Then It Led to Hollywood and Vine

“So... what exactly is the ‘knock-out’ punch?” Nick asked me, after I had told him what had happened. We were currently in the dugout, seeing as I needed to get ice to put on my eye and this was the only place that had it. I’m not sure why... but something told me they were expecting injuries. Except of course because of the sports, not because of expecting people to step into fights.

I was also currently here because I was still trying to decide whether I wanted to participate in the game or not.

That wasn’t too much of a big deal, though, if I didn’t play. In fact, it would probably be better than if I actually did play.

“You know...” I said to him, motioning with my one hand while the other held the ice pack against my eye. When he just continued to look at me, I asked, “You really don’t know what the knock-out punch is?”

“Should I?”

“Well, not, I guess not,” I said.

“Well, what is it then?” He asked.

“Oh, you’re supposed to punch someone below the nose,” I said, demonstrating with my hand, “then their eyes supposedly water, and they can’t see clearly enough to hit you back. So then you punch them in the face, and they supposedly... knock out.”

“No way,” he said, not believing me. I shrugged.

“I’ve never actually done it but that’s what it’s supposed to do,” I said. “Or... that’s what I’ve heard, anyway.”

“It’s interesting that you know this,” he said. “I can’t believe that you do actually. Why do you know this? Or really, why would you need to? Seeing as you wouldn’t even hurt a fly, I bet.” I opened my mouth in shock.

“Oh, please,” I said, “I can occasionally be mean. You just haven’t seen... my extremely angry side.”

“I’m sure,” he said sarcastically, not believing me.

“Fine, you want me to prove it?” I asked, as I removed the ice pack from my eye. Nick winced, and I assumed my eye wasn’t a pretty site. “You asked for it. You’re about to see my competitive side.” As I said this, I had gotten closer to him without even realizing it, so I quickly backed away.

I then left the dugout and walked out onto the field, where everyone else who would be playing currently was.

>>---------------------------------------------------------------->>

“Are you sure you’re not mad at me?” Anne asked me, for possibly the hundredth time, as everyone tried to decide who would be the team captains. Anne and I weren’t paying attention, because, well... who in their right mind would make either of us team captain?

“Yes, I’m sure,” I answered, giving her a small smile. “I know you didn’t mean to hit me. And I’ll admit, it was kind of stupid stepping between you and Demi.”

“Just a little,” she agreed. “But actually, I’m kind of thankful that you stepped in front of her. Because she most likely would have slapped a lawsuit at me, if I had punched her instead.”

“Yeah, that wouldn’t have been good,” I said.

“Alright, Nick, you can be a team captain,” David decided. David, as in David Henrie. There were a lot of Disney stars here today. “Now... who’s going to be the other captain?”

“Oh, Sophia wants to,” Nick quipped up, smirking at me. “She kind of said she wanted to be one earlier.”

“I did not-” I started, but Anne cut me off by whispering to me.

“You want to show him how competitive you can be, don’t you?” She asked me. “So just go with it. This is the only absolute way you won’t be on the same team.”

“Good point,” I whispered to her, and then to everyone else, I said, “I mean, I definitely stated that I would like to be team captain; I didn’t just kind of want to be one.”

“Alright, then it’s settled,” David stated. “Nick and Sophia are captains. Now just... pick your teams.”

I got to pick first, so of course I chose Anne. Then Nick picked someone, and then it went back and forth, until eventually everyone was picked.

Oh, and guess who decided to come over and join the game?

Joe and Demi.

And guess what else?

Seeing as they had just came over, they were the last two people to pick from.

And it was currently my turn to choose.

“Okay, I know you’ve been trying to avoid Joe. But after all that has happened today, do you really want her on your team?” Anne asked me, discreetly pointing at Demi. She did have a point.

“Well, Sophia?” Nick asked me, “It’s your turn to pick. Who do you want for your team?” He sounded like he was saying this in a joking manner, but when I looked at him, he had a serious look on his face.

“Joe, I guess,” I mumbled, but loud enough for everyone to hear. He slowly made his way over to where my team was, while Demi made her way to Nick’s.

“So, let’s get this game started,” Nick stated, sending me a look.

I couldn’t tell if it was of pity, guilt, or of anger for choosing Joe to be on my team.

>>------------------------------------------------------------>>

So far, the game was a tie. Well, okay, close to a tie; Nick’s team was in the lead. It was just about over as well. Being in a close tie may not have sounded so great, but compared to the football game and the running... it was shocking that I was playing this good of a game.

I was next up to bat, and the way I handled it would pretty much determine the outcome of the game.

Oh, and Nick was pitching, which made it all the better.

“Sophia,” someone said, as I watched Anne get in place to bat. After her, I was next.

“Yeah...” I trailed off, because when I turned around I found out that it was Joe saying my name. “Oh... what do you want, Joe?”

“Why did you step between Anne and Demi?” He asked. Him bringing that up made me think about my eye, which still kind of hurt. Out of everything, I wasn’t expecting him to ask me that.

“...What?” I asked him, and he shook his head before breaking my gaze.

“You heard me,” he said. “But just forget it. We’ll talk about it after the game.”

“What makes you think I want to talk to you?” I asked, without even thinking. It wasn’t just about that question, either; I was thinking he wanted to talk about what happened with us. But I didn’t know that for sure, so why did I assume? As soon as I said that, I noticed his face fall a bit. That made me feel guilty. “Joe-”

“Sophia!” Nick called out to me, interrupting what I was going to say. “You’re up to bat.” I sent one last look to Joe, before grabbing the bat and stepping up to the plate.

Even if I could have had a redo when I batted just then, it wouldn’t have made a difference. No matter what, I would have still struck out, and lost us the game, seeing as Nick’s team had a few points over us; making them win the game.

Why did I strike out?

Because the whole time I was standing there, I was thinking about what Joe said to me, and what I said to him, making me distracted and swing when I wasn’t supposed to.

It made me realize, that after all this time, I think I actually did want to talk to him.