***** FLASHBACK*****
Enjoy...
Vince finished his cigarette, letting the thick black acrid smoke fill his lungs. The moment he finished one, he always wanted another, or at least something to do with his hands. He found a damp seat on the nearby bench. Vince clutched his backpack tightly against his narrow chest, swallowing down his nerves.
He see him. Howard. Howard had always been tall. He towered over almost everyone else. Or he would have, if he didn't hunch over so much, his shoulders always sloping. He doesn't see Vince, not at first, at least. Vince saw him talking, nodding along with some girl, Vince had never seen before. The jealousy welled up suddenly inside of him. He hated it. Vince hated seeing Howard even talking to anyone else. Vince hated seeing the gaping space where he knew he should be. Where he should always be.
She was short and dumpy with dirty-blonde plaits, which hung down, either side of her freckled face. She had been wearing dungarees, the strap dangling from one shoulder, and heavy red Doctor Martin's. As he'd watched them, there had been a part of Vince that couldn't shake the feeling that she had been the type of girl Howard should have been with. They had look right together. A million pictures of them, together, had suddenly and cruelly flashed through his mind. Vince saw them graduating, Howard's stuck-up parents and his sister looking proud. He saw them buying a people-carrier, getting married, having children. And all without him.
Then Howard had caught sight of Vince, and he saw annoyance in Howard's gaze. But there had been something else, that twitch in the corner of his mouth; almost looks like relief. And Vince had known he'd won. He couldn't help but smirk.
"What do you want?" Howard asked, a weary note in the tone of his voice.
"Wanna see you.'" It had been the truth; Vince had wanted to see him. He always wanted to see him.
"Howard?'" the girl interrupted as she'd glanced between the pair. Vince fixed her with a stare and watched her as she'd visibly shrivelled. Stupid slag!
Howard gave her one of those, 'I'm sorry my significant other is a twat,' apologetic shrugs. It makes Vince hate him. "I'll a… I'll see you inside."
Vince smirked; Howard was getting rid of her.
She'd looked at him again and then briefly back at Vince. She fucking fancied him. Vince had noticed it almost immediately. That whore, she had no chance. He'd reassured himself
"Yeah fuck off, we're talking," Vince snarl at her.
"Vince!" The exasperated tone was back. Howard didn't try to defend her though. She 'd left, disappearing into the bland 1980's concrete building that had stood behind them.
"Who, the fuck was that?" Vince hoped she'd die.
"Grace. We're doing that presentation of the Romantics together. I told you this."
All Vince had really picked out from Howard's sentence had been 'doing' and 'romantic'. His blood had boiled.
"I thought she was fat?"
He'd been flustered. Howard hated being late for anything. He frowned down at the face of the watch Vince had bought him last Christmas. It was a cheap leather thing I bought from Argos. It hadn't looked cheap though and it wasn't, not really, not for Vince. It had cost him most of that month's gas and electricity bills.
"What? Fat? No, that's Sarah."
"Who, the fuck is Sarah?"
Howard was desperate to get away from Vince.
"She came to the flat. You insulted her. Look, I don't have time for this. What do you want?"
Vince had suddenly remembered why exactly he'd been waiting for Howard for so long. "I'm sorry about last night, I didn't mean it." He'd changed tact.
"Couldn't this have waited until later?" Howard glanced over Vince's shoulder, watching as his classmates had filed into the building without him.
"'No I didn't know if you were still speaking to me? You barely said three words to me this morning." He saw the memory of their previous nights argument flash across Howard's features. He can tell that Howard had almost forgotten about it. Now he'd remembered to be pissed off, the muscles in his jaw clenched.
"You're still going on about that? I'm busy Vince. I've got an exam tomorrow that I haven't revised for. I have to pass this module. I only got 21% for my coursework. I have to pass this…I can't get anything under a 60!" The colour drained from Howard's face. He looked like he was about to pass out or hyperventilate at any second. Howard didn't cope well with stress. He'd been just the same when they'd taken their GCSE's and A-levels.
Vince slipped his smaller hand in Howard and flashed him a smile. "You ain't gonna fail, Moon."
"Vince…" Vince's name escaped his lips in a defeated, crestfallen whimper.
"I got you a present." Vince grinned. This will make you love me. This will make you happy. This means we can go out tonight, guilt free clubbing! He dragged Howard over to the bench, pushing his backpack up into his face.
Howard stared blankly at the contents of the bags gloomy insides. "What's that?"
Vince let him lift it out, just up to the header. The pure, new, white paper blanched in the sun, almost glowing. It had reflected across Howard's face, the glowing whiteness.
"Is this a question paper, Vince. I've already got this." Vince couldn't wait for Howard to catch on; he could be dead slow sometimes.
"It's the answers, you div."
"For tomorrow?"
Vince swallowed down the sarcastic response that threatened to bubble up from inside of him. He nodded.
"How did you get this?" Howard whispered.
"I stole it," Vince answered simply.
"You… you didn't break into Bobby's office did you?"
"Nah, the dappy cow left her window open. There was a couple of them on her desk. She won't miss it. Trust me Howard." He did, Vince knew he did.
"And no one saw you doing this?"
"What do you think? Besides, it ain't my first time is it?" Well it wasn't, Vince had stolen for Howard's benefit before. The answer paper for his A-level history exam. Howard got the second highest recorded mark ever at their college. They'd put his picture in the paper. Vince had never been more proud, and Howard had never been more grateful.
Howard pushed the paper back safely into its temporary hiding place. "That's alright then." He'd beams back at Vince.
"Do you fancy going home and shagging" Howard had blushed at the sound of his own boldness. He'd never been very good at imitating that sort of thing.
"What happened to 'I've got an exam tomorrow'?" Vince quizzed innocently. Howard had ducked his head down overcome by his own embarrassment, and Vince had suddenly been flooded with so much love he thought his heart would burst from his chest.
"I love you, you berk."
"I know you do, Little man."
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