DAZED AND CONFUSED | VANCE HOPPER

.Chapter 011.

WE STOOD IN THE ALLEYWAY, and Vance watched me smoke for about ten minutes before I crushed the bud under my foot.

"Sorry about Emma," he said, hugging himself awkwardly.

I shrugged and looked off to the street. "It's alright. It just feels like it was my fault, and my mother preaching that to me doesn't help."

He furrowed his brow. "It's not your fault, Vee!"

Vee. I've never been called Viv before, just Vivian, Viv, or the annoying alternative, Vivi.

"I know, I just... I could've prevented it." sighing, I began to walk out of the alley.

Vance followed, skipping a few steps to keep up. "No, no you couldn't have. Don't blame yourself."

"Well, apparently I can't blame that stupid motherfucker that ran her over!" I cried, covering my face with my palms.

"Yes you can," he said, patting my back awkwardly. "Don't cry. I don't know how to handle crying people."

I wiped under my eyes and glared at him, viewing him through my lashes and strawberry bangs. "It's not like you've been hit this hard."

Vance paused, and thought for a second. "Maybe just as hard. I lost my dad a while ago, now all I've got is my mom, my dog, and pinball."

I sighed. "At least you have something,"

"Pinball?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shrugging, I turned to walk the street lined with shops. "It's not something I have to fall back on. It's not my everything. I just do it. I don't have an everything anymore."

He smiled softly. "You should find an 'everything',"

"I did and now she's gone." I sniffed, watching my feet.

"Hey, hey, listen. We'll work on it." Vance said, leaning forward to be closer to my level.

We. Us. The two teenagers who will fight over a game machine. Working together. Grieving together.

I nodded. "Okay."

"Where are we going?" He asked, after a long moment of silence.

"I don't know where we are going, but I have to walk home." I said, brushing hair out of my face.

He furrowed his brow. "What happened to Penny Lane?"

"I left her at home since Ma and I drove to the funeral home together but... she drove off." My feet felt as they were growing heavier as we neared the general roads, leaving downtown. Something in me didn't want to go home. Something in me didn't want to stay here, either.

Vance kept pace with me, slowing down. "Listen, Vee. I don't think you should go back there right now."

I looked at him, puzzled. "Where do you suggest I go, then?"

He pat my back, grinning. "My house,"

Shoving him away, I shot him a disgusted glance. "No way! I just poured my heart out to you and you're being a perv!"

His face fell immediately. "Oh- Vivian, no, that's not-... What I meant was, you can come stay at my house. My mom loves guests, but she never gets them, so..."

"Oh," I said numbly. "Okay then."

The smile formed on his face carefully. "Okay! Um, it's this way!"

I followed Vance through the streets, and he walked his bike beside himself, keeping a lighthearted conversation with me. When we walked past a playground, all the little kids stopped and stared, wonder and fear lingering on their faces. I wanted to laugh. I love when people are scared of me. I also happen to hate it.

If people fear me, I have power over them. No one can touch me. I float above it all. If people fear me, they won't befriend me, and I am left alone at the top. I've found someone, now, that's equally as feared as I, and we are sticking together by the looks of it. That's beautiful.

The house was about the same size and style as mine, a wired fence overgrown with shrubbery. Looking past the fence, though, I saw gorgeous flower bushes, and vines wrapping around a latter. The grass was cut carefully and the house was painted a creamy white color, accented with a faded navy blue.

"It's not much but it's home, and we like it." Vance opened the gate for me with a smile.

I walked into the yard, careful to stay on the concrete path leading to the porch. From inside the house, I could hear a loud, continuous howl. The curtains moved from the inside, and a very excited husky popped it's head through the opening, yapping and barking excitedly.

The front door opened, and a woman stood in the doorway, an apron tied around her waist, holding a wooden spoon covered in chocolate batter. She smiled excitedly at Vance and I.

"Vance! Hi honey, who's this?" She asked, waving at the two of us, ushering us inside.

"Mom, this is Vivian, Vivian, this is my mom." He said awkwardly, letting me past him into the livingroom.

The dog rushed up on me, nearly tackling me to the floor, tail wagging. Her fur was soft, and her tongue was rough as she licked everywhere she could reach.

"Hello, Vivian. I've heard so much about you!" His mother held her hand out for me to shake.

Vance covered his face and groaned. "Mom!"

I smiled awkwardly and shook her hand. "Good things, I hope."

"Oh, yes, yes, very good things. I heard you beat his pinball score!" The woman with matching blonde curls to her son's, dropped my hand and swatted at the husky licking my other one. "Stevie, leave our guest alone!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Stevie? Like, as in Stevie Nicks?"

She clapped her hands in excitement. "Yes! Yes! Oh, Vance hates Fleetwood Mac but, I love them."

Sideyeing Vance, who was standing in frozen agony, embarrassment flooding his expression, I nodded. "I'll fix that, Mrs. Hopper."

Vance rolled his eyes. "Okay, well. Vee here needs a place to stay, mom. I figured I could take the pullout and she could have my room?"

Mrs. Hopper pat Vance's head gingerly. "Such a gentleman. Yes, that would be just fine. I'm baking a cake right now, actually, and dinner is almost ready. You two go be teenagers."