Behind the school

[Mayah Playah]

♠ ♥ BLAckJAck ♦ ♣

He raised his gaze from his hands to Vinny's face, listening to him speak. He made a small face at the inclusion of his daughter. "What, Caroline? You thought that because of what Caroline said? She only met him once, she doesn't know what she's talking about. Plus, she's like, eight." He shook his head. "Vinny, I prefer you to Akito a million times over. He was unreasonable, he was jealous, he could never let the little things go! I don't want him back. I'm invested in you and only you, and I know I don't say it enough, but you're the only one for me. No one else compares to you." He moved a little closer, while still keeping a distance for the cameras. "I... I love you, Vinny." He admitted with a blush.

Alan giggled up at Reed, just about to touch noses when Ken interrupted them. Her pursed his lips in irritation, then nodded and reluctantly pulled out of Reed's arms. "Wait, does that mean I'm going back to where I was before? But I wanna play with Reed!" he whined.
"Hush now, little piglet. Daddy's trying to win a game," said Anthony, gesturing towards the prince to indicate just who "Daddy" was. "Come on, kid. We can all snuggle our respective lovers after." He sent a look to Ryuu before stepping out onto the field and getting into position just as the first batter approached the plate.

Tall, dark, and irritable, Bae stepped out to the field with a bat in each hand. He weighed them both, tossing one behind himself straight into the bat boy's arms before strutting to his place. He adjusted his cap, tapped his bat on the ground, and rolled his shoulders before moving the bat over one shoulder and getting into position. He wasn't much for athletics, but hopefully he would be able to fake it enough to impress the cute redhead right in front of him.
And, of course, he had to admit that this whole hidden talent thing was kind of a turn-on.

Coconut Coalition

1 - Hit // 2 - Strike one // 3 - Hit and reaches 2nd // 4 - Hit but out // 5 - Hit and reaches 3rd // 6 - Strike one // 7 - Home run

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah Playah

I think Ellery's the last one, right?

Vinny looked at Dexter when he talked about how much he preferred him to Akito, admittedly feeling considerably better. However, he inhaled sharply at those four words the teacher ended with, his face turning bright red to match their uniforms. "I-I love you, too!" he said almost immediately. He hesitated then looked around, clenching his jaw at all the cameras and wandering eyes. Thinking, he grabbed a bat and tossed it to the ground. "Whoops. Could you help me pick that up?" He crouched down, waiting for Dexter to meet him, then removed his hat and moved it to hide their faces as he leaned in for a kiss.
He left the dugout with a smile, happily waving to his fans as his energy returned.

Ken's fierce gaze hesitated when he saw who was next to bat. He blinked then shot a glare to Ellery. What a dirty trick, sending Bae out right when they switched pitchers. He looked back at the brunette, at how his bulging muscles fit against his outfit so well. Ken gulped thickly, feeling his confidence leave him in this moment. He threw the ball, cursing himself as he got a ball. He shook his head. No, he couldn't chicken out now. He had a game to win!
Eyes flaming furiously again, Ken hurled the ball at top notch speed. It zoomed past Bae, blowing dirt in his face as it landed in Vinny's glove. He threw the ball again, another strike. Just one more and he'd strike out Bae. He reared his arm back, charging up the pitch. Right as his arm moved, though, he made eye contact with the batter. Ken's eyes widened slightly at those vortexes of passion and confidence. His hand twitched, and what should've been a curve ball ended up flying straight into Bae's bat, shooting towards Ryuu.

Ryuu stood in the outer field, a dazed look on his face. Anthony was flirtatious, he had come around to accepting that fact. However, the theater actor was being especially flirtatious today. Why? Because Ken was here? Or his brother? Or maybe he was just into sports...?
"RYUU YOU MOTHERF@#&#xIN;G IDIOT, PAY ATTENTION FOR ONCE IN YOUR F*$#ING LIFE!!"
The bassist shook his head and turned to see Yasu practically charging at him. Instead of what he assumed was going to be a tackle, the drummer rolled on the ground to grab the ball that was three feet away from him, tossing it to Kaoru, how in turn threw it to Dexter. But Bae was already resting on second base.
"Goddamn it!" Yasu cursed, marching up to Ryuu and jabbing a finger in his chest. "This is the second time, idiot! What the f-ck is wrong with you?! Get your head in the game or switch with Vinny!" He marched back into position, leaving Ryuu blinking.

 

[Mayah Playah]

♠ ♥ BLAckJAck ♦ ♣

Dexter was bright red as he left the dugout, rubbing his cheek in an attempt to get out the red and looking around. Okay, gotta focus! Gotta- sh!t. Wow, was that guy already on a base? Those long legs, no wonder he got there so fast. Who even are these guys? He shifted his foot from his position, then noticed Vinny. His eyes immediately saw him in flower-vision, the beauty of his wonderful guitarist enough to distract him from who was on the base now.

A tiny brunette, even smaller than Alan, moved onto the base. The helmet on his head looked huge, the bat even larger, and from the sidelines Peter wondered if this was what he looked like in bed with Fredrich. Ellery cracked his neck, then his knuckles, then coughed a little as his side of the crowd loudly cheered him on. He was calm, he was focused, and he knew just what pressures to push at. He rather obviously looked over to Bae, then back to Ken. Let's play ball, he told himself.
The entire world fell into slow motion the moment the ball left Kenshin's hand. Ellery watched the fast ball prickle in the air, falling towards him. Not yet, not yet, he thought, then smirked and swung the bat hard. A loud crack echoed through the stadium as the ball flew through the air towards where Dexter stood. He didn't see it at first, and Ellery used it to his advantage. He passed first, and when Dexter found the ball and finally picked it up, Ellery passed second. Dexter moved to throw it to third, but the scrappy brunette was past it, and just as the ball flew back to the catcher, Ellery passed the home plate and jogged back to his team, taking a brief moment to brush a hand over Bae's chest before disappearing into the dugout.

Inside the dugout, Haneul sat back on the bench and looked up at Ellery. "You really think it's a good idea to openly mock your rival?" he asked, left eyebrow raised. "I mean, he's could probably ruin your reputation by revealing your engagement."
"I've found ways around it before, Haneul." He sat down beside Fredrich, crossing his legs delicately and starting to file his nails with a file he'd safely stuck in his bag beside the bench."Kenshin Yamada is like every other man. I'll find his soft spot before the fourth inning, if I haven't found it already."

Coconut Coalition

Yeah, and then I don't know. We've never decided how it's gonna turn out.

Next up -- 1 - Mine // 2 - Yours

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah Playah

We'll give Kurai another batting chance then end the game with a final rng. The lineup should go the same as before, so Lock should start again.
1 - Homerun // 2 - Hit and out // 3 - Hit and 3rd // 4 - Hit // 5 - Strikeout // 6 - Hit and 2nd

As Yasu screamed over the crowd for Dexter to stop throwing both his hip and the game, Ryuu grew tense at the slight tremble he saw from the redhead. That wasn't good. Ken had a bad temper, but it was usually tame whenever it came to baseball. But that move Ellery pulled... not even the gentlest giant could stay calm after that.

Ken stood silently, having watched Ellery prance around the diamond and the jumbotron go from 3 to 5. That didn't bother him. Those were points he could bring up. But what the songwriter did, that flirtatious brush against Bae's chest. It made him sick to watch that. How dare he? This game, this was supposed to prove that he was good at something other than singing, that he actually had talent. But that... that cocky, son of a b-tch brat was taking it all away! How?! How was he good?! Why was he better at every. F-cking. Thing?!
Both Vinny and the umpire grew tense at the dark, malicious aura wafting from Ken's slouched position. It looked like there were tortured souls coming out of the darkness surrounding him, moaning in agony. They gulped simultaneously as the batter approached, both out of fear and pity for the batter.
Once the batter readied themselves, Ken tightened his grip on the ball - tighter than before. His nails dug into the object, veins could be seen from his forearm. He reared his arm back, lifting his head enough to show two white orbs for eyes being the only thing visible in the shadow that swallowed his face. He shot the ball with enough power to launch a canon, kicking up a wind that summoned storm clouds and a tornado in the distance.

 

[Mayah Playah]

♠ ♥ BLAckJAck ♦ ♣

Lock approached, bat over his shoulder. He glanced back to Ellery, who sent him a look that commanded complete obedience. He wasn't about to let Lock screw this up for him. He nodded slightly, then eyed Kenshin and swung the bat. His hands tingled as he struck the ball, dropping the bat and racing to the next plate.
In the dugout, Ellery cheered, jumping up and down happily before throwing his arms around Bae's neck and hugging him tightly. The tall man blinked twice at the sudden closeness, hands remaining at his sides for a moment before tentatively hugging the slender songwriter back. After a few seconds, he pushed out of the hug, a strange look on his face, and turned to disappear deep into the dugout.

Coconut Coalition

Alright. You wanna time skip to Kurai's turn?

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah Playah

Ye

The souls of despair flying from Ken screeched as they were burned alive. The dark aura vanished, replaced with a wall of texture that read, "I'll kill you" in varying lengths and sizes, all of which was written in what appeared to be blood. His body was twitching on its own now, his head lolling to the side as he cocked his arm for another pitch. Despite the hatred emanating from him, there was something glistening out of the glowing orbs replacing his eyes.
Tears.
Unfortunately, Fredrich couldn't see that. He couldn't even see the bloody text threatening his life, or the possessed pitcher. In fact, he wasn't even holding his bat right. It felt weird, in his opinion, but he blamed that on not playing baseball. He narrowed his eyes, trying to see the ball, unaware that the ball had already passed him. Three times. He swung the bat before the umpire told him to just leave.

The band tensely watched Ken, or more his body, ready another pitch, despite striking out the batter after the detective. He wasn't going to stop, and the band realized that. "We can't let him keep going! He's going to destroy the stadium!" Ryuu yelled at Yasu.
The drummer nodded and signaled for Kaoru to help them, the songwriter nodding in understanding. Vinny gulped as he saw a pitch aimed at his face, lines of bloody threats glowing behind him. Fortunately, the three rushed to Ken before he could murder the guitarist, attempting to grab him and drag him away from the pitcher's spot. However, the redhead turned his head, the spotlights for eyes shooting them like lasers, and a ferocious wind whipping around him like a barrier.
The three put their arms in front of their faces, fighting off the powerful wind and debris while keeping themselves from being pushed back more than three feet.
They wouldn't stop him at this rate, Ryuu realized. Just then, he spotted those wet jewels underneath Ken's eyes. His own widened in revelation. He turned his head to look at the rest of the team. "Whatever it takes, get him off the pitcher's mound!" he ordered. The team was hesitant, but tried to fight their way through the whirlwind. As everyone struggled, Ryuu turned his attention to BLAckJAck's dugout, rushing over and grabbing Ellery by the shoulder.
"You have to stop this!" he demanded breathlessly. "Do you have any idea what you're doing? Have your strikeouts and homeruns, but don't flirt with Bae in front of him! You know just as well as I do how vicious his jealousy gets!"

 

[Mayah Playah]

♠ ♥ BLAckJAck ♦ ♣

From inside the dugout, Ellery wasn't paying much attention to the whirlwind, instead trying to figure out a new way to upset Ken without using Bae who had just wandered away from him. Fortunately, he was spared the search by Ryuu who tightly gripped him and tried to get him to see reason. He blinked, then shrugged. "Seriously? This again? I was just trying to throw him off, but he doesn't have to start with this kind of bullsh!t." Against his better judgement, he nodded his consent to stop flirting with Bae, just in time for the man in question to walk out of the dugout.
The man walked right past Ellery and Ryuu and out onto the field. He stepped right into the whirlwind, feet planted firmly onto the ground as he moved towards Kenshin. He saw the glistening tears, and wasn't held back by the public knowing his relationship. Stepping over closer, he kept walking until he was in front of Kenshin, hair whipping all around him. "Ken, stop," he said. "You're going to hurt someone."

Coconut Coalition

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah Playah

Ye

"He's seventeen, Ellery," Ryuu reminded. "And, although I'll never understand why, he's devoted his entire life to Bae. Do what you want with the game, just keep him out of it before a black hole swallows us whole." Cameron and Hayden approached the two, seemingly unfazed by the storm. Well, Cameron was. Hayden kept finding his eyes wandering to how his cheerleader was holding up with such vicious winds.
"I think you should keep doing what you're doing," Cameron told Ellery. "That kid's good. Even with Hayden's super pitch he was able to smack a home run. I don't know if that one guy here is his boyfriend or something, but whatever he is, it's gon an effect on him."
"Which is why we have to stop it," Ryuu said, waving a hand in Ken's direction. "Can't you see what's happening? He's lost sight of the game out of pure hatred."
"So what?" Cameron shrugged. "Hell, if Ellery was on their team you'd bet your a-s I'd get someone to flirt with Fredrich just to mess him up. It's only fair we do it to their star player. The end justifies the means."
Ryuu was speechless, stunned, by such a carefree attitude to dirty tactics. Wasn't that man a cop?!
"Ai, he's got a point, mate," Hayden nodded. "'Sides, I can't lose out on that bet, either."
"Gambling, Hayden?" Fredrich mused from behind the two. He assumed he was talking to the incubus, but he blindly stared at Ellery. "You just never know when to keep your wallet closed. Take a page from Ellery's book for once and think of the game instead of yourself," he said while gesturing to the art teacher.
Hayden blinked and raised a finger, opening his mouth to correct everything about what the detective said.

Ken spun around at Bae's voice, a brief burst of wind pushing everyone except the dancer back a couple more feet.
"Ẃh̕͠a̶͘t ҉̢͝d͏͜o ̸y͏̀o͘͞u̷ ̀̀ẁ̸͞a͠ń͜t̵̡?̀͢͟" he hissed. "Ḑ͘i͝҉d̵͡͝ ̷͘y҉͜ơù͝͡ŕ̵ ̴͜͡b̵o̧y̶̢f̴̀r̛̀i͝eń̨͞d͟͟ t́el͞͏̴l ͏y͞o͘͠u̡҉̨ t̶҉o̴ mak̷̕e̴̡͝ ̷̷͟m̢͡e͜͟͞ ̵s̷̡ţ̛o͢p?̛͠Ḑ͘i͝҉d̵͡͝ ̷͘y҉͜ơù͝͡ŕ̵ ̴͜͡b̵o̧y̶̢f̴̀r̛̀i͝eń̨͞d͟͟ t́el͞͏̴l ͏y͞o͘͠u̡҉̨ t̶҉o̴ mak̷̕e̴̡͝ ̷̷͟m̢͡e͜͟͞ ̵s̷̡ţ̛o͢p?̛͠" he spat, fingers clenching around the baseball tightly.

 

[Mayah Playah]

♠ ♥ BLAckJAck ♦ ♣

Before Hayden could reveal the truth, Ellery spoke up himself. "What are you talking about?" he asked, an expression on his face. "Fredrich, I have two thousand dollars riding on this." He scratched his cheek, looking out at the young couple on the field. "Although I do suppose I could let up. It's not exactly fair." Although, he reminded himself, that was a lot of money to have morals over.
"You did this exact same thing in Middleton," muttered Lock with a from from the side, flinching when Ellery sent him a harsh look to shut him up.

Eun-Ho held up a hand. "Wait, we're allowed to bet on the game? I have a newborn and no one told me I could make extra money on this?" he asked with an incredulous expression.
"Boba, you're married to a king." Haneul rolled his eyes.
He shrugged. "So? It wouldn't hurt to have a little extra money just in case." He rubbed the back of his neck, leaning over. "D-did you gamble on the game?"
"Of course. I bet on Kurai." Haneul rolled a shoulder, examining his nails.
"What? Why?" asked Lock.
The brunette laughed. "Because you asked Ethan to play," was his response.

"No," he answered. "My boyfriend's a little busy recreating Hurricane Katrina on the pitcher's mound." He reached out a hand, touching Kenshin's arm. "Ellery was using me to throw you off, Ken. Fight it. You're better than that. You know how much I love you, you know I will choose you over him any day and every day." He stepped closer. "Come on. It's okay."

Coconut Coalition

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah Playah

Ye

Fredrich paused when Ellery corrected him, snapping his head in what he assumed was the songwriter's direction. Hayden flinched as the gaze was actually aimed at him. "You what?" he demanded. "Goddammit, Ellery, what the hell possessed you to do such a stupid thing? Gambling is the least thing we want to do now that we're taking care of two children, but two thousand? If you want a rush that badly then look at a home shopping channel. And don't think I'd gladly pay off your debt with my job's money!"

A baseball flew out of the dugout and hit Haneul in the gut.
"Next time you talk sh-t, do it when the person's more than three feet away, dumba-s," Magnus seethed.
"You know, you might need that gambling money to pay for your husband's medical bills," Cameron told Eun-Ho, smiling brightly at the memory. "Man, the look on his face when his old body gave out. Hilarious!" He laughed, choosing to ignore the fact that he was older than any of them.
Seeing the team take a turn for the dysfunctional, Ryuu took it as his cue to sneak out. As he escaped, he looked over at Ken, seeing Bae face him. If anyone could calm him down, it was Bae.

"I̸͞t's̵ ͢͞n҉o҉̴t okay!" Kenshin snapped, his voice gradually becoming less haunted just as the wind died down slightly, but not enough to get the rest of the band closer. "This game was supposed to show my skill! To show that I was good at something!" He pointed the glove in Ellery's direction. "To be better at him for once! He was your first pick before me, everything I do, he does better! Look at that!" He pointed at the jumbotron showing their scores. "He's beating me at this too! The only thing I'm good at! What am I supposed to do now?" he demanded, breathing heavily as he waited for an answer. The silhouette left his face, showing the tears overflowing from his eyes and the quivering lip that made his exhales shudder.

 

[Mayah Playah]

♠ ♥ BLAckJAck ♦ ♣

The songwriter rolled his eyes, moving in front of Fredrich and standing a little close so the detective could see him a little better. "What, you think I don't have a separate account for my gambling money? Of course, I can pay for it." He placed a hand on his hip. "And I'll have you know that my gambling afforded Daniel and Charlotte's tuition for that private school you're so in love with."

While Haneul held his stomach and sat down in an attempt to get his breathing back to normal, Eun-Ho sent a nasty look to Cameron. "Hey, I'll have you know that my husband is a strong and powerful man! He's just, you know, a little older. A-and you need to shut up or I'll put ideas of marriage into your boyfriend's head. I'll do it! I'll do it to all your boyfriends!" He threatened, pointing at each unmarried male in the dugout.

Bae's hand moved to his boyfriend's cheek, holding it tenderly. "That isn't true," he insisted. "You're far better than he is. You're more beautiful, more sweet, and plus you're a better pitcher." He chuckled a little, leaning down to press their foreheads together. "You're supposed to believe in yourself as much as I do. I think you're incredible, Ken. Don't let him affect you, his actions or opinion don't matter."
In the crowd, fangirls were on the edge of their seats, watching their beloved OTP's love live and in color.

Coconut Coalition

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah Playah

"You and I are both more than capable of paying for it without gambling," Fredrich pointed out.

"You wouldn't have much affect, he's already thinking about it," Cameron beamed while looking out into the audience. Now that he thought about it, he could use this crowd as the perfect chance to find someone with a good engagement ring.
"L-Let's not get hasty," Hayden, on the other hand, panicked. There was something about the word "marriage" that made him uneasy, like putting on a ball and chain. He already had something like that, he didn't need another one!

The wind stopped and the clouds dispersed to allow a ray of sunlight to shine down on the two. Ken looked at Bae, all anger and hurt replaced by innocent surprise, a rare glimpse of his old, kind self. "You... You believe in me?" he mumbled. He pursed his lips tightly to keep the cries inside, and buried his face into Bae's chest as he hugged him tightly.
The crowd awwed and applauded as the sunlight spread and shined down on the entire stadium. This was obviously planned, the fans all thought as they cheered. An incredible show, nonetheless! But how on earth did they control the weather like that??
After a while, Ken pulled away from the hug. "Alright... I'm better now. Thanks." He smiled lightly at Bae until a blur of gray shot towards him and tackled him to the ground.
"I got him!" Yasu called out atop a flailing redhead. Kaoru ran over to pull the drummer off, Ken shooting up and jabbing a finger in the drummer's chest.
"The hell's your problem?!" he snarled, a vein pulsing at the side of his head.
"I should be asking you the same thing with those crappy pitches!" Yasu fired back. Electricity sparked between the two as Kaoru and Ryuu dragged them to their dugout.

 

[Mayah Playah]

♠ ♥ BLAckJAck ♦ ♣

"Let me have my hobbies, okay?" Ellery replied with a frown, then placed a hand on his fiance's shoulder. "At least mine doesn't put me in the hospital."

The blonde quickly caught Hayden's unease, giving a sidelong glance to the cheerleader teen outside of the dugout, hair in two pig tails and skirt short on his long figure. "That's right, I'll tell him. I'll put it in his head. I'll let him borrow my big binder of wedding ideas, I'll tell him how great it is to be married and have a child, I will make your life a living hell."

As the wind died down and the people cheered, Bae gently stroked the back of Kenshin's head, a smile on his face. "I believe in you more than I believe in anyone else," he said quietly. "You are capable of absolutely, anything, Ken. I know you'll change the world." He pulled away, raising a hand to Kenshin's cheek again, just in time for the redhead to be tackled to the ground.
A drop of sweat slowly rolled down the side of the man's head. He cleared his throat, then caught Ken's wrist and pulled him back for a brief kiss. "I love you," he whispered, then moved away and started back for his own dugout. Once inside, he strode over to Ellery and grabbed his shoulder, turning the songwriter to face him. "Hyungnim, we're playing fair. Don't flirt with me just to anger Kenshin or I'll get really angry with you."
Ellery winced at the tight grip on his shoulder, rubbing it when Bae finally let go to grab his mitt and get ready to go out to the field.

Coconut Coalition

 

[Its Smiley]

Mayah Playah

Now that that's over, we can just skip to the concert?

Hayden's shaking hands worsened, and he shook his head vigorously. A kid?! He couldn't handle that! How was he supposed to teach a child that in order to eat?!
"N-No!" he begged, quickly putting an arm around Cameron and smiling nervously. "I-I'll keep him in line! Don't worry!" Laughing nervously, he dragged the cop and the detective away to the field.