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"My life was over.
Just as Bill had finally warmed up to me... and asked me to be the man of the house, I had to knock a priceless chunk of history into the clutches of a monster.
Great."
Jordan made her way to her room, to go pack to stay the night at Benny's and to wash the sweat and dirt off of herself, but it was interrupted by her sister.
"Shit, what happened to you?" Angela asked.
"Oh, you know, baseball, friends, trying to outsmart a goddamn beast," The blonde answers, "I'm gonna spend the night at Benny's, okay?"
"Fine, but just so you know, Dad and Mom are gonna be home late tonight."
Jordan's body froze.
She didn't know how her father would even react to her having Benny be her boyfriend, not to mention that everyone was in a crisis into getting Ruth's ball.
This just added to her plate of worries.
"You've gotta be joking me," Jordan sighs.
"Just do what I do, make a pillow of yourself and go out the window," The sister advises, "They won't know a thing."
Nodding her head, Jordan was set for her plan: She would to follow the older Watts advice and make a body made out of her pillows, she would go out the window, and in the early morning, she would have to get back into her room to say hi to her parents.
She made her body double and packed her bag to go to Benny's and took her shower when she was going out the door, she, of course, heard the snarky remarks of her sister as she left.
"Save room for Jesus, please!"
Going into Benny's house, Marcel was the one to open the door, again.
"Hey, Jordan," He greets, "how have you been?"
"I'm just dead tired. Is it okay for me to spend the night?"
"Ah, you don't even have to ask. Lucky for you, our parents are out tonight, so it'll just be us and our Abuelito."
The girl comes into the house, walking to Benny's room, but not without saying hello to Rodriguez's grandfather.
"Hey, Mr. Rodriguez," She smiles.
"Hola, Jordan," He weakly replies, before turning back to the tv.
She walked into Benny's room, where she slightly blushed to see him in comfortable shorts and a white tank top.
"Hey, amada."
"Benjamin."
She just automatically took off her shoes and jumped onto the bed, having Benny wrap his arms around the girl, pull her to his chest.
She could hear his soft hums, having her wrap her arms around his waist.
"What's wrong?" He asked her, "Is it the Be——"
"No," She responded, "my parents are coming back tonight."
"Wait, that's good, why are you here if they are?"
"Well, I didn't tell them out us, then again they never called. And, besides, I'm sure that if my dad found out, we're both screwed."
"Come on, don't be like that. Your dad would be happy for us, right? He's not that strict with you. He allowed Angela to date."
"Yeah, but that was because she was all ready a sophomore in high school, and Anne thought it would be good for her to teach her how to be a good wife."
Benny chuckles, "Is she gonna do that to you?"
"Hell no, she's not! Fuck that."
Benny picked the girls chin up, to make her look into his eyes. "You're gonna have to tell them at some point, you know."
"I know. I just make sure it's the right time."
Changing the subject, the hispanic boy pulls her in for a kiss, which she returns back.
They soon deepened it, with Jordan moving to have her hand cup the back of Benny's neck and him to hold onto her lower back.
They both smiled into their kiss.
It was sweet, wholesome, nothing too wild, since they were just 14.
"Are you sure you're fine?" The boy asked her.
"Yeah, why would I not be?"
"Come on, Jordy. The whole day you were shaking, I know it's because of that damn dog, the whole team was a little worried."
"It's fine. I just thought... maybe there are other options to get the ball, maybe not dangle Yeah-Yeah like a piece of bait."
"Okay, good point," He laughed.
"Can't we just talk to Mr. Mertle?" She asked.
"Are you crazy? Mr. Mertle, the man who owns those things? You wanna talk to him?"
"Yeah, because it seems more logical than to waste our time and energy on outsmarting a goddamn dog."
"Have you not listened to Squints' story?"
"You seriously believe that crap?"
He didn't, and she knew that.
Benny was honestly just scared for Jordan. He knew she could take care of herself, hell beating the absolute crap out of Phillips was proof, but when it came to the Beast, he didn't want the past to repeat itself.
He remembers her leg practically almost getting chewed off by the Beast. He remembers how scared both him and Hamilton were, seeing Jordan's jeans start to submerge in blood.
He too had the adding bit of trauma to him.
"Never mind, forget what I said," Jordan grumbled, getting off of the bed to head toward the restroom, scooping up her bag.
The Rodriguez boy wanted to punch himself in the face, seeing her walk away from him.
As the girl left, Marcel entered the room.
"What did you say to her, hermano?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing! It was just a stupid thing," Benny semi-answered.
"Okay, okay, none of my business, but all I gotta say is, she's right."
"How do you even know she's right, you didn't even listen to the conversation?"
"I've had my multiple shares about it," Marcel cocked, "I am a woman expert."
"You never even had a girlfriend."
"That's beside the point!"
"You don't know about the Beast. You don't know what she implying."
"She was talking about talking to the owner to grab a damn ball... which is the smart thing to do."
"Well, you don't know the stories of Mertle and that monster," Benny remarks.
"You're right, I don't, but from what I hear. She's still 100% correct."
"How do you know."
"Because 9 times out of 10, the women are right."
With that the boy left, leaving Benny to believe that his older brother was a total moron.
He wasn't trying to prove a point to Jordan, he only wanted to think of the best ways possible, without asking for help, from any adults; that would lead to trouble.
As Benny lies back down on his bed, Jordan came back in, with her blonde hair down, for once, and in a baggy shirt that she stole from him.
She didn't feel as if he was trying actively gaslight her, he would never do that. She felt that Benny was trying his best to leave her out of a dangerous situation, which the Beast was the obvious sight of danger.
To her, it was sweet, hella annoying, but the good intention was shown.
The Watts went on the boy's side and wrapped her arms around his waist, as he pulls her close to fall asleep.
The two were left in silence, which was perfectly fine for them; they didn't mind it, at all.
This only led them to the nice comfort of the unconscious.
♢
"I had a dream that night about a giant baseball... that was signed by Babe Ruth... falling out of the sky and hammering me into the ground, like a railroad spike.
I didn't know what that meant, though Jordan had her suspicions, but Benny had a dream that night, too, and he was a lot more helpful."
In the dream, Benny awoke to find Jordan, not beside him.
He thought it was the morning, but looking at the clock, it was the same time that both of them fell asleep.
Soon his bedroom began to shake around him and the sounds of a crowd cheering came from his closet, making him stand up from his bed.
"Who's there?"
The closet door opened to see the Babe Ruth, right in front of him, walk to in front of him, with the door closing behind him.
"Don't go pee in your pants," Ruth spoke, "I'm just here to give you a hand."
"B-But you're——"
"Dead? Legends never die, kid."
Benny was shocked to see his id staying right in his room, he looked at the poster beside him and to the man. It was truly him.
"But you're the Babe. The Sultan of Swat. The King of—"
"of Crash, and a hundred other dopey names. Forget about that stuff, kid. We ain't got much time. I'm here 'cause you're in some kind of pickle, right?"
"Yeah."
"A baseball with my John Hancock on it... went over a fence and you can't get it back, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then just hop over there and get it."
Babe began to leave, but Benny was quick to have him stay.
"Wait, wait!" The Rodriguez boy stops him. "I can't."
"Can't what?"
"I can't go into that backyard."
"Why not?"
"There's a beast back there."
"What kind?" The player asked, blowing his cigarette.
As best as possible to describe the animal, Benny said, "A giant gorilla-dog thing, that ate one kid and hurt Jordan."
"Is that a fact?"
"Yes, if Jordan were here——"
"Not talking about your girl," clarifies Ruth.
Benny then closed his mouth, because, about the eaten boy, it was a tale that Squints had told.
It wasn't true events, that he had experienced, like what happened with Jordan.
"Sit down, kid. Sit down."
Benny obeys, sitting on his desk chair, as the baseball player sits in front of him.
"Let me tell you something, kid. Everybody gets one chance to do something great. Most people never take the chance, either 'cause they're too scared... or they don't recognize it when it spits on their shoes. This is your big chance, and you shouldn't let it go by. Remember when you busted the guts out of the ball the other day? If I was you, I'd listen."
"Yeah. But what?"
The man chuckled, "You're the one with the rubber legs. Figure it out."
Babe Ruth then looks at a card that was displayed on the desk and takes it to observe. "'Henry Aaron.' I don't know why, but can I have this?"
"Sure, yeah."
Benny tried to pick up the pieces over what his idol said, which made him ask.
"Wait. You're saying I should hop over that fence and pickle the Beast?"
The baseball player opens the door and before leaving said, "Think about that, kid. I'll see you later."
The crowd cheers loudly as Babe Ruth renters the closet, with the door shutting behind.
Despite the idol leaving, Benny could still hear his voice echo to him.
"Remember, kid, there's heroes and there's legends. Hero's get remembered, but legends never die. Follow your heart, kid, and you'll never do wrong."
♢
Suddenly, Benny jumps up from
his bed, making Jordan wake up from the abrupt movement beside her.
"What the fuck?" She yawns.
"I-I..." Benny stuttered, "T-This may sound crazy, but I had a dream, right, a crazy ass dream... about Babe Ruth."
"Okay, nice," The Watts girl nods, before laying herself back to sleep.
"No, no, you don't get it. It's a message!" He shakes his girlfriend to listen to him.
"Benjamin, it's a dream. All in your head, let's go back to sleep, please."
"Can you please hear me out?"
Grumbling, Jordan sat up, and looked at the clock, reading it to see it was 6 in the morning.
"Jesus Christ, okay! Explain."
"Babe Ruth and I were talking, about the Beast and how to get the ball back. And now, that I'm thinking, this has to be the right choice or sign for it."
"Wait, what? What sign?"
"I have to pickle the Beast, Jordan," confesses the boy, "I have to get over that fence and get the ball."
Jordan stared at her boyfriend in confusion, tiredness, and dumbfounded.
"Are you out of your fucking mind?"
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