08/25/2015

chapter three ;

♡

we went to Santa Monica, we repeated the trip; that time, my parents came along. Monday was all right, aside from Hannah's snide remarks. Plenty of people felt the need to speak to me, attempting to be my "friend", though I was sure they were only interested in getting closer to Benny.

Tuesday rolled around, and I woke with a headache and cramps. The initial anxiety I felt on the first day had dulled, but it was still there, nevertheless.

The one great thing about my new school was that we could wear practically anything, even shorts. The amount of girls I saw wearing booty shorts surprised me. I liked to keep it simple – jeans, a TØP T-shirt and black Converse, hair straightened and left loose.

Walking into school, I received the same looks from people. The girls would cover their mouths and giggle, and I would stare at them, daring them, until they quickly turned their heads. Benny was perfectly happy to walk with me everywhere, to hold my hand until he was forced to let go.

I felt sort of bad about not noticing it on the first day, but Leah was in a few of my classes. She was the quiet type, though, and she always sat in the back. Of course, I offered her many seats near me and Benny or DeNunez or Bertram, or we would take seats near her.

Bertram never would have admitted it, but I knew he liked her.

During lunch, we decided to sit outside. The air was scorching, but, to my immense surprise, there were fans outside.

Leah followed me and the boys into the open air, and I took a deep breath of the fresh air. More people ate outside than inside; some just sat around and chilled, some made out with their boyfriends/girlfriends, and some even kicked a soccer ball around. Needless to say, some students treated lunch as a free period.

"Benny," I groaned, laying my head onto his shoulder.

"What?" he chuckled, his arm closing tightly around my waist.

"I'm dying," I grumbled.

"I have chocolate in my backpack," he informed me. "I meant to give it to you earlier."

"For real?" I jumped up, my bright eyes meeting his. He laughed loudly and nodded in confirmation. "Oh, I love you."

Before he could take a bite out of his roll, I pressed a kiss to his warm cheek. In the distance, I heard the sound of gagging. I looked over to find Hannah staring at us from another table, acting as though she were sticking her finger down her throat.

"Choke on it!" I shouted, smirking. "And don't think of me while you do."

Leah gasped, her hand flying over her mouth to obscure her smile. DeNunez nearly choked on his food, and Bertram actually spit his water out. Benny simply laughed, tightening his grip on my waist.

Everyone around us either gasped or laughed, aside from Hannah and her crew. They threw us dirty looks left and right, but it wasn't like I cared.

"Not my fault you couldn't get him!" I added. "Jealousy's the ugliest trait." Thanks, Keri Hilson.

Hannah grimaced and whipped around to face her friends again. I was absolutely certain that she was talking trash about me. Oh, well. One day, I predicted, she would eat her words. As for now, I was determined to stay out of trouble.

"So, how old is Lynn now?" DeNunez questioned.

"Forty years ago, my mother was born," Benny answered matter-of-factly.

"Man," DeNunez shook his head, "she don't look forty. Not even close."

Bertram nodded in agreement, and I didn't miss the way he stole a quick glance in Leah's direction. "Nope. I used to think she was your sister, remember? I wonder how she looks so young."

"She eats healthy," Benny shrugged. "You guys coming over today for her? She really misses having you guys over, and the others."

"Yeah, we both are," DeNunez answered for the both of them. Of course, Benny already knew that I was definitely coming.

Bertram's eyes flickered to the girl beside me again, and suddenly, I thought of Leah. She must have felt left out, considering she was the only one in our group that wasn't connected to us . . . The boys and I were family, even Benny, in some way. Leah didn't know us like we knew each other.

"Hey, Leah," I spoke, turning to my right to face her. Her cheeks were a light shade of pink, although it could have been blamed on the heat. "You could come, if you want. Benny's mom is having a birthday party, kind of."

Leah immediately shook her head. "Oh, no. I wouldn't want to intrude. I don't even know – "

"No, you should," Benny broke in, leaning over to look at Leah. "My mom would love to meet you. She loves all of our friends."

Her cheeks flushed even more, to a few shades paler than bright red. For some reason, she seemed a little intimidated by Benny. She would never talk to him. His personal invitation did not result in an exception.

"You really should," I continued, my voice lighter. "You'll fit right in. My house is right across from his, too. I could show you inside. Maybe you could even stay the night sometimes."

Across the table, Bertram's cheeks were flushed as well. I realized that he would benefit from Leah coming over as well. He loved being around her, and that much was obvious.

"Um . . . I'll think about it," she replied, her voice small. "If I can't go, thanks for the offer anyway."

♡

The final bell rang, and I rushed out of the door. Before I went far, though, I stopped to wait for Leah.

She walked into the hall, phone to her ear, eyes slightly wide. When her eyes met mine, she sighed in what seemed like relief.

"I'm not sure, but not for too long," she spoke into the phone. "I promise. Yeah, I know . . . So, can I? Yeah . . . I do. . . . All right, thanks. Bye."

Leah stopped right in front of me, slipping her phone into her back pocket. She flashed me a nervous smile and asked, "When does the party start?"

"When everyone gets there. Why? Can you go?"

"Yeah, my mom said I could, but I can't stay later than six," Leah explained. "So . . . um, do you think your brother could give me a ride to your house? Or . . . Benny's house?"

I beamed at her. "Yeah. Come on."

She flinched slightly when I grabbed her wrist, so I instantly let go. I didn't speak on the matter. Instead, I cast her another smile and took off toward the front parking lot.

Benny met us at the front doors, and his eyes lingered on Leah for an extra moment. Then he smiled at me.

"She coming with us?"

Leah looked down, and I replied, "Yup. Better tell the others to get to your house quick. She can only stay until six."

"All right." Benny pressed a quick kiss to my lips, and grabbed my hand. With that, the three of us went outside and found Luke's car.

To no one's surprise, he had Skylar pressed against the driver's side door, his lips smashed to hers. The two were practically tangled together, as if they couldn't get enough of each other.

"Oh, my God," I groaned. "Save it for the sheets, you guys! Really? In the middle of the school parking lot?"

Benny chuckled, staring down at the ground and scratching the back of his neck. Memories flashed through my mind, and my cheeks went pink as I realized he was laughing about what I had said.

"Oh, shut up, Benny." I rolled my eyes when he laughed harder. "It was inside . . . and nobody was home!"

Luke ripped away from Skylar so quickly, I could hear the smack of their lips parting. Skylar turned her head, startled at his sudden behavior. My cheeks burned more when Luke's eyes met mine.

"What?" he demanded, his eyes contracted to slits when they moved to Benny. "What did you – "

"Luke!" I squealed. "I was talking about kissing, that's it!"

He glared at Benny, although he didn't look up to meet his gaze. "Better be . . . You're not old enough to be doing stuff, Makayla."

"And Benny is?" I demanded.

A trace of a smile broke onto Luke's face. "Well. . . ."

"No," Skylar finished for him, chuckling. "No, he's not. It shouldn't be different for a guy."

"Thank you!" I grinned, flashing my middle finger toward my brother. "He's the same age as me. And I don't think either of us are old enough."

"I'm older than you," Benny pointed out, finally looking at me. His cheeks were pink, his eyes crinkled from a smile.

"By one month!"

Leah laughed that time, returning my attention to her. I flashed her a smile, then looked at my brother again.

"Luke, remember when I told you about Leah?" I asked. "This is her. She's riding with us today. And she's gonna come to Lynn's birthday party with us."

"Okay. Nice to meet you, Leah." Luke flashed her a kind smile, and she returned it.

"You too."

Skylar's smile had vanished, and I noticed the way her jaw clenched and released repeatedly. Her hands turned to fists at her sides, and she stared straight ahead, past Benny. There was nothing out of the ordinary behind us, though.

"All right, Sky, I'll see you tonight," Luke said, turning to face her again. He bent to kiss her, but she turned her face, so his lips landed on her cheek.

My brows pulled together in a frown. Why was she angry? Nothing had happened, and moments before, she was perfectly fine. I struggled to realize what had changed.

Luke was confused as well, but he didn't ask. "Love you," he added slowly, as if he were afraid she would storm away without a reply.

"You too," she mumbled, turning on her heels and walking away.

For a few moments, none of us spoke. Finally, I grumbled, "She's getting really annoying. What's her problem?"

Luke shrugged, pulling open the car door. "Dunno."

"I would say she's on her period, but she's been acting like this for a while now," I said, but Luke was already in the car.

During the ride to our home, in the back of the car, Benny and Leah sat on my flanks. The radio played a rock song from the early 2000s, and Luke turned it up so that he could sing along without being heard.

Beside me, Leah was singing too.

A grin grew on my face; for some reason, I wasn't surprised that Leah liked rock music, but I was surprised that she was singing.

"And be the one who catches all your tears," she sang, her head turning. "That's why I – " She closed her lips when she saw that I was watching her, her cheeks immediately growing pink.

In an attempt to inspire her to lighten up, I began singing along to the song. And to my surprise, Benny joined in instantly.

"I've found a reason for me to change who I used to be!" Benny, Luke and I sang in unison with the voice in our ears. "A reason to start over new . . ."

While we sang, Leah hid her cheeks, but a smile broke out onto her face. I urged her to sing with us with my hands.

"And the reason is you!" Leah joined in at the last moment.

The four of us finished the song together. Even Luke seemed more optimistic now that we all joined him in singing. For those couple of minutes, I felt nothing but happiness. Skylar's attitude had been forgotten. I was with my brother, my boyfriend and my new friend. Even on account of something so simple, I felt utterly content, at home.

In spite of Leah's normal shyness, she sang just as loudly as Benny, Luke and I did. Slowly, she was breaking out of her little shell. Hopefully, she would soon be completely comfortable around all of us.

Considering the ride home was extremely short, Luke pulled into our driveway a minute after The Reason by Hoobastank ended.

My parents were off from work, but they were at Lynn's house, decorating for her birthday party. Smalls and Ham sat on my porch, but they stood when we pulled up.

The two lived the closest to us, so we didn't go more than a day without seeing each other. Even still, none of us spent nearly as much time as we had used to. School consumed most of our lives – there was no time for the sandlot anymore.

"Guys," I said, as Smalls and Ham approached us with smiles, "this is my friend, Leah. Leah, that's Scott Smalls, but we call him Smalls. And that's Hamilton Porter . . . We call him Ham."

Leah nodded their way, adding a small smile, but she said nothing.

"The one Ber – " Smalls' mouth snapped shut when he realized that he had almost ratted on Bertram. "I mean . . . nice to meet you."

Ham wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Hmm . . . you're pretty."

Leah's cheeks flushed, and she laughed nervously. "Thanks . . ."

I rolled my eyes. "You'll get used to them. Trust me, you got it easy. They skipped over the mean stage for you. Then again . . . you're not trying to play baseball with them. Anyway – "

"Not me," Smalls pointed out. "Me and Benny didn't care."

Ham frowned. "That's all in the past, Kayla. I was young and dumb then. Now – " he flexed his nonexistent muscles " – I'm a man."

As hard as I tried to contain myself, I burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Leah covered her mouth, hiding her smile.

Smalls rolled his eyes. "Sure, Ham."

Ham glared at him. "I am!" he insisted. "I've been working out. My muscles are growing and everything. Pretty soon, I'll be able to beat everyone up here."

"Careful what you say, Ham," Luke said, a smirk on his lips and a mischievous glint in his eyes. "There's always someone stronger."

"Oh, right." Ham's eyes widened slightly, but his lips curled. "I'll be able to beat everyone up, except for one person . . . Makayla."

I snickered, and Leah laughed loudly. Luke grinned devilishly, and in the next moment, he had Ham in a headlock.

♡

Four o'clock came, and all of the boys were present, along with their parents. The area had a family reunion feel, although there were quite a few strangers – Lynn's friends.

The Rodriguez home was decorated in purple, for the most part – Lynn's favorite color. Balloons of all shades of purple were tied to the banister and the furniture; purple streamers stretched over the entire ceiling in the living room and kitchen/dining room; purple butterflies stuck to the walls; a large banner hung across the boundary line between the kitchen and living room that read: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LYNN!

I was truly surprised to find how much effort my parents had gone into. They had never put that much thought into any of my birthday parties.

The dining room table was covered by a floral table cloth. In the center of the table was a three-layer vanilla cake, with intricate, light purple designs upon the pure white icing. Circling the cake were rows of a few dozen cupcakes of all colors.

"Whoa," I breathed, studying all of the decor in bewilderment. I hadn't expected any of this.

Lynn, who stood near the sink, rolled her eyes, but she still smiled. "I know. It's slightly over the top. But they insisted. . . ."

"Mom, I knew you liked purple, but not this much." Benny was just as stunned as I was.

Grinning, she came to wrap her arms around our shoulders. "Neither did I, Benjamin. Neither did I."

After a short while, everyone was present – most of whom I didn't know. Everyone brought gifts. My gift for Lynn remained in my pocket.

"Okay," my mom said, "the candles are lit. Let's sing Happy Birthday."

Everyone chattered happily as we crowded into the kitchen. I, of course, made sure to be near Lynn; Benny stood by my side, arm around my waist.

On top of the cake, purple icing read Happy Birthday, Lynn. The top layer was smaller than the others, so small, thin, white candles circled the edge. The cake was simple but elegant. And frankly, I couldn't wait to eat it.

Before anyone could start singing, I pulled out my phone and started a recording. Lynn spotted me and beamed at the camera, showcasing all of her teeth. Her eyes were bright, crinkled at the edges . . . I couldn't help but to smile at how happy she looked.

"Happy birthday to you," everyone sang loudly. "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Lynn. Happy birthday to you!"

With the same gorgeous grin, Lynn blew out the candles. Everyone cheered, and after ending the recording, I rushed to give Lynn a hug.

"Happy birthday!" I sang, although I had told her that a million times. "I love you!"

Lynn laughed and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "I love you too, baby. Thank you."

As I stood up, I looked up and realized that I hadn't ended the recording. Rather than ending it, I turned the camera to face me and Lynn. With a smile, I touched her face.

"You don't look a day over twenty," I remarked.

Lynn laughed and waved me off. "Yeah, right. I'm an old woman now."

"Oh, don't lie to yourself," I chuckled. "You know you still got it. Besides, in two years your age will be the best number in the world . . . forty-two!"

"Hmm . . . baseball player?"

Behind me, Benny confirmed her suspicion. "Jackie Robinson. Her favorite."

"Thought so," Lynn chuckled.

Just then, a group of women made a polite attempt to pass me, and I gave them passage. Benny and I moved to the end of the room, where Leah stood.

Rather than seeming awkward, Leah was smiling. Her back was pressed against the wall, her arms crossed.

"You know," she said, "she really does look young for her age."

♡

Less than half an hour passed, along with a cake fight, and everyone was ready to give their gifts. For once, while Leah and I sat on the love seat, Benny stood with the boys.

Considering the amount of people who showed up and the fact that they all brought gifts of their own, I wasn't surprised that it took a while for Lynn to open all of her presents. Everyone awaited her reaction in excitement. I hadn't realized that she was so popular.

While Yeah-Yeah's parents took their turn in the gift process, Leah leaned toward me. "Did you get her anything?"

"Oh, yeah," I answered, "I got her a necklace." As if to prove myself, I dug my hand into my pocket and pulled the necklace out.

Connected to a twisting silver chain was a deep blue pendant in the shape of a heart. The heart glittered, casting different shades of blue. Despite the fact that the diamonds were fake, the necklace was still breathtaking.

Leah gasped. "That looks just like the one from the Titanic."

"I know," I grinned. "Lynn loves the Titanic. I do too, but that's not the point. So when I saw this, I thought it was perfect."

"It looks so real! That must have cost you a lot."

I shrugged. "Not really. The woman who sold it to me knows Lynn, so I think she gave me a discount. Either way, I'm satisfied."

Leah chuckled, touching the heart gently. "Wow . . . You have a stronger relationship with your boyfriend's family than I do with my own."

Putting the necklace away, I sighed. Leah didn't have to say much more, but I knew that her home life must have been rough.

"I know we don't know each other very well, but you have a family here," I said, flashing her a small smile.

Leah smiled, but didn't say another word. We focused our attention on Lynn again.