HAYLEY'S POV
I was getting ready to meet up with Jenny and Penny again, when the home phone starts ringing. With mum out with friends, I was the only one in the house. I pick it up from the receiver.
"Hello?"
"Hayley, you have to come to the-" Yelling could be heard in the background and I cringe at the volume.
"Mac? You need to calm down and then tell me what's going on." I can hear frantic breathing on the other side.
"Tommy and I just ran to Tommy's to call you. Hayley, you need to get outside now. David's about to do something stupid and we're all scared." I feel my heart racing as I try to glance out the window and over the fence. "You're the only one who can stop him."
"I'm coming now." I hang up, attempting to calm myself down. "Please don't do anything stupid, David." I mutter to myself franctically as I sprint through the front door, closing it before passing through the gate. I can see David putting on a new pair of Nike's. It clicks in my brain and my heart drops.
"David, stop. You don't have to do this." I talk to him in a vulnerable voice, my fear evident. I can't let him do this, I love him too much. I thought I wanted him to save me, but I don't want him hurt. Penny and Jenny watch the scene unfold. David turns to me, flashing me a reassuring smile and dazzling me with his gorgeous blue eyes.
"Yeah I do, Hayley. I screwed up and now it's my time to fix it," I smile softly at David's reply, my heart melting into a gooey puddle. He taps the brim of his, well my, cap before stuffing a red silk cape in his pocket. It has a big yellow R and a rocket embroidered onto it. My brain puts two and two together as a small gasp leaves my lips.
"Oh my god, you're the kid, aren't you?" I question, finally understanding. He needed to face his greatest fear. David nods, climbing on top of the wall. A pit of determination fills my stomach. Just because he's facing his fear, doesn't mean he needs to do it alone.
"That's it," I quickly scramble up the wall and stand beside David, who turns to me.
"What are you doing, Hayley?" He asks as concern fills his voice.
"I'm not letting you do this alone. Either, I come or we don't do this at all. We'll face your fear together." I explain, softly yet stubbornly, grabbing his hand in comfort. He hesitates, but nods, squeezing my hand for reassurance. I feel my face turn red as he winks at me. We jump down and come face to face with the Great Fear.
"You grab the rocket while I distract the dog. Now's probably not the best time to tell you but," He kisses my cheek and I feel my heart race. "Ever since you moved here, I've had a crush on you and now, I'm in love with you." I blush and before I can answer, the Great Fear charges at us. I jump over him and grab the rocket. I hook the spaceship onto the large hook Mac has left last time while David distracts him. I struggle to climb, but I eventually make it over the fence, tumbling to the ground as the others stand there, spaceship in hand.
"Yes, you did it!" Everyone helps me up and pulls me into a hug, celebrating with excitement. David jumps over the fence.
"Holy shit!" Tommy yells, our celebrations soon interrupted as he looks wide-eyed at the fence. I turn to see the Great Fear jumping over the fence. The rather large dog goes for David. I almost scream in horror.
"Come on, David!" I hop on my bike and the others follow suit. We peddle as fast as we can on our bikes as we ride all over town, following David and the giant dog as they swerve and jump.
"Meet back at the Sandlot. Go, go, go!" David yells eventually and we quickly head back to the Sandlot, our legs aching as peddle like our lives depended on it. We find David running as we throw our bikes to the ground. He scrambles up the fence and jumps, his body flipping. We hear a massive thump then a crumble. A squeak is heard from the fence and the fence falls over.
"David!" I yell in shock, fear filling me up as we all rush into the yard, searching for David. The tunnel we had dug before before had caved in, looking almost like a messy grave. My heart sunk as we kneel beside it frantically, scooping handfuls of dirt and shovelling it aside.
"Oh my god. He's under there." My voice cracks, tears in my eyes.
"Hurry, he could suffocate." The Great Fear walks on top of the mess. We back away as he digs. In less than two minutes, David is out of the hole and face to face of the Great Fear. He coughs, hacking up dirt that had made it into his lungs and wipes his eyes, now staring at the beast. I want to just grab him and run. From what we have heard, this dog could eat your face. The dog shocks us all by licking David's face, cleaning off the remaining dirt with its slobbery tongue. David grabs the dog by his collar, wiping his face. I hand him a hankie and he grabs my hand, walking us towards the door. We knock together as I squeeze his hand for comfort.
"Hello, who's there?" An elderly man comes to the door with his cane.
"Um sir, we have your dog. He escaped." I manage to choke out a response as I squeeze David's hand, knowing that's we'd probably get into trouble.
"You mean, Apollo? So it's you who's been making all that racket." He mumbles gruffly, his sunglasses glinting in the sun. David squeezes my hand in response and I squeeze his arm, remaining close to his side.
"We were trying to get our spaceship back, sir," David explains, smiling down at me. I grin back shyly.
"From what I can tell, you remind me of two kids that use to play with their friends. At least from what I heard of the girl anyway. She left back to-"
"Australia before you met her? That would be my Mum and Dad. They're right next door actually." Mr. Murdell laughs.
"I bet you're just as stubborn and adventurous as your mum was described." David chuckles, teasing me.
"She's definitely both of those things." I playfully punch him
"I may be a blind man, but I can see young love." My cheeks flush as David grins, that familiar sparkle returning to his eye. "Tell you what, if you and your friends get Apollo out of the yard at least twice a week as well as talking to me about your adventures, I'll leave the fence down. I'm tired of kids thinking I'm grouchy." David grabs his hand and shakes it.
"I think there's someone you'll want to meet." I grab Mr Murdell's hand and guide him out of his house and into my yard. I knock on the door. Mum answers. "Mum, this is Mr. Murdell, our neighbour."
"You must be Benny's wife. He told me a lot about you when you were kids." Mum grins.
"It's nice to finally meet you." We head back to the group as the adults chat. Apollo runs out of the yard and we follow him to a fence with a dog the same size as him and with a red collar that said Tini.
"He's in love." Penny gushes at the two canines.
"That's why he was always trying to get out, to visit her." The others walk off chatting while David and I stay back.
"It was sweet, what you said back there," I brush a piece of hair behind my ear as I rock back and forth on my feet.
"Um thanks." I giggle, he's just as nervous as I am.
"Thanks for being my hero, David." I thank him, staring into his eyes.
"Don't mention it," He replies, smiling softly. We stare at each other for a bit, we lean in and kiss. I feel fireworks as big as Smalls' Rocket fires on the 4th of July. We pull apart and he smirks before I playfully punch his shoulder, giggling. We follow the others, hand in hand. I rest my head on his shoulder.
"I love you too." I smile, referring to earlier. He grins at me and we run after the others.