She Stole More Than Just a Base

Chapter 27 Alaska's POV

It'd been two weeks since the whole Yeah-Yeah incident and a week since Sadies moved away. Mercedes being gone took a big toll on us all. We hadn't gotten together to play any ball and I'd barely gone over to Chrissy's house since she left. Benny was especially miserable. He wouldn't answer any of our calls and if we dared to go to his house his mom would tell us that Benny didn't want any company.

Whenever I went to Chrissy's house and we were hanging out, Yeah-Yeah would tag along. I feel like no matter how mean I am to him, no matter how hard I try to avoid him, that boy just will not give up. I just don't like him that way.

Anyway, since we still weren't meeting to play some ball, I walked over to Benny's house. His mom answered the door and asked me in her thick Spanish accent, "Are you here to visit Benny again?"

I nodded and grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, he seems really lonely since he hasn't talked to anyone."

"Yeah," Mrs. Rodriguez smiled. "Come in. I just wanna let you know that he isn't in the most sociable mood."

"That's alright," I told her and she let me in. "I'm used to it. I mean, not here, but when I lived in New York my best friend wasn't the nicest person, still I wouldn't trade our friendship for anything."

"Benjamin! Your friend is here to visit you again!" she called down the hall.

"Which one?" he groaned, coming out of his room, hair messy and eyes bloodshot from crying. Once he saw me standing there, his eyes widened and he ran back into his room.

Mrs. Rodriguez looked at me apologetically. "Benji," she pleaded. "Come on, mijo."

"Madre," he complained. "I told you not to call me that."

"Entonces vente," she ordered him.

"Espera té," he snapped at her and emerged from his room. He did his hair, but his hazel eyes were still red.

She shook her head in dismay. "Go," she shooed us away. "Go hang out. You need it Benji."

He glared at her and we went into his room.

"You're really messed up now, huh? This whole situation messed you up?" I asked.

"As my grandpa once said, 'To lose someone you love is to alter your life forever. The pain stops, there are new people, but the gap never closes. The hole in your heart is the shape of the person you lost - no one else can fix it,'" he told me.

"Benny, come on man. I know you love Sadies and everything, but you experience pain so when you feel happiness again, you won't take it for granted. At least not for a little while," I told him and sat at the foot of his bed and he sat at his desk.

He stayed quiet and crumpled up a piece of paper. He threw it into his empty trash can and twirled around in his chair, but I could tell he was trying not to cry.

"Just freaking cry already," I told him.

"I can't," he told me.

"Why? 'Cause you're a boy and boys can't cry?" I asked him, but he didn't answer. "I know dang well that boys have just as many feelings as girls, the only difference is that boys are too weak to cry."

He laughed and smiled a bit and seemed like the normal Benny I knew.

For the first time since I saw him I stared straight into his grin. I didn't blush and turn away, I didn't want to kiss him, I just stared. I wondered where all the love had gone, if it had even been there in the first place.

His smile stayed in place, but his eyes grew confused. "Why are you staring at me?" he asked.

I opened my mouth slightly to say something but no sound came out. "I - I just missed the old Benny, my pal."

"Oh," he said. "C'mon lets get together to play some ball."

I smiled, but I felt weird being alone with him. "Lets go get everyone."

One by one, we gathered everyone and met at the sandlot. We took our normal positions, but I was pitching instead of Kenny.

First up to bat was Ham. He raised his hand and pointed to the imaginary centerfield bleachers, mimicking The Great Bambino. He stood confidently and watched me wind up. I released the ball and it went straight down the strike zone. He swung really hard, but barely made contact and only sent it a bit farther than were Yeah-Yeah was positioned, aka shortstop. He ran like the devil was after him, but we got him out.

We played ball all day, barely stopping at all. It was great; we were all sticky and sweaty and exhausted. Our shoes covered in dirt and our pants nearly ripped at the knee from so much sliding.

It was about 7 o'clock and it wouldn't get dark until 8, but the mosquitos were already swarming us. We piled into the dugout and drank some pop.

"You feeling better, Benny?" I asked, causing everyone to look at him.

He shrugged. "I guess."

"Well, how about a race?" I challenged.

"Are you crazy?" Ham asked me as if I were insane.

"Yeah yeah, truly, what are ya thinking?" Yeah-Yeah asked.

"Well I was thinking that I could run to a destination and beat The Jet," I announced.

"Yeah yeah, right," Yeah-Yeah scoffed in a friendly way.

"Alaska, you mean to tell me that you think you can out-run the fastest runner in, I don't know, ever?" Timmy asked flabbergasted.

"Ever?" Tommy echoed.

"It's true Laska," Chrissy confirmed. "No one's ever beat Benny in a race. Not even Hercules."

I shrugged. "That doesn't mean I can't."

"That's exactly what it means, Laskie," Squints told me.

Did they actually think I was that stupid? I knew I couldn't beat Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez in a race, even if it depended on my life. He just needed something to be proud of, although he was already beaming at all the compliments given to him.

I shook my head in fake dismay. "C'mon Benny man, or are you scared that a little girl like me's gonna beat you?"

"Ooh," Kenny and Bertram chattered, starting all the others at it too.

"Ooh, Benny man, I think Alaska is pretty serious," Chrissy taunted, resting her head on Timmy's shoulder.

"Fi -," Benny started. "Who's that?" he pointed to the bushes in left field...