This chapter required a shit load of research, and you'll probably see why throughout the chapter. Prepare for a major 80s throwback

Also, I'm highkey pissed at myself for not updating. I went backpacking, and I didn't have the time to complete the chapter! Forgive my stupidity.

Last thing - I have a poll up on my profile, and I'd appreciate it if you at least check it out. Vote, if you want!)

ANYWAY. Here's the chapter!

Those few words evoked a heated discussion on whether I had to attend or not - Veronica argued that I had to, while my argument was the exact opposite of her answer. Nevertheless, she dragged me into her car and sped off to her house.

And, here I was. Sitting on her bed and petting her tabby cat, awaiting for the outfit she devised for me to wear. I glanced up, wondering if she made any progress in her decision.

"...What are you doing?"

Veronica looked up at me. She was holding a pair of jeans and a knife.

"Making ripped jeans," she answers, drawing the knife through the fabric. "For you. None of mine will fit you, so..."

I sighed and shook my head, letting out a sigh. "Veronica, you realize how stupid I'm going to look?"

"Hey, these are cool," she asserted, shooting a glare at me. "And trending. Our kids are gonna look back on the photographs we take and say: 'Hey, our parents actually had great fashion senses'!"

...It was a playful glare. It had to be. Maybe I could take it as a joke...?

"I rolled my eyes, "Sure, darling."

"The brunette's all too familiar cold, nettled expression warped into amusement as she smirked. It was a joke. Good.

I didn't want to make Veronica mad for as long as I could. Then, if she found out about the situation with Nicholas, maybe she'd go easy on me..

Eventually, she finished ripping the jeans and set the pair on her bed. "You'll be fine." She darted into her closet and came back with a black Members Only jacket.

"No," I stated firmly, grimacing at the sight of the jacket. Before I bought my trench coat, I used to wear those jackets all the time - those were dark times. "Fuck no, I'm not wearing that shit."

"You hate everything," she groaned, throwing the so-called choice jacket at me.

I ran my hand over the fabric, dreading the fact that I'd be stuck wearing it for the rest of the night. I could live with wearing Doc Martens for the night, but this? "I don't hate everything."

"Really?" she scoffed, raising an eyebrow. "Name one thing that you don't hate."

"You," I blurted, glancing up at her. "I've never hated you."

Did...did I just really say that?

She smirked and pressed a kiss to my head, stifling her laughter. "Good answer, Clyde."

At first, I knitted my brows. Clyde? What the hell was that supposed to mean - then it came to me.

Clyde Barrow.

...Guess that was my new nickname. Alright, then.

'Jesse James' better.'

o00o

"I'm not getting drunk, Veronica."

The two of us were in the middle of another argument over what I'd do at the party - she said that I would be in a background for a while as she talked to other people, and she'd eventually come back to me and we'd both get shitfaced.

"I didn't want to do that.

She sighed, running a hand through her hair - as if this was something she had to stress over. It really wasn't. "God, JD. Live a little for once. It won't hurt."

"Sounds like what Heather Chandler told you."

The brunette shot me a cold glare at my reply, and I immediately shrinked back into my seat and apologized.

She huffed, turning her attention back towards the road. "Good."

"She paused for a long while, turning the radio to play 'Jessie's Girl'. "...You shouldn't worry about it, anyway. Heather Duke promised that she'd be our designated driver."

...Heather Duke? "Why?"

"Because we're friends?" Veronica furrowed her brows. "JD, believe or not, I'm still friends with the Heathers. I just hate Heather Chandler..."

'Oh, that bitch! She's lucky I'm not alive - I would've kicked her ass!'

Sure you would.

When we arrived at the party, I gagged.

"The house in itself wasn't bad. It was a mid-century modern - similar to mine, but it looked to be a few years older. Among ivy clad walls and under the veil of sweetgum trees, stood three or four tipsy teenagers overdressed in neon hues.

It was just the people there that really bothered me. It looked like someone spilled a bag of skittles on the brick pathway and just left them there.

One of them spotted our car and waved hastily, her ginger curls bouncing as she ran over. "Veronica!" she chirped.

Veronica grimaced when she saw the approaching teenager, but managed to put on a fake grin. She exited the car and strutted over to the redhead.

"Jackie, it's nice to see you," the brunette muttered airily, engulfing the shorter teen in a hug.

"I'm glad you could make it!" she giggled, backing away and looking around the driveway. "Where's Jason? I thought he was coming."

"It's JD. Not Jason," Veronica promptly corrected her. "And he'll be here in a second, don't worry." The brunette shot me a sharp glare and I stepped out of the car, worried she might get annoyed.

Jacqueline smiled at me. "It's nice to meet you...Jason Dean, right?"

I nodded. "Uh, yeah..." I paused, wondering if I should say her name. Would that be weird?...No. She referred to mine. It's fine. "...Jacqueline Carr."

Veronica cringed and Jacqueline laughed, her clumsily applied lipstick highlighting her bright smile. "Just call me Jackie. Anyway, why don't you two come inside? Heather and Heather are already here."

"Gladly," Veronica agreed hastily, already making her way towards the crowd of people. As we neared the house, I could hear - fuck, what was it - 'Seasons Change', by Exposé? I think that's it...

I snapped back into reality. Oh God. I had to follow her, didn't I? Shit. I couldn't do this...

The brunette grabbed my arm and dragged me with her.

This was happening. Shit. What if they stared at me? They already were. That guy in a varsity jacket was staring at me. That raven-haired girl was staring at me. The guy just looked away, but she didn't. Why was she staring at me?

My breath hitched and I ducked my head, staring at the ground. Maybe she'd look away. Maybe she was looking behind me...who would be behind me, though?

I turned my head. No one was there.

What the fuck was she looking at?

"This is Jason Dean," Jacqueline explained to the crowd of students. "Veronica's boyfriend. He goes by JD."

Veronica wrapped an arm around me, pointing to each person as she talked.

"That's Carrie, that's Raymond, that's Noel, and that's Angela."

"Raymond squinted at me, discerning my outfit. "Hey...aren't you the kid who shot Kurt and Ram?"

"...That was months ago, back in the cafeteria. "Yeah," I confirmed, startled by his sudden question. Fuck, I should've lied. He's going to think I'm batshit. "It was just blanks, though. No harm done."

He nodded slowly, looking at what I assumed to be another football player - Noel. "I know. Ram and Kurt wouldn't stop talking about it for weeks."

I laughed nervously, and Veronica kissed my cheek. "He's fucking crazy, but I still love him."

She wasn't wrong about the crazy part, really. I glimpsed down at my shoes, trying to avoid any eye contact.

Carrie - the raven haired girl who had stared at me earlier - caught on quickly. "Hey, why don't you go get us some more beer, Angie?"

Angela perked up, practically glowing with avidity as she turned on her heel. "Alright. Just give me a second."

With that, Angela stumbled off into the night, slipping into the house. Jacqueline's breath hitched and she followed, yelling after Angela, "Wait up!"

"I knew you looked familiar," Carrie muses, eyeing me up. "Where's the trench coat? That's like, your trademark, right?"

I shifted in my place, agitated by her glassy pale gaze. What did she want? "I, uh..."

"He left it at my house," Veronica piped in, stepping in front of me. I heaved a sigh of relief - nothing would go further than this, due to her stentorian stance. Probably.

Carrie nodded slowly, taking a sip of her stereotypical red solo cup. "Mm-hmm...he looks better now, though. Ace jacket."

Veronica grinned and glanced over at me - even though she was silent, I knew what she was thinking. 'I told you so'.

I huffed lightly and threw an arm over Veronica, shaking my head. "It's not that great..."

It really wasn't.

Carrie giggled and rolled her eyes, glancing down at her feet. "Chill, JD. It's okay to have a fashion sense!"

Wow.

"Which," the brunette promptly added, "Is something he'll never have. I chose his outfit."

...Wow. I bit my lip, forcing a chuckle. Thanks, Veronica.

Raymond laughed for what I deemed to be at least forty seconds, his cheeks that were already flushed with alcohol brightening to a cherry red.

Angela and Jacqueline started to approach us again, holding a multitude of beer bottles - I was almost certain that they'd drop one. But, no.

They handed one out to each of Veronica's friends, each letting out either a squeal or some sort of sound of approval.

Eventually, Angela turned to me, holding out a bottle. "Here, JD!"

I grimaced. Alcohol wasn't really my thing, considering what happened last time someone got drunk in my family...and the times before that.

Thanks for being a piece of shit, Dad.

"No thanks," I declined quietly, hoping that she'd just shrug it off and move on.

But, of course, Veronica had to swoop in. She elbowed me, frowning. "Babe. Don't be such a pillowcase..."

Noel, Carrie, and Raymond all murmured in agreement, their eyes all seemingly focused on me. It wasn't that big of a deal, really - I wasn't in the mood for drinking. Alas, the intoxicated teenagers couldn't comprehend that. At all.

I shakily reach towards Jacqueline, curling my fingers around the glass bottle and revoking it from her. The girl offered me a polite grin and took a sip of her own. "There you go."

I gave her a faltering smile as I took a taste of the bottle, the tar-like bitter substance overwhelming my taste buds. Cheap liquor. My father had far better stuff tucked away somewhere in his liquor cabinet

...Not that I wanted to try some, mind you. I...just wished they had better quality drinks available. Like, uh...slushies. Yeah.

...Is that why Veronica found you crying in your bedroom, surrounded by beer cans a few days before you left for Indiana?'

Shut up. No - that never happened.

It never happened. You wouldn't know - you weren't even there. Checkmate.

'That was before I learned I could still talk, idiot.'

...Just shut up.

"Jace?"

I snapped back into reality, focusing my gaze back on Veronica. She, unsurprisingly, had a hint of concern in her eyes. "Hmm?" I asked nonchalantly, trying to give off the vibe that I, was indeed, fine.

'What a joke.'

"Well," Veronica began, dragging her feet on the brick pathway, making shapes with her heel. "We're heading inside. Wanna go?"

I nodded promptly, straightening my spine. "Yeah. Let's motor." I added a sip of beer during my speech to add a bit of coolness. Or whatever.

She cracked a grin, taking my hand and entwining our fingers. This was good, I told myself. Clearly, she liked me when I actually followed her orders. That's good. "Sweet."

With that, we followed the crowd of teenagers into the cramped house. Another group moved passed by, seemingly taking our place.

It was like we were stuck on a cycle; it was repetitive, and rather tedious.

As the night progressed, I could feel myself gradually growing more and more unsteady as Veronica offered me bottle after bottle. Even when Alexander Newell strolled up to us - the auburn-haired football captain, who happened to be one of the most influential and judgmental students in Westerburg - and threw an arm around Carrie, I was unphased, as if he wasn't someone who could turn his full attention to me and recognize that I had gotten his best friends suspended.

And would probably proceed to either yell at me or beat me up. One of the two, at least.

Luckily, that wasn't the case. He blabbered on and on about how he was stoked for the new football season, and that the team would miss Ram and Kurt deeply - they were two of the best players, apparently. What a shame, I thought. Oh well.

I took another sip of the liquor and watched Veronica and Jacqueline discuss the situation with Sandra Wakefield and Melanie Achthoven. Carrie, Alexander, and Raymond listened, occasionally leaning over to one another and whispering.

Noel had faded away into the sea of teenagers, dragged off by Angela. Good for him, I guess.

Veronica brushed back a strand of her hair, staring into the bottleneck as she swirled the liquid around. "They shouldn't be outed for that, Jackie."

"Are you crazy?" the redhead asked, wrinkling her nose. "Sandra and that Achthoven girl are queers! God knows what they'd do if we invited them here!"

Everyone in the group - spare Veronica and I - nodded in unison, each of their faces contorting into a grimace.

"I bet they'd get horizontal," Alexander butted in, earning a giggle from Carrie.

"A flash of anger ignited in Veronica's eyes. I shifted my feet nervously, ducking my head. You never wanted to see that look.

"They were drunk," she stated blatantly, brushing it off. "Dude. It was just a stupid mistake, a one time thing."

Raymond snorted, his matted brown bangs spilling over his face. He takes another swig of his red solo cup. "Since when do you care about Sandra, Ronnie? Aren't you two, like, sworn enemies or some shit?"

"Was he really trying to start this? I blinked slowly, still staring at the ground. Veronica wrapped an arm around me, trying to keep herself from losing her ground of reality - maybe she'd snap.

...Hopefully not.

Veronica stumbled on her words, her face warping into slight confusion at Raymond's accusation. A rarity, considering that she never slipped up...

Wait. She was drinking. I glanced down at my bottle, noticing that it was near drained. I was drinking. She was drunk, that's all. Hell, maybe I was hearing things. That's a possibility.

"Oh, fuck her. Sandra sucks ass, Ray," she asserts, her garnet nails clinking against the glass bottleneck. Everyone stared blankly at her, unconvinced. Her face was darkened, as if she was nervous - what would she be nervous about?

I reached over to her, curling an arm around her waist. She seemed to appreciate the gesture, as a small, shaky smile appeared on her face. "Raymond...dude. She's the shittiest person I've met. I'd never."

Pretty poetic, for a drunk person. I nodded in agreement, a low chuckle to my tone. No idea what she was saying at the time, as I was just staring at her face and realizing how pretty she looked in the soft blue lights.

"Good job lights, I thought. I couldn't really see Veronica outside. Now I can.

Jacqueline stifled her mirth, anything remotely serious about her demeanor vanishing into pure gaiety. "That sounds like something a lesbian would say, Veronica. What, do you like Mel, then?"

'I wouldn't be surprised.'

"I'm not -" Veronica scoffed, growing cold again. My smile waned for a few moments, but it soon returned - she still looked pretty. "I'm dating JD, for fuck's sake!"

Silence brewed in the air. No one opened their mouth to say something, no one whispered. They just stood there, blinking.

"Until, I, the most brilliant drunk person in the world, decided to say, "Hey. Hey...guys. Does anyone like the song 'Don't Stop Me Now' by Queen? It's kinda underrated, but I still like it -"

Veronica hastily faced me, placing a hand on my chest. "Babe...could you go find the Heathers? I couldn't find them anywhere, and we need a designated driver..."

Little did I know at the time, this was Veronica's friendly way of telling me to 'get lost' while she sorted out the conversation.

I gave her a dopey wide grin, nodding halfheartedly. Of course I would - it was believable at the time, considering how big I thought the party was. It looked like everyone from Sherwood was in the same house, so maybe Veronica couldn't scour the swarm for the two Heathers. "Okay."

Her irked expression was painted over with fabricated gratitude. "It means a lot to me."

"Okay," I echoed again, turning on my heel and staggering into the sea of dancing teenagers. There was a lot of neon. And nauseous perfume and cologne.

Focus, JD, I told myself. Find the green and the yellow one. They shouldn't be too hard to find.

I tried my best to search the party, which involved me drunkenly stepping into random strangers' conversations, mistaking a girl's yellow or green outfit for a Heather's. That earned me a few inhospitable looks.

Whatever. Their opinions didn't matter. I...just needed to find them. It'll make Veronica happy, right? That matters.

Eventually, though, I spotted the two exchanging dialogue with...whats-her-face and whats-his-face.

""Heather," I muttered, tapping McNamara's shoulder. With knitted brows, she glanced over at me. Her hair bobbed in the hair for a second or two as she spun her head, the blonde curls eventually settling down and cascading down her back. That's...a lot of hair. Jesus. How much hair spray did she use? Five cans?

"Heather beamed, a pale glow restored in her eyes as she recognized me. "Jason! I didn't think you'd be here!"

"Me neither." I wondered how she could decode my slurred words.

Heather Duke paused in the middle of an anecdote, her attention drawn by my appearance.

We made eye contact.

...And, I didn't feel nervous. I gave her a warm, goofy smile. Maybe it wouldn't be so awkward now. Alcohol was actually helping me, for once.

The smile definitely confused her, I could tell that. The Green Heather simply nodded, slowly reaching out her hand. "...Heather Alexis Duke."

Apparently, we've never really introduced ourselves to each other. I took her hand, briskly shaking it. Veronica couldn't know I made contact with someone else - I was already on thin ice with Nicholas. Probably. "Jason Elijah Dean."

"Cool name."

I nodded, trying to take another swig of my beer. There was only a few drops left, but I made the most of it. "Yeah.

Okay, I found them. That's good. What now? Veronica said...we need a designated driver. Okay. That has to be the green one. That's what Veronica said.

"Hey," I addressed, tapping both of their shoulders. They looked at me quizzically, considering the fact that they had been directly staring at me. "Veronica needs you. To, uh...be our designated driver."

They shared a silent mental exchange, before Duke furrowed her brows. "Are you leaving? It's only 12..."

Were we leaving? She never really clarified that part... "I don't know," I admitted softly, looking down at my shoes.

Before any of the Heathers could respond, I heard shouting. Not just regular, run-off-the-mill shouting, but screeching. I tried to locate who was making all the noise, and others followed in my wake.

It was Veronica.

Veronica simmered with unalloyed animosity, her once skittish air evaporating by the second. She shoved her way through the ground, scanning each and every student's face. However, once she saw me, her expression lessened in intensity. Well, at least a little bit./p
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Verdana, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 14.4px;""Jason," she says curtly, grabbing my arm. "We gotta go."

Okay, so we were leaving. That was important to know. "Right now?"

"Right now," she confirmed, glaring back at where she had formerly stood. "Can you drive us, Heather?"

"Heather Duke froze, confused at Veronica's sudden request. She took a brief glance at McNamara, unsure how to respond. "...Sure. See you later, Heather."

"Heather McNamara nodded, trying to mask her befuddlement. "Bye, Heather."

"And, as that awkward exchange ended, Veronica led Duke and I through the horde. It was sort of relieving to return outside, the fresh air masking the smell of vomit, alcohol, and mistakes.

I took a seat in the back of her car after Veronica beckoned me there, patting the seat next to her as she did so. I didn't question it.

"Once the Green Heather took her place in the driver's seat and started the car, Veronica turned to me, still brimming with hostility.

""Drive us to JD's house," the brunette muttered, her eyes unrelenting as she continued to stare at me. "It's by McNamara's place."

"Alright," Heather replied airily, sighing. She turned on the radio, letting the song 'Heart and Soul' by T'Pau play.

I watched as Alexander's house fade into the distance as we drove through the woods, the alder and blackhaw trees obscuring the light the house emitted. Eventually, the car fell silent - spare the radio, of course.

"By the time we neared the center of Sherwood, however, Veronica spoke up.

"Jason," she muttered, her eyes conflicting with her demeanor. While her posture was relaxed and at ease, her eyes blazed with fury.

"Yes?" My voice was small, as I feared what was to come. Would she yell? She probably would...the real question was how much she'd freak out. A lot, most likely.

"Her reaction was quite the contrary. She turned me towards her, kissing me and biting my bottom lip. "We don't need those fucks," she murmured hoarsely, pushing me against the seat.

"For a second, I was confused to what she was referring to. Who? Did she mean anyone in particular, or just the world in general?

Then, I realized...maybe things weren't going so well between Veronica and her friends. It would explain the yelling, and the fact that we left the party earlier than anticipated.

"Mhm..." I murmured simply, as I didn't want to give off the impression that I was a little worried.

"Things progressed pretty quickly from there, and Heather Duke let out a small gasp when she looked at the rear view mirror. "Jesus Christ," she utters with indignation, now devoting her full attention to the road. "Wait until we're there!"

"Veronica lifted her head and glimpsed at Heather Duke. Apparently, the both of us somehow magically forgot that there was another person present in the car.

"Just...wait five minutes, at least..."

I briskly looked away, trying my best to avoid any sort of eye contact. Veronica seemed to do the same, as she bit at one of her fingernails aimlessly, staring down at the floor.

...Well, we waited five minutes, and ended up arriving at my house after six.

Thankfully, Bud happened to be absent from the house that night.

o00o

I woke up the next morning - or rather, in the afternoon, judging from the amount of bright light filtering through the window - and fluttered open my eyes.

At first, I was confused. Why did something feel off? Everything appeared to be the same at first glance.

But then I looked down.

Veronica laid in my arms, her back gently rising up and down as she dreamed. She didn't look that bothered.

I wondered, however, how the hell she got there. What happened last night?

I glanced around the room, my brows furrowing.

...Oh.

Our clothes scattered the room, the dreadful Members Only jacket hanging off of a chair. That...explained a lot.

Although my head was throbbing with a migraine, I deciphered the situation pretty quickly from there.

Veronica stirred at the slightest sound of my breath hitching, and her eyes slowly opened.

"A soft, lovestruck smile obscured her features, and she nestled closer to me. It was like her sudden explosion of anger from last night had disappeared altogether, faded in the wind. "...We haven't had that much fun in a while, haven't we?"

"I nodded, swallowing the pit in my throat. "...We haven't."

Well, uh...that was not how I expected my night to go.

Thanks for reading!

Also, this is unrelated, but this is the only way I know how to reach one of my friends I met on Shamchat/talk to on Chatzy (since they read this fanfic): I'm not sure if I've lost contact with you, but it appears as so. If you happen to be reading this message, could you make an account on here or Tumblr and message me? I'll, of course, be asking questions (if you're the person I was looking for, these questions will be easy to answer) just so I know it's you and not someone else.

I'll delete that ^ if I'm able to contact them.

Veronica dragged (quite literally) JD to the party. He clearly didn't enjoy himself, even though he was supplied with free alcohol. Though, from his reaction, I'm sure he didn't like it that much...

I've started to write in a slightly different style, as you probably figured out. Do you guys like it?

Responses to Reviews

DisneyDreamer123: Yeah...let's just say that it's only going to get worse for JD from this chapter on.

Anna The Oreo Artist: /emI've been trying to show some kind of chemistry between Nicholas and JD, so that way it wouldn't of popped out of nowhere. Hopefully, it wasn't that bad (and I hope you guys didn't mind me adding Nicholas to the story)...and, for your idea of what was going to happen, you were pretty close - but JD stayed at the party, and just made things extremely awkward. Veronica actually caused the problems - plot twist?

theyawizard:/em Here's another chapter! Thanks for being patient! :)

Also, this somehow reached at least 30,000 words? How? I never expected this fanfic to be so long, honestly?

Have a great day!