*One year later*
Senior year had dawned upon you and Benny. By this time, you'd grown up more than you ever had. Over the summer, you said goodbye to some of your best friends in the world. Yeah yeah moved away at the beginning of the summer, but if that wasn't bad enough, Tommy and Timmy started traveling the country with their dad for work reasons.
After that, you all were left wondering how you would go on playing ball. It was the thing you guys always did together, and now that parts of your team had left, you couldn't bear to replace them. You instead kept the game going without them, pretending they were still there with you, even though they weren't.
You, Benny, Ham, Smalls, and Kenny were very close, as now you all went to the same high school. Squints mom put him in a private school, so he wasn't around nearly as much anymore, but whenever he was, you still had just as much fun as you used to.
As for Bertram... well, you guys just kinda lost contact with Bertram after yeah yeah, Tommy and Timmy left. He didn't wanna play ball anymore because he just felt it wasn't the same. You knew he got really depressed when they started leaving, because he used to have so much fun, and now he refused to even play ball with the rest of you simply because it wasn't like it used to be. You understood, and didn't wanna pressure him into anything either, which is why when he decided to go to a different school, you just accepted it.
It was a sad summer to say the least. You had to play practice batter most of the time now due to Benny practicing for his school team. He was good, and you all eventually knew he would go on to bigger and better games, but you didn't think it would be so soon. Of course, you all understood his reasoning perfectly. He wanted a scholarship, and many schools had already offered him full rides if he did well this season. Even though it wasn't far along, he was doing great.
You would always go to his games with the boys, crowding down by the gates to watch, never sitting in the bleachers. You guys wanted to be closer to the field, closer to the game.
You always dreamt it would be you out there with Benny. Playing and winning, trying to get scholarships to schools you normally wouldn't even think of going to. Alas you were a girl. Girls weren't allowed to play. If you were younger you might have been able to swing your old hat on and play the part of a boy again, but now you were older, and even with the clothes you still wore, anyone could tell you were a girl.
Benny knew how much you wanted to play, which is why he tried to win every time he could. If you couldn't win with him, he could win it for you.
Benny, like all the others, was much more grown up. Just as beautiful as he ever was, but grown up. He finally lost those chubby cheeks you adored so much, and grew taller than the rest of your group. He was built well, muscular but not huge. Practical. He was your Benny, and he always would be, no matter what he looked like.
You on the other hand, while your appearance didn't change much, your interests certainly did. You started getting into art as of lately, and discovered your natural talent for drawing. You just sat down one day while looking at a picture of your mother when she was younger, letting your hand take over as you sketched her perfectly in one go.
The very next day you drew Benny, not as he is now, but as he was a few years back. You claimed to use a picture for reference, but only you knew that you didn't even need it. You could always remember what he looked like the day you met him, and every other day up until now.
This particular day was not great, as you were laying on the couch entangled with Benny, waiting for the mailman to bring either an acceptance letter or a rejection letter from UCLA. They were one of the schools that said they might offer him a scholarship if he played a good season, but still, they might have changed their minds.
As you lay with your back on the couch, Benny laying with his head on your chest and your hand in his hair, you couldn't help but feel nervous. Was this gonna take him away from you? You knew they would take him; you just knew it. If you didn't go to the same college or a college nearby, you knew you would have to be separated for some time. It wasn't like he would stay behind for you, and you didn't want him to. However you knew you would struggle without him.
Benny sighed in thought, thinking totally different things than you at the moment. He knew he was good, but he was doubting if he was good enough to go play for UCLA. There were some famous Dodgers players that started at UCLA and he always wondered if he could be one of them.
A slight shuffle at the door caused you both to spring up off the couch, running to the front door slamming it open. The poor mailman had barely made it to the front yard before you two came cluttering out like wild banshees. You both dove into the pile of mail, sifting through it quickly before looking upon a yellow envelope with blue lettering. You also noticed a letter dropped in from yeah yeah, but you would get to that later.
Benny held his future in his hands and yet he was so scared to open it. He shook his head, mumbling something under his breath before handing you the envelope.
"Here, you read it." He said, watching you take the paper in your own hands to read it yourself.
You opened it up, skipping over the formalities before grazing over the line 'we would be more than happy to welcome you aboard our professional baseball training program, all expenses paid.'
Your eyes lit up and you could hardly contain yourself. You dropped the letter to the ground while throwing your arms around Benny and squeezing him tightly.
"Benny you got in! You're in, Benny! Full ride!" You exclaimed, feeling his excitement as he tightly held you in his arms. You pulled back to see how much he was actually smiling. You hadn't seen him smile like that for a while now. It reminds you of younger Benny.
"I got in! I did it!" He felt a sense of pride in himself that very moment.
He dropped his gaze to the ground and quickly reached down to the letter, taking it in his hands and bringing it back up.
"As exciting as this is, I should probably go over all this. I don't suppose you wanna sit with me while I read it?" He asked, smiling at you to almost ensure you will say yes.
"Of course. Now come on, I miss the couch." You joked, pulling his hand with you to go back inside.
You couldn't wait to hear all about Benny's new school. So far you learned that not only were all his classes paid for, but also was his housing, and food to be provided. You almost couldn't believe it, it sounded too good to be true. Although there was one really bad part of all this. He would be gone for several months at a time, and you would be stuck here. Not that the boys weren't here to keep you company, but you would just miss Benny horribly. He was your best friend and the love of your life, and being away from him is hard.
"So when are you gonna write them back?" You nudged his shoulder, giving him that smirk he always loved so much.
"Probably tomorrow morning. Sooner they know, the sooner I get my spot. Maybe they might let me tour the campus before semester starts in the fall." He suggested.
"Yeah, maybe." You replied. You were still thinking about him having to leave you, and it made you kind of sad, but you wouldn't let it ruin his happiness right now.
-
A few weeks passed along, and you noticed you'd now missed your period for the second time. Normally this wouldn't scare you, because you were diagnosed with PCOS, with only a 13% chance of fertility. It was also sometimes common for girls with PCOS to skip their periods every so often.
This was the second month in a row though, so to make sure you weren't dying, you decided to go to the doctor the next morning. You made an appointment and drove to the office early the next day.
You can tell how much you've grown up just by going to the doctor. You used to hate this place, but now it seemed just as common place to you as a grocery store.
You sat in one of the hard back chairs in the waiting room, and in no time, they called your name. You stood up, following the nurse down the hall and into a small room at the end of it. When you sat down and waited, you started to remember a bit more why you hated it here, but still it seemed a little silly now.
The doctor came in in a few short minutes, asking you questions right off the bat. You didn't mind, that's after all why you're here.
"Alright, so PCOS can cause many things, including period loss, and infertility, but I'm afraid I've never seen a girl miss two monthly cycles in a row. Would it be alright if we ran some tests?" She asked you kindly. You weren't too afraid about it, I mean... whats the worst that could happen?
"Yeah that's fine. Do you have any ideas on what it might be?" You wanted to see if she had any thoughts, but she simply shrugged her shoulders.
"I'm afraid I do not, but if you go on ahead and leave me a urine sample I just might be able to figure it out." She gave you a small smile and stood up, giving you directions to the bathroom before exiting.
You did as you were told, leaving a sample in the bathroom before returning to your room. You expected to be waiting quite a while for the doctor to return, but were surprised to have her enter rather quickly with a sweet smile on her face.
"Well darling you'll be happy to know that there's nothing wrong. However I should probably let you know..." she trailed off, sitting on her stool in front of you and crossing her legs.
"Let me know what?" You asked, beginning to be a bit impatient.
"Let you know that you are among the 13 percent of women with PCOS who have managed to conceive. Congratulations, you're pregnant!"
I gave the people what they want! but it actually works out for me because now i have an idea how to keep this going a little longer... also thanks again to my wonderful supporters, I love you so so much!