The death of a mean girl: Shift in the wind

by Golneth

A slice of life tale at Pine Hollow that shows the ups and downs of Veronica Di'angelo as she goes through the highs and lows of day to day living. A Life by Life's terms story of Love, grief, friendship and rebirth. This chapter focuses mainly on past events through Veronica's eyes but I've added a new spin on what happens after these events.

Chapter one

Shift in the wind.

Veronica always gave Kristi the best advice she could have when it came to relationships. She'd been a methodical thinker from day one, stringing together ideas in minuets. She was good at devising plans to help set Kristi up with Red, a stable hand at Pine Hollow, who Kristi had a crush on. Building a plan from scratch was easy, seeing it through to the end was different. To Veronica Kristi's feelings were totally absurd. The families they came from were rich, with longstanding bloodlines dating back all the way to the 1700's, but she did try to accept them nonetheless and still lent a hand to help. After her plan's to 'help' were more likely to backfire rather than to succeed Veronica wanted to give up, and Kristi's infatuation for Red, became just that, an infatuation which would more than likely die out when another boy road in out of the blue. If he was an attractive young man, Kristi jumped the ship faster than anyone she'd ever met. It wasn't the first time Kristi had "Jumped the ship" either. Chris, Murry and James, when they came along Kristi had forgotten Red existed and it earned her to title "stable flirt"

Her friend could be so annoying at times. The way she pined after him resembled a hungry dog begging for a bone. It pinched Veronica's gut hard. It without a doubt had been one of the most degrading, pathetic, waste of time things she had played witness to. To watch Kristi, a posh, well bred girl turn into a love struck imbecile stung worse than a blistering sunburn. It literally hurt to watch! Veronica got sick of feeling the burn from secondhand embarrassment. She tried to sway Kristi's view on Red after awhile because of it. Explaining to her that a lower class, welfare citizen didn't deserve her time and would be better off with someone who was suited her standards. Red had been a stable hand at Pine Hollow for many years, and he had always been a stable hand and probably would always be one. Red had nothing to offer Kristi but Kristi never gave up!

Veronica considered herself well versed in reality (at least the most basic ones) She'd been better to recognize the brass tracks for other people than she could for herself. If stripping him down to those standards failed, Veronica had a mean left hook, and struck the low blow when the chance provided itself. Veronica made it clear if he hadn't fallen for her by now it wasn't going to happen at all. But Kristi told Veronica otherwise. Her friend only had eye's for Red (for now) and did everything in her god given power to catch his eye, no matter how many times it turned into an utter disaster. Veronica hated it, absolutely hated it.

If the roles were reversed Kristi would have never stood for Veronica having her feelings crushed. (of course Veronica would never stoop to the level of pining for anyone for a long period of time) Nonetheless, Kristi wouldn't allow it. When the French girl, Dorothee, came to Pine Hollow, Veronica thought she'd have never heard the end of it from Kristi. It wasn't until Kristi managed to utter the words "I hate Red" "I'll never forgive Red" "Red is a creep!" that Veronica began to thank God for Dorothee. However, Dorothee eventually left and if Kristi could have been anything it would have been a light switch. She flipped the switch in her head within a hot minuet and so started blazed the long endless ride to snag Red.

What it took to be a friend sometimes made Veronica want to quit friendship all together. In fact, she could always think of a time where Kristi put Red before her. The overnight trail ride three years ago was a memory that fixed itself in her head often. Kristi dropped her for Red without a second thought once she found out her coudln't come with them. Kristi abandoned her to the likes of the Saddle club, a pitiful ordinary time, or it got that way towards the end. At first, it wasn't all bad at the start because she had met Phil though that blew up in her face after he fell for the saddle club member, Stevie, on sight. Which still blew her mind to this day. A plethora of instances came where Kristi left her for Red. She got thrown to the sidelines like a bone for the dog because of that pitiful excuse for a crush. Those were some of the loneliest days she could recall. Of course to admit to it was a compromise and Veronica was not about to swallow her pride to explain how hurt her feelings were.

She was a Di'angelo after all and a Di'angelo would rather cut off a limb to protect their pride and reputation before they ever let someone run them over. Her mother embedded it into her head over the years that people would kick her if she were down for the count. Her father did as well. Mr. Di'angelo liked to think people were out to get them and as a result, Veronica thought the same thing.

"Don't you dare let them see the egg on your face, Darling." Mrs, Di'angelo explained. "If you're weak its the first thing people notice, and if they notice they wont hesitate to knock you down a few more notches."

"There are those who will seek to ruin you, pumpkin, and you have to be strong to stand against the ire. Don't let anyone run you over." Her father would say. "Fight back, show them they can't control you because you're the one in control!"

At the time, Veronica had been too young to truly understand what her mother and father were laying down. When she got a little older and joined Pine Hollow Veronica got a taste for what they had warned her about. An older student named Ingrid had taken advantage of her once and when Veronica put her foot down Ingrid locked her in a dark broom closet. Everyone had gone on a hike and left her stranded for hours. She'd finally been released by Ingrid who threatened to make her experience at Pine Hollow all the more horrible if Veronica opened her big mouth. It was like that for awhile, half the year had flown by before Veronica told her mother about the situation. The advice 'angelo gave her still rang the truest of all.

"Reputation is everything Veronica, especially in this family. This Ingrid Romanov has all but succeeded in running our family name through the muck! and you let her!"

"Mum its not like I wanted her to! I told her I wasn't going to stand for it, and she locked me up in the broom clos-"

"Remember what I told you about weaklings?"

"S-Sort of, but what does it matter now?"

"It matters a whole lot Veronica! Most people who see weakness see an opportunity. The weaker the man or women is the easier it will be to use them. And you made yourself an excellent example. If you're weak you have no pride or self respect. If you don't have that you're going bow down to anyone who threatens you."

"Ugh, you don't get it mum. She's 17 and I'm 10! What 17 year old would ever listen to me?"

"Well make it where she doesn't have to listen to you, ignore her. Go on about your day."

"She'll hurt me! What part of 'she locked me in the broom closet' don't you get?"

"Dear lord have some self respect Veronica! Toughen up! Did you let her break your backbone while you were there? I mean really. Get ready to be manipulated for the rest of your life Veronica if you have that attitude!"

"But mum!"

"You're a smart girl Veronica and you know it, figure it out, you can do it. Threaten her with something, find what is weak in her and then strike! Be observant of the people around you, and you WILL find these qualities that make it easier for you to bowl over them rather than them mowing you down. YOU get THEM, before THEY get YOU."

It had been so simple all along, just 6 words summed up what her mother had been trying to tell her. Get them before they get you. After that it didn't take long before Veronica struck a hard blow to Ingrid by buying her horse and selling it off, spread rumors about her, mucked up her stall after she'd cleaned it and so on. She'd chased her out of Pine Hollow eventually and from that day forward Veronica was the queen bee. The other students who had fallen victim to Ingrid praised Veronica for what she did. The compliments flew left and right and they looked up to her. They respected her, they did everything she asked of them and life had been good, at least for awhile. But somewhere along the line she had turned into Ingrid mixed in with her own Di'angelo swagger.

If Pine Hollow had a new students Veronica was quick to fly in and find their weaknesses, and have them do things for her in return for a better Pine Hollow experience. It became easier each time. She just had to show the right amount of force to get what she wanted out of them. The respect the other students had for her ended the day two girls entered the ring in the fall. Veronica attempted the same strategy with them as she did with the others. Stevie and Carole had joined Pine Hollow a year after she had and when she tried to take them "under her wing" it backfired, it backfired horribly and the turn out was more humiliating than when Ingrid embarrassed her.

She became angry, cold and ruthless to prove her points but the respect she earned the year before was lost and it only snowballed down hill from that point on. The other students didn't respect her as much as they had, talking back to her, making fun of her behind her back, never took her words seriously. Where had it all gone wrong? Veronica would never admit to her own faults so she blamed Stevie and Carole and eventually Lisa for ruining her. Everyone had no real respect for her, even Kristi herself didn't think much of Veronica's honest to goodness opinions anymore. After all she was still tailing behind Red, much to Veronica's displeasure. They were babies, the lot of them big blubbering bleeding hearts in her eyes. Carole, Stevie, Lisa, Kristi, the Pine hallow staff and students all wore their emotions on their sleeves.

It was easy to find what made them tick, what made them weak and she went out of her way to pummel their pride into the ground every chance she got. A snide comment here, a demeaning jab there but Veronica couldn't get deep enough under their skin to make them look like fools. She'd been defeated, thwarted by the saddle club in less than a year. It was substantial by this point and after awhile she dialed back the insults. It just became easier to walk away or keep away than to keep on, but she still felt like the joke was on her. Veronica's actions or ideas weren't nearly as sanctioned as those of the Saddle club. Those horse crazed Susie Q's were always constructing a plan to make things better in the most idiotic ways imaginable. The time they stole Prancer from was a burning beacon of their logic and no one said or did anything about it.

The Saddle club, if they did the wrong thing for the right reasons only got a halfhearted lecture and a pat on the bum from Max or Mrs. Reg then sent on their way. If she explained or conveyed the reality of a situation to them she was the cold, heartless rich girl who could have cared less about anything that didn't center around her. Everyone believed it and the Saddle club pushed it along even if it wasn't true. The thing she remembered most was crying a lot that year and crying alone. No one was home half the time and none of their help could speak English well. Veronica learned over time that in her home it was easier to deal with something on your own. A broken heart could only be mended by her own will power. She'd grown sick of crying, tired of letting her emotions rule her and as a result Veronica bottled it up, locked whatever pain, small or large, inside her, and built a fortress so high and thick it could never be broke into by anyone.

That is until Scooter rolled out of the woodworks.

There was no warning. No alarm had been rung, no announcement of his coming had been made. He was just there one afternoon when she came in, installing computer wires in the office. The Irish, computer dweeb, boy'o wonder somehow achieved a conversation with her every time he felt the need to throw his opinion at her feet. He'd also made quick friends with everyone at Pine Hollow which, of course, meant the saddle club as well. Scooter bopped his way to the top of her list of reasons to die, and it didn't take him long to do it either. Soon enough he bugged her more than anyone at Pine Hallow and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why. Veronica thought it may have been his joking nature at first. Then she was sure it was his lecturing her or butting into an exchange he wasn't apart of, but that still wasn't it. There was always a new reason to despise him.

He never left her alone and try as she might to get him off her back Scooter was an oak. Insulting him didn't work, it never warded him off. Ignoring him didn't work, she was too easy to get a rise out of. The shakes at JB's were too good to pass on and he worked there and at Pine hallow, so avoiding him, also, didn't work. She came to conclusion that it was simply just Scooter as a whole that bugged her. What bothered her the most was the obvious crush he had on what seemed like a crush; There were times she couldn't tell. But either way Scooter wasn't the type of person she wanted pining after her. There were far more superior and suitable companions to pick from. The only problem that lied in that was at times Veronica would initiate the conversation, thinking perhaps he'd done wrong and needed a scolding for it. If he displayed suspicious behavior Veronica had the eyes of a hawk but a mind drenched in paranoia. She'd accused him of stealing before and yet no one believed it could be him. He was too nice and that was the problem. Scooter was, in fact a very nice young man and at some point Veronica went out of her way to 'scold' him but in reality did it only to talk to him.

"I don't know what it is about him but he really gets under my skin."

"Maybe you like him?" Kristi had teased.

"He's arrogant! Totally full of himself! And- he's- he's-"

"Cute!"

"Irish! And that silly one sided grin… and the way his eyes sort of… crinkle up… Its so unfinished!"

"Yeah…"

He was attractive, big deal, he was still dirt poor and no Di'angelo would ever settle for someone like him. Being attracted to him was just one thing. Veronica could easily keep that information to herself with Kristi being the only other soul to know it. Scooter wasn't worth the aggravation or the anxiety it'd bring if she gave him the time of day. If he was an oak then she'd be an oak too. but when the Dance thrown by Pine Hollow happened the wind and life shifted course right under her very nose.

Kristi once again had her sights honed and locked in on Red. Be that as it may Veronica had been in a good mood during that time. The Kristi/Red bonanza wasn't nearly as irritating as it would have been if her mood had been the opposite. Veronica wanted to help Kristi again. She suggested that in order for Kristi to succeed in her schemes to snag him she'd have to make Red jealous and later had created a secret admirer for Kristi to do just that. The idea spawned while they were both at JB's discussing the matter over a couple of milkshakes. Veronica explained that if Red got jealous enough over another guy -who didn't exist- he'd see it as competition and ask her before the "other guy" asked her first.

Kristi only needed to know what buttons to push when it came to the male mind. Veronica, being an expert at pushing buttons, was sure the plan would work. Scooter had been behind the counter, listening in on her little plan and immediately threw in his own two cents when she finished. He told her that, what she said was rubbish and deep down both guys and girls were the same under the skin but she laughed it off. Scooter didn't have a girlfriend and probably never would, so what did he know? Veronica told him this, and when she heard him snort her skin began to burn. He always made her out to be a joke! There were times when he was far worse than the Saddle club. Though when he asked her to the dance himself right after he insulted her, Veronica tore the offer apart and told him to go work in a library.

That whole time she'd unknowingly put her foot in her mouth until the very end. Kristi got her wish and danced with Red, the Saddle club was there, Scooter showed up having not only a date, but TWO dates instead of none and she ended up with jack squat. And wouldn't you it those two girls Scooter scooped up worked at the Library. He made sure to wet that fact with the utmost satisfaction he could have conjured. All the emotion she felt intertwined together into one huge ball and clawed its ways to the center of her throat. Veronica's stomach twisted into a knot fueled with many emotions gathering together in one spot, but out of all of them, jealousy was the strongest. Jealous? Of what? She had a lot to be jealous for, but couldn't pin point what she envied the most. Everyone had a date and she didn't? Scooter having two dates and she had none? Or Scooter having two dates and neither of them were her? That thought shook her to the core.

The very next day she had been in a foul mood. Nothing was right anymore, nothing was secure, not even her own emotions which she was personally in charge of. If Scooter hadn't of come along to challenge her every word then maybe she'd at least have that under more control, but she didn't. Veronica had found him hiding out in the lounge with that stupid game of his. The sight of him added to the outrage inside her and how horrible of day it had been. If he was at the stables why wasn't anything done? Garnet's stall had still not been cleaned yet and there he was sitting about on his bum doing nothing.

"Is Garnet's stall clean yet?" She'd demanded.

"Search me." He'd replied

"Well did YOU clean it?"

"Did ya want me to clean it?"

"I shouldn't have to ask!"

"I'll do it if ya want me to."

"It should be done automatically!"

"Automatically? Oh uh… No … I - I don't think I've got a switch for tha. I'm just your no-frills manual model."

She rolled her eyes, always the one to joke and she let him know it, too. "Everything's just a joke to you isn't it Scooter?" he was quiet, at first, with his eyes focused on the wall as he thought.

"I've done my share of cry'n, but its laugh'n I prefer."

"Crying? What have you got the cry about?"

He had smiled at her then, eyes growing bright, suspicious and fearless."…Are you try'n to make friends with me, Veronica?" he'd asked.

"I'd have to be pretty desperate to do that." Very desperate indeed.

"Not desperate… Lonely maybe." Curse him!

"I'd say you're the lonely one Scooter."

"And Why do'ya think tha?"

"Because you're always so eager to talk to me!"

"Tha's because I like Ya."

The buzz in her bones was in the same category of being struck by a bolt of isolated lightening, he'd shocked her! Shocked her right into silence and a red face. He grinned at her silence.

"… Stop it…"

"I can't do that." Was what he said, a kind light flickered behind his eyes and he leaned forward. "You see, liking you IS automatic. I've got no off switch for it." To finish it off he placed his hand over his heart, giving it a little pat.

This was a joke, he had to be lying, it was nothing but a big fat lie on his part and Veronica above all else, hated a liar. Her chest heaved in and out and couldn't tell if her heart drummed hard against her chest from nerves or anger, perhaps both. He didn't waver though and when she said nothing back he grinned all the wider.

"… Like I said… everything is just a joke to you."

"Who's joking?"

What else was there to say? She's turned her back on him and just about broke the handle off the door trying escape.

It became increasingly harder to backtalk Scooter after that. He'd get her flustered into silence then won whatever argument he threw himself into with her. If he wasn't around Veronica was stumped in her head, he'd incited something to make her think about him often. He liked her? How could he like her? Liked her in what way? Well what other way could it be? She'd thought. It shouldn't have been this hard or confusing to convince herself otherwise. She shouldn't have even been trying to convince herself at all. It was a hand's down, not gonna happen scenario, bar none. In spite of all of that she couldn't help but like him. Scooter over time had was funny, witty and smart. It had grown on her, HE had grown on her and what she wanted so desperately to be annoying again was now charming to her.

Another time when Veronica was at JB's, a got debate fired up between them both. She was putting Red down again to Kristi's face, and told her that these feelings were only hormones. Kristi had better options available to her that came from wealthy families, families that went way back with their own. Kristi got upset and left but Scooter who, as always, was listening jumped in. Without fear he defended Red on Kristi's behalf. She rolled her eyes the second something dripped from his mouth. Veronica knew Kristi better than anyone at Pine Hollow, her habit's included and Kristi had a habit of fawning after any guy her little heart found attractive. If no one matched her standards appearance wise she'd latch back on to Red. Veronica with a cold tongue told him that the notion of love was nice but families like her's and Kristi's had a responsibility, and when he asked her to who, she explained it was to their families, their reputations and their children to come.

Scooter said he'd rather his children know their parents married for love. She told him she'd like to think so romantically but life in the upper echelons was more realistic than what he was trying to convey to her. For all that Scooter scoffed at her words, but it did prick him to a degree from the behavior displayed before her. "You need to loosen up, is my guess. Let the wind and life carry ya for while. Ya might like it." He smirked, shook his head and strolled away leaving her silent and red. To hide it, she rolled her eyes, grabbed a seat at a booth but thought on it

It was uncanny though. The last time she spoke to him Veronica had to talk about her family's wealth. Now the "upper echelons" of life had begun to crumbled under her feet. Veronica's family began to go through a financial crisis after some bad investments had been made. They didn't even have enough money to pay for Garnet's board at Pine Hollow, leaving her to pick up the slack and work at the stables to keep Garnet there. At JB's once again, Veronica mauled over it in her head quietly in the corner of the cafe. Scooter of course found her and immediately took on concern once he saw her saddened gaze. When he asked what was bothering her, she told him it was the end and it was all over for her.

"Are you okay Veronica?"

"…"

"You upset about something, or-?"

"What?"

"Has something bad happened?"

"Oh its worse than bad. Its the end."

"Can I ask what it is?"

"Oh… you'll find out anyways. The Di'angelo's are near enough to broke."

"Oh! It's only money." He'd said in a dismissive manor that bugged her to death. Of course he'd never take it seriously. He worked as a waiter on a minimum waged salary. He had no idea what it was like to have so much money, to have your future set in stone and now that stone was slowly turning into sand.

"It's A LOT of money!" She tried to explain.

"What I mean is, nobodies been hurt or killed so, it doesn't really matter."

"Only somebody who's never had money would say that."

"Well, Money's good don't get me wrong. But its who ya are that matters. Not what ya've got."

"But that's EXACTLY what makes me who I am. Without money, I-I'd be like everybody else… I'd be ordinary… Like the saddle club! Ugh!"

"I'd still like'ya. Rich or poor."

"You might, Scooter, but the people who matter wouldn't." She heard him make an exasperated sigh. She'd finally gotten under his skin and she wasn't sure if she liked that.

"And who are these "people" that matter, exactly?"

"The people with money!"

"Oh! And they'll turn their backs cuz ya' haven't got it."

"Well they'd have too! Because then I wouldn't be one of them."

"Hmm. See, yer not talk'n about people who "matter". Yer talk'n about morons. Its not what you've got in yer pocket that matters. Its what you got in here." He thumped at his head while he spoke. "And I'll tell ya another thing. That drink is on the house. Sure, if your friends found out you had no money, they might run ya over on the street."

He had stormed away rather upset and left her there to sit and think over what he said. Again. Why did he always do that? Why did he have to make her feel so guilty about her feelings? Then again when she'd actually taken the time to step outside of her shoes and into his, she really did sound more spoiled than she thought. If he thought she had taken it hard he should have seen her mother. 'angelo had the whole house caked in her bad mood, it was like trying to breath in smoke. Her father and mother were at odds, mostly arguing at night when they thought she couldn't hear them. What it mattered to her sleep was beyond her. Veronica couldn't sleep anyhow knowing her family money was close to being gone. A big, fat brick was settled in the pit of her stomach, cutting at the entrails of her belly. Her mind filled with negative thoughts that added to the sleepless nights. What would happen if they DID loose all their money? Where would they go? What would they do? How would they go about doing it? She always jumped to the worst conclusion. Maybe a little less money wouldn't hurt but the way her parents were going on about it made it so much worse.

Scooter was right about her friends, though. If they turned their backs on her now they weren't really friends. But that was just the outer layer of the matter. The reality, which she could not except, had to do more with her parents than it did with her friends. Veronica loved her family and to see her father so put out by the accounts and her mother acting like it was truly the end scared her to death. If Scooter had been there with her he'd know exactly what to say to make her feel better. Because at the end of the day he really seemed to care about her.

"I'd still like ya, rich or poor." Those words circled in her head and it made her smile. He probably would be the one to stick by her side if she was broke. After all he had come to her when he thought something horrible had happened. He wasn't all that bad. No boy had ever told her he liked her before Scooter. So why him? Scooter, who by every right should have despised her, liked her and he wasn't afraid of saying it. One night when Kristi had been staying with Veronica while her parents were away she told Kristi what she'd been feeling. Well, least to say Kristi didn't find it to be bad. Scooter had no real money, but like Scooter, Red didn't make that much money either and she adored him with all her heart.

Howbeit, Kristi was still shocked by the change in heart and told Veronica she surly had a thing for Scooter and there wasn't anything wrong with it. It wasn't the first time Kristi told her that but this time Veronica had a an-almost-new attitude regarding the notion. Scooter, whatever the issue, was there. If he thought she was out of line he'd put her in her place. If he saw her looking down, pensive or worried he'd see if she was okay, not just to wet his curiosity, but actually there to listen. He was somebody who no matter what you didn't do, or couldn't take, or didn't win or couldn't make was there to help in whatever way he could. People like Scooter were a rare breed these days, or at least they were in her world. It was a world where reputation was everything. A cut throat, survival of the richest elitist society. It was all Veronica knew. Everything had to fit together, go together, this went with that and that went with this. If it couldn't fit then there was no place for it at all. Scooter without a shadow of a doubt did not fit with her but she liked him still. He had made her feel better when no one else could.

Around the time Pine Hollow had its near financial collapse Veronica was not nearly as ready to except it. First her own family and now the Stables, things had gotten bad. Veronica may have been less dramatic about it than everyone else, and tried to look at in like an adult would have, yet she still didn't want the stables to go but it was reality. Change could happen to the best of people, to the best of places, her family was a shining example of that. No one on God's green earth liked change, and to look at change as a good thing wasn't easy, nor was it easy to convey, but Veronica didn't want to sit an sulk when there was nothing she could possibly do. She'd saved Pine Hollow before when her father bought it a month ago, it just wasn't enough to save it when their own money issues arose, and Pine Hollow was going down for good. That day she was in a bad mood and had found Kristi crying in the lounge, undoubtedly for the loss of Red, it was nothing more than that. She said to Kristi, that she had gotten too close to Red, that maybe it was time for a change and for the better. Red was so below her, and she'd let her standards slip badly. This angered Kristi. "You're going to wind a very lonely old woman!" She snapped.

"I don't think so." Veronica replied

"Don't bet on it… Somebody nice will come along and you wont even notice! Because you've got you 'standards'."

Kristi was so dramatic but had enough of a point to shut Veronica up. Would she end up lonely? Not alone but lonely, married to a man who suited her standards of the perfect partner, but it would have only suited those standards, not her as a person. The first thing that came to mind was Scooter. The thought of Scooter staying or leaving after Pine hollow shut down got her worried. Veronica went and saw him at work where she asked if he was going to stick around after the stables closed. He wasn't sure at the time and mentioned he'd probably go back to Ireland to see his family. She felt a pang of sadness run cold through her when he said that. She asked him about his family to keep him talking.

Apparently he had a brother and sister, and two parents "Of either sex" He had put it. Veronica asked what his father did and Scooter told her that he didn't work. The more she listened the more she felt horrible for him. His father was on welfare, his mother was a "Weeder" and worked at a huge manor from a picture he'd shown her of his mom and dad. The both of them were wearing gardening apparel and knelt by a fountain in a green hard under the shadow of a huge, manor styled house. Through all of that though Scooter seem to be happy. He was a carefree young man who worked as a waiter to make it in the world and people liked him and he liked himself with or without money. Sometimes she didn't like herself, and Veronica was rich!

Veronica didn't want to see him go but it wasn't like she could stop him either way. This was reality and she would have to face sooner or later. So she told him that the students would miss him when he left, and miss him a lot, but she would miss him most of all. Veronica never said the last bit but Scooter saw right through it and asked if she'd go on a picnic with him. Delighted, she accepted and on a picnic they went.

The two sat in an awkward silence at first. Scooter wasn't nearly as talkative and she wasn't either. Veronica never expected to be in this situation even when she wanted to be. Now that she was, she didn't know what to say and she supposed he must have felt the same way. Scooter kept smiling at her, chuckling and it made her skin light up like a Christmas tree. He liked to look her in the eyes, he liked looking at her in general. Ordinarily Veronica would have demanded to know why Scooter was staring at her, or tell him to shove off but this time, in a kinder way, she asked him why he was smiling. He told her he couldn't believe she came out with him and she agreed.

"Yeah… I'm a bit shocked my self." She told him.

"We have such different outlooks."

"Yeah… money's not important to you, is it?"

"Bah, love over gold."

"What does that mean?"

"Like my mother says, Love is better than money. Love over gold Veronica, its gotta be, don't ya think?"

"I-I dunno…"

The next part of that conversation somehow led him to asking if she wanted to take a swim in the river they were next to. Was he out of his mind? She didn't have a swimsuit! He always had to joke about something and so when she said no he yanked her up from the ground and began to drag her to it. Veronica begged him not to and he laughed as he pulled her closer to the water. She struggled against his vice grip but failed and when he had let go he flew back and she fell right in after him. When Veronica resurfaced from the water she saw his goofy smile and mischievous sparkling eyes, laughing under his breath. He'd done wrong and he knew that from behind the smile. He must have been waiting on his punishment for what he did but Veronica couldn't seem to find it in her to be angry with him.

"You are so stupid."

"There's no help for it. Tha's the way I was born."

"… well… Kiss me stupid!"

"No… I wont kiss ya stupid, but I will kiss ya."

Present

Scooter, with a giant smile still swept across his face moved in for the kill. He took hold of the back of her neck and her shoulder, leaned in and kissed her. A gentle, thoughtful kiss was laid upon her quivering lips. She shook from head to toe and dug her feet into the river bed to gain back the control she once had. The current was slow but Veronica's knees quaked against what felt like a powerful torrent. His touch was still a little foreign on her skin but it warmed her. Being close to anyone like this made her feel like an exposed nerve about to be cut by a syringe. and they were bother unsure in the beginning. He didn't dare get an inch closer to her body, he kept his hands where he had put them at the start, the kiss was still tentative, slow, sweet. This thoughtfulness gave her the courage to kiss him back. She felt happy, truly happy, it was a happy that didn't come around for her too often.

And just like that the kissed was over, they pulled apart with Scooter's hand's still clamped to her shoulder. He removed them and took her hands in his, rubbed his thumbs in circles on her wrists, giving them a gentle squeeze. He smiled at her, fixed his gaze on her shy, delicate eyes. He must have been waiting on her to say anything but she didn't say a word. He brought Veronica's hands to his lips and ran them over the tops of her knuckles, kissing the patches of cold skin; Scooter cupped his hands around hers, rested his chin on top of them and bore into her gaze with wide eyes. She still said nothing, just smiled at him. Scooter scoffed, furrowed his brow and looked in every which direction.

"Veronica… I Did'n really kiss ya stupid did I?"

"What? No, no. I'm just thinking." If he'd unscrewed the top of Veronica's head and looked inside he wasn't going to find much. She had drawn a blank. Veronica looked up at him to find that the crinkled eyes she loved so much returned to normal. His crooked grin hung there until he pressed his lips into a fine line and dropped his gaze.

"About wha exactly?"

"I'ya- I'm not even sure."

"Are ya upset?"

"No I'm not. I'm- well- I don't know what to say…"

"I was tha bad huh?" He let her hands go and put his back into his soggy pockets. Veronica grabbed them, yanked them them up and molded them together the way they had been. She held his hands in a iron clad grip, squeezed until she was sure he knew he didn't do anything wrong. She wasn't upset about the river water and he had made her feel those fireworks a girl should have felt after being kissed. Aside from him pulling her Gung ho into the water, Scooter had been the perfect gentleman.

"No! That's not it… I - this was my first kiss. I didn't think It'd be like this or with you." The light in his eyes rekindle its blaze, he perked his head right back up and his cheeky grin returned. It stretched as far as it could go, from one ear to the other. He took hold of Veronica, pulled her close to him and pushed back the strands of damp hair stuck to her face.

"Oh really now? so I stole yer first kiss did I?"

"You sound so proud." She scoffed. Of course he'd feel proud of himself, it wouldn't be Scooter if he wasn't arrogant towards it.

"Yeah, ya could say Imma touch proud of me'self. Didn' think ya'd end up gettin' yer first kiss from a fella like me, huh?" He winked. "Not in my wildest dreams." She said. "It's not what I expected but its- its good like that. I'm happy." Veronica's smile grew wide.

"Well then, I'd be right happy to have a second one, if ya don't mind." Scooter smiled, and let her hand's drop. He grabbed her cheeks, pulled her forward and kissed her again. For the next hour it was the two of them laying on the picnic blanket under the warmth of an early summer sun. It was the sun that came right before Holiday and everything was a picturesque drawing hanging on the wall in a museum. Lush, green fields full of wildflowers under clear blue skies and tepid, tame gusts of wind flowed down from the rolling hills into the valley. The kind breeze caught the ends of her loose hair and the smell of pasture grain and countryside flowers ran under her nose. She forgot about the money, forgot about the differences in class and her reputation as a Di'angelo. It was Scooter and Veronica side by side beneath a boundless blue sky and not one thing mattered. Veronica had her head nestled under the palm of his hand while he massaged her temple, a finger playing with the thin part of her ear. He hadn't stopped smiling since they kissed and quite frankly she hadn't either, hers wasn't nearly as large or outgoing as his though, resting more on the softer, timid side of the spectrum.

"Sweet and shy she as goes where the rest of her has gone nobody knows." Scooter sang with a chuckle, moving in a tad closer to her.

"What?" She laughed.

"Yer'so quiet, Veronica." Scooter gave a tug at the strand of her hair tangled in his fingers.

"I am?"

"Yeah, ya'are. Sweet and shy she as goes where the rest of her has gone nobody knows. Somfin me'mum used to say to me'sister we she got into one of her moods." Veronica scoffed and shook her head. "I'm not in a mood-wha-What is so wrong with being quiet?"

"Well nothin', not usually, is'jus YOU, usually have somefin to say. Are ya okay?" He asked. Veronica nodded her head and moved closer to him. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm very happy." She said.

"Were ya not happy before?" There he went again, trying to pry into her psyche if she was even the slightest bit off to him. Veronica bit her lip hard, if she had had been unhappy before today it was easy to say yes, she was unhappy, because there wasn't a lot to be happy about given the situation at home and at Pine Hollow. Sooner than that when everything was fine financially she had to think back further to see if she had been in a good place. She looked that way, from the memories in her head, but a lot of them were dressed up, wrapped in earthly items to create the illusion of happiness but under the surface it was only a mask.

"Well," She scoffed. "Things aren't good at Pine Hollow right now so, yeah, I was unhappy before this."

"Okay, okay, Just make'n sure. What use would I be if I let'me girlfriend be all sad." He said. Veronica lit up like a Christmas tree suddenly.

"You really think of me as your girlfriend?" She asked with a broad smile that he copied.

"Of course I do, how could I not want to? Yer like a dream." He didn't budge, and it wasn't a joke because he hadn't cracked up.

"Oh stop." She swatted him.

"No I mean it, I really do Veronica. Yer just were too cute to pass up.I mean You match your eyes just at your feet. Cute as a button." He gave her nose a little poke and his grin grew the redder her face got Corny, yes, but she liked it. He thought a great deal of her despite the fact she'd been ugly to him up until a few weeks ago when that shift in the wind spun him into her good graces. Veronica was experiencing a lot of new things within the length of a few hours and the sun hadn't started to set. She didn't want it to but when it did they made the most of that time, walking back to Pine Hollow at a slow, even pace hand in hand painted in what was left of the deep, singular rays of the sun. It was near dark by the time they got back.

Veronica pursed her lips into a thin line and sighed with her hand still in his as the two stopped right as the lights from the stables came into their view. Scooter snatched up her free hand and gave either of her knuckles a kiss until he let them be her own again.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Scooted asked, hands shoved in his pockets while he kicked at the ground with the toe of his shoe. "Well duh, you're my boyfriend, why wouldn't I see you tomorrow?" He laughed at it, gave Veronica another kiss then hurried off back to JB's before it closed without him. What a great day.

That night Veronica laid in bed much more relaxed than she had in the past several weeks. The knot in her stomach had been replaced by unadulterated glee keeping her awake, but it was far better than being kept awake by heated anxiety. Her parents still fought, they were fighting right now, a cluster of shouts and pieces of conversation carried from the other room down the hall into her ears. She could have cared less, it didn't matter because as far as she was concerned they weren't fighting at all but laughing like they used to. She kept Scooter at the front of her thoughts. His sweet smile and crinkled up eyes were her favorite thing to picture. It was hard to believe he was the same person she'd accused of stealing from her at the beginning of the year. How wrong she had been.

A door slammed down the hallway when the shouting ceased immediately just after it had grown to its peek. A slow, heavy set of footsteps moseyed from the room her parents were in towards her own. Veronica rolled on her side and away from the door, steadied her breath to make it out like she was sleeping when her doorknob started to giggle. She clamped her eyes shut as a thin, sheet of light poured into her room from the open crack of her door, seconds passed before the henge creaked and the door was opened all the way. By the sound of the footsteps it was her father coming to see her for whatever reason. Veronica didn't want to talk to him but she probably was going to have to. The other side of her bed sank down when at the weight of father as took a seat. She kept up the charade for as long as possible until her father's breath cracked.

Veronica looked over her shoulder where she saw him with his hand clamped over his face, his body rose and fell in a shudder he tried to control, but couldn't, fragile snivels came from him and Veronica bolted upwards when she realized he was crying. "Daddy?" He took in a sharp breath, cleared his throat and took hold of her hand. Mr. Di'angelo gave it a firm squeeze but sat in silence. "Daddy what's wrong?" She asked. "What happened?" He still didn't answer.

"This is scaring me! Why aren't you talking?" Veronica shouted. Her father lifted his head and a pair of wet, saddened eyes came into view as it caught the light in the doorway. Had her mother really upset him this much to the point where he was crying? Usually it was the other way around but her mother never hesitated to tell her why she was crying. There was something 'angelo stared at nothing opening and closing his mouth while he tried to talk.

"I'm- I'm sorry sweet pea. You know the old fellow wouldn't try to scare you intentionally." He had a good hold on her hand and it only tightened the longer he held it.

" Then why are you crying?"

'angelo fell back into the silence he started out in and for awhile he didn't say one word as he sat on her bed looking like someone had died. Had someone died? It could have been her grandma Opal, whom Veronica wasn't that found of for lot's of reasons and it wasn't merely pinched cheeks or ugly Christmas sweaters. If she had been lucky Veronica would have been given those as gifts rather than the ones she did give her, which was nothing. Grandma Opal didn't rightly like any of her grandchildren, or her own children for that matter, putting them down in that gravel packed mouth, scratchy voice of hers. She was a paper thin, long and white the face old bat who smelled like a hospice unit in the old folks home they put in her years ago thinking she was close to death but had long exceeded her exportation date. Hopefully she had died.

"I saw your smile as you walked through to door this evening. I haven't seen that look in awhile… I don't know what made you so happy but I sure wished I'd been the one to make your eyes light up again." He said suddenly, hanging his head.

What was the deal? First Scooter and now her dad? What on earth did she do exactly that she hadn't already been doing? "I didn't think I looked so sad all the time." She said. "Why are men so obsessed with whether a woman smiles or not? Maybe some people don't constantly need to smile their entire lives." It was one thing to be stoic but Veronica did have a certain rest in her face that warranted people to question weather or not she was mad at something. But sad? Her father laughed and let her hand go, gave her a pat on the shoulder and folded his leg over the other.

"Parents know their children," He chuckled. "When they're sad, mad or glad. They just know."

"You still haven't answered my question. Why are you so upset, daddy?" Her chest heaved in and out when he still didn't answer and Veronica wiggled her hand free from the comforter and slammed it against her lap. "Tell me!"

Mr. Di'angelo nodded his head, sucked back a breath and let it out. "I hate to know you hear our fighting, seems these days that's all your mother and I do. But families…" he trailed off, still nodding his head as he searched for the right words to continue. "Families can go through rough patches and they can be hard to live with because of that… I'd say the Di'angelo's have hit a pretty rough bump pumpkin, but nothing is ever certain and this-" He pointed a finger at her door. "Will sort itself out soon enough" He said.

"But when?" Veronica asked, a desperate, sadness welded in her eyes while she thumped her palm against her leg. "It just-it - this feels like the end, daddy. Like a nightmare." He grabbed her hand again, turned his body and faced her head on and took her chin with a finger to lift her gaze.

"Oh yes, yes. Surly a nightmare, surly. And nightmares can go on for some time with no let up. They can come in without warning and possess the mighty wrath of a hurricane ripping into the land as if God himself had sent it. It can destroy everything in its path without consciousness, no feeling, no sense of morality. For awhile the damage will be paralyzing. You will stand surrounded by the carnage feeling smaller than you ever have in your life. 'What on earth am I going to do now?' is what you're going to think I can guarantee it." He wagged a finger at her.

Veronica whipped the tears that fell from her eyes, sporting a frown that was sure to cause early smile lines. It was bad, oh she knew it, she knew it. With how her dad was talking they were all but turning the corners of roads right to the poor house. "That settles it then, it's officially over for us." She said.

"I know its hard right now and I know its harder when me and your mother are fighting. But one day you'll wake up and the nightmare will be gone, never to be seen again. You can rebuild from the rubble, find beauty in chaos and try not to focus on what you don't have rather than what you do."

Veronica leered at her father, deep creases formed on her forehead in the time he'd spoken, slackjaw'd and frozen in the face. Had he lost it? Had he been possessed by Scooter? If not he sure enough sounded like him that it crossed into the realm of believability. He'd never talked this way before, sure, he'd mentioned being a stronger family because of the money issue but not this way.

"Daddy- I-I don't understand, What a-a-about our responsibility as Di'angelo's? Our reputation and class? All of that is going into toilet so how can I focus on what I have when I'm about to loose it all? I'd rather die than be poor, I'd rather die!" Her father dragged a hand down his face the longer she went on. Veronica understood him and she knew he was right but as the saying goes an old habit dies hard. Veronica no matter how she painted the picture it was still a disaster. "There goes my life, my friends, our house. We'll be living like ordinary people!"

"I really messed up with you…" He said to himself. "Don't ever say that again, Veronica, not ever. You're too young to be talking like that. I understand its my fault for what you've become, but I still have some time left to fix my error… What I'm trying to tell you is-is that, um-it is going to be okay, you will make it through this. I won't be around forever to help guide you but for now I'm going to try. Please take this into considerati-"

"But daddy-"

"Please!" He snapped. "You're as stubborn as they come but I suppose you wouldn't be a Di'angelo if you weren't. Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants. Do you know who said that?"

"Benjamin Franklin…?"

"Yes, good, very good… and It's true. Money is a drug, one that can make you happy temporarily but you'll always want more as a consequence, more things you don't need to fill a void in your heart. Money has no soul Veronica, no heart beat. Underneath this-this," He motioned to her body. "Exterior of yours lies a heart beat and a soul. You're too young to be jaded. You are a Di'angelo and a Di'angelo never stays down for long, remember that. This too shall pass. I will love you forever, even in death, Veronica." 'angelo retreated back into silence once again as did Veronica. He got up, gave her a kiss on the forehead then shut the door behind him and the sound of it sank deep into her heart.

Veronica was awake a little longer with her eyes fixed on the ceiling, the knot in her stomach tightened ten folds but, she eventually nodded off close to one in the morning. There were no good dreams in line for her tonight. Instead, she dreamed of an angry, blackened sky that engulfed every last bit of sunshine and blue. A large, beast of a super cell settled in the west just beyond the threshold of a wooden fence lining the pasture. Dry lightening cracked across the sky, ferocious wind raced against the grass and mowed over the trees as it hurried her way. Veronica stood at the start of that green pasture clothed in a white sun dress snapping against the wind's fury. A deafening clap of thunder sounded the alarm and a thick sheet of rain plummeted towards the earth and hammered against the grain as it hurtled towards her. Veronica was cocked and ready to dart in the other direction, but in most bad dreams you were running through invisible water or you couldn't run at all, and she couldn't run. There was not a single soul aside from her own. The animals had fled from their homes not to be seen again until the storm was over. Something was coming and the animals knew it.

End of Chapter