doll face - vance hopper x plus size!reader (prequel to cariño)

chapter five

it was official. we were in love. there's something about knowing you're in love and actually saying it. after that night we were more inseparable than we had been the past two months. wow. two months. everything was happening so fast, but with us, i don't know. it just felt right.

of course, i was still with finney every friday night. no boy, no matter how in love with him i was, could keep me away from my best friend. no matter how endlessly he teased me about vance, and no matter how endlessly i  teased him about donna, finney and i were bonded for life. that's why, when vance asked me the lifechanging question, i went straight to finney.

i tried my best to catch my breath as i knocked on finney's front door. i had run about a half a mile in under three minutes, so i was basically dying when he opened the door and looked down at me, an eyebrow raised in confusion. "finn," i gasped, standing up straight and taking on huge final breath in. "i need your help with something." i said, barging into his house and pushing past him as i slowly headed toward the kitchen for water. "okay..." he replied, closing the door and eyeing me suspiciously as he turned in my general direction. after i caught my breath for real and drank about a gallon of water, i slumped down onto one of the chairs at the kitchen table, and finney followed suit. "what's up?" he asked, opening a yoo-hoo.

"vance wants to leave." i stated, still partially in shock from when he told me himself, just thirty minutes ago. "leave? leave where? what do you mean?" he asked, not quite comprehending it. "he wants to leave town. dropout of school, ditch his family. and he wants me to come with him." finney looked serious for a second before bursting out into a fit of laughter. after he was done, we just stared at each other, then he got serious again. "wait, you can't be seriously considering this, n/n." i scoffed and crossed my arms. "why not?" he made an "are you kidding me?" face and leaned further back into the chair. "because you're seventeen and you still have a year of school. because your parents would die if you left. because i  would die if you left." i looked down and frowned a little. "yeah. that's why i was thinking that, i don't know, maybe you could come with?" finn had wanted to run away for years, the only thing stopping him was- "gwen." he whispered before looking up at me. "i can't leave gwen. i won't do it." he took in a shaky breath and continued. "if i knew she'd be safe, i'd say yes in a heartbeat, but you and i both know that she wouldn't be." i nodded. he was right, he couldn't leave gwen, and frankly, neither could i. she was my little sister, too. i had to take care of her just as much as finney did. i wanted to.

i sucked in a breath and stood up. "you're right. you're so right, finn. you always are. i need to tell him no, and also, beg him to stay." he looked up at me and nodded. then he stood up, walked over to me, and took my hands in his. "don't ever let him take you away from me." i cracked a small side grin as a single tear fell down my cheek. "wouldn't even dream of it, kid." and with that, i left. off to find the boy i loved and tell him something i really didn't want to tell him.

i found him where i knew i would, at the ellison gas n go. he was in the corner playing pinball, of course, when i entered the shop. i approached him slowly, but before i could i saw a kid get pushed into the pinball machine. this upset vance, so i could only assume the shove made the ball go down the out lane. he looked up at the kids who had won him his loss and picked the one who had been shoved up by his shirt collar. "you motherfucker!" he yelled. "you fucked with my game!" he then proceeded to beat the ever-loving shit out of the two boys. one pulled out a switchblade, but a knife wasn't going to stop vance hopper. he managed to get the best of both the boys and even took the blade. he carved something into one of their arms and stepped back, flipping them off with both of his hands before returning to the pinball machine. i ran up to him and grabbed the back of his jean vest, yanking him toward me. "what the fuck?" he yelled, not knowing it was me, he turned to face me and his expression softened. mine, however, didn't. "'what the fuck?', yourself!" i shouted. he knit his eyebrows together and stared at me. "what?" was all he could manage to speak. "'what?' you just beat the shit out of two kids because of a fucking pinball game, that's what!" i was growing angrier by the second. "they made me fuck up my game, y/n. i was about to beat my high score." he replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. as if it justified his actions. i scoffed and nodded. "i see." was the last thing i said before storming out. "y/n!" he called after me, but before he could follow me, the police, who i could only assume the cashier called after the knife was pulled, came in and took vance away. all i could do in that moment was stare at him through the squad car window and cry tears of frustration, crossing my arms and shaking my head.