Tuesday, July 21, 2015

"It's gonna be fine."

I sighed, staring down at the asphalt Benny and I walked upon. He gently grabbed my right hand, interlocking our fingers.

"Don't worry so much, babe. Whether they all admit it or not, they all miss you. After today, everything will be back to normal," Benny insisted.

"I don't know about it, Benny. They made it very clear how they felt," I replied.

"Yeah, but that was when they first found out and they were too shocked to really think things through," Benny countered. "They've had a lot of time to think about it now. And I know it helped when they found out you punched Phillips."

My lips curled into a smirk at the memory. "Well, I'd imagine so, but if they wouldn't even listen when you tried to talk to them about me, I doubt they've fully gotten over it."

"They will, Kayla," Benny replied with a sigh. "Listen to me, it's gonna be okay. I promise."

"How can you be so sure?"

He sent me a smile. "I just have a feeling. They've grown attached to you, they can't stay that mad at you for long. Trust me, I couldn't do it either."

I giggled, shaking my head. "Yeah, well, that's different, you dork. You're my boyfriend."

Benny's smile widened greatly. "I love hearing that."

"Me too," I agreed, laughing.

Benny and I reached the sandlot a couple minutes later. As I nervously walked onto the diamond by his side, a wave of confusion washed over me, and I spoke the first thought that popped into my mind aloud.

"Where is everybody?"

I looked up to see that Benny looked just as confused as I did. "I have no idea. Maybe they stopped by the store or something, but I'm sure they'll be here soon. Do you wanna wait at the dugout until they get here?"

"Sure," I muttered. On the inside, I let out a deep sigh. I wanted to make things right with the boys, but even though I had nothing to fear, I was sort of afraid to face them. I wasn't scared of them as people, but I was afraid of what their reactions would be.

Benny and I approached the dugout and I stared down at the screen of my phone to check my social media notifications. Ever since I became more active in California, I hadn't really had much time for social media. For that, I was actually proud.

Before we could reach the dugout completely, Benny tapped my shoulder. "Look."

I immediately looked up from my phone and, all of a sudden, all eight boys jumped up from behind the bench, holding up a big sign that read, "Welcome back, Makayla. We missed you!" They yelled out the same thing in unison, almost giving me a heart attack.

When I had calmed down, I clamped my hand over my mouth, hiding my growing smile. "Oh my gosh," I said, my words coming out muffled.

Benny laughed, jogging to the inside of the dugout so he could stand at the side.

"We missed you!" Benny added.

I slid my phone into the pocket of my high-waisted jeans and covered my face with both hands. Did they all seriously plan this?

I then heard footsteps nearing me. I removed my hands from my face and that was when I saw that the boys were jumping or climbing over the the bench and running towards me. In seconds, they were all attacking me with hugs. Soon, all of the boys and I were engulfed a big group hug.

When they finally pulled away, I asked, "You guys aren't mad anymore?"

They shook their heads in response, and Yeah-Yeah said, "Benny talked to us about it, and we understand now. Plus, we heard you punched Phillips in the face." I laughed, nodding.

"We couldn't stay mad at you, Makayla," Squints added in a soft tone. "You're the best girl I know."

A warm smile spread across my face and I asked, "What about Wendy Peffercorn?"

"She can come in second place," he answered, earning a giggle from me.

"That's really sweet," I replied. "I never would have thought you would put someone before your true love." A bright smile formed on Squints' face and I sent him a playful wink.

Ham stepped up to me, a nervous look on his face. "I'm sorry for saying you weren't my best friend. That wasn't true. Like Squints said, you're the best girl I know."

I cast him a reassuring smile. "It's okay, man. Thank you."

Ham then did something I honestly would never have expected — he hugged me tightly. I hugged him back just as tightly. I missed the boys more than anything.

When we finally pulled away, my eyes found DeNunez, who was watching me with a smile. I returned the smile, and he held his hand up in the air, showing off a baseball.

"Who's ready to play some ball?" he shouted.

Everyone agreed excitedly and as we make our way out to the field, Benny walkef to my side and threw his arm around my shoulders. "And now everything can go back to being normal," he spoke in a soft voice.

I looked up at him with a smile painted across my face. "Did you guys plan that?"

Benny winked at me. "Course we did. Been planning it for days."

L U K E
point of view.

I sat at the edge of Skylar's bed, waiting for her to get out of the shower. I wanted to go to the sandlot today, but she insisted that we spend the day together. I also wanted to be part of the boys' little "surprise party" for my sister, but Skylar said I could just say something to her when I saw her again.

Skylar was a great girl and I really liked her, but we'd only been together a month and she was a bit too controlling at times. But I went through with it because I didn't want to lose her.

Finally, the door to Skylar's bedroom swung open, revealing the owner of the room. She wore a white tank top and pink shorts. Her long blonde hair was damp but brushed.

Skylar sent me a sweet smile and I returned it, standing up from her bed and stuffing my phone into my pocket. She immediately walked up to me and stood on the tip of her toes to peck my lips.

"Are we still going out to eat?" she asked me.

I nodded, sitting back down on her bed as she walked over to her vanity table. "Yeah. What time do you wanna go?"

"Doesn't matter to me," she replied, staring at herself in the mirror.

A thought suddenly popped into my mind and I asked, "Why did you lie last night?"

Skylar looked back at me with a slight frown. "I don't know what you mean."

"You said we were talking about you coming to have dinner with us again on Friday, but we weren't," I explained. When she turned around and didn't say anything, I added, "Why didn't you just ask if you could join?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, Luke, I guess I'm just stupid."

I sighed, standing up. "Don't say that. You aren't stupid." I walked towards her and, when I stood behind her, I wrapped my arms around her shoulders. She stared at me through the mirror, the edge of her lips curling into a small smile.

"You're so handsome," she whispered.

"And you are the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on," I returned with a growing smile, kissing the top of her head.

Skylar smiled and held onto my arms, still watching me through our reflections. "I have no idea how I got so lucky."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "I was the one who got lucky. But what do you want to do before we leave?"

"Well, we've got about three hours, so why don't we . . . watch a movie?"

My lips curved into a smile and I said, "I was hoping you'd say that. I'll pick the movie."

"I knew you were gonna say that," she replied, laughing. She stood up and walked over to her bed. I made my way to her filled movie rack.

Finally, I came across the movie 42. I pulled it out of the rack and, when I turned around, held the case out so Skylar could see it.

"When did you get this movie?" I asked. I knew it wasn't there before, because I was usually the one who picked out the movies.

"Oh, I got it a few days ago," she answered. "I saw it had to do with baseball, and I was hoping I could learn some more about it."

"Have you watched it yet?"

"No."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Okay, then we'll watch it. This is one of Makayla's favorite movies. Jackie Robinson is her favorite baseball player."

"I remember her talking about him! So this movie is about him?"

"Yup." I couldn't believe she didn't even know that. But oh well, she wasn't an actual baseball fan before I introduced her to the sport, so I didn't expect her to know everything.

I popped the movie into Skylar's DVD player and jumped onto the bed with her. She was sitting with her legs crossed, but I lie down next to her, putting my hands behind my head.

"Makayla would be so mad if she found out I was watching this without her," I said, chuckling.

Skylar looked down at me, a tiny smile on her lips. "How do you guys have such a good relationship? My brother hates me."

I shrugged. "We always have. I don't really know why. I mean, we fight and stuff, so don't think everything is perfect."

"No, I know that, it's just . . . you guys are so playful with each other, and you don't treat each other like crap all the time. And you guys actually spend time together and like it."

I smiled, shrugging once again. "It's not always like that, but when it is, I don't know why. We've always been alike and had the same interests, so I guess that's part of the reason. We look at each other as best friends, not just siblings. I like it, though, because I'd rather get along with her than fight with her twenty-four seven."

Skylar stared down at her lap. "My brother hates my guts."

"That's not true —"

"Yes, it is," she broke in, cutting me off. "You haven't met him yet. He's always hated me, even when I was first born, and he was only four. He's twenty-one now, and since he went off to college, I haven't gotten one phone call. Not even a text. He still talks to my parents, but he doesn't say a word to me. He hates me."

I sighed, not really knowing what to say to that. Finally, I replied, "Well, I'm sure things will get better as you get older. He'll come to his senses. He just doesn't know you like I do."

She let out a small sigh and I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her down beside me so that she was lying down with me. I kissed his nose and sent her a small smile afterward.

"You're amazing, Sky," I muttered. "You are. And he'll see that one day."

Tears began to well up in her eyes, but still, she smiled. She pressed her soft lips against mine, and when she pulled away, she turned over to grab the remote from her nightstand.

"Let's watch this movie," she said, wiping at her eyes. I pulled her back to me, wrapping my arms around her tightly. With that, she started the movie.

M A K A Y L A
point of view.

My heart pounded against my chest as I toom a lead-off from third base. In my head, I imagined that I was watching 42 and I sort of imitated what Jackie Robinson would be doing. I remained highly alert, ready to run back to third base if I had to.

To my relief, the weather wasn't too hot, so I wasn't sweating as much as I normally would have been. But the beads of sweat that did form on my forehead, I wiped away.

I stared intently at DeNunez, who was just about to pitch the ball to Benny. I watched as he wound up, and just as he went still, in the exact moment he was finally committed to complete the pitch, I dart edtowards home base. Unfortunately, Benny didn't hit the ball. Instead, Ham caught it in his glove. But before he could tag me out, I dropped to the ground and slid towards the plate. My foot touched the base the millisecond before Ham touched my leg with his mitt containing the ball.

"Whoa!" Benny exclaimed, instantly grabbing my hand to pull me up from the ground.

Ham stood up straight and pulled his mask up to reveal his widened eyes. "You just stole home!"

I laughed, placing my hands on my hips, breathing a bit heavily. "Yeah. You act like you've never seen someone do it before."

"I have, but not in person!"

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Well, now you have. It isn't really that big of a deal. It's a normal thing in baseball."

Benny put his arm around my waist. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

I smiled up at him. "I guess I am."

Ham held his hand out to me and I high fived him. "Besides Benny, you're the best baseball player I've ever met in my life," he said. "As a kid, of course. Mr. Myrtle was good at baseball and he played with Babe Ruth." If they hadn't told me all about their last summer, I might have fainted at his words. "But you're starting to catch up to Benny. You better step up your game, man."

Ham sent me a playful wink when Benny's mouth dropped open, the edges of them slightly curling up.

"Yeah, I don't think so," Benny replied, closing his mouth to smirk down at me. "Nobody can match my skill."

I sent him a wink, my lips curling into a smirk. "I don't know about it, Benny man. I think Ham is right."

Ham cracked up, covering his mouth. "Yeah, I'm always right."

Benny smiled, shaking his head. "You both wish." All of a sudden, he picked me up bridal style, earning a gasp from me.

"Oh my God, put me down," I commanded, laughing.

"Nope."

I threw my head back, groaning dramatically. "You kill me."

Benny chuckled. "Shouldn't have been talking crap."

I instantly lifted my head to look at him. I giggled and said, "I'm already wearing off on you. You're talking like me now."

He winked. "Better get used to it."

"Oh, I will," I replied, shaking my head with a smile.

Considering the sky was beginning to darken, we all made our way to the dugout. Benny carried me the entire way there, then put me down so I could get a bottle of water.

As I stood by the mini fridge, chugging my water, I heard the word school come out of someone's mouth, causing my heart to drop. July was almost over, and next month, school would start. I would be a freshman in high school, along with Benny, DeNunez and Bertram. The rest of the boys would be moving on to the eighth grade.

I found Benny at the bench and took a seat next to him. He threw a smile my way and I asked, "When does school start?"

"August twentieth," he answered. "Why?"

"I was just wondering," I replied, shrugging. "I'm not ready for it at all."

Benny chuckled. "I don't think any of us are. But you'll be okay. I'll stick by your side every chance I get."

I nodded, sending him a small smile. "Well, I'd hope so. But I just hope I don't get in trouble this year."

Benny laughed. "Oh, yeah, I'll have to warn everyone about you. If they get in a fight with you, they're screwed. I will tell you that some of the preps there are pretty rude to new students. So . . . just steer clear of them, okay?"

"I'll try, but what if they make it their point to try and mess with me?"

"Then I can't say I didn't warn them," he replied, smirking. "But really, I think you'll be fine. Elizabeth tells me that most of the teachers are usually pretty nice. Her freshman year, she didn't have any problems with the teachers, and, like you, she stood up for herself no matter who it was."

"Good, because I know I've already told you about the problems I've had with teachers before," I responded. "But speaking of Elizabeth, why didn't she come to the sandlot today?"

"She went looking for a job today," he answered. "She wants to make some money before school so she can buy her own school supplies."

I nodded in understanding. "Oh, okay. I think Luke's been looking for a job lately too. He didn't tell me much about it, but he told me he found some places that were hiring."

"It's funny how our siblings, who are both the same age, are looking for a job at the same time," Benny remarked.

"It'd be even funnier if they ended up getting the same job," I added, laughing. "That'd be really cool, though, actually. I can see them being best friends or something."

"Me too," Benny agreed. "They act like best friends whenever they're around each other anyway, but I don't think they really talk other than that. But speaking of Luke, why didn't he come to the sandlot today?"

I shrugged. "I'm pretty sure he made plans with Skylar or something."

"Oh. Well, he was really looking forward to being part of the whole surprising you thing," Benny replied. "I'm really surprised he didn't show up."

"He knew about it too?"

Benny smirked. "Yeah, he was planning it with us. He said he hated seeing you mope around so much, and he felt bad about going to the sandlot without you."

I nodded in understanding. "Man, I like surprises, but you guys couldn't have, like, you know, let me know that the boys didn't hate my guts all this time?"

"Sorry, but we already knew you liked surprises," he replied, winking.

I shook my head, smiling down at the dirt beneath my feet. "I'm so glad I heard you guys yelling the first day I got here. If I hadn't met you guys, I bet my life would be really dull right now."

I looked up to see that Benny wad already staring at me with a dreamy smile. "And I'm glad you stood up to the boys on June the fifth."

I raised an eyebrow, giving him a confused look. "You actually remembered the date?"

"Yes, I did," he answered with a laugh. "I can't help it. Everything usually repeated before you came along. We would always be doing the same thing every day, whether it was during the school year or summer break. Last summer might have been the most exciting one before you came along. Because even still, while I'm not being chased by a huge dog and I'm not touching two different baseballs signed by Babe Ruth and I'm not meeting an old man who used to play with him and knew him personally, I think that becoming a part of your life is the best thing that's ever happened to me. With everything that happened last summer, I can still say that this summer has been the most extraordinary. And sometimes, I find myself writing it all down so I won't forget. So, yes, I happened to remember the date, because I've read over the page describing that day about a million times."

Internally, my heart burst with bliss. On the outside, a smile stuck to my face, incapable of disappearing or fading the slightest bit in that moment. A hundred thoughts raced through my mind, but the only one in complete focus was the one saying, I love him. We hadn't even been together a month, but I was confident to feel that love was the right word. I felt this way before we even started dating.

Instead of speaking, I leaned forward, letting my lips crash onto his. At first, he seemed surprised, but almost immediately kissed back.

"Oh, Jesus," I heard Timmy murmur. "You gotta do that right next to me?"

Benny and I pulled away from the kiss, and I looked at Timmy with a smile. "Sorry . . . I forgot we have virgin eyes around here."

Benny laughed loudly. "Oh, yeah. We better do that somewhere else, Kayla."

"Hey, kissing doesn't bother me!" he defended himself. "It just looked like you guys were about to start sucking on each other's faces or something."

I shook my head, and Benny and I both chuckled. "There was no tongue involved in that kiss, Timmy," I insisted.

"Yeah, but it was open-mouthed. That leads to tongue, and that leads to other things," Timmy replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

I reached over to pat his shoulder, a smile still glued to my face. "I ain't about that life, and even if I were, it wouldn't be until a long time. One day you'll understand, buddy . . . one day."

Timmy cracked a smile. "Okay, I'm only a grade below you guys. I'm sorry I'm not experienced or anything, but I've never had my first kiss, so kissing still seems like a big deal to me."

"Like she said," Benny said in an overly dramatic strained tone, "one day you'll understand, buddy . . . one day."

Timmy finally laughed, shaking his head. "You guys are really great together, you know."

Benny wrapped his arm around my waist and I replied, "Thanks, man."

Benny smiled over at me and then averted his gaze to Timmy again. "But when you do start dating and stuff, I have one piece of advice for you."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"Go for someone with a personality like Kayla's."

Once again, my heart burst on account of his sweet words. I leaned my head on his shoulder with a smile. I still couldn't figure out how I got so lucky.

---

I could've written more, but I decided to just end it right there.

I tried to add a little bit of Luke & Skylar's life together into this. I don't think it's very good. But do you guys think I should write more about their relationship? Someone suggested it, & I thought it was a good idea.

Also, I was thinking about maybe ending this whenever the time is right & starting a sequel. Should I do that, or should I just keep the story going longer in this book? I'll end up writing a sequel anyway, but should I do that sooner or later?

Stay gold.