Chapter Text
“What team?” Troy’s voice echoes through the mostly deserted East High baseball field, bouncing off the bright white lights that illuminate the grass below. Other than the stadium lights, the space around is pitch black in the night.
“Wildcats!” The rest of the team attempts to fill the open space, so accustomed to the enormous sound of pep rallies and games. Unfortunately, it’s been a long day of school and an hours long practice, so the response is less than lackluster. Chad looks around, disappointed in his teammates, though he is not entirely innocent himself.
He throws the baseball onto his pointer finger, spinning it like a globe. “What kind of callback was that? Come on, where’s your wildcat spirit?”
The team grumbles back at him, but Zeke bows his head, ashamed. “Sorry Chad. Sorry Troy.”
“Let’s take that again!” Troy jumps up and down, and the team, hesitating at first, follows. “What team?”
“Wildcats!” While not at its highest energy, the morale has slightly improved, thanks to Chad’s expert vice-captainship.
As the team gathers to do some pitching practice, Troy pulls Chad aside with a knowing look.
“Hey bro, thanks for helping me out there.” The team captain puts his hands on his hips. “I get it’s been a long day, but we have to lock in for the big game next week!” He frowns, and paces in a small circle. “Any ideas for helping up the team’s spirit?”
“Pasta party? Zeke could whip up some of his homemade fusilli. That’s always a hit.” Chad has dreams about that pasta practically every night, ever since Zeke started cooking it in Junior year. And, as vice-captain for the Wildcats, it was often Chad’s responsibility to come up with spirit ideas. The pasta parties are the perfect excuse to partake in Zeke’s fine cuisine.
Troy squints, and Chad hates to see pity on his face. “Dude, we did that yesterday.”
Chad pauses. “Right, totally forgot. Sorry, man.” Of course, Chad wasn’t the best at his job. “I’m all out of ideas.”
“Hey, that’s okay. I know you’ve been getting up early for track, so don't worry about it!” Troy scans the field, eyes bouncing from each player to the next. “Let’s see, who would know a good spirit activity…” The team is gathered around the home base, except for Jason, who is standing on the pitcher’s mound, feeling the red, thread seams on a rusty, dirt-covered baseball.
Chad’s eyes follow Troy’s gaze, but is almost immediately distracted by a certain player on the team. This player’s uniform is distinct from the rest – its embroidery is neater, and the stitches are fresher than the older, reused uniforms. His walk is more elegant, from the years of competitive dance, and it lacks the harshness of the rest of the team. Chad can’t keep his eyes off of the back of Ryan’s head, mostly covered by a red, sequined Wildcats branded hat.
“Great idea!” Troy’s voice cuts through Chad’s view, and he jumps back, startled at the sound.
“What good idea?” Chad asks frantically, moving his gaze slightly to the left at Jimmie.
“Ryan probably knows some fun things to do! The competitive dance team is always up to something.” Seeing Chad’s reaction, Troy raises his eyebrows. “Hey man, what’s up?”
The vice-captain hastily turns away, clearing his head of the beautiful visage of Ryan. “Nah, it’s nothing.” He throws his hand dismissively to the side.
“Wow, track is really doing a number on you this year!” Troy shakes his head. “Anything I can do to help?”
Chad shrugs, not wanting to lie to his boy. “Go to practice for me?”
Troy laughs, and slaps Chad on the back. “If only,” The captain cups his hands around his mouth, and yells, “Hey, Ryan! Can we talk to you?”
Ryan turns and drops his wooden bat onto the field, making his way over to see the captains.
Chad’s face warms as he approaches. “Hey man, if it’s okay, I’ve got to go. I- I have to get to bed. Early practice in the morning.” He says to Troy, starting to back up.
“Oh sure, no problem. But can you stay to help Ryan and I plan the spirit activity? It’ll just be five seconds,” Troy asks, missing the sorry state of his bro.
But Chad is not one to abandon his bro like that, so he remains planted where he stands. His eyes turn to the empty stands, pretending to be fixed on some fascinating thing.
“Hey Troy, Chad. What can I do you for?” Ryan grins, the most energetic of the team. He hasn’t been disillusioned quite yet, as he is the newest member, joining just last summer.
Troy waves back as he approaches. “We’re trying to plan a fun activity to boost the team’s morale. We’ve taken a beating this season, and I thought some team building would help us out. Any thoughts?”
Ryan nods his head, deep in thought. All the while, Chad risks a glance over to see him. It is easy to tell the perfect symmetry of his face when he is that close. His eyes, so large and sparkly, are deeper blue than the Golden State Warriors – with golden flecks to make them even more accurate.
The conversation went on, and Chad can’t help but notice that every time Troy speaks, Ryan blinks attentively, giving his full attention. He’s just respectful like that. The blinking brings Chad’s gaze to the dancer’s long, blonde eyelashes, flapping in the wind like a butterfly’s wings. His eyebrows fly around on his face, reacting to every word he hears. His animated expressions are almost too alluring for Chad to handle.
Ryan’s voice emerges from within him, a beautiful song. Chad suspects that with all of his singing lessons and rehearsing in his life, his voice has molded itself into a melodious tone whether he’s singing, speaking, or screaming.
As the conversation goes on, Chad is content just watching, his exhaustion from the day finally taking over. His view is great, until-
“...So, what do you think?” Ryan says, making direct eye contact with the multi-sport vice-captain.
Chad freezes, his eyes widening. His head twists between Ryan and Troy, but he holds his face stony – not an inch of panic escapes. Or at least, he hopes so.
“Um. Well.” Chad scratches his head and looks at his bro, who is carrying a smile on his face. “I think that’s a great idea.” He says slowly, testing the waters with every word.
“Then it’s a plan!” Troy high fives Ryan. “Thanks for the assist!”
“My pleasure!” says the new player, clearly excited he could help out his new teammates. “I’ll get everything set up and ready to go.”
Ryan heads off to the mound again, rejoining the line after Jason.
“Alright man, it’s time for you to hit the hay. I can see it in your eyes.” Troy holds out his arm, ready for a bro hug, but Chad is still watching Ryan as he steps up to the mound.
“Ahem,” says Troy, raising his eyebrows.
“Oh! Sorry, dude.” Chad returns the hug, and sighs.
“Okay, seriously, Chad. Go to bed.”