BRANCE + RINNEY

Brance - Guilt of the Heart

Deep within a lie, you can find the truth. Deep within the truth, you can find a lie.
_

Vance had been ignoring Bruce since last week. He hadn't been ignoring any of the other boys. Why was he ignoring Bruce?

_

Bruce's mind was a mental maze. Every twist, every turn, there lied the unexpected. Vance's mind was more like a triple knotted shoelace. It may take a long time to unravel, but it eventually will unravel.

When Bruce had spotted Vance at his baseball game, way back in the upper bleachers, he was confused to say the least. Vance was never one to go to a baseball game. Not even if he was getting paid for it. He never saw the point of it. Vance, quite honestly, thought the sport was stupid. He had voiced this opinion to Bruce only a couple weeks back.

So why was he here?

When the game came to an end, Bruce went to go find Vance. Sadly, the blonde was nowhere to be seen.

Some days later, Vance was spotted near Bruce's locker. Bruce quickly made his way over to where the blonde stood but, much to his dismay, Vance had seemingly vanished before Bruce could interact with him.

Bruce didn't know what he was doing wrong. He didn't know what he did wrong either. One day him and Vance were best friends, able to talk about anything and everything, then the next day they weren't.

Bruce spent a lot of nights that he and Vance weren't talking crying in his bed, wishing somehow that Vance could feel how he was.

Bruce's wishes must've been answered. The day after he had cried his absolute hardest, his bed shaking violently as the sound of his sobs echoed off his bedroom walls, Vance came to school with dark colored, and very heavy, eye bags. His body looked paler than usual and he seemed to drag himself from class to class. The blonde didn't even say a word or make a move when someone had accidentally tripped and threw their books in to his stomach. Vance seemed to ignore the situation completely, dragging himself to his next class.

When lunch arrived, Bruce forced Vance to interact with him. He missed the blonde and he knows that the feeling was mutual. As soon as Vance entered the cafeteria, he was forcibly taken to a table and sat down.

"Where the fuck have you been Hopper?"

Bruce had said it so aggressively that even Vance was taken aback. When the boy didn't speak up, Bruce spoke again.

"Vance. I'm worried about you. Please talk to me."

'Vance's mind was more like a triple knotted shoelace. It may take a long time to unravel, but it eventually will unravel.'

Vance sighed. Bruce wanted to know what was bothering his best friend. But how would he feel after Vance explained himself?

'Bruce's mind was a mental maze. Every twist, every turn, there lied the unexpected.'

Vance decided he'd tell Bruce what was bothering him. But he wouldn't be completely honest about it.

"I like, no love someone. I'm in love with someone. You don't know her. She goes to a different school."

Bruce hadn't been expecting this. He hadn't been expecting to get his heart crushed that day. But all he could do was smile. All he could do was smile and tell Vance how happy he was for him. How he hoped that his relationship with the girl would work out. Bruce was absolutely destroyed.

A few days after Vance had 'confessed' to Bruce, Bruce received a phone call. It was from Vance. Bruce was told to pack an overnight bag and to come over in the next half an hour.

Vance had hung up before Bruce could decline.

When Bruce arrived to Vance's house, he was immediately dragged inside and brought to the boy's bedroom. Vance locked his door after the two had entered the room and looked over to Bruce with a small frown on his face. Bruce could tell Vance had been crying. His face was slightly pink and his eyes were glossed over. The blonde had also been sniffling occasionally. Bruce fought the urge to stand up and hug the boy.

"What's wrong Vance?"

Bruce had settled on asking that question rather than making the boy uncomfortable with sudden affectionate acts. Vance's bottom lip trembled ever so slightly as he spoke to the boy in front of him.

"Remember that girl I had told you about? The one I said I was in love with?"

Bruce wished he didn't remember. But since he did, he nodded his head at the blonde.

"There was. There isn't a girl. It was you Bruce. It's always been you. You're who I'm in love with."

'Deep within a lie, you can find the truth.'

Vance's words were tossed and thrown around in Bruce's mind. Vance had started sniffling, and hiccuping, and only then did the words fully sink in. Bruce's heart lurched in his chest, a feeling that could only be described as 'love' filling his insides. Bruce made his way over to the blonde, who was still sniffling and hiccuping, and kissed him softly. Vance took a deep breath, warm tears falling out of his eyes and down his cheeks.

"I love you too Vance Hopper. I am in love with you too."