S A M

San sniffed and rubbed her eyes with her left hand as she tried to unlock the door to her house. Keyword- tried.

Her eyes kept getting blurry with tears and she couldn't stop them, no matter what she did. But, she finally slipped they key into the slot and turned it, unlocking the door. She stepped in, closed the door behind her, and walked into the living room expecting Wendy on the couch so that she can go back to her house.

But she wasn't there.

Sam shrugged and started making her way into my room, thinking that she was probably somewhere else in the house.

Sam's father got a big promotion in his job -which she doesn't know what it is since her father never bothered to tell her- so that meant he had to travel around the United States. He earned a lot of money but since he wanted more, he offered Sam's mother a position like his and she accepted.

That left Sam and Wendy with Jacob, but Wendy then left and moved in with her beloved boyfriend. Sam hates her boyfriend, with a passion.

So since Sam couldn't take care of Jacob by herself because of school, she asked Wendy if she could babysit him during the day, then he would be Sam's at most of the afternoon and night. Fortunately, she agreed.

When Sam entered her room, she swung her book bag on the bed and walked to Jacob's crib. He was four and had a while before he had to go to school too. He wasn't written in any preschool.

Sam went to the crib and when she did, she smiled softly when she saw Jacob fast asleep while sucking on his thumb and cuddling a blanket - with baby bottles and food crumbs along with bags scattered around him. Sam furrowed her eyebrows and leaned down, placing a kiss on his forehead. She pulled back and stared at his peaceful face while softly smoothing down his hair. He was Sam's world.

At first, she couldn't stand him. She held a grudge against him to like she did with her parents but she then realized that it wasn't his fault, he didn't ask to be brought into this world. So Sam warmed up to him. A lot.

Sam sighed and walked out of her room to search for Wendy. She searched the whole house but didn't find her. Anger started to flow through Sam as she realized, Wendy left him alone since she always waited for Sam to go gome from school.

⚾

Sam plopped down on her bed and sighed in relief. Jacob was washed, diaper changed, and into bed with clean clothes and a clean crib. Sam then cleaned the dishes she dirtied, cleaned the house, and got to do what she had to do for herself. She did her homework, studied, and showered. After all of that, she laying in her bed, staring at the ceiling with her bedside lamp on.

Sam wanted to go over to Wendy right then and give her a piece of her mind but she couldn't leave Jacob alone again. So, she turned her head and started at the picture of her holding Jacob. He was everything to Sam, she didn't want to lose him just how she lost Benny.

Benny...I have to remember to try and apologize, Sam though sadly as her eyes started to droop. Soon enough, she was surrounded by darkness.

⚾

A grunt left Sam's lips as she finally made it to her school locker. She dropped both her book bag and Jacob's baby bag on the hallway floor. Sam had to bring Jacob along with her since she had no one to watch Jacob for her. She was not going to leave him with Wendy again. But she hoped that her teachers understand. Sam lifted her book bag onto her locker and and took out her books for her first class.

Sam woke up extra early and arrived to school early to sit in the back. It would be easier with Jacob. Sam walked into class, sat in one of the seats in the back and waited for the students to arrive. Jacob was sound asleep in his stroller, and Sam hoped she brought everything she needed - snacks, bottles with milk and water, diapers, toys, extra clothes, creams, medicines and wipes. Sam slumped back into her seat and that's when everyone started to arrive. And of course that one person had to approach Sam to aggravate her early in the morning.

Phillips.

"Looks like ya finally came to your senses, Peffercorn, by givin' up the seats in the front. Ya' may have won yesterday but, we're still the big boys of baseball." He said, and when his eyes trailed down to Jacob, he smirked. "Well, well, well. What'd we have here? Boys! Come and see this!"

Sam pulled the stroller closer to her and protectively placed an arm in front of Jacob. Phillips' crew came over and stood behind him. Only Benny and his boys weren't there.

"Peffercorn got knocked up!" Sam's face started heating up in anger, but she could guarantee that they thought it was embarrassment. "And she had to bring her ankle biter to school 'cause her baby daddy left! Aw, how sad!"

His boys started to laugh. Phillips took a step foward and started to lean down to Jacob but Sam pushed his stroller back. "Don't ya dare." She hissed. "Back the hell up."

"And what are ya' gonna do about it?" His smirk grew bigger as he kept stepping to her little brother. Sam shot up from her seat and stood in front of him, stopping his movements. He opened his mouth.

Sam took the collar of his shirt and bunched it up in a fist. She pulled him to her so that they were face to face. "Listen here, and listen good Phillips." She spat. "That 'ankle biter' is my brother. I had to bring him along with me 'cause both my parents and my sister ditched us. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so shut your trap before I pound ya'!"

Sam gave him the deadliest glare she had ever given anyone before letting go of his shirt and shoving him back. He stumbled to the floor and scrambled back up. He dusted himself off before speeding to his seat.

"That goes for ya' guys too, so scram!" Sam said to his boys and they ran to their seats as well. Sam plopped back down in her seat and placed her head in her hands. She kept breathing in and out trying to calm herself, but with no use.

⚾

B E N N Y

"I feel bad for her..." Smalls sighed while playing with his spaghetti with a fork. It was lunch time and Benny along with the rest of the sandlot boys were staring at Sam. Benny noticed Sam holding a child in her lap and he knew was the little boy she was talking about when they went to the fair years ago.

"Me too." Charlotte looked down and started playing with her fingers. "I messed up bad."

"No! Benny messed up bad!" Bertram spoke up and reached over the table to stroke Charlotte's arm. Benny snapped his head to him and glared. He leaned back and lifted his hands in surrender.

"It's just that yesterday I tried telling her to forgive Benny, like Bertram told me, but she got it the wrong way. She figured out that I liked Bertram and she thought that I was betrayin' her." She explained. "She also thought that I making her forgive Benny so that they can date again so that it was alright for me to date Bertram. But I wasn't trying to say that!"

Everyone all stared at her while blinking their eyes repeatedly, but Bertram was blushing.

"Ya' like Bertram?" Squints asked after moments of silence.

"That's what ya' got out of all that she said?" Zoey crossed her arms. Sam's team was sitting with the Sandler team at their lunch table since they didn't want to sit next to Sam. After Sam's blow at the diner, they wanted to give her some space.

Squints nodded. Zoey scoffed.

"Well I think she looks fine now." Yeah-Yeah points out and they all turn to look at her. Sam is tickling her little brother who was sitting on the lunch table. She was laughing along with him but she had a sad and distant look in her eyes. Benny could tell she was trying to stay strong for her little brother.

Benny rolled his eyes and turned back to his lunch. Bertram then turned to Benny.

"Shouldn't ya be happy that Charlie here tried to make Sam forgive you?" He asked and narrowed his eyes.

"Nah, I don't need her anymore." Benny thought a forceful of spaghetti up to his lips. He was obviously lying, but he needed to try to forget her and leave Sam's life like she wanted. "She wants me out of her life and that's what I'm gonna do. I'm over her."

"She said somethin', did she?" Charlotte asked and placed a hand on Benny's shoulder. He shrugged her hand off.

"How'd ya' know?" Benny asked.

"I'm her best friend, I know anythin' and everythin' about her even though she doesn't tell me."

"Okay? And I should care because..."

"Who's that? There's a woman walking to Sam." DeNunez asked, but Benny didn't turn around.

"Oh, that's my Mom! Hi Mom!" Zoey shouted and started to wave over her mother.

S A M

"Oh look, it's Zoey!" Zoey's mom, Marcia, said and pointed forward. Sam turned and looked as Zoey was waving at her mom, sitting with the team along with Benny and the boys.

Marcia was standing in the cafeteria with Sam because Sam got sent to the counseler's office. She explained her situation and the counselor asked Sam if she knew anyone. Sam told them she knew Marcia and they called her up.

"Yeah..." Sam started to say.

"Let's go over, then I'll take Jacob alright?"

"Whatever ya' want," Sam forced a smile, and Marcia smiled back. Sam picked up Jacob and his baby bag while Marcia took the stroller. They arrived at the table Zoey was sitting at in a blink of an eye. While Marcia was greeting her daughter, Sam bounced Jacob in her arms and waited patiently. When she finished, Marcia turned to Sam.

"Well, time for me to go." She smiled. She smiled a lot, a little too much.

"Please be careful with him!" Sam started to ramble. It was the first time Marcia was going to watch Jacob."Take care of him. He loves watching television, so leave The Flinstones on and he'll be fine. He'll eat anythin' but don't give him peanuts, he's allergic. And don't let him go to the kitchen, he'll start playin' with the stove and he'll get burned. He already did once. Also-"

"Samantha! Don't worry! He'll be fine." Marcia laughed, interrupting Sam. Sam's face heated up in embarrassment.

Sam looked down at Jacob and kissed his cheek before passing him to Marcia. Immediately after he got handed over to Marcia, Jacob started to look worried. "Don't worry Jay, she's gonna take care of you. Be a good boy."

He nodded. "I love you Sammy!"

Sam smiled a genuine smile. "I love ya' too, buddy."

Zoey's mom turned and left after saying goodbye. Sam sighed and turned to the boys and the team who were staring at her. But Benny wasn't, he was too busy eating his lunch.

This is my chance, Sam thought. I think.

Sam took a deep breath in and tapped his shoulder. He slowly turned to Sam and looked at her. Sam smiled nervously. "Benny, look uh, I thought about what you said and...maybe we can go out and talk? Like how you wanted?" Out of the corner of Sam's eye, she saw Charlie smiling. Sam was still kind of mad at her, but Sam definitely overreacted yesterday.

"Why should I?" He spat, Sam frowned.

"What's your bag?" She snapped. "I'm actually considering forgivin' you and you're just actin' like-like a skuzz!"

(What's Your Bag -What's your problem, Skuzz - Low down, disgusting person)

"My bag? My bag is that you're actin' like yesterday didn't even happen! I'm tryin' to get out of you're life like you wanted!"

"Yesterday was a mistake, Benny! I didn't mean anythin'!"

"Sure ya' didn't." He huffed turned away from Sam.

"Fine. Don't believe me, Rodriguez. Just don't come crawlin' back to me." Sam turned around and started to walk away. Looks like I blew it...

B E N N Y

Benny stared hard at his food as Sam's footsteps faded away as she was walking away. Benny was just so hurt about what she said yesterday, that's why he reacted in a bad way towards Sam. He was only trying to help.

Benny breathed out through his nose and stood up. He wasn't going to miss this chance and screw up again.

Benny jogged to Sam and wrapped his hand around her arm. He turned her around and her crystal blue eyes looked up at him.

"I'm sorry," Benny started and peered into Sam's eyes. "I'm sorry. Meet me at The Valley Diner later at five. Alright?"

Sam smiled and nodded. "Alright." Benny sighed out in relief.

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i think this chapter really sucks tbh. i'm sorry it's so long with almost no dialogue in the beginning.