hard knock life ◇ sandlot

✖ | chapter five

SCOTTY SMALLS HAD a bad feeling in his stomach.

the kind you got when you had forgotten to do your homework, and then the teacher announced he was collecting it.

kenny, ham, and bertram had been acting weird all night. timmy and tommy were still inside their home. benny was being oddly cryptic that night.

the only two who seemed the same were squints and yeah-yeah, also known as the only ones keeping the treehouse from being silent. squints began gushing over wendy again, and yeah-yeah mimicked him in a high-pitched voice.

"...i have to take a piss." bertram suddenly announced, and stood up, slowly retreating down the stairs.

"...what's up with him?" smalls blurted, and was quick to regret it. the boys glanced wearily at each other.

"y'know, you guys act like you all know a whole buncha stuff that i don't! i mean, i thought we were  all supposed to be best friends!" smalls' voice was awfully high pitched, it almost sounded as if he were about to cry.

"last summer...bertram's dad just kinda...left." kenny finally said, scratching the back of his neck.

"yeah...and his ma went bonkers." ham said quietly, slowly cramming a marshmallow into his mouth.

"he may be livin' with her, but he might as well be livin' alone. y'know what I'm sayin, man?" benny said, raising a brow. smalls felt his cheeks tint red with embarrassment.

"...maybe i should talk to him."

"maybe you shouldn't." squints laughs, glancing to yeah-yeah, who instantly backed him up.

"yeah yeah, he's not from the lollipop guild!" the two snicker, and smalls turns to benny for help.

"smalls, man, bertram don't really like to talk about those kinds of things...no one does."

smalls huffs, devising to ignore the warnings from his teammates. the subject may have been taboo, but bertram surely needed someone to talk to.

the taller male was seated on second base, resting his arms across his knees. smalls jogged up to him, and he slowly turned around, a disgusted look on his face.

"oh god, what do you want?" he groans, turning back around so that he faced home plate. smalls slowly sat himself down in the dirt, suddenly becoming very nervous.

"w-well i heard about what happened-"

"and?" bertram grumbled, his eyes narrowed.

"...and...i was thinkin' maybe you w-wanted to talk about it-"

"tch. yeah right. i'd like to forget the whole thing ever happened. it's not like i care."

"...then why're you sitting out here by yourself?"

bertram's expression softened slightly, and he let out a long sigh, resting his chin on his arm.

"...that's a good question, man."

bertram turned to face smalls, studying him for a moment. like a lion about to pounce on his prey.

"...why're you out here? i mean...i know why you're here, but i mean...well, you get the point."

"well 'cause you're my friend." smalls tilted his head to the side, sounding as if the answer was only the most obvious in the world.

bertram smiled, and shook his head, glancing up to the night sky. "you're a good guy, smalls."

the second baseman sighed and hung his head. smalls slowly extending a hand, gently resting it on the elder's shoulder. bertram's body tensed up, and slowly loosened, and he continued to shake his head.

"...i'm gonna be like him, man." bertram's voice cracked slightly, and he didn't dare to show his face. smalls wouldn't exactly be able to see it anyways, the field was completely dark, except for the small glow from mr. mertle's porch light.

"...m' just gonna be another pothead." he sniffled, wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his flannel.

"no you aren't. y-you're gonna be second baseman, maybe in the major leagues!" smalls attempted to comfort him, though he wasn't sure if he was doing a good job.

"...shyeah...okay." bertram stood up, wiping at his eyes once more.

"...bertram, are you sure you're okay-?"

"we should get back."

and without waiting, bertram took off down the field, in a slow jog back to the treehouse.

the sickening feeling in scotty's stomach only seemed to tighten.

A/N: if you thought this story was going to be cute and fluffy...

EGGS AND BACON YOU'RE MISTAKEN