Who Says Girls and Baseball Don't Mix?

Chapter Nine: Step Up To The Plate... To Go On A First Date

Jaxon's POV

I stare up at the scoreboard, biting the inside of my cheeks. The red glowing letters beat down on me. Home: 35, Away: 39. Quarter: 4, 0:12. I look to the field and see the Hawks hike the ball. I can't watch. I turn and look at the cheerleaders. They've turned around from doing a cheer and are watching the game. I have tried to stand closest to the cheerleaders so I could see River. She turns and looks at me, giving me a thumbs up and a smile. I smile back right as the coach calls me.

"Hill! Pay attention to the game and not the girls!" he yells. I whip around and watch as Riley intercepts a throw from the opposing team and takes it for a run down the field. He gets ten yards before the end zone before he's tackled.

Our sideline and crowd erupts with deafening cheers as the defense runs in. People slap high fives with Riley. I would've too, but Coach grabs my shoulder right then and pulls me close. "Alright, Hill. We're down by four points, so we need a touchdown to win this. It's always bad luck to lose our first game. Now, run forty forty two. We need this touchdown and Gordon is the best receiver we got." I nod to him, though on the inside I'm sighing. Gordon had a weird reaction when I told the baseball guys that I am going on a date with River after the game tonight. All the other guys congratulated me and slapped my back, as per what we usually do when we get dates with hot girls, but Gordon didn't do any of that. He just kind of stood there, stone faced, and when I asked him if he was okay, he nodded silently and he hasn't talked to me since.

Coach shoves me out onto the field and I jog to the huddle along with the rest of the guys. I take a knee in front of them and look up at the clock. 0:05 Five seconds, one play. This will definitely be interesting. All of the guys stare at me and I suddenly feel the pressure that's being put on me. This is our first game of the season and it's known that if the Twin Lakes Serpents lose their first game, it's all downhill from there. It's a known fact. I clear my throat and take a deep breath. This is a lot of pressure for a junior in high school. I kind wish they would've put in the senior second string, Gary Rollins.

"Alright guys. We just need one touchdown to win this. We can do it. I know we can. We've done it before in the past and we have never lost on our home field. You all know this. We need to keep up that tradition!"

"Let's go," Gordon says, exasperated.

I sigh and say, "Alright. Forty forty two, on two, on two."

Gordon goes from cocky to nervous in a second flat. He walks away from the huddle and I can see his hands shaking a little bit. There's equal amount of stress on us now. I notice that he looks to the cheerleaders and I notice River smiling and waving at him. He gives a little wave back and a small bit of jealousy stabs at my stomach.

She's going on a date with me. She's going on a date with me. I need that jealousy to go away. I walk up behind Kellen, our center, and I stare the defensive line down. I frown when I see one of them looking toward the cheerleaders on our side.

"Green thirty five! Green thirty five! Hut, hike!" The play starts as Kellen passes me the ball. I fall back, relying on the offensive line to hold back the defensive. One guy manages to get around and I dodge him quickly. I look for Gordon, who is running down the end zone sideline with a guy tailing him. He looks to me and I chuck the ball toward him.

I'm tackled by a guy, but he immediately rolls off of me and helps me up. He doesn't say anything as he runs off. Our crowd is yelling and cheering like maniacs. I look and see Gordon holding the football in the end zone. He smiles at me before suddenly, the guy that had been chasing him tackles him for no reason.

Gordon falls and the referee blows his whistle again as the guy steps on Gordon's chest. Hard. He walks away, slapping high fives with a friend. He shouldn't have done that. The baseball guys that had been on the field charge him and a fight breaks out. I run over to try and break it up, but Riley shoves me away, screaming at me, "This isn't your fight kid! Go check on Gordon!" He ducks as someone swings at him.