Fall Out Boy saved me

Baseball Team (picture of Samuel)

Eli's POV
"Dude someday you gotta stand up to that bitch ya know," Samuel said patting me on the back on our way to baseball practice.

"Easy for you to say," I snort. I can't help but feel a little jealous of Samuel sometimes.

God, it must be amazing to live Samuel's life. His parents are wealthy New York stock brokers and worship the ground he walks on. Sam tells me since they got married, they've been trying to have a baby for years and after 3 miscarriages finally had him. And he turned out to be perfect in every way. He's charming with the girls, smart in lecture and personal friends with the professors, and suave on the job as a car salesman at one of the many fancy car dealerships in our city. Even though his parents can buy him anything (and anyone) he wants, Sam still works for it. "I like the challenge," he says.

Samuel takes notice of my snarky remark, "Aw come on Marvel, I'm just saying he can't do it forever. Wait till he keels over and we can prance on his grave together!" Sam laughs at his own comment and scans my face for a reaction.

I try to glare at him, but end up cracking a smile. How could I not? His pumpkin green eyes and wide grin reminds me of a Halloween Jack-o-lantern. Of course all the girls (and some boys) have the hots for him, he's practically a model!

We're the first ones to the practice field like usual so we wait for Jamie and the rest of the team. Samuel starts stretching and taking a few practice swings with his bat. God damn he's attractive. He's only a few inches taller than me, but his body is way different than mine. His muscles flex through his baseball shirt as he arches his back for a swing. Not to mention how good his butt looks! (Thank God for baseball pants!)

I quickly look away and scold myself for gazing at my best friend. Looking at other guys is so wrong! Or so they say...Everybody in this city looks down at you if you aren't straight or white. I've been trying to hide how I feel towards other guys since I was in elementary, but I feel like Jamie and Samuel know even though I have't come out to them yet. They are really good friends for not judging me or forcing me to say I'm gay. It's not like I have't tried to like girls, I'm just not attracted to them like I am towards boys.

"Hola amigos!" Jamie calls to us a few feet away forcing me out of my day dream. He jogs towards us with not one, not two, but three bags. He's holding his school backpack, baseball bag, and his work backpack. Jamie drops his things in front of the dugout and pulls a container out of his work bag.

"Want some?" He offers opening the lid off the plastic box containing strawberries. "I picked them early this morning, at 7:30am to be exact." He smiles proudly puffing his chest.

"Sure, thanks man!" Samuel says taking a big one. He bites deep into the berry causing the juice to squirt out and dribble down his chin onto his shirt. Samuel wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and puts the rest of the fruit into his mouth. "Mmmmmm," he mews and then smiles with strawberry seeds on his bottom lip and berry still in his teeth.

"Calm down man it's just fruit," I tease before popping a small berry into my mouth. My eyes widen as I chew. Oh my god I take it back, this is literally the best strawberry I have ever eaten. "Dude, was this watered with the tears of Jesus?" I joke while reaching for another.

"Nah it's the taste of hard labor," laughs Jamie. "Not even the grocery store you work at can sell em this fresh."

"You're right, we just sell overpriced rabbit food."

"Well that's a business for you," Samuel says while wiping his hand on his pants.

We eat strawberries until the rest of the team starts to pull up to the parking lot in their expensive pickup trucks, Mustangs, and Camaros. Rich white boys plus ego is a very bad combination.

"Hey Sam, what are you doing eating fruit from an immigrant?" questions Trevor the co captain of our team. "Don't you know they don't wash their hands?" he mocks.

"Better check it for fairy dust too," adds Preston, Trevor's right hand man.

The team laughs at their insults as Jamie and I look down at our cleats to avoid their hateful stares. My cheeks feel hot as they turn red. I feel my throat getting tight as I try to fight back the tears welling up in my eyes.

"Trevor, the only thing you should worry about me eating is your mom tonight," Samuel retorts stepping in front of us.

The team busts up in a fit of laughter and hollers while Trevor turns bright red and Preston sputters and fails to respond with an insult as equally savage.

I look up at Samuel grinning and he winks at me with a smirk on his face. I'm so thankful for Samuel sticking up for us all the time. He always knows what to say and do. This is why he's the team captain.

When the coaches pull up to the parking lot all of us quickly put on our mitts and scramble into groups of three and pitch baseballs to each other to look like we're working hard.

The coaches make us run a few laps then put us to work in groups according to our positions. Samuel is a batter, Jamie is a catcher for third base, and I'm learning to be a pitcher since I sucked at everything so far...

Flashback to beginning of season:
"Marvel huh?" The head coach questions me.

"Uh yeah," I stupidly respond. I can't believe Samuel got me to try out for baseball. The only form of exercise I ever did was running to the bus from my house before it left me in high school.

"Well show us what you can do Mr.
Marvel," the coach says while smirking. All 5 of the coaches are standing there with clipboards as seasoned players tell me what to do. Run here, throw this, catch that. I'm exhausted by the time I get to the last test. Batting a ball.

Sweat drips from my face onto my hair as I stand at home plate waiting for the pitch. My knees shake as the pitcher finally comes up and winds up his arm. Before I can react, I hear the breeze of the ball go past my ear and into the glove of the catcher.

"STRIKE ONE!" The catcher calls out.

I look at the coaches as they jot down notes on their clipboards and then turn my head to see Samuel and Jamie behind the dugout giving me a thumbs up. Thanks guys.

I get my bat ready again and swing when I hear the ball whizzing towards me. But once again it lands roughly into the catcher's mitt.

"STRIKE TWO!"

Come on Eli get your shit together! I yell at myself.

"Dude here's a tip, stop closing your fucking eyes when the ball comes towards you," the catcher says sarcastically. Wow thanks man.

I take a deep breath and exhale. This time when the ball is thrown at me I force my eyes open, unfortunately for me it hits me right between the eyes.

I don't remember much after that but Jamie said he dragged me into the dugout and put and ice pack on my face until i woke up while Sam pulled some strings for me by telling the coaches I would be good at something with a little training.