Half a World Away // Vinnie Hacker

*8*

I walked up to Vinnie's room and knocked on the door, walking in with slight hesitation. Vinnie looked up from the bed and saw me. He pat the spot next to him so I went and sat down next to him. "You ready to talk now?" he asked. I think all fear of him judging me was outweighed by the need to get everything off my chest and just talk to someone. I haven't talked to anyone from back home except my parents for the past week and I'm not too close to them so telling them about this stuff isn't exactly something I'd normally do, not that anything about this is normal for me. I nodded my head and took a deep, shaky breath in. I was definitely going to cry during this.

"You're probably going to think I'm stupid for saying this but I need to say it anyway," I started, taking a break to gather my thoughts a little. "I wouldn't think you were stupid no matter what it is that's bothering you, don't even think like that," he said, reassuring me a little. "I still feel stupid for being bothered by this, I'm not usually bothered by this sort of stuff," I could see Vinnie's facing, urging me to continue, "It's just, I went on Instagram this morning and looked through my DMs," I could see his face already starting to drop, he knows exactly what I'm about to say, "And there's just so many people saying horrible things about me and calling me a clout chaser and all that other stuff and I know I pretty much pride myself on not letting what people think about me get to me but when I have hundreds of people saying the same things over and over, it does start to get to me," I didn't even realise it but I had tears starting to drip down my face. Vinnie wiped a few tears off with his thumb and pulled me in for a hug. "How do you deal with it? I only looked at the messages for half an hour and it's got me acting like this but you, you see this stuff on everything and you seem fine" I cried.

"It takes some practice. at first, it used to really get me down seeing what people say about me but then I started reminding myself that these people have never met me in their life so they have nothing to judge me on. Yeah, I have videos and photos and whatnot for them to get little bits and pieces about me from but that's nothing compared to me in real life, Even you said that after knowing me for what? four hours or whatever that my online self is very different to the in-person me." What he was saying made total sense and I hate that I let myself be affected by the things being thrown at me but, as he said, it'll take some time getting used to not listening to what's being said. "But, if it makes you feel better, everyone in this house knows that you aren't a clout chaser. I mean, if you were, you would have known some of the more well-known people in this house, nothing against Michael but ya know" he joked.

We sat in each other's arms for a few more minutes, I let out a few more tears that I had banked up and Vinnie hugged me tighter, making me feel safe, loved and not alone. I pulled back and looked at Vinnie who wiped away a few tears hoping that I wouldn't see. "Hey, what's up?" I asked, concerned. It's one thing to cry and another to try and hide it. "Nothing," he said as he looked away and got up, walking to the other side of the room. I got up and walked over to him. "Vinnie, you can tell me. I just spilled my guts so now you spill yours," I poked, trying to get him to respond. He let out a breath, signalling defeat and then started talking, "It just gets me so angry and upset that you have to go through this and some of my other non-social media friends too. you guys didn't sign up for any of this. I did and I know that so I can't really complain, but you didn't even ask to be my friend, you don't deserve to get any of the hate that you're getting. It frustrates me so much.". I get where he's coming from because, as he said, he signed up for it when he decided he wanted to do social media but I didn't ask for any of this, neither did his other friends, it just happened. I have to give it to him though, he really does care about his friends.

"I know what you mean. I can imagine what it's like to just want to hold onto that little bit of normality, that normal life, and to sort of have that taken away because people insist on sort of digging into every part of your life. and even though you sort of did sign up for it, you don't deserve it. You deserve to have a private life and not have to worry about all of your friends getting hate and your number getting leaked and whatever else. You should be able to walk down the street without having to worry about people asking for photos and things." this whole thing has gotten me on a rant and I'm not even the one who has to deal with it. I'm just one of the things that Vinnie has to worry about living the life he does. "Madi, Madi! You should really breath more between monologues," Vinnie said, causing us both to let out a small laugh. (a/n if you know what movie that's from I love you)

"How about we got get ice cream, my treat," I suggested. Vinnie took a second, thinking about something. "Are you sure you want to be seen in public with me after everything?" he said after a few seconds of thought. "Yes, people can think what they want," I said grabbing his arm and pulling him out of his room. "She's a fast learner," he teased.

a/n

Hope you guys like the story, please tell me how you're feeling! a quiet comment section is kinda discomforting lmao but yeah have fun reading!

word count: 1052