Connor's Tale - A Jonnor story

Chapter 14 - Batting cages & other monsters

AT THE BEACH

Connor paused knowing that things were going to get a lot tougher for him now and he knew that the girls were going to have problems with this so he needed to prepare them. "Okay, listen...the next part is...it's just that I need you to not interrupt me okay?" he says looking at them carefully. "Things are going to start getting...bad...and it's hard enough to talk about this stuff so you need to let me get through it."

Taylor and Daria looked at each other with the traces of laughter from previous story fading but something in Connor's voice warns Taylor. "How bad?" she asks nervously.

"Bad...but not the worst of things. That's still to come. But...I'm not proud of this part, so please just...don't" Connor pleads. The girls nod, no longer laughing.

WEDNESDAY MORNING AT THE STEVENS' HOUSE

"Connor – BREAKFAST!" Connor hears his dad yelling from downstairs.

Pulling his head through his red and grey baseball hoodie Connor heads downstairs to the kitchen. His parents are both there, his dad sitting down while his mom is shuffling around as he sits down and his mom puts a plate of eggs, toast, and sausage in front of him. "Milk or OJ" his mom asks with a smile.

"OJ" Connor says happily looking over at his dad who is sipping on his coffee looking at some papers from work.

"You look all excited this morning" his mom teases him.

"Yeah" Connor agrees happily. "Dad is taking Jude and me to the batting cages after school" he tells her.

"Sounds like fun" she smiles but she looks tired to Connor.

Connor nods, his mouth full, before continuing his breakfast.

"Connor I will bring your bag...is it packed and ready?" his dad asks him.

"Yessir" Connor replies. "I even packed an extra helmet for Jude" he says with a smile.

Connor pretends he doesn't see his dad looking at his mom and smiling. Finishing up he runs upstairs to brush his teeth before heading out to school.

Arriving at school he heads for his locker and smiles when he sees Jude getting his books. "Hey Jude!" he says smiling at their private joke. Jude rolls his eyes at him which causes Connor to smirk. "You excited about going to the batting cages?" he asks excitement clear in his voice.

"Sure...but I haven't really played that much. I probably won't be any good" Jude warns him.

"I don't care" Connor says smiling. "Besides, the whole point of going there is to practice and get better. Anyway, it's fun just going there when there's no pressure of a game or anything. You'll see. Besides, my dad is really good at baseball. He played in high school and college and he has taught me. Even coached my t-ball team way back when" Connor assured him with a smile. "He's a great coach, trust me, he can help you learn."

"That's cool" Jude replies with a smile as they walked off to class.

AFTER SCHOOL

Jude and Connor are standing together after school waiting for Connor's dad to pick them up. "Thanks for inviting me to come along" Jude says excited to be going. Connor smiles at him and laughs.

"You already said that" he teases his friend. Connor bumps their shoulders together and laughs at Jude's reaction.

"I know...it's just really nice of your dad to take us" Jude tells him.