Welcome to the Innocent World

The afternoon sun shone bright and high above the field as we gathered in two teams for the match. The heat was heavy, but we barely noticed it with the excitement buzzing through everyone.

Caps were pulled low to block out the sun, and a few of the guys were already sweating as they adjusted their gloves and threw practice pitches back and forth.

"Catch it Harry."

"Throw with all your might."

The benches behind the railing were filled with familiar faces. Lily sat with a group of friends, giving me an encouraging smile as she waved.

"Teams are set! Let's get this going!" Kyle announced, clapping his hands and glancing around as everyone took their positions.

I ended up on a team with Beta who is Lena for now, Kyle, and Rose. Across from us were Ryan, Sarah, and a few more friends who'd joined for the game. Ryan had his usual competitive energy going, and even from this distance, I could see the determination in his expression as he took his place on the pitcher's mound.

"You guys ready to lose?" Ryan called, a playful smirk tugging at his mouth.

Kyle scoffed, rolling his eyes as he adjusted his cap. "As if, man. We're taking this home." He poke Rose, who was next to him. "Right, Rose?"

Rose laughed, giving a thumbs-up. "We've got this. Especially with Lena and Austin on our side."

"Aw, shucks," Lena replied, grinning as she swung her bat in practice, looking eager to get started. "I'm just warming up!!!!..Yeahh-"

Laughter rippled through the crowd as we got into our positions. I took a steady stance, keeping my strength in check and focusing on blending in. The last thing I wanted was to draw unnecessary attention.

Ryan's first pitch came in fast, and Lena swung, sending the ball soaring into the outfield. She took off sprinting to first base, her speed catching everyone off guard as she slid in safely.

"Safeeeee..."

Kyle cheered as Lena grinned, shaking the dirt off her hands.

"Lena, you've got some serious moves," Kyle said, impressed.

"Just wait, I'm getting started!" she said, her grin widening as she held up her fists in mock celebration.

Ryan rolled his eyes, and the game went on. Rose and Kyle followed up with solid hits, loading the bases and keeping the score close.

My turn came, and I kept my calm, hitting the ball on a low arc into the outfield. The crowd's cheers grew louder, especially from the girls on the sidelines.

"Austin! Show 'em how it's done!" one of the girls called out, and I gave her a small nod, pretending not to notice the smirks my teammates were throwing my way.

As the innings went on, everyone got into the spirit, and the game got more intense. By the fourth inning, the score was neck and neck, with both teams pushing hard to take the lead.

Lena kept everyone laughing with her exaggerated swings, almost pirouetting every time she missed.@@novelbin@@

Then, about halfway through the game, it happened. Lena came up to bat again, this time with a glint in her eye that suggested she was ready to make her mark. Ryan smirked, winding up his pitch with a flourish.

"You ready for this, Lena?" he taunted.

"More than ready!!! Just you all see me now!" she shot back, her stance strong as she held the bat steady.

Ryan threw the ball, and with a fierce swing, Lena connected.

*BOOM*

The sound of the hit was like a gunshot, and we all watched in stunned silence as the ball rocketed straight up into the sky. It went up, up…and didn't come down as if the ball reached the space.

~And she did it. I sighed, holding my head.

The entire field fell silent as we all craned our necks, watching the ball vanish into the sky.

"What…?" Sarah whispered, eyes wide. "Where did it go?"

Rose was the first to start laughing, shaking her head in disbelief. "Lena, did you just…hit the ball out of the atmosphere?"

Lena, looking immensely pleased with herself, planted her hands on her hips and grinned. "Guess I'm just that good."

Kyle's jaw dropped, and he looked over at me, half laughing. "Austin, man, is this for real?"

Ryan, still standing on the pitcher's mound, blinked in astonishment before shaking his head. "What just happened?"

From the bleachers, Lily's gaze had turned into a dark glare, and aura came from her that sent shivers in Lena's spine.

Lena smile wavered as she noticed. She winced, looking sheepish. "Um… maybe I went a little too hard…"

Sighing, Lily also held her head.

Poor Lily, having a hard time controlling her shadow mystics all the time.

Ryan threw another ball but this time Lena purposely missed the ball. And missed another one and another one giving out a tired face.

After getting out she walked back to the bench with an exaggerated pout as ryan and other people made fun of her.

"See? It was just a fluke earlier," Rose teased, nudging her with an elbow.

"Must've been a lucky shot," Ryan added, trying to hold back laughter.

Lena's face flushed, and she crossed her arms, muttering, "Lucky shot, my foot…"

I stayed back, watching the whole thing unfold with a small, amused smirk. Lena's antics might have attracted a bit too much attention, but it kept the energy high and brought some extra laughs into the game.

The rest of the game went smoothly, with my team steadily trying to make up the score.

Athlea, my neighbor was passing and after seeing that game is happening. She also took a seat at the far end of the bench, her grocery bags set aside as she watched with a hint of amusement in her eyes.

In the next inning, Kyle was up to bat. With a determined expression, he swung hard, sending the ball skimming past second base. He took off, his pace quick as he rounded the bases.

"Run, Kyle, run!" Rose shouted, clapping her hands excitedly.

Kyle sprinted to third base, sliding in just as the ball came back into play. He pumped his fist in the air, grinning triumphantly. "Safe! That's how you do it!"

"Nice one, Kyle!" I cheered.

We moved on to the last few innings, and the tension was starting to build as the score remained close. Rose and Sarah exchanged a friendly smack talk, each insisting that their team was going to win.

"Face it, Sarah," Rose said with a grin, "we've got Kyle and mighty Austin. There's no way we're losing!"

Mighty who? Me?

"Oh, we'll see about that!" Sarah shot back, laughing as she took her place on the field.