imagines ◦benny rodriguez / luis mendoza

the baseball boy and the felon ◦ benny rodriguez

The whack of the ball against the wooden bat was music to his ears, especially on such a clear night. The echoes would fill the abandoned diamond the boys came to know as the sandlot, a second home to all of them. It was a place where he'd occasionally sneak off to late at night, simply because he liked to be alone. As much as he loved going with his friends, when he went by himself it gave him the freedom to explore every possible inch of his imagination.

When he went alone, the crack of the ball against the bat was followed by thousands of screaming fans, in blue and white. When he'd run the bases, he could almost feel the strong arena breezes, even on California's most humid nights. He lived for the game. And everybody knew it.

It wasn't until she came into his life, the mysterious figure that he'd occasionally notice around town, when he learned to love something other than baseball.

You see, it all began during one of his nighttime baseball getaways. It had to be around 2am when he finally decided to drop the bat, and walk back home.

Benny's attention was quickly pulled from the sidewalk when he heard the sound of running feet and faint shouting. He was surprised to see what appeared to be a girl running right in his direction, looking behind her as if something was after her. Not only that, but he was so mesmerized by her speed that it only took three seconds for the two to completely collide, knocking both of them down.

"Jeez I'm sorry about that, I should've been paying attention, my bad!" The girl quickly rushed out, while getting up. She was about to run off again but Benny stopped her, grabbing hold of her wrist. Normally he would've just let her go if it was any other person, but he had seen her before. And there was something so mysterious and intriguing about her that he couldn't quite grasp. "Look, I'm really sorry I crashed into you, but I really gotta go!" She replied anxiously, looking in every direction but his. "Wait." He was surprised to hear himself speak. The girl watched as he got up, and raised her eyebrows as if to ask why.

Benny slightly smiled, realizing how pretty she was. Yeah, her jeans were ripped and her clothes a bit dirty. But there was just something about her.

"Who you running from?" He asked. He watched the girls eyes move from his face, to behind him before they widened. "Hey! Stop her!" A gruff voice called out behind him. Confused, he turned around to see several police officers, running in his direction. "Them, C'mon!" The girl spoke, quickly tugging his arm. He jolted forward slightly before running along with her. He didn't even hesitate on staying, something just told him to run with her, so they did.

The two teens ran quickly throughout different areas of the town, before coming to a metal fence.

"Shit." He said, scratching the back of his neck and looking around for any signs of the police. The two teens were literally barricaded from running any further.

He looked to the girl who simply threw her black backpack over the fence, and began to climb.

Why didn't he think of that.

He followed and when they touched down on the other side they reached the ground of the community pool.

"I think we lost them." The girl breathed out, looking around.

Benny watched as she aimlessly wondered toward the pool, before kicking off her sneakers and sat on the edge placing her feet in the water. He was confused as to why she was treating the situation so casually, but at the same time he was fascinated by her. She was so mysterious.

He made his way over to the girl who seemed to pay no mind to him, which irked him a bit. He wanted to know her.

"So.." he finally spoke, sitting next to her. "Why are they after you?" he asked, leaning back on his hands. The girl simply shrugged and looked upward toward the sky. "It's not important." she said.