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

three

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."