Chapter Text
Veronica drummed her fingers onto the bar counter, glancing up every now and then to see if her friend had arrived yet. Charlie had canceled today’s activity (something about a hornet’s nest), so she suddenly had her afternoon free. Veronica had asked Heather if she wanted to go to a karaoke bar with her, and Heather had said she’d meet her at 2. Veronica glanced at her phone, which now read 2:36. Maybe I should just-
“Ronnie! I didn’t think you’d still be here!” Veronica instantly perked up as she saw Heather rushing over. “Sorry I’m so late, Velvette would not let me fucking leave, even though the session she booked me for ended ages ago.” She rolled her eyes. “So, why’d you ask me to meet you here of all places? No offense, but this part of town often ends up in the crossfire of turf wars.”
Veronica let out a chuckle. “I know…I just thought it seemed fun. And now that you’re here, I know it will be.”
Heather shook her head, a grin seeping across her face. “Still as cheesy as ever…”
Veronica held up her hands. “Guilty as charged! C’mon, let’s get our names on the list.”
After a few songs, Veronica and Heather sat in a booth towards the back of the bar. Heather sipped on some drink from the Gluttony ring, as Veronica ranted about what happened after her murder. “-and then their dads made out with each other during their funeral.”
Heather chuckled. “Holy shit, and you said my funeral was wild…” She took another sip.
“Yeah, then JD suggested we kill Heather Duke as soon as we got back to his house.”
“Seriously V, how did you not dump him sooner!”
“I was a sexually repressed teenager whose first time was with a crazy person, cut me some slack.”
“Touche.” Heather suddenly looked up. “Hey, I think one of the freaks from that hotel is looking for you.”
Veronica cocked her head. “Really? Nobody said they wanted to come with-”
She’s jostled from her musings by Sir Pentious running directly into the table, knocking over Heather’s drink. “What the fuck! I paid forty bucks for that Beelzujuice!”
The snake sinner frantically shook his head. “No time to exsssplain! You have to get out of here!” He grabbed both the girls’ wrists and attempted to pull them out of their seats, but Heather clocked him in the jaw. He fell to the floor, groaning.
Veronica shot Heather a warning glance before helping Pentious up. “Is everything okay Pentious?”
“There’ssss a huge brawl a few blocksss away and-”
Heather cut him off. “So? Ronnie can hold her own if it makes its way over here, which I doubt it will.” She turned to Veronica, who was desperately trying to hide her blush. “She’s one of the toughest girls I knew in life, and I bet Hell’s made her even stronger!”
Pentious gave her a confused look for a few seconds before shaking his head. “I don’t think sssshe’d appreciate thissss one! We need to get out before he-”
The sound of shattering glass interrupted him, and Veronica quickly turned around to find an extremely bruised sinner struggling to get up “I-I’m sorry! I swear, I didn’t know this was your turf!”
Sir Pentious quickly pushed her and Heather under the table as someone wolf-like jumped through the broken window. “Don’t move!” He quietly hissed. Veronica was about to ask why when an unfortunately familiar voice cut through the air.
“Yeah, well you do now. And once you pull yourself back together, I’m sure you’ll also know not to piss me off.” A gunshot pierced the air, leaving a ringing in Veronica’s ears. She instinctively reached out for Heather’s hand as the wolf sinner, undeniably her ex, took a few steps in their direction. “Hey, Pentious! What brings you to this side of the pentagram? No offense, but I didn’t think karaoke was your thing.” His tone was inappropriately casual for having just blown a guy’s head off.
“Jassson! I, uh, well…” Veronica so badly wanted to tell him to fuck off and mind his own business, but she remained under the table, squeezing Heather’s hand tightly.
“C’mon, no need to be shy. Just tell me.” He was close enough for Veronica to see his shadow on the wall. He was taller than he was in life and still had his signature trench coat.
Fuck it. She told Heather to stay down and pulled herself back into her seat. “What makes you feel entitled to that info, JD?”
He froze, an unreadable expression falling across his face. “...Veronica?”