A/N: Wow, so that wasn't much of a vacation. I have to say I'm pretty surprised with myself, mostly this is probably because tomorrow is my birthday and I want one last sixteen year old written chapter of OFL, and the fact that MISSxMAGIC's update really got me wanting to write, so you can thank her for that. And the AMAZING birthday present that my amazing twin RoxyPony had written for me had gotten me wanting to write again! I was just having a bad week and honestly, I couldn't let you guys down and I need my DAREBEAR! So let's get on with it!

Disclaimer:I only own Ronnie, that's all if you don't know who owns the characters by now you seriously need to get on that.

A thank you to all my beautiful reviewers, please keep them coming! I'll put shout outs in the next chapter.

There I was again, face down in the porcelain. I don't know how I got here it was probably because Kade would never take no for an answer and Cassie knows basically how to talk me into anything. But I had to admit, I was happy that this event was taking place. The bleach strung strongly to my vampire senses, and I never realized it when I would go and get my usual highlights at the salon down the street from my house, but that was before I was a vampire.

"Thank god we are ridding you of this," Kade grumbled under her breath, reaching forward to work the dye through my hands, but Cassie slapped her hands away. This had been going on for at least half an hour. "Cassandra, I swear to the gods if you slap my hand away one more time, I'm going to knock you into another dimension." Kade snapped, but Cassie just rolled her eyes.

"You'll rip her hair out! You're not very delicate you know."

"Are we almost done?" I groaned, my back screaming from being hunched over in the sink.

"Almost, we wouldn't have to do this if you didn't go all brooding on us, you're not a brunette, it's just not right." Cassie scoffed, starting to rinse the toxins off of my scalp.

"Seriously, it's like Justin Timberlake being in the Backstreet Boys, just not right." Kade snorted, and I could see her twirling a strand of strawberry hair in her fingers.

"When are you going to talk to him?" It seems as though she couldn't hold back anymore.

"Talk to who? Steve? When he gets back, I don't know his life, Cass." I decided to play dumb, it could buy me at least a couple of seconds before I had to make an excuse of why I wouldn't talk to Darren.

"Don't be a smart ass, I'm talking about Darren."

"Never."

"Sit up," Cassie commanded, wrapping my hair up in a towel and guiding me to sit down on the toilet, "you have to talk to him, Ronnie. You don't know everything that has happened to him and why that happened. What he did to you was wrong, but you need to try and set things straight. Especially since we're going to be traveling back to the mountain at least for a month." I had totally forgotten about that, I knew that we would be going back to the mountain, but I didn't think about how long I had to dodge his glance and look everywhere else other than where he was. But there was no good excuse, there was nothing that could have made what he had done to me. I loved Steve, right? ...right? I stared at Cassie blankly and just shook my head,

"I just can't Cassie, you have to understand. Not yet, at least." She just pressed her lips into a tight line but I could see the sincerity in her eyes, she was my best friend and I knew she wouldn't set me up for failure. I just wasn't ready, and it was as simple as that. Kade also agreed, which gave me another sense of worry deep in my gut, the vampire had become a sister to me and she wasn't the person to easily forgive anyone.

"Well, I'm sick of waiting so let's get you finished, so I can get some sleep!" Kade grinned, pulling the towel off of my head and looking charmed and dangerous with a blow dryer. I hadn't been able to see myself until they had left the apartment, and I was able to have alone time with myself in the mirror. Reluctantly I walked into the bathroom and flipped the light switch on, and the sight of myself brought up the emotions that I had hidden for as long as I could. The tears I never cried sat on the rims of my eyelashes. My platinum blonde curls had returned and flowed down my shoulders, even though I had looked the way I had before there was a stranger standing before me. All of the innocence was ripped from her eyes, and the one thing she always had was gone. There was no Darren, there was nothing, just someone who was angry, in denial and incomplete. There was a girl who was apart from the one boy that she was irrevocably in love with, no matter what she did, no matter what she said, her heart belonged to him. But Veronica Dexter wasn't going to let him have her back that easily.

My heart dropped as soon as I heard the locks on the door and Steve's grunt as he shoved through, the door squeaked reluctantly as it pressed open. I looked at myself in the mirror, wiping away a stray tear that had fallen from my lashes before peeking around the corner.

"Steve?" I called, surprised at how weak my voice sounded as the words entered my lips. I didn't get a reply, and only heard the faint noise of him exhaling loudly as he sat on the couch. "Steve?" I called again and this time he answered once I came into sight.

"You dyed it again?" He asked breathlessly, putting his face into his hands and I saw pure pain in his eyes.

"Yea... I didn't feel like myself. But what's the big deal? Are you afraid I'll get split ends?" I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, but he looked up at me almost grimacing.

"This isn't funny, Ron," he stated, and the smile instantly fell from my face, "did you do that for him?"

"For who?" I shot back, even though I knew what he was going to say.
"Darren."

"No, it was mostly Kade and Cassie driven, you know how they are. What's gotten into you?" I searched, sitting down on the couch next to him and laying a hand on his back.

"I'm worried, Ronnie. We're in here having a happy life and here walks in your old mentor and all the people close to you and him." he spat the word like it could kill him, "I don't want to lose you. Even through everything I know how you feel about him-"

"Felt," I corrected, giving him a stern look, but I knew he didn't buy it.

"You're going to be away, you're going to be gone with him and I can't be by you." I felt my heart break when I knew that it would be dangerous going away from Steve, because he was the only thing that kept my mind off of Darren and being around him wouldn't make not loving him easier. Especially since he had changed since I had last seen him, he was more rugged than before, his beautiful eyes still searched the room nervously and he still looked like the boy I had fallen in love with back in high school with his hands in his pockets and if I ever had the chance, I bet he still had the same stupid smile. But he was rougher, and the muscles on his arms and around his neck had become firmer and he was more of a... man. Man is right, oh man. I shook the thoughts away from my head,

"I need you to make a promise to me." Steve added shakily, grabbing my hands and looking deep into my eyes. "Do you love me?"

"Yes," I whispered, feeling the atmosphere in the room become tense.

"Then before you leave, I need you to do something. Just to keep me sane while you're away, just so I can have some piece of mind."

"Anything." But he did something I didn't expect, something I wasn't expecting, he slid of the could and crouched down before me, pulling a velvet box out of his hand.
"I want you to marry me."