the plate. It was only the top of the third inning and he already had both inside and outside the park home runs, and the Red Land fans were anxious to see what he would do next. With the bases loaded and a roaring crowd backing him up, we knew he was bound to do something great.

The Texas pitcher looked nervous as he threw the pitch, right down the line. Cole effortlessly swung at it and knocked it - literally - out of the park. He had hit a grand slam, increasing our lead to 18-0.

The crowd became deafening, so loud you could barely hear the announcer over their cheers. Emma and I immediately stood up and screamed, hugging each other and grinning from ear to ear. Together, we held up the sign we made earlier that day and waved it, trying to get Cole's attention. It read, "GO RED LAND," in red and blue letters. We wrote all the players' names on it, and of course Em had drawn a heart above Jaden's name.

Then, something amazing happened. After Cole finished running the bases, he looked up into the stands - right at me. Now, some people might say I'm exaggerating, that there's no way he knew where I was sitting, that it's impossible. But I swear, as his teammates surrounded him and the crowd began chanting his name, he looked right at me and smiled.

I smiled back and waved, but he had already turned around, being bombarded by high-fives and hugs from the other Red Land players.

Emma looked at me in shock. "Did he just smile at you?"

"Yes!" I squealed with excitement. "Holy crap, he actually saw me!"

We hugged again, practically jumping up and down with excitement.

Needless to say, we won. When you're up by eighteen in the third inning, there's virtually no chance for the other team to come back.

And as Em and I celebrated our win, all I could think was, what a day. I got to meet and talk to my favorite players (and soon to be classmates), then they became the national champions. This was turning out to be the best day ever.

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"What should the caption be?" I asked, laying upside down on the hotel bed, in the process of posting the picture we'd gotten with Cole and Jaden on Instagram.

"How about, 'me and my future husband'?" Emma replied, giggling.

I rolled my eyes and threw a pillow at her. "Yeah, how about one that doesn't make me sound like a total stalker?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

I laughed, and finally decided on something short but sweet. 'best day ever with my best friend and the national champions,' with, of course, a heart emoji and a baseball emoji.

I tagged all the players and Emma, added the hashtag #whynotus, and posted it. Immediately, all the Red Land fanpages liked and commented, saying how jealous they were of me. I laughed as I read them, knowing I would be saying the same thing if it were the other way around.

As I was looking through my Instagram  feed, my phone dinged, telling me I had several new notifications. I clicked on it, and when I saw who it was, I'm pretty sure I stopped breathing.

@colewagner22 liked your photo.

@colewagner22 left a comment on your photo: 'nice meeting you :) and sorry for almost making you faceplant onto the pavement haha'

@colewagner22 started following you.

I practically jumped off the bed, still staring at my phone in shock. Em looked over at me, and said, "Okay, this is probably a dumb question, but what the heck is wrong with you?"

I didn't blame her, after all, I was basically just standing there, unmoving, staring down at my iPhone with my mouth hanging open. I probably looked like a psychopath or something.

Wordlessly, I handed her the phone. She glanced down at the screen and did a double take. Then she looked back at me, her eyes wide. "Oh my god."

I nodded, a huge smile making its way onto my face.

"Oh my god!" Em screamed, hugging me and jumping up and down like the over enthusiast she is.

Laughing, I hugged her back. I grabbed my phone and responded to Cole's comment, still grinning like an idiot.

@mckenna.jacobs: @colewagner22 nice meeting you too! and it's fine lol

Then I heard another scream, and I looked over at Em, who was doing the same thing I had been doing two minutes ago. "He followed you too, huh?"

"Yep," she said, a huge smile on her face.

I went back to Instagram and saw Emma had posted her picture with the boys, with the caption 'with my future husbands...they just don't know it yet ;)'. I burst out laughing. "Way to sound desperate, Em."

She rolled her eyes, but I could see her cheeks starting to turn pink. "Well it's not like I thought they would see it."

I shook my head and chuckled. My best friend really was something else.

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sorry for the short chapter, I've just had sooo much schoolwork lately. high school sucks ok sCREW YOU HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL FOR GIVING ME FALSE HOPES

anyways, I don't think I've mentioned this before but I have an instagram, (jaden.kaden.cole) so go follow it!

next update: idk probably like thursday/friday? I have the chapter planned out I just don't know how to actually write it, if that makes sense lol

vote/comment for more!

-linds