𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲 • 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

chapter five

    bruce slides into the booth, sitting beside vance. he fidgets with his straw and glances between the other three. they immediately dive into conversation, but bruce wasn't really listening. vance's words — and actions — were repeatedly running through his head. although, he's shook out of his thoughts when the three start getting louder. "pleaseee, finn? come on, just a sip—" finn shakes his head. "no. its mine." he says sternly, crossing his arms. although, that was a bad idea on his part, because robin took that opportunity to grab his milkshake and move it away from him so he could get a drink. "robin!" finney glares and he attempts to reach for it, but robin moved it to the other side of the table. vance was just laughing at the two. "you guys are gonna spill your milkshakes-" bruce speaks up.
    they both look at him. "no we won't." robin rolls his eyes, and finn takes the opportunity to steal robins milkshake. "hey!" robin glares. "you started this!" finney sticks his tongue out. as the younger two continue to bicker, vance turns to face bruce. "hey, what are you gonna be doing this weekend?" bruce looks at him. "oh! i have a baseball game." he smiles. he starts to invite vance, but then stops himself. he doubts vance would want to come. i mean, why would he? bruce doesn't want to accidentally pressure him into coming, then vance would just be bored the whole time, would he find bruce boring after that? would he wa— "helloooo?" vance was a hand in front of bruce's face. "anybody in there?"
    "huh? oh—" bruce clears his throat. "sorry, what did you say?" a light blush crosses his cheeks, from embarrassment. he was never this bad about zoning out. "i asked what time your game was? and what day." bruce visibly brightens up at that. was vance interested? he smiles. "saturday at two!" vance nods, a small lopsided grin on his face. "cool, i'll be there." bruce looks back at his milkshake — he was sure his face was more red. he knew it was stupid, but the little things really pleased him. he played with the straw in his milkshake, his smile growing.
vance checks his phone, and then frowns. "i needa get home. it was nice hanging with you guys, though." he offers a warm smile to the other two, and bruce moves so vance can get out. bruce hesitates. "uh- maybe i could walk you home?" he offers. bruce nods. "yeah, sure. i'd really like that." he looks at robin and finn. "try not to cause too much trouble while we're gone, yeah?" finn rolls his eyes. "we don't cause trouble!" and robin sticks his tongue out. "yeah, yeah, whatever. have fun, lovebirds." he says jokingly of course, but it left the other two flustered messes. god— they were really oblivious, bruce thought.
the walk to vance's house was silent. bruce wasnt exacrly sure what to say, and it was kind of hard to come up with a conversation starter when he was panicking over vance holding his hand — again. he clears his throat. "so, uhm, you don't live in the dorms?" bruce finally speaks up. "nah. i'd rather stay at home so i can be with my brother after classes." he smiles. "it's kind of a pain in the ass to walk every day, though."
"you don't have a car?" vance shakes his head. "nope. cant afford one. i'm working on saving up for one, though." bruce frowns. "cant your parents buy you one?" he asks, to which vance shakes head again. "well, my moms— you know." he visibly tenses after saying it. "and my dad.. he's not exactly present, to say the least." bruce swallows. "oh." is all he says in reply. what was he supposed to say that? he bites his lip. he didn't know what he was supposed to say, but he definitely could've come but with something better than 'oh'. "i'm sorry." he mutters out. vance glances to him, shaking his head again. "no, no, don't be. its not like you killed my mom." he lets out a small chuckle.
bruce looks at him, in shock, his mouth slightly agape. when vance sees the expression on bruce's face, he can't help a smile. "i'm sorry, i'm sorry- i shouldnt have made that joke-" despite his apologies, amusement is clear on his face and in his voice. although bruce was still slightly shocked, he was glad to have lightened the mood. vance stops walking. "this is my place." bruce looks at the house. it wasn't what he expected. but, he wasn't really sure what he had expected, anyway. vance turns to bruce, as if he was about to say something, but the fromt door flies open and a little boy comes running towards them. he practically jumps onto vance. vance barely catches him. "ah— griffin, what did i tell you about doing that without warning?" he reprimands him, but there was no sign of anger on his face.
this vance was so much different than the vance bruce had seen at school. it was weird — but a good weird. bruce liked this vance. a lot. maybe a little too much. bruce watches the two talk. a small, content, smile making its way onto his face. eventually vance sets the boy — griffin — down. "alright, you go on ahead, and i'll be inside in a couple minutes, okay?" griffin nods eagerly, smiling. he skips back into the house, and vance turns to face bruce — again. "sorry- that's my little brother." he chuckles. bruce nods. "i guessed, he looks like you." vance smiles. "yeah- he looks a lot like our mom." a sad smile crosses his face before
he shakes his head, as if getting rid of his thoughts. "anyways, i had a lot of fun today." he smiles at bruce — a happy, genuine one this time. bruce smiles back. "i did too. thanks for letting me come along with you and your friends—" vance puts his hand on bruce's shoulder. "of course. you're my friend, and you might as well be apart of the group now." as much as he wanted that sentence to make him happy, it didn't. friend. just a friend. that's all he was. "thanks for today, bruce." he leans forward and gives bruce a kiss on the cheek, then he turns and heads inside quickly.
bruce stands there — in shock. blush spreads across his face and he's sure he's grinning like an idiot. he felt like he could squeal. or jump up and down. maybe both. he didnt of course, people could see him— but he was internally. god, he really had it bad for vance hopper.
——————————————————
word count: 1,126
IM SOSOSOSOSOSOO SORRY FOR HOW LONG THE CHAPTERS ARE TAKING 😞😞😞 MY WRITERS BLOCK IS SO BAD 😭