After the game, Bruce went home, his mother asked if Vance wanted to come but he declined and made up some excuse and in a way, Bruce was both upset and okay with it.
The car ride home was awkward and silent, no one talked and Bruce was scared that his parents would never talk to him again.
When they got home, he went straight to his room, not making eye contact with anyone. He closed his door, dropping his baseball bag on the floor.
"What have I done." He murmured to himself. He tossed his hat off somewhere in his room, before flopping on his bed, still in his dirty baseball uniform.
The door opened and Bruce felt his heart drop, he didn't want to deal with his father or his mother or anyone. He knew that if his father entered, he would somehow guilt trip him into not being like this, into ending this fake romance.
To his relief, it was his sister. She entered the room and softly closed the door, walking over to sit on his bed.
"Dad hates me, doesn't he?" He asked softly, his face squished against the pillow. Amy didn't look in his direction.
"I don't know. Before I came up here, I heard Mom telling him not to be so mean to you." Bruce felt his eyes brimming with tears. At least his mother wasn't so mad about it. But his father was one of his favourite people in the world, and it meant everything to him that they were still the same.
"Maybe I shouldn't have done this. Vance and I aren't even dating and if Dad found out it was all a lie, he'll be even more mad at me." Amy looked over at him.
"No. It's a good thing you did this, Bruce. It's one thing that Dad and Mom try to make you be a perfect replica of them, but it's another when they try to control who you can be with. Even if you aren't with Vance, this fake thing between you two is the first step into independence."
Even though Amy was younger than Bruce, he looked up to her a lot. She always knew what to say to make him feel better, she never judged him too hard and she always made sure he was okay and knew he was loved. Amy was Bruce's best friend, and sure that sounds pathetic because their siblings, but if it wasn't for her, Bruce would've probably introduced a smart girl to his parents at the game today.
"You should've told Vance to come over after the game." She spoke.
"Why?"
"Because usually couples are together all the time. Like, glued to the hip, especially when their relationship first starts. And if you don't want Mom and Dad to suspect anything, you need to tell him to act more like your boyfriend." Bruce knew she was right, but Bruce didn't know how to be a boyfriend, he never was one before. "Tell him to come over after school on Monday."
Bruce would take her advice to the grave, and if she knew how to make this believable, he would listen to her every step of the way. He nodded at her.
"Okay."
"And don't worry, Mom and Dad won't want to see you guys make out or anything." Bruce's face turned to disgust at the thought of ever kissing Vance Hopper. "Now go shower, you actually stink." She gagged and Bruce slowly shoved his foot in her face.
-
As far as Bruce knew, his father would never talk bad about him. He never would assume that his father would go into work on Monday and say mean things about him and his "boyfriend" to his co-workers. But that was the thought that had been eating at Bruce the moment he stepped on school grounds.
He watched anxiously at all the kids who weren't even giving him any attention, but to him, they all knew.
He stopped at his locker, grabbing his text books. He went down to class. He sat in his chair. That's what he did, no one looking at him except for the occasional smile because he might've forgotten his popularity if no one gave him sharp smiles and suggestive eyes.
Bruce sat in his desk, his leg jumping around underneath. He kept his eyes on the clock, wanting to get out of school to run to his father and ask him with every inch of politeness, not to say anything about him to anyone... for his own sake, and for Vance. God knows what would happen if people thought Vance was dating him, he'd for sure come home with a few bruises.
Billy Showalter walked into class, sitting beside him. Bruce wouldn't dare to look over in case he could read Bruce's mind and know every secret he was hiding.
"Hi." Billy said, and it caught Bruce off guard, Billy rarely talked to him. Bruce looked at him.
"Hi." He replied, his smile turning white with the perfect shine of his teeth. No matter how nervous he was, he still had a reputation to hold.
"Um... I was wondering... I was hearing Mrs. J talking about a group project, and I was wondering if you'd like to work with me?" Billy wasn't looking at Bruce when he talked, but Bruce smiled at him still, but this time genuinely.
"Yeah, of course, I'd love to." Billy looked over to him with a small smile as a way to thank him for agreeing.
The bell rang and class began as the teacher began to explain the class project, due at the end of the week. The project sounded easy and he discussed with Billy when they should meet up to do it. The project was about creating algebra problems that could be solved with multiple different solutions, Bruce agreed to do which ever part Billy didn't want to do, maybe he was partially a suck up in that way. Billy ended up doing the part he wanted.
After class, Bruce invited Billy to have lunch with him. Billy was a bit surprised by this request and Bruce couldn't help but think maybe it was because of his popularity at the school even if that thought made him sound very egotistical. Billy agreed anyway, and they planned to meet up after the morning classes.
Bruce found his classes to be going slower and more painful as the hours ticked on, he just wanted to go home, every time he glanced toward the hands on the clock, his stomach felt like it was going to flip out of his chest. There had been a few moments that morning when he had to beg the teacher to let him take a moment so he could run to the bathroom as he felt like he was going to puke, and his mind just kept rambling on.
By the time lunch finally came and he and Billy sat at the table Bruce now shared with Robin and Finney, Bruce looked pale and tired.
"Rough morning?" Robin asked as Bruce laid his head on the table. Bruce just shrugged, it was more that everything just felt rough, so much had changed for him in the matter of a few days. "You look sick... no offence." Bruce muffled a light laugh out.
"I feel sick." He replied. He rolled his head over so his forehead rested on the cold tabletop, his arms wrapping around the crown of his head. "I'm fine, I just had a bad sleep last night, that's all." He spoke again, closing his eyes.
The table fell silent as they began to eat their lunches. Bruce felt a bit guilty that he didn't make sure Billy was comfortable with sitting there, but he knew the three knew each other since he had seen Billy around them at some point, but the table just felt awkward. It was probably him.
He picked his head up, reaching for his water bottle before taking a drink, hoping that the water would settle his nerves. At this point he didn't know why he was nervous or sick, his day had been going fine, no one knew anything, his father had been pushed to the back of his mind and as far as he knew, everything was still the same... except for now he had a fake boyfriend that he had to talk to at some point today.
He sighed. "I'll be right back." He voice drips with annoyance. He stood up, his water bottle still in his hand as he began his search around the school for Vance.
For his popular status, Bruce had never had a relationship. He had been asked out and hit on by multiple girls and he knew a lot of them liked him by the way they looked at him and the soft smiles they gave, but he never dated a single person. Dating had never been a priority for him, his parents had never brought up relationships. Bruce's life focused on baseball and school.
He didn't know how to act to make this thing with Vance believable for his parents. He knew Vance had some experience with girls, he didn't know for sure if he ever dated them or just messed around with them, but either way, he had more experience than Bruce did.
Bruce was able to catch Vance before he headed outside, and Bruce thanked whatever force out there caused Vance to be late to his lunch group because Bruce didn't want to deal with Vance's friends staring at him again.
Vance was at his locker, his arms digging inside but Bruce couldn't see at what. Bruce walked up to him, standing beside him at the locker, and he could see Vance struggling to pull something out of a bag.
"Hey." Bruce interrupted, causing Vance to tense, pulling his arms out and turning in his direction.
"What?" Vance asked. Bruce bit the inside of his lip.
"I just... wanted to ask you... can you come over after school?" He asked, bringing his voice down to a whisper. People were still passing by, a very small amount of people, but Bruce didn't want to chance it.
"Why?" Vance's voice was always harsh and seemed to always try to sound tough, and it worked, it made Bruce feel nervous in his presence.
"I think it would be believable to my parents if you came over often. My sister said that couples usually have a 'honeymoon' phase. She told me it would seem real if we hung out for the first couple of weeks." He kept eye contact with him, not wanting to push down his confident demeanour.
"What does your sister know." Vance hissed, closing his locker but not walking away.
"More than me." Bruce said quickly. "Doesn't matter. I just want my parents to think it's real and if we're together 24/7 in their mind than that's enough."
Vance signed heavily, annoyed with the conversation and it made Bruce think again about why he even agreed.
"Fine."
"Meet me outside after school." Bruce smiled before walking away back to the cafeteria.