"Why am I here?" I complained to Bryce, as we swung into the school parking lot.

"Because you love me."

"That's irrelevant." I parked the car, turning to face him. "I don't want to watch Steven pitch and the team play. I don't care about the baseball team if you're not on it."

He leaned across the center console, kissing me for a brief moment. "I don't want to see Anderson pitch either. But it's a big game for the team, so I needed to come."

I stepped out of the car with a sigh, shooting a glare in Bryce's direction.

"You love me," he reminded me.

I just rolled my eyes as he took my hand in his, leading me up to the baseball fields.

The Team Mom let us inside without paying the ticket fee, and I immediately headed for the concession stands.

"Are you going to cheat on me?" Bryce complained.

"I can't come to a baseball game without my M&M's," I said, jutting out my bottom lip.

He let out a long, dramatic sigh. "Since I dragged you here, I guess I can't complain."

"That's right mister," I said, poking him in the abdomen. "That's the last thing you should be doing. I gave up my Monday night to come down the baseball fields with you."

"Because you love me," he reminded me.

"Yes Bryce, so you continue to remind me."

He just offered me a cheeky smile.

I stepped up to the counter, asking for my M&M's and bottle of water.

I turned around and my eyes widened when I saw Mr. John standing by the bleachers.

He was a regular at Bryce's travel team games and tournaments, and everyone around the baseball fields knew him.

But I'd never seen him at one of Bryce's high school games.

"Hey, it's Mr. John!" Bryce exclaimed, pulling me with him as he went over to greet him.

Mr. John was completely bald, undergoing Chemotherapy for Pancreatic Cancer, the worst of the worst.

He'd been on and off Chemo for the past 2 years that I'd known him, but he never lost his spunk. He was someone that people loved to be around, always brightening up your day with a smile and a friendly conversation.

"Bryce!" Mr. John called, as we approached him. "And Sophie, beautiful as always."

Bryce gave him a quick hug. "I haven't seen you out here," Bryce said.

"This is the first game I've made it to this season," Mr. John said, with a half-smile. "But I'm excited. I hear it's supposed to be a real good one."

Bryce began filling him in on baseball statistics, and I found myself scanning the bleachers, looking for a familiar face.

I saw Landon with a few of his friends, but I truly can't stand him. So I continued to search for a friendly face, someone I could sit with during the game.

"But I hear you're not coming back this season," Mr. John stated.

"Not this high school season," Bryce said, with a shake of his head.

"That's a real shame." Mr. John shoved his hands in his pockets. "I know I'm obligated to say that Steven's the best pitcher there is, but I think you give him a run for his money. And I think he could use that, you know? Someone pushing him to do better, keep him on his toes."

I looked over at Bryce, an uneasy feeling forming in the pit of my stomach.

Mr. John couldn't be Steven's father.

"You can bet I'll give him a run for his money during tournament season," Bryce said, with a laugh.

"You better. I hear that you guys will have a couple of big tournaments this summer."

Bryce nodded. "We've got a few showcases lined up."

"I expect an A+ performance from you," Mr. John joked.

"I'd never deliver anything less."

"I know you wouldn't," he said, with a laugh. "That's what I love about ya Bryce."

"Bryce!" Coach Richards called. "Are you coming or what?"

"Looks like that's my call," Bryce said, kissing my cheek. He turned to look at Mr. John. "Will you be around after the game?"

"I can't promise that now," Mr. John said, with a shake of his head. "The misses has got me roped into a family dinner."

Bryce chuckled. "I'll see you at the next game then."

"That you will," he agreed, before Bryce headed over to join Coach Richards.

"I keep telling Steven that Bryce is going to come back better than ever," Mr. John said to me, with a shake of his head. "And he better watch out. But he never listens to me."

I let out a bit of a forced laugh, the uneasy feeling in my stomach growing.

"What can I do?" Mr. John asked, flashing a smile at me before heading over to catch up with a middle-aged man that had been waving him down.

I took a seat on the bottom row of the bleachers, looking over at Steven, who was talking with Bryce and Coach Richards, before looking back over at Mr. John again.

Mr. John must know Steven like he knows Bryce. There didn't seem to be a family resemblance. And there was no way that a sweet, caring person like Mr. John could be related to a self-conceited asshat like Steven.

~*~

"How're you feeling?" Myra asked me, as we pulled up to North Creek High School.

"Nervous," I admitted, with a slight laugh. "I've never done anything like this before."

"It's not so bad," she promised. "It's actually pretty fun once you get into it."

We climbed out of Mr. Tate's car, following him inside.

The competition was being held in the library, and all but one of the other teams were already here.

We took our seats, and I found my eyes scanning the room.

There weren't many people here, but my mom had taken off work for the afternoon, and I found her sitting off to the right.

And sitting next to her, offering me a goofy smile, was Bryce Harrison.

I shook my head, unable to bite back a smile of my own.

I hadn't known that he was coming. I didn't take an A-Team competition as being his type of thing.

"The competition will begin in 5 minutes," an uptight looking older man announced.

Myra snickered next to me.

"I'll never get over how ridiculous his voice is," she whispered to me.

I placed my hand over my mouth to keep from laughing, shaking my head.

The other school arrived within those five minutes, the students looking a bit frazzled.

Though if I was running late and had less than five minutes to get situated before the competition began, I'd probably feel the pressure too.

"Okay, I'm going to go and take my seat," Mr. Tate informed us. "Remember your training."

"And trust your instincts," Patrick added, with a laugh.

I raised my eyebrows at him.

"It's a movie quote," he informed me. "From the movie Dodgeball?"

"I love that movie!"

"Not the one with Ben Stiller," he said, with a slight shake of his head.

"There's another Dodgeball movie?"

I only know of the funny one, with the 5 D's of dodgeball.

Myra just patted me on the back. "So much to learn."

"It's time to begin!" the uptight man informed us, clearing his throat as he took his podium.

The chatter around the room ceased as he fixed his papers, staring at the lot of us.

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be intimidated or bust out into laughter.

But I was leaning towards the second option.

He read off the rules and regulations for the competition, something I'd been prepped on numerous times.

I sat with my right leg crossed over my left as the competition began.

I still felt a bit nervous, but it was mostly my teammates during the work as the competition wore on.

I felt useless.

"Major battles of this war include Zorndorf, Leuthen, Rossbach, Minden, and Quiberon Bay. Identify this conflict that began in 1756 and ended in 1763," the uptight man stated.

My teammates exchanged confused glances, Myra biting her bottom lip.

But I knew this one, and my hand reached out and slapped the buzzer.

"Durham High!" the man called out.

"The Seven Years' War," I answered.

"Correct."

Myra high-fived me as we were awarded five points, and I felt a smile spreading across my face.

As the competition continued, I found myself stepping out and answering more questions.

I'd finally found my element.

And then the end of the competition approached, and we were trailing by five points, a single question.

"The last question of the match," the uptight man stated.

I sat up a little straighter, my heart pounding in my chest.

"In crop rotation, why are legumes, such as soybeans and alfalfas, planted in the third and last stage?"

All of the eyes at the table immediately shifted to me.

I'd had this exact question during practice.

I bit my bottom lip, my mind on override as I went through every answer to every question I'd given that.

I had to know the answer.

And then I reached out and smacked the buzzer, a smile spreading across my face.

A smile spread across Myra's face as well as she waited for me to say it.

"They're carbon-fixing plants," I announced.

And then my heart immediately dropped.

I'd said Carbon. Not Nitrogen. Legumes were nitrogen-fixing plants.

"Wait," I stated.

"I'm sorry, but your first answer it what counts," the uptight man informed me. "And that's incorrect."

Another team buzzed in, getting the question correct.

And that was it for the competition. We'd lost.

Because I'd said the wrong thing.

"It's okay," Myra promised. "We've all done it. Word diarrhea I like to call it. You know what you mean to say but it doesn't come out that way."

I could feel the tears pricking at my eyes as I nodded.

I felt terrible.

"We'll get 'em next time," Mr. Tate said, with a sad smile.

My teammates dejectedly nodded, everyone staring at the floor or the wall.

"Let's regroup in ten minutes out by the car," he suggested, before we all broke apart.

"That was great honey," mom said, as I approached her. "I always knew you were smart, but wow. Either kids these days are learning things I never did, or you're on another level."

"She's on another level," Bryce said, offering me a smile.

I mustered up a smile.

"Hey, it's okay," Bryce said, opening up his arms and enveloping me in a hug.

"I lost."

"You didn't lose."

"I said the wrong thing."

"So did that other guy," he pointed out. "Earlier in the competition, when he said that thing instead of the right answer."

I closed my eyes, pressing my face against his chest as I let out a slight laugh. "Good one."

"My point is that you didn't lose. The team lost. There's a difference."

"Take advice from your baseball-playing boyfriend," my mom suggested. "He probably knows about losing."

"That's hurtful," Bryce said, in a wounded voice.

I re-opened my eyes again, laughing this time as I wiped my tears on his shirt before pulling away. "That's true, Bryce knows plenty about losing."

"I did not come here to be attacked," Bryce pointed out, the ends of his lips tugging down.

But his eyes were still sparkling with amusement.

"I didn't know you were coming," I said.

"I wouldn't miss your first competition!"

I couldn't help but smile.

"You come to all of my baseball games, so of course I'll come support you in your thing. Even if it's boring as hell."

"Be nice," my mom chastised.

"Sorry. Even if it's as exciting as watching the Homerun Derby."

I just shook my head, burying my head in his shoulder as he re-wrapped his arms around me.

"Thank you for coming," I said, pressing my lips to his neck.

"Thank you for trying to arouse me in public. Save that for later love."

~*~

"Do you want to do something tomorrow?" I asked Bryce, as I finished my tenth homework problem for AP Chemistry.

"I can't."

I looked up at him, raising an eyebrow.

He let out a sigh, biting his bottom lip. "Clayton's coming over."

"So tell him to go away."

Bryce chuckled. "We're going to work out."

I didn't mean to laugh, but it just sort of slipped out.

Bryce shook his head at me, rolling his eyes as he restarted his Chemistry work.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I didn't mean it."

"Sure you didn't."

"Why are you going to work out with Clayton?"

"Because if I plan on playing baseball here soon I have to get my endurance back, right?"

Oh yeah, I did say something like that, didn't I?

"I was just messing with you."

"But it's true." He looked up at me again. "I haven't played baseball since before the surgery, let alone actually gone for a run or anything."

Now I really felt guilty. "Well if it's something you're serious about, then I'm truly sorry for laughing. And I'll come over on Saturday and make you breakfast to make it up to you."

"You'll make me breakfast?"

I nodded. "Anything you want."

"I want some blueberry pancakes."

"You want to go and work out and then eat blueberry pancakes?"

"Well organic blueberry pancakes."

I rolled my eyes, letting out a sigh. "The things I do for you Bryce Harrison."

He smiled at me as the bell rang, signaling the start of school. "Just one of the many reasons I love you Sophie Allen."

So what did you guys think about Mr. John? What relevance do you think he has to the story? What about Sophie's A-Team competition? This time it was Bryce's turn to give Sophie a bit of cheering up. And then Clayton & Bryce? As I said, I think you guys judged Clayton a little too early.

Teaser: Bryce finds out just how out of shape he truly is. And Sophie basically wins girlfriend of the year award, because who else makes blueberry pancakes for your boyfriend when they could be sleeping? Plus a little more is revealed about Mr. John.