Saturday, July 25, 2015

Elizabeth stepped into the batter's box, swinging the bat around a bit. I watched DeNunez closely as he got ready to pitch, because I was taking a suicide lead from second base.

He wound up and, all of a sudden, turned and threw the baseball to Bertram, the second baseman. But all the while, I was expecting it, so I quickly dove at second base. I touched the base before Bertram even caught the ball, which surprised me considering the ball flew through the air like a bullet.

I stood up, dusting the dirt off of my gray T-shirt and jeans. I turned to look at Bertram and he flashed me a smile.

"Nice," he complimented before throwing the ball back to DeNunez.

I smiled, resting my hands on my hips. Instead of replying, though, I turned to look at DeNunez. He watched as I began taking another lead-off, staring him straight in the eye the entire time. He smirked, shook his head, adjusted his KC Royals cap and turned to face Elizabeth.

When DeNunez finally pitched, I took off running towards third base. I heard the crack of the bat connecting with the ball and mentally cheered for Elizabeth. She had improved a lot with her batting.

I met Benny at third base and a smirk formed on my lips. He smiled at me, pulled me closer to him and pecked my lips.

"Oh, not during the game, guys!" Yeah-Yeah exclaimed. He was playing shortstop, so he was already really close to us.

I pulled away from Benny, sent Yeah-Yeah a playful wink and returned my focus to the game. DeNunez wound up and Luke stood in the batter's box with a determined look set on his face.

DeNunez pitched Luke a fastball, and Luke hit it with ease. I took off for home before he could even drop his bat.

"That's a home run!" Squints announced from right field. A big smile grew on my face and I watched as Elizabeth and Luke ran the bases before finally making it home.

Elizabeth was the first to reach me. We high fived as soon as she hit the base and waited for Luke to get home. He jogged the bases, though, earning a high five from each baseman and the shortstop.

"Nice hit, Luke!" Ham exclaimed, pulling his mask from his face.

Finally, Luke hit home. I held out my hand to him and he high fived me. He looked at Elizabeth, but she just stared at the ground with her arms crossed. I told her about our conversation the previous night so she wouldn't get confused if he ignored her or started acting like an asshole.

"That was three runs in a row," I commented with a smirk. "If we were on a team, we would be whooping some ass right now."

Luke laughed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "That's true. I think I'm gonna join the baseball team when school starts. You should seriously just try out for softball, you know you'll make it."

I rolled my eyes. "I don't like softball. You know that. I'd rather play with an actual baseball."

"Yeah, I know, but it's basically the same thing," Luke replied. "There's barely much of a difference."

"Eh, I still don't like it. I'd rather play on the sandlot with the boys anyway."

All of a sudden, a pair of arms snaked around my waist from behind and I turned my head to see Benny. "Wanna call it a day?"

I shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. I'm not too worn out. Why, do you want to?"

"Kind of," he answered. "I wanted to maybe take you out to eat or something. Sorry it's on such short notice, but do you want to?"

A smile formed on my lips and I nodded. "Yeah."

L U K E
point of view.

The group and I made our way down the street. As the boys parted ways to get home, the group got smaller. Soon enough, it was just me, Smalls and Elizabeth.

I wasn't sure what I believed anymore. I wanted to stick with what Skylar said, but Makayla was right. I knew Elizabeth wasn't like that. I wanted to say something to her and talk to her about it, but I just didn't know.

"See you guys later," Smalls said to me and Elizabeth as he made his way to his house. We simply nodded and waved back at him.

Elizabeth and I walked a short distance before she stopped. I looked back at her and stopped in confusion. I stared at her with raised eyebrows. She stared back at me with an annoyed expression.

"I can see why you want to take your girlfriend's side, but I have never had a problem with Skylar," she piped up. "She's always had a problem with me, though. There's a huge difference. We were never friends, so how was I to know that she liked the guys I dated?"

"She said you did it to spite her," I mumbled.

"I know. But I didn't," she insisted sternly. "I dated those guys because I liked them, not because she did. And really, I did her a favor. Most of them were pieces of shit anyway. So you believe what you want, Luke. But she's lying to you. I thought you knew me enough to know better."

Elizabeth turned away from me and started toward her house. In the next few moments, I quickly contemplated whether to pull her back or to let her go. Finally, I made my decision.

"Elizabeth," I called, jogging to catch up to her, considering she was already in her yard. "Stop."

When she didn't stop, I lightly grabbed her wrist. She immediately turned around to face me and my heart dropped slightly when I noticed that her eyes were a bit glossy.

"What?" she snapped.

"I'm sorry," I breathed. "I want to believe you, I just . . . I don't know how I can be sure of anything. And I don't want to believe the wrong person and be an ass to the one who was telling the truth. You know what I mean?"

She blinked her tears away, shaking her head. "Well, I'm not saying you have to believe me, but what I said was true. And I put that on my dad's grave. See you tomorrow."

I watched her walk away with a slightly dropped mouth. In that moment, most of my trust in Skylar disappeared. She was my girlfriend, but Elizabeth was my best friend. And I knew she would never put anything on her father's grave if she were lying.

Just as Elizabeth reached her porch, I shouted, "Liz!" When she stopped and turned to face me, I took off jogging towards her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I'm hanging out with you," I replied nonchalantly. When I stepped onto the porch, I walked past her and went to the door. "Hope you don't mind."

Elizabeth remained silent for a few moments, but finally giggled lightly. "No, I don't."

I turned my head to send her a small smile, then opened the door. With that, we went inside, immediately making our way upstairs to her room. I led the way as if it were my home instead of Elizabeth's.

When I reached her bedroom, I opened the door and let her walk in first. She shook her head as she walked in, but a smile was painted on her face. I followed after her, closing the door behind me.

"You're ridiculous," Elizabeth piped up with a laugh.

I flashed her a boyish grin, nodded and popped my nonexistent collar. "I know."

She laughed again and plopped down onto her bed. "Don't think your girlfriend's gonna be too happy if she finds out we're breathing the same air."

My smile disappeared and I shook my head. "I don't care. She lied. I'm trying to make it up to you for not knowing you were telling the truth."

"Or we could just hang out and forget about it while we can," Elizabeth replied, falling back onto the bed. "School hasn't started yet. I plan to keep this summer as drama free as possible."

I made my way to her bed and took a seat at the foot of it. I looked back at her and responded, "You're right. That's a great idea."

"Yeah," she murmured. After a few moments of silence, she piped up, "So, how do you feel about the job coming up?"

I shrugged, swinging my legs up onto the bed so I could look at her easily. "I'm a bit nervous but excited at the same time. I'm ready to make some money though, definitely."

Elizabeth laughed and brought her arms above her head, her eyes trained on the ceiling. "Me too. I'll like being in the sun more, too. I plan to act like I see someone drowning so I can take a quick dip."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Oh, that is a wonderful plan. You're a genius."

She finally looked at me and sent me a playful wink. "Tell me something I don't know."

"Hmm . . . well, you don't know that you have something on your, uh, shirt there," I said, moving towards her so I could show her.

She sat up and I pressed my finger to her chest. She looked down to find the nonexistent stain and I flicked my finger up, hitting her nose.

A tiny smile formed on her lips and she looked up at me. "Really?"

I laughed, nodding my head. "Yeah. It was there, but I guess it disappeared when I touched it. Oh, but your hair is a little crazy right now."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, stood up and walked to the body sized mirror she had attached to the wall. I followed behind her.

"What are you talking about? My hair looks gorgeous," she joked.

A boyish grin spread across my face right before I messed up her hair with my hands. "Not anymore."

Elizabeth gasped and whipped around to push me away. "Luke! You little punk!"

I laughed loudly at the look on her face and she huffed playfully, pushing me by my chest. That only caused me to laugh harder. She pushed me over and over again until, finally, I fell back on her bed.

"You're still ridiculous," she said to me with a tiny smirk. Then she made her way to her glass TV stand. Under the flat screen were two glass doors, guarding dozens of movies. "We're gonna watch a movie. I'm choosing, 'cause I don't really trust your taste in movies."

I sat up, shaking my head with a smirk playing on my lips. "You don't even know what kind of movies I like. You can't not trust my judgement if you don't know what my taste is."

"Blah, blah, blah, I'm still picking," she replied playfully. She squatted down to find a movie and turned her head to look at me. She flashed me a small smile before turning her head back around.

B E N N Y
point of view.

Makayla laughed lightly, covering her face with her hands. Meanwhile, I found it impossible to wipe the smile off of my face.

"So you're telling me that you thought stuffed animals were literally watching you and all that until you were eleven?"

I chuckled, nodding my head. "Yes, I did. I was scared to death. But the only one I could stand being around was the stuffed bear my dad gave me. You know the one wearing the Dodgers cap and jersey, the baseball pants and the glove?"

"Yeah, that's the only one I've ever seen in your room," she replied.

"Exactly."

She laughed again. "All right, that makes sense. But why were you not scared of that one?"

"Because my dad said he blessed it," I answered with a small chuckle. "I can't remember his exact words, but he knew how scared they made me, so he told me he asked God to bless it and that it would protect me if one of the stuffed animals ever actually got up and tried to kill me. I watched Chucky too much."

Makayla laughed loudly and stared at me with stars in her eyes. "That is probably one of the sweetest things I've ever heard in my life. I wish your dad was still here. I would love to meet him."

"And he would love to meet you," I replied with a smile. "I know he would approve. He would look at me, and say, 'Son . . . you did a great job.' He said that to me so much, I remember exactly how he said it, even eight years later."

She smiled at me lightly. But before she could reply, I heard a few different voices laughing nearby. Makayla and I both averted our gaze to my left from the booth we were eating at, and when I saw who the owners of the voices were, I sighed, rolling my eyes. They were looking right at us, too.

Makayla laughed loudly and mockingly along with them until they shut up. When they did, she flashed them a sarcastic smile. "Now shut up, please and thank you. I'm trying to eat with my boyfriend."

To make them mad, or Phillips at least, I repeated, "Boyfriend."

"Nobody cares that you have a boyfriend," Phillips shot at Makayla, his smile now replaced with a frown.

She winked at him. "Nobody except for you. Weren't you the one who made it your point to make sure I knew I didn't have a chance with him? You even said it the day I kicked you off my property, right before we actually got together. Bye, now. Let the door hit you on the way out."

"You know, you think you're so cool because you hit me, but you know you only did it because you knew I wouldn't hit back," Phillips spat at her.

She chuckled. "Is that what you think? All right, well, let's forget I'm a girl for a second. Why don't you try and fight back?"

I reached my hand over to touch Makayla's shoulder. "No fighting tonight, okay? Let me handle it." With that, I stood up and approached Phillips until we were standing face to face.

"You shut your mouth," I practically growled, "and you stay away from my girlfriend. Otherwise I'll be the next one to hit you, only I won't stop. Got it?"

"I'm not scared of you," Phillips replied in an even lower voice.

I smacked his baseball cap, causing it to fall off of his head. "Yeah? Then try me. We'll see how scared you'll be when I'm done with you. So let me repeat that to you. You stay away from my girlfriend. Got it?"

Phillips glared at me for a while before finally turning around, picking up his hat and stomping out of the restaurant. His friends stared at me for a few moments and I shot them all a warning glare. For this, they immediately followed Phillips.

When I sat back down at the booth and looked at Makayla, she popped a french fry into her mouth and smirked. "What?" I asked with a chuckle.

"You're not a fighter," she responded, "but you sure seemed like it."

I shook my head, my lips curled into a small smile. "I may not be a fighter, but I'd fight for you any day. No doubt about it."

She smiled and stared at me in what looked like admiration. "I don't know what I did to deserve you," she finally whispered.

"You didn't do anything. You've always deserved someone who would be willing to fight for you," I responded.

Makayla leaned over the table, careful not to touch her food, and pecked my lips before sitting back down. "You could say that again."

M A K A Y L A
point of view.

After Benny and I finished our dinner, we left, making our way towards home. The sky was nearly completely dark and the warm air accompanied by the light summer breeze felt great. We walked hand in hand down the empty street.

"So, what do you really think about the Skylar and Elizabeth situation?" Benny piped up suddenly. "I mean, who do you think is telling the truth? And how do you feel about it?"

I stared down at my maroon Vans and explained. "Honestly, I believe Elizabeth. I know she isn't like that. I can understand why Luke would believe Skylar. I mean, she's his girlfriend, you know? But I think he needs to realize that just because they're together, it doesn't mean she's always gonna be honest with him."

Benny nodded in agreement, giving my hand a light squeeze. "Yeah, I agree with you. It's kind of ridiculous, if you ask me. The drama is so unnecessary. I think Skylar just started it out of jealousy. Elizabeth doesn't even like Luke like that."

"Exactly," I replied. "But I guess Skylar doesn't see it that way. She must be the type that doesn't like any girl who breathes the same air as him. And she gets really mad and jealous when he talks to another girl, especially if she's pretty."

"Right," Benny agreed with a laugh. "I can't say Liz is ugly, because we resemble each other and we all know that anyone related to me can't be ugly."

I laughed loudly, shaking my head. "Eh, I don't know about it."

"You saying I'm ugly?"

I looked over at him with a smirk and he smiled back at me. "I don't like to lie, so. . . ."

His mouth dropped in mock hurt. "Oh! Ow! That hurt! I felt it in my heart."

I giggled and continued, "I was going to say I don't like to lie, so no, I'm not saying you're ugly. Because you're absolutely perfect to me. Like, so much, it almost hurts just looking at you."

A bright smile spread across his face. "Really? I thought you didn't know my pain, but I guess you do." Just as I began to smile, he added, "Every time I look at myself in the mirror, it's really hard to look away."

My mouth dropped and I scoffed, but my lips still curled into a small smile. I pulled my hand out of his and moved away from him playfully. "You're so mean!"

He popped his imaginary collar. "I'm not mean, I'm just sexy."

A smirk formed on my lips and I began to walk quickly so I walked past him. "Okay, bye."

"Oh, I was just kidding," Benny responded with a chuckle. "You know it."

"Yeah, but you're in love with your reflection, so I'll let you guys have some alone time," I joked without looking back at him.

All of a sudden, I felt his arms loop around my waist from behind, stopping me in my tracks.

"I'm just kidding, babe," he said, planting a kiss on my temple afterward. "You're the attractive one out of the two of us."

I laughed loudly, turning around to face him. He kept his arms wrapped around my waist, so our bodies were pressed together. I looked up at him and shook my head. "Now I know you're lying. You're perfect. I look like a potato."

"I thought you didn't like to lie. 'Cause I'm looking at you right now and you are the perfect one."

My smile widened and I pressed my lips against Benny's. The kiss lasted for a few moments, but was broken by the vibration of my phone in my pocket.

I pulled away from the kiss and took my phone out of my pocket. When I looked at the screen, I saw that Skylar was calling me. Benny saw the Caller ID too and we gave each other weird looks.

Finally, I answered the call with a, "Hello?"

"Hey, Makayla, um . . . do you know where Luke is?" Skylar inquired.

"Uh, no, I had dinner with Benny. I'm not even home yet," I answered. "Why?"

"Well, I tried to call him and he won't answer me," she explained. "When you see him, can you tell him to call me?"

"Yeah, I'll do that," I responded. "Is there something wrong?"

"He just hasn't talked to me much today," she answered. "I get kinda worried, you know? But anyways, thanks for letting me know. See you later."

"Not if I see you first," I replied. With that, I ended the call and stuffed my phone back into my pocket.

Benny chuckled, staring down at me. "Why do you always say that?"

"What?"

"Not if I see you first," he repeated my words.

A smirk formed on my lips. "Chris Chambers, my dear. Come on, let's go."

---

I'm aware of how bad this part is. I'm sorry! 😣

I'm waiting to get my iPad fixed so I can hurry & possibly finish this book so I can make a sequel. I need it fixed so I can make a good cover for it, ya know? 😂

Anyways, sorry this chapter sucks. I'll try to make it up to you guys.

AND ALSO, YOU GUYS!!! There's this really cute guy in one of my classes, & he's a Mexican, so in a way, he reminds me of Benny. & HE KNOWS WHO BENNY IS!!! & he's got a really nice smile, & he's funny. Anyways, you know how Luke did that thing to Elizabeth where he said something was on her shirt, then hit her nose? He did that to me 😂 & on Friday, I had a coffee (bc my school has a coffee shop), & he took it. He took a drink, & I was like, "You kill me." & he said, "Well, what if I just buy you another one?" & I laughed, & said, "Okay, you can do that." 😂 Anyways, he's freaking cute a'f, but I'm not letting myself like him. Ever since my last relationship (Zach), I've been scared to get into another relationship. I'm afraid it'll turn out the same way, & I don't wanna put in so much effort like I did with Zach & have it all go to waste like with ZACH.

But anyways, just thought I should tell you guys about the cute guy. 😂

Stay gold.