Fake title - Laurie is in the closet (feat. Kai)
An extremely long biased essay on Laurie’s definitely one-sided crush on Kai. I don't have a life : ,)
Ig more of a theory based off canon. Disclaimer: I ship them and they end up together later in life in my headcanon.
First, in the scene we get of her she winks at Laurie at third base then again we don’t know if this is accurate from Kai since this is from Laurie’s POV.
Second, we see Kai saving Laurie from getting hit by the ball. What makes this scene interesting is that from everyone else Kai is shown to have a serious face when catching the ball. While Laurie sees her smiling which is a parallel when we get to Kai’s episode. Signifying that either she sees an inspiration to look up toward or she sees a true version of Kai that not everyone can see. Either can be used for and against my thesis.
2.5 scene, (I forgot to add this) Kai goes up to Laurie and helps her up while Kai is excited that the team won the game. Laurie is continuously in the moment thanking Kai for saving her. Which Kai plays it off saying it was nothing while they both were running back to the team. I do believe this happened despite it not being in Kai’s episode because Kai said it was nothing so in her mind it wasn’t an important enough moment for her to recall. This was still something Laurie remembered of a positive Kai.
Third, we see Kai getting stars on her helmet for making the catch and throw to home. From Laurie’s POV she looks objectively really happy with her smile and thanking everyone. From Kai’s POV she shown to look modest and later embarrassed because of her dad. The reason I included this moment too is because while some parts are unreliable, this is ultimately a scene that supports Laurie being envious of Kai’s skills and acting awkward when everyone was applauding Kai. Not precisely Laurie liking Kai evidence but I think it’s cute and crucial to their storylines. ↓
Fourth, Laurie mistakes Kai for their coach (Laurie’s dad). Their interaction here is more personal since from Laurie they are face to face talking to each other. In contrast, Kai’s POV makes them far apart. Now actually back to the interaction from Laurie’s POV, her anxiety tells her to ‘be cool be cool’ ‘bad idea’ and starts excuses to get away. Laurie doesn’t say anything though and only nervously chuckles and puts her hair behind her ear. With Kai responding with her own chuckle and ‘come on’ walking towards the field and Laurie’s response ‘ok’ with her same nervousness. Now this awkwardness can be natural if you were let down that your dad isn't here instead too. But her wanting to find an excuse to be away from Kai rather than instinctively taking Kai’s offer is more something I think someone with a crush would do in Laurie’s situation. ↓
Fifth, now this is where the unrequited ness really sets me in. During Kai’s practice at bating she is shown to be really frustrated with not hitting the ball more. Laurie tries to calm her down while at the pitcher’s mound saying “I-uh think this was supposed to be fun(?)” to which Kai starts to become more mad at thinking she has to be better for her dad. Laurie then slightly opens up her issues with her parent’s divorce to which Kai shuts her down saying ‘again’ referring to pitch again. At the last hit, Kai feels her ankle to be slightly hurting which Laurie asks if she’s ok. Showing that Laurie cares about Kai to notice this small detail (would later be explained more). However, since Kai is focused on her own struggles (which is to be expected since this is her POV) we don't hear Laurie out more. Now it’s Laurie’s turn at bat. ↓
5.5 Laurie’s POV upon the first swing she missed which Laurie feels a bit embarrassed with a small smile which Kai comforts her saying ‘That’s ok that’s ok. Next one next one’ and gave her advice to concentrate on the ball. Laurie was going through a lot of anxiety and eventually hits the ball but it hits Kai making her fall. Laurie felt scared that she hurt Kai (she kinda did) and Kai says ‘hey you got a hit. nice.’ In contrast, Kai is hyping up Laurie throughout this whole practice seen by the coach. In her POV, she is seen projecting onto Laurie when they bat which is a bit negative. A few examples are, “Don’t be a burden” and “Prove you deserve it”. While these are internal thoughts they are Kai’s real thoughts. I do think Kai still said the ‘Nice’ line and everything before. Can we also talk about how Laurie looks at Kai’s fall differently than her dad?
Sixth, I will now be summarizing little moments of Laurie’s thoughts going to Kai because they don't have enough nuance to back up my claim. Back home she lets herself hear all the mistakes she made. One being her guilt over hitting Kai when Sweaty quotes ‘Disappoint your dad. Kai. Kai. Kai’. In my opinion, it doesn't quite support my thesis. Another is before the championship where Laurie is the only one to notice Kai’s injury and how it was affecting her resulting Kai to massage her ankle to try to soothe the pain. Finally, before going back to home after the talk with her dad, she has this new sense of confidence to get on base. As she quotes, ‘For my team.’ Second later, ‘For Kai’. These two support my claim better because of how little it is in this growing big moment. While it is an advantage on Laurie since she feels guilty of hitting Kai, she doesn't brush off Kai’s state like other characters that don't notice this about Kai. Also, I know it’s because Kai is the next runner up after Laurie that she would mention her but she didn’t HAVE to single her out. ↓
Despite my claim she doesn't like Laurie back, Kai does care about Laurie. This has been shown when she was the first person to support her after Laurie cut her bangs off. They both have fun in the outfield together; often joking around. During their one-on-one practice she encourages and advises Laurie on her bating. She cheers for Laurie when she gets onto first base at the championships. From Yuwen’s perspective, Kai and Rochelle are the only people that tell Yuwen off with the video teasing Laurie. Rochelle is Laurie’s best friend so this is a normal reaction she is giving him. Kai, however, is Yuwen’s best friend so her not taking his ‘side’ shows evidence Kai puts Laurie’s feelings above supporting Yuwen when he is in the ‘wrong’.
However, I stated before evidence of Kai not liking Laurie back is more than evidence that Kai reciprocates these feelings. There are less scenes of Laurie in Kai’s episode compared with Kai in Laurie’s episode. Yes, it could be to cut the episode time but it's important to keep this in mind. I also stated before Kai’s emotions during the two girl’s practice. At Laurie’s turn to bat during the championships, Kai’s support for her is more fueled by proving to her father she’s enough rather than purely hyping up Laurie. The proof is in the way Kai looked at her dad rather than Laurie until Laurie got hit by the ball.
In conclusion, this proves Laurie does have a crush on Kai while also supporting that Kai doesn’t feel the same.
This is all ultimately my interpretation from the show. You can agree and disagree all you want. Heck, an online friend told me they believe it was more Laurie’s anxiety playing than feelings of a crush after I showed them this whole thing.
Video Sources: Official Pixar Account, Beck Lyons, & Jane Recaps; all from YouTube
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