arcade

i

Vance Hopper was two things.

He was cruel, and he was ruthless. Vance had severe anger issues, never hesitating to beat someone up for simply looking at him wrong. People feared him, and he loved it.

Vance Hopper was not kind.

Well, at least not to everyone.

After all, he was just a boy. Somewhere deep inside of him he longed for attention and satisfaction from others. He wasn't getting it from his parents, who's eyes were constantly filled with disappointment. He wasn't getting it from his teachers, who took one look at him and believed he was a failure. Vance was expected to become some washed-up criminal that never amounted to anything in life. The entire town expected that from him. Everyone except her.

Holly Whales was an angel. That was the first thing Vance thought of when he first met the girl. They met in second grade after she offered him candy at recess. For eight-year-olds, she had basically asked for his hand in marriage by giving him Airheads.

Although he was mean to her, Holly stuck around. She would brush off his insults with a smile, always ready to offer him something else. It was as though she could see through his facade. It only took two months before he gave up and accepted her friendship.

From then on, the blonde boy and brunette girl were inseparable. Vance became overprotective of the girl, declaring she was his only friend and he was hers. Of course, Holly had other friends since she was kind to everyone, but Vance was her best friend. His protectiveness worsened once they reached middle school.

In middle school, boys began noticing Holly as a girl, not just as a cootie magnet. Vance was sent to the principal's office at least three times a week for punching any kid that made a move on her. By seventh grade, he finally had the guts to ask her out, officially making her his.

They were just two kids navigating through life together. What more could they want?

~

"I'm going to beat your fucking ass, Henderson!"

It was the first Friday of school, and students were bustling through the hallways, chatter echoing. They paved a pathway for Vance as he chased a scrawny kid, not daring to be his next target. Johnny Henderson was running for his life, dodging people and backpacks.

Unfortunately, he was no match for the wrath of Vance. The latter shoved the boy to the ground, punching him repeatedly. Everyone formed a circle around the two, encouraging the fight.

Johnny's head was spinning as his vision began to fade. The sounds were muffled, and all he could feel was Vance's fist against his face. Eventually, the blonde boy stood up, and Johnny let out a quick sigh of relief. This seemed to refuel Vance's anger because he stomped on the boy's hand, inevitably breaking his fingers. Johnny cried out in pain, clutching his hand to his chest with tears in his eyes.

"If I ever see you flirting with my girl again, you're dead." Vance warned, his breath fanning across Johnny's face. The traumatized boy quickly nodded as he stumbled over himself to get as far as humanely possible.

The crowd dispersed. Vance's eyes surveyed the crowd until they landed on green ones. A small smile etched on his face as he walked towards the girl. His arms open wide, but she pushed him backwards.

"First of all, I am not hugging you when you have blood all over your hands. Secondly, you didn't listen to me again!" Holly scolded with her arms crossed. Even when she was angry, Vance couldn't help but to notice how adorable his girlfriend was with pouting lips.

"I'm sorry, baby! He had it coming for trying to get so close to you." Vance confessed with a sheepish smile.

"Vance, you can't keep getting into fights with any boy that talks to me. Johnny was just asking me for notes." Holly continued.

"Yeah, well he should've gone to someone else. Bastard knew what he was doing." His words caused the girl's frown to deepen.

"I want you to graduate with me on time, Vance. They're not going to let you if you continue your criminal record." Vance's eyebrows furrowed at her concerns.

Due to his impressive track record, Vance was just a few fights away from getting sent to juvie, where he would have to complete his schoolwork. This was a major setback in the couple's plans, who dreamed of getting out of this town together. Holly wanted to become a teacher, and Vance wanted to be with Holly. Well, realistically, he wanted to design video games or be a mechanic. He wasn't quite sure yet.

"I will, baby. We're gonna get out of here. I promise." Holly sighed as she led him to the restrooms. It took him five minutes to wash all of the blood off, his experience was paying off. The pair walked to Holly's house, not mentioning their past conversation.

Vance despised going home. His anger issues stemmed from his father's behavior, especially how he treated his mother. Vance's father worked in mining, and he was always more furious than Vance could ever be. Although he never hit Vance, he did occasionally shove the boy around. His hits were primarily reserved for Vance's mother. His mom was a beautiful woman, who had married young. She was a housewife and never left home. She had luscious blonde locks and blue eyes, just like her son. However, she could hardly look at Vance because he reminded her so much of her husband. So, the teen boy often resided at the Whales residence.

Holly's mother would always welcome him with open arms. Her father was hardly ever home, so they rarely ever interacted. There, he was fed, housed, and sometimes clothed. The only thing he had to endure was Mrs. Whales' embarrassing remarks about how he would end up marrying her daughter.

"I'm think about cutting my hair." Holly mumbled as she scrolled through magazines. Currently, the two were laying on her bed, legs tangled together.

"Why?"

"Just thinking about it. I want something new." She responded, mindlessly playing with her hair.

"I love your hair, baby, but if you do, you'll look hot either way." Vance teased as he pulled the girl closer to him. He began peppering her face with kisses, causing the girl to laugh.

"You're such a flirt, babe!"

"You love it." He whispered in her ear.

It was moments like this that Vance could forget about everything. It felt like they were the only two people in the world, and no one could ever come between them. To be fair, Vance wouldn't let them try.

With Holly, Vance wasn't some messed up kid with anger issues. She believed in him, and it was all he needed. He would refrain from his brash behavior and bare through boring classes if she asked. He would kill anyone that she asked him to. He was so desperately in love with her that there were no limits.

Nothing could come between them.

••

Thank you for reading the first chapter for our young Billy Hargrove! I wish we got see more of Vance's backstory, but I hope y'all still enjoy my version of his life.