Chapter Six

"In my heart there was a kind of fighting that would not let me sleep."

CLAYTON

I was not ready to pitch up against George Ranch.

My curve ball was atrocious; every time ending up in the dirt. The speed of my fastball was sub par at a whopping seventy-nine miles per hour. Even my hitting was off - I fouled more balls than actually making correct contact for a hit.

"Are you up for twenty more?" I asked far, kicking the dirt at my feet. My voice resembled my gloom, so I had to speak up. "Can you keep throwing more at me? And I need faster pitches. George Ranch won't be taking it easy on me."

The sun beat down on my face, sweat cascading down my forehead. We had been at it for nearly four hours, and if I looked sweaty, far was drenched.

"Clayton, you have practice tomorrow." He stepped off the mound and wrangled his hand out of the glove. "That was enough for today."

No. We couldn't be finished. I still had so much to improve on. Plus I needed a valid excuse to not go out with Courtney for the second time in the past couple days. Last Sunday we were supposed to go out, but I ended up backing out of that because of the Lucy Walker drama. Then I rescheduled to Tuesday, and now that the day was there, I wanted nothing else but to stay on the baseball field and keep my head in the game.

"I'll stay then. Get out the pitching machine - yeah, the machine." I rubbed the back of my neck then dried my hands on my dirt stained pants. "I'll be back around four."

I thought far was going to make me go home by the look on his face, but suddenly his expression twisted into bemusement.

"Does this have something to do with Lucy going to the game on Friday?" He asked, the humor in his eyes unmissable.

I smacked my lips then rolled my eyes. I was not about to get into that when I needed to practice and perfect my technique. "Uansett far. Vi snakkes senere (Whatever, father. I will talk to you later)."

"No, no. You are not getting rid of me that easily." Instead of heading to the parking lot he started towards the home plate and me. My eyes continued to remain on the diamond shaped base mat. "You are never nervous for a game. Especially against George Ranch. We always beat them." He had a point. I hated when he had points. "So what's different now?" He pretended to ponder, but he and I both knew the new adding factor. "Oh, yeah, it is Lucy Walker."

"What are you trying to say? I am nervous to play in front of Lucy or something? Because that is far from the case!" He looked to barely believe me. "I've seen her in the bleachers for past games. So technically nothing is different from those past times."

Which was completely true. I had seen Lucy in the bleachers multiple times this season. She and her friends would always sit in the front corner closest to the dug out when they watched. Plus it wasn't as if I noticed her first. Zeke was the one to point out Lucy's best friend - Jacklyn Kate was her name, I believed - and commented on how she was hot. In turn I took in the people surrounding J.K., and boom, there was Lucy, clapping and cheering for the run. From then on I only noticed a pattern.

It wasn't as if I were picking her out from random seats every game.

He puckered his lips, the twinkle still in his eye. "Tell me, son, how you are barely even able to find your mother and I in the crowd, yet you can find Lucy?"

Why couldn't he drop the subject of Lucy? My nerves had nothing to do with her. It was all about me and my tiring arm. It was all about me and my swing. It was all about me, and only me.

"You can think what you want, I honestly don't care." I spoke defensively with a sour expression. He was wasting my precious time. "I'm going to get the machine."

I never gave him a chance to say anymore, because I was already off.

- - - - - - - - -

Courtney was becoming insufferable.

I was the type of guy to give every girl a chance, and definitely not hurt someone's feelings, but it was getting to the point of me not giving a damn. I had explained to her, in whole honesty, that I wanted to focus on baseball that week. I told her. But what happened?

She showed up at the baseball field with tons of other people, making a whole spectacle. Zeke eventually popped up with tables, and the food came in with the twenty other people showing up. Football was being played in the right field, eating was off by the home plate, and then there was me, sitting on the pitchers mound, wanting nothing more than to be left alone.

The sky was clouded, mimicking my mood, and when Mateo started my way, it grew darker.

"Hey, man. Why the long face?" He held out a bottle of who knows what.

I declined the gesture with a simple shake of my head. "Oh, um. Far - my dad - just texted me saying I need to start heading home." I lied through my teeth. "I'll see you at practice tomorrow - yeah?" The smile curving my face never met my eyes. Typically Mateo wouldn't catch something like that, but when he frowned, I sighed.

"But you're feeling okay, right?" He asked, popping the lid off the bottle. It smelled like root beer, surprisingly. When I didn't respond, he moved on. Typical. "Hey I see you got a new phone. . ."

I chuckled halfheartedly, nodding my head. It cost me two months of chores and allowances to get enough money for a new phone; to replace the one they recklessly ruined.

"How long have you had it?" Mateo wrinkled his nose, peering down at his own phone.

What did it matter to him?

"Uh, Monday." I answered skeptically.

"And you haven't called or texted me?" The confusion was so real in his voice it was almost laughable. That was until his frown deepened, the true expression of worry crossing over him. I hadn't seen Mateo like that since freshman year when Brynley Curtis stood him up on a movie date. "Oh, you must have lost your contacts." He breathed out with his reasoning.

I had the contacts. If it were Zeke I might have even told him that, but it wasn't him.

"Yeah, that's why. ." I pretended to shuffle through my phone while he told me his number.

He smiled at me. "Well I'll let you get going. See you tomorrow, bro."

With a small wave and last sip of root beer, Mateo headed back towards the group, who was busy around the barbecue pit.

It reminded me of past times we would gather at that exact baseball field and celebrate wins, but that special feeling was gone. My special baseball field was no longer having celebrations for victories, but instead to fill the need of us teenagers.

Before I turned to leave, Zeke caught my eye over in right field.

The others guys playing with him had ran to the hamburgers and hot dogs a few minutes back, and now it was only him and another girl throwing the football back and forth. She was strangely familiar. Then when I looked closer I realized it was J.K. - Lucy's close friend. That short bob was unmissable.

Her smile was hard to miss too. She was so smiley it was blinding all the way from where I was.

"Clayton come over here and throw with us!" Zeke suddenly yelled out, waving me over. His typical smirk expression was instead replaced with a grin, resembling J.K.'s to a tee.

Although the idea of hopping in my car and leaving sounded great, I wanted to speck out what exactly was going on before my eyes. I knew good and well Zeke had his sight on J.K. since sophomore year, but never once had I seen them together. Mateo and I always asked him why he never asked her out only for him to change the subject entirely.

I held my own smirk, waltzing over. "You can leave now Zeke, J.K. has her a good throwing partner now." Zeke was the only one not to laugh, but that was not a surprise. What was a surprise was the red seeping onto his cheeks. "Hey, Jacklyn Kate." I grinned towards her and received a shy smile. "I haven't talked to you since sophomore year, huh? When we had Ms. Anderson for Geometry?"

"Oh, God, do not even get me started on that class. We were all so bad." She exasperated.

I wasted no time to nod my head in agreement. That class, as a whole, was extremely disruptive.

Zeke thought it was smart to throw the football at me mid-conversation. "I called you over to throw with us, not to socialize," he spoke with a smile being held up by pins.

I patted down my shoulder where the ball hit me. "Okay, okay. No need to get your panties in a twist."

J.K. giggled at the two of us. "It's okay, Zeke. I actually have to go right about now. My cousin should be done with his Boy Scout meeting." She pointed towards the recreational building across the park. "Thanks for inviting me to play some football while I waited for him to finish. See you at school tomorrow?"

"Oh -" there went those pins keeping his smile up "- yeah, sure. Have a good morning."

I puckered my lips out, confused. Last time I checked it was verging into the night.

"Evening, I mean. Evening. Yeah, evening. Um. Yeah." He took a few steps in hopes to retreat back towards the group. "Bye, J.K." He managed one last grin, then fully turned around.

In all of the time I had known Zeke, I had never seen him runaway scared. Until that very moment.

Right when I assumed he crashed and burned, I gazed back at J.K. to see her hold the faintest grin. Was she actually charmed by that mess?

I shook my head, that close to laughing out loud.

"I have to head out too, so I'll catch ya later."

"Okay. C'ya." She waved shortly, then started to head in the opposite direction.

I was about to do the same, but then my curiosity got the better of me.

"Hey, J.K.! Can you give me Lucy's number?"

- - - - - - - - -

To Lucy: Hey Lucy, this is Clayton Hugh. J.K. gave me your number.

I reread that simple text over and over. Every syllable I seemed to criticize. That happened every time I texted a new person. Eventually I got over it, and sent the stupidest text messages to friends, but I wasn't at that comfort yet with Lucy. I needed to sound friendly yet not too friendly. I needed to sound funny but not too funny where I seemed stupid. But with the first text, I needed to not sound like a stalker searching for her number.

Once I hit enter, I breathed out, then went back to chopping the potatoes for mor.  Her and far have been reminding me constantly of Lucy, her sleepwalking, and if she was single or not. I appreciated their interest in my new friend, but ever since they met the Walkers they became obsessed. Neither of them would have admitted to wanting another couple as friends, but since coming to America their social lives had died down.

Mr. Walker had been over at my house at least twice a day since Sunday, to either help far with some work around the house, or to sample wines with them.

When mor wasn't working she would "call up" Mrs. Walker and they would gossip about too many things. It was as if their blossoming friendship was taking off way before Lucy and I's.

To our credit though, we have been crossing greetings in class and in the halls. That was a step, right?

From Lucy: Hi, Clayton. What's uip?

From Lucy: *ump

From Lucy: *UP. Geez.

I smirked down at my phone, capturing the attention of mor. She peered over and poked my chest. "What's so funny that you're smiling?" She caught the I.D. name even though I moved my phone out of view. "Ah, Lucy." She clicked her tongue. "I like this Lucy. You should go out with her."

"Mor." I scoffed. "I'm not even interested in her like that. Just because you guys had a love-at-first-sight moment with Mr. and Mrs. Walker doesn't mean I did with Lucy." My nose scrunched. "Plus I barely even know her. . . So, that's why I want to be friends. Quit pressuring me."

Another click of her tongue. "Fine, fine."

To Lucy: Typos are my nemesis too, no worries. Have you started on the chemistry homework yet?

I had finished my homework right after school, and I could care less about the subject of homework, but I needed small talk.

To Lucy: Also I am not asking so I can ask for your answers. Only bicurious.

My heart nearly leaped out of my chest. Why couldn't texting be on my side this once? No, it wasn't the texting part; it was Zeke and Mateo breaking my previous phone which barely caused me that amount of trouble.

My thumbs couldn't keep up.

To Lucy: CURIOUS, I MEANT CURIOUS. I am in fact 100% straight. I am not curious in that area. . .

Thankfully I had the chance to invest my anxiety after that mess into cooking dinner. The menu was roast beef and oven roasted potatoes, which was a typical meal for the Hugh household. Mor said we had it so much because it was Norwegian native, but I knew she preferred it over other foods since it was simple. Well, simple enough for her.

I had finished setting out the plates and utensils when my phone quacked. Dropping the last fork in it's place I swung my phone out of my pocket, my lip captured between my teeth. I was starting to think she would never reply back.

From Lucy: I guess we have more in common than I first thought. Welcome to the Prone to Typos Club. I'm Lucy, the president.

"She's funny, too. Liking her more by the second." Mor's voice startled me, nearly causing me to lose the grip on my phone. What a little sneak she was. "What?!"

Scratch what I said before. Courtney is far more tolerable than my parents at certain instances. Right now my parents were the insufferable ones.

"Mor, la meg vaere alene (mom, leave me alone)!"

She rambled on in Norwegian about how I could trust her with my true feelings about everything - especially with my love life. Also how she only wanted the best for me.

"Can you not be so sneaky then? That is definitely for my well being." I rolled my eyes, heading into the living room away from my family. I hopped onto the couch, my attention back to my phone.

To Lucy: What does it take to become apart of the council board?

Her reply was immediate. From Lucy: Hm. . . Not much. Just show up to the first meeting, and you can be the vice president.

I loved how she was going along with the scenario. Neither Mateo or Zeke played along with my texts.

To Lucy: How about the first meeting be tomorrow at Shakers? Around eight?

Lucy took a lot longer to respond that time around. It made me grip my phone tighter. A part of me feared she would turn me down on the friendly get together, but finally she answered.

From Lucy: Sounds good. I've been wanting a cheesecake Oreo shake for so long.

My hand covered my heart. That was my all time favorite shake, and very few people ever enjoyed it.

To Lucy: Lucy Walker, I can tell this is the start of a wonderful friendship.