Who Says Girls and Baseball Don't Mix?

Chapter Six: Step Up To The Plate.... And Intervene!

River's POV

I stare in horror as Jaxon takes a swing at Gordon. I have to do something. I have to intervene some how. A group is starting to form around the fighting boys. Going off of impulse, I run into the middle of the ground and hold up my hands, screaming, "FREEZE!"

All of the guys stop, frozen. Jaxon's shirt is balled up in the cheater's fist and Gordon is clutching one of the other guys' shoulders, preparing to hit him. The fifth guy is preparing to kick Jaxon right in the groin. Everyone is staring at me. Brittany is staring at me also and I glare at her. She frowns and looks away. I sigh and grab both Jaxon's and Gordon's wrists, pulling them out of the group. 

Everyone boos me, but I ignore them. I was the fight breaker upper back in New York at my old school. I didn't care. I hate it when people fight, even though I do it with my older brother all the time. I yank the two boys out into the sidewalk and throw them out in front of me. I shove them forward to where we're blocked by a few trees so the audience can't see us. 

"What in the hell is wrong with you two?" I yell at them. Jaxon looks down, ashamed, but Gordon keeps eye contact with me. He looks furious and his shirt pulls taunt over the top of his musclar shoulders, biceps and chest. I frown at him and continue. "You two are teammates! You should be looking out for each other, not fighting one another! I thought you were supposed to be as close as brothers. That's what teammates are, aren't they? Back in New York..."

"Enough!" Gordon yells at me. I freeze, a cold chill running down my spine at his tone of voice. Jaxon looks between him and me. We both stare each other down and Gordon snaps, "This isn't New York, buttercup. This is Idaho. We do things a little differently in the west than you snooty little rich kids do in the east. We don't have people feed us on gold platters and we don't have nice cars. We have trucks and we live off the land. And though we may be teammates, we still fight each other. Half those kids hated Adrian and I know a lot of them dislike me. We are not brothers, we do not fight for each other and we do not stand up for one another. Get your head out of that pretty little cloud of yours and welcome to the real world." 

Gordon storms off, leaving me standing there open mouthed and confused. I watch him rush down the sidewalk and disappear over the hill leading down to the house. I feel as though I have been physically slapped across the face. No one has even excused me of being a snooty rich kid before. Sure, my family makes more than the average family, but no one has even told me that I act snooty. I keep staring in the direction that Gordon has disappeared in, even as Jaxon walks over. 

"I'm sorry about Gordon, River," he says, standing awkwardly next to him. I blink and look up at him. "He's just hurt because he thought Brittany loved him and when he saw her kissing that other guy a half an hour ago, he kind of lost it and stormed off. I guess seeing them twice in a row really pushed him over the edge."

"I guess." I murmur.

He rubs the back of his neck self consciously. "Anyways, the girl that you saw me with-"

I turn and face him this time with a very fake smile plastered across my face. Really, underneath that mask of a smile, I'm trying to keep from crying at Gordon's harsh words. "Jeez, Jaxon. Didn't you see my smile? I'm fine with it. You and I are friends. We aren't dating and we're just going to the dance as friends." I feel the tears start to form at the edge of my eyes. He looks at me closely and I look at the ground. He reaches out for me, but I move away from him. "Please don't. I need to go." 

I walk away from him and hurry away. I peek over my shoulder at Jaxon, who looks stunned. He looks sad and turns to walk back to the party. I pause where I am, frowning and sniffing as the tears start to fall over my face. This has been the worst day ever. First Tony, now Gordon... I'm so stressed and worn out from this day that I just want to go home, throw myself onto my bed, and sob into the pillow.