Rivals - L.S.

Fourteen - Harry 2.0 Causing Trouble

**Don't hate me, there's not too much Larry in this, but, there's lots of juicy drama coming up in the next 5-8 chapters (if not more) so get ready!

It had been a week since Louis and Harry's spur of the moment drive in date. They were at practice, Harry was having an especially difficult time keeping his glances at Louis' ass under control so the whole team didn't think he was a pervert, especially since their relationship was still on the down low. At least his batting practice was a good distraction, nothing to stare at except the pitching machine and the netting that caught his ball.

Harry was mid-swing when he heard Cowell's whistle echo across the field. He quickly had the batting instructor shut off the pitching machine, trotting over to where the team had formed a little semi-circle around their coach.

Cowell wasn't alone though, as Harry could now see, he was accompanied by another boy. He was a handsome boy, tall with tan skin and dark hair, a sharp jawline and dark tattoos. He wore a Great Britain uniform, one that looked a size too small because of the size of his muscles. The boy was eyeing the crowd around him curiously, while still maintaining an unaffected look on his face.

"Lads, this is Calum Hood. Hood played ball for the San Francisco Giants the past three seasons, he is quite the celebrity icon in the American baseball scene right now. Hood has agreed to join our team for this season, I know he's late and that it's yet another addition, but I think he will do wonders for our team," Cowell explained, clapping a hand on Calum's shoulder.

Calum flashed a smile, showing off pearly white teeth. "Like Coach Cowell said, I know I'm late and it's a weird addition, but I'm really stoked to be here and think we're going to have a great season," the boy said cheerfully, in an Australian accent to Harry's surprise.

They were all dismissed to start their normal practice routine, Calum was given the option to observe or jump right in deciding to play with the team right away. And Calum was good, he hit a home run on the first pitch thrown his way. Sure, it wasn't one of Louis' pitches and it was right down the center, but Harry and the team were all still impressed.

Practice came to a close and Harry was walking with Liam, Louis got hung up chatting with Cowell so Harry just decided to meet him in the locker rooms. "What do you think about the new guy?" Harry asked Liam, making small talk as they crossed the long hallways.

"Dude. He is literally you. Like, on some Harry 2.0 shit."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, confused as he pushed open the locker room doors.

Liam laughed and followed Harry inside. "Think about it. He was recruited special and joined the team late. He hit a home run at his first practice. Cowell actually seems to like him. That's exactly like your story here," Liam explained matter of factly, like it was obvious.

Luke must have overheard, he chimed in with a, "Do you mean Calum? Are you telling him the Harry 2.0 theory?"

"What the hell? You think this too?" Harry asked, wondering how he missed such an apparently obvious conclusion.

Luke nodded, gesturing to Liam. "Liam told me, I told Mikey, Mikey told Ed and we all agree," the blonde shrugged, sitting down on the bench in front of his locker.

"It's basically a team wide conclusion," Liam declared as he tossed his jersey into his locker.

Harry sat down on the bench beside Luke and shook his head, beginning to take off his cleats. "No way. He's Australian, he played baseball in America. I was a singer in England. That's totally different," Harry disagreed firmly, mostly because he didn't want to be compared to Calum just in case the boy ended up being better than him.