1989

Veronica

On Saturday, the day before their trip to Washington, Kurt and Ram decided to throw a party, as a way to commemorate the upcoming game, even though Veronica was sure they just used that as an excuse to get wasted.

Veronica wasn't in the mood for parties. The anticipation over the game, and over getting into an airplane for the first time in her life were starting to make her feel a bit uneasy; plus, the Riley incident was still fresh on her mind, and she felt bad about going out to party while the poor girl was stuck in a hospital room.

To Veronica's dismay, Heather Chandler reminded her that she had no choice but to come, since making herself present at parties was one of the many obligations she had as a part of the Heathers; Veronica obliged because that was easier than dealing with a pissed off Chandler threatening to kick her off the group, but Veronica made it her personal mission to be a menace and complain the entire time.

Two hours into the party, Veronica found herself sulking around, gobbling down her third beer (the alcohol and the headache that came with it making her even more grumpy), and wishing she was with JD instead. He was probably in his room, packing for the trip because he was the type of person to do things at the last minute; Veronica, on the other hand, had her bags ready a week in advance.

Veronica tossed her empty beer bottle in the trash and walked over to the table to grab another one, at the same time that Heather decided to emerge from the dance floor to do the same thing.

Aside from a quick call to remind Veronica of the party, the two girls hadn't spoken to each other since the game. Veronica didn't know if Heather was feeling guilty (or if she was even capable of that emotion) or if she simply didn't want Veronica to bug her about it. The fact that Heather hadn't had the decency to admit that what happened was her fault or to at the very least acknowledge the incident, made Veronica's blood boil, she was sick of Heather doing everything she wanted with no repercussions; this time it was Riley, a year before that it was her snide remarks at Betty when she entered the team, to the point where the girl almost dropped out, even though she was a damn good player, and before that it the constant bullying towards Martha for no reason.

"I admire your resilience, Heather," Veronica began. She wasn't as drunk as the night of Ram's homecoming party the year before when she puked all over Heather's shoes and had to grovel to be accepted back into the group, but she was drunk enough to say things she would regret later.

"What?" Heather looked up from the drink she was pouring to look at Veronica like she had only just realized her presence.

"You have to be really heartless to show up here and pretend like nothing happened," Veronica grunted, her low inhibitions making her run her mouth without thinking. "As if you didn't fucking cripple someone yesterday."

"What the fuck is your damage, Veronica?" Heather asked.

Like the good little lap dogs that they were, Duke and McNamara arrived at Chandler's side when they heard the commotion. The other members of the team, the ones popular enough to be invited to the party anyway, also began to loom over with interest.

"Just admit that you did it on purpose!" Veronica said, the words coming out of her mouth a little slurred thanks to the three beers she had that night.

"What are they talking about?" Courtney whispered to McNamara, desperate for a juicty gossip as always.

"Heather's plan."

"What plan?"

"This doesn't concern you, Courtney, " Heather growled.

"If it's about the team then yes it does," Courtney refuted.

"Heather wanted us to be rough with Riley," Duke explained. Veronica knew she wasn't trying to be helpful, she just wanted people to turn against Chandler. "Now because of her, Riley may never play again."

"Shut up, Heather!" Heather Chandler yelled, gripping her red solo with so much force that Veronica thought she was going to break it. "Go shove your face in a toilet bowl."

"Sorry, Heather..."

"Stop talking to her that way!" Veronica chimed in.

"Shut up, Veronica. I don't need you to defend me," Duke spat, her eyes burning with anger as if Veronica trying to stick up for her was offensive somehow.

"Yeah, I don't even know why I'm sticking up for you," Veronica bit back. "From what I recall, you were fine with the plan since the start, you fucking hypocrite."

"Guys, stop!" McNamara, ever the peacemaker, tried to dial down the argument (she loved to watch people fight, as long as she and her friends weren't involved) but her efforts were met with indifference from her teammates, who kept on yelling at each other.

Within seconds, the reason for the fight, Riley's incident and Heather's ludicrous plan, was forgotten, as the girls started throwing insults at each other that had nothing to do with the subject; Duke was called a hypocrite twice; Veronica was told by Chandler to shove her superiority complex up her ass and Chandler was accused of being a selfish narcissist, all while people chanted 'Girl Fight!!!' and 'Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!' in the background.

"STOP!" Mac yelled, her voice drowning out the others. Veronica, Duke, and Chandler stopped bickering at each other instantly, surprised by such assertive behavior coming from Mac. "You three, come with me! Now!"

Since she only had two hands, Mac grabbed Veronica and Chandler by the wrist, ignoring their complaints, and ordered Duke to follow in tow, constantly looking over her shoulder to see if Duke was indeed behind her. Mac dragged them to Ram's front lawn, away from the music and the teenagers talking loudly.

"What the hell, you guys?" she asked.

The other three girls started yelling frantically again, talking over each other and trying to defend themselves.

"Rottweilers!" Mac shushed them. "Come on, the most important game of our lives is happening in a couple of days, we can't be acting like this. We need to act like a team, otherwise, we might not even bother showing up."

"You're not going to give a speech, are you?" Chandler mocked, one eyebrow raised.

"No, but you three are going to apologize to each other," Mac demanded. When no one said a word, Mac put a hand on her hip, like a mother scolding a child. Veronica felt weird being ordered out by someone five inches shorter than her. "Now!"

Veronica huffed, awkwardly kicking the dirt with her boot. "I'm sorry for accusing you like that, Heather. Your plan was stupid, but I know you just want what's best for the team," she kept her head down, her eyes focused on her shoes, so she didn't have to look at Heather. "I'm also sorry for calling you a Satanic Barbie..."

"I really am sorry for what happened to Riley," Heather whispered, not looking at Veronica either. "I never planned for her to get hurt like that."

"I know," Veronica reassured her. "It's ok."

"Great, can we go now?" Duke asked, already starting to walk away.

"Not so fast," McNamara said.

"If I had to apologize, so will you," Chandler crossed her arms.

"Fine. I'm sorry for everything that I said," Duke complied. She was mostly talking to Veronica, because she would never dare to insult Heather Chandler, not to her face at least.

"Good," McNamara gave them a satisfied smile. "We should probably go home now. We have a big day tomorrow."

***

The next morning, Veronica was up before seven. She didn't get much sleep, her anxiety making her fear  she was going to sleep in and miss the flight.

When she got down the stairs, her parents were already waiting for her with freshly squeezed orange juice, pancakes, and teary eyes.

"There she is!" Veronica's mom greeted her with a proud smile.

"How are you doing, champ?" her dad gave her a small pat on the back. "Nervous?"

"No way! We got this," she said, faking her confidence. Nervous was an understatement.

"That's the spirit!"

As she ate and chatted with her parents, the dreading feeling roiling inside Veronica's gut started to dial down a bit, but it never truly left.

After they were done eating, her mom handed her a letter. "Honey, I forgot to give you this. It came in the mail yesterday."

Veronica opened it with curiosity and the content inside of it made her heart skip a beat, her smile growing with every word.

Dear Ms. Sawyer,

Congratulations! On behalf of the Admissions Committee, we are delighted to announce that you have been accepted to Brown University Class of 1990.

"Oh my god..." Veronica mumbled in disbelief before she even finished reading the letter.

"What is it?" her dad asked. Veronica gave him the letter, too stunned to utter a word. Curious, her mom leaned over his should to read it too.

"Oh my god!" Mrs. Sawyer ran to hug her daughter. "I'm so proud of you!"

A car horn interrupted their celebration. Veronica jumped a little at the sudden noise. "That's my ride," she said, grabbing her bags. "I gotta motor If I want to be there on time."

"Alright," her mom gave her another hug, this one tighter. "Be safe. We'll have a lot to celebrate when you get home."

"Bye, peanut," her dad whispered in her ear, giving her a warm hug, one she didn't want to let go of. "Bring home that trophy, ok?"

"I'll try," she chuckled. "I love you guys! Bye!"

She stepped outside, the warm morning sunlight, the gentle breeze, and the chirping of the birds greeting her good morning.

"Hey," Veronica gave JD a quick kiss on the lips once she entered Mr. Dean's Chevrolet Celebrity.

"Hi," JD smiled at her, but something about his demeanor seemed off, even though she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"Is everything ok?" she narrowed her brows.

"I'm just tired. I finished packing at 3 a.m.," JD said. He grabbed her hand and kissed it. "I'm fine, don't worry about it.

"Ok," Veronica wasn't convinced. He seemed distracted, but she decided not to pry, the last thing she wanted was to make him upset and ruin their week.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

***

"Holy shit..." Veronica whispered when she entered the plane for the very first time. JD wasn't as impressed, given how much he traveled across the country with his dad, but to Veronica, who had only left her hometown once, it was undoubtedly cool. "I can't believe your dad paid for a private plane, Mac."

"He's been doing extravagant things ever since the divorce," her friend said with a meek shrug. "Guess I'll take it..."

"Well, thank you, Mr. McNamara..." Duke mumbled as she walked past them in the aisle.

Veronica put her luggage in the overhead bin and took a seat next to JD. Less than a minute later, Chandler showed up by her side.

"Take this," she said, extending a hand to Veronica, where a small, white pill rested in her palm.

"What is that?"

"Xanax. I stole it from my mom's medicine cabinet," she clarified. "I know it's your first time flying, this will help with the nerves."

"Hm, thanks..." Veronica said, taking the pill from her hand.

"Don't thank me, I just don't want to be stuck on a 2-hour flight with someone having a panic attack," Chandler said, then left. Veronica chuckled. Heather was a bitch, something that Veronica was even more certain of after being friends with her for over a year, but she did have a good heart, deep deep deep down. It was typical of her to do nice things while rolling her eyes and being unpleasant because God forbid if people thought she was capable of being kind; she reminded Veronica of her cat, who was an asshole but could be adorable sometimes.

Without thinking twice, Veronica swallowed the pill.

"Good morning, everyone. This is your captain. Our flight plan to Seattle has us going a little further north, to avoid a storm system that is coming in," said a male voice through the speakers, echoing through the small plane. "You should get some great views of the Canadian Rockies. Now sit tight and enjoy the flight."

Thanks to a practically sleepless night and the side effects of the Xanax kicking in, Veronica snuggled next to JD and fell asleep quickly.

Veronica didn't know how long she stayed asleep, but she woke up to the sound of screams and the plane shaking uncontrollably. She blinked, her heart racing and a million thoughts running wild inside her head, the first one being what the fuck is going on?

She looked around, trying to take in the situation, but everything was happening so fast.

Years later, the memories still haunted her. Sometimes, the scene replayed in her head in slow motion, and she could pay attention to every detail: the lights flickering, the plane shaking aggressively until she felt like throwing up, JD putting an oxygen mask on her face, dozens of bags falling out of their bins, Duke screaming, Mac crying, Sophie O'Cnnor praying, her hands clasped together in desperation, Ms. Fleming getting from her seat to help Tracy with her mask.

Other times, the memories came back fast. One minute she was asleep, then in the blink of an eye everything changed and she was in hell.

Veronica opened the window, and she saw nothing but trees. Trees that were getting closer and closer with each second. Shaking, she blinked back her tears and looked at JD, who was pale as a ghost, his eyes wide with terror. He held her hand tightly, his fingers clammy and cold.

Veronica closed her eyes and waited for the impact.