Just another chapter because I feel like uploading it. This is a part one of two and I'm currently still writing part two so now more uploads for a while.
"I can't do this." I whimpered, seeing E.J and his team walk past. Ryan winced sympathetically and walked over, pulling me down to his height.
"If you don't, who will?" He asked. "What's gonna happen to the Sandlot huh?" I flinched and looked down, at my mitt, before looking up as Benny called us in. Wings smiled slightly and tugged me after him as we crowded around Benny.
"Alright guys, we can do this." He muttered as Squints started the introduction. We all nodded and lined up as everyone stood up for the national anthem. I gnawed on my lip as the anthem started playing and the small band circled the Sandlot. I clapped before turning around and jogging to towards the dugout.
Ryan pulled on my wrist and I turned around as Tommy looked over. His eyes bugged out as he saw me and I flushed before spinning on my heel and stalking into the dugout.
"Ouch, give him the brush off." Wok said, slapping my shoulder.
"I still can't believe he's playing for Needman." DP spat as the boys sat down.
"I knew he was a traitor all along." Wings added, looking back. I frowned but shuffled over as he sat down beside me and the others started whining as well.
"Alright guys listen up." Benny started, crouching down.
"I got something to say!" Ryan said, walking around Benny. Wings jumped back, Squints rubbed his glasses furiously against his shirt, and the boys all stared, dumbfounded, at my best friend.
"I been around you guys for a long time and one thing I know is that Benny's right!" Ryan said. "You guys love baseball. You eat, drink and sleep baseball. But nothing compares to playing it." I nodded, smiling, and he grinned at me. "But if we give up now, we'll even say goodbye to the Sandlot forever!" Two-ton nodded and opened his mouth. "Zip it tubby!" Ryan spat, drawing a line across his mouth. "It's my turn to talk."
"Tommy taught us a lot about baseball skills." He said. "Instead of being mad at him, let's show him what he failed to learn from us. How to play the game we love." I nodded, smiling bigger now. "I don't know about you guys, but I don't wanna lose this field to a bunch of butt-faces!" He said, looking away.
"The mouth on that kid." Tow-ton said in awe. Ryan looked back and I nodded, standing up.
"He's right! We'll show those idiots how to play baseball and we'll win the Sandlot for good!" I said, thumping a ball into my mitt.
"Alright guys, whattaya say?" Benny asked, holding his hand out. I stuck my hand on top and Ryan covered it as the other boys stacked hands.
"One, two, three, SANDLOT!" We all cheered and I bit my lip, suddenly feeling really sick. Wings touched my shoulder and pulled me over to a corner of the dugout.
"If you don't think you can do it, we'll understand." He said. I looked out on the field and shrugged.
"I-I can do it, I'm just…" I tugged on my ponytail, trying to find the right words to say. Wings nodded and rested his hand on my shoulder. "I'm just scared I guess. I don't know if I'll live up to your expectations and I'm worried that people will laugh, and I'll fail and there are so many peop-Oh!" Wings cut me off by bending down and pressing a kiss to my lips. He pulled back and chuckled as my heartbeat went into overdrive and my face burned brightly. "…uhhh…wow." The corner of his lips turned up in a smirk and he walked away, picking up his bat, as DP whistled. Wings picked up a helmet and stood near the line, leaning on his bat, as Tommy started what looked like an argument with Mr Needman.
"You and Wings aye?" DP asked, nudging me in the side. I started to shake my head before shrugging and nodding. Wings looked back and jerked his head towards Tommy as he started to walk over towards us. I shook my head, shrugging, and hurried over.
"What happened?" I asked as Tommy got closer. He shrugged and I gasped as Tommy took his hat off and flicked it back at Mr Needman before coming to a stop in front of us.
"What do you want?" Two-ton asked, scowling. Wings tugged me over as Tommy grimaced.
"I wanna win!" He said loudly.
"Yeah, so do we." Wings replied, tipping his helmet up.
"Just get lost Tommy." Wok spat.
"Yeah, vamoose!" Roll repeated. "We don't need you." Tommy rana hand through his hair and looked around.
"Look, I made a mistake and I'm sorry." He said. I shook my head slowly and Wings glanced down at me, resting his arm on my shoulder.
"What are you saying?" Benny called over the tops of the boys heads.
"I made a deal to play for Needman's team." Tommy admitted. "Because I thought it was my destiny."
"This isn't the part where you go off about the Dodgers, the Hall of Fame and your smokin' hot girlfriends is it?" DP asked, rolling his eyes, as Roll made a face.
"No." Tommy said. "This is the part where I throw all of that away to do what's right. Play ball with my friends. That's if…you'll have me?" He asked quietly. I sighed and picked at a loose thread on my shirt. I wanted Tommy to play, only so I didn't have to.
"Look, I'd rather lose a game with my friends, than win one for all the wrong reasons!" He pleaded.
"You made a bad mistake." DP spoke up. Tommy nodded reluctantly and I recognised the gleam in the catcher's eye. "We're not going to lose." I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding and laughed.
"Take off that stupid ugly uniform Tommy!" I called. "And get ready to bat!" He spun around and made his way back to Needman, unbuttoning his shirt. I threw my hands up and Wings covered my eyes as well, before I peeked over them.
"Hey Earl, I won't be needing this anymore!" Tommy said, throwing the bunched up purple monstrosity at Mr Needman. I started clapping and the crowd followed as Tommy picked up his mitt.
"Good thing I didn't throw this away!" Benny called, throwing Tommy the familiar red and gold shirt. He pulled it over his head and I sagged in relief.
"No more game." I muttered quietly. Wings elbowed me in the head gently and Benny shook his head.
"Oh no. You and Timber will be swapping pitches and Tommy will be batting instead of you since we have an extra player now!" Benny said, chuckling. "We're not going to waste two incredible pitchers, especially on Needman's team." I didn't know whether to scowl or smile so I settled for stomping the dirt, grinning. The boys moved back into the dugout and I high-fived Ryan before squealing as I was spun around. Wings grinned and planted a kiss firm on my mouth before striding to batter plate, smiling broadly. I blushed bright red as the boys whistled, making crude comments, before sitting back down in the dugout. I heard Uncle Porkchop in the crowd, yelling as well.
"Atta boy Wings McKay!" I blushed to the roots of my hair but beamed brightly as the game started.
"Alright pretty boy, let's see you hit this." I muttered as one of E.J's team mates took to the plate. I fiddled with the ball, rolling it around my fingers, before I wound up and threw. The ball thudded into DP's glove and he yelped as the umpire called a strike two. DP shook his hand and glared at me before smiling as I flexed my fingers, catching the ball.
"Is that all you got?" Tommy shouted from the outfield. "C'mon Heats!" I smirked and pitched my fastball specialty, a pitch I'd been working on with Toni, when she wasn't sick. It smacked into DP's glove and he fell back, shaking his hand out. The batter was out and we changed over.
I cheered loudly as Wings ran back and forth under a ball, using his speed, before catching it and the batter was out. I jumped up, whooping loudly, and Squints laughed, clapping my shoulder.
The fourth, or was it fifth, inning was probably our best. Ryan managed to score a triple and Wings snuck past E.J to hit third base and home, scoring us another run, before Ryan got home as well. We eventually got caught though, and headed back out to field, this time with Timber on the mound. One of the batters tried pulling a Wings, and stealing bases but it didn't work. Timber glanced sideways and Wings smirked before staggering around the player and 'fainting', landing face first in the dirt. Timber threw the ball to Q as the player leaned over Wings, checking him, and Q tapped him out as Wings propped himself up and laughed.
"Yeah Wings!" I shouted, punching my fist in the air. I glanced out towards the stands and saw the St Agnus man laughing as well as Porkchops. The last inning, we were three for four with Needman's team winning, and Tommy took to the batting plate. Wings was on second base, well a quarter between second and third really, as Tommy pulled out his trusty wooden bat.
"Hit a homer Tommy!" I shouted. "Let's go Santa!" Wings yelled out something similar and E.J glared at him before turning back to Tommy. But I whipped my head to the side as Needman said something that totally threw me off.
"Walk him son."