Baseball (VHope)

Two

"You made it!" Jimin cheered from his place in between his boyfriend and Yoongi, who smiled as he held Jihoon's hand. I nodded shyly and sat down next to Jungkook, plastering a smile to my face. "So, a little bird told me Senpai finally noticed you," Jihoon said as he leaned over Yoongi, Jimin and Jungkook. I glared at Yoongi, who laughed loudly. "Don't call him that. But yes, he did. He was just being nice," I protested as I flipped through my sketchbook, but it was soon taken out of my hands. "No, Tae. You said you'd watch the game," Yoongi said as his little boyfriend handed him the book. "I said I'd come just to see Hoseok. Please give it back!" I pleaded and I guess they felt bad because the book was placed in my lap once again.

Our team was warming up closer to home plate, so I could see Hoseok pretty well. He looked so nice in his uniform and every time he practiced swinging, I could see his muscles flex. When he turned around, he searched the crowd and almost instantly found me. A look of gratitude flashed in those pretty amber eyes as he smiled a heart-shaped smile at me. I gave him a tiny smile and hesitant wave as my friends cooed and made me blush in embarrassment. Hoseok seemed to chuckle before he went to start the game.

Jihoon leaned over everyone and raised an eyebrow. "Damn, Hoseok's never done that before. What did you do to make him notice you like that?" he asked and I looked down in embarrassment. "Made a fool of myself," I sighed and he pouted. "Tae, it's alright. We went over this," Jimin said and I nodded without looking up.

The game just started and the crowd was already starting to affect me. Jungkook noticed, though, and after having a quiet discussion with Jimin, he wrapped an arm around me and brought me closer to him. I was so thankful for my friends.

Throughout the game, I flinched as the crowd cheered and yelled and other things that I hated. I buried myself against Jungkook and he rubbed my back the entire time. I really hated loud noises and chaos; I was just too introverted to deal with this type of stuff. And in the dugout, while he was waiting his turn to bat, Hoseok kept glancing curiously at me. Guilt seemed to flash through his eyes every time I flinched and leaned into Jungkook. But it really wasn't his fault at all; it was my childhood that made me this way. As the game wore on and we took the lead, I was seriously considering asking Jimin to drive me home.

But the game ended and, unsurprisingly, we won. Everyone cheered loudly, while all I wanted was to go home. My brothers were coming home tonight and I missed them so much. "Come on, let's go see Hoseok," Jimin said as we all stood up, he and Jungkook pulling me down to the field. I sighed and let them drag me through the crowd of girls and to Hoseok, who was in the dugout, putting up his equipment.

"You did well," Yoongi said as he clapped his friend on the back and handed him a bottle of water. The star player gladly took it and in a matter of seconds, it was gone. He smiled at all of us, his eyes locking with mine and that smirk washing across his face. "Hey, pumpkin," he said sweetly and I thought I was going to pass out. My right hand curled around the hem of my Tigers baseball jersey that matched Hoseok's uniform, number and all. Jimin nudged me and I stuttered out an unsure 'hello', staring down at my grey Vans.

Everyone continued to congratulate Hoseok while I desperately tried to keep myself composed. I really wanted to go home, but my friends didn't seem like they were ready to go home anytime soon, plus I was too shy and nice to say anything. And this was probably the only time my crush would ever speak to me, so I wasn't going to ruin this. But I already felt the hot tears of anxiety on my face as a hand rested on my shoulder.

Hoseok's eyes shone with concern as he lifted my chin to meet his eyes. "You alright?" he asked quietly and I shrugged. "I want to go home," I muttered timidly and I heard a quiet curse from Jimin. "Shit, Tae. I'm sorry," he mumbled as he noticed my discomfort and I only shrugged again. "It's okay. I'm sorry." The hand on my shoulder turned into an arm around my shoulders as I was brought closer to my crush. Yoongi kicked the dirt a little and a guilty expression crossed his face. "We didn't realize... Please don't cry," he mumbled and Jihoon hushed him.

"How about I take you home?" Hoseok offered as he rubbed my shoulder and my eyes widened in shock. Why would the most popular guy in the school want to drive someone like me home? Why would anyone want to spend time with me, even if they didn't have to? He had a life, unlike me. He should go live it and not let me hold him back. But my friends were giving me pleading looks, silently urging me to get to know my crush more and I could never say no to them.

I let out a huff of defeat as I nodded. "Please," I mumbled pitifully and we walked up to the parking lot together. Hoseok's truck was an old 1980s Chevy painted banana-boat yellow. It had a tiny compartment behind the seats in the cab where he put his baseball gear. Before I climbed into the cab, Jungkook gave me a big hug. "Don't forget to breathe. He's a good guy." I nodded and climbed into the old truck.

"You know, Jungkook may look like a bunny, but he's pretty damn scary," he said as we pulled out of the parking lot. I chuckled and stared at my lap. "Why?" Hoseok changed gears and shrugged. "He glared at me before we left. You have really protective friends," he said and I nodded. "Yeah. I do." I could feel his eyes on me and I hated it. I hated eyes on me in general; everyone is always judging. "Please don't stare," I mumbled and I felt his eyes go back to the road. "Sorry. You're just really, really gorgeous," he said as my heart skipped a beat and my cheeks heated up. No one so much as breathed in my general direction, let alone tell me I was mildly attractive.

And this was coming from the captain of the baseball team.

A genuine smile still found its way to my face, though. I hadn't genuinely smiled since Namjoon's graduation, which was a little more than two years ago. "Thanks, but I don't think so," I replied after a while. Hoseok pouted and shifted gears. "Well, you are to me. Don't ever think otherwise, pumpkin," he said determinedly and I internally screamed. No fucking way he just said that. "You didn't seem to enjoy the game," he pointed out a moment later and I felt guilty as I slowly shook my head. "Loud things bother me. Crowds bother me." Hoseok hummed as he turned onto the street before mine. "Yeah, you seem like the quiet type."

He smiled as he shifted gears again. "But that's okay. You're a peaceful type of quiet and I like it." No one's ever said that to me, either. I usually had an extremely unbothered expression, so everyone thought I was an asshole. But not Hoseok. He understood. "Why?" I couldn't help but ask with a frown. He chuckled as he turned onto my street. "Because it's a nice change to the normal chaos. I feel like I can relax around you and it's nice," he repeated and I could only smile wider to myself.

We pulled into my driveway and the twin black Cameros parked there made me nearly scream. My older brother, Seokjin and Namjoon, were home for a visit. Namjoon was a recruiter for the United States Army while Jin was a doctor over in China. My heart raced as Hoseok put his truck in park. "You good?" he asked as I bounced excitedly in my seat. "My brothers are home. I'm sorry I ruined your after-game plans," I mumbled as I calmed down and blushed deeply. He shook his head and made me look at him. "No, don't worry about that. I'm glad we got to talk again. Have a good night, okay?" I nodded, but hesitated as I opened the door.

He tilted his head at me in confusion as I wrote my number on a sticky note, then stuck it to his forehead. Before he could say anything, I got out and all but ran into my house. I was crazy for thinking he would ever text or call, but he was even crazier if he actually did.

yay :)

I'm excited still about this :)

I'm hungry. Happy Days!

- Tae