Vin and Val

Chapter 1: Vinny and Val

“I can see it now.” Valencia’s sarcasm grated on Vinny’s already stretched thin nerves. It made Vinny automatically roll his eyes and walk faster, to get further away as fast as possible. His twin sister sure loved to push his buttons and to attempt to get him to snap. 

“Vin. Come on, Vinny. I’m just kidding . Could you slow down?” Vinny sighed exasperated and turned to face her, her voice sounded apologetic . Vinny let out another sigh and crossed his arms, the muscles tightening and bulging slightly from the gesture. “I’m really trying with you. But you’re pushing it. Joking or not. I’m being really genuine here.” Flustered Vinny pushed his fingers through his black unkempt hair. 

  Valencia laughed lightly and shoved his arm gently, “I know Vin, I know. I’ve just never seen you like this. Not since you met Elli-“ Vinny put up hand to stop her,

“Don’t, say it. I do not feel any sort of attraction to… Elliot.” Vinny grimaced and even shuddered to show his distaste.

Valencia hid a grin behind her hand and looped her arm into his.

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop.”

Vinny doubted it but decided to take her at her word. He was stressing as it was. Not only because his sister was right but because Elliot and Oliver drove him completely crazy.

   Another exhale and Vinny felt slightly better; enough to be able to move forward with his plan. 

“I don’t think you have anything else to say, not when I saw you flirting with Oliver.” Vinny muttered a knowing smirk slipping onto his lips. 

 No longer amused with her own poking and prying coming back to bite her, Valencia pinched Vinny. “He’s cute. Sue me. Besides, 

He’s single and so am I. I’m jumping at the opportunity.” Valencia smiled, of course that was her reaction. She was nothing like Vinny so she wouldn’t have the same reaction to the picking. Vinny shrugged and froze when he realized where there random stroll had them wind up. With widened eyes and a panicked expression he was about to turn around when Val stopped him.

“Vinny, we are going in. I will keep hold of your arm, and you keep yourself together. Try not to make a fool of yourself.” Valencia whispered lifting her head to speak directly into Vinny’s ear, in hopes only he would hear. 

   Inside Vinny’s heart was thundering, and his mind was in a complete overload. He hadn’t psyched himself up enough to see Elliot again or his brother. Elliot and Oliver were at this coffee shop so frequently that they practically lived here. 

   On the outside Vinny was a muscular guy, arms smattered with tattoos, and today to his utter annoyance he just had to wear his glasses. That didn’t help him feel any less insecure. His eyesight was far worse than poor, it was absolute shit. He had to be in a rush, today of all days. He was such an idiot for lying to Val, especially when he knew she knew he was into Elliot. Vinny was obvious, his eyes always strayed to Elliott every time, for the past three years.

  Vinny internally groaned, the temptation to close his eyes and take off out the door, an ever growing impulse. Val squeezed his arm and she met his eyes. Vinny exhaled and approached the counter, Valencia hooked to him like a leech. That which he was grateful for, she was the older sister and this exact situation practically screamed that. 

   They were at the front of the line now and it was Elliot who turned to take their order. 

“Hey Ellie, it’s so great to see you again.” The words so nasty toned and rude slid from Vinny’s lips before his sister could smack him to mute said words. 

“Vin, what the hell. Please ignore my brother, Elliot.” Valencia’s punch didn’t faze him, it was the look on Elliot’s face. “No problem Val, I’m aware of your brother’s inability to not be an ass.” Vinny couldn’t speak, that hurt look in Elliot’s eyes were like a punch to the heart. Internally he berated himself, what are you doing Vinny?

  Vinny swallowed and Valencia ordered their drinks, 

“Eli, I’m sorry.” Vinny was finally able to croak out. 

Oliver was hovering behind Elliott watching Vinny like a hawk. Meanwhile Valencia was waving to Oliver. Oliver turned his head slightly and grinned. 

“Morning Val; beautiful as always.” Oliver stated, stepping forward. Oliver was so outright, he was envious but also annoyed. Valencia’s entire face was red and she ducked her eyes briefly before looking back up at him. 

  “Good morning Ollie, are you and Elliot busy later tonight?” She questioned, Vinny didn’t say a word, just watched silently and the brothers seemed to communicate without words to each other.

“No plans, 7 work for you two?” Oliver wondered leaning onto the counter, eyeing both Vinny and Elliot amused. 

Val and Vinny nodded their heads within the same moment and Oliver gestured for Vinny to come forward. “I know you like my brother. Frankly, you are terrible at hiding it and expressing it properly. So I’ll help you, by giving you opportunities to try again. But if you hurt him, if you hurt my little brother. I will kick your ass, no hesitation. Is that understood?” Oliver’s tone was low and face was serious only as he spoke before he grinned and wrapped an arm around Vinny’s shoulder. Vinny was overwhelmed by the closeness of Oliver, and found himself wishing instead he had Eli wrapped into an embrace. 

“Elliott loves scary movies and Reese’s. Tonight Val and I will help you. Tonight you’ll confess to my brother, and not be a total jackass about it.” 

—-

Chapter 2: Eli and Ollie

Could you stop intimidating Vinny? He can like me or not on his own terms. It’s so embarrassing when you do stuff like this. Elliot projected his voice to Ollie feeling agitated and increasingly embarrassed. 

“I’m sorry E, I am but you won’t do anything and he’s trying I can tell. Val also told me so and I trust her,”

Ollie’s eyes felt like he peered deeper than into Elliott’s soul.

But if you’re wrong, then what? I’m broken hearted again. For what? I don’t see a positive ending for this. Elliott could feel himself getting emotional and turned off the link between them. 

“E, if I’m wrong, though I’m 90 percent I’m not. If I am I’ll buy you anything you want and you can drink all you want. I won’t cut you off. Deal?” Ollie queried with a slight head tilt. 

  “Okay… what should I wear?” 

—-

Chapter 3: A night of firsts

Vinny was so nervous that he changed his clothes three times before he was feeling okay in the outfit he chose. His black jacket, light blue T-shirt and dark gray jeans with his favorite converse and he searched his dorm inside and out to find his contacts to no avail. With an unhappy grumble he slipped his glasses back on, and dried his hair with a towel absentmindedly. 

  The clock crept closer to seven with his sister stumbling into his dorm minutes before the meetup.

“I’m ready. Are you ready? We should get going.” Val’s enthusiasm would’ve been more contagious if he wasn’t feeling so uneasy.

“Do I look okay?” The question made Vinny cringe but if anything he wanted to look good for Eli. No matter how ridiculous he sounded, he took a lot from Val’s grin and she gripped his shoulders. 

“You look great Vin, I know you’re nervous. But just be yourself, not some persona you think you should be. Okay? Don’t worry about how you come off the Vinny I know doesn’t care what others think. He’s confident and funny and a dork. But, not in a bad way. And no before you ask I’m not biased because you’re my twin brother.” Valencia always knew what to say.

  Vin smiled in response, “it’s just my plan is failing, and it’s because it’s him and I’ve liked him,… I like him so much and I don’t want to mess this up. And thank you, I appreciate your input. You’ve got more experience in this way than me, are you and Ollie dating yet?”

Vinny was feeling slightly better, just enough to be a bit nosy. And to be honest about his feelings, that only grew stronger for Eli. 

“Sort of, I can’t exactly tell if he is just flirting or this is his personality. Whatever is going on? It’s fun. That’s what I take from it for now. I’m not vying for his attention or anything. But I’m hoping tonight will be the night I find out what exactly is going on with us, if anything at all.”

Vinny nodded and pulled his sister into a hug something he had only done one other time, when they were still kids. 

“I love you Val.”

Val squeezed Vinny tightly back, feeling a little emotional from the sudden hug paired with the sentiment.

“I love you too Vinny.”

—-

Val and Vinny arrived at the theatre right on time, Vinny with Reese’s in hand and flowers, scary movie tickets recently purchased in his back pocket.

“Where are they?” Val wondered almost to herself but Vinny heard her.

Vinny could see the top of Ollie’s head before he heard him. 

“So everyone’s here. We are just going to grab refreshments and then go watch a movie. Any further plans after that?” Ollie had a flirtatious tone again as he eyed Val, Vinny was suddenly wishing they would get a room when he saw Eli. The one whom just in a gray long-sleeve shirt and blue skinny jeans, had Vinny. Hook,line and sinker, Vinny was in trouble. Vinny’s heart was catapulting in his chest.

  When finding their seats, Vinny handed over the flowers and Reese’s; “what are these for?” Eli asked.

Vinny exhaled slowly, biting his lip lightly a nervous tick he couldn’t seem to get rid of. “You, Ollie said you liked Reese’s and flowers because I’m sorry for today.” 

Eli smiled widely at Vinny, Vinny had a small smile on his lips, that he turned his head to the side to hide; and they took their seats, Vinny was in the middle his sister on his left and Eli on his right. Ollie was on her left, and he was whispering something to her, she just kept laughing and Vin smiled too. It was nice to hear Val laugh so freely with someone else other than himself. 

   Commercials came and went and instead of focusing on the screen Vinny found himself eyeing Eli. “Vinny, watch the movie.” Val whispered. Vinny’s face was burning red when his eyes returned to the screen. While he watched he felt movement at his side, until he barely felt Eli’s hand brushed his. Vinny took that as a go ahead and without looking intertwined his fingers with Eli’s. The exchange was awkward until Eli’s fingers closed over and squeezed every time the movie got exciting. Throughout the remainder of the movie Vinny thought obsessively how he was going to convey his feelings to Eli.

  When the movie ended, Ollie invited them to his apartment and seemed to wink at Eli as he did so. Vinny couldn’t help the disappointment when Eli dropped his hand, but extra time with Eli, he’d definitely take that. The exchange between Ollie and Eli was interesting too but Vinny decided just to follow along. The view from behind wasn’t bad, not at all. Val nudged him and got close enough to whisper to Vinny as they walked to Ollie’s car.

“We’re you two holding hands? And you initiated. I’m so proud of you Vinny.” Val whispered and Vinny chuckled softly and avoided her gaze.

“I wish the movie was longer, I loved just holding his hand and being so close, seeing him happy and smiling like that. It was just…so adorable.” Vinny admitted under his breath, his heart picking up speed just thinking about it. “And he smiled at me, I-I’m so happy right now.” Vinny continued, trying to hide his smile from getting any wider. 

  Val tugged Vinny into a side hug, “Ollie and I had slight progress too. He put his arm behind my seat and I put my head on his shoulder. He’s so hot I almost passed out.” Val blabbed excitedly, Vinny chuckled into his hand.

“Val, that’s great but probably be a little quieter, they are right ahead of us.” Vinny whispered back.

Ollie stopped and turned around.

“Oh we heard you, we heard the both of you.” Ollie replied with a raise of eyebrows and a Cheshire style grin. Both Val and Vinny were left blushing.

 “Anyways here’s my car, get on in guys,”

—-

The ride over was quiet, and the tension in the car was palpable. They had all gone inside and Ollie had grabbed two six packs of alcohol, the cheeky grin still on his lips. 

   “E-Eli can I talk to you in private?” Vinny asked quickly before he lost his resolve. Eli put out his hand, “Come on, follow me Vinny.” Vinny followed without hesitation but he was quivering nervously inside. But he was also so extraordinarily excited he buzzed with it. Vinny wondered if Eli could feel it, these feelings of his without Vinny saying a word. Vinny thought he’d grown out of his stutter but it was clear that was not the case. Eli pulled him into a room with a large black E on it and closed the door with Vinny against it. 

  “What did you want to talk about Vin?” Hearing Eli call him Vin felt intimate, perhaps because no one else ever had. Vinny didn’t hate it, he cleared his throat and kept a hold on one of Eli’s hands.

“I know.. I’ve been picking on you for so long. And I’ve been an ass, I’ve been struggling with how to tell you…how to ask you. I even had a p-plan. But that f-fell through. “ Vinny admitted his stutter slipping in the more nerve wracked he became.

Eli tried to hide a smile, his hand trembling within Vinny’s.Vinny rubbed his thumb along Eli’a hand.

“I was going to sing to you. At your karaoke Tuesday’s you guys have at your coffee shop, but I psyched myself too much, too long and talked myself out of it. I-I I am attracted to you Elliott, even more then that, I like you…s-so so damn much, that I’ve been making a fool of myself, I don’t even recognize myself. I-I want to be a better version of myself for you. But I end up coming off as a complete jerk and more like I hate you. In the end, I was scared it’s not an excuse. It’s just how I felt…how I feel. I am really into you, and I’m sorry for being a shit at showing it.” Vinny was out of breath when he finished and Eli dropped Vinny’s hand, to instead hold his face.

  “I like you too Vin, how could you not tell?” Eli whispered a breath away from their lips touching one another’s. Vinny shrugged and held Eli’s waist suddenly. 

“C-can I kiss you? It’s all I’ve been able to think about since I met you 3 years ago.” Vinny’s gray eyes held Eli’s blue eyed gaze. As soon as Eli nodded Vinny stepped forward and bent his head, hands still holding Eli’s waist gently. Eli’s smile broke free and Vinny pressed his lips gently to Eli’s, taking a step closer. Vinny opened his mouth slightly and kissed Eli deeper, tightening his hands on Eli’s waist. Vinny could get lost in these kisses, his hands had a mind of their own. They moved up Eli’s sides and back down. Vinny’s brain was on overload as they kissed deeper and drew closer to one another.

  —-

Chapter 4: Drunken confessions

After an insurmountable about of time they were back in the kitchen with Oliver and Val, who were several drinks in, taking in how Vinny was holding Eli close. Their hands intertwined, and their faces flushed with matching grins. 

  “So it went well?” Ollie mused. 

Eli grinned with no further explanation and grabbed two beers one for him, and one for Vinny. Vinny sipped with a vigor, which relaxed his body and loosened him up quite quickly. It wasn’t long before the four of them were all inebriated enough to have zero filter. 

Valencia was swearing like a sailor, Vinny was extremely flirtatious and Eli was giggly, and clingy hanging onto Vinny. Ollie on the other hand, was crying while sipping down his beer, which stalled the frantic opposite mood in the room.

  “Hey, hey Ollie what’s going on?” Everything stopped and they all went around Ollie, Valencia sat next to Ollie on the couch, and cuddled into him.

“What’s wrong Ollie?” She wondered, he set the beer down and pulled Val into his lap and held her closely to his chest. He turned his head and whispered into her ear and Eli and Vinny were grinning, with Vinny back hugging Eli, holding him snugly.

“Want to be my girlfriend Valencia?” Ollie asked aloud, eyes reddened from the enhanced emotion the alcohol brought forth. Vinny was smirking and turned to kiss Eli. “Yes, of course Ollie. But why are you crying?” She asked, wiping his face.

“I don’t know. I’m just… happy I guess.” Ollie admitted, Val moved closer somehow and kissed his chastely on the lips while still in Ollie’s lap.

the end.