* Chloe *
I unlocked the room with my key card, smiling to myself as I glanced at my id picture. It was taken the first day we got down here, before the boys had won any games.
Two games in, they came out on top, and would steadily advance. They were becoming a big deal. In the grove, coaches would say things like "Hey! theres red land", and other players would gawk at them as if they were famous. The boys had done several video interviews and newspaper articles, and were growing with popularity on social media.
After the second game, Cole went from 547 followers to 6.98 thousand followers. Jadens steadily increased also, as did mine - due to the fact I was tagged in pictures on their accounts. Girls were getting out of control, commenting heart eye emojis on Jadens pictures, and doing the same on the other boys photos also.
The comments on Coles pictures struck me as gross, probably because he was my brother, but the comments on Jadens pictures made me envious. I couldn't quite place why, these girls didnt even know Jaden in person; so how could I be jealous? Still, part of me was.
I slid the door shut behind me, smiling at the empty room. Not that I didnt like the guys company, but a quiet room to fall asleep in was really nice.
Before climbing into my bunk bed, I put on a red-land tshirt, and navy blue soffe shorts. Then grabbed my phone and climbed into my bunk right above Braden's, settling in and curling myself up in the blankets.
I clicked my phone on, and saw a few texts. All from friends on my softball team. I decided to text Jaden before going to bed.
Me: Hey, just thought id say goodnight, soo night, love you
Jaden: Love you too babe
I smiled to myself as I read his text. Nothing made my heart melt more than when he called me babe. Setting my phone down, I rolled over and fell asleep.
****
"Good morning everybody, my name is Braden Kolmansberger and welcome to wake up orlando. Todays guest, Chloe wagner!" A voice yelled, causing me to move and rub my eyes.
I warily opened them, and before me was Braden, using a hair brush as a microphone.
"Chloe, tell us how old you are and were you're from." Braden said, extending the "microphone" and cracking a smile.
"Ugh," I said, accented with an eye roll. I was not a morning person.
"You heard it here first folks, the first word of the day, straight from red land's own Chloe Wagner." Braden said, pinching my cheek jokingly with his hand.
"Please let me sleep," I muttered.
"Aw, you're so sweet when you first wake up." Braden said, leaving me to myself as he walked over to Jaden.
I sat up, and blinked a few times to help myself wake up before grabbing my phone.
I had gotten a new text from Ben.
Ben: ayy, wags you up to anything today???
I tried to think, before remembering that today the boys had a game.
Me: yeah, sorry cole's got a game today
Ben: damn, i wanted to chill
Me: well, you're welcome to watch the game with me
Ben: yeah, sounds cool. let me know where to meet you
Me: you got it
Ben: see ya wags (;
"Chloe?!" Cole said loudly, making me drop my phone and look at him.
"Yes?"
"Well I only called your name three times, but anyway, are you coming today?" Cole asked.
"You don't even have to ask anymore, yes I'll obviously be there." I said, hopping down from my bunk bed.
"Sweet, it starts at 10." Jaden said, walking next to Cole and grabbing his hairbrush.
"So you guys give me 15 minutes to get ready?" I said sarcastically, eyeing Braden and Cole.
"You know, they do have this thing called an alarm. I heard it works really well, maybe you could use it." Cole said, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Sometimes I really want to punch you, just letting you know." I said, before walking into the bathroom.
"Hey, Chlo!" Zack yelled, before i closed the bathroom door.
"Yeah?" I yelled back.
"Anytime you do punch Cole, let me know! I'd like to see him get his butt kicked."
I shut the door softly, shaking my head and chuckling.
Todays outfit wasn't very different from the usual ones. I slid on my low converse, dark jean shorts, and a mid atlantic jersey, which said Wagner on the back. (It was mine, not Coles.)
"Chloe! You almost ready?" Jaden yelled, knocking on the door.
"Yeah, I'm ready now -" I said, opening the door and colliding right into him.
"Didn't realize you were right there, my bad." I said, noticing all the other boys had left already.
He shook his head, "Its my own fault really. Anyway, you look cute."
Jaden smiled, kissing my cheek. He put his arm around me, and used his other arm to lift my chin so I was looking right at him. He started to lean in, and so did I, and we kissed.
I felt butterflies in my stomach, which had a tendency to happen whenever Jaden and I kissed. I couldn't help but smile.
"Ugh, why do you have to be so cute whenever your brother isnt around? Seriously, its getting too hard to hide this." Jaden said, grinning and taking my hand.
"Just a few more days," I said, he nodded, squeezing my hand while saying softly "just a few more days."
The door swung open, and Jaden and I jumped. "Ahh!" I yelled, trying to pretend like I was doing something.
"Hey now, all I did was open the door." Cole said, chuckling.
"What's got you too all scared?" Cole asked, grabbing his water and waiting for Jaden and I to answer.
We both stared at eachother, unable to come up with a good excuse.
"Well, it doesn't matter - we gotta go dude. Cant be late for warm up." Cole stated.
"Yeah, lets go." Jaden said.
I texted Ben quick to let him know to meet me at the fields and walked down with Cole and Jaden.
"Good luck guys, see you after the game."
"Thanks Chlo, love ya" Cole said, giving me a quick hug before jogging off.
"Yeah, what he said." Jaden said, winking and following behind Cole.
I shook my head, he was such a flirt. But I liked it, it was cute.
I turned to walk to the stands when i felt two hands on my hips, picking me up in the air.
"What the -" I blurted, jerking my head around. I saw the ever so familiar brown hair and brown eyes; Ben.
"Oh my god, i hate you sometimes." I said, as Ben set me down. I straightened my shirt, and glanced around to see a few people were looking - probably startled by my yelling.
"Good to see you too Wags." Ben said, putting his hand on my shoulder and guiding it in the direction of the stands.
"You are such a jerk, you know that?" I said playfully, raising an eyebrow at him as we took seats right above Mid-Atlantics dugout.
"I only tease the people I like, so you should feel quite honored. Not everyone gets teased by Ben Gottfried." Ben said, grinning casually.
Part of me thought he was flirting, but the other part of me wanted to think; thats just Ben, he doesnt like you like that.
"Well it's an honor. Anyway, I met two of your teammates last night. Raffi and Isaac." I said, tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear.
Ben rose an eyebrow, looking a bit unsure if that was a good thing. "Oh, you did? Did they have anything to say about me?"
I shrugged playfully. "They may have, lets just say they already knew who I was before I introduced myself."
Ben grimaced sarcastically, then taking his hat off - running a hand through his hair, and putting it back on. {lol can all guys do this bc its so cute }
"Yikes, I may have mentioned your name before. Nothing bad, I can promise you that."
Ben shook his head with a laugh. "They're quite the characters, Raffi especially. He said he thought you were," Ben paused and did air quotes "hot stuff."
I rose an eyebrow at Ben and rolled my eyes. "Oh my, well thats interesting and also very untrue."
Ben stared at me, his lips curling into a smile and his eyes showing a playful gleam. I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but I really wished I was able too.
"Not untrue at all, Wags. I'm honestly surprised you haven't found a boyfriend here yet."
I shrugged, wanting to avoid the subject of myself and boyfriends. The only one who knew Jaden and I were dating was Braden.
"Was that a compliment?" I smirked.
"Eh, I guess you could say that." Ben said, smiling to himself.
"I just thought," Ben paused, gesturing with his hands, "from the way Henline looks at you and talks to you.." he paused again, struggling to make eye contact, "that you guys were dating."
I rose an eyebrow, pretending to act oblivious. When inside I was thinking, dang; he picked up on things really well.
I really wanted to get it out, and obviously I couldn't tell Cole. But Ben was one of my better friends, so I could confide in him.
"I mean, it's... its complicated." I said, keeping my eyes low.
Just then, the game started, and Chayton was up to bat.
"What- what do you mean?" Ben said, his voice ringing with hurt.
What was going on? Why was Ben upset? Was I making a mistake by telling him? My head started to spin.
"Well, he asked me out, and I said yes. But no one knows yet, except you." I said, glancing at Ben.
He blinked slowly, nodding as he comprehended everything. "Are you happy with him? Like do you want to be in the relationship?"
Just then Chayton scored a home run and I jumped up and started to cheer. Then, I sat down and looked at Ben.
"Yeah, I am. I really like him, and he's really nice and genuine with me."
Ben nodded again, starting to smile. "Well as long as he treats you right. If he doesn't, you tell me - I'll give it to him. I promise."
I grinned, that was the Ben I knew. "You'll be the first person I tell, trust me.
"so why havent you told anyone?" Ben asked, looking at me thoughtfully.
"I don't want it getting to Cole, it'll mess up his focus. He'll be so worried about it he won't be focused on the reason he's here."
"Makes sense. If I had a sister I'd be the same. So I'm guessing I'm supposed to keep it a secret then?" Ben asked, his eyebrows arching and his face growing more serious.
I nodded quickly. "Yeah, please. I know it's kind of asking for a lot, but please."
Ben put his hand on my shoulder and nodded, his face reassuring me. "Of course, anything for you."
*****
"OH MY GOD! You were so awesome, I was screaming the whole time." I yelled, hugging Cole excitedly. After the game ended, Ben had left, and I congratulated the boys.
Cole hugged me back, a little tighter than I had anticipated, and then let go. "Thanks Chlo, wheres mom?"
I gestured to the front row, "right there"
He ran off, and I found the back of Jadens head, his curly brown hair sticking out from his baseball hat.
"Henline," I said in his ear, wrapping my arms around him.
"Chloe, oh my god I'm so happy right now." Jaden said, turning around and throwing his arms around me.
"Me too, me too." I said, grinning.
We took a picture, myself, Cole, Jaden, Zack, Braden, and Jake.
I instantly posted it on instagram, captioning it, "my mains getting the w"
After that photo, Jaden asked for a photo together. I was hesitant, not wanting to reveal our relationship, but did it anyway. After all, Cole thought we were just friends.
Jaden posted it, captioning it "my main supporter"
"Team!" My dad yelled, waving the boys over. "After how you played today, you've got the rest of the day off. Enjoy it!"
"Pool, anyone?" Braden yelled, everyone quickly agreeing.
the boys went up to change, and I went to the bathroom. I wasn't really up for swimming.
After the bathroom I started to walk into the pool, when I could hear voices talking by the jacuzzi.
"who was that?" Zack said, before I turned the corner to enter the pool.
I paused, kinda wanting to eavesdrop.
"Was it Hayley again?" Jake asked. I rose an eyebrow.
One of the boys has a girlfriend? Or were talking to someone? I was eavesdropping at the perfect time. I was super curious.
"Dang, you too really cant stop flirting can you?" Zack asked, chuckling.
Who were they talking about?! I waited even longer behind the door, wanting to listen to who was interested in Hayley.
"You got that right, and of course it is. Who else would it be?" Jaden said.
My heart dropped. It didnt drop, it sank. So low, that it almost hurt. My heart felt as if it stopped beating, and time was at a standstill. Everything was hazy, I was about to breakdown in tears.
Jaden liked Hayley. Jaden was cheating on me. This was all a lie. I should've known. Should've known that something this good was too good to be true. That a guy; as handsome and as nice, as genuine and caring as Jaden - would ever fall in love with me.
We kissed! Oh my god, he was my first kiss. My first kiss was fake, everything I said to him, everything he said to me.. he didn't mean any of it. Every time he called me babe, said he loved me, said he wanted nothing more than to be with me, was all fake. It stung. It hurt so hard, I couldn't even move. I just stood there, stupidly, listening to the rest of what he said.
"Dang Jaden, how's it feel to be.. like in a serious relationship?" Jake asked.
Jaden laughed. I bit my lip, trying, willing myself not to cry.
"The best thing in the world. She's so.. amazing."
I couldn't take it. Without even thinking, I bursted through the door, tears starting to fall from my eyes.
The boys looked at me, startled by the slamming of the door. Braden was wide eyed.
He knew why I was crying.
Cole's mouth hung wide open, and he said through a broken voice "C-Chloe, are you okay?"
Jaden's jaw dropped, and he looked at my with an expression that said a million things.
He knew I heard. He knew I knew he was a liar, and an idiot. He knew that we were over. Whatever "we" really were.
I stood there, tears falling out of my eyes as Jaden jumped up from his chair, rushing towards me.
"Chloe, It's not at all what it sounded like, w-what did you hear? Whatever it was, its not true.. its not I promise, oh my god.." Jaden said, panic on his face, as he put his hands on my shoulders.
I stared at him, emotionless, and cold. "I can't believe you."
He looked at me, through the gorgeous brown eyes that I once found comforting, and sighed. "No, Chloe don't do this - please, Everything you heard is a lie, I love you."
I blinked, fighting back everything I wanted to yell and scream at him. "Do me a favor, don't say that to me ever again."
"But its true, I love you, and you're the only person I love or am even remotely interested in. All you heard was fake.."
"I hate you Jaden," I said, my voice breaking as I spoke. Never in my life did I see myself saying those words. My body shook as I said it.
Jaden started to speak, but I turned and ran out of the pool.
I couldn't believe him. He broke my heart, and it hurt worse than I thought possible.