Baseball (VHope)

Four

The art teacher always let me play music over the surround-sound speakers in her room after school. She was Jungkook's mother, who had known me since I was four, which was most likely the reason she even allowed me to in the first place. I hummed along to I Wanna Be Free by the Monkees as I started to color in my abstract with oil pastels while Mrs Jeon organized the paints across the room. My abstract was a depiction of a Bengal tiger, our school's mascot. She, as well as the head coaches, asked me to do it for the sports hall; they wanted an abstract of our mascot as a mural in the sports hall and I was elected to do it.

I was working quietly on the rough draft when we heard a knock on the door, which scared me out of my zone. "Hello?" Mrs Jeon called and Hoseok stepped through the doorway, timid smile on his face. When his eyes met mine, his smile turned genuine and I blushed slightly. "Hey," he said kindly and I smiled a small smile, only looking away to continue my work. Hoseok's footsteps came closer until they stopped right beside me, his eyes piercing my right side. "Hey, Hoseok. Just let me finish this up, okay?" I muttered as I colored in a small section with a deep blue oil pastel and tried to control my racing heart at the same time. Mrs Jeon turned around and scrunched her nose at Hoseok; exactly what Jungkook would do when he would tease us about something. "You're out of your zone, huh, Hoseok?" she teased and he nodded sheepishly while I cleaned everything up.

"I'm just here for - " He stopped when his gaze shifted to my wrists and his smile faltered. I forgot I was wearing a short-sleeve t-shirt and my dark-denim overalls instead of my usual hoodie and jeans. I gathered my things in a hurry, simply wiping the excess pastel from my hands on my overalls. He tried his best to give me a genuine smile as he held a hand out for me, which I hesitantly took. "Where are we going?" I mumbled as we walked out to his truck. "Do you like coffee?" he asked and I shook my head. "No, but I like tea," I replied sheepishly, earning a chuckle. "Alright. So my café date isn't a complete flop," he said as we hopped into his truck and pulled out of the parking lot.

The café was barely crowded and very quiet, save for the sound of baristas brewing coffee and the jazz music playing softly overhead. I deeply appreciated this. Overall, it was really nice and I'd be lying if I said this wasn't a good idea for a date on Hoseok's part. "What will it be today, Hoseok?" the barista asked as we made our way to the counter. He was pretty attractive; blonde hair that fell in his face, skinny with a pointed face. "Hey, Yesung. How about a pineapple-black iced tea and an iced caramel latte?" Hoseok asked as he took out his wallet to pay. Yesung looked to me, then back to Hoseok with a grin on his face. "Settling down, Mr Hot-Shot-Baseball-Star?" he jested and Hoseok rolled his eyes as he told me to go find a seat.

I took a seat at the table in the far corner and turned to a blank page in my sketchbook. Pencil in hand, I set to work sketching Hoseok's hands. For some reason, they had always fascinated me; probably because they were a little smaller than my own, but his fingers were double-jointed. They were still very beautiful, especially when he wore the thin silver bands he had on his fingers then. I was so immersed in drawing that I didn't realize he had come over with our drinks. "Earth to Taehyung," he joked as he set my tea down in front of me before taking his own seat across from me. I blushed and put the drawing away for now.

Hoseok laughed at my embarrassed blush as he took a sip of his coffee. "So, how was your day?" he asked me and I shrugged. "It was alright. Just a day. What about you?" He hummed and nodded his head a little. "Pretty okay. Better now," he winked and I tilted my head in confusion. "Why?" He smiled and his cute cheeks flushed pink as he reached across the table to hold my hand. "Because I'm with you. I already told you, I like your company." His fingers traced the cuts on my wrist as he frowned slightly at them.

In all honesty, it felt really nice to feel his gentle caresses and a small grin washed across my face for a second. "I haven't done it in a while, so don't worry," I mumbled. He laced his fingers with mine and squeezed for a second before he brought his hand back to his person and I found myself missing the contact. "Okay," he mumbled and I could tell he didn't believe me by the look in his eyes. I nudged him with his foot so our eyes would meet once again. "Believe me. Everything's alright," I said and he smiled.

"... And he's the reason I hate roller coasters." We had been sitting in the café for a little more than an hour and a half. I mainly listened as Hoseok rambled on about baseball, his old friends and other things while I sketched. And boy could he talk. He hadn't stopped talking for fifty minutes. Still, it was nice to hear how excited he got over little memories as he talked about them. This one was definitely a cutie. But the more he talked, the more I learned about him. It was nice to hear about his first family dog all the way to his favorite color. The more I learned, the more my crush worsened.

But then he stopped talking and I looked up to find his eyes on my sketch. A smile was plastered onto his face as he realized what it was and I blushed a little. "Is this what you first noticed about me?" he chuckled and I shook my head sheepishly. "Not your hands. They just fit really well in mine and... They're nice." You creep. You'll scare him off and he won't talk to you again. Dumbass. Hoseok smiled and his cheeks flushed pink. "Thanks, pumpkin. Your hands are really nice to hold, too. They're bigger than mine," he said quietly and I huffed out a laugh as I stared down at my own hands. "Yeah..."

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I checked it to find a message from Namjoon. He and Jin wanted to meet Hoseok. I shook off my nerves and looked back to my date, who looked at me expectantly. "Um, my brothers want to meet you tonight," I stuttered and he nodded as he thought for a second. "That's fine. I'd like that," he said and we stood up to go back to his truck. When we walked through the parking lot, I held his hand and he looked at me for a second. I blushed and shook my head. "Sorry. Habit," I mumbled and he squeezed my hand in reassurance. "That's just fine, pumpkin. No harm done," he replied.

We spent the ride home in a comfortable silence until we pulled into my driveway, where I could see Jin and Namjoon waiting for us on the front porch.