Eventually, the game ended with Eugene's team winning with 26-24. Eugene was exhausted, but beyond happy. The first game had been a success. After a cool down and a meeting, he changed and went out front in search of Lucas.
"Hey, Eugene!" Lucas waved when he noticed Eugene and headed over to him. "You did great out there! Did you have fun?" He asked, cocking his head slightly to the side as he did so.
Eugene's smile grew quite a bit. "I sure did! I'm so glad this first game went so well!" He said facing Lucas as he talked. "Do you need a ride home again?" He asked
"Oh! Um… y-yeah, that'd be great." Lucas flushed a bit and looked away with one hand on the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. "I mean, I can walk back if you can't, it's really not a big deal."
"I was already planning on it," Eugene said, a bright smile returning to his face. "How was baseball practice?" He asked, changing the subject.
"Pretty good. Not too eventful, really… did some batting practice, so that's cool I guess. Just general preparations for the game this Friday." Lucas shrugged a bit.
"Nice! I'd be too afraid of the ball hitting me in the face and breaking my nose and teeth. Yeah, a volleyball could probably break your nose, but a baseball just seems, worse." Eugene said as he lead Lucas to his car.
Lucas laughed a bit. "Yeah. I've been hit before, and while I haven't broken anything yet, it doesn't feel very nice." He followed Eugene out to the car and got into the passenger side.
"Well, let's hope luck stays on your side and you don't break anything while playing baseball." Eugene got in the driver's side and started the car. Since he knew Lucas' address now, he didn't hesitate with where to go.
"Hopefully. I'm thinking that the game is gonna go well, but you never know until it happens." Lucas shrugged, buckling himself in shortly before Eugene started driving off.
Eugene nodded. "Yeah, you can be super confident the day before, but then the other team just crushes you. Of course, it can also happen the other way around." Eugene said, glancing at Lucas.
"Mhmm. Either way, I think we'll do okay, at least…" Lucas fidgeted a bit. "I mean, we've all been practicing for a while. At least we won't be destroyed if we lose…"
"Yeah, I bet you'll do great. Hasn't this baseball team always been one of the best teams in the area?" Eugene couldn't remember if that was true or not, but he had heard that somewhere at some point.
Lucas nodded a bit. "Yeah, we've got a pretty good record… we've won almost all the games since I've been on the team."
"Ooo! That's awesome! Can't say the same about the volleyball team. Although, we are pretty good. We win most of them, probably loosing about a quarter or less of the games." Eugene said, his eyes focused on the road as he turned onto a smaller street.
Lucas nodded again, smiling softly. "Coach says he might make me captain next year, which is both exciting and terrifying. I'm not entirely sure how to feel about it."
Eugene's eyes widened. "Really?! That's awesome!! I bet you'd do a great job." He said brightly. Being captain would be a cool opportunity, but Eugene would much rather another role. "I'd prefer to be the ace. Of course, plenty of captains are the ace, but I'd feel selfish to be both. Besides, someone else is already basically the second in command, he'll probably be the captain next year."
Lucas flushed at Eugene's praises, unable to keep from smiling a bit. He ran his thumb over the edge of his mouth, almost as though trying to hide the smile. "Y-Yeah… I'm just… worried I won't do a good job, you know? I mean, obviously I'm an emotional, nervous wreck, and I don't know how good I am at keeping people in line… I like to think I'd be able to do it, but I just don't know."
"I get that. But I bet you'd do just great. Most captains don't have everything figured or all pulled together. Yet they still do a wonderful job. So, if it means anything, I believe in you." Eugene encouraged with a sincere smile.
Lucas flushed harder and stared at the floor of the car. Thank God it's dark out… "T-Thanks, Eugene. I'm glad you think so." He smiled weakly.
"You're very welcome." With that, Eugene turned to where he had dropped Lucas off the night before. He sighed and parked the car. "Well, here we are. See you tomorrow."
Lucas sighed shakily as he looked up at his house. "Yeah… see you tomorrow." He smiled weakly and got out of the car. "It was nice seeing you." He waved before heading into the house, where a similar resounding thud and crash came from inside a few seconds later.
Eugene waved and watched Lucas go inside. Once again, he winced at the sound from the house. Maybe it wasn't just a random noise and maybe he should be concerned. But coincidences do happen, he hoped that was the case. With that, he drove home and slipped inside like the night before.
(Should we time skip to the game?)
(That works for me!)
(Alrighty ^^)
Lucas changed into his baseball uniform and stepped out onto the field, his heart pounding. He looked over at the crowd and waved to Eugene when he spotted him.
Eugene had searched the field for Lucas, spotting him around the same time he saw Eugene. He waved back with a bright smile. He was already halfway done with a churro, and he planned to definitely get more.
Lucas put on his helmet and his glove and headed out to the field. The other team was pitching and it wasn't his turn to bat yet.
Eugene was looking all around the field, looking to see if he'd be able to recognize anyone on Lucas' team. He might have recognized a few people, but the game had started and he was sucked into the action.
Finally, it was Lucas's turn to bat. He stepped up to the plate, held up his bat, and waited. He watched the ball spin towards him and cracked it against the bat. As soon as he did, he dropped the bat and started running.
