Serendipitous: Niall's Story

Serendipitous: Niall's Story

"Sweet Ara, we're here!" Doran Hanas said as he barged into the living room with his twin Carsten and Ara's brother in tow.

Ara's eyes widened before she tried to bolt, ready to make her escape.

"Oh no you're not!" Carsten said catching her and grabbing her around the waist to prevent her escape. "We still need you to be a part of the baseball game." He said before throwing her literally over his shoulder.

"Carsten Hanas, put me down!" Ara pounded her fists on Carsten's back. "I refuse to play!"

Carsten and Doran just laughed her off. "What else have you got to do today?"

~~~

At times like these, Ara Astor really hated her brother and his best friends.

Her brother, Bradley whom was a few years older than her, had been best friends with the Hanas twins since she was in elementary school. And every year, literally every year since then, even when the boys went off to college, they still had their annual after thanksgiving baseball game. In which she was dragged into being a part of, every year.

She wouldn't have a problem with it honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that every year something went wrong. She probably sounded absolutely paranoid but she swore there had to be a jinx. One year she had a giant Hawk swoop down at her and literally chase her around the field. No one had even bothered to help her either, they all had just stood there, watching avidly. Her brother and the twins had stood there laughing hysterically and even took a video of her.

"You know I have no hand eye coordination skills!" Ara tried to protest.

"We know, that's what makes it better! And you can just go and get the ball when we need you to." Doran said patting her head as she still hung over Carsten's shoulder. Ara glared at him, swatting his hand away.

Doran and Bradley only laughed at her.

~~~

"Carsten, don't tell me that you dragged Ara unwillingly out again?" Melina asked once she spotted her brother.

"Of course we did, these games would never be the same without our little Ara!" Carsten said finally putting Ara down, in which she angrily stepped on his foot but the guy only laughed, not feeling a thing through his tennis shoes. Ara huffed before crossing over to Melina.

"It would never be half as much fun!" Bradley laughed as he remembered the one time that Ara had managed to actually hit herself swinging the bat instead of the ball.

"Or as many laughs." Doran added.

~~~

"I'm so sorry about my brothers." Melina apologized as she looked over at Ara. "I tried to convince them to leave you alone this year."

"No its okay," Ara smiled up to the pretty girl that was a bit like her older sister. Melina was two years older than her, with wild auburn colored hair that tended to be redder or browner depending on the season. She also had unique gorgeous grey eyes that made her stand out from others. Despite their age difference though, throughout her school years, while she and Melina were never as close as Bradley and the twins, Melina had always looked out for her. When Ara needed a female to talk to, first was her mom, and then Melina. The two could bond by sharing horror stories about their brothers' and the things that they made the two girls go through.

"If you're here, at least you can be on my team." Melina gently put a baseball cap over Ara's ebony locks.

"Are you sure you really want me on your team?" Ara asked as she put her long hair into a ponytail and pulled it through the back of the cap.