#steve lacey

the internet - laneway festival auckland <3

Bad Habit

"Watch where you're going, asshole." Vance grumbled as some kid bumped into him on his way out of the Grab N Go, almost spilling his Icee all over himself.

"Oh, fuck off, dickhead." The kid replied, trying to bump past Vance again.

Vance scoffed and handed his Icee off to his friend, not wasting anymore time as he grabbed the kids shirt and throwing him to the floor. He grabbed his shoulders and hit the kids head against the pavement, practically knocking him out instantly.

The kids friend came up from behind, trying to tackle Vance, but one swift elbow to the nose deterred him from any future attacks.

The police were quick to arrive. Vance was shoved into the back of the all familiar car and driven to his home.

Vance knew that constantly starting fights wasn't good for him. He knew the consequences. He knew he wouldn't be let off so easily every time, especially when he got older.

But fighting was the only thing Vance could do to get feelings out. It was the only time anyone payed attention to him. Sure, there were girls that swooned over him, but none of them actually cared about him, and that was proven time after time when every one of them simply used him for his looks or his status as the big, bad boy.

And then there was you. Y/n, the most perfect person Vance had ever laid eyes on. You had perfect skin, perfect lips, perfect hair. But there was more to you then that. You were nice to everyone. Vance had never seen you even send an ill look towards someone. You always had a smile on your face. You were perfect.

He was convinced he would never have a chance with you. All your previous partners were way different then him. Well, at least he thought they were. They certainly looked different.

All of your previous partners treated you like shit. They could act all soft and sweet in front of everyone, but behind closed doors they were horrible. Everyone saw you as a pushover. The kind of person to say yes to anything, simply because you were to kind to reject them. And when you did stand up for yourself, it was suddenly a huge problem.

Vance was sure you would never go for a guy like him, as much as he wished you would. But for now, he would simply adore you from afar. Simply drinking in your presence was good enough for him, even if he longed for more.

Little did he know, you were also pining for him. The two of you were both convinced you weren't good enough for the other. You figured that your "hints" would be enough for him to catch on and he just simply wasn't interested. You would constantly follow him from afar, and even started taking a similar route home, just in hopes of being able to approach him. Sure, it was a bit stalker-ish, but all you wanted was for him to notice you.

You admired the way he could stand up for himself. How he was so strong-willed and not afraid to beat the shit out of anyone who bothered him. Meanwhile, you would simply smile or joke something off if someone practically punched you in the face.

The two of you just wished you could read each others minds, to know how each felt about the other. But you would never know unless you asked.

But there was one day. One day where you had a particularly huge amount of confidence, you strode up to Vance while he was eating lunch with his friends, smile wide.

You tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention, waving slightly and laughing awkwardly when he turned around. "Uh- hi! Um, Vance, right?" You paused, immediately embarrassed that you had asked his name, when you fully well knew his name. Everyone did. "Uhm- sorry! Can I talk to you. In private?"

You gave him your classic joyful smile that practically made him weak at the knees. Vance tried to hide his blush, but his friends definitely noticed and were snickering. Vance just nodded, setting down the sandwich in his hands and getting up to follow you. You led him back behind the school, which was usually crowded with teens making out or smoking, but for some reason, it was cleared out.

Once you were out of eye and earshot of everyone, you let put a shaky breath.

"Okay hi, uhm, qell first off, I don't know if you know me. I'm Y/n. We never really talk so I just figured I should introduce myself. Uhm, well anyways... crap" you sighed, fidgeting nervously with the sleeves to your cardigan. "Uhm well, I've had this weighing on my chest for a really long time and I just needed to tell you something. I uhm-" Vance just stared at you, which made you even more nervous, and you started talking really fast,making it very difficult for Vance to capture anything that you said. "Well I just really really like you and I don't really expect you to like me back. I mean you're way out of my league. I mean like- you're perfect, and cool, and very strong. And also really hot. I like that you can stand up for yourself, because I have a lot of trouble with that. I just kind of let people walk all over me and it really sucks and just-" you gasped and stopped yourself before you could keep rambling. "S-sorry. Basically. I like you, like in a crush way. Wow that was cheesy. Anyways, I don't really expect you to like me back, so yeah thats it-"

You were cut off by Vance pressing a chased kiss on your lips. He was as red as a tomato, which matched the shade of embarrassment on your face.

"I like you too, Y/n." He smirked and leaned away, simply staring and waiting for a reaction. You just stood there for a second, kind of dumbfounded.

You mumbled incomprehensible words under your breath before a wide smile spread across your lips. "Uh- okay. Uhm thats great like really really good. Uhm, wow. This went better then I expected. Uhm you're a really good kisser-" you let out some kind of noise, almost like a squeak, and covered your mouth. "I'm sorry! Shoot. Uh- what I meant to say was-" you cleared your throat and tried to stop the quivering in your voice. "Vance Hopper, would you care to join me on a trip to the diner after school for milkshakes. As a date." You held out your hand, as if you wanted him to shake it, which you immediately regretted seconds later and began to move it away.

Vance smirked, letting out a chuckle before nodding and grabbing your hand, placing a kiss on your knuckles. That small action practically made you lightheaded. "I think I'd like that very much, Y/n." Vance hummed and let go of your hand, calmly walking away, while you just stood there, absolutely dumbfounded.