Field - ★ - Brance

- Part Seven -

Vance looked around awkwardly. He had never liked talking to others unless it was to let them know he was about to beat the shit out of them. Bruce had crossed his arms. He looked him in his eyes as he waited for an answer. "Well? Why did you come here?" He pushed again. 
"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry." Vance mumbled out. Bruce took a second to process what he had just said. "You're sorry?" Vance nodded his head in response. 

Bruce didn't know what to say. He stared at the carpet on his floor. He didn't even know exactly what he was apologising for. He assumed it was about him getting beat up, but why would he apologise for it this time? Why would he apologise? The two awkwardly stood in Bruce's room. The silence pushed on both of them, neither of them knowing what to say. "So, uhm, you like baseball?" He asked Yamada, trying to stop the eery silence. 

He looked back up. "You didn't know?" Of course he knew. Everyone knew Bruce was the best baseball player of the school, but being scared of yet another silence he tried lying. "No." Was all he said. For whatever reason he had put on his usual voice again, he had snarled that reply without even trying to. "Uhm, I play baseball. I actually have practice coming up tomorrow. I play at the baseball field near the school." Vance tried his hardest to seem interested in what Bruce was telling.

"Did you only come here to apologise? Is that all you had to say?" Bruce expected himself to be more angry about Vance showing up, but since he did nothing wrong for once he had no reason to be.
Before he had the chance to reply the door of Bruce's room opened. Both of them turned their heads and in the doorway stood Bruce's mom. She looked at Bruce and then looked at Vance. "Oh, I didn't know Bruce had company over. I'm sorry." She said, trying to hide the fact she was quite startled with this rough looking boy standing in her son's bedroom. 

Bruce's mom had always been a nice woman. Her and Bruce where never close but they had never had a strained relationship either. She was one of the reasons Bruce had strived so hard all these years. Her and his father. He did it to make his mom proud and he did it to not disappoint his father. Between the two his mom was his favourite, even though he would agree if someone would point out he is closer to his father. She was a caring mother, she just cared in ways other than words.

"Is he staying over for dinner?" The two boys glanced at each other before Vance turned to Mrs. Yamada. "I am, if that's convenient for you." Mrs. Yamada nodded and closed the door before walking back downstairs. Bruce snapped his head to Vance. "What the fuck was that about?" Vance shrugged. "I didn't want to decline." He said. "Great. Now we have to wait like half an hour plus after I have to have dinner with you." Bruce empathised the 'you' in that sentence. 

"I don't see an issue." Vance tried talking in a calmer tone. Normally he would've gotten mad but he couldn't now that he would have to stick around Bruce. Besides that he genuinely did feel sorry. In a way. He didn't know why but after not seeing Yamada that much he wanted to use this opportunity to get to know him more. He had no reason to, he knew that, but he didn't want to admit to himself that he was genuinely interested in getting to know Bruce more. 

Bruce figured getting mad had no use at the moment. "What do you want to do to pass the time." He asked Vance while turning his head away. "I don't know, what do you have to do?" Vance sat down on the side of the bed and after a second of hesitating Bruce sat down next to him. Bruce picked at his fingernails a bit. "Not much." He mumbled to himself. "What do you normally do here?" Vance furrowed his eyebrows. "I normally study or I go downstairs to the TV room" Vance huffed. "God, you're boring!" He exclaimed. Bruce shoved Vance's shoulder with his own as Vance chuckled a bit. 

"What do you normally do then?" Bruce asked. He had wondered that before. Vance was always in a fight of some sort but he had no clue what went on in Vance's home. "I play guitar mostly. Or I smoke." Bruce looked at Vance. "You play guitar? Are you good at it?" "I'm decent" Bruce looked back down and nodded. "That's impressive." 

_____

Bruce heard his mom call out from downstairs that dinner was ready. They both got up from the side of the bed and trotted down the stairs, Amy also following behind them. "He's still here?" She let out an annoyed groan, not even caring about the fact Vance could clearly hear her. Bruce quickly hushed her as Vance gave her a death glare.

They all walked into the dinner room, Mr and Mrs Yamada already being seated. Bruce's father looked up and gave Vance a sour look, Vance returning the favour. They sat down and everyone started eating. Bruce only looked at his plate, he was scared of Vance and he was also scared of what his father was thinking of a boy like Vance being at their dinner table. "So," Mr Yamada cleared his throat. "Who is this, Bruce?" Bruce lifted his head up a bit. "Oh, he's nobody, or well, his name is Vance, I'm," He kept on stammering. "I'm tutoring him. For math." Mr Yamada took another glance at Vance.

Silence fell over the entire table before Mr Yamada answered. "Oh. I see." It returned back to silence. Bruce wanted to sink away in that moment, he wanted the world to swallow him whole. He never hung out with any of his friends, and now he wasn't with just anyone, but he was sitting at his dinner table with Vance Hopper. The boy from his school everyone hated because they where so terrified of him. For very good reasons. 

Everyone had finished their plate and Bruce started helping his mother clear the table. Surprisingly Vance went along with it, even making small talk with his mom. Afterwards Bruce walked him to the door. "Your mother's food is good." Vance said. "I know." Bruce had started getting fed up from tonight. Nothing had went wrong but it was just this constant unshaken feeling of unease and nervousness. He just wanted to be alone to rest. 

Vance started putting his boots on. They didn't say anything to each other, Bruce had his arms crossed and watched as Vance prepared to leave.

Vance tied his laces back up. He wanted to ask Bruce to let him stay, to maybe actually tutor him. He just wanted to be there. To not have to return to his house. Vance stood up, he glanced at Bruce. Instead of opening the door and leaving he kept standing there. Yamada grew impatient with him. The two remained eye contact for a second before Vance snapped out of it and quickly turned around and opening the door. He gave Bruce a quick wave before leaving. Bruce instinctively waved back before the door closed. 

(1243 words)