Vance stared at Sarah across the table as they sat in the diner. No one was in, it was a week day and barely late enough for people to have gotten off work. He questioned how both Ella and Jason managed to be, maybe that's why Sarah was so happy and made him stay. He was glad he had, he worried what she'd have done if he didn't follow her. Apart of him wanted to yell at her, pissed off but worried at the same time. "So, that was fucking crazy."

"I'm not fucking crazy." she defended herself, picking at the sides of her nails as she kept her eyes on the table. "If you're gonna be mean, just go."

"I'm not being mean." Vance corrected her. "And I didn't say you were fucking crazy, I said that was fucking crazy."

"Yeah, that sort of thing happens." she didn't even try to hide the fact that she was mad, it was all over her face and laced with every word she mumbled. "I mean, how can they just sit there and talk about all the other stupid fucking matters in the world and not mention once that my best friend is gone? That he's probably dead and the department is on the verge of giving up? Are you fucking kidding me? I could just..."

But, she didn't finish that sentence. She didn't wanna hear herself say something like that, it wasn't who she was and Sarah knew it. "I fucking hate this world so much."

"Me too." Vance agreed with her. "Wanna kill ourselves to get away from it?"

Sarah tried not to smile at his attempt to make her feel better. "No."

Vance still hadn't been able to recognize her yet, he was getting there, but he wasn't seeing Sarah yet. She was digging her nails into the palms of her hands, making little crescent moons. He tried, but he'd bitten his off. "Sorry you hate this would so much, Sheeps."

"It's okay." she shrugged, chewing on the inside of her mouth. "I don't hate this world. I was just mad. I couldn't hate it, only reason I met you."

Vance cracked a grin at her words. "Maybe if we were both dead we'd have met."

"Maybe so. Are ghost allowed to fall in love?" she gave a questionable look.

"We're in love?" he gave her a look of disbelief.

"Finney said we are. He's usually right." Sarah looked down at the table. "I think we are."

"Okay, that's fine." Vance shrugged his shoulders. "You think we'll break up?"

"Yeah." Sarah said it honestly. "I think we'll piss each other off in a couple years and you'll break up with me and i'll throw Aspen in your face and blame you for it."

"Sounds about right." he had to agreed. "I'll probably meet someone just like you and try not to hate them because they remind me so much of you."

"You probably will, and you'll fall in love with them because they remind you so much of me." Sarah shrugged her shoulders, hiding a smile. "Makes sense. You obviously have a type."

"Not true." he argued. "You won't hate yours."

"What?" Sarah gave a questionable look.

"Who ever you get with when we break up and I date someone just like you. I don't think you'll hate em." Vance shook his head at her. "You'll probably like that they're completely different then me, but you'll still miss me all the time and obviously think about me all the time."

"Duh, you and your other golden person partner." Sarah cracked a grin, Vance had to laugh now as they dropped the act. "I don't actually want us to break up."

"I know." his feet touched hers under the table. "I don't want us to break up either."

"But, if we ever do, can we at least agree that we'll eventually see other people? Like, we won't be traumatized by our break up and scared of dating? That happened to my aunt and she's miserable." Sarah stared at him as Vance nodded his head. "But, obviously not right away. I don't wanna be that forgetful."

"No." Vance laughed at her. "Hate to break it to you, Sheeps...but you're not someone i'm ever gonna forget."

Sarah sat there for just a second. People likely thought that abour ber, but she'd never heard it. "Serious?"

"Serious." he confirmed. "Four years."

"What?" Sarah gave an odd look.

"Four years after our break up is when we start to see other people." Vance confirmed for her. "Seem like enough time?"

Sarah nodded. "Sounds about right."

Vance gave her a smile. "I wanted to tell you something. I thought it would have made you upset, so I didn't, but after tonight you probably wanna know."

Sarah straightened her back. "What?"

"About Billy." he stared at her. "There was this one time that I talked to him. It was just once."

"What did he say?" Sarah's eyes opened widened. "Why wouldn't you tell me that? When was this?"

"I don't know, a while ago. He was in Grab N Go looking for you, and I said I didn't know where you were." Vance explained with a shake of his head. "He had this box in his hand. And I didn't realize it was December until tonight."

"The month he went missing." Sarah nodded. "Early December?"

Vance nodded.

"He went missing late in December, a couple days before Christmas." her heart was racing for some reason, maybe she was scared. "What else did he say? Was that it?"

"Yeah, that was it." he nodded. "Was something going on in December? He had something for you."

"He never gave me anything in December." Sarah shook her head. "Nothing. I can't think of anything."

"He gave it to the old lady that works the other shift." Vance shrugged. "I guess I thought she gave it to you, I was just gonna ask you what it was but if you're saying you never got anything..."

"Come on." Sarah stood up. "I know where she lives."

Vance's eyebrows shot up. "You literally can't be serious."

Sarah's turned back to look at him. "Is Vance Hopper turning down an illegal date with me?"

"Oh, this is a date?" he rose his eyebrows. "Classy, i'm won over."

"Knew you'd like it." she wink, grabbing his hand as they hurried out of the diner together.

"Agatha!" Sarah beat on her front door. "Agatha! Open this door!"

"Yeah, Agatha!" Vance agreed as he kicked the door. It opened up, the pair seemingly scaring the old woman from all the noise. "Of course you're scared, old hag!"

"I know you stole something from me." Sarah stared at her. "Two Decembers ago. Billy Showalter brought something to Grab N Go for me. Something he couldn't give me himself so he left it for you. You need to tell me what it was right now."

She exhaled with a guilty look. "Sarah, you have to understand-"

"I don't have to do anything. Where the hell it is?" she demanded an answer, she was mad and her heart rate was speeding up. "Do you want me to call the police? You steal something from a kid that went missing a few weeks later? That sounds real good."

She frowned, holding the door open. "Come in."

Sarah and Vance walked into the outdated house as she grabbed her glasses from the counter. "I'll go grab it for you."

Sarah shook her head as she walked away, looking at Vance. "What the fuck?"

"Just say the word and shes as good as roadkill." he gave her a knowing look.

Agatha walked back in with a box. Vance nodded. "That's it."

Sarah took it from her, using her own counter to lay it down and pull it open. She reached inside and pulled out an orange jacket. It was his, he wore it all the time and randomly stopped. Sarah stared at it. "He thought I had it this whole time and never appreciated it."

"No, Sarah." Agatha shook her head with a guilty look. "Do you remember around that time? It was winter and i'd just started working at Grab N Go, it was my first week."

She didn't remember that, but Sarah nodded. "I'd lose my husband in the war, and i'd just had my baby. When Thomas died, we had nothing. I wasn't working, that's why I had to get the job once our savings wore out. I didn't realizing how cold December would have been, my little Rose and I were freezing and living in my car until I made enough to at least get any apartment, because we'd lost the house. I did take the jacket, to cover my daughter while she slept. But, Billy saw us when he came back the next day to pick you up. My shift didn't start for a few more hours but I had no gas to move the car."

Sarah stared at her, for once Vance was silent. Agatha's face was red in embarrassment as her eyes casted down. "I immediately apologized, i'd had hopped he wouldn't have noticed. But, he did and I tried to give it back. But, he saw how we were living and he told me to keep it. Later that night, be brought Rose and I pillows and blankets, easy food and some firewood. He paid for my gas so we could park somewhere warmer."

Sarah dropped the jacket, her heart was in her stomach. Agatha smiled through her teary eyes. "He was such a good person, Sarah. We wouldn't have made it that winter without his help. I should have told you when I had enough to afford the house, i'm sorry."

"It's not fair." Sarah mumbled it, her eyes were down and she felt like throwing up. "He was such a good person and got taken just a few weeks after. It's not fair. It's not fucking fair."

"We should go, Sheeps." Vance encouraged. Billy lingered and caused her enough pain today, he wanted to trap her at his house and just let the night pass.

"I'm sorry...for everything I said." Sarah looked at Agatha with guilt, watery eyes. "Billy was...a good person. Better then I ever will be."

"You take it now. It was suppose to be yours." Agatha rubbed her face as she put the jacket in Sarah's arms. "I hope it'll keep you warm this winter."

She laughed as she held it, it was fading and likely had no trace of him on it. Yet, it was the jacket she'd met him in, and at some point he loved it just as much as she loved him. "Thank you."

Agatha rubbed ber arm before Vance nodded for Sarah to come, holding the door open as they left. He wrapped his arm around her once they were outside, Sarah's arms locking around his waist. "Let's go home, Sheeps. I think we've had enough romance for one date."

•

kylie speaks

two things i want to
say.

1.did you guys catch the fact
that i was hinting at brance
together in the afterlife with
the whole "dating someone
just like sarah" thing?

2.what are some other fandoms
y'all are in that are modern day time lines (as in don't say stranger things)...i kinda wanna make sarah a parent to
someone in my drafts so we can kinda see her just a little more in adulthood life.

3. (even though i said i only had two things to say) hot bitches cry over sarah and billy.