Two of a Kind (Vance Hopper)

Chapter 6.

     The pair continued their journey to the corner store, both of them wondering what they should even talk about, how to begin the conversation. It felt tense and awkward but neither of them knew how to fix it. Kitt adjusted her shoulder bag, looking around as she tried to find a topic to talk about when something caught her eye. In Vance's pocket she saw the outline of her pencil. She couldn't believe that he would actually keep something as stupid as a number 2 pencil. She gave a small laugh, catching the attention of the blonde beside her. He looked oiver at her and smirked. 

     "What exactly is so funny?" He asked, trying to think of anything he had done that would have made her laugh. She wasn't laughing at him though, right? Kitt shook her head at him, holding back what would have been a smile. She looked stunning like this, or at least he thought so. She looked up at him, raising her brows in a questioning manner. 

     "You," she responded, smirking as she saw the confusion on his face. "I can't believe you actually kept the fucking pencil. I thought you would have thrown it away by now. It's not like you're actually going to use it," she explained, shrugging. Vance glanced down at his pocket before smiling. She had noticed, huh? If he was being honest he didn't plan on keeping the damn thing, but for some reason he had. He didn't know why, but he just did. 

     He took out the pencil and tapped her on the head with it, earning an eyeroll for his actions. "Fuck yea I kept it, I earned this shit. Or did you forget why my nose looks fucked up?" He asked her, a teasing grin on his face as he watched her. She laughed softly, shaking her head at how absolutely stupid he sounded. A pencil. That is what he wanted after she rocked his shit the day before, but whatever. That was simple enough. 

     "A pencil, huh? You know most people wouldn't be worried about a fucking pencil after that, but you do you," she teased as they arrived at Grab N' Go. She opened the door, hearing the bell go off as they entered. She paused for a moment, letting him lead the way over to the pinball machine, the one he had been standing at yesterday before everything had gone down. She settle in beside him, near the window as he dug in his pockets for a quarter to put in. She glanced up at the high score, her eyebrows shooting up as she saw the number. "Wow, whoever got that score has absolutely no life, huh," she mumbled, not paying attention to the offended look that came across the males face. 

      It took a few seconds of silence for her to actually look at Vance, noticing the look on his face. Oh shit, no way. He flipped her off, earning a small laugh from the female. "Yea, well fuck you too," he stated, mock anger dripping off his voice. It was weird. If any other person would have said that to him, he would have sent them to the hospital, but with her it didn't bother him near as much. "Have you ever even played pinball?" He asked, waiting for her answer, but by the way she glanced at the machine he knew that the answer was no before she said a word. 

     She shook her head no, wondering if it was a big deal to him or not. She hadn't ever learned how to play because she simply didn't have the patience. She glanced back up at him, his face a look of shock mixed with disgust. She couldn't help the laugh she let out and shoved him lightly. "Fix your fucking face, you look constipated," she teased, rolling her eyes at him. She was starting to actually enjoy this. Yea, he was really annoying at first, but maybe she had it all wrong? Yea, everyone else was afraid of him, and they probably had good reason to be but he was still pretty fun to be around, or at least he was at the moment. 

     He looked at her, mock offended for a second, earning another laugh from her. He stepped back and gestured to the machine, smirking. "Well, you're learning today. Come on, unless you're scared," he teased, smirking at her as he watched her brows shoot up at his comment. She stepped forward and tilted her head at him, almost challenging him. That shouldn't have been as attractive as it was. He raised his eyebrows at her slightly, his smirk growing into a smile. 

     "Scared? As if, Pinball Boy," she teased, moving to stand in front of the game. She took a moment to look at the machine, trying to figure it out. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow in concentration as she looked around to find the buttons on the side. She could feel him still standing beside her, realizing just how close he was to her. He watched as she finally seemed to figure out the game, hitting the buttons and slowly beginning to memorize what each of them did. Watching her so concentrated was hypnotizing almost. He shook his head, turning his attention to the little ball that was bouncing around. He smirked. She wasn't awful, for a first time player at least. 

      Finally the ball fell down into the hole, causing Kitt to cuss out in frustration. She had been doing so good too. She hit the machine, glaring at the stupid game. She huffed, earning a chuckle from the male beside her. She turned to face him and crossed her arms. "The game is fucking stupid anyways," she retorted, trying not to show just how frustrated she actually was. She moved back to her spot near the window, trying not to sulk. 

     "Yea, the game is the problem," he teased, rolling her eyes at her and her dramatics before moving back in front of the game to try and outdo his previous score. She watched the ball bounce around like wild within the game. She moved over his shoulder to get a better look. He was pretty good, she would admit that much. He was so focused, and she could tell he was taking this seriously. She stayed silent as he played, minutes passing with silence between them when she heard the doorbell to the store open and two boys walked into the store.