Everyone's high, ain't nobody home tonight, big fun! Massacring lyrics aside, let's party! Thank you to the guest reviewer.

The party was in full swing by the time my friends and I arrived. I could hear an old Madonna track playing full blast, and everyone was drinking, smoking and dancing.

Someone from the football team – not Kurt or Ram, a guy I didn't know, came up to me. "Hey, did you just arrive? Can I grab a drink for you?" Right, I was pretty sure that drink could be spiked. I'd be better off getting my own, because at least then it would have alcohol but probably nothing stronger in it.

I smiled at him and said "Thanks, but I don't need a drink right now. Actually," I said, thinking of Martha, "I do have a favour to do for someone. Any idea where the host is?"

The guy looked disappointed, but pointed over to the other side of the room. Yep, that was Ram all right, whooping it up. He was actually reasonably cute with nice eyes and muscles, but right now, he just looked ridiculous. There was no way I could get close to him. So I shrugged it off and started dancing with some of the other girls. I did have to take a few breaks and puffs of my inhaler every so often, but the dancing didn't do any major damage. Mom and Dad would never have let me take dance classes for this same reason, because my asthma was mainly affected by vigorous physical activity and I'd be dashing for my inhaler every fifteen minutes, which was just too much for a class. But here, where I didn't have to do any particular steps and could dance at my own pace, it wasn't a problem.

I did drink, of course. I just took tiny sips of the one cup so I gave the impression I'd had more than one and didn't need anyone to supply me with more of something they'd spiked. I wanted to stay alert and make sure I didn't actually get drunk, because I needed to be in control. I'd drank before, but I didn't like most alcohols – by taste, red wine was my favourite. I ended up getting a gin and tonic for myself. I was just glad there was tonic, then I could mix and I wouldn't be in danger of drinking too much undiluted gin.

Some of the kids, even those who weren't usually stoners, were taking weed and I felt like I was getting a little high off it second-hand with the smoke floating around indoors, because I was feeling light-headed after about an hour. Still, I liked the feeling. It was sort of what JD described as what he got from slushies, but unlike brain freeze, it wasn't painful, it just made me feel less worried and more confident. It didn't erase my nerves completely, but could anything non-painful do that? I didn't want to take a proper hit because I knew that could trigger my asthma, but I could safely enjoy the effects I got from a distance.

I didn't even just spend the whole time with the girls. At one point, Kurt asked me to dance and I'm sure he was flirting with me, despite Heather McNamara right there. I don't think she actually saw him with me, but it nagged at my mind. It would have been fun if I hadn't been thinking about that, especially since I enjoyed the moment and was perversely proud that the quarterback seemed to like me, even if I wasn't interested in him at all. Several other girls were watching us enviously. He was pretty hot, too, with a Superman jawline and a great smile, not to mention having some muscle, but it not being so bulgy that it was off-putting. Just like Ram, he also had nice eyes, deep blue and a little wider than most people's. I flirted back a little, not really taking it seriously.

I lost track of time, I think. All too soon, Martha arrived at the party. I couldn't resist going to talk to her, but when I got to her, I found Veronica already close by.

"It's exciting, right?" Martha was saying in a bubbly tone. "Oh, I want to say hello to Ram. I brought sparkling cider!"

I quickly blocked her path, but disguised my worries for her getting hurt by smiling brightly. "You came!" I exclaimed, mentally slapping myself for stating the obvious. "But I should warn you, Ram is not going to react well to that cider. He's expecting hard alcohol. You should put it down if you want to talk to him. But…please, please remember what I said. You don't know he wrote that note, and even if he did, he might deny it in front of all his friends."

Martha looked downcast, but she nodded at the comment about the cider and put it on one of the tables before making her way over to Ram to mention the note. Since I'd warned her, she didn't look surprised when he asked "What note?" Just sad, but resigned. I wondered if she still thought he wrote the note and was just denying it like I suggested.

I hung back mostly when it got to the part with the pig pinata, the one that had been made to purposely resemble Martha. My plan involved letting Veronica grab it off the other girls, throw it into Ram's pool and tell Martha to go home, she'd explain it all later. I had to just wait for the right moment.

Heather Chandler was furious, of course. She told Veronica that not even the losers would touch her and that no one would ever let her hang out with them again. And that's when Veronica threw up. Right in front of Heather. I think some of it landed on her pumps.

So it was time for me to step up. I hated to lose one of Veronica's best lines telling Heather she might as well lick up her puke payment, but this just felt like the right time. I was a little scared, but I knew I had to do it. As soon as I could, I was at Veronica's shoulder, staring daggers at Heather. She was a little taller than me, so I had to look up. "I'm not scared of you, Heather," I said loudly, articulating my words carefully. "I don't care if my friends dump me because they are, either. You're just another seventeen-year-old girl. Why should anyone bow down to you? Because you're some elitist bitch? So if you're going to drop your forgery brainchild, she can take me with her. FYI, I already know what you want to say to us, but I think this means that I do know who I'm eating lunch with on Monday."

Heather stared at me for a moment. I got the feeling she didn't know what to say, considering no one else would dare talk to her like that. But when she finally opened her mouth, I cut her off, knowing if she said anything, I could very easily lose my nerve and start begging for forgiveness, which I definitely didn't want to do. "Save it. Come on, Veronica, let's get out of here." And Veronica, despite barely knowing who I was, obediently walked out with me.

"Thanks for sticking up for me," she said in a low voice. "You didn't have to, though. I mean, Heather's going to make your life hell as much as mine."

I shrugged. "She doesn't scare me. I do care about my friends dumping me, but I really couldn't stand what was happening there. I've been dying to tell her off for a while. The look on her face when I first started talking was almost worth whatever she does to us. Did Martha tell you she's my friend, too? Just out of school."

"I've been a horrible friend to her," Veronica murmured. "I kept skipping out on movie nights and then I even wrote that note…"
"I tried to warn her that it probably wasn't a real note," I added, "But she wouldn't listen. I wish she wasn't so hung up on Ram. She told me they'd been really close in kindergarten, but seriously, that's just kindie. He's not worth her time anymore." I paused. "But she's a nice person. I think she'll forgive you if you talk to her about it. Remember, you said you'd explain things to her later."

Veronica looked thoughtful. "Yeah, I should. If she turns on me, I'm no worse off, I guess. She doesn't hold grudges for very long, though. If I tell her the Heathers put me up to it and that it was why I stood up for her at the party, maybe she'll forgive me sooner. But for now…" she checked her Swatch Watch. "It's two. Thirty hours to live, for both of us. How shall we spend them?"

I recognized this as a line from her big song. "Let's go back to my house," I suggested hastily. "Or yours. Are your parents expecting you home?"

Veronica shook her head. "I told them I'd be sleeping over at Heather's."

"Mine, then," I said decisively. "I'll lend you a new toothbrush and pyjamas and stuff and we can talk it through. Maybe figure out a plan to survive the next week. I don't know what Heather's going to do, but she can't own the whole school. There's got to be a few people who aren't totally cowed by Heather."

So that's what we did. We actually had a good time. Veronica was smart and witty and even though she was still pretty drunk and high from the party, she was reasonably coherent and alert, just a bit too energized and less reserved than usual. I asked her how she got in with the Heathers in the first place, just so I would have that information from a source and wouldn't let it slip that I knew already. Veronica didn't tell me much I didn't already know, and it was enough that I felt safe to talk about it without letting my secret slip. One of the few new things she told me was that her signature colour was Heather Chandler's idea, but that she actually liked blue and was quite happy with her new cool-girl look.

I steered the conversation away from boys. I didn't want to hear Veronica talking about JD, and I didn't want her to start getting any ideas that I liked him too. She'd already flirted with him, but so had I. I didn't want her to get closer, and talking wasn't going to do any good in that direction.

We didn't figure out a way to combat Heather, though. We agreed to sit together at lunch on Monday for a start, and I resolved to call my friends to see what they would think. I also reckoned Veronica should call Martha and explain like she said she would at the party. She said she probably would, but I wasn't so sure she'd actually do it, left to herself. As for combating Heather…well, I'd call JD and see if he had any idea what to do. I mean, if there was an alternative to killing Heather. If there wasn't…

Well, I could live without her.

After all, a world without Heather Chandler is peaceful until Heather Duke takes over. Ana can't necessarily stop that from happening, but that's if one Heather dies. I'm not sure what I've decided. Also, Ana liking wine…well, wine and champagne are my pick. I especially hate beer. Also, drinking slowly like Ana did is safer. One drink per hour and you might not get drunk.