Hard to Love - (chanbaek)

67

The bleachers were shaking from all the stomps and screams. The cheers were becoming even louder as the game proceeded. The screams gave the boys strength. It made them aware that people were lending them power to win this game... it was thrilling. The game had begun with a fantastic turn. Main Arts Academy was taking the lead as expected, with Baekhyun as the first pitcher. They got to the mid-break with the board shining promising numbers.

Home: 20 Guest: 17

The numbers weren't too far apart, but they were still in the lead. With this mid-break, the players would switch positions and also catch a few breaths. The break also allowed the audience to get up and stretch. They could even get a few more snacks to munch on. Everyone was given time to rest before the game continued.

Baekhyun walked to the opposite team with an extra water in hand. He examined the area spotting the boy with a few bandages around his ankle. Baekhyun winced and approached him with a guilty smile. The first half of the game went well, but that didn't mean no one was injured...

The ball hit against the bat with tremendous speed. It bounced off and went towards second base. Baekhyun positioned himself and jumped, grabbing the ball with his sturdy glove. He ran back to the base, watching the batter go in for a dive.

'Not on my watch!'

Baekhyun lunged to the base stepping on the hard platform before the sliding boy could appear. The batter slipped on top of Baekhyun, making both of them fall over. Luckily Baekhyun was strong enough to put his hands on the floor, preventing him from falling face-first on the field. He turned to the boy hearing a small whine. He grabbed his ankle in pain. It was already turning slightly red, and it would soon begin to swell up and burn.

'Fuck-'

Baekhyun quickly helped the boy up, allowing the younger to lean on him. He guided the hopping male to his section, letting him sit on the bench to rest.

He then bowed to the injured boy and the coach. Even if it wasn't exactly his fault, he still felt slightly guilty. He apologized and helped the boy settle down with some ice and bandages before returning to the game. As an upperclassman... everyone looked up at Baekhyun for his special actions. His kindness and sense of worry gave off the aura of a leader. The younger ones hoped to become like him one day.

Baekhyun handed the injured male a water before greeting the other players. Baekhyun may seem like a brat sometimes, but when it comes to baseball, he always tries to show respect to everyone around. He likes being a team player and hopes that everyone enjoys the game without any issues. Baek turned to the hurt male and sat next to him. He had felt even worse after finding out the boy was a freshman. As a senior and upperclassmen... he has failed.

"I'm sorry for what happened. You looked so excited to play earlier too..." The boy panicked and flared his arms in disagreement. "N-no, no, no! It's really alright! I can use this to help me improve. I dived in too early, and that caused the fall to be even worse. So please don't blame yourself." The shy boy smiled when the senior had released a soft laugh. "Still. I'll buy you ice cream after the game as an apology. No buts." He could already see the boy trying to refuse the kind treatment. Baek looked at the younger and ruffled his hair. He had noticed the resting crowd had returned to their seats. The game was about to start again. He gave the injured boy a reassuring nod and waved goodbye before returning to his own section.

"Baek! You're batting." He grabbed his bat with skillful hands and smirked.

Finally.

Baekhyun has practiced his batting skills for so long, to put them into use was relieving to him. He could finally see if his practicing techniques were working. He walked to the plate with a cheerful smile. He nodded towards the catcher and positioned his body towards the pitcher. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The pitcher felt his breathing halt as he stared into the batter's dark eyes. Baekhyun was no longer in his relaxed state... he had gone into game mode.

The pitcher raised his leg before stomping it against the floor, dust particles rising from the impact. He flung his arm towards the batter with a tricky turn. Baekhyun smiled.

"What a nice throw."

"Miss!"

The older sighed with a proud grin. The team winced as they watched the catcher throw back the ball. Those are some incredible skills...

Fuck, that ball was so fast. It even had a slight turn at the end. We need to work on the teams pitching skills if other groups are throwing like that.

Baek positioned himself again and took a deep breath. He had to concentrate if he wanted to hit that spinning ball. Coordinating where the bat would hit the ball wasn't the tricky part. It was how the ball would react once it was hit. With the spinning twist at the end, it would probably go in the opposite direction, but would that give him more or less time to run to another base? I guess the only way to figure it out is to try. He opened his eyes and averted them to the pitcher once again.

I got this-

The silhouette of a man could be seen under the dimming street light. A scene that looked too familiar to that of a horror film. The shadowy figure stood frozen like a mannequin, his hand holding an object tightly. Baekhyun lost his concentration and focused on the man near the gate. The sudden suspicion of why the man was there or what the man was doing filled his head. He felt the ball rush next to him, the wind shifting due to the twisting speed.

"Miss!"

The team stared at Baekhyun in complete confusion. Why was he missing the ball? When it came to Baek, it didn't matter the speed or turn... he could hit any ball and make it to the other base just in time. So what was the problem now?

Baekhyun paid no attention to the worried crowd. He stared at the silhouette, feeling nothing but fear. The shadowy figure was demonstrating a weird aura. It made Baek uneasy and scared. Something about this person was not settling with the older. The beep sound started again, signaling that the third pitch would be thrown.

Baekhyun didn't care about the ball anymore.

He watched as the man raised the object, pointing it directly to him. It took no time for Baek to realize the object was a gun, the weapon that could cause complete chaos to rise. He knew people would be after him, and he didn't care about getting injured because he knew they wouldn't kill him in the end. The only problem was...

The pitcher was aligned to the batter's position.

Baekhyun dropped the bat and ran to the pitcher. The sense of worry filled his body, making him shiver at the thought of what might happen next. Everyone stared at him with troubled and confused faces. Why was he running towards the pitcher? Did he forget the basic rules of baseball? The sudden action made the crowd dumbfounded, but Baek couldn't care less. He reached out to the pitcher with teary eyes.

"Get away! Move!" The pitcher stared at him bewildered. What was happening? Baekhyun looked at the silhouette one more time and could envision the ominous smirk on their face. He shook his head, wishing they would listen to his begs and pleads. Baekhyun leaped to the pitcher, hoping he could move him in time.

Please... don't do this!

What did he expect? For them to listen?

Not a chance

Bang!

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