We Come Alive 5

Playoff Game Three

Friday afternoon, the twenty baseball players traveled an hour for their third playoff game along with their two coaches and trainer. When most of the boys were in the dugout, Clover was standing in the grass with Kiara who was fixing her uniform just right in front of the bleachers almost filled with their friends and families.

"So that's the famous Baylor Santos?" Kiara asked, watching Baylor warm up with the catcher just a few yards away from them. "He seems nicer than I originally imagined. Cuter too."

Clover shook her head laughing. "He's a great guy. We're going to prom together, too. He asked me."

"I know!" Kiara smiled, cooing at Clover's smile. "You two seem like good friends. What's the problem with you two going to prom together?"

Clover shrugged her shoulders, putting her hat over her braided hair. "Nothing. I just... he said that I'm cold."

"You are." Kiara agreed, looking over the girl half her age.

Clover played with her fingers nervously. "And he says I need a new look."

Kiara looked over Clover. She always resorted back to her athletic attire and never really changed her hair and never wore makeup. "...You do." She finally spoke. "We can work on that."

Meanwhile inside the dugout, Ethan was hopping on his good foot to get pass everyone else and over to Ricky who was sitting down on the dugout bench. He didn't even bother to greet Andrew who was talking with Jacob and Stephen since he was around all the time.

"So you and Lucky Charms are finally back together? You might want to get searching for her Christmas gift now. Once she hits college, she's gonna have more expensive taste."

Ricky just chuckled and continued to look at his phone that was in his hand. Ethan flopped down on the bench and leaned his arms on the back of it.

"What'd she get you for Christmas last time she got you a gift? You know, when she did get you one?" Ethan wondered.

Ricky looked at Ethan with an emotionless expression then cracked a smile seeing the wonder in Ethan's eyes. "She's never given me a Christmas gift."

Ethan looked at his close friend in pure shock while all conversations around them started to die down. "What?! She's never given you a Christmas gift?! You're my boy and all, but she may not love you."

Ricky had to laugh out loud. "I'm pretty sure she loves me, Eth."

"Whens the last time she told you she loved you?" The Spanish boy asked with a skeptical look.

"Around forty minutes ago." Ricky chuckled. "Would you give me a Christmas gift?"

"Yeah!" Ethan said in a duh tone. "I've given you plenty of Christmas gifts."

Ricky shook his head, laughing. "No, you haven't. You've never given me a Christmas gift. No one has."

Jose walked past them to get his mitt and shook his head at his best friend. "You can't be serious right now, Ethan. Are you dumb or something?"

Ethan ignored Jose and kept staring at a laughing Ricky. "Your life is sadder than we thought. None in your entire life?"

Diego clapped a hand on Ethan's shoulder. "Have you ever given Stephen a Christmas gift?"

Ethan frowned. "No! He's Jewis—" Ethan gasped loudly making everyone in the dugout crack up laughing. "Oh shit." He said just barely over a whisper. "You're Muslim. I forgot."

Ricky nodded his head understanding. "It's alright. You probably don't remember anything, nowadays."

Ethan looked around at his close friends and realized that he never really thought about their backgrounds that he knew he probably should know. "Ricky's Muslim, Jose's Catholic, Diego's...." Ethan trailed off with his finger pointed at Diego.