I run a hand through my hair, pulling open the fridge door and grabbing a cold bottle of pop. I head to the counter and pay for it and a bag of chips, cracking open the pop as I head to the door. I head outside, leaning on the side of my car as I sip from the bottle. I notice someone passing by. I focus on them.
"Veronica?" I say before I can stop myself. She stops walking, glancing over and squinting at me. I stare at her. What the hell is she doing, walking around in the dark?
"Oh. Hey." I smile a bit, slightly weirded out by the situation.
"What are you doing out here? It's so late." She shrugs, walking over.
"I just came back from a party." She pauses, then frowns. "What are you doing here?"
"Couldn't sleep." I show her my bottle and bag of chips. "Decided to go on a snack run." All through my first month here, the Heathers haven't even noticed me. But not Veronica. I mean, I guess she does that for everyone. But still, it's a nice change from the constant bitchiness of most popular girls.
"Gotcha." I examine her.
"You're walking home at night, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Probably not the best idea. How far away is your house?"
"Maybe about twenty more minutes." I blink.
"Woah. That's kinda a lot." I unlock my car doors. "Get in."
"What?"
"Let me drive you home."
"... What?" She repeats.
"Let me drive you home," I repeat slowly. Before she protests, I put a hand up to stop her. "I was planning on going for a drive anyway. Whatever way your house is, I'll keep going in that direction. Might as well explore Sherwood."
"You don't have to."
"I know. I don't wanna find you dead in a ditch, though." I open the driver's side, getting in and starting it. I glance out at her. "Come on." She bites her lip, almost trying to decide, then loops around and gets into the passenger side. She tells me her address, and I pull out of the parking spot.
"You don't have to," she repeats
"I know. I owe you, remember?"
"You don't."
"Still." The drive is quiet. We aren't exactly friends, so we don't know each other well enough to know interests or anything super big about each other.
"Where did you move from?" I glance over at her.
"This time, it was Boston. Turn right here, yeah?"
"Yeah. Did you say this time?"
"Mm." I press on the brakes as the light before us turns red. "I move around a lot."
"Oh."
"Been to Chicago. New York. Seattle." I pause. "Small towns, too. Lots of 'em."
"Jesus. Why?" I look down.
"My dad's company. He needs to move around." I smile. "My mom stays in one place, though. Sometimes I get to visit her, but not often. Usually just during the summer. I stay with my dad, though. They're not... Yeah."
"Oh," she repeats. I glance over at her.
"Sorry. I don't know why I told you that. It just slipped."
"It's okay." She pauses. "Sometimes people do things without thinking."
"Yeah." I step on the gas. She seems to want to say something, but doesn't. It's a while before I speak up. "Shouldn't we have reached it by now?"
"Um, yeah. We just passed." She clears her throat. "I just don't feel like heading home just yet."
"Why?" She doesn't reply. I pull over to the side of the road after a few seconds. I turn to face her. "Are you okay? Are you safe at home?"
"What- Yes. Yes, I am." She doesn't meet my eyes. "I don't know. You seemed like you needed company." We fall silent. I feel a smile tug at my lip. It's a few seconds before I burst out in laughter. She looks at me, confused.
"You are so..." I giggle to myself, burying my face in my hands. "You're so innocent, Veronica."
"What?" She demands. I shake my head.
"I didn't mean that to offend you!" I bite my lip. "What I mean is you're just... Everyone's an asshole. Apathetic. They'll say they care for me and some random bullshit like that, but I know it's not true. But you... You genuinely care. Without even saying it."
"Y/n..." She purses her lips. "You just seem like a good person, and no one else notices. Isn't that a shame?" I drop the smile.
"Maybe."
"Everyone but like, JD." I nod.
"I know." She doesn't say anything for a few seconds, then meets my eyes.
"I think you need more than one friend." I raise an eyebrow.
"Is that an offer of friendship?"
"If you want it to be." I look down at the steering wheel. Friends, huh? I don't have friends outside of another loner. Barely even acquainted myself with people. But Veronica is willing to be that for me. JD is good, sure, but she's right. One friend isn't enough.
"Okay."
"Yeah?" I glance over at her, seeing a bit of a hopeful smile on her face. I smirk.
"You're so much nicer than your friends. How did that happen?" She smiles.
"I forged a hall pass for them."
"Oh? A rule breaker? I wasn't expecting that." She shrugs.
"I have many talents." I grin.
"Like what?"
"I don't know. Am I making you feel better?" I look out into the night.
"I guess."
"Good." I start up the car.
"Where do you wanna go?"
"Hm... I dunno. You decide. Pick a random direction."
"Alright." I put the car into drive and pull away. I hear the crinkle of a chip bag and look over at her. She pops a chip in her mouth. "Hey- I paid for that! Don't eat them all."
"I can eat some of them, though." I give her a look. She eats another chip. "Since we're friends now, I think it's an obligation to steal food."
"You're such a weirdo," I say. She smiles.
"Your weirdo, now." I roll my eyes, turning my attention to the road as I snag a chip. "Hey, I think you should be fully aware of what you're getting into before you agree."
"Yeah, yeah. Just don't get too comfortable with this food stealing business."
"No promises. Now, onward, noble knight."
"Your wish is my desire, fair lady." As we continue driving, we start to talk. It's kinda nice talking to her. She suddenly looks ahead.
"Pull over." I slam on the brakes.
"What?"
"Pull over, there's something up ahead." I raise an eyebrow.
"A good something?" She smiles.
"Definitely." I pull over as she says. She unlocks the car doors, and gets out. I follow her, locking the doors. I blink.
"It's a playground," I mutter.
"Going to a playground at midnight is a transformative experience, l/n. Come on." I smirk, following her over to the swingset. We sit down.
"You're so weird," I say, pulling my leg over so I straddle the swing and face her. She smiles.
"Says the lone wolf type who drives around at midnight to escape her feelings."
"Wh- I do not do that!" She smiles.
"Sure." I sigh, looking out into the night. It's quiet. Calm. Nice. I feel a small smile on my face. It's nice to slow down like this. Sit down beside someone and let the world do its thing around us.
"Thank you."
"Of course. Now, smile!"
I look up from my phone to stare out the window as the plane slowly trundles to the runway. It's a seven hour flight. Then a two hour drive. But I really hope it'll be worth it. I really hope I can find what I need.
I tap on my phone, opening the gallery. There's a picture of Veronica. Us on a swing set, grinning at the camera. That was that first night, the one where we went on a drive and she became my friend. I last saw her four years ago. We were seventeen. I turn off my phone, leaning back on the headrest and closing my eyes.