The Steps To Your Heart

Pre-Steps 2.5: Resolve

--- Shayne ---

It was the "grade skipper".

It was the "grade skipper".

It was the "grade skipper".

The same thought kept going around my mind. Even when the class was over, that same scene kept repeating over and over inside my head. Even as we headed for our baseball practice, I couldn't get that expression out of my head.

It bothered me. And I didn't like it.

And as much as I couldn't comprehend what was happening at all between the two of them, Kent bothered me even more.

As Mark had said, Dominique is supposed to be indifferent towards people who are practically "strangers" to her. I never knew she knows Kent to that extent or if they even talked with each other that much for her to act the way she did. And I definitely didn't know Kent could be that tactful towards others, especially towards girls. As far as I knew, Kent never tried to bother with any of them, especially the clingy ones.

"Didn't I tell you we have practice today?" I finally snapped at one of our "girl" friends in our group. She kept going on and on about this party that she was supposed to host and was inviting us. I did tell her we couldn't attend because of our practice. She just won't stop.

"You sure are in a bad mood today," Kent remarked.

"Did something happen?" he asked and all I could do was glower at him.

"What," he commented. Sighing, I just shook my head. I know I shouldn't blame Kent for why my mood has been sour since this morning.

"Nothing. Let's just go," I said and went ahead to the locker room.

It's not Kent's fault. It's just me being childish.

I know ...

I know that ...

But I just can't help taking it against Kent. And I hate myself for it.

"Shayne! The coach said you'd be practicing in the bullpen for today," Brian, the captain of the baseball team informed.

I glanced back at Kent, and he just smiled at me in acknowledgement. I smiled, too. It was a relief to know he wasn't bothered by my actions earlier.

During the entire pitching practice in the bullpen, Kent acted fine. He caught most of my pitches and would give some comments or advice once in awhile. And it seemed that my worries since this morning were starting to fade.

"Shayne, wait!" Kent suddenly called, making me stop halfway from my pitching.

"Excuse me for a minute," he said and left the bullpen. That's when I saw Dominique.

As I watched Kent leave the practice grounds to talk to Dominique who happened to pass by with a bunch of books on her hand, it grated me. Especially when they seemed to act in a familiar way with each other. That's when I realized, Kent wasn't the problem. It was her. She's the reason why I've been in a foul mood.

"Kent! Stop flirting already! Practice, remember!" I snapped at them. I saw Kent glare at me for a moment then turned to her to excuse himself.

"What's really gotten into you?" he noted when he came back.

"Nothing. The District Meet is just around the corner, so we should focus. Now stop yapping and catch my balls!" I explained with much conviction. But I knew he didn't buy that.

I know ...

Kent acted differently after that. Though we continued with our practice like normal, he didn't talk the entire time. He didn't even try to give comments on my pitches anymore. He was just silent the whole time. Even when practice was over, he still didn't talk to me.