CHAPTER 4
⌗ 𓂃 𖥔༌ ᰷ ﹅pizza and confrontation﹅ ᰷ 𖥔༌ 𓂃⌗
as I walked through the door with vance, I noticed the living room was empty.
"strange, finney and gwen are usually watching tv." I murmured to myself.
I headed to the kids' rooms to investigate. I knocked lightly on finn's door.
"come in," my brother replied.
I opened the door to find him and his friend robin sat on his bed with homework spread around them.
"hey, you two, watcha up to?" I asked, jutting my hip out and bending the opposite knee in a more comfortable position.
I heard vance moving behind me, wandering around the living room.
"your brother's tutoring me in math! he's so smart," robin smiled sweetly at me.
"he really is," I chuckled.
"smartness must run in the family cuz that outfit you've chosen really compliments your body!" the younger boy flirted. I always knew he had a crush on me, he didn't try to hide it.
"ok, elvin bishop," I joked. "i've got someone round with me so we'll be in my room. we'll get a pizza for dinner. vance is that good, pizza?"
I leaned over and called to vance. he turned around from inspecting our few family photos as I called him.
"yeah, pizza's good." he said, turning back around.
"y/n. is that vance hopper?" finney hissed.
"yes it is, I'm tutoring him. have fun you two!" I said, quickly walking out and heading to gwen's room.
"adiós mi amor!" robin called as I shut the door.
I turned back to vance.
"my room's just on the end, if you wanna get set up." I said with a smile.
I knocked lightly on gwen's door to give her the same news.
"hey, sweetie. finney's got tutor with robin and I've got tutor with vance so the tv all to yourself," I said. "also, pizza for dinner!"
"ok," gwen went back to playing with her doll house.
"great talk," I muttered.
vance laughed lightly at my joke as he passed me to get to my bedroom. I followed vance to my room as he dumped his bag on my bed and looked around.
"your room looks like you." he stated.
I furrowed my brows with a smile.
"yeah, same eyes," I laughed.
"no, I mean- it looks like your personality," he gazed around with a slight smile.
"right. let's start chem, what do you think you're struggling with most?" I perched on the side of my bed and gestured for vance to do the same.
he awkwardly sat down in a position that resulted in him having his back to me.
"uhm, vance? I can't see your face," I chuckled.
"sorry," he rearranged himself so he was sitting half-on-half-off the bed with one leg on the bed and one leg off.
"ok, just sit... like this," I rearranged myself so I was cross legged on my bed.
vance copied my actions so he was mimicking me. our knees touched slightly and I felt myself start to turn red. I looked to vance who had a wide-eyed stare fixed on my bedsheets. neither of us moved for a second and our awkward silence suffocated us. neither of us could move our legs without falling off of the bed... and I kinda didn't want to move, if I'm being honest.
"I don't get how dynamic equilibri-shit works." he finally said.
***
"y/n? robin and I are- ow dude! ...ok... ok, fine! I'm a little hungry, can we order pizza?" finney stood at my door, twiddling his thumbs.
"yeah, sure! you hungry?" I asked vance.
vance was currently lying back on my bed with his knees bent and hands covering his eyes. he was recovering from a little fit he was throwing cuz he didn't understand dynamic equilibrium and reversible reactions; which was basically him yelling in frustration and throwing his body backwards, then yelling cuss words at me when I giggled at his reaction.
"yes." he muttered, still angry about the science thing.
"gwen, ordering pizza now!" I called for gwen as the four of us walked through the hallway to the kitchen.
"double cheese, double cheese!" she ran out of her room, chanting excitedly.
she pulled out the pizza leaflet menu from the draw and pushed it into my hands, buzzing. I made my way over to the phone.
"ok, regular margarita double cheese for gwenny, large sun dried tomatoes for finney and robin, vance?" I turned to the blonde who was leaning on the counter beside the phone. he scanned the menu.
"large house total." he stated.
"but that has, like, every topping!" robin threw his hands up.
"I know."
"dude..."
"right, here we go..." I dialled the number for the pizza parlour.
"don sicily's pizzeria, can I take your order?"
"hi, can I get a regular margarita with double cheese, a large sun dried tomato, a large house total and a regular pepperoni?" I twirled the cord around my finger.
"yup. where's this to?"
"31, sunside road, please," I spoke.
"great. be there in 45." there was a click as the cashier hung up.
"45 minutes, kids. wanna take a break, vance?" the blonde nodded and stretched his arms upwards, his shirt riding up a little giving me a glimpse of his toned v-line. I quickly looked away to give him privacy but as I turned back to his face, I noticed his cocky, knowing smirk.
***
the kids sat around the kitchen table as they ate their pizzas while vance and I stood at the kitchen counter and leaned on the counter top.
"you're a good sister." vance said before taking another bite of his pizza.
"well, they need someone good in their lives. thank you, though," I smiled.
"who do you have?" he asked, finishing off his slice.
"I- what?..." I furrowed my brows.
"well, everyone needs someone good in their lives. who do you have?" I faltered at vance's question. while I stood their spluttering for a reply, vance took his finished pizza box to the trash.
who did I have? what kind of a question was that?
vance started walking back to my room to start studying again.
"hey!" I caught him in the hallway. "what the fuck? are you trying to mess with my head?"
"what? it was a question. because you need to realise that you need someone good in your life too, you're too young to be looking after two kids!" vance gestured a hand to my siblings back in the kitchen, immediately defensive.
"no, no. you don't get to put the crushing weight of knowing that I don't have anyone to look after me in my life, ok?" I heard my voice wobble as I spoke. "I am happy looking after the kids, and you won't change that."
"you're happy? really? cuz I know you wanna join the school track team, but you can't cuz you have to be back home in time for the kids. I also know you have a dozen overdue assignments for french that you don't have time for cuz you have to cook dinner for the kids every night. I also know that you have to clean them up after an episode with your dad, do their laundry, do their dishes, make sure they shower, brush their teeth, do their homework, tidy their rooms so you can clean them, have breakfast every morning, have lunch for school, have dinner every night. what about you, y/n? what about you?" vance's chest was heaving after his rant which left me stunned.
"no. no, you don't get to do that. I'm fine on my own, I have my friends if I need them. I have to handle it all, vance! I can handle everything in my life." I retorted. "and you have no right coming in here and telling me what I need and that my life is too much, ok? it is not you place."
"fine. I guess i'll just leave, then."
"fine."
he stormed into my room and I heard him angrily packing his things. I leaned on the wall, rubbed my temples and sighed. he stormed past me again and I just kept my eyes down on my feet with my arms crossed. the front door slammed behind vance, making me jump.
deep down, I knew he was right. but if I admitted that my life was too much for me to handle, I wouldn't be able to ignore it. and I would crumble. and I couldn't risk the kids having their one stable parental figure leave them too. I wiped a tear from my cheek and took in a silent, shaky breath.
"y/n... are you ok?" finney asked as he stood by the entrance to the kitchen.
"I'm fine, finney. go back to eating." I stormed off to my room and slammed the door shut.
***
OOOH TENSION BETWEEN Y/N AND VANCEEEEEEE!