Field - ★ - Brance

- Part Five -

Bruce sat on the side of his bed. He hadn't gone to school for the past three days. He didn't want to talk to anybody. The fatigue in his body had helped him convince his parents that he was sick. Instead of being sick he just felt helpless. He didn't want to face Vance again. The past few days had just been a mix of confusion and anger. The bullying had been happening for a while, and sure he had been punched a few times, but it had never been this bad. Bruce spent most of his time reading or studying.

Vance on the other hand grew more and more interested on where Bruce had disappeared to. It was Thursday and nobody had any clue where Yamada had went. He hadn't heard anything about him. The only thing he knew was that he was absent. Vance had left school earlier and wandered around the neighbourhood. His hands where in his pockets and he groggily walked through the streets. He had already passed his house but had decided to keep walking so he'd have an easier time thinking about things. 

Looking to his left he noticed a house. The mailbox read "Yamada Household" . Vance turned his head to the house. It was a suburban house, it was bigger than his. The wood on the outside was painted white and the roof was a spruce brown. He stood on the sidewalk, trying to decide whether to ring the doorbell or not. There where no cars in the front and the house was seemingly empty. After taking a deep breath Vance jogged up the porch leading to the front door. He rang the doorbell and waited eagerly.

Bruce was home alone. He jolted up after hearing the ring echo through the house. "Is it Amy? No, it's way too early. She isn't out of school yet."  Bruce got up from his bed and left his room, calmly making his way over to the door. He opened it a bit, but as soon as he saw who stood in front of his door he took a few steps back. "Yamada. Where have you been?" Vance said. His tone was stern but it didn't reveal the emotions he was experiencing. Bruce glanced at his face an started to speak. "At home." He didn't know why Vance was here but he wasn't excited to find out. Vance was in deep thought for a second before speaking again.

"When are you coming back?" Bruce stood in the door frame, bewildered. Why had Vance Hopper shown up to his house? Vance waited for him to answer but after a silence began speaking again. "Thanks for trying to help me on the test." He still didn't know what to answer, but he had now noticed Vance's nervous stance. He saw this as an opportunity to tell him off. "Look, I don't know why you're here but you need to leave. I want you to stay away from me." Bruce's voice broke as he said that. Vance was taken aback by what he had said. He swiftly turned around and jogged back down the porch, quickly making his way to the sidewalk and walking out of Bruce's view. 

Vance paced away from Bruce's house. "The nerve of that boy. How dare he just avoid me. Especially if I was trying to be nice for once in my life." He sped up his walk. "It's unfair. I was trying to apologise." Vance grew more and more agitated. He wanted to prove to himself that he really wasn't such a bad person. Sure, the kids at school are scared of him but they're also impressed, right? He stood still on the sidewalk. He considered turning around, telling Yamada that it was unfair. It was unfair that he had sent him away. All he had done couldn't have been that bad?

Vance decided to sit down on the curb of the sidewalk. He realised that after that whole interaction he still had no clue on why Yamada hadn't been at school. Bruce might've been harsh to him, but that was just because they hated each other. Because Bruce hated him. "The reason Bruce hadn't been at school at all was probably because he was sick. Not everything revolves around me, I barely even know him."

He got up after convincing himself there must've been other reasons. He stopped by Grab N' Go to play some pinball and after a few hours decided to go home. It was already dark out and it was cold. The hoodie and denim jacket weren't enough to keep him warm exactly, but he had been through worse. Vance paced home and went to bed. He made sure to set his alarm on a good time for a change. He wanted to be at school tomorrow to make sure he could check what was up with Bruce. And if he wouldn't show up again he had made up in his mind that he'd go past the house again. He didn't care what that loser said to him, as long as his parents weren't there, there was no issue.

As soon as he heard his alarm go off he already regretted it. School starts way too early. He sat up and cracked his back. He wandered around his room as he was getting ready. Vance never took a bag with him. He felt it ruined his look. The goal was to look like a punk, not like some nerd who was more than prepared to study. That's the last thing he wanted to do.
Most of the days he only attended so he wouldn't get another suspension. The last suspension had gotten him a good beating from his father and that was something he was not looking forward to. He trotted out of his room quietly and left through the front door.

He walked down the streets and reached the entrance of the school. Unlike normally he had finally arrived way before school started. He was making his way to the entrance, enjoying the fact there were no groups of people looking him down, as he noticed a person sitting on a bench. The boy had his face burrowed in a book, but Vance had immediately recognised him. 
"Yamada."
Bruce lifted his head up and met his eyes with Vance's eyes. He frowned and didn't break the eye contact between them. As he stood in front of Yamada he suddenly forgot everything he had thought about for the past couple days. Something about his face made all his plans on what to say quickly disappear. Bruce carefully looked at him, waiting for what he would say next. Instead Vance opted for the thing he always seemed to do. He walked away.