First things first: This fanfic has 29 favorites and 32 followers. (16 reviews as well!) Where did you guys come from? I mean, I began this fanfiction with the notion that I'd get a couple favorites and followers, maybe one or two reviews, and that'd be fine. Seriously, guys, thanks for tagging alongside me on this train wreck...

Enough with the mushy stuff. Let's get back to the fanfic, shall we?

McNamara started to hang out with me more often than usual.

It started with brief conversations in Lockwood's class, but soon escalated to frequent visitations at my house.

I'd be doing some chore or favor for my dad and she'd burst in the door. The blonde would detail some scandal that'd happened between our fellow classmates - most often Veronica - and what happened afterwards.

Honestly, those petty confabs weren't that unbearable. McNamara, after describing the hot topic of the day, would opt for a small chat over slushies or while watering houseplants.

McNamara, to my surprise, was proving to be a tolerable companion.

Tonight would've been that night with McNamara if Bud Dean wasn't home - for the first time in a week or so.

I was stacking and labeling different containers of food, hastily tossing the items into the fridge. My dad sat at the counter, watching me out of pure boredom. "What's all this for?"

I glanced up at him, listlessly putting away the meals. "Don't you remember what I told you?"

He blinked once. "No. I usually space out when you're talking to me."

With a roll of my eyes and a scoff, I hastily explained my plight. "Nicholas contacted me recently, and -"

"Nicholas? Wasn't he your boyfriend or some shit?"

I froze and stared at my father.

Bud Dean remained silent and apathetic. He flicked through pages of the newspaper, skimming through tedious articles. It was almost like he didn't express something that would make my abuela faint in an instant. Make my family have an absolute crisis.

It took longer that I thought it would to respond.

"He wasn't," I asserted, carefully pronouncing my words like I was walking on a thin pane of glass. "He's just my friend."

He nodded slowly, unconvinced.

I sighed. "Anyway, he's visiting relatives in Indiana and he wants me to tag along. It's just for a week, and you agreed I could. So I'm preparing you enough sloppy joes and a casserole to last a few days."

He wrinkled his face, putting down his newspaper. "I think I'll stick with fast foods. Anything is better than your cooking."

"Heather McNamara likes it," I pointed out.

"Like that's an achievement," my father shot back, laughing. "That bitch is desperate as hell. I can tell."

I grimaced at his remark, bit my lip, and shut the fridge. If there was one person I despised the most at that minute, it'd be my father.

Just looking at him made me sick to my stomach. I glanced down at the floor, refusing to make eye contact with him.

Then the kitchen phone rang.

My dad sluggishly reached for it, pressing the receiver to his ear. He monotonously greeted the caller, sputtering languid words.

He beckoned me over.

I made my way over and grabbed the phone from him. I leaned against counter. "This is Jason Dean."

"JD, come to my house, now," Veronica addressed, her tone uneasy.

I knitted my brows and frowned. Whenever she had that tone, it was usually because she did something.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Over here. Now."

"Listen, Veronica, darling -" I managed to utter before she hung up.

My dad scanned my face before snickering. "Damn, Jason. Even your 'girlfriend' bosses you around."

"Veronica's my girlfriend. You met her," I insisted.

I stayed silent and walked to the mud room.

Bud Dean continued to go on his usual speeches.

"Jason, it's not a secret anymore - it never was. She's your first girlfriend, and you're seventeen for fuck's sake. I'm surprised your mother didn't even suspect it - she always yammered on about going to those fucking rallies. Like there'll ever be equality."

Looking back at him, I hastily put on my trench coat and turned up the collar. "Then tell everyone. Like I give a shit about our family."

"No use. Last time I saw those fucks was at your mother's funeral. They'd just wave it off, claiming that I was the devil trying to persuade them to hate you."

I opened the door.

"Whatca doing, Jason? Going to 7-11 to cry over a slushie - or are you going to find another guy to make out with?"

The last thing I heard before I left the house was him grumbling fucking fag after me.

o00o

When I rang the doorbell to Veronica's house, her mother answered almost instantly.

She eyed me up, noting my fashion choice.

Or the fact that I was standing in pouring rain without an umbrella or the like. "Can I help you?"

I shifted in my place. Her voice seemed too fake to sound pleasant. "Could you, ah, get Veronica?"

Veronica's mother inched back, allowing me to step inside. "Of course. You can leave your coat on the coat rack if you'd like."

Before I could mumble a no thanks, the older woman strutted down the hall, facing upstairs. She leaned on the hand railing and screeched, "Veronica!"

The aforementioned teenager replied with the same tone. "What?"

The woman spun towards me. "Really. You can take off your coat."

"I'd rather not," I blurted. "I'm always cold, so..."

"Uh-huh."

Veronica slid down the stairs. As usual - she looked undeniably tired. Under the veil of makeup, a hint of her eye bags sunk on her face. "I wish you wouldn't do that. Seriously. Just tell me what you want -"

She took one glance at me and smiled. "Jace."

"Is this the elusive Jason Dean?"

Veronica grinned. "Sure is."

"Well, he's," her mother half stammered, half laughed, "Quite an interesting candidate."

Veronica simply shrugged, grabbed my hand, and dragged me upstairs. Her mother craned her neck, watching me with a suspicious glare.

"So, why did you call me?" I asked, slipping into her room.

She turned towards me. "First, take off that coat. You're soaking wet."

I obliged and laid it on a chair.

A quick smile flashed on her face. I pulled down the sleeves of my plaid shirt, covering the faint bruises from my encounter with Kurt and Ram.

Veronica sat on her bed, shuffled through her nightstand's drawers, and pulled out a book. She then proceeded to hold it up for me to see.

A book of Edgar Allen Poe's poems. It was a bit more tattered than before, but it was in better shape than my other recovered books.

I took it from her and looked through it. It still contained all of its pages. I checked the inside of the cover - scribbles and sketches in my faded handwriting remained.

She had found it. While I was passed out, apparently Kurt and Ram ran and chucked my bag in a ditch behind Westerburg. Veronica had found it, thankfully - with the other novels and journals had remaining in my backpack. But, this one was had been missing.

How did she manage to find it in such good condition?

"How did you get this, Veronica?"

She smiled and simply stated, "Let's just say Kurt and Ram won't be graduating tomorrow."

My heart starting pounding and I looked at her uneasily.

"Did you?..."

Veronica nodded. "Yes."

I staggered backwards, dropping the book. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

She widened her eyes, her smile forming into a befuddled frown. She tried to reach out to me, but I quickly lurched away again. "Jace, what do you mean?"

"What do I mean," I mimicked softly, before launching into full blown shouting that could rival my father's voice. "What don't I mean? Veronica, you can't kill whoever and whenever you want!"

Her concerned and confused look diluted to a scowl. "Oh, really. You think I'm doing this for fun?"

Veronica stormed towards me, grabbed the collar of my shirt, and, albeit with a struggle, dragged me to the wall. She leaned into my face. "I'm doing this for you. They hurt you."

I didn't know whether to punch her or make a break for the window. "For me?" I growled. "I didn't ask for this. Those fucks were terrible people, sure, but they didn't deserve an early sentence to the grave..."

She narrowed her eyes at me and pushed me away. She crossed her arms and leaned against her armoire.

I looked up at her and returned her glare.

Silence.

Veronica took a deep breath. "Do you think Ram and Kurt would've done anything for Sherwood after high school? For society?"

She stepped closer. "You said it yourself, JD. These kinds of people are a stain on the name of the human race."

Another step. "Think about it."

"It's not our job to fix the world."

"But we can try, Jace. We can try - you think I want to deal with all this crap?"

Silence graced the room and she took a couple more steps. "I just - I'm done with all this bullshit. I want to do stupid shit like other teenagers. But we can't. We aren't like them - not anymore."

The brunette sat across from me, her small frame barely highlighted by the soft light. She crossed her legs and stared out the window, tapping her wine red nails on the sill.

Rain pattered against the foggy glass, creating a melody of drumbeat-like murmurs. Veronica's cat arose, soon striding towards her. He purred loudly, outmatching the dedication of the cloudburst.

The tabby lumbered over to me, rubbing his head on my leg.

To an outsider, the scene must've looked fine - pleasant even. The rain created a serene atmosphere and the cat provided a comforting presence.

But, if someone had been in the same room as I was when the conversation began, they'd too be petrified by the apparitions that Veronica brought with her.

I took my seat next to her. She seemed to notice this, as her cold form stirred. She glimpsed at me and brushed her hair out of her face.

Veronica's brown eyes melted into a brew of hurt and desperation. "You trust me, right?"

Hesitation brewed in my mind like a steaming witch's cauldron, bubbling anxiety and fear. Did I? Sure I loved her, but that doesn't mean that I had blind faith. Veronica was a terrible person.

So was I.

Heather Chandler was rotting in the ground because of the both of us. Ram and Kurt would soon join her.

I thought of cheesy romance and thriller novels describing partners-in-crime. Examples from history - Bonnie and Clyde.

All we were was a pair posed to show the worst of humanity.

I closed my eyes for a millisecond. "Yeah. I do."

"You'll see, JD," she declared in almost a whisper. "All of this will be for the better in the long run."

A razor-thin smile creased her face.

What would happen if she tried to go after someone else? I thought. It could happen. Could Sherwood handle another so called suicide?

No - she'll be fine. I'll be fine. If she tried anything, I would make her get help.

Maybe she just needed a second chance.

Just as it looked like she was about to say something, her mother peeked in the room. "What's all this noise about -"

She took one look at the both of us.

"Oh, are you two doing okay?"

Veronica's cat jumped on my lap, letting up a rumbling purr.

I glanced at Veronica. She nodded swiftly, coughed, and smoothed her blouse.

"Seems so," her mother concluded. "All right. Don't do anything stupid, honey. I'll be checking on you two later."

"We won't," Veronica called out as her mother closed the door.

I waited a few seconds before addressing the brunette again. "Where are they?"

"Somewhere in the backwoods, maybe? You'll see it all over the news tomorrow anyway, Jace," Veronica explained, before taking a deep sigh. "Wanna take a break from the all that crap and watch Back to the Future with me?"

With knitted brows, I nodded slowly. She dropped the topic like we were having a debate which soda brand was the best - pointless and boring. "That'd be nice."

Veronica's laugh seem to say now that's the spirit!

Thanks for reading!

Ram and Kurt were the next victims of Veronica. It didn't play out like the movie and musical did, however. I wonder what happened...

Junior year is drawing to a close. What do you think'll happen to the characters in senior year?

Also, I mentioned Veronica's cat because, according to the trivia section of Heathers in IMDb, one version of the script involved Veronica having a tabby cat. (Not sure if the information on there is true, but I'd check it out. Interesting stuff).

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KaosOtaku - You're not the only one who's captivated by this fanfic! (In other words, I am too.)

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