Chapter Text
“ Some boys kiss me, some boys hug me, I think they’re okay! ” Mac and Veronica sang together, dancing in the middle of Mac’s bedroom, “ But if they can’t give me proper credit, I just walk away-ay! ”
“ They can beg and they can plead ,” Mac’s smile stretched from ear to ear, “ but they can’t see the light! ”
“ That’s right! ” Veronica chimed in.
“‘ Cause the boy with the cold, hard cash is always Mister Right! ”
Mac couldn’t continue with her singing, instead giggling and jumping up and down, her hands flapping as Veronica dramatically sang the chorus. Veronica stopped singing and yelled over the music, “Heather, I think the phone’s ringing!”
Mac yelled back, “Huh?!”
Veronica switched off the music player, “I swear the phone was ringing.”
“Maybe,” Mac shrugged.
“Do you wanna see if they left a message?”
“No!” Mac yelped, then calmed, “No. I- um- I think it’s Heather. I’d rather listen to it alone.”
“Oh,” Veronica bit her lip.
“Sorry,” Mac gave an awkward grin, “Didn’t mean to bring down the mood. I prefer piñata over Sparta, is what I always say.”
“I have never heard you say that,” Veronica laughed, “What does it mean?”
“I thought neurotypicals were supposed to be good at metaphors!” Mac threw up her hands in joking exasperation, “I like using metaphors when they make sense in my brain. ‘Cause they have piñatas at parties lots, so I use it to represent parties, and like, fun stuff, and then Sparta represents, like, war and stuff. So, it’s like I’m saying I prefer fun over fighting, as I’m sure everyone does. You know?”
“You are so weird, in a good way,” Veronica grinned, her arms crossed and head tilted.
“Thanks, it’s the autism,” Mac nodded.
“Wait,” Veronica’s eyebrows raised, “You have autism?”
“I thought you knew that?” Mac frowned, “Anyway, you know now. Wait, what did you think a special interest was then?”
“Is that not just something you really like? And it’s special to you, so like, it’s a special interest.”
“Um, no,” Mac bopped her head side-to-side, thinking, “It’s an autistic thing. It is an interest, yes, but we don’t choose to have it a lot of the time. Like, my current one is astrology. I didn’t originally intend for it to be astrology, but it just seemed to be something my brain really liked so now I use it to plan my days and stuff. It’s an intense fixation that lasts for a long while.”
“So, like, Ram and Kurt with football? J.D. with slushies?”
Mac giggled, “No, you dummy. As far as I’m aware, none of them are autistic, therefore those can’t be their special interests. And it’s not just, oh I like this thing, it’s like, I use this thing to structure my everyday life and it helps me get by.”
“Rightio,” Veronica said slowly, “I don’t know much about autism, sorry.”
“It’s okay, Ronnie, not many people do, that’s why it’s so highly stigmatised,” Mac tapped her feet on the floor, looking down at the movement, “It’s lucky I’m a Heather and I mask a lot, otherwise I’d be bullied heaps! I was in elementary school, that’s for sure!”
Veronica nodded awkwardly.
“Anyway,” Mac continued in a bright voice as if she weren’t just talking about her past bullying, “Do you think there are any parties coming up? I really need to get drunk.”
Veronica chuckled, “Probably, high-schoolers have parties all the time.”
“That’s very true.”
A silence filled the room, then Veronica said, “So, uh, what are we doing now?”
“Are you tired?” Mac looked up, dark eyes making contact with Veronica’s own.
“Are you?” Veronica shrugged.
Mac looked up, her brows furrowed while she thought, then replied, “Kind of, but I don’t mind staying up if you can’t sleep. I’d rather you don’t stay awake by yourself.”
“In that case, wanna sleep?”
“Maybe,” Mac pondered, “I’d rather just rest and talk until we fall asleep.”
Veronica licked her lips, then smiled, “Sounds good.”
***
Dear Diary, in the same bed as a third Heather. Got the whole set now, I guess? God, I sound like Derek from the geek squad with his board games. Ughhhhhhhhhh. Future Veronica, please tell me you’re less cringey than I am.
“If you were here with Heather or Heather,” Mac’s soft voice whispered out into the dark room, pulling Veronica from her thoughts, “what would you be doing?”
“Wherever the wind would take us,” Veronica hummed, “If I were with Heather Duke, we would’ve listened to Hot Probz earlier, but she’d probably be asleep by now. Or not. She has weird sleep patterns. And if I were with- with Heather Chandler… I don’t know. She’s a fucking wildcard, Heather. We could be doing anything. Getting drunk, bantering…” Having her wash my hair, falling asleep in her bed together… you know, normal friend stuff . “What would you do?”
“With Heather- Duke I mean- maybe we’d watch a movie. She’d probably want to read or something, like a nerd. She might even read to me. You know, she acts all prissy and uptight, but she’s a real softie underneath. I think that’s true of both her and Heather, to be honest,” Mac sighed at the thought of the blonde, “Heather and I would talk for hours, maybe. Maybe, we’d go outside. We’ve danced in the rain more than once.” Mac’s expression saddened. Veronica could only just make out the glint of her eyes in the dark room, hinting at tears.
“Hey, hey, what’s up?” Veronica shifted to face her, placing a hand on Mac’s.
“I miss her, Veronica,” Mac whispered back, her voice shaky, “She’s my best friend. What am I supposed to do now? We’re as stubborn as each other.”
“Maybe she’s thinking about how to make it up to you?”
“Yeah, well she’s taking a goddamn long time,” Mac huffed.
“Maybe we should just wait ‘til Monday, huh?” Veronica shrugged, “That’s usually when we organise things, isn’t it?”
“Ugh, I have to come to school Monday,” Mac groaned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, “Hell.”
“It might be,” Veronica acknowledged.
“But you’ll be there, and Heather Duke too. So, I guess it can’t be all bad.”
Veronica felt her heart flutter, “You’re sweet, Heather.”
“Mm, maybe, I’m just telling the truth though. As much as Heather is my oldest and closest friend, I like both you and Heather just as much. You all make me so happy. And- and as if school isn’t going to kill me, I guess. I could spend the rest of my life with you all. Maybe that’s kinda weird to say, I don’t know,” Mac frowned.
“No, I know what you mean,” Veronica nodded, “Sure, we all have a few issues to work out, but life is a rollercoaster, and you love rollercoasters, don’t you?”
“I’ve never been on one,” Mac looked at her blankly.
“No, Mac, that was- that was a metaphor,” Veronica chuckled, squeezing the blonde’s hand gently.
“Oh,” Mac’s brow furrowed, “Wait, so you mean like, life is unexpected but I like the unexpected?”
“Uh, I guess?”
“Well, that’s wrong, no offence. I hate change,” Mac’s eyes fell on the brunette in front of her.
“Damn it,” Veronica said, hoping the blonde could hear the lightness in her voice. The hand beneath hers flipped so that the palms connected. Veronica’s heartbeat quickened.
“I dunno, it felt weird,” Mac explained with a whisper, “Now we’re properly holding hands,” Mac’s hand gave a soft squeeze to Veronica’s, mirroring the same gesture from earlier.
A silence permeated the room. After a beat, Mac spoke again.
“It’s kinda cold.”
Veronica blinked, “I guess.”
“Are you cold?”
“I mean, not really,” she shrugged awkwardly.
“It must be my temperature regulation issues again. Dammit,” Mac sighed, “I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep being so cold.”
“Heather, you are the least subtle person I have ever met,” Veronica rolled her eyes, smiling, “You can just ask if you want a hug.”
“I was waiting for you to offer. Some people don’t like physical touch, so they wouldn’t offer. It was testing out your boundaries,” Mac huffed, “Even though my brain is kinda weird sometimes, I am quite smart.” She paused, then smiled gingerly at Veronica, “But I would like a hug, I think.”
They sat there for a moment more.
“So, uh, did you want a hug or-” Veronica began awkwardly, but was cut off as Mac shifted closer and pulled Veronica up in her arms to sit against the bed frame, almost being crushed by her strength.
Veronica flushed, “Holy shit, Heather, I forgot you were strong.”
“It comes in handy sometimes,” Mac giggled. Veronica tentatively rested her head on Mac’s shoulder, as she had in Heather Duke’s car, and closed her eyes. There was something so comforting about the tall blonde next to her, her broad, comfy shoulders, and her slow, evenly-paced breaths. Veronica felt lighter, really.
Dear Diary, it’s really hard to think about anyone or anything else when you’re warm and cosy in your best friend’s arms. It’s like there’s fog in my brain, but like, a nice fog. If there ever was a time I’d say I felt the safest, it’d be greatly contested by right now. Ignoring the shitshow that high school is, I think everyone needs a Heather McNamara, because she’s the lifeboat in a raging, black ocean.