Face Down - Vance Hopper

Chapter 1

TW for this book: Abuse, swearing, murder, kidnapping etc

Vance Hopper was well known in the streets of a small Denver suburb, he was known for his bad attitude, loud mouth, violent tendencies and short temper. Vance was the kind of person that you would cross the street to avoid, nobody messed with him unless they were prepared to pay the price. 

Adira Argent on the other hand was also well known in the streets of the town... she was known for her outstanding ability to hit a baseball, her kind nature and her bubbly personality. She lived in a moderately sized house in the middle of town with her father and her dog. 

It was a sunny afternoon in Denver, there were no clouds in the sky and there was a soft breeze, washing through the trees calmly. Adira Argent was walking down Scott Street, hand in hand with her boyfriend Theodore Barnes, a blank look on her face as she stared at the ground, attempting to hide her face. She occasionally looked up to make sure that she didn't bump into anyone, but her eyes mainly kept focus on the white and blue sneakers on her feet.

Her long brown hair swayed softly in its ponytail with every step that she took, small strands falling down over her brown eyes. Theo peered down at her in annoyance, she was much shorter than him, her short legs meaning that she was also much slower at walking than he was.

Theodore tightened his grip on the girls hand as he continued to tug her down the street, a determined look on his face as they made their way to the corner store. "Hurry up Adira, quit walking so fucking slow," he snapped, yanking tightly on her arm. She winced slightly at the quick and strong movement but moved her short legs faster, trying to keep up with her boyfriend's pace as she brushed the pain in her shoulder aside.

"Sorry Theo," she muttered out softly, giving him a sorry look. They turned the corner and checked both sides of the road before crossing, making their way over to the corner store, the neon lights shining brightly through the window, letting them know that the store was currently open, "are you sure that this is a good idea Theo? I mean, what if they know its fake, we could get in serious trouble." 

"Quit being such a fucking baby Adira, its going to work," Theodore snapped at her angrily, keeping his voice dangerously low so that nobody could hear him snapping at her. His grip on her hand tightened in a threatening manner. Adira could feel her bones and muscles aching under his grip, "just don't act fucking suspicious and don't draw attention to us."

Theodore pushed the door open, the bell ringing above them, reverberating throughout the shop, letting every single person inside know that more people have entered the shop. They walked through and Theodore continued to tug her down through the first aisle to the back of the shop where all the fridges were. There were hundreds of different drinks in the fridges, the prices varying widely. 

"Are you going to be much longer, I've been waiting for my turn for ages," A kid's voice said from a few meters to their left. Adira turned to look over in the direction of the voice and saw a kid around 12 standing over near the pinball machine with a bored and annoyed look on his face as he waited for his turn on the game.

"Shut the fuck up kid," a cold voice snapped. Adira moved her eyes away from the young kid and looked at the boy who was currently playing the pinball machine, recognising him instantly. His outfit mainly consisted of denim and he had long, curly blonde hair that cascaded down over his shoulders like waves, "you'll get a turn when I leave, shit head."

The 12-year-old opened his mouth to complain but was luckily able to catch on that it wasn't a good idea to mess with the blonde-haired boy in front of him, so he stayed silent and then walked away, giving up on trying to get a go of the game, figuring that it was probably better for him to just come back later. "Why are you looking at Hopper?" Theodore's voice ran through the girl's ears.