Pic: Kevin Kiermaier

I woke up at 10:15 AM the next morning to a call from my best friend from Portland.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hey, it's your bestie, Chrissy! Remember me?"

"Yes, and bestie is so out."

"Cool! So, how's Jacksonville?"

Jacksonville? Really?

"Tampa is great, thank you."

"It was Tampa? Oh ha-ha, I'm stupid."

Yes, Chrissy, you are stupid.

"How's Portland?"

"Oh, horrid! Just bad! They changed the whole system, ugggg! Hollis, I miss you, babe! When are you coming back?"

Chrissy was one of those people who were pea-brained and forgot everything they said (hence the Jacksonville thing.)

"Never. I live in Florida now."

"What? I thought-ooohh. Got ya!" Total laughter on the other line.

I shake my head, and I start hearing beeps coming from my phone.
Call waiting. I decide to end my conversation with Chrissy short.

"Look, Chrissy, I gotta go. Nice talking to ya."

"Oh, babe, you too. Stay safe."

"I will." When I hung up, a text appeared.

From: Archer Vice
Hey. You wanna hang at my house?

I reply:
Sure. I'll be by in a few.

I go through my closet, and skim through it.

I finally decide on a light gray hoodie, and some leggings.

I then grab my purse, my keys, and my Vera Bradley wallet and head downstairs.

"Mom?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Can I go over to Chris Archer's house?"

"Oh, of course! Tell him I said hi!"
I nod at her and start for the door.

"Hollis?"

"Yes?" I reply.

"Wear your seatbelt."

I wave my keys at her. "I always do."

13450 Marlin Dr.

I arrive at Chris' house no sooner than 10:45. As I walk to the door, I ring the doorbell and-hey. I've never seen that.

It had a sign that read:

One Happy Family:
Calvin
Caroline
Chris
Chloe

When I look back, Chris was waving at me.

"You really like signs." He isn't using his crutches, I noticed.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." I nod.

"Cool. Richie Rich is already here, so you aren't alone. Come in, come in."

"Wait. Richie Rich?" I ask Chris.

"Oh, Richie Shaffer. Sorry bout' that. Richie!"

"Yup!" A blonde-haired cutie pie looks at me. "Ooh. Who's she?"

"She is Hollis Santiago. She's kinda new at TBHS. Dude. You have her in cooking, I think."

"Oh yeah!" Richie points at me.

"Okay, hi! Sit down, enjoy yourself!"

I sit down. The TV is on MLB Network, reporting about the Royals vs. Mets game (or simply the World Series.)

"Who were you for?" I ask Richie.

"Well, I'd say the Mets." He smiles. "Daniel Murphy can play, man."

I shrug. "You must have a big opinion."

"You know me so well."

Actually, I don't know you so well.

But sooner than later, the doorbell rang.

Chris hobbled along when Richie got up.

"I got it, Arch." He pointed at Chris.

"Sit down and rest. Please."

"Okay." Chris and Richie swap, and Richie opens the door.

It was Matt and Elmore.

"Hey!" They yelled and whooped, coming inside like it was their house.

"Guys. C'mon now." Chris shook his head.

"Yeah!" Matt yells. "ROYALS!"

"METS!" Jake screams.

"ROYALS!"

"METS!"

"Enough!" Chris shouts. "Y'all annoy the shit out of me."

In the duration of 20 to 45 minutes, the house was full, now with Mr. Archer, Matt, Jake Elmore, Evan, Kevin, Richie, Chris, Steven, and Grady.

College football played from the TV.
I head over to Chris, who was sitting on the arm of the couch.

"You know, I almost played football." Chris shrugged.

"Really?" I could never imagine Chris Archer of all people playing football.

"Mm-hm." He stretched out. "This game is really good. Indiana and Michigan State? Why not!" He laughed at his own comment.

I ruffle his hair and go over to the other guys.

"Mister Archer, can I have this?" Evan asks, holding a Bud Light.

"Absolutely not." Mr. Archer wags his finger at Evan.

"Home burglaries happen every 42 seconds." Someone whispers in my ear.

I turn around to see Kevin.

"Wanna go outside?"

I grab a Coke from the cooler. "I guess."

Me and Kevin go outside to see Matt and Grady in an ongoing fight. We stood there, suddenly getting engrossed by the whole ordeal.

"You're an asshole."

"Well, it's none of your goddamn business! You don't fucking understand-"

"How about a shut the fuck up?" Matt flips Grady the bird.

"Fight me, Moore!" Grady cracks his knuckles.

"Deez nuts!" And literally, Matt kicks Grady in the nuts.

They dive into the Archer's pool and play fight.

Grady then digs in his pocket, revealing his now broken iPhone.

"Son of a-" Grady presses the button, and the phone stays dark.

"That's the price you pay for shit like that!" Matt yells, stifling laughter.

"That's the price you pay for crap like that." Kevin mimicks, and then grabs my hand. "C'mon. Let's go."

Matt is laughing at Grady, and I turn around, just to see a treehouse.

"You're never too old for this." Kevin climbs up the ladder.

I follow, wondering why he led me here.

He rolls over into the house.

I decide to break the ice, asking him a question I've wanted to ask for a while now.

"Kevin, what's going on with your mom?"

Kevin stayed silent.

"Well." He took a deep breath. "She's really sick. Um. Sorry, this is really hard."

"No," I grab his arm, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He gives me a little smile. "I mean, my mom has cancer. It happened a year ago, when she came down with a fever. My aunt called the doctor, and the doctor said that my mom had some sort of cancer."

It was silent again, until I asked another question.

"About a few weeks ago...what happened?"

Kevin looks at me, and began.
"My mom wasn't breathing correctly. We almost lost her that night."

I immediately hug him.
"Kevin. Please know if I can be of any help to you during this hard time...I'm always here for you."

"Thanks." We untangle ourselves from the hug.

Kevin rubs his temples.

"Okay. Changing the subject. What's your favorite baseball team?"

I look at my feet. "Seattle Mariners."

"I regret to inform you, ma'am, but I think I may need to throw you out of this treehouse." Kevin grins. "You're in Rays territory, hon."

"Oohhh crap. Should I be scared, Kiermaier?" I ask.

"Yeah....very scared." Kevin starts to scoot towards me.

I squeal and start climbing down.

As soon as I reach the grass, I run into the house, with Kevin being close behind.

Not a second later, Kevin grabs me.

"Hollis! Don't ever pull one of those again!"

"Oops?" I put my hands up in defeat.

Kevin grabs my hand, and softly places it in his.

"Remember the night of the bonfire, when I said I liked you?"

The TV is muted, and I could feel eyes on me.

"Yeah...why?"

"3 weeks later, I can't say anything different. Actually, I can add something. As we got to know each other more, I felt like I was falling deeper and deeper in love with you. Your smile. Your voice. You. I can't imagine myself without you. I love you."

I stood still, awed by the words.

"I-I-"

Before I could get it out, Kevin kissed me.

It was soft, like I was floating on a cloud.

I could hear the guys cheering and whooping.

As soon as the kiss ended, Kevin whispered;

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes, Kiermaier. My pleasure."

A/n: (it's long, but a funny story is included!)

It's official: KOLLIS IS REAL!!!
And we had to wait 14 chapters for one little paragraph....
You had to admit, it was worth it. :D
Now it's time for a little story!!
So I was at a gas station, and some guy walked by....and he looked a lot like Richie Shaffer.
Richie, is that you?
Of course, it wasn't Richie, but I had a great time pretending it was.
Then, when I was watching Game 6 of the ALCS, some Boys And Girls Club commercial came on, and it had Chris Archer teaching these little kids how to play baseball....like asdfghjkl stop being so f-ing adorable and cute and inspirational...and that's the 1176th reason why I love Chris Archer.
-Rease

Teaser: It's a surprise! Mwahwahaha!