Loving the Enemy

Grudge match- Phillip's POV

"So let me get this straight. Ash is here, and you and her immediately hated each other?" I asked, rubbing my forehead in exasperation.
"Yep" Ari said nonchalantly, popping the 'p'.
"And you challenged her to a ball game? Here? In an hour?"
"Right again" she confirmed, the boys around me immediately lighting up at the chance to beat their rivals. There was a chorus of  "Hell yeah"s and "nice goin' Ari" and high fives were shared all round. I sighed, of course Ari had disliked Ash- I had been a right bastard to the girl but Ari didn't get that, and of course Ash disliked my girlfriend simply on principle. The two were too similar for their own good. Knowing it was too late to get out of it, and that I didn't want to anyway I agreed.
"Alright, let's get warmed up, we ain't gonna lose this time, not with the better Rodriguez on our team" I grinned.
"Come on love" I said, giving Ari a quick peck on the lips "let's go show those Sandlot brats who's boss"

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"Hey Phillips" Ham said from his position behind me, I gripped my bat a little tighter, ready for whatever insult he'd throw at me, then forced myself to relax- Ari had told us, closer to ordered really, to keep our heads, we were better players than our opponents, their talents lay in getting us riled up so we made mistakes "is that your girlfriend out in left field, naked? She's naked isn't she?" I grinned, he was making this too easy.
"Hey Benny" I shouted so he could hear me "Ham's picturing your sister, naked"
"What?!" Benny shouted, losing his focus as he threw the ball. I smirked as I headed over to first, making an exaggerated bow.
"Thanks for the walk pal"

For once our two rival teams were close to evenly matched, the average Tigers player was just that bit better than their Sandlot counterpart, as happened when playing in a competitive league- we had to pass trials after all, but the real difference lay in the team's best players- Benny and Ash and Ari and I. Ash could, maybe, possibly, on a good day outplay me, as could Benny, but this divide was countered by the fact Ari was that bit better than her younger brother. The title of best player here then came down to either Ash or Ari, and as the two hadn't played each other before no one was certain who was superior. Personally I believe it was Ari, but the one best suited to give an accurate opinion didn't want to upset either his sister or his girlfriend, so remained silent on whatever judgment he had passed.

The game was close, it was the last innings and we were 2 runs down. Ari was up to bat and I was glad to see it, she would get both me and Cole home, as well as herself.
"Wait, we're swapping pitchers" I looked up, spotting Ash signalling for a time out and making her way towards the pitchers mound. I groaned, Ash was a phenomenal pitcher, and though Ari may be a good all rounder that's not quite up to par with a specialty skill. Instead of hanging her head in despair, as most would've in her position, Ari grinned, almost eagerly watching her rival take the place of her brother on the mound.
"You ready?" Ash asked, sizing up her opponent, taking in everything from her stance to the way she gripped the bat.
"Bring it bitch" Ari snapped, causing a chorus of 'oooh's from the dugout directly behind her. Ash smirked as the threw the ball, the speed of the pitch taking Ari off guard, she swung- too late, and the bat connected with just the side of the ball.
"That's a foul ball, strike one. Guess you're not as good as you think you are" Ari grit her teeth, ignoring her own advice as she rose to the bait. She bit back a retort as I caught Cole's eye, motioning that we'd have to steal, we couldn't count on Ari getting anything past Ash, and needed to be at least even by the end of the innings. Another pitch, another foul, a second strike. This time, however, the second the ball was out of Ash's hand Cole and I took off running, making it to second and third respectively. Another foul had Cole sneaking home while I provided a distraction, dithering between running or not, making myself an easy target, before safely returning to second. The next pitch had me sliding to third, only just avoiding being tagged out. This was getting dangerous, Ari had to make a connecting hit this soon, there was no way they were going to let me steal home. She knew it too, and steeled herself, closing her eyes for a moment before readying herself for the pitch. It was pure chance, the ball had barely made it out of Ash's hand when the bat was in motion, there was no time to determine if the pitch was inside the strike zone, if Ash had expected the gamble then Ari was out, but luckily she hadn't wanted to risk a ball and so the pitch traveled true. I took home, getting out of the way and turning to see what was happening on the field I had just vacated. Ari was rounding third as the ball was fielded, her hit having sent it sailing far, far out of the diamond, when Ash took a stand, planting herself directly on the line and guarding the home plate. Instead of slowing down Ari hit her full tilt, smashing into the other girl at a sprint, the two went down in a cloud of dust, half a ruler's length away from securing victory. The boys in the dugout were on their feet, clinging to the wire, as we waited with baited breath for the dust to clear, seeing indistinct forms struggling in the dirt, unable to tell who was who. The boy who had picked up the ball hesitated in throwing it, too engrossed in the melee taking place on the diamond. Suddenly someone slapped a hand down on home plate, causing a cheer to erupt from my team as we realised it could only be Ari. The dust settled and we saw the two girls, Ash was on top of Ari, pinning her to the ground but the latter had managed to free a hand that had reached the safety of home. The shout of euphoria died in my throat as I realised that her other arm, the injured one that was still healing, was once again at an angle that just screamed wrong. I hurried to shove Ash off my girlfriend, inspecting the appendage.
"You broke it again didn't you?" I asked. Ari nodded, teeth clenched, face scrunched up against the pain. Ash whistled.
"I've got to hand it to you, I may not like you, but I can respect a girl that re-breaks her arm to win a game of baseball" she extended her hand and Ari stared at it for a while, before eventually allowing her to pull her up. The two girls studied each other for a long moment before nodding, an understanding passing between them, both totally covered in the red dust of the baseball diamond, and they smiled despite it all.
"Come on, let's get you to the hospital, I wanna hear all about how you got together with Phillips"
"Only if you show me how to pitch like that"
"Deal"