BRANCE + RINNEY

Rinney - The Reunion (8)

Vance and Bruce walked down the streets of North Denver with scowls on their faces. Rage fueled both of them. Rage purely from Robin Arellano. As soon as the two boys came across the orange two-story house, they looked at each other and nodded.
—

Vance knocked loudly on the door in front of him. His body shook with rage. Bruce stood behind him, hands balled into tight fists. There was no car outside of the house, the boys assumed no parents were home. Even better.

A loud "Coming!" was heard from inside the house. There was some rattling from inside before the door swung open. Robin was smiling at first, then it dropped quickly. Before he could say anything, a fist connected with his jaw.

Now, Robin could fight. He could fight good. But Robin has never fought Vance. Never had the need to. Now he does.

When Robin realized he'd just been punched, he took a step back and collided his fist into Vance's face. Vance stumbled back, his back hitting Bruce's chest. Robin closed the front door and stepped out in front of the two boys.

Bruce stepped forward and clenched his fists. Robin swung at him. Bruce dodged it with little effort and kicked Robin directly in his stomach. When Robin doubled over to clutch his stomach, Vance gained his composure and punched him once more in the face. The three boys went back and forth punching and kicking each other until Robin was coughing up blood, Vance had a set of bruises around his jaw and on his arms, and Bruce was nearly unconscious. 

Vance and Robin glared at each other.

"Stay the fuck away from Finn. Got it?"

Robin laughed.

"Tell him that."

And with that, Robin walked back inside his home.
_

Vance had to carry Bruce back home bridal-style. The boy could barely walk, let alone see with all the blood smeared on his face, so Vance decided to do him a favor. When Vance finally got the two of them home, Finn was awake and cooking in the kitchen. The small boy gasped when he caught sight of the other two.

"What the hell happened. What did you guys do?"

Vance rolled his eyes and laid Bruce down on the sofa. After taking an ice pack and pain medicine back to the boy, Vance finally looked back to Finn.

"We went to go fight Robin."

Finn stopped stirring the pasta he was cooking and looked at Vance in horror.

"You what?"

Vance looked at Finn in confusion before an annoyed expression replaced the look on his face.

"We went to go fight Robin. I'm pretty sure Bruce looks better than he does."

Vance slightly laughed but stopped when Finn shook his head. Finn took the pot of pasta off the burner, strained it, then resumed making it.

"You guys shouldn't have done that."

Vance looked at Finn dumbfounded, a twinge of anger tugging from inside of him.

"And why not?" A groggy, distant voice asked.

Finn and Vance looked in Bruce's direction before Finn shook his head once more.

"It was pointless."

Now Vance was angry.

"The fuck do you mean it was 'pointless'? The dude hurts you Finn. He physically hurts you. I don't see you doing anything about it so I decided to." Vance seethed out.

Finn finished the pasta. He turned to Vance, who must've realized what he had said, then ascended up the stairs.
_

One thing Finn hated was crying in front of others.

Instead of going to Vance's room as he usually would, Finn veered right to go in the bathroom. Once he was in there, he started to cry. It reminded him of when this happened only a couple of days ago. Finn sobbed harder, curling into a fetal position on the floor underneath his body.

Vance was right. Finn didn't protect himself. He always needed someone to protect him. All because he couldn't stand up for himself.

Finn sobbed harder. His chest tightened and pushed at his heart that beat violently inside of him.

Why couldn't he protect himself. Vance did it. Bruce did it. Robin did it.

Finn's chest started to hurt. His lungs started to burn and he gasped out.

"Finn open the door."

Vance was on the other side.

"Just leave me alone."

Finn thought he got his wish until the doorknob started to rattle. There was something inside of the lock slot. Finn sat up out of his position, wincing when his chest started to burn. The door clicked, signaling that it had been unlocked, and it forcefully was pushed open. Finn shut his eyes, putting his face between his knees and wrapping his arms around himself.

"Finn. Look at me."

Finn didn't move. His arms wrapped tighter around his body.

A sigh was heard in front of him. It sounded like someone had sat down. Finn hesitantly lifted his head up, only to where his eyes would be seen, and was met with the face of Vance Hopper. Finn wanted to cry again. This whole thing was his fault. Finn turned his head towards the wall, avoiding the pair of eyes that stared at him.

A phone rang loudly, startling both boys in the room. Vance was going to go check it out when Bruce's voice was heard from downstairs.

"Finn! It's for you!"