~July 12, 2021~

I swung the bat around a few times as I got into stance. I dug my shoes into the dusty diamond as I focused my attention on the pitcher.

"Come on, Benny! Hit it!" Kyle shouted.

The pitcher then threw the ball with all his power. I swung my bat at the perfect time and felt the ball connect with it.

My body shook as the bat flew out of my hands. I wasted no time and started sprinting all of the bases, everyone cheering for me.

"Run, Benny! Run!" one yelled.

I slid into second base before they could get me out. One of Kyle's friends, Eric, smacked his glove on my leg, but I was already safe.

"Yea!" Kyle laughed while clapping. "Nice one, Rodriguez!"

I sent him a smile. "Thanks, man!"

He sent me a thumbs up and it reminded me of what Scotty used to do. Wow, I haven't talked to them in a while. I'll do it later.

Kyle ran over to me. "So?"

I looked at him, a confused look on my face. "Huh?"

"Are you gonna try out?" he asked, his eyes lighting up with hope.

I sighed. "I don't know..."

"Come on, Benny!" Eric patted my back. "You'll definitely make the team!"

"Yeah, come on!" Kyle replied after.

All his other friends kept pestering me until I gave in. "Okay, okay, okay. I'll try out."

They all cheered. "Whoo! Finally, we'll have a good player!"

I laughed. Maybe this'll be fun.

N A T A L I E
point of view.

I picked up my phone and realized I had some missed calls and texts from Benny. Oh, shit.

I quickly called him back. It rang for a few seconds until he finally picked up.

"Hey, beautiful." he swooned.

"Hi." I smiled. "Sorry I didn't answer. I was out with my Mom."

"You're good."

"Whatcha doin'?" I asked.

"Just playing baseball with some of my new friends."

"Oh, nice! Who are they?"

Before he could answer, I heard voices in the background. "Is that your girlfriend?!" a voice shouted.

He chuckled nervously and whispered something to them, but it was inaudible to me.

Suddenly, the phone started to shuffle around until it landed back on someone's ear.

"Hey!" someone laughed.

"Um, hi?" I let out a nervous giggle.

"Are you Natalie?"

"Uh, yeah?..." I cocked an eyebrow in suspicion. "Why? Is Benny cheating on me?"

"No, no, no, I was just wondering," they reassured.

"Oh, okay." I nodded. "Um, who are you?"

"I'm Kyle," he stated. "I'm one of Benny's new friends."

"Oh, cool," I muttered.

"Give me the phone back!" Benny begged.

"Okay, gotta go!" Kyle laughed before someone snatched it back.

"Sorry about him." Benny panted. "He's nosy."

I laughed. "It's okay."

"Anyways, how are you?" he asked.

"Pretty good. I found that box of stuff you gave me." A foolish smile spread across my face.

I could feel him smile back at me. "Yeah, I was waiting for you to find it."

"Why would you give all that stuff to me?"

"Because I love you." he chuckled. "Isn't that obvious?"

"Yeah, obviously I know that." I laughed. "But I don't know why you would just give me all of it."

"Because I love you, Natalie," he repeated. "And I wanted to give you some stuff so you still have a piece of me with you at all times."

I felt the blood rush to my face. "Really?"

"Of course."

My smile grew bigger. "Well, thank you."

"Anything for you," he said before blowing a kiss into his phone.

"Well, I'll let you go and play baseball with your friends."

"Noooo!" he whined. "No, no, no, keep talking to me."

"Benny," I laughed. "Go play with your friends."

He kept whining. "Noooo, I wanna talk to you."

I kept laughing. "Benny, I don't wanna be the reason if your friends are mad at you for ditching them."

"They won't care," he muttered.

"Benny." my voice was stern.

He sighed. "Okay, okay, fine. I love you."

"I love you too. Have fun." I smiled.

He kissed his phone before hanging up, and like I did every time, I let out a squeal of happiness.

"I love him!" I shouted, quickly covering my mouth after remembering that there were people in the house.

I let out a giggle. Cutie.

B E N N Y
point of view.

I stuffed my phone back into my pocket and grabbed the rest of my stuff. Kyle walked by my side.

"You wanna come out to dinner with us tonight, Ben?" he asked.

"Sure. Where?"

"At this old diner that's set in the '60s," Kyle explained. "The food there is like heaven."

I laughed. "Sounds good. I'll ask my Mom."

He nodded before talking to Eric. I pulled out my phone and quickly texted my mom.

Benny
"Hey, Ma. Can I go out to dinner tonight with my friends?"

Mom
"Sure!"

Benny
"Okay, thank you!"

I looked back at Kyle. "She said yes."

"Nice!" he patted my back. "You're gonna love it, promise."

I smiled. "Whatever you say, man."

••••

We walked inside the diner and I immediately smelt the delicious food they were serving. My mouth watered.

"Let's sit over here guys." Kyle waved us over to an empty booth.

All nine of us sat down and waited patiently for someone to help us. We all talked about random stuff while they caught me up with what was happening.

The waitress came over and held up her notepad. "Hey, boys. What can I get started for ya?"

"Um, can I please have a large chocolate milkshake?" I asked.

She nodded while writing it down. Everyone else put in their orders as she wrote them down.

"Alright, that'll be out shortly." she smiled.

We all thanked her before she walked away. Kyle laughed.

"She was kinda hot."

"Dude, she's like sixteen." I laughed back at him.

"Yeah, so? It doesn't change anything."

I smacked his shoulder. "You're disgusting."

He let out a loud laugh once again. I rolled my eyes playfully and turned my attention to some girls who were giggling at us.

"Uh, guys?" I waved my hand at them. "I think they're laughing at us."

Everyone fixed their attention onto them. Eric laughed. "Nah, man. They're checking you out."

"What?"

"Look at them drooling over you." he chuckled.

I now felt uncomfortable. "They're probably just making fun of me..."

"Bro, they're coming over here!" Kyle shook me excitedly.

I quickly averted my gaze onto the table. I heard their giggles get closer to us.

"Um, hi." one of them piped up.

I slowly looked at the two girls hovering over me. "Hi..."

"Uh, we were just wondering if we could get your number?"

I looked at the boys and they just kept smiling. I looked back at them.

"No, I have a girlfriend," I mumbled.

They both pouted. "Oh, okay. Sorry."

They then walked away. I heard some of the boys gasp.

"Dude!" Kyle stammered. "Why did you do that?!"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You could've gotten two more girls!"

"Are you forgetting that I have a girlfriend?" I gasped in shock.

"So? Why does it matter?"

I couldn't believe him. I just shook my head lightly.

"You're a douchebag."

I then stood up and bolted out of the restaurant. I knew he was bad news. I would never betray Natalie like that. Never.

THE END

author's note:

andddd, that's a wrap! I hope you guys enjoyed this book! I'll start working on my new book "hollow" in a bit, but I'm gonna take a break for a few days. I love you guys and thank you for all the love you've given me. I really appreciate it <3. stay gold, luvs💕
~Olivia🧸🤍

{9/18/21}