BRANCE + RINNEY

Brance - 'I've Been Living, But I've Never Felt Alive'

"Ask me why my heart's inside my throat
I've never been in love, I've been alone
Feel like I've been living life asleep
Love so strong it makes me feel so weak"
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Vance woke up, squinting his eyes as sunlight poked at his pupils. He quickly got up and closed the shutters of his bedroom window, smiling when the sunlight was no longer seen. He sighed, slipping back into his bed and underneath his comforter. He shut his eyes, turning onto his side and trying his best to call back to sleep. Vance groaned when he felt no trace of sleep left in his body. He sat upright, angrily tossing the covers to the side of him and stretching. "Guess I'll have to get up now." Vance moved his feet off the bed, once again letting them touch the cold wooden floor beneath him. He didn't open the blinds back up, knowing the early morning sunlight would irritate to him to no end. Vance walked to his closet, taking out a pair of white socks and an outfit for the day. After changing, he quietly opened his door and crept downstairs to the kitchen. Vance's mom, who was sitting at the kitchen table drinking her morning coffee, looked up at her son in surprise. "You're up early today." She smiled softly at him, stifling a laugh at his bed hair. "Couldn't fall back to sleep" Vance began searching through the cabinets for something small to eat, grinning when his eyes landed upon a granola bar. "Oh, well I'm going to be gone most of today. Work and what not. Could you go to the store for me?" Vance's mom smiled at her son sweetly, sliding a piece of paper towards him. Vance took a bite of his granola bar, nodding at his mom silently. She stood up, quickly giving her a son a hug before leaving the house for the day. Vance sighed, grabbing his mother's forgotten mug of coffee and dumping it out before washing it. He glared at the sunlight peaking through the window across from him, groaning quietly when he realized he'd be having to go outside.
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Vance grabbed his skateboard from where it was placed on the side of his home, slowly stepping onto it and making his way to the grocery store.

As the store came close enough for Vance to touch with an extended arm, he quickly got off of his skateboard and placed it in a shopping cart. He entered the store with said cart, fishing the list his mother had given him out of his pocket and scanning over the items. Turning a corner, the blonde grabbed a carton of milk and placed it into his cart. He took a look at the list again, taking his eyes off of the cart he was still pushing.

"Ow! What the fuck." Vance looked up at the person who had spoken, confusion crossing his face when his eyes fell upon Bruce Yamada. "Bruce? Are you okay?" The boy in question turned towards the blonde, a sarcastic smile on his face. "No, yeah I'm perfectly fine. You just ran over my foot dude." Vance's face reddened slightly, an embarrassed smile making way on his face. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't watching what I was doing." The blonde waved the list in his hand around slightly, laughing softly as he did so. Bruce nodded his head. "Well, I'll leave you to it. Make sure you watch where you're going though before another person ends up like me." Bruce laughed at his own statement, jokingly pouting while rubbing his wounded ankle. Vance rolled his eyes at the boy. "Yeah, whatever. Sorry again." He began to walk away from the other boy before he heard his voice again. "Actually, are you free today? We could, um, hangout? If you're free to do so that is." Vance turned around, smiling at Bruce who had a pink tint to his cheeks. "Yeah, that'd be nice."
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Bruce had told Vance to meet him at the park around 5:30. It was currently 4:15 and both boys were stressing about the planned hangout.

Bruce had thrown on several different outfits, groaning in annoyance when none of them seemed to fit the style Vance had. They didn't agree on matching outfits or styles, this was just something Bruce had chosen to do. He slid on a green turtleneck, black cargos, and green converse. Looking into the mirror, he sighed at his reflection. This'll have to do.

Vance had on a dark green sweater, black jeans, and dark green vans. He was lazily sprawled out on his bed, eyes staring at the ceiling above. He hoped he wouldn't end up saying something stupid to Bruce while hanging out with him, not wanting to lose a friend.

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When 5:20 rolled around, both boys rushed out of their houses and to the park.

Bruce and Vance arrived at the same time, both out of breath and bent over with their hands on their knees. Bruce caught his breath first, laughing at the situation him and the other boy were in. "Uh, hey." Vance stood up straight, face red from running. "Hey." He laughed as well, running a hand through his hair awkwardly. Bruce pointed at the swings a little ways away, motioning for the blonde to follow him there. Vance complied, walking slightly behind the other boy.

The two boys sat on the swings, swaying back and forth slowly. "So, why'd you want to hangout? I mean, I don't have a problem with it but why me?" Bruce looked at Vance, confusion evident on his face. "Why not you?" Vance looked towards him as well, smiling at the question. The blonde scanned over Bruce, then himself. "We're matching." Bruce looked at both of their outfits, smiling wide afterwards. "I tried my best to find an outfit that would match y-" He cut himself off, his face quickly turning pink as his eyes looked downwards. "That would match what Bruce?" Now, Vance might not get straight A's at school, but he wasn't dumb. Bruce shook his head, his hair swaying with his movements. "Nothing, it's nothing." Vance smiled softly at him, moving a finger towards the boy's chin and lifting it up so their eyes met. "You wanted to match with me, didn't you? It's okay Bruce, it's cute." Bruce's mouth formed an "o" shape, his face becoming even more red at the compliment. Vance laughed, removing his finger from the boy's chin and beginning to swing fully. Bruce smiled at him, mimicking his actions.

The boys continued to talk and swing for the next 3 hours, only stopping when the sky grew dark and the world around them grew quiet.

"I'll walk you home." Vance stood from the swings, offering a hand out to the other boy. Bruce accepted it, standing as well as beginning to walk with Vance. Their hands stayed intertwined, neither one of the boys wanting to let go. Sadly, they had to when Bruce's home came into view. Vance looked at Bruce, both of their faces pink from the physical contact and the cold night air. "I had fun today. With you." Bruce nodded his head, a soft smile on his face as he looked into the blue eyes belonging to the other boy. "I did as well. You know what would've made it better though?" Vance cocked an eyebrow up, gasping quietly when Bruce's lips came in contact with his own. Bruce pulled away quite quickly, scared that Vance was grossed out. He sighed in relief when he was pulled close and his lips once again met with the blonde's. When they pulled away, both boys smiled at each other.

"Yeah, definitely made tonight better."
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