From The Other Side

28. taunt

TWENTY EIGHT
taunt

Thursday, April 17th

Isaiah felt as if there were dozens of invisible bugs crawling across his skin. The game was going to start in the next ten minutes, and while he waited for Steve to get his things ready, Isaiah was staring at the other team. Lakewood: the cause of the antsy feeling he was getting.

He recognized a few of the last names. August had mentioned them the other day, and now Isaiah was seeking them out. He spotted the Jackson guy—from all the equipment he was pulling on, he appeared to be a catcher. Kai, who August had claimed was a decent guy, but Isaiah begged to differ. He hadn't help August when he needed it most, so the kid was on his fuck you list. The whole team was, really.

The main person he was trying to find was Jay. August said he'd been kicked off the team, but he didn't know why, only that it was apparently his fault. Sarcasm laced his words like poison. Isaiah wanted to see this guy—wanted to see who'd started everything. And who'd ended it.

"You look like an angry dog," Steve commented once he'd caught up to him. He smacked him on the back, a friendly gesture, but Isaiah could sense the underlying message. Get your shit together, loser.

Isaiah shrugged his hand off. "Thanks."

Steve raised an eyebrow, trying to see exactly who Isaiah was looking at. "I don't know what happened," he said, shaking his head, "but you can't worry about that right now. Wait until after the game."

"Are you encouraging me to fight one of them?"

"Isaiah, what the fuck? No."

"I think you are."

"Oh my God," Steve muttered, adjusting the baseball cap on his head. "August is rubbing off on you, and it's a curse."

Isaiah chuckled at Steve's response and forced himself to ignore the other team. He focused on warming up with his own teammates, and soon enough, all that was on his mind was winning the game. He didn't care if they lost the ones after—this one was the one that mattered the most to him.

Isaiah's team was batting first. Alex was up to bat, warming up his arms and his swings nearby. And when he got to the plate, Lakewood was beyond annoying. They hollered and shouted random things to try and distract Alex, and Isaiah found himself glaring at the dugout across the field. Those were the worst kind of players, in his opinion. Loud, immature, and irritating.

"Fuck," Marcus grumbled from behind. "They're one of those teams." Isaiah turned to see him shaking his head in disbelief, a frown playing at his lips. "I hate them already."

Ashton whistled lowly. "Hate's a strong word, buddy," he said, clicking his tongue in faux disappointment.

"Hey, Ash," Steve stated, causing the messy haired boy to look up at him curiously. He was smiling, but then it dropped when Steve continued with, "I hate you."

Ashton slumped, crossed his arms against his chest, looking upset. "Steve, you're so mean to me," he complained, scuffing the soles of his cleats against the ground. "All I do is love you, and this is the treatment you give me. Isaiah, Marcus, do y'all love me?"