kitkat's ★ vance hopper

[09] 31.10.79

31ST OCTOBER, 1979.

19:09, SCHOOL GYM.

CAROLINE AND VANCE SPEND HALLOWEEN TOGETHER.

Halloween had always been Caroline's favourite holiday. Sure she liked Christmas and Thanksgiving, new year was ok. Halloween remained superior in her mind. Her and her brother had always been dedicated to their costumes growing up, they didn't do matching ones or anything. You better believe they'd win first place in a costume contest.

Apparently, Denver bear's high school did an annual Halloween dance for the freshman and sophomore's of the school. Frances and Marylin had been insitant that they attend, claiming that last year they'd had more fun than at any other dance. So Caroline agreed to go, on the conditiom they also had good Halloween outfits. She didn't want to be the only one in some overly dedicated costume. A few days before, when Caroline was tutoring Vance, she'd asked him if he were attending the dance. Without question, he said he was.

Vance had no intention of attending the Halloween dance, he'd never once gone to a school dance and originally had no plans to. But when Caroline gave that hopeful smile while going through his answers on a practice quiz, he didn't even remember he wasn't going to. His internal panic only rises when Caroline asked what he was going to go as. So he replied that it was a surprise.

Caroline was now stood inside the school gym, waiting to see Vance wall through the double doors in whatever costume he's decided on. She was still unaware that he was only going for her, and assumed Vance was just as much of a Halloween fan as she was. Frances and Marylin, who'd done a matching costume of alice and the white rabbit, had left her for the dance floor. So here Caroline sat, in her clown outfit that she was seriously starting to doubt. It was a white silky fabric that was very large, with multicoloured polka dots on it, she wore a pair of big black boots and had more simple skeletal makeup on. Most other girls in her grade had gone for something far cuter, some scary, but still cute.

Caroline's eyes were glued to the door, when they flew open to see Vance stood there in a makeshift Thor costume. He wore his blue jeans, with black boots that had yellow ribbons wrapped around them. A black t-shirt with blue cardboard circles stuck into the front functioned as a top, and he had a red Cape falling down his back. Two cardboard wings had been gripped into his hair (he'd refused a hat, it would think his curls) and a plastic hammer for Mjilnor. She smiled at the effort put into the boy, as the locked eyes across the room. Vance waived her over.

"Hey Thor!" Caroline giggled, making Vance hang his head down. "It was my mum's idea, I'm loving this clown skeleton look though." Caroline twirled round to show him the whole costume, as if there was more in the book."I assumed your mum helped, but really you look nice. Fairly handsome if I do say so myself." Vance was thankful the room was dark, his cheeks blazed red.

The two had spent the last thirty minutes together, talking over some drinks. Frances and Marylin had come over at one point being tired from dancing, and had joined the conversation. However they had left when monster mash had started to play by the band. Caroline knew Vance wouldn't want to dance, but it was her favourite song! "Do you want to dance?" Caroline gasped, Vance didn't seem like the type. "Yeah I do!"

He lead her to the gym floor as they both began dancing terribly to the music, nobody had really noticed the Hopper boy being here and he felt the willingness to not care. He smile was ever growing as he watched the girl in front of him soon around and laugh, every so often singing along to the words of the song. Vance found Caroline was practically glowing underneath the multicoloured lights, her hair bouncing around as she did. Everything felt in slow motion to Vance, he didn't know it now, but he was falling in love with her. The happy girl, took his hand and brought him back to the table once the song finished.

"I am a terrible dancer." Caroline laughed, but frowned when Vance didn't reply. He was just staring at her, "Vance? Are you alive?" He quickly snapped out of the trance when she waived her hands in front of her face. "Yeah, yeah I'm just gonna go to the bathroom."

As Vance left, Caroline stayed in her spot and fiddled with her fingers, like she always did when she was nervous. Did she annoy Vance by making him feel he had to dance with her? These feelings were replaced with ones of fear when Braden Kramer moved towards her with a sickening smile on his face.

"It's Halloween, Sanderson. Why do you look like you always do?" Caroline attempted to ignore his weak attempt of calling her a clown, and went back to staring at her drink. "How is some punch more interesting than me?" He said, sitting next to her and taking the full cup out of her hand. "I don't see Hopper round here? You're little boyfriend hate dances so much he left you alone?"

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Sure, he wants to be though." Caroline kept quiet, she stared at her feet. Braden took a sip from her cup, and a disgusted look graced his face. "God, how do you drink this shit." He stood up, looked at the cup and back at Caroline. "Guess neither of us want this anymore." He poured the remainder of the drink on Caroline's face, soaking her hair and the top of her clown suit. She flinched at the coldness of it. As if Braden had fine nothing, he walked off, throwing the empty cup in a bin.

Caroline tried to blink back the tears. She wanted to leave.

"Hey KitKat, you wouldn't believe what I found on the snack table." It was a KitKat, Vance was holding out a KitKat. "I want to go home, vancey. Will you walk me?" Vance sat down across from Caroline, he saw the stain from the punch on the white costume, her wet hair, and her teary eyes. Vance was angry, he was red hot angry. But the girl in front of him was taking the KitKat from his hand, holding it while eating the chocolate. "We can watch a movie if you want? My mum isn't home." She didn't need Vance to beat up some by for her, she needed him t stay with her and take her home. "As long as it's a horror movie." She smiled and stood up, "what else would it be? It's Halloween."

The walk home was dark and cold, the thin material of the clown costume did not hold up in the October weather. Vance and Caroline held hands on the way back, and Vance layed the red Cape over both f their shoulders. "Was it Kramer?" Vance asked, in reference to the still punch sales girl. "Who else would it be?" Caroline laughed, she wasn't as sad about it anymore.

"I'm gonna kill him."

"Don't you dare."

"He ruined tour favourite holiday! He deserves it."

"He didn't ruin it, Vance. I'm with you! That's good enough for me."

Once Caroline and Vance had settled in her house, she lent him some comfort clothes for him to change into. So now he was stood across from her I'm her older brother joggers and her oversized ABBA t-shirt. SHe was stood across from him in a pair of tartan pajama pants, and her other oversized ABBA t-shirt.

"Why have you never told me you're an ABBA fan?"

"I didn't think I needed to."

"KitKat, I'm seriously reconsidering our friendship right now. I mean, ABBA? of all bands, ABBA?"

"it's happy music Vance."

"My god."

Caroline was now extremely tired, she was curled into Vance's side and wrapped in her favourite blanket. They'd been watching horror movies for the past few hours, and if they weren't so scary she'd have probably fell asleep a while ago. Multiple times, she'd shoved her face into Vance's arm due to the jumoscares. He'd simply laugh and hold her closer. As Texas chainsaw massacre came to a close, Caroline sighed in relief.

"Can we please put on something not to scary now?"

"I thought it was Halloween?"

"Yeah, but we can still watch not scary things!"

"I guess so." Vance said, before flicking to the Muppet show.

"Aw I love the Muppets."

They'd not even gotten through the first episode before Caroline had fallen dead asleep in Vance's arms. He kissed the top of her forehead and allowed himself to fall asleep aswell. The Muppets still playing on the old TV. Then, Reggie Sanderson returned home, slightly drunk from his party.

"Ew, kids."