The sharp ping of the ball connecting with the bat echoed across the field as Yuwen sent another line drive sailing into the outfield. He jogged back toward the dugout, tossing the bat casually over his shoulder. Practice had ended half an hour ago, but he'd stuck around, needing the quiet repetition to clear his head.

Except his head wasn't clear. Not even close.

He sank onto the bench and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. The field was empty now, the fading light casting long shadows over the dirt and grass. It was usually his favorite time of day—the quiet after the chaos of practice, when he could be alone with his thoughts. But today, his thoughts were doing more harm than good.

It had started a week ago. Or maybe longer. He wasn't really sure. All he knew was that something had changed, and he couldn't stop thinking about you.

At first, he'd brushed it off as nothing. You'd always been... different. From the moment you'd stepped onto the field, challenging him with that stubborn determination of yours, you'd had a way of getting under his skin. He'd chalked it up to your attitude, your refusal to let him rattle you the way everyone else did. You were fun to mess with, that was all.

But lately, it felt like something more.

He found himself looking for you during practice, his eyes automatically scanning the field to see where you were. He caught himself watching the way your hair glinted in the sunlight, the way your laugh rang out when someone cracked a joke.

And when you weren't around, he felt it. That empty space where you should've been, like the team wasn't quite complete without you.

Yuwen leaned back against the bench, running a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh. "What the hell is wrong with me?" he muttered to no one in particular.

He wasn't supposed to feel like this. Not about you. He'd always been good at keeping things light, at keeping people at arm's length. It was easier that way. Safer. But you...

You had a way of breaking down all his defenses without even trying.

He thought about the way you'd grinned at him during practice earlier that day, your face flushed from running the bases. The way you'd teased him about missing a catch, your voice laced with that familiar mix of sarcasm and warmth.

He thought about the way you'd looked at him the other night, sitting on the bleachers after practice. You'd been quiet, more than usual, but there was something in your eyes—something he couldn't quite put into words. It had stuck with him, that look, playing on repeat in the back of his mind ever since.

"Dammit," he muttered under his breath, his heart sinking as the truth hit him like a fastball to the chest.

He liked you.

No, scratch that—he more than liked you.

Yuwen sat there, staring out at the empty field, the weight of the realization settling over him. He liked you in a way that scared the hell out of him, in a way that felt too big to ignore.

And suddenly, all the teasing, the late-night conversations, the little moments he'd tried to brush off—they all made sense.

The way his heart sped up when you laughed. The way he couldn't help but smile when you threw one of his snarky comments back at him. The way he found himself wanting to be better, just so you'd notice.

This wasn't just some passing thing. It wasn't just fun or games anymore.

Yuwen rubbed the back of his neck, a humorless chuckle escaping his lips. "Great," he said to himself. "Of all the people I could've fallen for, it had to be you."

He stood up, grabbing his glove and tossing it into his bag. He couldn't deal with this right now. Not here, not when the thought of you—your smile, your laugh, the way you made him feel—was so fresh in his mind.

As he slung his bag over his shoulder and started toward the parking lot, he made a silent promise to himself: he wasn't going to let this change things.

You didn't need to know. No one did. He could handle it.

But deep down, Yuwen knew better.

Because if there was one thing he'd learned over the past three months, it was that you had a way of turning his plans upside down.

And this time, he wasn't sure if he wanted to stop you.