Neo's POV:
"STRIKE! Batter out."
Okay. Lynn's out too. She was our 5th batter I guess. I see no hope of winning anymore. I'm not really focusing on the match anymore though. I don't know, I was lost in my own thoughts. At one point I felt like throwing away the bouquet of flowers in the trashcan and go back home. But somehow that upset face of Lynn which rarely shows any kind of emotions held me back. I don't know what I got in this girl but it sure is something really complicated. I mean she is just happens to be my best man's girlfriend, right? There's nothing more. Or maybe my overcare is overworking overtime now. Sigh! Logan always tells me I seem to overcare a bit too much.
Wait.....am I crying?
Oh nevermind, it's raining. I feel dumb. Way too much dumb. Oh shit, rain! What happened to the match? It ended? Why are they looking sad? Wait, what's even the score? Hmm I see they are 1 run behind...Wait, THEY ARE 1 RUN BEHIND!? THEY LOST? Oh my God, I'm feeling guilty now for not paying attention to match. Ugh! Why am I the one getting worked out when I myself said that there is no hope of winning. My self consciousness works too slow.
I run towards the field across the stadium. There's bro consoling his teammates
"Sorry guys I wasn't a good captain." Logan says dramatically fake-crying.
"Hey hey Captain don't say that."
"It's not like that was our last match."
"Yeah Captain! Cheer up."
"It was just a friendly match anyways."
Haha I see. More like he is being consoled.
"Totally Captain. You let the juniors play in this match mostly. So of course it was a given that it would be pretty much messed up." Lynn says patting Logan's shoulder.
"Yeah those juniors are totally at fault here."
"I know right. We lost because of them."
"AHEM! Stop being petty and blame your junior because of your lose. Admit that opponents were just stronger and practice harder." Logan sincerely scolds them.
"Sorry, Captain." Some of my classmates and seniors apologize.
He is doing his job as a Captain just fine, isn't he? I feel a bit proud.
"Sorry Captain, we couldnt live upto your expectation." Some of the juniors apologized. Maybe they are feeling guilty for whatever shits those guys blamed on them.
"NO! Who said? Y'all did a great job! I'll talk to our manager to have a special treat just for the great match you guys showed me. Let's go?" Logan said ruffling their hair.
"Yeahhhh!!!! Thanks Captain." Everyone cheers together.
A smile curves on my face. They didn't notice me I guess. I had flowers in my hand which might bother them. So I was observing from a blind spot. Wait...a minute. Where's Lynn? Bruh she left already? Is she trying to avoid me or something? The exit is just beside it. I'm drenched in rain, I don't even have umbrella. I ran towards the exit and get out of the Stadium but I don't see Lynn anywhere. Suddenly a hand holding a black handkerchief shows up from behind.
"I was waiting for you."
"You were? I was looking for you though." I take the handkerchief.
"You were? I was in that corner over there."
Lynn points towards a small basement besides the stadium which I would've never found out to be honest. This girl is really nuts!
"What are you grinning for?" she raises an eyebrow.
"I was? The handkerchief is already wet though. It's of no help."
"My bad. As you can see I'm drenched in rain too."
"Don't worry about it-" I stopped immediately when I caught a glimpse of her upset face. I hear bro and the other teammates coming this way. I pull Lynn's hand and move towards that corner she claimed to be waiting for me. Safe now.
"What's wrong, Lynn?" I ask her tilting my head as she is looking down. I shake her up but she shoves away my hands and looks away.
Her eyes are practically red so I can't say for sure if she is crying or is it just raining. I grab her by shoulders. It's pouring really hard and here I am, holding a girl towards whom my feelings are totally complicated, also in a corner, alone where its fucking hard to even spot us. The teams just passed us and the stadium is basically empty now.
I whisper in her ear,
"I'm so sorry that Austin is such a jerk."
"He's ignoring me. I just found out I can't even text or call him after I left you and Logan during the break." she said showing her phone where I can clearly see her effort to contact him since Friday. Why is he even ignoring her? Did he get tired of playing with her already? No No, Neo. Have trust on your best friend. He would never do that.
"I'm sorry, Lynn." That's all I could think about telling her.
"I apologize for making you apologize for someone else and making you feel bad for that someone and also comparing you with that someone-"
"That's enough Lynn. I know you're going through a lot."
"Why Neo? Just why?!"
"Calm down, Lynn. I'm here."
"I can't. Why does everything gets messed up when I'm involved? They lost the match I played in. I lost my first match in a stadium in front of so many audiences."
"It's true that they didn't lose a match like since forever. But don't blame yourself for that. your pitches were great and incredible." I take a deep breath and try to smile at her. "Just like you"
She just blinks at me with a blank expression. Was I being cheesy? Ugh! My head hurts. I try to change the subject. "Moreover you yourself told Logan that it was because most of the players were juniors."
"I don't know, Neo. I don't know."
Sigh! This girl! Why does she act so tough, calm and collected when she is so sensible?!
"I don't know too. All I know is that you did incredible out there." I say handing her the bouquet of drenched flowers.
"I'm Sorry, Neo." Maybe she is feeling guilty about what she told me during break.
"People normally say 'Thank you' though. Guess you just aren't normal."
"Yeah yeah. I get that a lot."
"I appreciate it though. No opposition." I hold her tight this time against my chest. She doesn't hug me back, instead, does something better. She talks. Her voice is shaking.
"Happiness dies wherever I step it. I feel like I'm losing my first love without even knowing the reason. My only friends are upset with me and ignoring me. Neither did I had any friends nor my family to support me in my first match which I managed to lose pretty ridiculously."
She stops. My grip of her becomes tighter, She lifts her head up a bit to look me in the eyes with a blank smile which rather felt painful. She continues,
"And guess what? The only person who came to support me? Haha. I pushed him away, said some bullshits to him, hurt him and made him sad. And now that I lost the match he's the only person who's comforting me right now. Funny, huh? How pathetic of me!" She ends it with a smile.
"Shut up, idiot." I bury her head into my chest again.
Evelynn's POV:
"Won't Logan be worried that you're not with them?" Neo asks. He is sitting beside me on the basement ground.
"Don't worry. I've slid a note in his bag."
"What if he doesn't notice it?"
"He knows me better than that."
He just smiles in response. I feel so embarrassed right now. I made a mess of myself, didn't I? I look at my watch, it's about 6 pm. I should head home.
"Neo, the bus is going to be here soon. I should-"
"YEAH SURE SURE. DON'T MIND ME. Go ahead."
"How are you going to get home in this weather?"
"I-"
KRINNGGGG!! Neo's phone buzzes. I nod and he takes the call moving a little away.
"I'd take you home but I have to be somewhere else right now." Neo says.
"Nah it's fine. I was going to turn you down anyways then."
"Damn that hurt-"
"It's pouring hard you know. Just get home safely okay?"
"Alright then, have a safe trip."
"You too. Also thanks for everything and you better not tell anybody about today."
I give him a warning smile and get out of there. Haha he had a terrified look on his face though.
_ _ _
The bus's here. I get on, scan my card and find a seat in the back near window. My clothes are still wet which is pretty annoying and my head also feels heavy. Maybe because I still have my cap on which got heavier being wet. But still thanks to the rain I'm still able to stay calm. I can still smell the fragrance of rain inside the bus a little. It isn't that much windy but the sky has gotten really dark. It's beautiful. While I was busy being mesmerized by the rain suddenly someone sat beside and whispered,
"You like rain too?"
I look at him and then scan around. Oh damn, I didn't notice, the bus is packed now.
"I guess so."
He is wearing a grey hoodie over his head along with a light turquoise shirt and black trousers. He got glasses on him. Even though it's covered I can still see some strands of his hair which seems to be sky color. He scans me for a bit and asks,
"You guys lost the baseball match huh?"
"How do you know?" Suspicious. Who's he?
"Because you look sad and wearing a baseball outfit?"
"Ah okay my bad." MAN! WHEN DID I GET THAT DUMB? Must be that dumbstin's influence. As soon as I remember about him my head becomes heavier.
"It's fine." He says staring out the window. "She lost a match today too."
"Who?" I ask him. Even though I always avoid having a conversation with random strangers but I've to do it now to shake Austin off my mind. In normal circumstance, I would've responded with an 'oh' or 'I see' and end the conversation there.
"Someone who happens to love rain just like you." he says with a mysterious smile.
"Is that why you added 'too' when you asked me if I like rain?"
"Yeah. You're pretty observant."
"I know."
"Nice bouquet of flower you got there." He says point at my hands. Oh yeah. I'm still holding those drenched flowers Neo gave me.
"Yours is prettier. Though I like mine better as it's from someone special." How didn't I notice he got flowers in his hands too? Maybe I'm just disturbed because I can't see his face clearly.
"Haha is that from your girlfriend?" Oh I forgot I still look like a guy to strangers.
"Not really. Mine didn't even come, maybe guessed that I'd lose." Even though I'm talking about my boyfriend but it really isn't a lie if he means someone I love, right?
"Wow that's pretty horrible of her. And here I missed my chance to hand over these flowers to mine." He says frowning.
"Your girlfriend who also lost a baseball match and happens to like rain too?"
He thinks for a moment. "Hmm...you can say that. Wait do you by any chance know her? Pretty sure her match also happened somewhere near from where we got in bus."
I'm the only girl in my team so no. Our opposite team won so that's a no too.
"Maybe you got the destination wrong?"
"Sigh! I'm hopeless."
"Just call her up, meet her and get over with it."
"Haha okay my bad. Didn't mean to brag about my love life when yours is downhill."
"I'm not mad about that. It just sucks that people don't communicate their feelings properly these days. That's why nothing works out."
"If I could, I would...communicate the hell out of her" He says making a sad face.
I don't know about their relationship so I shouldn't bug him about that. I try changing the subject.
"Your girlfriend must be so lucky to have you. You got flowers for her even when she lost to cheer her up. I bet it would mean a lot to her if she know about it."
"She'll never know." He gets up from his seat. DAMMIT! He's huge. You barely meet someone even taller than Steve. "I've reached my place. Nice meeting you again." He smiles at me and walks away. What does he mean by 'again'?
I look out the window as he gets off the bus and to my surprise he throws the bouquet of flower in the trashcan and picks up his way to home.
I don't know what got into me but I press the emergency button and the bus stops. I get off in this heavy rain just to take out the fresh flowers from the trashcan. The bouquet is filled with all my favourite flowers. Sunflowers, Dark Red Roses, Lavenders and Tulips. Pretty weird combination but all of them are my favourites. I wonder if his girlfriend also got weird taste like me. There's a note attached to the bouquet saying,
"To my Eve,
For being brave and strong.
For herself."
I inhale in the sweet fragrance of the flowers even though they were dumped in a trashcan, they smell great regardless. It kind of makes my tear glands weak. I don't know what he meant by 'my Eve', maybe 'my girl' but weirdly that's my name. I hold both Neo's and that guy's flower bouquets close to my chest. I don't know why but somehow it feels like those flowers and that note was meant to be for me not his girlfriend. Tears start falling down my cheeks or I don't know if it's just...
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Raining?