All because I liked a boy //Finney Blake

The Abduction of Pinball Vance

My brother Vance Hopper was a tough, anger issued, rude, annoying teenage boy. We'd fight often but he'd always be there for me. You know he would stand up for me.

We didn't have the best relationship like normal brothers and sisters do, I guess. We fought almost 98% of the time we were together.
The only two things we had in common were the pinball machine, and hating our father.

The pinball machine was a game at the local grab n' go. we'd always play and try to beat each other's high scores. We'd play this game almost everyday. Which is why people would call him Pinball Vance.

One time Vance was so close to beating his high score. That his long haired friend, Brody and I, were cheering him on quietly as we saw the ball get closer to the circular black hole.

Boom! Someone bumped into the machine knocking the ball away from the final score. Vance put his hands behind his curly blonde hair in anger
"Mother fucker, you fucked with my game!!" Vance shouted as he picked up the scrawny kid.

Throwing him into the newspaper rack as the other kid took out his switch blade which wasn't going to do much because Vance totally swerved it, and started beating the shit out of him.
The cops were called as I dragged Vance out of the store before they came. They followed us as we ran and cut a sharp turn.

"Go Home I'll meet ya there in a bit, ima out run em." He informed looking around for the cops.
I ran off to go to the house and after a couple hours of waiting for Vance, I was afraid something had happened to him.

I couldn't tell my father because he was drunk, passed out in the kitchen floor, so I picked up the phone dialing 911.

My brother had been abducted September 23, 1977
That was last spring ...

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The mornings are always the same. New posters covering "Need a babysitter?" "Need a dog walker?" Signs with "missing child" posters. It was more and more each time. The most recent one was Bruce Yamada.

As I was going to walk into another boring day at school I saw my only friend at this school. Robin Arellano beating up yet another shit talking kid named after an animal. Moose.

"Goddamnit." I grunted under my breath.

I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder as I turned around to see a girl about the age of 10 or 11. "Uh hi?" I said confused.

"Your Eleanor Hopper, right? Your brother got kidnapped by the grabber!" She said in a strange enthusiastic voice.

"Thanks for bringing it up." I said looking at her smile fade as a boy about my age came jogging over. "Sorry, just ignore her." He awkwardly laughed as he anxiously gripped his tiny toy rocket.

I chuckled small of the thought of his toy. "No it's ok, I get it you probably have questions or something." I said with a small sigh turning around to face them.

"Yes, yes we do! Ok so when was-" the girl was cut off by her brother dragging her into the school as she was trying to fight from his grip.

"No Finn let go! Stop- let me just-" I heard from the girl as they approached the school.

*DING* the bell screamed.
I walked into my first period sitting myself in the back row next to Robin and his gushing knuckles.

"Dude .. your getting it everywhere" I said in a disgusted voice narrowing my eyebrows down.

"Yea yea I know, I'll go to the bathroom after this period." He said rolling his eyes scoffing.

"Good, cause I don't think I could stare at that any longer." I chuckled softly As Robin mocked me.

During all first period I couldn't stop thinking about that boy with the rocket. Normally I would have a whole bunch of topics flowing around in my head, but why is a random boy I met an hour ago swimming around in my thoughts.

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As the school day went by in a flash, Robin and I were walking out of the building as two familiar faces come towards us.

"Hey Finn, what's happening" Robin smiled.

"You know, just keeping on keeping on I guess." He replied with a blank stare as the four of us walked in unison.
"Yo El, did I ever introduce you to finney and his little sister gwenny blake?" Robin asked me as I saw the sibling heads poke to the side staring at me.

"Uh, no but I know of them. That's the girl who asked about my dead brother and that's the toy rocket boy." I said bluntly with a slight smirk on my lips from the comment I made.

The two of them didn't seem so amused whatsoever.

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As we approached the Blake house, I studied its features. I then realized I only lived 5 houses down. As I looked through the open window I saw a middle aged man sitting in the sofa with a beer. He was definitely drained wasted.

His mouth and eyebrows would twitch. As I examined the man that I assume is their father I looked down to his other hand .. It was a belt.

But I don't think I was the only one who noticed. As I looked toward finney with sort of a worried look, he was petrified. "Shit" he mumbled quietly under his breath. He sighed before hanging his arm around his sister tightly and walking up the steps entering the house.

"C'mon, let's get going." Robin said without a worry.
I walked beside him not taking my eyes off of the window as I saw their dad stand up holding the belt in clutch.