"I got it guys! I got it! I got the ball guys! Right here! I got it!"
I looked to where the shouting was to see Scotty running in with a ball. Where did he get it from though?
Benny walked over to Scotty and he placed the ball in Benny's hand. I walked over noticing the red and sweaty Scotty. He was out of breath from running and he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
"I got it Benny"
"Bitchin', your ball, your ups. Here ya' go"
Benny handed Scott the bat he had in his hand
"Alright come on! Y/n, here"
He tossed me the ball and I caught it. I decided if Scott was going to bat then I had better throw it softer. I didn't want him to quit like so many other times. But then again I did it soft those times too... Oh well.
"Baaaatter up!"
Scott crouched into a batter position and he swung when I threw the ball. He missed and Ham caught it. He tapped the bat on the ground while Ham threw it back to me. Alright maybe I should slow it down?
I threw it again and I heard the crack of the ball and bat meeting. I gasped and then smiled, proud of Scotty. I watched the ball fly past Benny and he chased after it. That's when it went past the blue fence.
I ran over to Scott and patted his shoulder
"You got a Homer! Congrats, Bud"
"Oh no no no"
Benny turned away from the fence and walked towards us
"Yeah! Nice hit Smalls, nice hit!
He kept saying 'oh no' under his breath and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion
"Scott? What's wrong?"
He walked up to the blue fence and stared at it
"Smalls! You got a third base! Smalls?"
We all walked up to him. He turned around with a scared look on his face.
"We gotta get that ball back"
"Oh yeah! Real funny, Smalls"
"Yeah good one"
"Don't worry about it man we'll just get another ball"
"Yeah stop worrying, Bud"
"No you don't understand"
"Sure we do. You feel bad because you belted a homer and now we can't play no more"
"No you don't understand! That wasn't my ball!"
I was even more confused now
"Scotty. Whose ball was it?"
"What do you mean it wasn't your ball?"
"It was my step dad's"
My eyes widened at that
"It was Bill's?!"
"Yeah I stole it from his trophy room. It was a present or something somebody gave it to him b-but we gotta get it back, he's gonna kill me!"
"Wait the-..."
My mind thought about the signed Babe Ruth the Bill had in his trophy room
"Scotty! Why?! He's right we gotta get that ball back! I will not be blamed for this!"
"Listen to me guys. It's a matter of life and death. Where did your old man get that ball?"
"I don't know, some lady gave it to him. Why?"
"Oh my goodness, Scott! That was his Babe Ruth signed ball!"
"Babe Ruth?!"
They all ran to the fence and looked for the ball. I looked at Scott and he avoided my glare.
"Do you know how stupid that was?! I better not get blamed for this or it's on you!"
"I know, I know. I'm sorr-"
The guys cut Scott off with screams and they came running back towards us
"The beast got it!"
"Your dead as door nails smalls!"
"Smalls you mean to tell you went home and swiped that was signed by Babe. Ruth. And you bought it down here and actually play with it?"
"And actually play with it?"
I crossed my arms and gave him a knowing look
"Yeah! But I was going to bring it back!"
"But it was signed by Babe Ruth!"
"Y-yeah yeah you keep telling me that! Who is she!"
It got quiet and I heard someone facepalm.
"What?!"
"The Sultan of Swat!"
"The King of Crash!"
"The Colossus of Clout!"
"The Colossus of Clout!"
"Babe Ruth!"
"The Great Bambino!"
I shook my head as everything came crashing down on Scott. He looked dumbfounded and then he reacted.
"Oh my god! You mean that's the same guy?!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Benny looked up at Scott
"Smalls. Babe Ruth is the greatest baseball player that ever lived! I mean people say that he's less than a god but more than a man, like hercules or somethin'. That ball you just aced to the beast is worth, well more than your whole life, man"
He looked faint and then he fell to his knees
"I don't feel so good"
The guys took off their hats and gloves and fanned him. I better not get in trouble for this. I mean that was a Babe Ruth signed ball. Not to mention it belongs to Bill. So if he comes back and it's gone we're both dead.
"We have to get that ball back"
Benny looked around, in thought and then he sighed
"Alright, when does your old man get home from work?"
Scott got up, breathing somewhat heavily
"He's gon' on business. Out of town. But he can be back anytime"
"And we need to hurry before he gets back. Plan anyone?"
"Alright, find out when he gets back. Guys spread out and find bottles and cash them in. We need 98 cents. We need to buy us a ball. Y/n you coming with me?"
I smiled and walked towards him
"Of course"
"Then let's go"
The guys spread out, leaving the sandlot and I left with Benny to find some bottle caps.
-
Eventually we found enough caps to cash in and buy a ball we ran out of the store and Benny took it out of its box
"I need something to write with"
Ironically I had a pen in my back pocket that I kept on me for some reason. At least it has use now.
"Here"
He grabbed it and wrote on the ball. I looked at his messy cursive and it somewhat said 'Babe Ruth'.
"That looks pretty crappy Bennyman"
"That's pretty bad"
"It doesn't matter what it looks like. His mom's never gonna know the difference. This will just buy us some time you dorks!"
"Oh!"
"Yeah yeah!"
We gave the ball to Scott so he could go put the decoy away while we all thought about a plan to get the ball back. Scotty came back and we all sat down thinking about what we could do.
"Hey I got! Why don't we just go over, and knock on the door and ask Mr. Mertle is he can go get-"
"Are you outta your mind? Mr. Mertle is the meanest old man that's ever lived! He's the one who made the beast eat that kid"
Scott looked down, looking more guilty than ever. Squints pushed up his glasses while looking at Scott.
"It's not an option, Smalls. Forget about it"
"Oh okay... sorry I will"
"...let's just look out the window"
"Yeah, good idea"
We all looked out the right, small windows and gazed at the dirty yard. This is a junkyard if I've ever seen one. I heard the chain move that kept the beast at bay in the junkyard. After a loud bark a ball came flying out of the dog house and we all backed away from the window.
Timmy sat down with a terrified look on his face
"H-he's darin' us"
"We're on his territory now"
"Anybody got any bright ideas?"
After that we thought for a good while. Of course we didn't know what we were doing but that didn't stop us.
We tried getting it with a long stick but it ended up snapped in half with slobber all over it. Next we tried a pot attached to a metal pole but that ended with it half way across the sandlot all bent up. Then we tried to use a vacuum but I ended up jumping out of a treehouse and in a pile with the guys. But hey, at least Benny landed on top of me. We even tried lowering yeah-yeah into the yard but he dropped it while we pulled him up.
Our last result was to rely on Scott's science car thing. Me, Benny, And Bertrum were waiting for the ball to be catapulted so we could catch it. After a few directions they had the ball in the catapult. Squints started yelling for the others to fire it over the fence. I saw the ball coming towards us and I thought that this mess would be over. But the beast had caught it in its large jaws. It was completely unexpected which explains why I screamed.
We all stayed a decent distance away from the fence. Then all of a sudden Scott's car flew up in the air and landed with a loud thump. He looked so disappointed that it didn't work.
-
I walked home with Scott. We walked in silence only because he thinks I'm mad at him. I know the gears in that tiny little head of his were turning. I guess I was worried he might be beating himself up a little too much. A sudden stop in my movement without my control startled me but the familiar scent calmed me immediately. Benny had wrapped his arms around me.
"Don't make that face. You look cuter when you smile"
I blushed and he kissed my cheek
"See I told you"
I let out a small giggle and turned in his arms. He stared into my eyes without breaking contact.
"I was wondering maybe... if you'd want to sleep over tonight?"
"Yeah sure just let me tell-"
"Ay Smalls!"
Scott turned around looking up for the first time in a while
"Tell your mom Y/n's stayin' with me"
"O-okay"
His pace quickened and he reached his house. Benny turned us in the opposite direction and we headed inside his house. It's really spacious in here but it's still full of stuff.
"Whoa. Where are your parents?"
"They don't come back 'til late. So I guess we can just chill here-"
I grabbed him by his collar and dragged him around the corner of a entrance to a hallway
"Where's your room?"
"Last door on the right"
"Alright"
I followed the directions he gave me and I closed the door. Although it didn't escalate because we both didn't want that yet it still got pretty heated. Let's just say we passed the time.
-
I fell next to a shirtless Benny, both of us panting heavily. I bit my swollen lip to try and stop the ragged breathing but of course that didn't work.
"Im- glad your with me"
He turned on his side and I turned on mine as my breath began to soften
"It's dark out now"
"Yeah I guess it is"
He smiled and pecked me on my lips
"I love you, Y/n"
He pulled me into his chest and I breathed in his scent
"I love you too, Benny"
Soon after he fell asleep. Wow he goes to sleep really quickly. Just like Scotty. I heard his slowed, light heartbeat and I began to drift off as I listened to it. Finally I closed my eyes and let sleep wash over me.
***
"Y/n! Come on we're gonna play ball!"
"Coming!"
I slipped on my glove and ran to the Sandlot. The boys were standing around the fence and they were whispering except I couldn't hear them.
"Y/n"
I looked over and Benny stood there with a smile on his face
"Hey, Benny"
He kissed me shortly and I turned my head back to the guys
"What are they doing?"
"They wanted to get the ball but none of them wanted to actually GET the ball"
"Oh. That makes sense"
"Yeah. I'm gonna do it but I want you to understand that if I don't come out. I love you"
I looked at him in disbelief
"You aren't getting that ball"
"I have too, Y/n"
"No no i'll- I'll do it"
"What no Y/n!"
"I have to at least try and I don't want you hurt"
I knew he was gonna argue with me more so I ran up to the fence. I jump it but I fell into a white abyss the was just over it.
***
Then I woke up