Chills & Thrills | Brance

eight

"If at any point my parents say anything or look at you funny, they probably mean it but please ignore them anyways," Bruce told Vance before he opened the door.

"Oh? I'm just bunches more excited now," Vance said sarcastically. "Sh!" Bruce said. He opened his front door and the two walked inside.

"Bruce? Is that you?" His mom called out from the living room.

"Awh, crap," Bruce mumbled. "Yeah," He said back to his mom. Bruce kicked off his shoes, then Vance did the same.

"C'mon," Bruce said to Vance, who was admiring his house. He looked towards Bruce who started walking to the stairs.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Bruce turned around to see his mom standing there with her arms crossed.

"Upstairs.." He replied. His mom looked from Bruce to Vance before she nodded. "When he leaves, your father and I need to talk to you," She said. Bruce nods and leads Vance upstairs into his room.

"Can I ask you a question?" Bruce asked once his door was shut and they were both sitting on his bed.

"Hm, okay," Vance replied as he looked around Bruce's room.

"I hope this doesn't sound rude, but why'd you grow your hair out?" Bruce asked genuinely.

"Oh," Vance said and looked to Bruce. "I don't know, I didn't like anything short so I quit trying."

"Cool, cool," Bruce trailed off for a bit before he decided to say something corresponding with a suspicion of his. "Thanks for that note you gave me on my birthday," He said, hoping Vance wouldn't realize Bruce doesn't actually know who gave it to him.

"Huh?" Vance said, confused. Bruce hesitated before responding. So it wasn't him.

"Nothing. I found this note in my locker on my birthday and I don't know who it's from," Bruce said truthfully.

"Pft, and you think i'd go out of my way to write out a whole note then put it in your locker? Funny," Vance told him.

"I don't know, thought i'd try narrowing it down," Bruce shrugged. "Seems to be going well if you're asking me," Vance replied sarcastically.

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

"You got a nice room. What's The Beach Boys?" Vance says, pointing to a poster along with a cassette tape of the beach boys.

"It's a band," Bruce says. He sits up and grabs the cassette tape. Before he can play any song for Vance to listen to, he says, "That sounds so gay."

"What?! They have good songs," Bruce puts the cassette tape down. "What do you even listen to?"

"Okay, sure. You haven't heard actual music until you listen to Led Zeppelin or Queen," Vance said.

"Led Zeppelin sounds like a chronicle illness." "And The Beach Boys sounds like an insufferable reality show about orangely tanned surfer boys who live on the beach."

Bruce huffed before taking the same cassette tape and holding it out to Vance. "Take this home with you and give it a listen."

"What if I don't want to?" Vance said, standing up but not making any move to take it.

"I don't care, just listen to one song at least. Tomorrow, if you did, I will listen to whatever you tell me to, swear."

"Hm, okay," Vance said and took the cassette tape from Bruce's hand. "What songs are on here?" Vance asked.

"Oh, right!" Bruce said before opening the door to his closet and taking out a case for the cassette. "Songs are on the back."

Vance takes it and reads them over. "Oh boy. I'm just so excited," Vance said. He put the cassette into the case with a chuckle.

"Don't discriminate, it's good songs!" Bruce said in an attempt to defend it.

"It really had me when the album was named pet sounds."

"Again with the discriminating."
"I don't even know what that word means, so hah."

Vance stayed at Bruce's house until two thirty, when he mentioned he should leave now.

"Are you sure? If you leave my parents are actually going to kill me," Bruce said.

"My mom's gonna' kill me if I don't get home, she's going to think I got kidnapped or something," Vance told him.

"Bleh, whatever. Don't forget the tape," Bruce said.

"I have it," Vance told him, holding it up. "Good," Bruce nodded. The two walked downstairs, where Bruce waved goodbye as Vance walked outside.

"Come in the living room, Bruce." He jumped around to see his mom standing in the middle of the hall. Bruce nodded and followed.

"Suspended and bringing Vance Hopper over. I can't help but just assume something here," Bruce's mom said once they were both sitting.

"He has nothing to do with it," Bruce assured them. "Some guy punched me and I defended myself."

Bruce managed to not get in as much trouble as he expected. His parents took the self defense and in school part into consideration.

Vance didn't get it so easily.

He opened the door of his house to notice his mom sitting on the stairs. "Where have you been?" She asks, worried and angry.

"Someone's house," Vance said while kicking off his shoes.

"Who?" His mom asked, but Vance never answered. "Okay. The school called, another suspension? You need to get your act together. You still have four more years and they said your next suspension, they are taking expulsion into consideration."

"Maybe that'd do me some good," Vance said, not seriously, of course.

"This is serious! The next school around is a half hour away," She said.

Vance shrugged and started walking upstairs, ignoring his mom telling him to stop.

In his room, Vance takes his walkman from his bed-side table and puts the cassette in that Bruce gave him. He pulls his headphones on and presses play.

While listening to the first song, Vance grabs his favourite, and only, cassette tape, which he had songs from both Queen and Led Zeppelin that he liked best.

A little less than forty minutes later, he has officially listened to all the songs. They weren't half bad.

--
gonna be so real guys i love the beach boys..