Baseball

Will and Tiny became friends while playing Little League together, so baseball becomes kind of a symbol for their friendship. The funny part, though, is that they both have different memories about playing ball together.

Will remembers the time he dropped a ball and got chewed out by his coach until Tiny hauled off and hit the guy. That was the last Little League game they ever played in. But Tiny remembers their Little League days a little differently during Hold Me Closer:

"Tiny's gay," adds someone else.

The coach wheels around to the bench and shouts. "Hey! HEY! No insulting teammates."

"It's not an insult," Gary says. But he isn't Gary anymore. It isn't Gary talking. It's me. "It's just a thing. Like, some people are gay. Some people have blue eyes."

"Shut up, Wrayson," the coach says.

The kid playing Tiny glances gratefully at the kid playing me, and then one of the bullies stage-whispers, "You're so gay for each other."

And I say, "We're not gay. We're eight." This happened. I'd forgotten it, but seeing the moment resurrected, I remember. (19.65-70)

Though they're wearing baseball gear, these memories aren't really about baseball at all—they're about Will and Tiny being there for each other. Neither one of them was really good at the sport, but they had each other's backs. Here we see Will finally realize that this is why they're friends.

It's really no surprise that Will's favorite place to hang out alone is the dugout of the Little League field between his school and home. He likes to sit there by himself in a place where no one can see him and just think. Tiny knows exactly where to find Will when they have a falling out. Playing baseball might not have been fun, but it was where their friendship started and that means it'll always be really special to them. Go team.