July 2, 2020

I woke up to the sound of light snoring. I couldn't quite remember where I was for a second until there was a knock on the door, I looked around and see baseball cards, stickers, and much more. I look over at my brother and smile lightly, I stand up and open the door. It's Brian, he has panic written all over his face and it looks as though he is holding back tears. "Jasmine, sit down." I look at him confused,

"No, what's wrong?" His face breaks and his voice cracks.

"Their gone." He whispers barely audible.

"Who?" He doesn't speak. The sunlight now shines on us through my brother's open window. "Brian!" I scream without even realizing it,

"Mom and Dad." He breaks into a sob. I shake my head and look at my twin brother and see the sleep still in his face.

"Brian this isn't funny." He shakes his head and wipes his eyes now yelling.

"Their Gone Jasmine!" I feel my whole world fall and the only thing I could think of was to run. I push past my brother and run, praying that if I run fast enough that everything would go back to normal. Without realizing I ran myself all the way to the sandlot, without a word I walk in and see the boys sitting in the dugout. They look at me with confused faces and that's when I see my three best friends flirting with the boys, except for Marissa, her eyes stay trained on me. 

BENNY'S POV

I take a sip of my water as I have small talk with Marissa one of Jasmine's best friend and just as I was about to respond to her question, there she is. But something is wrong, she walks straight towards the home plate and sits. I look at the boys and her friends confused, but it was too late. Jasmine was sobbing, without saying a word I walk over and sit next to her. "Jasmine," She looks up tears in her eyes and a deep frown plastered on her pink lips.

"Please, I just wanna play." She says through gritted teeth. I nod and whistle for the boys to come over, and they all get into place except for, Michelle and Angelina.

JASMINE'S POV

The other girls wanted to gush over the boys. I watch Marissa run out to left-center and she smiles as I give her a weak one, it isn't true. I look Denunez in the eye and he nods, He pitches and CRACK I feel the sting hit my hands and then my arms. I begin running but Marissa starts screaming, I look over and she is holding the fragments of a ball. I feel my eyebrows scrunch together but before I could run over I hear my name being called from a different direction. I swing around and see my brothers rolling up on bikes. I stop dead in my tracks, the hop off of their bikes and Jordan grabs me first.

"We're going home." He said with anger in his voice.

MARISSA'S POV

I dropped the ball fragments once I saw Jordan ride in on his bike. My knees go weak and I slowly walk over to hear what's happening. "I don't want to go home!" Jasmine yells as she rips her hand out of his.

"Jasmine, stop being so fragile! Their gone!" At this point, everyone is staring but Jordan doesn't care until he turns and sees me. "Marissa, um what are you doing here." I feel confused so I ask the dreading question.

"Who's gone." Brian stands to the side holding paperwork and a necklace. Jasmine's face looks as though she had just seen a ghost. Her tears run down her face quietly and then she speaks allowing me and only me to hear.

"My parents." I feel my mouth go open in shock. I shake my head, they were like my second family, I felt a pain go through my heart and I try to touch Jasmine but she pulls away, then she snaps. "Don't you fucking dare Marissa! You don't know what it's like!" I feel shocked as she walks away, Benny and his friends follow her as Angelina and Michelle run up to me wondering what happened. Then to my surprise, Jordan is the one to speak,

"Ba- I mean Marissa, she is just hurt. She doesn't mean it." I nod and walk over to Brian and Jordan. I hug Brian first he smelt of Laundry and sweat, then I hugged Jordan. I still remember what he smells like from when we were dating, Cherry soap, my favorite cologne, and laundry. I sigh and pull away. But he pulls me back in.

BENNY'S POV

I could see her shoulders moving up and down as she walked quickly in front of us. She is broken, the boys got tired and knew I was the only one who could really connect with her about losing a parent. I understood and said goodbye to all of them, except Denunez and Bertram. They insisted they stay for extra comfort, as Jasmine started to slow down I sped up, finally, I reached her. The tears were still going fast, I watched her green eyes sparkle letting the sunlight hit perfectly on the orange ring around her eye. Then I the courage hits me and I grab her hand. She flinches at first but then her breathing slows down, she's still wearing my sweatshirt. I smile and wave Bertram and Denunez off, they finally excepted it and I pull her to a stop. But, she still looks down at the ground, I make sure I'm gentle as I lift up her chin, her bottom lip quivers and then I truly see the pain. The same pain I felt five years ago, the pain that never really goes away. Just numbs. "Wanna come over?" She nods like a little child and I slowly let go of her hand, we walk to my house in silence and finally we arrive at the door, I open it and find my mom sleeping on the couch magazine in hand, her black curls hover all around her head and her long lash lay gently on her cheeks. I smile and whisper to Jasmine, "Shh, we can't wake her or she will attack you with love." Jasmine gives me a sad giggle, not the giggle I'm used to not the giggle that can light up a room. This one sounded forced and sad. I sigh and pull her quietly up the stairs but halfway there we are interrupted.

"cariño, ¿eres tú?" Jasmine forces another giggle at the name.

"Sí, solo estoy saliendo con mi amiga Jasmine." I regret saying her name but before I can take it back my mom gasps happily. Jasmine tries her best to wipe her sadness off of her face but her eyes are still puffy.

"¡¿una mujer?!" I watch my mom come visible as the end of the stairs. "Este es el famoso Jasmine?" I nod embarrassed then my mom looks at Jasmine,

"Mrs. Rodriguez, I'm Jasmine" My mom trudges up the stairs with a smile on her face and shakes Jasmine's sad but outstretched arm. 

"Please, call me Adella. How're your parents?" I watch Jasmine's face go completely white.

"Um," Her voice cracks but she continues. "They, passed away today. The plane crashed." My mom's eyes go dark with hurt and sadness.

"Oh, honey." She pulls Jasmine in without warning. "Va a estar bien" Jasmine nods and sobs into my mom's shoulder. Finally, Jasmine let it all out and my mom kissed her all over the face. I sighed and pulled Jasmine upstairs to my room. Once we walked in Jasmine's eyes went wide with amaze. She's precious. 

JASMINE'S POV

Once we walked into Benny's room it was amazing. Filled with baseball everything, hats lined the wall, all dodgers. Then the poster stood out to me, "Don't tell me you like Babe Ruth." He nods with a goofy grin on his face. "I LOVE Babe Ruth." I smile wide and sit on his bed. He plops down next to me and sighs. I slip off my shoes and scoot back to put my back against his wall, on his nightstand stood a picture of a much younger version of him, his mom, his sister, and a man that looked just like the older version of Benny. Noticing that I was staring at it, he picked it up and handed it to me. I grab it gently from his hands and stare at the picture, "Who's the man?" I ask quietly.

"My dad." He sighs and looks down to play with his fingers. "He passed away five years ago in a car crash." I nod and place my hand on top of his, he freezes up making me feel as though that was a mistake. I pull away but he grabs my hand and pulls it back in his, "I understand that this pain your feeling is unbearable and you don't think you can live through it. But trust me, after a few years of love and support that pain will numb. Like it did with me and can I tell you something?" His golden eyes found mine and I nod and he licks his plump pink lips. "I think you're my best friend." I feel a hint of pain as he says those words, of course, he couldn't like me. He's all about baseball. I nod through the extra pain that was just handed to me and lay my head back. Our hands stay in place though, 

"What did you do to distract yourself?" Benny shrugs and nods at his room.

"Baseball." I nod and feel for my phone, but it's nowhere to be seen.

"I left my phone," I say in panic but Benny just chuckles as he pulls something out of his pocket. "You grabbed it." I smile and hug him. His warmth enveloped me in comfort until it was interrupted. 

"Hey, Ben- Oh I didn't know we had company. Um hey, Jasmine. How's Brian?" I shrug and then she looks me in the eyes and hugs me. "I heard." I nod and then she pulls away smiling. "You and your brothers are coming to dinner tonight right?" I nod eagerly and she laughs as she hands Benny a piece of paper. He unfolds it and reads whatever is written on it, once he is finished his face scrunches up, he shakes his head and laughs. "Is it a bet or no?" He shakes his head and throws the piece of paper at her.

"No, I'm gonna let things naturally." His sister sighs and nods in defeat.

"Ok, well bye. Don't be doing anything I wouldn't do." Benny and I nod in unison as she walks out and closes the door behind her. I sigh and flop back down.

"Wanna watch a movie?" I suggest He nods and pulls out his phone snapping a quick photo of me. I gasp, "If you get to keep that then I get a photo of me and you." He nods willingly and we snap a photo together. I smile and set my phone back on his nightstand, he puts on 42. I squeal and he chuckles heading back to the bed. I stay in my place feeling kind of uncomfortable, and he notices. 

"Wanna come up here?" He pats right next to him. I nod and scoot up, he picks up the blanket and covers both of us with it. I smile and get through half of the movie until my eyes start to droop, and then I'm out like a light, feeling my head fall onto Benny's pillow.

BENNY'S POV

I watched as her green eyes closed and she moved down to my pillow, I smiled and thought about the note my sister gave me. She said she bet that by the end of the summer Jasmine and I would be together. I didn't want to date Jasmine, it would completely take my focus off of baseball. I shook that out of my head and looked back down at Jasmine, her pretty pink plump lips were parted ever so slightly and her long eyelashes rested on her rosy pink cheeks like feathers, her long blonde hair fell perfectly at the sides little curls here and there. Then there was a knock just as the movie ended. I look up and see it's Brian, he still looks hurt but he smiles weakly, "Your mom said to come down, dinner is ready. Will you wake her for me?" I nod and he walks out closing the door behind him. I gently shake Jasmine's arm and her eyes flutter open, I watch her smile grow on her face as she leans up. She stretches and breaths out,

"Your bed is so comfortable." I nod and chuckle. She looks around and pouts,"I missed the movie." I nod and she giggles a true giggle. "Well, that just means I have to come over again to make up for it." I nod and smile while standing up. She slips on her shoes and we walk downstairs, then as if nothing could ruin my evening, something did. There stood Phillips, in my house at my dinner table.

"Hon, can you get our guests some drinks?" I nod and grumble under my breath but I'm sure Jasmine heard.

"There legs aren't broken." I walk into the kitchen and finally realize that Jasmine is following me. "Go, sit, I can do it." She shakes her head and a smile breaks onto my face.

"I'm helping." I nod in defeat and we both fill up glasses full of ice water. Finally, it's just mine and hers left, we walk back into the dining room and there are no seats left,

"Hon, you guys won't mind sitting in the living room would you." I shake my head.

"Of course not momma." I smile and Jasmine follows plate in hand. We sit on the floor and begin eating, we laugh and talk about nonsense trying to pass the time. Jasmine is a very slow eater.

Finally, Jasmine finished her food and I put our plates in the sink. "Ma, me and Jasmine are gonna be on the porch." My mom nods and we walk out. We both sit down on the porch and look up at the stars, or so Jasmine thought. I was staring at her, The way the moon hit perfectly on her eyes, The way she smiled at the sky.

"It's beautiful. Nothing can ruin this moment." Once again, that was wrong. Phillips friends pulled up on their bikes laughing and throwing things at peoples houses, they finally got to my house and pulled up right in front of Jasmine and me. She sighed in frustration,

"Hey, Jasmine!" The short one gets off of the bike and walks up to Jasmine. In the same second, he kicks dirt at her and attempts to spit, but in seconds I'm on my feet standing in his line of sight.

"You might not wanna do that," I growl low. The guy's face goes untouched, then he tries to push past me and with only one person on my mind I swing and my fist connects with his face. The boy stumbles back and is coming for me, but Jasmine steps in front of me. "Jasmine-" She holds up her tiny finger and shakes her head.

"Why don't you guys wait here so I can tell Brian what you've done? Or would you like to leave untouched." The boys' faces immediately drop and they nod speeding away as fast as they can on their little bikes. Jasmine turns around and gently grabs my hand shaking her head, "Benny," I love hearing her say my name, "You're still healing from the first fight, please." I hear the true sadness in her voice. "C'mon, you can come to my house, I'm sure your mom would be mad." I nod and we walk across the yard to her house. She opens the door and I can smell immediately, home. I smile since I've never seen inside her house, she pulls me up the stairs and into a room which I'm assuming was her,

"It's so...Clean." I say not meaning to say it out loud. She laughs,

"Yeah, but so is your room." I shrug and follow her into the bathroom.

"Not as clean as your room." She shrugs this time as she grabs rubbing alcohol and cotton swabs, that's when I realized I busted my knuckle. Then out of nowhere, she mumbles,

"You know I can take care of myself right." I chuckle.

"Of course I know that, but you deserve to have someone like me. A caring best friend" She giggles but the sad in her voice is noticeable, But I have to stay friends with her. Baseball means to much then holds out one hand after soaking a swab in alcohol. I grab it and she gently dabs the swab against my bloody knuckle, I smile and watch each facial expression with care, she cares. 

Finally, I wash my hands and we walk out of the bathroom. I look out her window and see her brother and my sister talking. "Jasmine," I call her over and she comes. Mouth open at the sight of her brother kissing my sister. I chuckle and we back away from the window, then the words I've been dreading to speak come out of my mouth, "I think I'm gonna go home now, I'm tired and we have another complete game of baseball tomorrow." She laughs at how I emphasized complete and nods, 

"I'll walk you out." I nod and we walk down the stairs and to her front door. She opens it and walks out, then without hesitation I hug her. Shortly after, her tiny arms wrap around my waist, the smell of hair is green apples and some berries. Then she mumbles quietly but loud enough for me to hear, "Thank you best friend." I freeze a little hearing the words come out of her mouth, I don't like it. I pull away and she gives me a sweet smile, she walks back into her house and we say one last goodbye as she closes the door.

JASMINE'S POV

I walked back into the house with a giant sigh. Having to call him best friend really hurt me. Now I know, I want more than that. I really like him. I rush back up to my room and close the door, I decide to not change since I'm still in my pajamas. Then I look out my window, I see him he's looking at a picture. Then I gasp, that's the picture he took of me. I smile and flop down on my bed. A text comes through after that, I smile when I see who it's from.

The Jet🥴️🚀

The Jet🥴️🚀: Just wanted to let you know, today was awesome, can't wait to see you tomorrow at the sandlot.

My Jasmine😍🥺️: I had an awesome day too, Ofc I'll be there, sweet dreams Benny.

The Jet🥴️🚀: Can't wait, sweet dreams Jasmine.

I put my phone down with a sigh of happiness, then with that, I turned off my light and lay down. I pulled the covers over my body and went to sleep with Benny written behind my eyelids.

OK, ANOTHER CHAPTER 3209 WORDS CRAZY. LOVE YOU ALL BYEEE!!!