Joe Mazzello Imagines

Calm Down - Pat Murray

A/N So, I've finally done a Undrafted imagine, the only problem is the only baseball I really know is what I learnt from High School Musical 2, so I know very little. Please correct me if I got anything wrong, and enjoy reading!

"And you're out!" The ref shouts and Pat immediately swings around and starts hitting himself in the head with the baseball bat. I stare wide eyed at my friend in shock. Thank fuck he's wearing a bloody helmet, he's really hitting hard. He starts screaming and throws the bat at the fence where his team is standing, immediately making them back off. Pat then stomps over to the field before stopping, crouching down and screaming into his hands.

All I can do is watch from the side-lines as Pat has a public breakdown. I can definitely tell he's upset. I mean, anyone can tell just by looking at him, but I can also tell its about something more than just striking out. I always know how passionate, even over passionate he can be about baseball games, and maybe this is one of those cases, but there is only one way to find out. I need to talk to the drama queen.

"Pat!" I shout, but he doesn't seem to hear. "Pat!" That bugger isn't that far away from me, he should be able to hear me. "Patrick Murray!" I almost scream and he finally spins around to look at me. "Get your ass over here."

"Why should I? It sounds like I'm in trouble." He says, slowly coming over anyway.

"No, your not. I just needed to get you over here somehow. It seems you only answer to anger." He makes his way in front of me, brooding.

"Well, you could have said it in a kinder way. He makes his way in front of me, brooding.

"You wish there, buddy." I laugh, albeit a little fake. He starts grumbling under his breath and closing his hands into a fist, and I quickly take action. "Pat, you need to breathe."

"I am breathing," he snaps and I roll my eyes.

"I mean deep breaths." He doesn't listen to me, so I cup his face in my hands. "Breathe with me, okay? Deep breath in..." We breathe in slowly together. "And out..." And we breathe out together. We do this a couple more times, our eyes not leaving one another, until I can tell he is calm once more. "Good." I say quietly and I realize I'm still holding his face, so I quickly drop my hands, giving him a little fright in the process. I cough awkwardly, clearing my throat before I softly say; "Now, do you want to tell me what that was all about?"

"What was what all about?" Really Pat? Playing ignorant?

"That breakdown you just had on display. I know it isn't just about you striking out." Pat sighs in defeat and leans against the fence separating us. 

"It's just, nobody gets what they deserve, good or bad. Maz deserved to get drafted. He's the best player of all of us, and if he can't get drafted, we sure as shit can't." I hate seeing Pat like this. So hopeless, so lost.

"Hey, it's okay Pat." I say, placing my hand on his. "You guys are all smart. Well, I don't know about Barone, but the rest of you are smart enough to sort something out. Just try not to think about all that just now. Try and enjoy the game." He stands there, staring at me for a moment, before he nods.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Mmm. Now, get back to your team. They look like they're in a great need of a pep talk."

"Okay, see-ya Y/N/N." Pat awkwardly pats my shoulder before he turns and leaves back to his team mates. 

"Yeah, see ya." I sigh. Great. This is like pure torture. It's always pure torture being around him. I'm like one of those stereotypical stories of the girl who falls in love with her best friend, but doesn't do anything about it. I just don't want to ruin what we have, even if it means hurting myself in the process. I would rather have a friendship than nothing.

After another hour of the game, two of our players have been arrested for fighting members of the other team, who put another member of our team into the hospital, and if we don't win this round, then we lose the entire game. After all our team has been through in just one game, we deserve to bloody win.

With one man at first base, it's Pat's turn to bat. I grip my hands together in nervous anticipation. Pat can do it. I  know he can. However, when the first ball comes flying at him, he swings and misses. "Strike One!" the ref shouts. Pat swears at himself, clearly angry before getting ready for his second chance. Once again, he swings and misses. "Strike two." He moves away from the base to release his frustration with a fluent string of curse words. He spins around angrily and his eyes lock onto mine. I give him a quick smile and thumbs up, making him let out a small sigh, relaxing a little. He moves back into position and I clasp my hands together again in a nervous prayer. The ball comes flying at him and with concentration etched on his face, he swings and he hits the ball!

He looks astonished. "Run!" I scream, and he quickly does just that, laughing as he makes it to second base. Once he reaches second base, he starts jumping and cheering and, while he does look silly, I can't help but cheer along with him.

But when Maz walks onto the pitch, it all falls silent once again. It's up to him now. If he allows the other two guys to get back to home base, then we've won the game. Tension is filled in the air as the crowd hugs one another in anticipation as he takes his position. The ball comes flying, and I hold my breath as he swings and hits the ball. They all start running and soon Pat crosses the last bass. Screams erupt from the field and crowd. I start jumping up and down in excitement. They won. They actually won!

I quickly make my way onto the field with the crowd to congratulate the boys, and I jump into the arms of Pat. He laughs and wraps his arms around my waist securely, lifting me up and spinning me around. I laugh joyously, sharing in his enthusiasm.

"You did it!" I loudly say into his ear. "You won the game!" He put me down and before I know what he's doing, he grabs my face and kisses me. But just as quickly as his lips connect to mine, they leave. He looks at me, eyes wide as if he's in shock for what he just did, his face turning incredibly red. That's the only indicator that what just happened really did happen and it wasn't just my imagination. My eyes go wide in shock too.

"I-I-uh-I.." He stutters but I quickly lean up and kiss him on the lips. He tenses up in shock before he relaxes into the kiss and wraps his arms back tightly around my waist, bringing me as close to him as our bodies can allow. Wolf whistles and cheering erupt from around us, which we try and ignore. When we finally break apart after needing to breathe, I look up at him with a shy smile wondering what the hell is going to happen next. I mean, we just ruined many years of friendship didn't we? But, maybe that doesn't matter.

"Looks like you've finally got to first base, huh, Pat."

"Shut the fuck up, Barone."