Major League Imagines

Ender Inciarte (Requested)

~~Requested by @laurakateroberson Sorry this took so long, girl! I was a little uninspired to do any writing and had some other things going on, but I'm back now! 😂 Hope you like it! 💕~~

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LK laughed and glanced around the table at the guys she was sitting with. The greatest part of being best friends with Dansby Swanson was getting to hang out with all the guys on the Atlanta Braves. They had had a day game today, so it was only a few of them. Mostly the single ones, because the rest had gone home to their families.

Currently, she was with Dansby Swanson, Rio Ruiz, and Ender Inciarte, and even though they were single guys, LK felt completely comfortable. She felt like their little sister, and even almost like a daughter to some of the older, married guys. She wanted to be more than a sister to one of them, though, the guy who happened to be sitting next to her, Ender Inciarte.

Ender, however, was the only guy on the team who was unemotional towards her. He wasn't quite hostile, but he wasn't really welcoming to her either.

It hurt a little bit. She hadn't wanted to develop a crush on any of them, but it happened against her will. She didn't understand why if it had to happen, it had to be the one who barely even noticed her.

Dansby had invited her over to hang out with them at his place that night and they had ordered pizza. They were all just hanging out chatting and LK loved just being around them. Growing up as an only child, it was nice to feel like she had the siblings she had always dreamed of having.

Rio cracked a joke and they all started laughing and he gave her a friendly wink across the table.

Ender coughed and LK saw him look down at his hand in her peripheral vision. This happened all the time and it really annoyed her. Any time one of the guys singled her out and showed her attention, he seemed upset. She knew he didn't want her around, but the other guys did, so he needed to get over it.

She brushed it off and ignore him. If he wasn't going to be friendly, she was going to try to enjoy her time with Dansby and Rio.

LK had just made a comment and Dansby winked and nudged her, "I knew you were my favorite girl for a reason."  He meant it with complete innocence. They were both just good friends.

Ender quickly slid his chair back and stood, "I'm gonna go. I'll see you later." He told them and walked out of the apartment without looking at any of them.

LK was angry. He did this every time and she wanted him to stop, "I'll be back." She stood up and followed Ender outside. "Ender, wait!"

He stopped, but didn't turn to face her as she ran up to him.

"Okay, listen. I don't know why you hate me so much or what I ever did to you, but do you have to be so obvious about it? It's been nice to finally have some people that feel like family to me and I don't want to give that up just because you can't stand me."

Ender slowly turned to face her, "You think I hate you?"

LK laughed sarcastically, "I mean, it's obvious! Any time any of the guys shows me any bit of attention, you get all irritated. I'm just honestly sick of having to walk on eggshells around you."

Ender looked at his feet and his face slowly turned red. He had no idea it seemed like he hated her, and he didn't even know where to begin.

"Well, I've said what I wanted to say. It's up to you now." She said and turned to walk back inside. Her heart was aching. All she wanted was for him to like her, even if it was only as a friend. That she could deal with, but his hatred towards her was too much to bear.

"LK, wait..." Ender grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

She stopped, but didn't look at him. She knew if she met his eyes, she may not be able to stop hers from spilling over.

"I...don't hate you..."

LK shook her head, "Please, Ender. You don't have to lie."

"I really don't...I'm sorry it seemed that way..." his voice genuinely seemed sorrowful.

She pulled her wrist out of his grasp, "Well, thank you for the apology." She took a step back towards the apartment.

"I like you. A lot..." Ender blurted out, stopping her in her tracks again. "I've just been too scared to say anything, and the reason I get annoyed when the other guys show you attention is because I'm jealous..." he trailed off, feeling embarrassed that he was admitting this.

LK turned to face him, not caring if the tears overflowed, "Please tell me this isn't some kind of a sick joke." She was almost scared of his answer.

Ender shook his head and glanced down at his feet, feeling awful for the tears in her eyes, "It's not. I promise you."

She took a deep breath, "I really like you too. I just didn't say anything because I thought you hated me..."

"Are you serious?" He looked up to meet her eyes, "Wow...I am such a jerk. I am so sorry, LK. I never meant to make it seem like I hated you. I just didn't think you'd like me, and I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable coming to spend time with us."

LK laughed, "You almost scared me off because I thought you hated me." He looked down at his feet again, feeling awful.

Gaining a burst of confidence, she reached up and lightly touched his cheek, "I'm glad you don't hate me. Now that we both know how each other feels, do you wanna go inside and we can take it from there?"

Ender smiled at her and nodded, "I'd like that." He extended his hand and she placed hers in his as they turned to walk back into Dansby's apartment.

LK felt like she was walking on a cloud. She had never expected this to happen, but she felt like the happiest girl in the world.