《Captivated by Hatred》(Vance hopper)

I.A

One of vances friends walked out of the grab n go bathroom to see vance playing the pinball machine and a puddle of blood behind him. His friend sighed as he walked over to vance and stood next to the machine.

"who did what?" his friend asked and vances attention didn't waver.

"I don't know, stupid Arellano girl beat up a kid for spilling something on her. stupid if you ask me" he said as his fingers clicked along the buttons. His friend looked at the blood and shrugged.

"she's lucky she's pretty, her mouth is foul" his friend said. that made Vance feel off. he didn't know why but he didn't like his friend saying that. Vance scoffed.

"as pretty as a toad" Vance muttered under his breath.

"dude, if looks could kill. she could slaughter this whole town in a second" his friend said as the store attendant walked over with a bucket and a mop. Vance gave the store attendant a nod and continued his game. Vance rolled his eyes and kept playing the game.

"yeah right" he said and the ball slipped through the flippers and his game ended. he groaned and slapped the side of the game and turned to his friend who was eating chips. Vance snatched the chips and began eating all the big ones.

"duuddeee" his friend said while whining and he threw a look at him that shut his friend up quick. he looked at the ground where the candy and the broken Walkman still were. he groaned and picked up the walkman and candy.

"you'd think for someone 'pretty' she sure doesn't have manners" He said as he walked back to the candy isle and put them back. He's been coming to the grab n go for years, playing the same game and getting the same snacks. zots or sour fundip. he's friends with the guy who runs the shop. it's a older man, probably his late 40s, early 50s. He cared for vance like he was his uncle. Vance would help around the store in return. Vance looked at the walkman to see the initials 'I.A' carved in it. he studied it for a second but soon shoved it in his pocket. he walked back to the pin ball machine and began playing again  'stupid "pretty girl" Melina' he thought to himself as his game started.

~~~♧♧♧~~~

Melina stormed back into the house and her uncles head snapped to look at what caused the noise. He saw her shirt and she seemed very angry. she yanked her shoes off and stomped to her room. she slammed her door and grabbed some new clothes from her drawer. She grabbed a towel and went to her bathroom and started the shower. Her uncle watched as she stomped her way back through the hallway and slammed her door. he sighed and got up from the couch. as he walked through the hall he saw Robin peak his head through his door.

"what was that all about?" Robin asked looking at the now closed door of his cousin. his uncle shrugged and leaned on the door frame as the sound of the shower started.

"I don't know, but can you ask her when she gets out?" He said and Robin groaned.

"why can't you do it?" Robin asked and his uncle looked at him.

"I don't wanna poke the monster! plus, she likes you more" he said walking back to the front room. "have fun with that Robin" his uncle said, grabing his keys and walking ro the front door. the sound of the door closing was heard and Robin groaned. he walked to the kitchen and began making a small snack for Melina knowing food could always cheer her up.

~~◇◇~~

Melina stood infront of her sink in a graphic t and some shorts with her wet hair in a ponytail. she stared at the shirt as she scrubbed the white shirt that was now stained purple from a blue and red slushy. she sighed loudly as she continued to scrub. someone knocked on her door and she looked at it.

"Entra" she yelled from her sink and the door slowly opened. Robin walked in with a plate of food and a cup of juice.

"I come bearing peace offerings" he said setting them on her dresser. she laughed and kept scrubbing.

"thanks binny" she said before huffing at her shirt. she wasn't getting anywhere. Robin walked over and looked at the shirt.

"who did that?" He asked as he turned off the water. Melina turned the water back on.

"the skunk from school" she said as she continued scrubbing. Robin turned the water off again.

"what'd you do to him?" Robin asked and she turned to Robin and looked at him with an 'are you serious?' face and he just looked at her.

"left a mark" she said turning the water back on. Robin sighed and turned the water back off.

"your going to scrub your hands raw. there's no cleaning that shirt" he said and she sighed.

"I know. it's just-" she said before pulling the soaked shirt out of the sink. "it was issa's. I don't want to just get rid of it." she said as she looked at the shirt. her voice cracking a bit and Robin nodded. he rubbed her back a bit and looked at it. she scrunched it up and tried to squeeze all the water out into the sink. she hung it over the side of the shower and turned back to Robin. he thought for a second.

"we could tie dye it?" He said hopefull. she nodded and thought about it for a second.

"we could" she said walking out of her bathroom to see a plate with a piece of toast and some fruit. she grabbed the plate and sat down on her bed happily. Robin laughed at her mood change at the sight of food. she looked at him and rolled her eyes. "what? food is good, it doesn't let me down" she said before bringing the toast up to her mouth and taking a bite. Robin sat next to her and took a strawberry and she slapped his shoulder.

"what! I brought it for you, I think I deserve a strawberry" He said and she laughed as she kept eating the snack.

"thanks binny" she said and Robin smiled and ruffled her hair. he stood up and began walking to the door.

"Oh yeah, gwen and finney want to come over. is that fine with you?" He asked and Melina smiled wide. She loved hanging out with gwen she was a very fun and sassy little girl.

"of course" she said finishing a strawberry. Robin nodded and left.

"see you later Millie" he said and she nodded. she got up and put the plate on her dresser again and drank some juice. she took her hair down and ruffled her hair in an attempt to fix it. she sighed and looked at the shirt hanging down from the bar holding the curtain. she looked over to her wall that had pictures littered everywhere. she looked at one picture in particular. A picture of her, Robin and her sister. Isabella Arellano. her sister was a few years older than her, she went missing two years ago and no one's been able to find her. she's accepted it and moved on a fair amount. her hope still there that she's somewhere alive, but her hope was slowly dying. she sighed and walked over to her bed and plopped down.

"I miss you issa" she said looking at her ceiling. her room getting a little bit colder, not much for her to notice. but it got a bit colder.