Chapter Text
When Leah was six years old she moved to a new town. As the shy girl she used to be, she was clueless as to how to approach her cool looking twin neighbors. One hot day in summer, she looked out the window to find their whole family playing baseball in the backyard. From that moment on, she had decided that she would also play baseball to get closer to the twins. The whole summer she practiced with her dad and watched every game she could, what she didn't expect was how much she actually enjoyed the sport. Unfortunately for her, she also didn't expect to get on the boy's nerves when she finally mustered the courage to go play with them.
It was a normal afternoon, she was just returning home from going grocery shopping with her dad. The little girl caught a glimpse of the boy and his dad playing, and excitedly asked her dad if she could go play with them. She ended up dragging her dad along with her, making him ask for her if she could play. The friendly neighbor welcomed her to play with them, but Tyler, as she learned was his name, scoffed in annoyance.
"Why would you let a stranger girl play with us dad?" He had said angrily. Obviously, the nervous girl who was just trying to make friends got insecure.
"Tyler, don't be rude. Take this as an opportunity to make new friends." His dad exclaimed, hoping the little boy wouldn't get upset.
"I don't need new friends." He crossed his arms and stomped away from the scene.
Both parents just laughed, Leah on the other hand, felt bad for disturbing Tyler's moment with his dad. As she saw her dad talk with the neighbor, she gave up on the possibility of making new friends, but soon enough a girl, less aggressive, came up to greet her. She offered to play with her and the horrible moment of embarrassment she had gone through, became a wholesome game with both dads and girls. From that day on, she knew that Taylor was going to become her best friend, but she couldn't say the same for Tyler.
After their dad died, Tyler closed off even more, and his passion for baseball just became something he did to go to college. That made it harder for Leah to get closer to him, so she just gave up, even though she understood his situation. She would spend all her free time with Taylor, and even if the twins were always together, he managed a way to not hang out with them as much.
After deciding she wanted to continue with her passion for playing baseball, she realized there weren't any baseball teams for women, she had no choice but to join a male league, sadly for her that meant joining Tyler's team. That's what made a childish moment that had happened a couple of years ago turn into a silent rivalry that continued in the present. She never understood that the reason as to why he felt more irritated when she joined her team was because he felt that was his space, a space that helped him forget about his life for a moment, so her being there made him remember he actually had a life out of the field.
Originally, it didn't start as a rivalry, or at least not one that was mutual. She actually tried to get closer to Tyler, only to find herself faced with a cold exterior. Throughout the years, they began disagreeing and that turned into regular bickerings, then into fights. The team couldn't stand them, and they did what they could to keep them away from each other.
The only reason they hadn't thrown them off the team, was because they actually managed to be really good at working together. Despite their constant disagreements, they helped each other in the games and would silently encourage the other to do their best. And when Leah didn't notice, he would defend her from the rude boys who picked on her for playing, an action that made their coach feel proud every time.