Riley Smalls

Riley got up two hours before eight, showered and brushed her teeth. She changed into some jeans, a random shirt and tied a plaid shirt around her waist before throwing on her PF Flyers. She grabbed her hat, sitting the beak of the cap in her mouth as she walked to the kitchen tying her hair back. "Morning Riley," Her mother said before kissing her head. "Good morning, mom," Riley smiled before sitting down at the table. Riley pulled her ponytail through the back of the cap as she put it on. Her mother placed a plate of food in front of her as Scotty came into the kitchen.

Riley ruffled Scotty's hair as he sat down next to her, he pushed her hand away as she chuckled lightly before finishing off her pancakes. "So, what are the plans for today?" Karen, the sibling's mother asked with a smile on her face. "We're gonna head down to the Sandlot and play some ball," Riley answered as Scotty stuffed his cheeks with his pancakes. "That sounds great, kids. I'm glad that you've both made friends. But..." Karen trailed off before sitting opposite her daughter, putting her hands in Riley's as she continued, "Are you sure baseball is what you want to do?"

Riley sighed as she leaned back in her seat, "Of course, mom. I love baseball and even though the boys can be a piece of work... I really think they are worth it." Scotty smiled from next to her. Karen smiled softly, "Alright sweetheart." Riley nodded as the doorbell rang causing the two Smalls' siblings to look at one another. Riley got up and made her way to the door adjusting the plaid shirt around her waist before opening the door. Riley smiled as she looked up to see Benny standing there, he took a moment to look at Riley letting out a short stunned breath.

Riley smiled, "Hey Benny. I thought we were meeting you and others there?" Benny stood silent for a few more moments before coughing slightly and clearing his throat. "Y-Yeah. I, uh, I thought you might - that both of you might, uh..." Benny trailed off making Riley smirk at him. "I'll get Scotty and we'll head to the Sandlot," Riley tells him before walking towards the kitchen. She stopped and turned back to Benny whose gaze hadn't left her. "And Benny..." Riley began with a smile on her face, "If you wanted to walk with us, you just had to say so. We're friends now."

She continued into the kitchen, "Hey Scotty, Benny's here." Scotty turned to Riley with a smile before jumping up and hugging their mother bye. The two grabbed their gloves and headed out the door with Benny, Scotty walking ahead of the two older kids. "So..." Benny began while scratching the back of his neck. Riley looked over to him before focusing ahead of them, "Yeah?" Benny cleared his throat as he rolled his eyes to himself. "What got you into baseball?" Benny asked the girl.

She sighed slightly before shrugging, "I was always fascinated with sports and really, uh, took any chance to go against the stereotypes of our generation. But Baseball, I don't know, it kind of, uh, called to me." She looked up at the boy who was smiling softly at her. "I mean, Babe Ruth proved to the world how powerful a sport could really be and, uh, Baseball made me feel powerful against everyone," Riley finished. Benny nodded, "I get it. It's like you feel free, the adrenaline is soothing and you can't help but crave it." Riley smiled widely, she was happy to know that someone understands her.

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Benny and Riley spoke the whole way to the Sandlot, Scotty joining the conversation occasionally. They finally reached the Sandlot with the others already there waiting for the three kids. "About time!" Squints called out to them. "Oh shut up, Squints!" Riley shouted back to the boy with a playful smile. She made her way over to second base as they all readied up for the continuation of the game, Ham was batting first. "Hamilton "the Babe" Porter. "Long-ball" Porter. Come on, DeNunez," Ham said proudly making the others laugh mockingly at the boy.

"Yeah, okay. Yes, I see it. Yes," DeNunez replied with a mocking smirk, the others taunted the boy as Riley laughed along with them. DeNunez pitched the ball, Riley giggled as the ball went straight into Benny's glove. "You call that pitching?" Ham asked incredulously as Riley shook her head looking to Benny, the boy's gaze on her already. The rest of the boys were laughing at Ham's miss while Riley blushed under Benny's gaze before she focused back on the game. "This is baseball, not tennis," Ham added as he swung the bat, Benny threw the ball back to DeNunez.

Squints called out, "Give him a tennis racket!" Riley laughed. "Give me something to hit," Ham demanded DeNunez who raised his brows at the boy. "All right, Ham. This is my Heater. I dare you to hit it!" DeNunez said to the current batter. "You'll be sorry," Ham muttered to himself. "Give that boy a bigger bat!" Bertram taunted. "Come on, Ham. We don't wanna watch you strike out again," Riley added making the boys all laugh. "You want the Heater, I'll give it to you," DeNunez spoke as he rounded up his pitch before letting the ball fly at the boy.

Ham finally hit the ball, the bat swung with precision and strength. Scotty ran towards the fences to catch the ball as the rest of the team watched the ball fly through the air and over the fence. Ham ran through the bases cheering for himself as the boys all began yelling at him for hitting the ball over the fence, ending their game for the day. Scotty and Riley looked at each other in confusion before the girl jogged over to her brother with a shrug. "I'll get it," Riley said, skilled with climbing fences.

Scotty nodded before calling to the boys, "It's okay! Riley will get the ball." Benny was the first to turn to the Smalls' siblings. The boys all rushed over screaming for her to stop, Benny getting there before them. He reached up and grabbed Riley's waist before pulling her down from the fence, she turned in his arms and the two stared at each other for a moment before jumping apart. "What's wrong?" Riley asked them as she looked at the boys confused, Scotty sharing a similar confused expression.

Squints shook his head, "You could've gotten yourself killed!" Riley crossed her arms against her chest. "Yeah, yeah, truly. What are you doing?" Yeah-Yeah added. "What are you talking about?" Riley asked them. "You can't go back there, Riley," Benny tells her, worry-filled his eyes as he looked at the girl. "Then how do we get the ball back?" Scotty asks the team. "We don't," Timmy spoke followed by Tommy repeating his exact words. "It's history," Timmy added, Tommy copying his words. "kiss it goodbye," Timmy finished off cutting off his brother before he could repeat the words.

Riley looked up at Benny as Bertram spoke, "It's gone, man. Gone." Benny sighed, "Game's over, man. We'll just get another ball tomorrow, Riley." Riley rolled her eyes, "Or I could just go and get the ball by climbing over... Or knocking on the door to the house could work." The boys groaned at her words. "No way! We'll never see it again," Squints said, worried about the girl's safety. "Why not?" Scotty asked them once they had turned to walk away. They all turned back to the siblings before speaking in unison, "The Beast!" Riley scoffed lightly as Scotty perked up interested in what they were saying.

Scotty tilted his head slightly, "What's that?" The boys looked at each other before Benny took a deep breath. "Smalls, Riley... Listen to me. Go to the fence... real slow and be quiet," Benny started but Scotty attempted to avoid that only for Benny to cut him off, "Just go and peek through that hole." Scotty and Riley looked at each other before shrugging their shoulders. They made their way over to the fence, kneeling down to look into the hole. The two spotted the baseball sitting in the open, ready for the taking and Riley fought the urge to jump the fence anyway and get it back.

Riley looked back at the boys as they stepped back in unison making her roll her eyes before turning back to the fence. She could feel Benny's gaze on her as she took a deep breath, focusing on the backyard peeking back at her almost as though it was taunting her with the ball. Suddenly, something grabbed the ball with no warning startling both kids making Scotty rush back to the others while Riley held her hand to her chest taking deep breaths. She slowly got up and made her way over to the boys, standing next to her brother as the two looked to them for some kind of explanation.

Scotty spoke up first, "Something got the ball!" Riley took another deep breath before looking over to Benny, watching as the boy licked his bottom lip. His green plaid shirt unbuttoned and blowing in the small breeze that cooled them on the hot summer day, the white tank top sitting nicely on him. The girl turned her gaze from Benny to the ground with lightly tinted cheeks, she had blatantly checked him out and that wasn't something Riley Smalls did... ever! But Benny noticed, he watched with a slight smirk as the girl blushed, bringing that warm feeling back to him.

Scotty didn't notice, none of the other boys did as they were too focused on "The Beast" at that moment. "W-What was t-that thing?" Scotty stammered out. The group of boys looked at one another before nodding and turning back to the siblings. "Camp out," They all said in unison before turning to Riley. "Would you be able to come along?" Bertram asked the girl hoping that she could. Riley smirked as she adjusted her cap, "I'll be there. I want to hear all about this Beast." Riley winked at the boys before she turned and made her way out of the Sandlot.

She shook her head slightly as she walked away, her thoughts bouncing from the Beast to her sudden attraction to Benny Rodriguez. He was perfectly her type - if she had to detail what her "type" was. They both loved Baseball, they both loved The Great Bambino and they both dreamed of one day playing baseball in front of thousands. She was never sure she'd personally make it but she knew for certain that Benny would, no doubt about that in her mind. She stopped abruptly as she came to the sudden realisation, she had a small crush on Benny Rodriguez.

Despite knowing him for such a short time, the girl couldn't help but feel a connection to the boy. And it scared her, she'd never felt anything like this before. She didn't want to ruin an amazing friendship, she knew that these feelings could make or break their friendship. So with a sigh, she made a quick decision to push those feelings away to ensure she didn't lose her friendship with Benny because she'd rather have him in her life as a friend than nothing at all. Riley knew that the boy wouldn't feel the same, he loved baseball more than anything in his life and she was okay with that. He is her best friend, after all.

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-Rose <3
{1955}