kitkat's ★ vance hopper

[01] 17.08.79

17TH AUGUST, 1979.

19:32, GRAB N' GO.

VANCE HOPPER FIRST MEETS CAROLINE SANDERSON.

The grab n' go was surprisingly quiet for a friday night. Due to it being midsummer, teenagers felt no need for any after school solace in the linoleum aisles. Instead they focused on their own personal interests, not feeling the need to impress their classmates. The neon lights illuminated the food lined aisles and the bored 'just out of highschool' checkout worker. The only noise filling the air was the quiet grunts of a teenage boy and the music of the pinball machine he was ever so focused on. His hands moved fast as he pressed the buttons of the machine in attempt of beating his own previous highscore. 

Vance Hopper mainly occupied his beloved pinball machine in the evenings, using the warm days to spend time with his friends or himself. Nobody notable had entered the small store since he had arrived, and the boy expected it to stay that way. As he finished his game of pinball (not beating his score), Vance muttered various curse words under his breath as he moved to his discarded bag next to him to search for spare quarters. His low mood caused him to not recognise the sound of the door opening and the bell ringing ever so slightly. He didn't notice the girl who had walked in that moved straight to the aisle of chocolate bars. He certainly didn't notice that said girl was completely new in town.

Caroline Sanderson was desperate for her favourite chocolate bar after that eleven hour drive from a small town deep in Montana to Denver, Colorado. Her initial hunger caused her to ignore the struggling blonde boy in the corner as she stomped her way over to the kitkat's. A disappointed sigh fell from her lips as she realised where exactly the bars were located. Top shelf. Top shelf had become the bane of Caroline's existence, her short stature was not something she felt proud of and she felt fairly embarrassed as she jumped to reach the kitkat's and failed.

Looking around the store, she soon realised the worker had gone somewhere into the back, and her only hope was that there was someone else inside tall enough to reach. Noticing the blonde boy who looked to be around her own age still rooting around in his backpack, she nervously approached. In her head she was silently hoping that the boy would be willing to help her. Surely it wasn't too much of a bother? 

"uhm, excuse me? would you mind getting a packet of kitkat's from the top shelf for me? i uh- i can't reach." She cringed at the sound of her voice out loud. Doubting her previously built up confidence, she'd hesitated too much and her voice was way higher than it usually was. Any worries plaguing her mind quickly disappeared as the boy turned around. All of a sudden all Caroline could think about was how gorgeous he was. Long and curly blonde hair, bright blue eyes that squinted as he scanned her face, a clear and focused face with pink lips. He was just so different to anyone from Montana, he was just so new to her. She moved away from staring at his face and focused on his clothes. A wrinkly wife beater top, a denim vest with card suites on the shoulders that appeared to be very worn, blue jeans with a brown belt and brown leather shoes. Caroline blushed as she registered how much she was staring at him and unwillingly casted her eyes to the floor. 

Vance did not recognise the girl in front of him, she was clearly completely new in town. Partially because he knew most kids his age that lived around Denver, and partially because nobody asked him for anything. People would always be so scared to interrupt him in whatever he was doing, even if it was just standing around doing nothing. In all fairness, even if they did have the bravery to ask, he would likely tell them to fuck off. Something made him stray away from what would be his usual response as he studied her face. The girl in front of him was someone so pretty, any anger in him disappeared. Vance had never really cared about girls, but now he was purely by how new this girl was. She had dark hair, slightly wavy and messy around her face, she had tanned olive skin that under the LED lights in the grab n' go appeared almost green. She had dull brownish-green eyes that made him think of that one story from history class, medusa or something, littered over her face were freckles. Vance felt his face get hot as he looked down to what she was wearing. A simple blue Nike jumper fell over her plump frame, sleeves too long for her so they'd been rolled to her elbows. She wore simple black cloth shorts and a pair of muddy and worn black converse hightops were laced over her feet. Then, Vance remembered her initial question.

"yeah, sure." Vance was not nervous, when was he ever, but for some reason felt some sort of reason to make a good impression. It's just a pretty girl, not an interview. Still, he easily reached the packet of chocolate bars from the top shelf for her. "you're welcome, kitkat."

Caroline blushed at the nickname from the boy, tucking a strand of her from her face behind her ear and looking at her shoes. "thanks, i really appreciate it." 

Before either of the teens could say anything else, they heard the bell for the door go. Caroline had almost completely forgot about her older brother who was waiting outside for her, she rolled her eyes at the look on his face as he saw her with the boy. "hurry up, short arse, i want dinner." Vance laughed at what he had called her, sightly disappointed by the interruption, but moved back to his pinball game as she approached the other boy with a whack to the arm. "calm yourself, i just couldn't reach it okay."

"when can you ever reach anything."

"shut up, you bitch!"