1998 | Vinnie Hacker

chapter 2 first initial, last name

Vinnie

Char really pissed me off sometimes. She was so damn clueless and it made me unreasonably mad. I wish she could see what was really going on. I mean, wouldn't she get it after a whole year?

"Bro, I can see the fumes rolling off you from over here"

Hector's voice interrupted my thoughts and I looked over at him. He had a cocky smirk on his face, and his brown eyes were gleaming with mischief. He shot a look over at Trey who started laughing.

My friends and I, sans Char and Scarla, were sitting in Audrey Danvers basement, sharing a pack of cigarettes and trying not to be bored. Audrey was the hottest girl in school and her parties were only for the elite, but I was senior and I had been to a few hundred of these things over the years. It was getting old. Honestly, I'd rather stay home, watch a movie and cuddle with Char if she'd pull her damn head out of the clouds and see that I liked her.

I glanced over my shoulder. A couple of guys from Riverview had joined us too in the basement, but good thing they were too busy smoking the dro Audrey's mom kept stashed in under the couch cushions to hear this conversation. It was no secret that alot of the Danvers money came from the illegal distribution of weed. Mr. Danvers was an electrician, just like my dad, yet, they lived on the upper east side of Seattle with many of the doctors, lawyers, and professors, and my family lived in Glendale with all the other middle class, hard working families. Needless to say, my dad didn't sell drugs.

"Why don't you just make a move already" Trey said boredly. He slouched in his seat and threw his head back to dramatize his anguish.

"We've talked about this.She's fifteen dude" I said sighing and lighting a cigarette.

"I know its different because she's a friend and all that, and not like other girls, but she has you  whipped already, I think its time to just give in" Hector said taking a drag of his cigarette.

"He could go to jail though" Trey said.

"No, the age of consent is 16 in Washington" Hector said. "Vinnie here only has a couple of weeks. Char turns 16 like on the 27th of October."

"It is?" I said faking like I didn't know. Of course I new the age of consent was 16 in Washington. Its the only reason Hector and Trey even knew I had a crush on Char. Didn't want anyone to think I was a pedophile. I despised pedophiles.

"Yeah" Hector said laughing. "Besides you'll still be 17 when you graduate so you'll be fine. Look that age shit you are talking about is only a cover. Whats the real reason you won't ask Char out?"

I thought back to last year, that time me and Char had spent at my house on the deck  alone while we were waiting for our friends to get there. It was the first time I knew I liked her and wanted to be more than friends. It was getting dark, and we were laying side by side and staring up at the sky. My dad, thinking he was doing me favor, had just turned  on the Christmas lights we had stringed up for decoration.  He had tried to sneakily gave me a thumbs up when I looked over to the house, but Char saw it too and laughed.

"Your dad knows we're just friends right?" Char had asked.

"Yeah, every girl he sees me with he thinks I'm dating" I said chuckling bitterly. "For the longest time, he thought me and Scarla had something going on."

I had peaked around Char to look back at the house to make sure he was gone before reaching in my jeans pocket and pulling out a cigarette.

I hesitated, and had lit my cigarette before saying, "But me and Scarla never cuddled like we do for movie nights and we don't usually hang out by ourselves, and he still thought that so..."

Char sat up and looked down at me. Her brown eyes held interest and confusion and her brow was furrowed a little. But her sweet, full lips were twisted in a smile when she said, "So you've never hung out alone with Scarla? At least not like how we hang out?"

I looked back at her and smiled and shook my head. Char was the only one of my close friends that had been invited to family movie nights at my house. She would even end up  coming along on a road trip later for that summer with us. I treated her more like family than I did my friend.

"Nope" I said popping the p and then taking a drag of my cigarette.

Char contemplated me for a moment and my heart started to race. I had been nervous - what was she thinking? Was I creeping her out?

It wasn't long before her beautiful face broke out into a smile and she had said, "So I'm your favorite huh?"

We both had laughed and she crawled back over to me and laid her head on my shoulder. After a few quiet moments of staring up at the sky together, she had whispered, "You're my favorite too V Hacker."

I don't how she got the nickname or why she always called me VHacker but I loved it. She didn't call anyone else by their first initial and last name. It was specially for me.

But nothing came of that day. We had shared a moment, but that was it. We went back to how we always were. But I ached and burned for Char, who didn't seem to notice at all and thats what hurt the worst. She didn't see me as more than a friend.

"This is bad" Trey said interrupting my reminiscing. "You're stressing out right now. I didn't know you were this serious about her. Dude...you can't keep this hidden and think it'll go away. It'll kill you."

Just then, we heard Scarla's loud cackling laugh and we all looked toward the basement door to see her and Char shooting the shit with Tyler Cannon. Char looked over at us and waved, and then coaxed Scarla to follow her.

"We're not done here, we'll talk about this later.", Hector whispered to me before shouting, "Ay mamacitas!!!"

I rolled my eyes. He was such a cornball sometimes. Scarla took her seat next to Hector and Char sat next to me. She gave me a small smile before saying, "Are you still mad at me? You know I was just kidding about earlier right? I didn't mean to insinuate anything. "

I breathed out a little laugh. Oh Char, so sweet and innocent and kind. Yes, I knew you were joking but you hit a nerve thats all. I wasn't mad, just irritated.

I took a drag of my cigarette and said, "I was never mad. But  you've known me long enough to know I'm not some manwhore right?"

She nodded her head quickly, and said, "Yeah I know that! I was just joking, I mean every one knows Audrey likes you, so I was just making fun."

I took a long pause before saying, "You're wrong. Audrey isn't my type."

"So you don't care of the proclaimed hottest girl in school likes you?"

"I don't", I said bluntly taking a long drag. This conversation was starting to get to me again.

Char laughed and said, "Okay Mr. Man. What is your type?

Should I say it? Should I just tell her to look in the fucking mirror, because she was my type. No she was the only one, not a type. You know what, life is too fucking short for all this contemplation.

So, I put out my cigarette, looked Char dead in the eyes and said, "You".