Only a Matter of Time // Veronica Sawyer x Fem!Reader

sixteen

But JD would be silent. He knew. And the others... They'd be mad. Upset. Confused, shocked, surprised. And Veronica...

The truck starts moving again. I put down my phone and start the car.

Goodbye, Sherwood. Goodbye, Westerburg.

Goodbye, Chandler. Goodbye, Mac. Goodbye, Duke. Goodbye, JD.

Goodbye, Veronica.

I stir my slurpee as I walk. It's right around the corner. It's so near. I turn the corner and stop as I see the building. There it is. It'll be empty by now. It's summer break, of course it'd be. Who would hang out at school during a break?

I cross the street and reach it, stopping before the doors. The red steps are the same as always, scuffed up with dozens of dusty shoes going in and out almost daily. I feel a smile on my face as I read the name aloud.

"Westerburg High."

I sip from the cup as I walk along to the field, examining the school as I go. It hasn't changed all too much. I'm sure classes have been rearranged, renovated, and maybe more. It's not the same Westerburg I attended, but that's how I'll always remember it. And I have the feeling nothing could change that.

As I reach the field, I notice a guy sitting in the bleachers, a sketchbook balanced on his knee as he digs through a small backpack. He pulls out an eraser and zips it shut, turning his attention to the book. I laugh softly under my breath. The guy looks like JD. Just a little more composed, a little less sad. His always tousled hair is absent, cut a little shorter and tamed with a comb. He wears a deep maroon sweatshirt as opposed to JD's usual black jacket. And JD didn't draw. He wrote. The guy seems to notice my presence because he looks up from his work.

"Sorry," I say. My voice carries out into the field. He heard me. He nods a few times.

"Don't worry," he replies. I turn on my heel, starting to leave. I'll leave him alone, I guess. Then, I stop. I turn back to face him.

There's no way in hell.

Unless that truly is my old best friend.

"Did you go here, by any chance?" I ask before I can stop myself. He tilts his head.

"For my senior year only, but yeah. Few years ago. You?" I feel my body quiver.

"Jason Dean." He freezes. "That's you, isn't it?" He slowly rises to his feet. His eyes examine me for a split second before he scrambles to the stairs, bounding across the field to reach me.

"Y/n!" He yells as he sprints across the field. I laugh aloud, rushing to meet him. We collide in a tight hug, and I swear I can feel him shivering. We're both laughing and saying each other's names as if it'll make it more real. He slowly withdraws from my arms. Now that I know it's him, I can see the boy I met on my first day here.

It's JD.

"Hey, nerd," I say before I can stop myself. He lets out a short chuckle of disbelief, running a hand through his hair.

"You're here." I nod.

"I am." I smile down at my shoes. "I just... I missed this place."

"We missed you." He grabs my shoulders. "I mean, you're back!" I giggle lightly.

"I've never heard you so excited, JD." He shakes his head. I feel a tear trace down my face and quickly wipe it away. He blinks away his watery eyes.

"You..." He trails off. "I don't know what to say."

"Me neither." I swallow. "I-I mean, I never thought I'd see you again. I came here hoping to see this town, but then you..." I feel tears well up in my eyes. "JD, I am so sorry, I-"

"Hey." He cracks a smile. "You have nothing to apologize for, okay?" I smile a bit, wiping my eyes. He pulls me into another hug. I bury my face in his shoulder, drying my eyes as I tremble.

"I missed you."

"I missed you, too." He gently rubs my back. "We all did. You left so suddenly. The Heathers didn't know what to do, and Veronica-" He cuts himself off. I slowly pull back, looking at him.

"What about her?" He sighs quietly.

"She was crushed, y/n." I swallow. "Angry. You know. Upset. She tried so hard to contact you, and when you didn't reply, it only made her feel worse." I look away.

"Yeah."

"She liked you. But she was also scared that she'd lost her best friend, too." I nod a few times.

"I know." That was the same thing I'd been experiencing. He pats my shoulder.

"You..." He trails off, then gasps. "The Heathers are coming back. Not all at once, but... Sometime in the next week or so." I feel my heart flutter. "I have to tell them."

"Don't."

"... What?" I shake my head.

"Don't tell them I'm here. I want to do it myself." I breathe out. "They deserve an explanation. Don't tell them, please. I'll do it myself, I swear. Just let me do it." He goes quiet for a second, then nods in understanding.

"I won't."

"Thank you." His eyes flicker to my hand, the cup of slush in it. He smiles a bit.

"Brain freezing?" I laugh softly.

"Of course." I offer him the cup, and he takes a long drag from it. I snatch it back. "Don't drink all of it."

"Fine." He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, then grins. It's been a while since I've seen him, and he's certainly grown up quite a bit. It's amazing to me how different he is from who I knew before. I grab his arm.

"We have some catching up to do, don't we?" He smiles.

"Yeah." He leads me over to the bleachers, and we settle beside his stuff. As we begin to talk, I feel myself settling into a sort of familiarity that I haven't experienced for so long. My stomach twists a bit.

"... How about Veronica?" I ask after a few seconds of silence between us.

"What?"

"Is she..." I trail off. "Is she coming back?" His smile slowly fades.

"I don't know," he says after a while. I look down into my near-empty cup. "Maybe." I inhale deeply.

"Maybe," I repeat. We stare out at the sky.

Maybe is enough to give me hope.