Baseball (VHope)

Three

I tried so hard not to cry as I found my brothers sitting in the kitchen. They were laughing over beers like they always did when they came home to visit. Namjoon was still in his uniform, but he had grown his hair out again; it was no longer in a buzz-cut. Jin was simply in casual clothes as he took a sip of his beer. God, I missed them so much it wasn't even funny.

"Tae!" Namjoon cheered and held his arm out for me, pulling me in for a hug. I held in a sob as he smashed me to his chest and kissed the top of my head. This was the first time I saw him since he left for America. "Joonie, my turn for a hug," Jin pouted and Namjoon unwillingly let me go, only for me to sob into Jin's shoulder as he held me tight. His wide shoulders were always the best to fall asleep on and I remember all the times I had fallen asleep on them when I was little. "Oh, you've grown so much, baby!" he cooed and I nuzzled his shoulder. "I missed you, hyungs," I cried and they both tried their best to hush me.

This was the first time in a long time I happily cried. My brothers were the ones who really took care of me and made sure I was happy. They mean the world to me.

Jin wiped my tears and Namjoon patted my back. "Where have you been?" he asked and I shrugged. "Hoseok invited me to the baseball game, so I went," I muttered and they looked at me with looks of disbelief. "Hoseok? Jung Hoseok, the captain of the baseball team?" Namjoon asked and I nodded in confirmation. "He drove me home, actually." Jin raised his eyebrow as he rubbed my shoulder. "This is the same boy you've been crushing on since you started high school?" I nodded again.

My brothers shared a look and immediately dragged me upstairs to my room. Every time there was something important to talk about, we congregated in my room, since it was the biggest. Knowing me and my nature, this was deemed important and we needed to talk about this. We all sat down on my bed in a triangle, both of them looking at me like concerned parents. "First, let's see them," Namjoon said gently as he held his hands out for me. I sighed and rolled my sleeves up, then placed my wrists in his hands like he wanted. The scars and cuts were no thicker than a strand of thread, no longer than three or four centimeters, but they were deep. "You're getting better, baby. That's good," Jin said gently.

Once my sleeves were rolled back down, smiles washed across their faces. "So, your crush drove you home?" Jin asked and I blushed. "It was only my second time talking to him." Namjoon crossed his arms and leaned back against the pillows. "Spill." And I couldn't say no, so I told them everything that happened between me and Hoseok so far. "And he calls me p-pumpkin," I tacked onto the explanation, face like a tomato. They smiled knowingly at me. "Oh, he's definitely interested in you, Tae. Does he call anyone else nicknames? Nope. Only you. That's pretty damn sweet," Namjoon said and Jin nodded in agreement. "True. And he likes your company. That's kind of a big clue that he's interested."

I curled in on myself. "Maybe, but I don't think I'm going to see him again. He's pretty much a god and I'm just - "

"I'll tell you what you are, Taehyung. You're a sweet, smart, tall quiet boy who was constructed by the gods themselves. You're a Kim and nothing gets in the way of our goals. If you really like this boy, go get him!" Namjoon declared and I shook my head. "Hyungs, I... I just can't," I whined and Jin shook his head. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but Namjoon's right. At least just go watch him practice. It'll be okay, I promise," he said and I took a deep breath. "Okay. I can do that," I breathed out and my brothers grinned and hugged me.

"We're proud of you, Tae." They were the only ones who ever said that to me and meant it.

"Hey! Kim Taehyung, right?" Chanyeol said as I sat next to him in the stands. I nodded and pulled my earbuds from my bag, as well as my sketching utensils. He beamed at me and said, "Thought so. Baek told me that you're friends with Hoseok." I shook my head as I flipped to a blank page. "Not exactly. His friends are also mine. They want me to start talking to him and spend time with him more," I mumbled and he nodded with a hum. "Ah, I see. Well, what better place to see him, right?" he laughed and I nodded in agreement.

After the baseball team completed their warm-ups, two boys I vaguely recognized as Hoseok and Baekhyun came up to the fence. "Hey, Babe. Hey, Hoseok," Chanyeol shouted as he waved. Hoseok looked at me and smirked. "Hey, pumpkin," he drawled and chuckled as I blushed. "Hi," I stuttered and he tilted his head. "Watching today?" he asked and I nodded, trying my best to suppress my blush. Holy shit. "May I drive you home?" he offered and Baekhyun, as well as a few other players I hadn't noticed joined them, started catcalling. And I hated it so much.

My frown caused Hoseok to pout and yell at everyone to go away, but I shook my head. "No thanks," I muttered and put my earbuds back in. I couldn't help but notice how disappointed he seemed as he walked away to continue practice. Chanyeol nudged me and I took out an earbud to hear him. "Please just wait for him after practice, okay? He didn't mean for that to happen," he said and I sighed as I nodded.

When everyone left, I slowly made my way up to Hoseok's truck. He had a frown on his face as he threw his bag behind the cab seats, but looked up when I cleared my throat. "I, um... I lied. I'm sorry. I'd like to take you up on that offer of a ride home," I stuttered and he smiled gently. "It's alright, pumpkin. They pissed me off, too. If it makes you feel any better, I'm making them run stadiums after practice on Thursday," he said and I laughed lightly as I climbed into his truck.

We were quiet as he drove me home. There was nothing disturbing us but the sound of the wheels on the road. "Again, I'm sorry about the guys. They're a little much when it comes to me... Yeah," he sighed and changed gears. I shrugged and looked out the window. "It's fine. I just don't really like attention." He nodded and sent me a sideways smile. "But you like my attention, right?" he teased and I blushed. "When it's just us, yeah." I didn't mean to say that, but I didn't really regret it when a relieved kind of smile washed across his face.

"Good enough for me. I like it when it's just us, too," he admitted shyly and changed the gears. A somewhat comfortable silence fell upon us as I watched him drive. Hoseok looked so peaceful and happy as he watched the road and I silently wished I could be that happy. He caught me staring and chuckled as his cheeks turned pink. "What?" he whined and I shook my head. "Nothing, Hoseok. Um, my brothers want to meet you, but... Save that for later, I guess," I mumbled as he pulled into my driveway.

Before I could get out of the truck, Hoseok rested a hand on my shoulder and I looked to him. "Would you... Would you like to go on a date after school tomorrow?" he sighed out and my eyes widened and my heartbeat sped up. No way this was happening. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest as I offered him a smile. "I'd love to."