My Own Worst Enemy

Feisty

So a few things...

1) I didn't expect people to actually read this and want an update! I'll definitely try to update this more often now that I know people are reading. It's a great method of self care haha

2) So the series that I'm referencing in this work was actually while Yeli was on the DL this season, so it's a bit of suspension of disbelief here!

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Of course I didn't say no. I'm not a dumbass.

"I'd love to. I was going to be DD but I just have to make sure my friend Kaitlin doesn't drink," I say, mostly to myself.

"You're a good friend," he hums, flashing that trademark smile. "Travis is here. Let me get your number?" He asks.

I was taken aback, truly. My heart pounded and I nodded, knowing that I'd be dumb not to take this opportunity. I took his phone and smiled warmly.

"What?" He asked, brow furrowing.

"This picture with your mom. It's adorable," she smiled. Gracie's bright eyes were sparkling.

"My mother is amazing. Raised the three of us on her own," he said, voice soft.

"My mom did the same. We really struggled for most of my life. I'm..." Grace took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "I'm so proud of her."

Christian melted, wrapping Grace into a hug. "Mom's are amazing. I'm happy that you're here and that you have a mom that worked hard."

Grace grinned, wiping her eyes. She took Christian's phone and typed in her number and her name. 414-555-7379 - Gracie.

Click. Shutter. Click.

"Fuck!" Christian groaned. "Move move move we have to go," he rushed, guiding Grace in front of him.

——

Grace was on the verge of another anxiety attack by the time they made it to Travis Shaw's SUV.

"Dude? What's going on? Is she okay?" Travis asked, quickly pulling away.

"Yeah she is. We got caught by paps and I think I made her nervous. Take her to the park and we'll figure it out from there okay?" He said, breathing quickly as he put the seatbelt on the shell-shocked woman.

Travis sped to Miller Park, nervously looking back towards his teammate.

Five minutes into the drive, Grace calmed down. "Thank you," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for. Are you okay?" He asked quietly. He seemed appeased when I nodded, running a hand through my hair.

Good god I probably look like a disaster.

We got to Miller park after about 20 minutes and I got out, shivering slightly. It was April - but in Wisconsin that doesn't mean much. The temperature was hovering around 30 and all Grace had worn on the plane was a sweatshirt and leggings.

"I am still not used to this," a voice whined from behind her, causing the woman to chuckle.

"This is actually pretty warm. There was a period of time a few weeks ago where it didn't get above 10 for a like a week in the Cities."

Christian pouted, causing Travis to laugh hysterically. "SoCal boy who played in Miami can't take a chilly day?"

"Excuse me. There is snow on the ground and it is April. That is cold." Christian scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest (s/o if you know where this is from). The petulance caused Gracie to snort out a laugh, covering her mouth from sheer embarrassment.

"Oh my god." Travis laughed. "Just go inside you wimp. The strong folk here will walk in like normal people."

Gracie laughed and looked over at Christian, taken back by the look on his face. "Dude we're joking. It is a little cold, okay?" She tried to get to him, causing Christian to blink a bit.

"Oh yeah," he laughed a bit, still looking intensely at Gracie causing her to blush.

Travis looked on and sighed, slapping him on the back of the head. "C'mon lover boy." He smirked snapping Christian out of it. "You're explaining the stray to Couns."

"She's not a stray, Shaw." Christian rolled his eyes, laying his hand on Gracie's back. "Let's go inside. I won't be able to hang out much, but at least you'll be warm." He said softly, looking down at her hands but back up quickly.

Gracie certainly noticed the slip, but ignored it, following his lead inside. "Are you sure it's okay for me to be here? I can just call an Uber home and come back at game time. It's not really a big deal."

"You're staying." Christian interrupted. "If anyone has an issue with you staying, which they won't, then they can talk to me, okay?"

"Okay okay. I'll stay." She said softly, quickly squeezing his hand then looking away when she realized what she did. She looked over with wide eyes when he didn't pull away instantly and instead linked their fingers.

Christian didn't look over, just holding her hand as they went inside. They went to the clubhouse, Christian finding her a quiet place and handing her a bottle of water.

"Don't let the guys intimidate you. Seeing a girl in here is like seeing a UFO, apparently. If you need anything and can't see me, just text me. Okay?" He said softly, looking into her blue-green eyes. He smiled when Gracie nodded, getting up.

Gracie thought this was the perfect opportunity to go through her notifications and text Kaitlin the update, calming down dramatically by the time someone sat across from her.

"Hello there." Gracie looked over, seeing a grinning Jacob Barnes. The way he raised his eyebrow and licked his lips made her skin crawl.

"Um... hi," she said softly, trying to angle her body away from her. The pitcher ignored her body language and went to grab her hand.

"What's a beautiful lady like you doin here all alone?" The smirk on his face caused her to look around, eyes locking with a pissed off Christian, storming over.

"Hands off, Barnes." The force in his voice shocked both of them and Barnes backed off, hands off.

"Didn't know she was yours man." He remarked as he left, all eyes on them now.

"Are you-"

"I'm okay." Gracie said just as Christian went to ask. "I'm okay." Her tone softened as Christian's eyes did and she reached out to squeeze his hand.

"I'm sorry. I should've kept a better eye on you."

"Hey. I've gotten through a year and a half of school fending for myself. And there's way more people there, and worse has happened. I can handle this." Gracie didn't expect to sound so defensive, but she really didn't need a protector. She looked over at Christian, thinking she offended him, but was surprised to see that he was smiling. "What?"

"Feisty. I like it." The outfielder looked at their hands. "They know to stay away now, though. I think I scared Barnes. I just... no man should lay a hand on a woman if they don't want that. It's gross." The disgust was clear on his face and it made Gracie smile.

"I agree. I promise that I'm okay, though. Seriously." She assured him, winking. "Get to work Yeli." Her voice was teasing, but warm.

"Ma'am yes ma'am." He teased back, giving a mock salute and going back and changing into his workout gear.

"Come out and watch BP. Maybe you'll be my good luck charm." Christian came back after a while, smirking.

Gracie smiled and closed her laptop. "How much luck does a superstar really need?" She was joking of course, but seriously. If you would've told her at 4:15 when she left her apartment this morning, that THIS would be her day? Gracie would've just responded with a scoff and turned her music up higher.

Instead, she's walking onto the field of Miller Park with Christian Yelich. And he called her feisty, just pinch her now.