User blog:Weavillain/FANFICTION: Batter Down Ch. 2

Synopsis:  There was no way that Francisco was going to let her live that down; why, oh why, did she have to be so unbelievably stupid?

A/N: ''Working with this pairing was kinda tricky for me because "L is For Love" implied that Lynn and Francisco play for different teams. The weird thing is, we can clearly see them both playing together in one of Lynn's flashbacks. So…that's left me with no choice but to use the wiggle room to my advantage by adhering the idea that boys and girls play for the same team at Royal Woods Middle School. I mean, co-ed baseball teams aren't something that I went to middle school with, and I'm positively certain that most middle schools don't do that to this day, but what are you supposed to do when the show doesn't really make things clear for you?''

I can't, however, find myself getting bothered with anyone who wants to make a nitpick out of my choice, so if you're going to gripe about it, do so with the knowledge that I'm not going to give much care about your complaining.

CHAPTER 1

Lynn's eyes rolled beneath her eyelids.  'Great, just what I need.' 

She slowed her breathing, trying her best to pretend that she was asleep. Perhaps the school nurse had come back from one of her infamously long lunch breaks and was coming around to check up on her. Maybe one of her teammates or her coach were dropping by to see how she was holding up (oh, and thank her for providing them with laughter from her spectacle of stupidity on top of that).

Either way, the last thing Lynn wanted was any visitors—whether they came to pity her, tend to her, or to playfully mock her, it all sounded like spite against her pride. After the pain subsided enough to let her walk out without much difficulty, she just wanted to go home, gorge on greasy food, and try her best to put this whole day behind her before she had to inevitably confront her team (namely Francisco) again.

And yet…she couldn't help but be curious as to who it could be.

After the door finished creaking, the sound of a lone pair of footsteps, pattering lightly and quietly against the tile floor, only grew in volume as the visitor slowly approached her—Lynn dared to open her eyes by a tiny fraction once the noise stopped, her vision straining through the slits. The room's lighting made discerning her visitor difficult, but she could still make out smidges of black around where she thought the person's head would logically be.

In another second, that blob of smeary, fuzzy black blob became more focused, and what was once blurry become a little clearer—thin, silky strands bundled into a low cut, topped up with a little tuft that Lynn thought looked kinda like the green, leafy end of a carrot. Heh, it was actually pretty, dare she say, cute.

…

…

…

Oh no.

Lynn's heart sank, panic surging through her veins, along with the blood that was quickly rushing up to her cheeks. There was only one person that could ever get her to think like that, and the fact that he was just a foot away from her bedside numbed the pain that resided in her skull— jittery nerves took up residence now, clouding her judgment and driving away the good counsel of "staying still" in favor of an instinctual, frightened response.

Screaming.

"Aaaah!" Lynn cried as she scooched backwards, her blind, rushed escape stopping as soon as her back slammed against the wall.

Her lungs only allowed her to hyperventilate, but the generous helpings of oxygen didn't nourish her brain enough to enable her to do anything but inhale and exhale at a rapid rate. Her bugged-out eyes saw a boy, her boy, looking back at her with nearly as much panic as hers.

"Woah, woah, woah, take it easy, Lynn!" Francisco yelled, rushing forward and, to the surprising ease of Lynn's fluttering heart, grasping her shoulders.

Even with her prior reaction suggesting that Francisco coming closer would undoubtedly make things worse, Lynn found herself slowly but surely calming down—her breathing returned back to a normal pace and her eyes no longer resembled frisbees. The only factor that played against her will to retain some sense of composure, casual indifference to the boy that's been in the center of her fondest daydreams, was the doggone blush that absolutely refused to douse away—she tore her eyes away from his deep, brown gaze and found the move to be helpful.

A little, anyway.

"You, uh, good now?" Francisco asked, ending his question with a light chuckle.

Despite herself, Lynn couldn't help but chuckle herself, though her response was just about as reserved as she expected. "Uh…yeah. I'm fine."

Francisco pulled his hands back, and Lynn felt a shiver tickle the base of her spine as his fingers brushed softly off her shoulders.

"Sorry," Francisco said, rubbing the back of his head, his lips forming a penitent grin. "I didn't mean to startle you like that."

Lynn thought about shaking her head, but relented when the faint sting of her bruise came back to bite her and halt her motions. Instead, she settled for telling him that it was fine, and that he didn't have to worry about her. In un-Lynn fashion, none of her words carried the boasting confidence that she was known for but rather an abject tone that Francisco couldn't help but notice.

"You sure you're alright?" he asked, looking over her bruise. "You wiped out pretty hard back there."

Even without looking directly at him, Lynn could feel his eyes lingering over her head. She cringed at the plausible thought of him regarding her with jovial mockery, the kind that carried a speck of truth behind the sentiment, even if the words and tone weren't meant to be malicious.

And soon, insecurity gave way to a spark of indignation.

"Yeah, well I…" Lynn began to say but stopped when she realized that she was coming off aggressively defensive, as if she was willing to interpret Francisco's statement as a slight against her.

Her head bowed in shame at her rashness. "Sorry," she said sullenly. "Forget I said anything."

The awkward silence that followed couldn't have been more compelling—as if her brain was working on autopilot, Lynn craned up head and once again, locked eyes with Francisco. After that, she mentally scrambled for the perfect segue into a less uncomfortable avenue for conversation. Asking him what he was doing here would undoubtedly come across as rude and confrontational, even if his unexplained presence begged the question. The remedy of her problem, at least one that was worth leaning on, came when she spotted a wet spot on his shirt.

"So, um, must be raining pretty hard out there, huh?" Lynn asked, her lips restrained in a stilted grin.

Francisco quirked an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

And just like that, the nonsense of her diversion became crystal clear. Though the nurse's office didn't have the luxury of a window, in order to have convenient viewing to the weather, the fact of the matter was that the forecast was always a major factor when their baseball practice was decided—they wouldn't even be here in the first place if rain was inevitable.

But rather than renounce her mistake directly, Lynn chose to do so passively, hoping that her foolishness would go over smoothly with him.

"I mean," Lynn began with a timid shrug, "I just assumed it was raining because of that little wet spot on your shoulder. That's all."

"Oh, that?" Francisco replied without looking at it. "It's actually not rainwater. It's your drool."

Lynn's body stiffened, her limbs frozen from petrification. Her entire face bloomed with scarlet as her left eye twitched and her mouth hung open. Francisco, though a bit stymied from Lynn's reaction, thought it best to just explain himself to the indisputably embarrassed and inquisitive girl.

"See, after you blacked out, I carried you up here on my back," Francisco explained. "While I did, you, uh, kinda drooled on me."

Immediately, Lynn covered her face with her hands and groaned, as if that were enough to erase the fact that her latest infraction against her dignity hadn't happened.

"B-but only a little bit!" Francisco insisted, his voice doing little to reach out to Lynn. "It's no big deal, I swear!"

It was only when she felt him cup his hand around her shoulder again did her dread and anxiety begin to ebb; she felt herself leaning slightly into his soothing touch, and she was further relieved from how Francisco didn't seem to notice or how he simply didn't care.

"Lynn, really, it's okay," Francisco said, "I don't mind. We're teammates; looking out for each is what we do."

His words, as tender and well-meaning as they were, couldn't lift Lynn's spirits by much. She wasn't caught up in a flustered tizzy anymore, but she was still a little downhearted. Still, she peeled her hands away from her face to look back at him again. Though his expression lacked any reprimand, she couldn't help but feel a little down on herself—she had given Francisco so much trouble, and all because she couldn't bother to control herself.

"Speaking of teammates, how's everyone else doing?" Lynn asked, hoping to hear that they were doing fine themselves, despite the fact that they all probably thought less of her.

"Fine. After your accident, practice was cancelled. I chose to stay behind to look after you."

The feeling of failure and shame, cold and bitter against her tongue, caused her to mouth to droop into a frown. She couldn't remember the last time that practice got cut short, and the fact that it was all her fault did nothing to help her battered conscience.

"Sorry," she said.

Francisco smiled, a gesture that Lynn thought was wasted on her. "It's alright. It's like I said, we're supposed to take care of each other."

Lynn shook her head. "But I'm the team captain. You're all supposed to count on me, depend on me. What good am I if I'm gonna get in the way of practice by making a big buffoon out of myself?"

She couldn't go into further depth about how much looking good and reliable meant to him, lest she spill the beans about how much he truly meant to her. She hoped to work up enough courage to bare her soul to him one day, her words (not in the form of an anonymous love letter) unhindered by the fear of rejection, but only when the time was right—that time certainly wasn't now, when she was pretty sure that even in his kindness, Francisco couldn't see her respectably.

"Honestly, I wouldn't blame any of you for laughing at me," Lynn said, a self-deprecating chuckle following her grim statement. "I was pretty stupid back there."

That got Francisco to look at her with bewilderment. "Why would we do that?"

Out of all the things that would shake Lynn out of her funk, she never imagined that it would be something simple as a five-word long rebuff. Still, his simple, genuine-sounding sentence spoke volumes to her, and Lynn cracked a relieved smile.

"You mean you…y-you don't think I'm a doofus?"

Francisco snorted. "You? A doofus? Please, we're talking about Lynn Loud here; the same Lynn Loud that's earned the highest batting average at our school in twelve years, he same Lynn Loud that's only fifteen stolen bases away from breaking our school's all-time record, and the same Lynn Loud that's helped us get our best record this season. There's no way that anyone with that kind of rep can be a doofus."

Another glowing blush overtook her face, this time from flattery. Lynn couldn't help herself from shyly grinning at him, even as his compliments continued.

"And on top of that, you're an amazing captain; the rest of us can't imagine our team without you. That's why we all decided to call it quits for today; we're not even gonna think about practice until you're ready and able to come back."

Even in light of her severe lack of good judgment, regret couldn't overcome Lynn. She not only had reassurance that her team didn't think less of her but proof that Francisco held such a high opinion of her—that was a feather in her baseball cap that she'd treasure and hold near and dear to her heart.

"Thanks," Lynn said as Francisco's hand left her shoulder. "I promise I'll be good to go by tomorrow."

She didn't say those words out a blind optimism; her bruise truly was feeling better already. She almost felt her smile grow longer at the thought of it being Francisco, putting all her troubles at ease, that helped.

"Glad to hear it," Francisco replied.

Another respite of silence carried on after that, but Lynn didn't find herself minding one little bit. If she had her way, she could just sit here with Francisco for the rest of the afternoon. She was always a girl of simple pleasures, and just being with him was enough to keep her content. Besides, she could always sneak quick glances at his cute face, hoping that he wouldn't catch on to her.

But, just as soon as it came about, the silence grinded to a screeching halt when Francisco suddenly cried out, "Oh geez!"

Lynn stiffened a bit from his panicked expression. "What's wrong?" she asked, a little perturbed.

Instead of saying anything to her, Francisco looked down at the ground and sighed at what he found laying by his feet. He reached down and picked up a plastic bag full of cold water, pinching the top between his fingers.

"Aw, dang it," he groaned. "I guess that's what I get for talking so much; I forgot that the main reason I came up here was to give you this icepack for your head. So much for that."

Lynn stifled a laugh from his downcast expression—it wasn't as if his agitation was funny, but the implication that she depended so heavily on an icepack was.

"Meh, whatever. I can always just get an icepack when I get home," Lynn said. "Besides, I can't have you spoiling me so much. You've done more than enough."

"Then, uh…" Francisco's face suddenly assumed a shade of pink that made Lynn wonder where he was going with this. "…then do you mind if I be a little selfish?"

"About what?" Lynn asked, noting how his blush intensified immediately after her reply.

Francisco began to shuffle a foot back and forth as his eyes darted around the room, finally stopping as they locked onto the ceiling.

"So, the thing is, I got a love letter a few weeks ago…" Lynn's heart clenched as a pang of nervousness throttled against her chest. "I've been meaning to ask you this but…you didn't happen to write it, did you?"

Lynn gulped, not believing her ears nor how conflicted she felt about this.

On one hand, she was solaced from the fact that Francisco seemed to piece everything together himself. She wasn't against the idea of confessing to him or anything, but she no longer felt submerged under the crushing worry of deciding the best way to say everything in her hear out loud.

On the other hand, that left her to wonder just how much this discovery meant to him. Sure, he was pink the cheeks, but that could've meant just about anything. She hoped the letter was endearing to him, at the very least.

"How did you know it was me?" Lynn asked, her face tinted with red.

Francisco's eyes grew in size. "What?! You mean it really was you?!" he cried, his words nearly fumbling out in a babble. "I-I was just taking a shot in the dark!"

Even though she had unwittingly blown away her anonymity, Lynn wasn't any different because of it. She was already in the mindset that Francisco had figured things out on his own, so the fact that it had truly come down to that was hardly as earthshattering as she imagined. All the same, she couldn't leave a certain curiosity just hanging; she'd get to the bottom of it whether Francisco made the first move or not.

"But wait, why did you take a shot in the dark with me in the first place?" Lynn asked, pointing to herself for emphasis.

Francisco scratched his finger with a finger as he grinned shyly. "I was…actually hoping it came from you."

Lynn experienced a sensation of wooziness and lightheaded euphoria from the bomb that just dropped on her. "R-really?" she asked, too choked up from shock to vocalize her disbelief at a higher volume.

"Yeah," Francisco said, taking delight with how pleased she was after hearing that. "I mean, what's not to like about you? You're a sick baseball player, you're always driven and focused, and you look like someone who knows how to have a good time." He took a small pause in order to send her a playful smirk. "It also helps that you're really cute."

She did the same. "You too."

Lynn was beaming from ear-to-ear, overjoyed that out of everything that could've happened to her today, given her recent spill, her afternoon was capped off with the supremely satisfying knowledge that the feelings that she had for Francisco were mutual, and that he was willing to take their relationship to the next level. There was still so much about Francisco that she didn't know, but she was sure that there was still plenty of things to love about him.

Still, she thought it best to get the utmost assurance that he thought of being committed in the same way.

"So…you like me…" Lynn said.

Francisco nodded.

"…and I like you," she finished, earning another nod. "Does this mean that you wanna be my…y'know, boyfriend?"

"Yes!"

Lynn as equal parts taken aback and amused by his enthusiastic response. She let out a few laughs, her reaction prodding Francisco into trying to take back his overly bubbly reply. "I mean, u-uh, sure. Yeah, that sounds cool," he said, donning a look of artificial aloofness.

It chipped away the instant Lynn reached up to him and gave his hair a tousle. After she did, she felt and heard her stomach growling. Having made up her mind about what she wanted to do next, she slipped out of bed, walked over to Francisco, and asked, "Soooooo, do you like the idea of us getting out of here and grabbing a gyro sandwich at the deli a few blocks from here?"

Lynn chuckled when Francisco looked like he was about to drool from simply hearing her suggestion.

"Heck yeah!" he said. "I can't say no to their veal and tzatziki sauce!"

In a move that Lynn nearly melted at, her boyfriend (gosh, did she ever love the sound of that) laced his fingers in with hers. Though she almost swooned from the feeling of his hand grasping hers, she was still in the mood for a little mischief.

"Great," Lynn said as they headed out the door. "I guess that means you're paying for me."

Francisco laughed as the couple slipped out the nurse's office, heading for the staircase that left them to the first floor. "Didn't you just get finished telling me that I shouldn't be spoiling you so much?"

Lynn rested her head against his shoulder. "Oh, but that was before I became your girlfriend."

With that, the two continued to show the world their affection for each other as they went about their merry way, not giving much thought to the students and faculty that stared as they walked by. And while all that happened, Lynn had to admit that holding Francisco's hand like this was a hundred times better than doing it briefly with a spit shake.