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

twenty

Veronica stares at me, her eyes taking me in. I don't know what to say to her. I don't even know what to do. I step closer. She backs away. I know I can't just act like the past four years never happened. I know I can't just act like we're okay. Because what if we aren't?

"What are you doing here?" She says. I shrug.

"I came back to see the town." I look down. "Found JD on my first day."

"Oh."

"Yeah." I don't know what I could say. "Just like before, huh?" I try for a laugh. She doesn't do the same. I clear my throat.

"How..."

"Are you mad at me?" I blurt out. She doesn't respond for a few seconds.

"I don't know," she murmurs. I carefully look at her. Her eyes are unreadable.

"Veronica, I..."

"Yes?" I swallow, examining my old friend. My old crush. The girl who brought me out of my shell and gave me a new life. Who encouraged me to be more than just an outcast.

"I am so, so sorry," I say quietly. She looks away. "I know, I don't deserve your forgiveness, and if you're mad, it's warranted. It really is."

"... Is it?"

"Yes." I sigh. "Yes, of course it is. I left without a trace and without an explanation and now I'm back and- God, I can't even begin to understand the impact of this." She looks down.

"Right." She sits on the bed, looking out the window. I feel my body tense.

"Right?"

"What?"

"That's all you have to say?" She looks at me. I suddenly feel angry. Angry that she has nothing more to say to the person who walked out of her life. I want her to be mad at me. She has every right to be. Why isn't she mad at me?

"What else do I say? What do you-"

"I left your life and all you say is 'right.'" She scowls.

"And?"

"Are you not mad?" She raises an eyebrow. "Don't you... Don't you want to tell me that I'm stupid or tell me I'm an asshole and make it known that I don't deserve to be here?" She blinks.

"No."

"... No?" She shakes her head.

"I don't think I want to do that, y/n." She looks out the window again.

"But..."

"Can you be quiet for a sec?" She smiles a bit, her eyes focused on the sky. "I don't wanna hear how much you want me to be mad at you. I'm not." I look at my hands.

"You deserve to be." She laughs lightly.

"Well, you don't deserve for me to yell at you for something that happened four years ago."

"Veronica..."

"Hm?"

"Why?" She shrugs.

"I dunno. You're too nice for that." I clench my fists.

"I left without saying goodbye and-"

"I don't wanna hear it." I close my mouth. "Stop telling me reasons why I should be angry." I look at the wall.

"Fine." We fall into a sort of uncomfortable silence. I wait for her to tell me something. Anything. How much she misses me, or what happened after I left. Instead, I get silence. "Veronica-"

"I missed you," she says. I stop, my gaze snapping to her. She looks down.

"I missed you, too." I'm unsure whether I should sit beside her, or move closer, or maybe just show myself out. "A lot." She smiles a bit.