A/N: Hello! I write a lot of OC stories, but this one is meant to be able to stand on its own a bit more. While it follows the framework of the story, it also attempts to tell its own story. Okay, the OC is very close to Veronica and therefore has some access to the happenings, but parts of the story are specific to her, and I've worked very hard to give her some of her own characteristics. Also, just to note, this is MUSICAL-VERSE. I have seen the movie, but not the whole thing. I just prefer the musical's approach and know it better. Also, I'm using the West End version. There aren't many differences, mainly "Blue" and its reprise being replaced with "You're Welcome" and "Never Shut Up Again", but there are some minor changes to setting and setup, as well as a few bits of dialogue that are lifted from the script.

Plot: It's 1989 and Kameron Sawyer is about to start sophomore year at Westerburg High. While she's been close to her sister Veronica for most of their lives, it seems as if something is starting to pull them apart. Whether it's Veronica skyrocketing in popularity while Kam is still the loser who sings in Glee Club, or the weird new kid who seems interested in both of them, or the fact that Veronica is clearly keeping secrets when she never has before…Kam always wanted to be seen as one of the older kids, but a senior's life isn't that sweet…

Disclaimer: No, I don't own anything to do with Heathers, film or musical. I own Kameron, Kameron's friends, and that's pretty much it.

"Hey, Kams? All set?" I was sitting on my bed, staring at my schoolbag when my sister Veronica passed by, stopping to talk to me. It was August 31st, the last day before my sophomore year began (My real name is Kameron, but no one calls me that except teachers and my parents when they bother to get involved in our lives).

I shrugged. "I guess. Year two of getting lunch trays slapped, tripped in the hallways, failing math-"

"You're not going to fail math," Veronica interrupted me, coming in to sit with me. "I'll help you again. And you'll survive the year. At least, I did. And you've got Glee Club to tide you over, right?"

That made me smile. Glee Club and my role as their only mezzo soprano had been the only thing keeping me sane last year. That, and movie nights with Veronica and her best friend, Martha, who treated me like an honorary sister and friend, too. "Thanks. That does kind of help. What about you? Are you all set?"

"For senior year?" Veronica laughed without humour. "I'm just glad Hell School is nearly over. One more year and then I'm out of here."

I sighed. "And then it's just me, stuck in junior year while you're free. I don't know what I'll do when you can't tutor me in math."

"Ask Mom if you can have a phone extension in your room and I'll try and get a cellphone," Veronica suggested. "Or even ask her to tutor you, if she can be bothered to stop her daily outdoor pate fill. I'll still be no more than a phone call away, sis." She gave me a quick hug. Mom and Dad were so uninvolved in our lives, our sisterly relationship was the only way either of us got hugs, the same as how we were each other's sole confidants (we both had friends at school, but I couldn't tell them everything) and each other's main support system. Kams was a special nickname only Veronica called me. My friends and most other people called me Kam (or skank, or loser, or geek…the list goes on). I once tried to reciprocate by shortening Veronica's name, but she hated everything I came up with, so I gave up and rattled through all four syllables.

I cracked another smile at the hug and returned it. "Thanks. Maybe I'll get better on my own this year. And I wonder if I'll actually get to go to parties this year - it feels so weird to listen to everyone else talking about parties and never going to one."

Veronica shrugged. "Well, I don't get to hear about parties, either. Hazard of being a so-called nerd. But if I hear about any, I promise you can crash it too, as long as you don't come in with me."

That was part of our rule about school – as far as anyone was concerned, we didn't know each other. We pretended we weren't sisters at all. Martha knew, and my friends knew, but that was it. As Veronica had told me at the start of freshman year, "It's not going to make anyone think you're cool if you're with me. You can build your own reputation without that taint." And so I'd tried. I'd had my friends over before, so they couldn't avoid knowing. Sometimes, they joined us for movie nights.

As it was, I didn't get through many days at school without being called names. Apparently being in Glee Club, even as their lead singer, wasn't cool enough for anyone, and people assumed stuff because I wore full makeup every day. It was just because it made me feel confident and prettier. I even tried leaving it off for a few weeks, but the damage was done and I kept getting called names based on the makeup, so I gave up and went back to wearing it. Some of the kids, especially the older ones, were happy to yell names at me or slap my lunch tray down in the cafeteria. I didn't like it, but I had to count my blessings. At least I wasn't on the radar of the Heathers yet. They were the most popular girls in school, in Veronica's year and I knew that anyone like me who got their attention (and dislike) would die a social death. I didn't want to drop any lower than "Glee club member and band geek", but I'd just get flak from my friends as well as everyone else if I ditched my black Bangles T-shirt or my Cyndi Lauper singlet. Michelle would kill me for ditching my idols and not standing up for what I loved, Stacy would help her, and Jon would just give me a black look and walk away, never speaking to me again. They got picked on, too, but only as much as me. I knew Martha got a harder time than we did because she was overweight, and we weren't the youngest anymore, so that could mean we'd have an easier time.

Either way, I grinned at Veronica. "Agreed. No clue I know you around anyone from school, parties included. We still doing movie night at the end of the week?"

"Most definitely," Veronica smiled back. "Just don't complain if Martha wants us to sit through The Princess Bride ten more times this year. I know how much you hate it."

I laughed at the note of sarcasm in her voice. Veronica knew I loved that movie almost as much as her best friend. If I could have a boyfriend half as good as Wesley, I'd be happy. As long as he didn't drag me down on the social hell that was high school. Maybe at uni. Not that Jon wasn't an option, but freshman year had made us such good friends since we met due to our shared interest in music that I couldn't see him as boyfriend material. If we'd dated and broken up, the girls wouldn't have been too pleased with that ruining our friend group, either.

"I'll get through it, just for you two's sakes," I said, still giggling. "See, this is why I'm going to be sad when you go to college and I'm stuck in Westerhell. Having you around makes me happy."

"Come on, Kams, you've got other stuff, and you always say I drive you nuts if I don't feel like talking," Veronica pointed out. But then she smiled and added "And you know I'll miss you like mad, too. Somehow I don't think there's anyone else I could ever trust with everything."

"And I don't think I could confide everything to anyone but you, either," I admitted quietly. It was true Veronica could get into major moody mode and wouldn't talk or listen when she was like that, but that was just something I had to deal with. It never lasted more than a day or so, and I knew that it was small potatoes, compared to what some people went through with older siblings. Plus, I knew I drove Veronica crazy too, when I bugged her too much after a hard day or started singing while I was cleaning my room or doing other chores, prompting her to barge in and tell me to "kill the volume" because it was too loud (I could sing quietly, I just forgot to).

"So," Veronica asked again, "Now are you all set?"

"Yep," I said, sticking my chin out and smiling properly. "As long as you promise to forge me a sick note whenever I need a mental health day." My sister had a killer knack for forging anyone's writing, including Mom's and Dad's, which made it useful for any time either of us needed to skip a day. An instant doctor's note stating that we had to call Ralph and weren't coming into school when we really needed time off.

And as I knew, she smiled back and promised, "For sure!"

Just a little prologue to let you know that Kameron and Veronica are really that close. I need to develop Veronica's voice more, but I'm quite pleased because she and Kameron don't sound completely the same yet. We'll start school next. Also, if you don't know (I didn't), "call Ralph" is 80s slang for "barf". It's fallen out of fashion since Generation X, although some people still do use it. I will keep sprinkling 80s slang in if I can.