she's alright {benny rodriguez}

~7~

a/n- you can picture any swimsuit you want :) and just pretend you did a swim team at some point in your life lol

It was a scorching day in California, and the nine of you were sitting in the dugout. Even Benny was too sweaty and hot to play his favorite sport.

"Guys, what're we gonna do now?" you groan, and everyone stays silent. "Hello?"

"Y/N, it takes too much energy to talk. Be quiet," Squints mumbled, and you close your eyes in annoyance.

"Do you guys even have a pool around here?"

All the guys look at you in surprise, and Ham sits up. "Of course we have a pool, whaddya mean? Wait- you guys thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" He smirks and looks around. Everyone else widens their eyes and nods in agreement.

"POOL DAY!" They all cheer, and you smile.

+++++

You met the guys back at the entrance to the sandlot with your towel and water bottle in hand. "So, where is it exactly?"

And you followed them to the community pool. When you got there, you all checked in and set your things down against the wall. You looked around at the ginormous pool and all the people around it. You hadn't heard of this pool yet, but it seemed to be a popular hangout place, so you'll have to keep it in mind if your friends ever come out.

You take off your tshirt and shorts, which left you in your bathing suit.

"C'mon, Y/N!" Benny called, and you walked across the deck to the shallower end. The others had already cannon balled in and were busy splashing each other when you sat down on the side. He swam up to you and beckoned for you to come in.

"Nah, I'll be in in a little bit."

"Aw, c'mon. It's nice!"

"N-" but before you could get out your protest, he grabbed your leg and yanked you in. The cool water washed over your head and you held your breath. You came up dripping wet, and come face to face with a smirking Benny. You had to admit- it did feel nice. "Alright, I'm in. What do we do now?"

"We can play catch or wrestle, stuff like that. Let's go over to the other guys." You follow Benny towards the other boys, who were all wrestling and splashing each other, except for one. Squints was just standing there, watching something in the distance.

You wade up to him and wave in his face. He breaks his trance to look at you before going back to his stare. "Hey, Squints? Watcha looking at, bud?" you ask, and follow his gaze. The other boys watched your interaction and rolled their eyes.

"Wendy..." He said wistfully. You frown and look at the lifeguard's stand. The pretty girl sitting there was putting on probably her fifth layer of sunscreen, but Squints was captivated.

"What's his deal?" you ask Benny after you swim away from the lovesick twelve-year-old.

"He's obsessed with Wendy Peffercorn. Don't interrupt him in his staring, eventually she'll leave and he'll come play with us. But for now, leave him alone." You nod and roll your eyes. "Wanna have a chicken fight?" He asks, and you nod vigorously.

A few minutes later, you, Bertram, Kenny and Yeah-Yeah were set up for a chicken fight. You had Yeah-Yeah on your shoulders and Bertram had Kenny on his shoulders.

"Fight!" Timmy yelled, and you charged. Kenny pushed Yeah-Yeah off right away, and you all teased him about it. A few more rounds passed with you watching and cheering when Benny asked if you wanted to be a team.

"Sure, why not?" You swim up and he takes a breath and goes underwater. You climb on his shoulders and he stands up. You rise up and get to Timmy's level, who was on Bertram. You give him a playful glare and he returns it. "You're going down."

"Nah, It'll be you." Someone calls "fight!" and Benny moves closer. You stick your arms out and grab Timmy's shoulders, him doing the same. You laugh and try to push him off, but your hand slips and Timmy shoved your shoulders, which led you to slip off Benny's shoulders and fall into the water.

You come up coughing and spluttering, and you declare a rematch. Benny laughed at you and went underwater again. You climbed back on his shoulders and face Timmy.

This time, you won. You jumped off of Benny and gave him a high-five. Timmy also held out his hand for a good-natured high-five, which you returned.

After a few more minutes, the group died down and it was starting to get boring.

Just as you were about to get out and dry off, Squints suggested a race. Wendy Poppercan- or whatever her name was, had left her shift and he was back to normal.

"Yeah yeah! That sounds fun, where should we do it?" Yeah-Yeah asked.

The race would start at one side of the pool and go down and back the short way. You decided to join in, 'cause why not?

"Three, two, one, go!" Bertram calls, and all of you dive forwards. The boys were packed together and climbing over each other, which you almost got sucked into, however you moved away before that could happen. You didn't feel like drowning in your own lungs today.

+++++

After you beat the group, you decided to get out. You had been there for a good two and a half hours, and your fingers and toes had turned into raisins.

You climb out and grab your towel before drying off. You looked up every once in a while, and one time you saw Benny looking at you before he quickly looked away. The boys wanted a few more minutes, so you decided to sit and read your book with your towel around you.

When they were done, they followed you out the gate and down the street, before heading back to their houses. You, Benny, and Ham were the only ones left to walk home.

Benny was walking in his swim shorts and towel right next to you, and Ham was following behind. "Thanks for inviting me to go to the pool, it was really fun. And now I know that Squints has a crush on a girl almost twice his age," you chuckle and kick a rock in front of you.

Benny nudged your arm and smiled. "No problem. We should do that more often as a group, eh?"

"Can you two stop looking at each other like that? It's disgusting," Ham commented, and you rolled your eyes.

"What was that, Ham?" you ask, and turn around swinging your towel. His eyes widened and he started running away.

"Ahhh! Don't hurt me, don't hurt me!" he screams with a few voice cracks as you chase after him, trying to whip him with the towel. You chase him down the sidewalk and all the way to his house before you hit him. "Ow! Okay, I'm sorry! I know you don't like him, I'm sorry. I won't say it again. Please forgive me. See you tomorrow, bye!" he calls, and runs in his front door. Benny had jogged up after you guys and laughed at the whole ordeal.

"Bye, Y/N. See you tomorrow," he gives you a hug before heading back down the street to his house.

"Yeah, bye!"

a/n- 100 reads!!! thank you so much <3
also, happy valentine's day :)
{feb. 14, 2021}