Vance Hopper's sexuality crisis

05

Vance was awoken from his nap by the sound of people shouting. He groggily stood up and walked out of his hideout, looking around to try and find the source of the noise.

He started walking towards the lunch room, the noise seeming to be directly sourced from there. He figured some jackass was just fighting a different jackass. He didn't really care much about fights that didn't involve him but something was telling him he had to see this one. So he listened. Thank god he listened.

He pushed past the big doors to the lunchroom to be met with the messy sight of Bruce being pinned to the ground by some football player and getting the shit beat out of him.

The crowd surrounding them didn't even seem to notice his entrance, what a change. But then Bruce's pretty brown eyes were staring into his icy blue ones. The look of fear on his face just about made Vance lose his mind.

Without a second's notice he was trudging towards the two boys and pulling the guy off of him and shoving him to the ground. "Fucks the big idea, jackass?!" Vance boomed, standing above him intimidatingly.

Vance saw fear in his eyes before he doubled down. Dumb move. "That fag over there was shit talking my girl!" He yelled back in response, clearly not valuing his unbroken nose. Vance would help with that.

"Awwwhhh, did he hurt her feelingsss?" Vance slurred in a baby voice mockingly, glancing back at the girl who was standing a few feet away watching them. "No one fucking cares!"

At this point the guy had gotten back off the floor, albeit sloppily, to try to regain some of his lost masculinity. Vance thought he was pathetic.

"What, trying to stand up for your little boyfriend~?" Vance felt every small bit of restraint in himself shatter to bits as he tackled the boy to the floor. Situating himself on the boy's torso as he started swinging punches at his face.

Everything around him faded to nothingness, all he could focus on was this boy and making sure he went home in an ambulance. Every punch landed, one after another. It was truly a wonder that no teachers had intervened.

Vance found himself unable to stop until two other boys pulled him off. Everything came back to him as he looked down at his bloodied fists, and at the very mangled boy in front of him. Sure, it was kind of gruesome but Vance didn't care.

He did care about Bruce. Bruce. He pulled his arms away from the boys and turned frantically until he make eye contact with the boy himself. He looked shocked. He was still sitting on the floor, he'd presumably just sat there and watched, much like all the other kids.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. Vance's face soured deeply and he stormed out of the cafeteria, ignoring the faculty members quickly rushing back towards the scene of the fight.

He just started running instead, right out of the school just like the first awkward encounter with Bruce. He didn't notice he had a tail until he was sat on a curb and a very out of breath Bruce showed up a few moments later.

He hadn't heard him coming, the static running wild in his brain had been far too loud. Of course with his luck the person he wanted to see least would be right next to him.

"Go away, Bruce." Vance grunted, not moving his eyes off the ground as Bruce sat down next to him. Why did he keep coming back? Doesn't he get it? Doesn't he get that Vance is a monster?

A monster. That's what his mother always called him after she'd get phone calls from the school or the police about what her 'sweet little boy' had done. She was right, he knew that. What normal person would mangle kids on the daily? Carve their name into their skin?

"No? I just wanted to thank you, he uh...he deserved it." Bruce said, fumbling with his hands in his lap. Vance noticed the hesitation, he always did.

There's always a hesitation that proves someone didn't mean something. Yknow what they say, silence speaks volumes. In this case it was screaming in Vance's already overcrowded ears.

Vance abruptly stood up, "you're lying." He said bitterly, glaring at Bruce. The boy in question looked taken aback, maybe even offended that Vance would suggest saying such a thing.

"What? No-" Bruce started, Vance cut him off before he could go on about how Vance was 'good on the inside'. He hated when people lied to him about stuff like that. Not many people went out of their way to but it still pissed him off.

"Don't bother. Just say I'm a monster, like everyone else." He spoke, clenching his fists. It stung from the injuries he'd sustained on the other boy's face but he didn't mind.

"You're not a monster, Vance." Bruce tried to reason, standing up alongside him. Bruce was staring at him with those puppy dog eyes. This was so frustrating. He won't go away. So Vance would have to make him.

"Don't lie to me!" Vance yelled, throwing his hands out. He clenched his teeth as he watched Bruce flinch back. There was the sure fire way to tell. Of course he's scared, look at you.

"I'm not lying!" Bruce tried to reason, but there was no getting through to Vance. Not when he was like this.

"Yes you are! Everyone is always lying and I'm sick of it!" Vance shouted, bringing up his hands to grip his hair tightly. There were sure to be long blonde strands of hair around his fingers when he pulled his hands away.

"JUST SHUT UP! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Vance shouted, there was surprisingly no one around to witness the Vance hopper crash and burn. No one except Bruce, who got a front seat view.

"VANCE!" Bruce shouted. And before Vance could tell what he was doing his fist was making contact with Bruce's face. A loud smacking sound was all the noise to be heard.

The punch had knocked Bruce back onto the floor, giving Vance a very nice look at the brand new relationship he's fucked up. Bruce was staring right back up at him, thick blood running down his nose, eyes wide.

Vance had wanted to get him to leave. To run and hide like everyone else. He didn't want to hurt him. He never wanted to hurt him. Even when he thought it'd be easier.

"Vance-" Bruce started, but before he could form any type of sentence to try and comfort the blazing fire going through Vance, the boy was running again, and this time Bruce figured he'd better not go after him.

Vance ran and ran and ran. He ran until he felt like he was about to physically collapse. Everything was burning so he sat down at the nearest bench he saw. He was back at the park.

Finally having nothing else to do but focus on how badly he just fucked up he felt his throat get tight and his face get hot. He brought his knees up to his face and hugged himself tightly.

He let the tears fall and he cried. He cried knowing that he was never gonna be anything other than some lowlife who ruins people's lives. He cried knowing he was gonna die washed up and all alone. He cried knowing that his mom had been right all along. He was just like his father.

Bruce trudged home, not bothering to go back to the school. He knew his mom would be home anyways. So he walked into the house and greeted her as she rushed over.

He felt so dull. Vance had been so special and unique and he'd pushed him aside like garbage. There was still blood smeared on his face from his nose.

"Bruce?! What happened, dear?!" His mom had practically screeched as she ushered him to the bathroom to clean up his face. He didn't really have any other option so he just told her the truth.

"I had a run in with Vance Hopper." He'd muttered as his mom brushed a warm washcloth under his nose. He figured he could just blame his roughed up face on Vance too.

"Oh Honey, that's why I say to stay away from boys like that. They're nothing but trouble and they're definitely not worth your time!" She'd scoffed, rolling her eyes at the mere thought of delinquents like Vance around her son.

"Yeah...nothing but trouble." He'd muttered to himself as he felt his jaw tighten.