sweet kisses
𐬿 𐮚 ミ★ ☆彡 𐮚 𐬿
AFTER GIVING MUCH THOUGHT to how he was going to approach Jacob Phillips, Benny Rodriguez couldn't shake off the fact knowing what he had done to Scarlett and decided that his confrontation was getting done and over with tonight. It was way past his set curfew, the boy knew his mother would go ballistic once he got home but he wanted to do this, no, he needed to for not being there for the girl he adored so much.
Now, Benny was making his way down to the Phillips residence, adrenaline pumping through his veins as he practically sprinted to the familiar house he knew so well. The boys used to be friends when they were much younger and the thought of baseball hadn't plagued their minds, the times where they weren't rivals but best pals.
Benny didn't like the boy Jacob was growing up to be, snobby, entitled, and self centered. The boy never thought that this was how Phillips would turn out but unfortunately it is what it is. He stomped his way up the Phillips residence porch stairs, harshly knocking on the door with clenched fists.
There was a moment of silence until he heard mumbling from the other side of the front door, a woman with the resemblance of Jacob Phillips appeared in front of him with dark circles under her eyes.
She sighed, staring at the boy shifting in his spot, "Benny, what're you doing here so late? You know your mom doesn't like you out past 10 o'clock." A slight grimace crossed Mrs. Phillips face when she gazed over the boys dirty attire.
"I know, I'm sorry for bothering you so late but I need to see Jacob." Benny insisted, he wasn't going to tell her what her son had done to the poor girl, he knew she'd find out sooner than later.
"What for?" The women pushed, her eyebrow raised as she placed a stubborn hand on her hip. She knew that the boys weren't friends anymore, they haven't hung out in years and Phillips never brought Benny up again after 3rd grade.
"I just need to ask him something!" Benny grew irritated, his voice slightly raising and it echoed throughout the large house, the familiar voice caught Jacob's attention and he made his way out of his bedroom, peering over the railing to see who was at their house this late.
To the boy's surprise, he could pin Benny's tan skin and the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap he always wore standing behind his mothers figure. He smirked, ascending down the stairs and moving towards the entryway.
"Chill out ma, it's just my old pal Benny!" Phillips waved off, causing Benny to tighten his fists as soon as he heard the boy's voice.
The woman sighed before stepping out of the way and adventured off to her bedroom, not wanting to stay up any longer. Jacob and Benny moved outside, off of the porch and onto the green lawn, not wanting anyone in the home to hear their conversation.
Jacob kept a smug smile on his face, "Hey Benny, what're you here for? Finally decided it's best to join my team and dump those pathetic losers?" He snickered, leaning back onto a rough tree planted on his lawn.
Benny glared at him, his blood boiling over after hearing what the boy had called his friends, "No, actually I'm here to give you this." Phillips stared at him confused until the boy standing in front of him pulled back his clenched fist and clocked him right in his nose.
Phillips gasped in shock, "You asshole!" He yelled after he caught himself, watching as blood pooled from his nose and into his hands. Benny stood back in surprise, he's never punched someone before because he wasn't the confrontational type, but he couldn't believe how powerful the single punch was to cause this much damage.
Phillips returned the action by swinging his fists towards Benny, giving him one right on his cheek. Benny felt the hard blow on his face, his anger rising even more than before. "Aw, shit!" He hissed, putting his hand up to his cheek before his eyes turned into slits seeing Jacob chuckling while wiping away the blood staining his upper lip.
Benny let out a battle cry before attaching himself onto Phillips hoodie, crashing them onto the perfectly cut grass. The boy under him grunted, trying his best to squirm his way from his weight but not finding it any success since Benny's fists clutched the cotton fabric he was wearing.
"You stay away from Scarlett, you hear me?!" Benny spit out.
Jacob connected their eye contact, realizing why the boy was here in the first place, to avenge the girl he proudly took advantage of, "Ah, the little red head? Yeah, she was a good one!" Phillips laughed but groaned when Benny punched him in the ribs.
"What's wrong with you?! She's never going to be the same because of you," His hands pounded into Jacob's face, wanting nothing but the take out his frustration on the boy he had pinned beneath him. He leaned down closer to Phillips face, "You broke her! Why Jacob, why?!" Benny didn't noticed the tears streaming down his face but Phillips did through his swollen eye lids.
Jacob now understood why Benny cared so much, he had deep feelings about Scarlett and clearly was protective of her to keep boys like Jacob away from her, but unfortunately that was too late.
The boy couched up a little bit of blood before he asked, "You love her, don't you?" A bit of softness laced in his voice but he tried his best covering it with amusement.
"N-n-no, I-" Benny stopped himself, looking off after he began to think. Did he really love her? Or was it just a stupid little crush?
It didn't last long, the boy was kicked off of Phillips and he felt most of the air in his body disappear by the sudden blow to the side of his stomach, falling hard on the ground next to the beaten boy. He groaned, clutching the pain in his side before he looked up to see an Jacob's enraged father looming over him, his round face beet red.
"Get off my son!" Mr. Phillips yelled, rage filled in his eyes.
Jacob looked at Benny with sympathy as he gasped loudly for air, trying his best to cover it as he scrambled away from the man before he'd hurt him again, "You better get off my lawn boy, before I call the cops on ya!" Mr. Phillips screamed.
Benny raced off of the property of the Phillips's house, catching a glimpse of their family circling around the boy on the ground after they heard all of the commotion going on outside.
𐬿 𐮚 ミ☆★彡 𐮚 𐬿
Everything had calmed down after the past couple of days, giving Benny relief that Phillips wasn't out looking for some type of payback. Scarlett never found out what happened between Benny and Phillips that night, no one knew except for Scotty, and he was the last person you want knowing your secret.
After the fight, Benny ran to the only place where he knew he could get some help and clean up without his mother totally flipping out on him. The boy went straight to Scotty Smalls house, feeling safe with his new friend. Of course Smalls had asked what happened and Benny had to tell him everything, which Scotty thought he was totally insane for doing that, but also very brave.
Benny knew he couldn't cover up the bruises on his face when he'd show up to practice, he obviously couldn't say the truth or he would be breaking the promise he intended to keep. So, he tried lying by saying that him and his older brother got into a fight and that's how he got the bruises plastered over his face. Most of the boys were skeptical but didn't push it any further not finding too much interest in the topic, on the other hand, a handful of them knew something was up but they didn't know what could've happened to The Jet so they left it as is, keeping the topic off of discussion.
Scarlett Rae Porter didn't believe a single lie that slipped from Benny's tongue, she didn't know what to think as her thoughts ran all over her mind, trying to figure out what had actually happened. But like the others, she didn't pressure him into telling her what really happened, only hoping he didn't get himself into too much trouble.
Usually, the boys and Scarlett would meet up by their favorite store before they headed off to practice, but today Scarlett wasn't able to attend as she had a following doctors appointment.
Scarlett had taken great care of her wrist, with the help of her family and the boys, she wanted it to get better soon so she could get to do things normally again without having a struggle. It was tough the past two weeks opening things on her own but she was glad to have her brothers by her side to help her. She followed the doctors orders by icing it every night before bed.
Back at the doctors office, Scarlett sat as she gazed out of the large window of the examination room, waiting for the doctor to come in and check on her wrist, she wanted nothing more than to take the black material wrapping over her hand. The girl sighed, tapping a rhythm on the window sill.
Helen stood next to her, her eyes looking out into the parking lot as she watched a mother and a young girl walking closely together. She frowned, her attention turning to her own daughter who stared up at the grey sky. She shifted in her spot, "So uh, have you told Ham anything yet?"
Scarlett's heart dropped by the question and she wasn't sure why, Ham had already known what was going on but she couldn't pin point to why she felt this way. Everything seemed so strange in the world she lived in now, the danger and consequences of her actions were foreign to her before but now it all hit her right in the face.
"Uhm, yeah. Kinda, sorta." Scarlett replied, slightly shrugging.
Helen nodded, sensing that her daughter grown uncomfortable. She hated that this happened to her baby, she wished that she could take it all away from her.
The door to their room swung open, bringing the women's attention to whoever entered into the room. Their doctor walked in, a soft smile placed on his face, "The X-rays look great Scarlett! You've definitely kept good care of that wrist, I'm sure we'll be able to take that brace off today!" A smile placed itself across Scarlett's face, glad to get the restricting thing off.
A nurse followed after him into the room, a clear plastic bag in her small hands. She stopped in front of the sitting girl, holding out the bag in front of Scarlett, "Take off your brace, please." She followed the women's order, taking off the brace with a sigh of relief and placing it into the bag.
The nurse smiled at the girl before turning around and leaving the room with the plastic baggy in hand. Scarlett grinned, admiring her free hand she was too excited to use again. She rubbed at her wrist, it felt weird feeling the slightly pruned skin from her sweat that some days pooled underneath on the hottest of days.
"Bye, doc!" Scarlett waved before racing out of the room and out into the main lobby, waiting for her mother to catch up with her so they could head to their car.
"Thank you, doctor." Helen said, a small smile on her face.
The doctor grinned back, "No problem."
𐬿 𐮚 ミ★☆彡 𐮚 𐬿
Scarlett and the boys were walking home from their daily game, the girl had walked down to The Sandlot after her doctors appointment and showed off that she got her little velcro brace finally off and the boys congratulated her, they knew how annoyed she was of the thing.
Scarlett and Benny walked in front of the group, some of their friends picking up on how close the two were growing to be. Scotty walked in the back, only paying attention to his shoes before he bumped into the back of Squints.
"Hey! Watch where you're going man!" Squints complained as Scotty pushed him forward which caused the two boys to almost fall to the concrete ground.
"Hey, you alright Smalls?" Ham asked, trying to cover his concern but you could tell that he cared about his friends feelings.
Scotty didn't like keeping secrets, he was never good at doing it. Especially the one Benny told him not to tell anyone and take it to his grave. But Scotty was one of those people who blew up from keeping secrets from everyone, so he exploded, "Benny punched Philips!" Scotty confessed before quickly covering his mouth, regretting his entire existence.
"WHAT?!" All of the boys shouted before they turned to Benny and began to pat him on the back, saying that he was finally a big boy now.
Scarlett stared at Benny with wide eyes, "Is that how you got that bruise?! Benny, why would you do that?! You could have gotten in a lot of trouble!" She exclaimed, her voice stern as if she were scolding a small child. The boys silenced and stepped away from Benny, looking away as if they weren't just cheering him on for punching Phillips. Benny threw a glare towards Scotty which caused him to cower behind Bertram.
"It was nothing, I just wanted to talk!" Benny expressed, trying his best to look innocent.
Scarlett crossed her arms with a scoff, not buying his act, "Yeah, punching someone in the face is a perfect example of just "talking"!" She stormed off to her house which was only a couple blocks down from where they had stopped.
Ham scratched the back of his neck, sharing an uncomfortable gaze with his friends around him, "We should stay out of that." They all nodded, agreeing with the boy before turning and walking the other way but Benny chased after the girl he was falling head over heels for.
"Why are you so worried about him?!" Benny hollered, making Scarlett stop in her tracks and whip around to show him the anger displayed over her face.
"I'm not worried about him, you idiot!" Scarlett huffed angrily wanting to rip her hair out of her head, before stomping up the porch steps.
Benny stopped her by gently grabbing her arm, "Then why are you so mad at me?" The two shared strong eye contact, he watched her green emeralds swimming in the sunset reflecting off her orbs.
Her eyes softened, "Because I worry and care about you, even if you don't think so." Scarlett whispered, the two holding each other's gazes, both examining the emotions on the others faces.
He had a look of comfort while she showed that she truly liked him and wanted no one other than the person standing in front of her. It was peaceful in the moment, soft wind brushed her flyaways back and out of her face, both of their hearts beating at an unhumanily rate.
Scarlett felt her breathing hitch when he stepped into her personal bubble, knowing that she'd be okay and safe with him she allowed him to get close to her. The way she was feeling wasn't normal for her, she never felt this with any of her ex's. This was different, he was special and she realized he had a hold over her heart, she had gotten soft because of Benny 'The Jet'.
She slowly reached up to his face, gently tracing her finger along the bruise painted over his cheek but quickly retracted when he let out a soft wince. Benny delicately ran his fingers up her collarbone which caused a pleasuring feeling to erupt through Scarlett's body. He placed his hand on her cheek, feeling the softness of her skin and craving the feeling of her entire body pressed against his.
His pupils dilated as his gaze ran up and down her body dressed in her white floral dress, the fabric hugging it lovingly. He could feel his eagerness, he wanted nothing but her, "Do you trust me?" Benny whispered, placing his hands over her hips softly.
She smiled and nodded, "Yes." Before she knew it, the feeling of his chapped lips placed over her red lipstick covered ones caught her off guard.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her body. Their bodies were connected as she ran her hands into his hair and gripping it, the boy's hand squeezing her hips and holding her directly on him, enjoying the warmth that was shared between the two. The two love bugs forgot where they stood, feeling like they were floating in space as time seemed to slow down.
Benny didn't know what he was doing, but it felt entirely right. Her and him. Benny and Scarlett. This was just what he was looking for, she was the girl of his dreams in every way possible, she made him feel so good to be alive to kiss her that night and he knew he didn't need anyone else. She was the one. He knew she was.
Scarlett pulled back with a pleased sigh, carefully holding his face in her hands. Benny connected their foreheads, their chests slowly rising and falling down as they caught their breathe.
"Woah." Benny whispered admiringly, his warm brown eyes sparking in the rising night starry sky.
The girl let out an light giggle, "I know." She whispered before pulling her lips to his once more and the boy didn't mind at all.
That night, Benny and Scarlett finally found someone they could feel safe and comfortable around. Someone to share laughs with and maybe have a future together. Even though they were just kids, they knew they would change each other's lives forever. Their hearts were full next to each other, and they didn't want to be apart anymore. They belonged together, and they just figured that out tonight on that porch.
✃------------------------------------------------
a/n:
Chapter nine! hope your holidays were amazing!
Word count: 3093
pls comment if there ANY spelling errors! I always appreciate it. ty
VOTE & COMMENT!
ILYSM🤍
revisited & edited: 5/20/2023 & 1/02/2024