Forgiven (JD x Veronica)

Chapter 18

TW: mentions of self harm. nothing graphic but be careful.

Almost as soon as JD's head had hit the pillow, he was being nudged awake. His eyes fluttered open to see Heather's smiling face right above him.

"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Heather was already dressed for the day, having clothed herself in a yellow blazer and a black shirt. Her arms were crossed behind her back.

JD groaned and sat up. Heather backed up slightly to give him space. "Mornin'." He rubbed at his eyes, attempting to wipe the sleep from them. The second he was done rubbing his eyes, a box was thrust into his view. He gazed up at Heather with a confused look.

"Consider this your welcome back to Westerburg gift!" She happily chimed. JD took the box with a raised eyebrow. It was long and slender and white. It was surprisingly light. It had a narrow slit at the bottom, indicating that that was where he was supposed to open it. He eyed Heather.

"What's in it?"

Heather rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Just open it!"

JD smirked and rolled his eyes in response. He slipped his finger into the narrow slit and lifted the lid off the box. Inside the box was a black piece of cloth. JD pulled it out only to realize what it was. A black trench coat that was identical to his.

Heather couldn't contain her excitement and let out a small squee. "Stand up! Put it on! I wanna make sure I got the measurements right!"

JD smiled softly and stood up, shrugging off his old trench coat and tossing it onto the bed. He quickly put on the new one. It fit him almost perfectly, aside from the fact that it was a little baggy compared to his old one and it was also shorter in length.

Heather clasped her hands together and smiled brightly. "They're a little off, but I hope that's alright!"

"Heather, I," JD took a moment to analyze the trench coat in its entirety. "It's perfect." He locked eyes with her. "Thank you."

Heather brushed him off with a wave of her hand. "It's nothing, really!" JD made a tsk noise.

"Well, get ready for school! I'll be downstairs if you need anything!" And with that, Heather was off, closing the door to the room behind him.

JD flopped back down onto the bed, relishing the feeling of new fabric on his skin. He would have to find some way to make this up to Heather. Definitely.

The rest of the morning rolled around fine. JD eventually sauntered his way down stairs into Heather's kitchen, where she waved at him and made him a bowl of Lucky Charms. He smirked at her kindness and had maybe two bites before the sweetness overwhelmed him and he discreetly dumped the rest of the bowl down the sink. From then on, Heather invited him to watch the early morning cartoons, which he, begrudgingly, agreed to.

Despite the animation being an eyesore and the voice acting being incredibly grating, it was a level of domestic that JD had almost never felt in his entire life. He felt his back relax against the soft cushion of the couch as another episode of the cartoon opened.

It wasn't shortly after that a phone rang and Heather jumped up to grab it. She returned almost as soon as she had left, sinking back into the couch, but not resting her back into it. JD cocked an eyebrow at her and leaned forward.

"Veronica should be here in a couple of minutes!" She happily chimed, and JD gave her a soft smile in return.

Veronica came sooner than expected, pulling up to the mansion and laying on the horn three times. Heather sprang to her feet and dashed out the door. JD tried to keep up with her the best he could. Heather tucked herself into the back seat of the car, leaving the passenger side door open for him. He followed suit, giving Veronica a small wave. Veronica returned his wave with a disturbed look.