Right Next Door | Vinnie Hacker

03

Today I was being forced to hang out with Vinnie, our parents think we need to 'get along.' That's not going to be easy.

I hate him, he hates me. End of story.

But, I guess I'll take another go at it, since I'm forced to anyway.

"Hurry up! Let's go!" My mom yells from downstairs.

"I'm hurrying!" I yell back finishing getting ready.

If I'm going to be forced to hang out with my enemy, I'm gonna look good doing it.

"Coming!" I say running down the stairs.

"Wheres Vera?" I question.

"Right here!" She says from the top of the stairs.

"Hey." I say smiling as she walks down.

"Hi." She replies.

We walk next door and I'm dreading every moment of what today will be. I'm glued to my phone not wanting to come to reality knowing he's apart of it.

"Val, snap out of it!" My mom says pushing me into the house.

"Sorry." I say slowly walking to the couch.

I feel someone flick my ear, knowing it was Vinnie.

"I just got here!" I say turning my head towards him.

"So?" He says shrugging his shoulders.

"You better stop, our parents are forcing us to 'be nice.'"

"Not gonna happen." He scoffs.

"Oh, yes it will." Mrs. Hacker says.

"Whatever." He rolls his eyes sitting next to me on the couch.

I'm still glued to my phone not caring he's right there.

But then he snatches my phone out of my hands.

"Give that back!" I yell as he dangles it out of my reach.

"Shorty." He says watching me jump in attempt to grab it.

He runs away with it, going through it.

"Ooh, who's this?" He clicks on a contact waving it in front of me.

"No one." I say crossing my arms.

He scrolls through my messages before I can take my phone back.

"What the fuck? That's too far bro." I hear a familiar voice say.

It was Evelyne.

"Vinnie, why would you do that? Give me your phone." She says holding her hand out.

"No." He says.

"Fine, guess you want to get yelled at, mom! Vinnie took Valerie's phone and went through personal messages!" She yells.

"Dammit." He mumbles.

"Vincent!" Mrs. Hacker says disappointed.

"She was sent here so you two can get along, and she can't be here for 5 minutes before you torment her?" She says.

"Sorry." He says looking at me.

"Now, just get along!" She says sternly before walking off.

•••

It was now 3:23pm and me and Vinnie were doing.. Okay..

He hasn't tormented me since this morning but we also haven't been necessarily getting along.

We haven't talked much since then and have been almost avoiding each other all day.

I was mostly hanging out with Eve, which was not why I was here.

I decided to go talk to him, because I'd like to end the life long feud between us, but how?

"Hi." I say approaching him.

"Hi?" He says clearly confused.

He backs up a bit scared I was going to pull something but I simply start a conversation.

"So uhm.." I start, "I'm tired of this." I say as he furrows his eyebrows.

"I'm tired of us fighting." I continue.

"I just want us to somehow get along. We don't have to be best-friends, but I want to be civil." I finish.

"Deal." He says,

"Mkay." I say starting to walk off when,

"Uhm, Val?" He says as I turn around.

"I think I broke you, you never call me anything but Valerie." I say sarcastically.

"No. You didn't break me." He laughs.

"Okay, so then why the sudden name change?" I ask.

"I don't know, we're 'civil' now, I guess I don't hate you anymore.. So you're Val now." He replies.

I nod as I walk off.