Song For This Chapter:
Overwhelming- Jon Bellion
"Cause everything about you is so overwhelming
Come over here and overwhelm me
'Hey do I impress you'"
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Darlene's POV:
Mini golf. Niall chose mini golf. Out of all the things he could have chosen he chose that. I should've saw it coming, he's obsessed with golf.
We played the whole course, Niall winning of course. I usually can pick up things pretty fast so halfway through I improved a lot. But still not anywhere close to Niall's skills. Harry came in a close second, apparently liking golf too.
Something they can bond over, how cute.
Maya and I just tried our best, despite knowing there was no way either of us would win. It was fun nonetheless. The course was pretty entertaining just to look at, I would honestly do it again despite not being that good at it. It was fun.
We're walking through the exit of the course and that's when I spot batting cages. Now I have the nagging urge to go in one. I haven't since I stopped playing.
"Niall" I say in a overly kind voice.
He turns his head to look at me which urges me to continue to speak,
"Can we go to the batting cages" I say giving him a dramatically kind smile to try and convince him.
He looks away from me to turn his head towards the cages. He turns back to me with a smile on his face, "Yes" he says a bit of excitement laced in his voice as well.
I try and contain my own excitement but it's no use. Maya and Harry obviously hear our conversation so they don't question anything when we change directions and head towards the cages.
I immediately find the token dispenser, throwing a 10 in to get enough tokens to share amongst us.
There's different machines with different pitch speeds. You can also chose between baseball or softball sized balls.
"What's the slowest one?" Maya says with a laugh which cause me to smile. I scan over all the cages before I find it, and I point it out to her. It's all the way at the other end of the line of cages.
I begin browsing the bats that they have available, needing to find the right size.
"Wanna have a competition?" Harry tempts as he leans against the cage so he comes into my view.
I turn my attention to him and away from the bats,
"See who gets more hits" He adds in challenge.
"Sure" I say shrugging my shoulders. Why not? Especially when I know I'm gonna win.
"Keep count for me?"
I need to be able to focus, I don't want to get distracted by remembering what number I left off on. Harry nods his head and I turn back to the bats finally finding the right size. I place my token into the machine going to open the gate inside.
"You need a helmet" Harry says putting his hand on the gate to prevent me from opening it any further.
"No I don't" I say in humor, "I've done it without a helmet many times" I continue, going to try and tug the door open but it doesn't budge.
Harry reaches beside him grabbing a helmet off the rack, his other hand still placed on the door. He holds it out to me expecting me to take it. But I don't I just look down at it and back up to him in defiance.
"Helmet" He insists in a stern tone raising an authoritative eyebrow at me.
I huff at his persistence. He never listens to me but always expects me to listen to him.
I look up at him in annoyance, hoping he'll sense that he's beginning to piss me off now.
"Darlene"
"Harry" I state back in the same stern tone as his. I don't understand why he gets like this sometimes. Despite me reassuring him I'll me fine, he still won't budge.
"Take it"
"No, oh my god" I say getting frustrated at this point.
If I felt like I needed one, I would put one on. But these are machines, their pitches are pretty consistent, they're not going to be flying at my head. Their not unpredictable like they would be when there's an actual person pitching to you. In that circumstance I would wear a helmet.
He just stares at me with an un amused look letting me know he's not backing down.
"I said I don-"
"Now."
I groan snatching the helmet from his hands, "Fine" I state in annoyance making sure I glare up at him. He has a smug but also relieved expression on his face.
"You're literally so annoying sometimes" I grumble as I place the helmet over my head and swing open the cage door that Harry is no longer holding onto.
I don't even have to ask Harry before he's pressing the button on the machine to start it up.
I thought I'd be rusty but the years I spent playing makes it muscle memory. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss this just a little bit. Some games and practices were miserable and I lost my passion for it. But I miss being on a team, constantly being around friends. Those girls are what made those miserable games tolerable.
I hit every pitch but two. I had to move out of the way, they were a bit too close to me and I didn't feel like getting hit by a softball today. That shit will leave a huge bruise on you.
Most of my hits were decent, some hitting the net at the back of the cage.
I smile once I finish, feeling happy. I felt like I was 16 again at the indoor batting cages for a winter softball practice. The familiar smell of the rubber pitching machine balls giving me a nostalgic feeling.
I exit the cage with a triumphant smile on my face, the second I'm out I rip the helmet from my head.
"Eh, you were all right" Harry says shrugging his shoulders and looking at me with a smirk, as he walks a bit closer to me.
I stare up at him unamused, "Do you really wanna piss me off while I'm holding a bat?" I warn raising an eyebrow at him, lifting the bat up a bit to emphasize my statement.
Harry lets a chuckle that he tried to hold back but puts his hands up in surrender. I return a sickeningly sweet smile before hanging the bat on the rack.
"Do I just pick any one of these?" Harry says walking over to the rack and scanning the collection of bats that run along the side of the cage.
"No uh-" I begin scanning as well trying to find the biggest one. He's tall which means he has long arms, "-here this one might work" I say grabbing it.
"Hold out your arm" I say but it coming out more as a question.
Harry complies with a confused look on his face, I bring the bat up next to his arm comparing the length of the bat to the length of his arm. It's a bit shorter, but it's the biggest one they have so it will have to do.
"Yeah this will work" I say bringing the bat back down causing Harry to return his arm down to his side.
"It's cute when you're all knowledgeable about something" Harry says with a smile on his face, the statement causing heat to rush to my cheeks. I hoping it passes off as heat from the sun and not because he just made me blush.
I just hand him the bat, feeling if I respond I'll stutter or say something embarrassing. He takes the bat with a cheeky smile on his face from my lack of response.
He makes his way to the gate, grabbing a helmet and throwing it on.
"Ready?" I say raising my voice so he can hear me.
He gives me a thumbs up, his face staring forward to anticipate the pitches. I insert the token and press the button, starting the machine up.
The first pitch flies in and Harry jumps back from the plate, "Jesus-fuck" he says in shock.
I try and hold my chuckle in. You don't really realize how fast a pitch is until it's barreling toward you, one second it's leaving the machine and the next it's crossing the plate in a flash. You have to be quick.
Harry walks back up to the plate getting ready for the next pitch. This time he doesn't jump back but swings and misses. He does this for the next couple pitches and I hear him groan in frustration.
"H you need swing earlier" I say walking up so I'm against the fence. I shouldn't be helping him cause this is technically a 'competition' but I can't help myself.
His timing is off, it's an easy fix.
He doesn't turn towards me, keeping his eyes forward but he nods his head in acknowledgement.
With the next one he makes contact with the ball, but it is sent straight to the ground. If you're hitting grounders it means your swing is too high because you're hitting the top of the ball, which is why it gets sent straight down.
"Okay good" I praise, "Now just try and keep the swing level"
Gosh I feel like one of my softball coaches right now, it's kind of fun though.
It takes him a few pitches to adjust to my previous correction but when he doesn't his hits begin staying in the air instead of immediately becoming grounders.
Finally the machine comes to a stop and Harry is turning around and heading out through the gate. He pulls his helmet off, his curls now being a bit messier.
"Well that sucked" He says with a chuckle "You made it look so easy" He continues sighing in defeat.
I can tell he was really trying his hardest. He probably shouldn't have went into the cage with the fastest speed first but he was actually pretty good at picking up on the timing.
"No-no, you were doing good" I say, genuinely meaning it. Harry just stares at me unconvinced but a small smile lingers on his face.
"You don't have to lie to make me feel better" He says shaking his head with a smile.
"No I'm serious" I insist, "Here-" I go and grab the bat I used before, "-let me just show you a couple things to help" I say making my way back into the cage.
Harry follows me, still holding his own bat.
"Okay first-"
I begin walking up to the plate and standing next to it, "-you need to line up the middle of your bat with the middle of the plate" I state holding my bat out straight to show him,
I look over my shoulder to make sure he's watching which he is.
"If you want more time before you have to swing just move further right down the plate" I say taking a step to my right as an example.
I turn back to look at Harry only to see him watching with a small smirk on his face,
"What?" I say in confusion. If he begins laughing at me I'll simply die of embarrassment, I'm just trying to help.
"I know I said it was cute how much you knew but I'm leaning more towards it being hot" He says trying to hold back a smile as he rolls his lips between his fingers.
"Harry" I grumble, "were you even listening?"
"Yeah I was" He says nodding his head, still holding back his smile.
I give him an unconvinced look, if he's not going to listen I'm not going to waste my time.
"Line the bat up in the middle, move right to give myself more time" He lists off, summarizing everything I said.
I just nod my head with a smile, moving to the left side of the plate so I'm facing him.
"Let me see your swing" I say beckoning him with my arm to take his position at the plate.
He nods his head, taking his position next to the plate. He takes a swing while I analyze everything he does. He looks back up at me waiting for me to say something.
I walk up to him, "Okay hold the bat up like your about to swing"
He does as he's told, I immediately fix his positioning. Making him poke his elbow back more, kicking his right foot to make him have a wider stance. He observes each correction I make, seeming to be extremely concentrated on making sure he remembers everything I'm saying as I reposition him.
"Okay now swing but slowly so I can see better" I say taking a step back. I watch as he does it slowly, everything seems to be a lot better already.
"Okay now swing normally" I say, wanting to make sure it's consistent and he doesn't go back to his original stance when he swings.
His normal swing also reflects the corrections I gave causing a triumphant smile take over my face,
"Good, that's already so much better"
I see a small grin appear on Harry's face as he takes a step back from the plate.
"Okay now you stand over here" I say pointing my finger down to where I am so he can watch me.
I stand next to the plate again holding up my bat, "Now just make sure the nob of the bat stays above your belt, it will help you stay level" I say slowly swinging so he can see what I mean,
"Then just try and transfer your weight from your back foot to your front foot, it will give the swing more power" I say, doing a normal swing hoping he can see what I mean, "All your weight should be on your back foot but when you bring your bat down to start the swing transfer it to the front"
I look back up at him and he's nodding his head, he seems determined now. His concentration is cute reminding me of when we were playing 20 questions on the airplane yesterday. I'm overall finding this whole situation adorable with how determined he is to do better.
"Okay, go again and lets see how you do" I say with a reassuring smile on my face.
I make my way out of the cage and grab a token to place in the machine. I then grab Harry and helmet and quickly hand it to him before I make my way back over.
I see Harry take a few practice swings while he waits for me which I also find adorable.
"Okay I'm starting it" I announce pressing the button to turn the machine on.
This time he did a million times better. He swung and missed a couple times, but he had a couple really good hits towards the end. I can't help but feel a little bit proud in him and also myself. I was able to teach him and it actually worked so I'm pretty satisfied.
He pulls off his helmet revealing a satisfied smile as he exits the cage.
I clasp my hands together and bounce on the heels of my foot in giddiness watching as he places the bat back into it's holder. I find myself springing forward towards him and wrapping him in a excited hug. My hands are looped behind his neck while his go around my torso. I pick my feet up off the ground a bit, feeling restless with the happiness flowing through me.
I may be more excited than he is.
"You did so good!" I say in excitement before pulling away to look at him again.
He shakes his head in amusement before leaning forward and pressing a tender kiss to my lips. Which I happily return having to fight off my grin so I could continue to kiss him. The action calming down my excitable mind making me feel less wired.
When he pulls away the grin I was suppressing now grows across my face.
"You're cute" Harry states simply, staring down at me in an adoring way.
"You're cute sometimes too...I guess" I say is faux reluctance, looking down at my fingernails in fake disinterest.
"I am not cute" Harry says a grimace taking over his face at my statement.
I give him a look that says, 'yeah sure'
"Hate to break it to you but sometimes you're-" I dramatically look side to side as if checking if anyone is near, "-cute" I say in a whisper, leaning closer so he can hear me.
Harry playfully rolls his eyes at my theatrics but doesn't try to argue back.
"Aw!" I hear Niall's voice travel from the cages him and Maya were at.
Harry and I look at each other in amusement already having an idea of what just happened. We speed walk our way over to figure out what went down.
"That hurt like a bitch!" Niall says holding a spot on the side of his thigh.
Maya is up against the fence looking through it with a concerned expression on her face.
"Okay maybe that's enough of the batting cages for today" Maya says warily giving out a forced laugh.
Niall just nods his head and walks out of the cage. This machine isn't that fast getting hit would still hurt, but it most likely won't leave a bruise. He'll be fine once the sting goes away.
"Okay where to next?" I question while I lean my back against the fenced walls of the cage.
"Can we do mine next?" Maya asks in excitement which, we all nod in agreement.
"Okay I wanna go to the Strat Attractions" She says clasping her hands together with a huge smile on her face.
That actually sounds fun, those are rides that I actually won't hate cause they're not rollercoasters.
"Ooo fun, yes, okay let's go" Niall says in excitement, his mood being lifted again at Maya's suggestion.
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A/N: I'm so sorry if this chapter was boring, I got a little carried away. I wanted to do all their activities in one chapter but I don't want to make it too long.
I promise the next chapters won't be boring lol, just wait until night time they gonna party againnnn.
vote and comment, I LOVE U.