i'll only pick you - brance [COMPLETED]

Nine

It was now Saturday evening, 6:00 pm. Bruce was practically jumping off the walls with how excited he was to go watch Vance's gig. He still had three hours to blow, but he couldn't wait any longer. He felt insane as the clock ticked slowly in his room.

Alice was downstairs talking with Amy. Bruce had asked her to watch after Amy and Gwen, since Gwen was going to sleepover, while he was out with Vance. Alice was more than fine with it. She got along with Amy, and figured she'd get along with Gwen anyways. Plus, she liked taking care of kids. She dreamed to be a teacher anyways.

Anddd...she knew Bruce had a thing for Vance. After they had sat down for the movie on Thursday it was so painfully obvious. Bruce pretty much couldn't keep his eyes off him, and when he actually watched the movie he just fell asleep against Vance. She was happy for him though. Alice could tell how unhappy he was with Georgia, and how badly she treated him. Plus Vance seemed like a good dude to Bruce. She was fine with anyone as long as they made Bruce happy.

Soon enough though the time reached 6:30.

Then 7:00.

The before he knew it, it was 8:30. Bruce practically jumped out of bed and ran to his closet. He wanted to look good for Vance after all. He put on a dark blue sweater that had a red star in the middle, along with baggy jeans—that he may or may not have stole from Vance.

He slipped on his sneakers and grabbed his house keys before heading downstairs. Amy and Gwen were sat at the kitchen island while Alice was cooking some grilled cheeses on the stove. "I'm leavin' you guys," Bruce grinned softly. Alice nodded at him, winking at him as if to tell him 'good luck'. "Don't get into too much trouble," he joked as he hurried out.

Thankfully 39th and 5th was in walking distance for Bruce, so he made it there right as they were starting. He showed the special pass to the bouncer, who didn't hesitate on allowing him in. He could see them playing at the front, and pushed his way up there to see better.

Vance felt his stomach get butterflies as he saw Bruce sitting at a table, looking at him with a grin. His outfit was..cute to say the least. He noticed the familiar jeans Bruce wore, and could help but smile even wider when he realised they were actually his. It was so obvious how he was in love with Bruce, and he wouldn't deny it. But he took his attention away so that he could actually focus on playing. He knew Michelle, who was singing, would get upset if he fucked up their show that they had been working on for a while.

A dude who had to be at least a senior approached Bruce with two drinks in his hands. "You're Georgia's boyfriend, right?" He asked, looking down at Bruce. Bruce slowly nodded as the guy sat down with him. The dude slid him one of the drinks, taking a sip of his own. "She's cheating on you, dude."

Bruce stared down at the drink, unsure of what to do with it. He hadn't ever touched alcohol, but he felt like it'd be awkward if he didn't drink it. It's not like his parents were even home to find out. He hesitantly took a drink from the glass before sighing. "I figured she was," he told the guy, "how do you know?"

"I've..uhm..slept with her," The guy bit his cheek. Bruce stared at him for a moment, unsure how to take it. He hadn't slept with Georgia, not that he really ever thought about doing so. "I'm sorry man, but I couldn't keep quiet anymore. Lately she's been talking about how her next 'target' is Hopper."

Bruce nodded, drinking from the glass again. "I was planning on breaking up with her anyways," Bruce told the dude, taking yet another sip, "I'm just worried she'll spread some rumors about me."

"I'm sure she won't," the dude told Bruce as a waitress brought them each another drink. Bruce, again, hesitantly took it, but the drink was good, so he wasn't really too worried now. "I don't control you, dude," the guy spoke, "but personally I'd break up with her without really giving her much reason. Just tell her you found out about her cheating, you know?"

Bruce nodded, thinking for a moment. "I probably will at some point," he drank from the cup.

"Well, I'm gonna go find my sister," the guy spoke, "I'm Jackson."

"Nice to meet you, Jackson," Bruce nodded as the dude walked off. He turned his attention back to the performance, watching as Vance's eyes watched Jackson walk away. Vance looked back to Bruce, seeing as he smiled at him. He couldn't help, of course, smiling back at him.

Bruce for some reason found it cool the way Vance's fingers quickly moved on the strings as he played along. He found it interesting how Vance had amazing dexterity for how much he fought and hurt his hands. But he found it alluring the way he held the guitar tightly while still freely moving his fingers.

***

After the show Bruce was..drunk, to say the least. A nice, yet older, woman had bought him a drink, and even after he turned her down for being too old they still talked over a few drinks. And even Vance got him a drink, but when he noticed how drunk Bruce was he decided to head out. Vance was, of course, a little drunk too, but he was used to it, and he knew what he was doing.

He cautiously led Bruce out of the bar, thinking of where to take him. Vance was sure Alice would be pissed at him for letting Bruce get drunk, but he couldn't just drop him off at Robin's place because Robin would kill him. I could take him back to Michelle's, he would admit that it wasn't the first time that thought crossed his mind. He glanced around the parking lot outside, trying to find Michelle's car, but it seemed as if she had already left.

Vance groaned quietly, thinking of what to do. Michelle's apartment was across town, and even though he had his car, he wasn't going to drive drunk. Normally he'd be fine with driving drunk, he didn't really care, but he knew Bruce would kill him. But right then he knew he had to choose between calling Michelle, or driving over there.

And thankfully he went with just finding a payphone and calling Michelle. "C'mon, we need to find a payphone," Vance told Bruce, holding his hand tightly.

Bruce giggled, "there's one on the side of the building, Vancey." He pointed at the box that read 'payphone 10¢' on the side in blue. Vance nodded, smiling at him as he walked over.

Vance inserted 25¢ as it was the only amount of change he had. As the phone rang he still held tightly onto Bruce hand, making sure he didn't just wander off. But his own mind wandered back to how some guy he didn't recognise brought Bruce drinks and they talked for around ten minutes. It sort of pissed him off in a way. He didn't like the way the guy looked, nor the way he seemed to be talking to Bruce.

But he had no right to be jealous. He wasn't dating Bruce. Plus, Bruce had a girlfriend. But Vance couldn't help but feel jealousy and..

"Hello?" The 'o' rang out, bringing Vance out of his thoughts.

"Sorry," he quietly mumbled before sighing. "I need you to come back to the bar to pick me and Bruce up. We're both...drunk...and I don't want to drive," Vance explained, rubbing his thumb softly on Bruce's hand. He was hesitant to tell her because after Bruce had left last weekend she told Vance how she admired how sweet and

Michelle sighed deeply, "fine, but you owe me, kid."

Vance grinned, "thanks, Michelle."

The phone hung up and Vance just clicked it back onto its holder. Bruce was practically asleep on Vance's back, but he managed to mutter out a small, "who'd...who'd you call?"

"Michelle," Vance told him, walking back out to the front of the building, "I hope you don't mind that we sleep over there."

"I don't mind, Vancey," Bruce giggled, rubbing his face against Vance's shoulder. He liked how Vance smelled, even if the alcohol aroma was strong. It mixed well with the cheap cologne he wore. "I'm tired."

"Me too," Vance quickly replied, "but we have to wait for Michelle before we can go to sleep." He continuously rubbed his thumb against Bruce's hand, feeling as it calmed him.

But Bruce always made him feel calm. Just the way he smiled and spoke to Vance made him feel like he belonged—in a way. He didn't think he'd ever like the feeling of having someone. Sure, he had friends and his bandmates, but Bruce was different. He...loved Bruce.