head over heels | benny rodriguez

| chapter fourteen |

I woke up crumpled at the edge of my bed the next morning. I had climbed through my bedroom window last night, crying myself to sleep. It's already almost eleven PM, which is way past our normal meeting time, but I don't care.

Cracking my swollen eyes open, I was filled with the sunny atmosphere filling my bedroom walls, reflecting off the circulating ceiling fan. All my limbs and muscles were aching from the run last night, but with a little stretch, I was able to sit up in bed. 

Grandma told me she would be out with Grandpa in the suburbs to visit their colleagues for the next couple of days, so I wouldn't have to worry about going out. 

The last thing I want to possibly do today is facing the outside world. All I wanna do is curl up on the couch with a tub of ice cream, wallowing in my own self-pity about how my crush swerved my kiss.

And that's exactly what I did

-

Later that night, while in my room reading a magazine about the "Newest Hottest Singers of 82'!", I heard the doorbell ring.

"Must be a visitor," I thought to myself as I hesitantly threw the publication across my bed, walking my way over to the front door.

Unclicking the lock,  I cracked the door open, peeking through the crevice between the doorframe. A gust of cool air blew in through the gap, making my eyes flutter.

"Elle, are you there?" I heard a tiny sheepish voice say from behind the barrier.

Smalls.

I sighed, swinging the door open to reveal myself, wearing a baggy tee-shirt and random pair of boxers.

"Seems you didn't go out today... speaking of that, why weren't you at the lot today?" I ruffle my hair a bit, trying to come up with an excuse.

"I know Benny said you've been dealing with some flu or feminine issues, but I never thought you wouldn't show?"

Feminine issues? Are you fucking serious?

"Oh yeah, totally got a stomach bug or something in the middle of the night, I had to leave early and rest all day. I dunno Smalls, don't think I'm going to be at the lot' much anymore. Just realized baseball isn't actually my thing I guess,"

"Haha, very funny Giselle..." He chuckled, though I stared back at him with dead eyes. "Are you sober? You've gotta be messing with me, you're one of the best players on our team?"

"Look Smalls, I love the sympathy, I just need some space alright? If you need me though I'll be here." His grin slowly fades into a saddened smirk as he scratches the back of his neck.

"Alright, but you can't leave forever. We joined together, I'm not letting you leave now!"

"I'll be back eventually, I just oughta have some time. I'll be okay, I promise!" I gave the boy a small smile with a set of thumbs up, which he copied.

"Are you sure Elle?"

I had droned Small's voice out though, as I saw a tall figure emerge into the light of the streetlamps lining the sidewalk. Ugh, Benny.

His puppy-dog eyes met mine, however, his eyes were more grey for sure, though I was at least forty feet away from him. He had a saddened look on his face, but he didn't say or do anything. Instead, he just slightly shook his head and jogged home.

"Hey, you listening?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I-I'll be fine. Goodnight Smalls,"

"See you soon!"

-

It's been about four days of not being at the sandlot every day, and when I say that they've been the most boring days of my entire life, I mean it.

I managed to call Mila over twenty times, flip through every one of my magazines, rearrange my records in alphabet order, and watch every movie I own on VHS.

Let's just say I may have run out of things to do.

Smalls did stop by a bit ago to give me updates on the group. Apparently, everyone was getting super worried about me, even Squints think I might have been hit by a car. 

But the one person who wasn't worried was Benny. Seemingly, he said that I was still having "girl drama" and that the boys just had to leave me be. Pretty bold coming from him, after all, he did practically say "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever met Giselle." Talk about dramatic.

I had, however, spent the past few hours brainstorming ways to make him feel shitty about what he did.

Sprawled out on the bed as the sun faded over the horizon, I stared around the room as the gears in my brain churned.

And that's when it hit me: the hat.

After the sun had set, I waited until all the lights in the neighborhood were off before I put my plan into action.

I wrote a tiny letter for Benny on a scrap piece of paper, scribbled in messy ink:

found your stupid hat, thanks for the apology

- elle

Tucking the note into the brim of the cap, I carefully climbed out my window once again, quietly making my way over to his house. He had shown me where his window was, as it's the one lined up against a huge overgrown bush on his lawn, making my objective extremely easy.

Creeping my way up to his window, I realized it was cracked open with the curtains pulled. There I saw him, folded over in his bed, sheets draped over his figure as his body rose and fell with every breath.

I know this is probably giving off super stalker energy, but it had to be done.

Gently folding the hat, I slid it through the crack of his window, falling perfectly on his desk covered in miscellaneous papers.

The boy rolled over, making my heart jump, but his eyes stayed shut as his arm hung off the edge of the bed. His face was now visible, sleeping peacefully in the darkness of his bedroom. Maybe I missed him a little more than I thought.

I didn't let that stop me though, as I strolled home and climbed back into my bed, drifting to sleep.

-

Days seemed to be passing by awfully quickly, as I woke up the next morning to the chirping sound of my alarm at 10:30. Earlier than usual!

I groaned, flinging myself out of bed. I have to change out of my pajamas today, as Grandma and Grandpa come home today and I  gotta make it semi-believable that I went out over the past couple of days.

After a brief, refreshing cold shower, I threw on a pair of sweat shorts and a tank top before perusing my way back into my room.

I'd been shutting my curtains ever since I stopped waking up so early since the light kept waking me up earlier than intended.

My hands wrapped around the edge of my drapes, as I prepared myself for the blinding sun.

But once the glass was revealed, I was met with a small piece of paper taped to my window:

give me the chance to apologize in person, meet me at the pink diner on the corner at 6 tonight. don't miss it.

- benny ;)

*

hey readers, hope you've been enjoying the book so far! also THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE SUPPORT AND 300 READS! i've even gotten a few votes over the weekend which brings me so much joy yall don't even understand.

just wanted to let everyone know though that i may not be updating for a week or so, as it's my birthday and i have a huge ap final coming up.

who knows tho!?! maybe i'll update another chapter this week, just there might be a bit less content (only for a couple weeks ofc).

anyways, thanks again, i appreciate all the support. also if you are reading this, leave some comments! i would love to see what your guy's reactions are to every chapter i write. expect more soon mwah!

- alex