Sophomore year / Age 16...
Vincent is buttoning up a chic collared shirt when there is a rhythmic knock on the door that he easily recognizes. Thoughts of incoming dread were invading his mind at the impending family event, but he is glad to have a little distraction.
"Come in, Val," he smiles, walking over to his desk to grab his cufflinks.
The little girl pops her head in before quietly closing the door. She is already dressed in a flowy white dress with her hair arranged in cute pigtails, laced with white ribbons. She excitedly plants herself on Vincent's bed, looking at her big brother enthusiastically.
"Where is your partner in crime?" Vincent teases.
"Partner in crime?" she repeats in confusion, kicking her legs back and forth.
"Vance, you silly goose," Vincent chuckles.
"Oh!" she exclaims, lighting up at the mention of her other half. She gets distracted from her thoughts when she watches Vincent grab a hairbrush and some pomade. "Wait, can I do it? Pleaseeeee," Valerie begs.
"Sure," Vincent grins, handing her the styling brush and product.
Vincent doesn't exactly trust his four-year-old sister to do his hair properly, so he purposely positions himself on the floor in front of his full-length mirror to watch her actions. Valerie slightly sticks her tongue out as she focuses on the task ahead, getting on her knees to fully reach her brother's head.
Vincent honestly feels like his hair is being ripped out when Valerie drags the brush along his head, but she looks so happy that he can't bring himself to say anything.
After a few minutes pass, Vincent notices Valerie's conflicted expression through the mirror. Although she is struggling with his hair, it looks like something completely unrelated is twisting her features and begging to be let out.
"What's wrong?" Vincent asks softly.
She makes eye contact with him through the mirror. Vincent can instantly read the sadness in her eyes. He quickly turns around to scoop her up in his arms. He softly pats her back and waits for her response.
"I don't like watching Mommy and Daddy yell at Vance," she whispers.
"What? Why were they yelling at him?" Vincent says in confusion.
Vance is honestly a perfect child who never demands too much and always follows instructions. If anything, the little rebel in their family is Valerie herself.
Vincent places his little sister on the edge of the bed and kneels in front of her.
"They get angry at him a lot for not talking," she sniffs. "And their yelling scares him."
Vincent has always kept a close eye on his brother. Even though he is still pretty young, Vincent knows that something is different about him.
He's done careful research and he's sure that it can only be one thing: selective mutism.
He has yet to bring it up with his parents because most types of disorders or disabilities are commonly looked down upon in their culture. Knowing how taboo it still is in their homeland, Vincent's parents just won't get it.
He's sure that his parents have already started implementing the stress of perfection on the twins. Vincent understands that image is very important to them, but at the same time, he would hate for his brother to not even feel comfortable enough to speak to their parents because they are constantly hounding him for something he can't control instead of supporting him.
"Does Vance talk to you?" Vincent asks curiously.
"Mhm! All the time," his little sister answers. "But...only if we are in a quiet room by ourselves. We talk about legos and books andâoh! our favorite animals, but I don't think he has ever said anything to Mommy and Daddy, so they are getting angry."
Vincent hums in understanding. "I think the best we can do for him is show him love."
"But I give him hugs all the time," Valerie explains with a little pout.
Vincent laughs, "Yes, that's good. Keep doing that. I just mean that we should always be patient. And you can tell him that I'm always here for him too, even if he doesn't want to talk."
"Okay," she nods sweetly. "Can I finish your hair now?"
"Ah, I think I can handle it from here," Vincent explains nicely, tickling his sister's side.
She giggles and shrieks, trying to push his hands away. When she wiggles free, she rushes out of the door to escape Vincent's sneaky fingers.
Vincent laughs to himself before fixing his hair that his little sister happened to destroy. Just when he is almost done getting ready, spraying his last small spritz of cologne, he hears his mom calling him from downstairs.
"Vincent, Hurry up! We are going to be late!"
Suddenly, Vincent wants to purposely stall for five minutes just to be a menace, but he'd rather not deal with his upset parents at Kai's College of the Arts acceptance celebration.
Vincent has been compared to his parent's friend's son for as long as he can remember, so the last thing he wants to do is play nice at his little get-together where he gets to brag about how he is such a great child. However, knowing Vincent's parents, they are going to be obsessed with the son they wish they had. That means Vincent is optimistic about the opportunity to slip away without them noticing.
He finally trudges down the steps to meet his family.
He spots his Dad pacing in the kitchen while he is on the phone. His mother is still busy fiddling with her jewelry. The two are dressed to impress but retain a margin of modesty. It's kind of like they are saying 'Hey, look at us. We're rich and successful, but we don't need to boast about it, but secretly still want you to be jealous.'
Vance is sitting on the couch with sullen eyes. Vincent doesn't like the stray wooden spoon he sees on the counter, but thankfully Valerie is cuddled up to Vance's side and holding his hand tightly to distract him from one of his many spankings.
Vincent easily breezes past his mother to comfort his vulnerable brother. He leans across the back of the sofa to lightly ruffle his hair. Vance turns in surprise but smiles when he sees who it is.
"Every little thing will be okay. I promise," Vincent whispers before holding out his pinky finger. "I never break my promises to you, do I?"
Vance shakes his head before locking his pinky with Vincent's.
"I'm always here for you," Vincent grins. "And I understand."
Vance nods, his mood finally uplifted.
"Well, well, well," his mom addresses, causing Vincent to spin around and face her. "See, you look good when you actually try. You could shave off a few pounds, though."
"Thanks, Mom," Vincent says sarcastically, but she gives him a warning look and Vincent quickly drops the attitude.
"I shouldn't have to ask you to behave; that's something you should already know," Vincent's mom warns. "Be nice. Actually act like you care. And if you could smile for once, that would make us look much better as a family."
Vincent wants to spit back that her priorities are straight shit, but there's no point in fighting back; she doesn't care. At the end of the day, Vincent is his parent's vessel for success, and if he can't keep up, then they are going to continue beating him down.
Vincent shakes it off, though. He's used to the constant emotional abuse after all these years, but just because his parents endured it growing up, doesn't make it justifiable.
"Is everyone ready?" Vincent's father finally speaks, ending his phone call that Vincent assumes was about his engineering work. Judging by the irritated expression on his dad's face, it was probably something along the lines of his father having zero patience for "incompetent" subordinates.
"Let's go," Vincent's mom chimes, ushering everyone out of the door.
âââ§âââââââ§ââ
Yep, Vincent really hates his life right now.
Usually, he can get away with hiding in the corner and avoiding social interaction like the plague, but it's kind of hard to do that when everyone keeps doting on how tall you have gotten and wanting to know the ins and outs of your life; a.k.a. are you going to be as prosperous as fortunate angel Kai who can do no wrong?
The second that Ana and Kane walked into the celebration, Kai's parents were all over them. Granted, being the only two Asian immigrant families in a predominantly white area, the two parents never strayed far from each other and are always the first to share a new accomplishment from their children.
Honestly speaking, even though Vincent's parents are close to the parents of the perfect child who shall not be named, Vincent has never said a word to Kai. He doesn't really plan on it, though. Not only is he two years older than him and heading off into college, but Vincent's like eighty percent sure that he is going to be a snobbish intellectual, who questions every piece of his life like he can solve it easily like a puzzle. Why on earth would Vincent want to meet the person he has been compared to his whole life?
Nonetheless, the event is bearable for Vincent because at least the food is good.
He has no idea where Valerie and Vance have run off to, but judging by the huge swipe of icing missing from the side of the cake, Valerie still got to make her little rebellious mark.
Vincent weaves through the crowd of conversing adults before he finds himself sitting by the poolside with boredom. Just as he is about to pull his phone out for a little entertainment, someone sits down beside him.
"You must be Vincent," the guy says.
Vincent takes one glance at the dude and realizes it's the person he has been avoiding all his life. He openly rolls his eyes.
"Hey, I'm Kai," the boy says, ignoring Vincent's preconceived notions.
"That's great," Vincent says shortly. "Goodbye."
He tries to get up and walk away, but Kai's next sentence stops him.
"Who's to say I don't already hate you as well?" Kai says.
Vincent spins around to look at him. Kai has a playful expression painting his face, but his eyes are truthful.
"And what could you possibly hate about me, music genius?" Vincent counters.
He takes a dramatic deep breath before saying, "'Oh, why aren't you as athletic as Vincent? He's a lot more handsome, muscular, and productive than you. You can do better.' I don't know why our parents think comparing us is going to give us any incentive," he laughs.
Vincent chuckles before sitting back down, next to someone he never thought he would relate to.
"Yeah, no kidding," Vincent responds.
"I'm going to let you in on a little secret as well," Kai smirks. "I'm not the musical genius you think I am."
"What does that mean?"
He bursts out laughing. "You really think I'm going to study classical piano? That's like living up to every stereotype ever. I'm actually planning to get my bachelor's in studio art."
"I bet your parents love that," Vincent grins.
Kai shrugs, "What they don't know won't hurt them."
Wow...Vincent's actually starting to like this kid.
"Don't want to hear the lecture about wasting your studies?" Vincent guesses.
"Oh, you know it," Kai smirks, playfully bumping Vincent's shoulders.
Vincent briefly turns around to scope out his parents, and as expected, they are conversing with Kai's parents as they point and whisper about the budding pair.
"They're gossiping about us," Vincent informs.
Kai doesn't even look back before saying, "I'm not surprised."
Vincent laughs before pondering a small thought. "...Are you going to miss them when you go to college? Your parents, I mean?"
"Not really," Kai admits.
The response may sound heartless, but from where they are and what customs they still actively practice, Kai has dealt with their definition of "love" for too long...and Vincent can relate.
"I know everyone looks happy and crap because it's my party, but it's all fake," Kai explains. "My parents haven't talked to me in a week. They have disowned me."
"Damn, what did you do?" Vincent smiles.
"Introduced them to my girlfriend of three years," Kai sighs.
"You must've done a lot of sneaking around in high school," Vincent teases, knowing that his parents would kick him out of the house if he had a girlfriend.
"Don't act like you're any better," Kai laughs. "But yeah, I thought that since I'm an adult now, they could be understanding about it, but nope. They were enraged that I lied to them for so long and made my girlfriend feel like shit."
"Fuck, I'm sorry," Vincent says genuinely.
Kai shrugs, "And in their perfect little minds,
they didn't expect Amari to be black or have tattoos."
"She seems pretty badass, though," Vincent smiles, trying to lighten the situation.
Kai nods with a grin. "Yeah, that's one of the many things I love about her. I just...don't want to let my parents ruin something so great, you know?"
Vincent nods.
Vincent's parents have always tried to come between his and Hayden's friendship. Even though it's a little different for Kai and Amari who are actually dating, it's kind of the same concept.
"Well, since I officially don't hate your guts and think you're actually pretty cool, I hope everything works out," Vincent smiles.
"Thanks," Kai beams. "And right back at you."
The two feel the stress slipping right off their shoulders as laughter and jokes guide their chat. Vincent finds that his chest feels a lot lighter as he gets everything off his mind. That's not to say that he can't talk to Sawyer, Leo, and Hayden like this; they just can't relate to it, especially when they all have exceptionally affectionate and loving parents.
Just when Vincent is telling Kai about his football season so far, Vincent's phone buzzes in his pocket.
"Do you have a girlfriend you haven't told me about?" Kai questions with a coy smile.
"Nope. I like being alone too much." Vincent chuckles, pulling out his phone to see who is calling him. "It's just my friend."
"Do your friends usually call you?" Kai says, raising an eyebrow because the most he ever does with a friend is text.
"Nope, just this one," Vincent grins. "He kind of demands attention...on a daily basis. I'm surprised it even took this long for him to call."
"You can take it," Kai says politely. "I'm sure there are people I still need to check in with. And, if you want to get away from all the chaos, the side door to the garage is open," Kai winks.
Vincent laughs, "Thanks, man," before they are headed in opposite directions.
By the time Vincent makes it into the garage, Hayden is blowing up his phone with a second call. He rolls his eyes before answering.
"Yes?"
"Whatcha doinggggggg?" Hayden asks joyfully.
"I'm at this celebration for my parent's friend's son's college acceptance," Vincent responds.
"Parent's...friend's...son's..."
Vincent can just imagine the gears trying to turn in Hayden's little brain to comprehend the sentence. He can practically see Hayden's scrunched eyebrows from across the phone line.
"Vinny, that's too hard," Hayden whines.
Vincent dumbs it down. "I'm at a party."
"And you didn't tell me!" Hayden screams, causing Vincent to grimace and pull the phone away from his ear. "I want to get fucked up too! So inconsiderate!"
"It's not that kind of party," Vincent laughs. "It's honestly kind of lame. It's just a little family and friends gathering"
"Want me to come crash it?" Hayden offers seriously. "I can bring the liquor."
"No!" Vincent says a little too quickly. He clears his throat before trying again. "No, I mean."
"Why not?" Hayden pouts.
"It's just...I don't think this would be your place," Vincent sighs, covering up the fact that his parents truly hate Hayden's guts.
Thankfully, Hayden doesn't question why because he gets distracted. Vincent is grateful for Hayden's inability to focus on a single topic at one time.
"Oh, guess what?" Hayden chimes.
"What?"
"Vinny, you are supposed to guess. Jeez, I thought you were smart."
"Shut up and just tell me," Vincent smiles, taking a seat on the ground because he knows Hayden tends to ramble about ridiculous things.
"Um...my dad actually stepped down at his job," Hayden begins. "He isn't going to be traveling for work anymore. I can't believe I'm saying it, but he is going to be home more often."
Vincent clenches his fingers tightly around the phone, a giddy smile stretches across his face at the happiness in his best friend's voice. In the back of his mind, there is a tiny twinge of jealousy for Scott's care, but at the same time, euphoria is the only way to describe what Vincent feels when Hayden is happy.
"Of course, we are going to have to start saving more and I probably can't go out to get food after every football game like we usually do, but... it really means a lot to me, Vincent. You know, he will be there for all of my football games from now on, a-and you and I can have dinner with him whenever we want, and maybe we canâ"
"You're rambling again," Vincent teases.
"O-Oh...sorry," he says sheepishly, which is unusual for the boy with no shame.
"I'm just kidding, Hayden," Vincent admits, pulling at the fabric of his pants. "I'm happy for you."
And, of course, Hayden has to ruin the moment with his stupidity.
"Awwwwww," he coos. "I'm happy for me too."
Vincent snorts before dusting himself off and standing up. "I'm hanging up after that."
"Vinny, don't you darâ"
Vincent ends the call with a laugh. He would love to keep talking to Hayden, but he is sure that someone is bound to be searching for him by now.
He sighs before walking out of the garage and into complete chaos once again.
You know, parties aren't that fun if I'm not trying to stop Hayden from killing himself, Vincent thinks.
He spots Kai happily talking to one of his doting relatives, and Vincent chooses not to intervene. Vance and Valerie are still M.I.A. Vincent can't find it in him to talk to someone new, so he finally looks for an escape plan. However, when he catches his mom's gaze from across the decorated backyard, things aren't looking good for him.
He can tell by the glint in his mom's eye that she is upset. She is demanding an explanation for his missing presence, and quite frankly, Vincent is so over it. He begrudgingly walks over, ready for yet another lecture about his irresponsibility and refusal to be the perfect child that they want him to be.
"Vincent, where have you been?" Ana whispers harshly, grabbing her son's arm and pulling him to a more secluded area.
"I was only gone for like ten minutes," Vincent explains in annoyance, ignoring his mother's question.
"That's not what I asked," she counters. "I don't know why you think it is suddenly okay to disappear at every event we attend, but you are making me and your father look bad."
"Mom, who cares?" Vincent huffs, unable to hide his attitude because he has endured her bullshit for way too long.
She slaps him on the arm before saying, "You should care. You know what? Give me your phone."
"WhaâI haven't even done anything," Vincent says, aghast.
"You're acting out more and more, you refuse to listen, and I don't know why you just can't be the son I know you are."
"The son you want me to be, you mean?" Vincent scoffs before walking past, "I'm leaving."
"Vincent, don't you walk away from me!" his mother discreetly calls out.
Vincent storms through the crowd of people here for the celebration. He doesn't want to ruin Kai's moment but he just can't fucking take it anymore.
There is suddenly a hand on his wrist. He spins around to find his father.
"What is going on?" Kane questions, giving Vincent a warning glare to calm down.
Vincent rips his arm out of his dad's grip.
"God, just both of you leave me the hell alone!" Vincent yells, throwing his hands up in the air.
The outburst from the normally calm teen is shocking to the mingling people. Everyone stops and turns their attention to the boy who likes to blend into the background.
"How long will it take for you not to treat me like some investment?! What I do with my life is my choice and not yours! I don't know why you always act like I owe something back to you!"
"Vincent, you are embarrassing us," Kane whispers harshly. He reaches forward to clasp his arm once again but Vincent immediately steps back in response.
Before Vincent gets to let off any more steam, the table full of refreshments and snacks is falling to the ground as he knocks it with his hip.
A few people gasp, a few people go mute, but that doesn't distract from the enraged expression on his parents' faces as if they have any reason to sport that kind of expression toward a person who does almost everything right.
As the table and carefully assembled knickknacks fall to the ground in a slow-motion fashion, Vincent can almost see the rift forming between him and his parents. However, he has no intention to fix it if they don't change their ways.
Vincent, sticking to his original plan and not wanting to cause a scene any longer, immediately walks away. He shoots Kai an apologetic glance for ruining his party, but Kai only looks worried for his new friend.
What a shitshow.
âââ§âââââââ§ââ
Vincent heard the door slam not too long ago, alerting him of his parent's presence in the house, but they have yet to greet him. That's okay because Vincent doesn't plan on greeting them either.
It's now just past 10 p.m., but Vincent is sadly wide awake. He grabs his phone from his nightstand and knows exactly who to call to ease his mind and provide a distraction from his family mess.
Hayden answers almost immediately.
"I knew you missed my face," Hayden sings into the phone.
"Shut up," Vincent mumbles, but Hayden instantly notices that Vincent has a little more edge in his voice than usual.
"Vinny?" Hayden questions softly.
"Huh? What?" Vincent responds tiredly.
"Is something wrong?"
Vincent immediately clears his throat and says, "No, I'm fine. Just...some stuff going on."
Hayden doesn't like the exhaustion in his best friend's voice. Likewise, he doesn't like that Vinny never opens up about things when they are troubling him. Nonetheless, Hayden doesn't push it.
"Can you just talk?" Vincent offers. There's nothing he loves more than getting a good laugh pulled out of him by none other than Hayden Williams.
"About what?"
"I don't know," Vincent says, almost with embarrassment. "Anything."
Hayden thinks for a second before beginning. "So...remember that one sex dream I had aboutâ"
"Hayden, some things should be kept to yourself," Vincent chuckles, feeling lighter already at his friend's dumbassery.
"Right," Hayden mutters, and Vincent can practically envision his scrunched eyebrows because even though Vincent is telling him this, one of his greatest flaws and strengths is that he never thinks before speaking. "So...I had a WWE smackdown with a pigeon yesterday."
"And you lost?" Vincent smirks.
"As if," Hayden scoffs. "We tied. Respectfully."
Vincent bursts out laughing as Hayden goes on and on about the stories of his life that are nothing short of bizarre, crazy, and entertaining.
Unexpectedly, when Hayden is in the middle of yet another rant, Vincent's room door is creaking open. Vincent silently watches as Vance peeks his head in with a pillow in his hands.
"Hayden, can I call you back?" Vincent says, and Hayden hears the urgency in his voice.
"Yeah, of course," Hayden chimes. "Bye-bye. Love youuuuuuuuuuuuâ"
Vincent hangs up before looking at Vance expectantly.
"Can...I sleep with...you tonight?" he asks softly.
Vincent tries to hide his shock at his brother speaking to him for the first time, but he is so proud.
Vincent smiles and says, "Of course. Come here."
Vance creeps over to the bed, almost as if waiting for Vincent to change his mind, but Vance only feels at ease when his brother continues to show him a gentle smile.
Vance climbs into bed, and Vincent helps carefully situate his younger brotherâfluffing his pillow, covering him in the blanket, and showing kindness to someone who needs it most.
Vance happily curls into his side with an exhale.
"Are you okay?" Vincent whispers. Vance doesn't respond so Vincent continues. "You don't have to answer anything you don't want to."
"No..." Vance retorts quietly. "I was just...thinking."
"Oh..."
"I'm sorry Mom and Dad yelled at you today," Vance explains. For only being four years old, he is quite intelligent when it comes to speech skills despite how much anxiety it causes him.
"It's okay," Vincent sighs with a smile. "It is what it is."
The two remain silent for a few moments, soaking up their special bond.
Then, Vance gently asks, "Were you...talking to someone?"
"Mhm."
"Was it Stupid?"
Vincent laughs, forgetting that he told his siblings to call Hayden that.
"Yes, it was Stupid," Vincent chuckles.
"...You can call him," Vance offers.
"Are you sure?"
Vance nods, "I like Stupid."
"Are you...gonna talk to him?" Vincent asks patiently.
Vance scrunches his nose and shakes his head. "I don't think so...but maybe one day."
Vincent smiles before dialing Hayden's number once again so they can FaceTime. Vance snuggles closer to Vincent when Hayden's face pops up on the other side of the call.
Hayden's eyes widened with elated surprise.
"Aye, Vancey pants!" Hayden exclaims, pulling a giggle out of the younger boy. "I haven't seen you in a while."
Vance enthusiastically waves. Vincent examines the happiness on his brother's face, noting that it's all because of his best friend.
"Anyways," Hayden chimes. "Where was I?"
"Some rant about One Direction's impact," Vincent mutters, retracing Hayden's chaotic mind.
"Right! Soâ"
"Keep it pg, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah ," Hayden waves him off before spewing a whole load of irrelevant information.
Vance happily listens to Vincent's friend go on and on until he is drifting to sleep. Hayden and Vincent talk until the morning sun is coming up.
They didn't know it then, but the late-night phone calls would soon become a routine, not knowing what it indicated for their friendship.