Hello everyone! I was bored the other day and decided to start writing this fanfiction I'd had in my head for a while, a sort of combination between the stories I like now and the show of my childhood. I'm not sure where it's going to go, but I know it's fun to write! None of the characters belong to me, of course, copyright and all that. Let me know what you think in the comments!

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Chapter 1

Monsters didn't deserve kindness. She knew that. No one expected her to bother, under the circumstances, but she told herself that it was for that precise reason that she had to show compassion. If she didn't, no one else would, and if she did, she could remain the bigger person. The better person. She would be as different from that horrible person as possible.

Walking into the jail, the guards recognized her face, smiled at her familiar resolve and cheer. "How are you today? It's nice to see you," they called to her, her presence brightening the mood of the drab location. The girl responded in kind, grinning back, "I'm doing good, it's nice to see you too."

Everyone knew who she was there to see, and it had become an unspoken rule amongst the guards not to not speak about it. They brought the prisoner out to the phone behind bullet-proof glass, then returned the prisoner after the conversation was over. No one asked any questions, no one made any comments. It had been that way for years, the first Friday of the month, without fail.

The girl took her seat in front of the glass, then nodded to the guard on the other side that she was ready. Bring her in. The girl composed herself, trying to look upbeat and confident by the time the door opened.

Choppy, limp, red hair hung in her face, obscuring her eyes and the glare they were creating. She sat in front of the glass with an angry huff, her shoulders rigid, her handcuffed hands curled into fists. Nothing about her stature indicated that she wanted to be there, and yet, month after month, she still agreed to the visitation. Whatever her motives were, they were well hidden.

Each girl picked up their phones and held them to their ear, a moment of silence passing between them before either began to speak. "Vicky," the visiting girl finally greeted, attempting to smile and seem happy.

"Tootie," the redhead scoffed, her eyes dead, her face unflinching in its cold anger.

"I don't go by that anymore," the visiting girl answered simply, the same words spoken every month, "we're not in elementary school anymore."

"You don't say?" Vicky responded, glancing around the penitentiary, her voice venomous and annoyed. "What are you trying out this year?"

"Thea," the girl responded, holding her head up. Thea sounded interesting. Intriguing. Unique. It was a stretch, sure, but it had to be better than Tootie, and anything was better than Dorothy. Named after some sitcom character with a grandmotherly name, she had been used to trying to make the best out of it, switching nicknames every few years. A new identity each time, a new name and persona. The girl felt like she had been shouldered with a name that refused to fit her.

"Whatever," Vicky grumbled bitterly, rolling her eyes without any attempt at being subtle.

Another moment of silence passed between the sisters, the glass not nearly enough to hold back the tension. "Are you doing okay?" Thea finally asked. Vicky raised an eyebrow speculatively, and so her sister elaborated. "Are they treating you well? Are you making friends-"

"Cut the crap, Thea," Vicky snapped, her eyes narrowing cruelly. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," Thea answered, her face unwavering, her voice still calm.

"Why? Why the hell are you here?" Vicky leaned closer to the glass, almost as though she was trying to see the explanation written somewhere on Thea. "I know you hate me."

"I don't hate you."

"Yes, you do, you liar. You hate me." A smile began to creep up on Vicky's face, as though the hatred pleased her. "You hate me because of what I did. So do mom and dad, that's why they never come. But you...you come because there's someone you hate more than me."

Thea continued to stare ahead, her face still composed, a shield against any of her sister's words. Nothing Vicky could do could hurt her anymore. Nothing. "Who? Who do I hate more than you?"

The smile spread across Vicky's face, an expression so wicked that Thea had to focus on not shivering. In a whisper, Vicky breathed the name: "Yourself."

Thea raised her eyebrows and Vicky laughed, elaborating on with faint excitement. "You hate yourself, because deep down, you know this is your fault. You know it all happened because of you, you know that they would be here if it weren't for you."

There was no reason to relinquish control. It was what Vicky wanted, and Thea wouldn't give her that victory. "You're wrong," she responded briskly. That was the end of it.

"How does it feel," Vicky asked, her voice suddenly silky and persuasive, "knowing that you helped to kill a man?" Thea took a deep breath. Vicky wouldn't get a rise out of her, not anymore. "How does it feel, knowing that you let your sister take the blame? That you let him take the blame?"

That was what did it. The arrow that managed to penetrate all of her shields. Him. The thought of him shook Thea to her core, unleashing memories she had tried to keep buried. "Stop," she said calmly, trying to put an end to the pain before it could begin. It only made Vicky press harder though.

"Some way to show love," Vicky chided, her eyes menacing and dangerous. "Leave him in there, facing death-"

"Stop."

"Get him locked up-"

"I said stop."

"Make him out to be a damn psycho-"

"I said stop, Vicky!" Thea cried out, her composure finally slipping. The redhead's menacing grin grew, empowered by the emotional pain she was inflicting.

"You ruined him. You ruined him, and you blame yourself. You only come here out of guilt, because you aren't allowed to see him."

Thea tried to argue, but the more she stammered, the more her emotions began to come towards the surface. She could feel herself beginning to shake, hot tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. Finally, she gave up, admitted defeat and stood up, slamming the phone back down again. "I hope you rot in here!" She shrieked, suddenly wanting nothing more than for her sister to suffer the punishment she deserved.

It had been Vicky's fault. Vicky, and that...that creep. That monster. They had done it, they had destroyed everything. Thea hadn't done anything, she had been a young girl, a different girl. Tootie. Tootie hadn't done anything. Yet, somewhere, in the back of Thea's mind, Vicky's words gnawed at her, getting to her and making her worry. What if she had been the reason? What if it was all her fault? Maybe...maybe everything would still be okay...

The image of him being taken away from there, the blood dotting his pink clothes, the fire ravaging his childhood home, was an image that Thea had tried to erase from her mind for years, all without success. He had been taken away, her sister had been put in jail, and the entire city of Dimmsdale seemed to turn a cold shoulder to her. Rumors circulated about what had actually happened that night, but nobody ever quite seemed to hit the truth. Thea had some ideas though, and in guilt, they traced back to her.

She turned on her heels and stormed out of the jail, avoiding any of the guards' glances or kind hearted goodbyes. All Thea wanted was to leave, leave everything. She hurried to her car, the tears swelling up further in her eyes, blurring the world around her. She felt so alone, so miserable.

"I wish he was here," Thea breathed, leaning against her car. Instantly, she felt stupid. A silly little girl with a crush, chasing after a boy. After all, what good was wishing anymore?