You sit on the bench in the locker room, rolling the ball between your fingers and jiggling your leg up and down nervously.
“Alexis!” Your coach barks your name and your head snaps up. “Huddle in!”
You join the circle of your teammates and you all put your hands into the center. Energy buzzes through all of you, a mixture of nerves and excitement sweeping through you.
“Alright, girls,” Your coach says, placing her hand at the top of the pile. “This is it. Championship time. I don’t care if you win this or not, as long as you all promise me that you’re going to try your hardest to do as well as you can and to go down fighting. If you win, pizza is on me. If we don’t win, pizza is still on me. If you go out there and have time of your lives and don’t win this, then I am not going to care. I’ll care if you guys don’t have fun out there, because you deserve this more than any other team in this State. Now go out there and enjoy it,”
You all cheer and everyone begins to assemble towards the doors. Anticipation sweeps through you, tinged with sadness. It was the first ever softball game that Austin hadn’t been able to come to. You’d begged and begged him to try and figure out a way to come and see the game, but he’d said that there was nothing he could do. You’ve always thought of him as your good luck charm, but he’s always disagreed, telling you that it’s your skill that makes you such a good player.
“You nervous, Lexi?” A soft voice murmurs.
You look to your side and see Kristen at your side. You nod. “A little,”
“Is Austin not coming?”
You shake your head sadly. “It’s the first game he hasn’t been here for and it’s the freakin’ championship,”
“Hey,” She says gently. “He wouldn’t want you to go out there mad,”
“I know,” You mumble. “I just… He’s my good luck charm,”
She smiles a knowing smile at you. “You’ll be amazing out there, and you know it,”
You purse your lips and look to the ground. You were so important to the team, and everyone knew it. As catcher, the whole team considered you to be the leader. And as pitcher, you were the first line of attack against the other team. You finger the thread bracelet that’s tied round your wrist, identical to the one that Austin wears. He may not have been physically able to make the game, but you still had a little piece of him with you.
“Showtime!”
Kristen squeezes your shoulder reassuringly and you and the rest of the team head out onto the pitch.
The roar of the crowd and the music flooding from the speakers deafens you, and as much as you want to look around for Austin, just to see if he had made it, you tell yourself not to.
“Now is the time to focus,” You whisper to yourself. “Game on,”
Admittedly the first half of the game doesn’t go as well as you’d planned. The other team had caught more fly balls than your team had anticipated, as you’d played the same team a few seasons back. They’ve certainly stepped up their game. You can tell by the looks on your teamates’ faces that they’re feeling disheartened. By the time the seventh inning stretch rolls around, you motion everyone to huddle up.
“Okay, girls,” You say in your best coach voice. “We’re not too far behind. We just need good catches and fast runs. I know we want to win this thing more than anything, but it doesn’t matter if we lose, right? If we win, we win and if we don’t, then we don’t. I would love it if we won but I’d rather we win this thing and have fun doing it. Everyone good?” Your team nod, grins slowly appearing. “Let’s win this thing and give Coach her trophy,”
YOU ARE READING
Band One Shots - CLOSED
Fanfic**OPEN** One shot requests for band members of your choice.
