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“So, Norton, what does a guy gotta do to get you to come to the prom?”
Norton stopped mid bite, turning to look at the small blond now standing by the table Norton and his peers were sitting at in the school cafeteria. Mike Morton was the ace of the tennis club, and for the majority of their school years together the two had been long time rivals, always arguing which sport was better, tennis or baseball.
And naturally, as the star batter of their baseball club Norton always needed to defend their honour against the surprisingly small tennis player. Norton had to admit he was impressed that someone of Mike’s size could dominate tennis fields with such ease. They were always trying to outperform the other, often comparing their scores in said sports.
Despite all that, Norton was surprised by the blond’s sudden question. Not that he exactly minded, but the answer to the question was obvious.
“Prom? I ain’t goin’. I don’t dance.” Norton replied swiftly and continued eating his sandwich, earning a small huff from Mike.
“Don’t be a killjoy, Norton. Everyone is going, and using dancing as an excuse is useless. I know you can.” At this point, Norton’s two friends were starting to nudge his sides annoyingly, making the batter groan heavily.
“Not a chance.”
“Oh come on Norton, you can’t say no to him! Look at how tiny and adorable he is!”
“Shut up Ellis, this doesn’t concern ya.”
“Can you have this conversation later? We’re gonna be late from the practice.”
“Can’t ya see I’m tryin’ to do just that? Just focus on yer damn burger Subedar.”
“Okay fine, since you’re so stubborn about it, how about we make a bet? If you win, you can take me to the prom. If I win, I get to take you to the prom.” Mike suggested, making Norton snort a bit.
“Why is my prize gettin’ to take ya to the prom when I don’t want to go in the first place?” Norton asked, making Mike grin boyishly.
“Because I look damn good in a tuxedo.” Mike spoke with a cute wink, making William laugh a bit and Norton kick his shin under the table. “You don’t want to miss that sight.”
“Keep tellin’ yerself that, shortcake.” With some trouble, Norton crammed the rest of his food in his mouth and swallowed. He then stood up in front of Mike, making their difference in height very evident. Mike didn’t budge one bit, and instead craned his neck up, staring up at Norton with a cute smirk. Norton stared down at the tennis player and his ridiculously confident expression, and finally sighed.
“Fine. Ya are gonna come to the practice with us. Ya pitch, I bat-”
“Oh, I’d actually prefer it the other way-”
“That’s not what I meant, shortcake. If ya can make me strike-out, ya win, and I’ll go to that damn prom with ya. If instead I hit it out of the park, I win, and ya give up askin’ me to the prom. Sounds okay?”
Norton’s suggestion made Mike smirk ever so slightly, and the shorter male extended his hand to Norton, who grabbed it and shook it.
“You’ve got a deal, Norton.”
And that’s how they found themselves on the field, with Mike juggling three baseballs and Norton practicing his swings. For some reason the entire school had heard of their small bet, and the audience was cheering and laughing as Mike kept entertaining them. Show off.
“Rules are simple! Mike will pitch, Naib will be working as Mike’s catcher, and Norton will be the batter. If Norton can hit it out of the park three times, it’ll be Norton’s victory! But if Mike can strike Norton out, it’ll be Mike’s victory!” William explained the rules of the bet with his loud voice, and the crowd gathered in the audience cheered, clearly excited for the spectacle.
“Yo, Campbell, you sure about this? We could be training for the big game, but you are wasting time with shit like this?” Naib interrupted Norton’s practising, and the taller man shot his friend a confident smirk.
“Relax, Subedar. Morton’s really damn stubborn, so if I don’t do this, I’m sure he’ll keep botherin’ me about that prom forever. By beatin’ him here I can make sure he never asks me again and I can focus on the game.”
”I meant that you should just accept the invite and be done with this, you idiot. We both know you-” Naib ducked quickly when Norton swung his bat at the shorter man in retaliation.
“Go suck a dick, Subedar!” Norton barked back annoyed, pulling his cap lower, trying to hide his slightly reddening cheeks. He knew he should’ve never confided in Subedar.
Now, even though Mike wasn’t too familiar with baseball, he definitely knew how to throw a ball. The blond was juggling three balls with ease, after all. Although Norton was confident in his abilities, this might prove to be a challenge. And Norton loved challenges.
“Hey batter batter, hey batter batter swing!”
Norton heard the crowd singing and chanting when he stepped to the batter’s box, and groaned annoyed. This had turned into a massive event, and he wasn’t too pleased. Norton disliked being in the spotlight, which is why he really hated the idea of the prom in the first place. Watching Mike walk to the pitcher’s mound with a pep in his step, Norton soon realized he was following Mike with his eyes, and quickly turned his gaze to his bat.
“Are you ready Mike?” William called to the blond, and he answered with a few dance moves, ending the brief demonstration in a quick twirl. Norton snorted.
“I wanna play ball not dance hall!”
Mike smirked cutely at Norton’s remark and tilted his hat up with a wink.
“Those two don’t exclude one another.. I can bring it to the diamond too.” With that Mike took his position, holding onto the ball with two hands while keeping his eyes strictly on Norton. He then kicked up his leg, extending it high in the air, earning gasps from the audience, but Norton’s focus didn’t drop. With a quick throw the ball left Mike’s hand, and with a perfect swing Norton hit it.
He then straightened his posture and watched Mike following the balls trajectory with his gaze all the way to the right field, over the park. Norton swung his bat on his hand a few times before calling out to Mike, making the short blond turn to him as William announced one point to him.
“Ya throw too easy. Ya better spin that pitch you throw me, I'll show you how I swing.”
”Oh I’m sure you will.”
“Oh shut up and pitch!” Mike’s playful giggle made Norton grit his teeth together through his smirk. Once more he readied himself and when Mike pitched, he swung. But instead of hearing the satisfying slam of a bat hitting the ball, Norton heard nothing. He managed to blink before he heard William behind him.
“First strike!” Norton turned around to look at Naib, who was holding the ball in his glove, and then turned to look at Mike, who was smiling innocently.
“What? You told me to spin my pitch. Don’t look so shocked when I did just that. I hope you’re ready to dance with me, we’ll be the cutest couple at the prom!” Mike’s tone was playful and challenging, and Norton found himself smirking at the blonds teasing words for the first time that day. Mike had earned that one, Norton supposed.
“First out of three, not bad, shortcake.”
“Two more to go, tallcake.”
With that Mike once more swung his leg up, and Norton took his position. The competitiveness in him flared up, and when Mike pitched, Norton put more strength to his swing and once again the ball flew to the edge of the right field, once more flying out of the park. Norton once more flashed a grin at Mike who was now looking at Norton with some admiration in his eyes.
“I think you have just been messing with me..! We should’ve gone to the tennis field instead!” Mike laughed, making Norton smirk and point his bat at the blond.
“It’s too late for that, shortcake. Ya were the one who accepted the terms to the bet, ya can only blame yerself. Step yer game up! With pitches like that it’ll be a cakewalk to win this and forget about that stupid prom of yers.” Norton mocked, making Mike pout ever so slightly at him, before curving his lips into a another smile.
“Stupid? You'll never know-”
“Oh I know-”
“If you never try!”
“There's just one lil’ thing that stops me everytime-”
“I’m not stopping you, I’m encouraging you~” Mike cooed, but Norton only shook his head with an amused huff. Instead of answering further he took his position once more, indicating to Mike that he was ready to bat. The blond took the hint and pitched. He grimaced a bit when the ball left his fingertips, realizing that his pitch was a lousy one. It flew directly to Norton, with no curve or anything, and Mike closed his eyes in defeat.
“Second strike!”
As Mike heard William calling out the second strike for Norton, he was slightly stunned. He could swear he botched the throw. Did Norton miss on purpose? He should’ve easily been able to hit it and win the bet.
“Yer talkin’ a lot, show me what ya got, Morton!” Norton calling out Mike’s name made the blond snap out of his thoughts and turn to look at the batter. “At least try and give me a challenge, okay? If ya really wanna take me to the prom, ya gotta earn it!”
Norton’s words made Mike’s lips split into the same boyish smirk from before. Was Norton really so confident in winning the bet he would give Mike a free point just like that? With a short laugh the blond shook his head and once more held onto the ball with both hands.
“You know, if you do things like that I might start thinking you actually want to lose and go to the prom with me..”
“Keep dreamin’ shortcake.”
“Oh I’m about to make it a reality. Take your best shot, Norton!” With that, Mike pitched, confident in the curveball he threw, but he wasn’t exactly surprised to see Norton swing perfectly. Mike didn’t even need to watch where the ball landed, and instead kept his eyes on Norton’s, who was smirking widely. Mike answered it with a smile as he heard William shout.
“Third point to Norton! Norton wins!” The crowd around them cheered as both Norton and Mike kept staring at each other, their amused expressions never fading. With a casual swing or two of his bat Norton made his way to Mike who was now smiling adorably, bouncing on his heels while waiting for Norton.
“Tough luck, shortcake. Ya pitched kinda good, but go ask someone else to be yer pair and dance with ya.”
“Hehe, thanks. But I don’t think I will.” Mike smile was charming as he stared up at Norton, who was now looking a bit annoyed. Was Morton not going to respect the outcome of the bet?
“What do ya mean?”
“Don’t you remember the bet? If I lost, I wasn’t allowed to ask you to the prom again. So all I have to do is wait for you to ask me. After all, the prom is going to be an absolute bore unless I get to spend it with you.” With a delightful smirk and a wink Mike turned on his heels and hopped away from the baseball field and Norton.
“I’ll be waiting for your invite!”
Norton couldn’t help but stare after Mike skipping away from Norton, his fluffy blond hair bouncing along with his white hat. Had the blond planned this all? Did he accept the clearly unfair game of baseball because he knew he’d lose, and could play Norton like this?
With a laugh and a smirk Norton took a step forward and cupped his other hand next to his mouth and called out after the blond.
“Hey Morton, wait up! I’ve got somethin’ to ask ya!”