p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Veronica examined the outside of the 7-11 for a moment. These stores always reeked of familiarity for her, and she was beginning to hate it. The memory of Jason Dean still lingered in her thoughts, despite his passing several years before. She looked around for a moment, before stepping into the mostly empty store. She frowned at the old gunky slushy machine, before going to pour herself a nice cup of brain freeze anyways. Old habits die hard. She gave a sigh, sticking a straw into the cherry Slurpee, before grabbing a chocolate bar and turning around./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Suddenly, she found herself looking into a familiar pair of eyes. She screamed, startled for a moment, as her heart flittered in her chest./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Miss me?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"JD had moved to a different city, wanting to forget his unfortunate past, but he couldn't seem to get the girl out of his mind. So far, she had been the only one to reject him, and at the turning point of their train-wreck of a relationship, even drove him to suicide. That was weak of him, he thought to himself. He intended to make things /The ex-Heather stood there, staring blankly, and stepping back. Veronica was quite a smart girl - and knew that, logically, there was no way this was real. It wasn't /It seemed that in the years since he'd been gone, she'd resorted to self-harm rather than slushies. Both her arms were badly cut all the way up to , cigarette burns placed in spaces on the other parts of her arms. She was shaking softly. "W-what- what the hell is going on-"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /JD took a quick look at her arms, and looked back into her eyes. There was an awkward silence before he chuckled, "You've really let yourself go." He absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck, where scars still remained from the day he had unsuccessfully tried to blow up an entire school. It filled him with a familiar anger to think that Veronica had been the cause of had imagined this exact scenario for years, but his mind always went blank at this point. He hadn't expected this, either. The whirr of the slushie machines went on in the background as he slowly scrutinized the self-inflicted cuts and burns that criss-crossed Veronica's soft /Scared, Veronica slowly backed away, dragging her arms across the back counter. She knocked over a stack of soda lids, letting out a gasp of surprise./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Let me help you with that." JD moved closer towards her, as she scrambled away in panic. "LEAVE ME ALONE."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"JD was shocked, and stopped dead in his tracks. The words stung, with a pain he recognized from his childhood. He had always felt he was pushing everyone away from him, and a mixture of confusion and anger flowed through his veins. He laughed, "You don't have any power over me. Look at you!" He scrutinized Veronica with obvious disdain. "You're not even worth my time."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /She looked down at the cuts on her own arms, frowning slightly, and stepping back again. She rushed to stack up the soda lids, before she heard him laugh and speak again. She turned to him, again, the yelling shaking the poor girl up. She dropped the chocolate bar and the slushie, running out of the store, not wanting to turn back. She shook, whimpering out softly, and falling on to her knees. The brunette was scared. Was she on drugs? What was going on? She began to scratch at her arms, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter with shaking hands./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /JD watched silently as the brunette ran out of the store. He chased after her, this wasn't how it was supposed to be. "WAIT." He ran outside to find her lighting a cigarette, and he grabbed her by the wrist, shaking the cigarette out of her grasp. She still had the lighter in her grasp, but he didn't care. "What exactly are you trying to do?" he growled. The neon lights of the gas station flickered in the night, and his grip tightened in anger./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /She gave a whimper, managing to drop the lighter and pick up the cigarette, taking a puff and closing her eyes tight. She let herself exhale the smoke as her whole body shook in fear. Veronica shook her head slightly, taking another puff, before dropping the cigarette again. She let herself go limp, a whine coming from /JD calmed down a bit, scared of what he could do. He stood there, staring into her eyes. It had been years since he last saw her, and she had aged considerably well. Her scared eyes may have darted about anxiously, but she looked stunning. He laughed a bit to himself after looking down at his own clothes, dressed as always, in a trench coat. He let go of her hand, and stared at her./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Why? Why didn't you just move away? You knew they never found the body, you KNEW I could've been out there. WHY put yourself into danger?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I-I tried to kill myself a week after you disappeared- b-because I was scared. I- m-my mom wouldn't let me move and-and I'm still living with her n-now and they put me on meds and-" She continued to stutter out, before beginning to sob, reaching for the lighter as her heart began to pound quicker./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"JD calmed down, feeling bad for Veronica. She had practically ruined the rest of his life, but damn. She had it bad./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Abandoning his "dad" was the best choice he'd ever made, but it was overshadowed by his overwhelming feelings about leaving the town, about leaving Veronica. It would be better for the both of them, he told himself. Still, he couldn't get the girl out of his fucking head. Why else would he be here? "Look, I... I really don't know what to say." His facade faded a bit, as he ran his hand through his hair. "Shit, I- Why?" His anger at himself surged hot through his veins. "I could hurt you, I could hurt myself. I'm dangerous." He breathed, his voice gravelly from indecision and pain. Just go. Get out of my head, get out of this place. You don't deserve to be here. He almost said. But he didn't, and the space between them was filled with cold, eerie silence./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /Veronica was still for a bit, staring at nothingness as she began to cry. She didn't know what was going on with her. What's wrong with you, you freak? Pull yourself together. You don't deserve to live. You should cut more next time. The thoughts kept coming to her. She was silent for a little while, before she looked up, tears in her eyes as she trembled in fear./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""P-please, please kill me," She whispered./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Please."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"JD stared down at her in shock, and his mind went blank. This isn't what he wanted, this isn't what he wanted at all./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He bit his lip. He didn't know what he wanted, but it definitely wasn't this. He cringed, and dug his hands into his hair. His arms fell, going limp by his /"I can't do this, Veronica. Not to you. Not to the only girl I've ever actually liked." His voice cracked, and fresh tears rolled down his warm cheeks. He took the gun out of his jacket pocket, and fingered it absentmindedly./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /"I just want you to know it's not all your fault. We may have had our differences, and that doesn't change the fact that I'm a shitstain of a person. But it doesn't mean that you should have gone on blaming yourself for all these years, either." He looked down at his hands, refusing to look her in the eye. "I can't kill you, Veronica. And I can't fix things, either. But it would be better for the both of us if I was gone." He cocked the gun, releasing a satisfying click as he slowly aimed the gun to his head. He looked up to the sky and smiled to himself. He'd do it right this time, he told himself. He'd finally let go.../p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""NO!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"he heard the scream in the distance behind the ringing in his ears, and the sound of the adrenaline that rushed through his veins. The gun was cocked, there was only one thing left to do. He rested his index finger on the trigger, reliving his memories one last time. The cold tears that streaked down his cheeks, the energy that bristled through him, and he did it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He pulled the trigger./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Veronica let every waking moment of her life pass by her eyes, and she felt herself crumbling more and more. She couldn't see, she was having a panic attack. A soft sob came from the girl as she felt herself trying to stand was just able to, and stumbled on to him, managing to pull the gun away from his head. Her voice broke as she whimpered out a quiet "stop it". She felt her heart beating out of her chest, her eyes red and puffy./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"They both heard the shot ring out behind them, but it didn't hit him, thank god./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jason Dean, was, Veronica could say truthfully, her first real love. She never wanted to leave, she just wanted to be happy and normal. She closed her eyes for a moment, and shook her head. She couldn't let him do this. How could he ever think this was okay?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /"If it didn't work when I tried, why do you think I'd let you? I've tried three times! I was about to try again tonight, I mean, I have the god damn pills in my bag, JD! You not being here has made me the happiest but also the most broken girl I've ever fucking been! I'm fucking sick of being alone! I'm fucking sick of everything, Jason Dean! I don't want to be alive - most mornings I wake up and can't get the bittersweet thought of you out of my head! Still, I'm forced to make it through every god damned, dull-ass day without the one person I finally felt I could stand to be around! You're the worst person I've ever fucking met," She growled the last /She gave a little, angry chuckle. "I guess the heart wants what it wants."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"JD, shocked, laughed a bit at the broken, scarred girl that intimidatingly stared into his eyes. His fingers ached for the trigger that had laid in his grasp just a moment ago, and his mind for the release. He took his first real look at her from a different perspective./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The girl that stood before him no longer seemed alone, she no longer seemed weak. She was a girl with purpose, and she didn't want him to die. A new stream of understanding rolled down his already tear-streaked cheeks. He wasn't worthless, and neither was she. They were just two teens under unfortunate circumstances, with broken /He fell onto his knees, sobbing. "I'm so sorry for what I've done."He looked into the eyes of the girl that stood before him, feeling for the first time remorse, regret, and god knows what else. He felt ashamed. How could he have been so blind?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /How could he have done this to the only girl he'd ever loved?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /Veronica watched him crumple to his knees, still silent for a few moments. She was still scared, still shocked. She just didn't know what to do. So she sunk to her knees in front of him, and hugged him to her. She held him close to her chest, allowing herself to shake and close her eyes. He was the reason she hated herself./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"But, considering what was going to happen tonight?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He was also the reason she's alive./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"A/N: Tell me if you want more/story ideas in the comments!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Thanks!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Suddenly, she found herself looking into a familiar pair of eyes. She screamed, startled for a moment, as her heart flittered in her chest./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Miss me?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"JD had moved to a different city, wanting to forget his unfortunate past, but he couldn't seem to get the girl out of his mind. So far, she had been the only one to reject him, and at the turning point of their train-wreck of a relationship, even drove him to suicide. That was weak of him, he thought to himself. He intended to make things /The ex-Heather stood there, staring blankly, and stepping back. Veronica was quite a smart girl - and knew that, logically, there was no way this was real. It wasn't /It seemed that in the years since he'd been gone, she'd resorted to self-harm rather than slushies. Both her arms were badly cut all the way up to , cigarette burns placed in spaces on the other parts of her arms. She was shaking softly. "W-what- what the hell is going on-"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /JD took a quick look at her arms, and looked back into her eyes. There was an awkward silence before he chuckled, "You've really let yourself go." He absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck, where scars still remained from the day he had unsuccessfully tried to blow up an entire school. It filled him with a familiar anger to think that Veronica had been the cause of had imagined this exact scenario for years, but his mind always went blank at this point. He hadn't expected this, either. The whirr of the slushie machines went on in the background as he slowly scrutinized the self-inflicted cuts and burns that criss-crossed Veronica's soft /Scared, Veronica slowly backed away, dragging her arms across the back counter. She knocked over a stack of soda lids, letting out a gasp of surprise./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Let me help you with that." JD moved closer towards her, as she scrambled away in panic. "LEAVE ME ALONE."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"JD was shocked, and stopped dead in his tracks. The words stung, with a pain he recognized from his childhood. He had always felt he was pushing everyone away from him, and a mixture of confusion and anger flowed through his veins. He laughed, "You don't have any power over me. Look at you!" He scrutinized Veronica with obvious disdain. "You're not even worth my time."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /She looked down at the cuts on her own arms, frowning slightly, and stepping back again. She rushed to stack up the soda lids, before she heard him laugh and speak again. She turned to him, again, the yelling shaking the poor girl up. She dropped the chocolate bar and the slushie, running out of the store, not wanting to turn back. She shook, whimpering out softly, and falling on to her knees. The brunette was scared. Was she on drugs? What was going on? She began to scratch at her arms, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter with shaking hands./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /JD watched silently as the brunette ran out of the store. He chased after her, this wasn't how it was supposed to be. "WAIT." He ran outside to find her lighting a cigarette, and he grabbed her by the wrist, shaking the cigarette out of her grasp. She still had the lighter in her grasp, but he didn't care. "What exactly are you trying to do?" he growled. The neon lights of the gas station flickered in the night, and his grip tightened in anger./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /She gave a whimper, managing to drop the lighter and pick up the cigarette, taking a puff and closing her eyes tight. She let herself exhale the smoke as her whole body shook in fear. Veronica shook her head slightly, taking another puff, before dropping the cigarette again. She let herself go limp, a whine coming from /JD calmed down a bit, scared of what he could do. He stood there, staring into her eyes. It had been years since he last saw her, and she had aged considerably well. Her scared eyes may have darted about anxiously, but she looked stunning. He laughed a bit to himself after looking down at his own clothes, dressed as always, in a trench coat. He let go of her hand, and stared at her./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Why? Why didn't you just move away? You knew they never found the body, you KNEW I could've been out there. WHY put yourself into danger?"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""I-I tried to kill myself a week after you disappeared- b-because I was scared. I- m-my mom wouldn't let me move and-and I'm still living with her n-now and they put me on meds and-" She continued to stutter out, before beginning to sob, reaching for the lighter as her heart began to pound quicker./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"JD calmed down, feeling bad for Veronica. She had practically ruined the rest of his life, but damn. She had it bad./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Abandoning his "dad" was the best choice he'd ever made, but it was overshadowed by his overwhelming feelings about leaving the town, about leaving Veronica. It would be better for the both of them, he told himself. Still, he couldn't get the girl out of his fucking head. Why else would he be here? "Look, I... I really don't know what to say." His facade faded a bit, as he ran his hand through his hair. "Shit, I- Why?" His anger at himself surged hot through his veins. "I could hurt you, I could hurt myself. I'm dangerous." He breathed, his voice gravelly from indecision and pain. Just go. Get out of my head, get out of this place. You don't deserve to be here. He almost said. But he didn't, and the space between them was filled with cold, eerie silence./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /Veronica was still for a bit, staring at nothingness as she began to cry. She didn't know what was going on with her. What's wrong with you, you freak? Pull yourself together. You don't deserve to live. You should cut more next time. The thoughts kept coming to her. She was silent for a little while, before she looked up, tears in her eyes as she trembled in fear./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""P-please, please kill me," She whispered./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""Please."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"JD stared down at her in shock, and his mind went blank. This isn't what he wanted, this isn't what he wanted at all./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He bit his lip. He didn't know what he wanted, but it definitely wasn't this. He cringed, and dug his hands into his hair. His arms fell, going limp by his /"I can't do this, Veronica. Not to you. Not to the only girl I've ever actually liked." His voice cracked, and fresh tears rolled down his warm cheeks. He took the gun out of his jacket pocket, and fingered it absentmindedly./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /"I just want you to know it's not all your fault. We may have had our differences, and that doesn't change the fact that I'm a shitstain of a person. But it doesn't mean that you should have gone on blaming yourself for all these years, either." He looked down at his hands, refusing to look her in the eye. "I can't kill you, Veronica. And I can't fix things, either. But it would be better for the both of us if I was gone." He cocked the gun, releasing a satisfying click as he slowly aimed the gun to his head. He looked up to the sky and smiled to himself. He'd do it right this time, he told himself. He'd finally let go.../p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;""NO!"/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"he heard the scream in the distance behind the ringing in his ears, and the sound of the adrenaline that rushed through his veins. The gun was cocked, there was only one thing left to do. He rested his index finger on the trigger, reliving his memories one last time. The cold tears that streaked down his cheeks, the energy that bristled through him, and he did it./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He pulled the trigger./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Veronica let every waking moment of her life pass by her eyes, and she felt herself crumbling more and more. She couldn't see, she was having a panic attack. A soft sob came from the girl as she felt herself trying to stand was just able to, and stumbled on to him, managing to pull the gun away from his head. Her voice broke as she whimpered out a quiet "stop it". She felt her heart beating out of her chest, her eyes red and puffy./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"They both heard the shot ring out behind them, but it didn't hit him, thank god./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Jason Dean, was, Veronica could say truthfully, her first real love. She never wanted to leave, she just wanted to be happy and normal. She closed her eyes for a moment, and shook her head. She couldn't let him do this. How could he ever think this was okay?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /"If it didn't work when I tried, why do you think I'd let you? I've tried three times! I was about to try again tonight, I mean, I have the god damn pills in my bag, JD! You not being here has made me the happiest but also the most broken girl I've ever fucking been! I'm fucking sick of being alone! I'm fucking sick of everything, Jason Dean! I don't want to be alive - most mornings I wake up and can't get the bittersweet thought of you out of my head! Still, I'm forced to make it through every god damned, dull-ass day without the one person I finally felt I could stand to be around! You're the worst person I've ever fucking met," She growled the last /She gave a little, angry chuckle. "I guess the heart wants what it wants."/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"JD, shocked, laughed a bit at the broken, scarred girl that intimidatingly stared into his eyes. His fingers ached for the trigger that had laid in his grasp just a moment ago, and his mind for the release. He took his first real look at her from a different perspective./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"The girl that stood before him no longer seemed alone, she no longer seemed weak. She was a girl with purpose, and she didn't want him to die. A new stream of understanding rolled down his already tear-streaked cheeks. He wasn't worthless, and neither was she. They were just two teens under unfortunate circumstances, with broken /He fell onto his knees, sobbing. "I'm so sorry for what I've done."He looked into the eyes of the girl that stood before him, feeling for the first time remorse, regret, and god knows what else. He felt ashamed. How could he have been so blind?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /How could he have done this to the only girl he'd ever loved?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"br /Veronica watched him crumple to his knees, still silent for a few moments. She was still scared, still shocked. She just didn't know what to do. So she sunk to her knees in front of him, and hugged him to her. She held him close to her chest, allowing herself to shake and close her eyes. He was the reason she hated herself./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"But, considering what was going to happen tonight?/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"He was also the reason she's alive./p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;" /p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"_/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"A/N: Tell me if you want more/story ideas in the comments!/p
p style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15.12px; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'GNU Unifont', Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; margin: 1.286em auto; padding: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: #2a2a2a;"Thanks!/p