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JD feels betrayed.
He feels very, extremely, incredibly, seriously betrayed.
This was supposed to be a group hangout. Not a JD-watches-cat-videos-while-Veronica-and-Heather-cuddle hangout.
JD sneaks a glance at the two girls. Okay, fine. They weren’t quite cuddling. It’s not like having your head on someone’s lap while they run their fingers through your hair is considered cuddling.
Not.
At.
Fucking.
All.
It was supposed to be a group. hang. out.
Except, Duke just had to call Heather and say she and Mac saw a new movie playing that they wanted to watch.
“ We’ll catch up .”
Fine. That’s fine.
Because then they could’ve just waited for Betty and Martha to arrive.
But.
Then, Martha calls Veronica and, “ Well, we saw Heather and Heather and decided to just wait for them so we can all drive there together.”
Of course, that’s when JD bursts into the room after he’d somehow managed to get himself into one of Heather’s pajamas (a very comfortable, glaringly pink pair of satin pajamas).
His shenanigans proved to be a very effective distraction. Heather had been too busy chasing him to be pissed off at the four girls for making a spur of the moment decision. And Veronica was just trying to keep the two from actively killing each other to even think about dragging their four friends out of the mall.
Eventually, they did manage to tire themselves out. And by that point, it became abundantly clear that there was no way their friends would be joining them any time soon.
Does JD regret the pink pajamas?
No.
Has he seen too much cat videos that Heather and Veronica are starting to look like the CGI-tragedy that is Cats?
Most definitely.
The minutes go by, agonizingly slow and boring.
A notification pops up on his screen. It’s a message from Duke. JD glares at it.
“Operation Chansaw is a go.”
JD suppresses a scoff.
Duke texts him again.
“You can do it. We believe in you! -Mac”
“Remember, this is for our sanity. :) -Betty”
JD waits for a minute but no more texts come. He lets out a quiet huff. Then, from his lounging perch on Heather’s bed, he suddenly shoots up and claps his hand loudly.
“I got it!”
Neither Veronica nor Heather flinch or bother to look at him. JD’s excitement dulls for a few seconds. He presses his lips together and narrows his eyes at the two girls.
JD waits for acknowledgement. A beat passes... then, another. Unsurprisingly, none comes. He rolls his eyes.
Oh, woe it is to be the third-wheel .
JD settles back, if only for a few moments, to study the two girls who looked perfectly content to let him hog the bed as they settled on Heather’s way too lavish carpet.
Chandler is laying on Veronica’s lap, hair sprawled rather dramatically as Veronica’s fingers run through them absentmindedly. JD’s gaze ends up getting pulled into the motion of Veronica’s hand. It was soothing and JD finds himself mesmerized.
JD snorts.
As if.
God. This was all so disgustingly cute and domestic and gay, and please can’t they get a room already?
Oh wait.
I’m in that room.
Riiiiiiiiight.
The plan.
There’s a plan and it involves JD being the poor shmuck who gets to bear the brunt of being the “Chansaw” third-wheel while their other friends gallivant in town or whatever.
JD claps his hand again, a little harder, wincing as he does so.
“I said,” he repeats, clearing his throat loudly, “I have an idea.”
Veronica ignores him, in favor of scrolling through whatever social media she was currently on. Chandler simply turns to the next page of her book.
JD slumps. Tough crowd. He sighs and groans dramatically, then he sighs some more, still trying to get a reaction.
“Hello, devilishly handsome man speaking here?” He waves his arms at them impatiently.
Heather snorts inelegantly but doesn’t comment or remove her eyes from her reading. Veronica, on the other hand, looks at him with one raised eyebrow.
“I’m not sure how to take you seriously when you’re wearing those.”
Heather sneaks a look at him and snickers. JD puts a hand to his chest and tries his best to look massively affronted.
“Excuse me, I believe these pajamas make me twice as charming.”
“You mean they make you look twice as pompous, Jason.” Heather rolls her eyes, her voice sounding sickeningly sweet.
“Good to know you admit to looking pompous, Chansey.” JD retorts without missing a beat. He waggles his eyebrows, laughing as Heather scrunches her nose in disgust.
“Those are yours now. I’m not wearing them again,” Heather looks at JD, feigning gagging as she finally puts her book down. “And don’t call me Chansey, you’re the one in pink.”
“Yeah,” Veronica agrees readily, “and anyway,” laughter starts creeping into her voice. “Heather’s not nearly as cute— AH! ”
“Don’t be a bitch, Veronica.” Heather says, smiling prettily even as her voice drips smugness.
Jesus. Heather could put Grandma Mosely’s pinching game to shame. And Grandma Mosley had a mean pinch.
Veronica doesn’t reply, only sticks her tongue out as she rubs her cheek. Low, soft laughter comes from Heather’s lips. She looked almost... affectionate. A stark contrast to Veronica’s glare of suspicion as the other girl pushes herself up to a sitting position.
A moment passes.
Without looking, Heather pokes Veronica on the side, making the brunette jump.
“Heather!” Veronica yelps at the same time Heather looks to JD with a self-satisfied smirk. “Alright, Jason, what’s your dumb idea now?”
JD slaps his leg repeatedly for a drumroll. Then, proudly, he declares, “We should make a viral TikTok video!”
His loud suggestion is met with silence. Veronica raises an eyebrow at him. Heather simply looks unimpressed.
“I was expecting a reaction.”
“I knew you were going to say something stupid,” Heather finally replies, looking like she was getting ready to lay back down again. “I didn’t think it was going to be uninteresting too.”
“You haven’t even heard the whole idea yet,” JD pouts exaggeratedly. Then he gives Heather a look that he hoped was challenging. “Unless you’re too scared to see where my idea goes?”
Heather narrows her eyes at him, lips pursed, thinking. Veronica pipes up, a warning in her voice. “JD.”
“No one’s gonna die,” JD answers with his most angelic grin, one hand raised as if to make promise. “Well, not unless you count death by mortification.”
Understanding dawns on Veronica. She sighs tiredly. “Heather, before you agree, I want you to know you’re going to regret whatever JD’s going to suggest next.”
Heather laughs, looking at JD like a cat seeing prey. Her eyes follow him as he gets off the bed. “I can’t say no to anything that would potentially embarrass Jason.”
“Great!” Jason snatches his phone from where he dropped it on the bed, fiddles with the stand on his case, and sets it up. “Heather, pick a song. One of us is calling our crush today!”
Veronica gives Heather an are you sure you want to do this? look before opening Spotify on her phone and giving it to Heather.
“Why not do this when everyone’s together?” Heather asks, frowning as she goes over Veronica’s music. “More people to embarrass then.”
“He’s been pestering us for a week now. You’re the only one who hasn’t rejected him yet.” Veronica responds in JD’s stead. “I’ve already told him if he wanted to call his crush so badly he should stop dragging people into his bullshit.”
“No, I was trying to get you to call your crush.” JD is all smiles, looking like the perfect picture of sweetness and innocence, the kind only Satan’s minions could pull off.
“You don’t want to call your crush, Veronica?” Heather pauses her search, looking at the aforementioned girl curiously.
“I, uh,” Veronica begins to stammer, pointedly avoiding Heather’s stare in favor of glaring at JD. “I’m just not sure she’ll appreciate being confessed to like that.”
“Ah,” is Heather’s only response, nodding and a making a hum of understanding. The frown etched on her face is nearly unnoticeable as she goes back to scrolling through Veronica’s music library. “So, let’s make sure Jason’s the one to call his crush, yes?”
“Can’t we do something else?” Veronica tries, only to be met with JD and Heather forcefully shouting “No!” at the same time.
JD snorts, choking on his attempt not to laugh. Very subtle, Heather. Wow.
“Okay, I know JD’s been desperate for this for weeks.” Veronica says, shaking her head. “But why are you so interested?”
”Because she wants to know who—” JD narrowly avoids getting slapped as Heather forcefully waves him away.
The girl’s face is a shade of pink as she glared at JD. “I’m not backing down now.”
Veronica sighs, watching as JD starts setting up to record.
After JD’s sure his phone isn’t going to topple over and that the camera is pointed in the right direction, he hits record and walks over to Heather and Veronica.
The song is already playing when he plops down beside Heather.
“So, obviously I get to point first because I’m the brilliant mastermind.”
“You’re not brilliant for stealing an idea off the internet, Jason.” Heather rolls her eyes.
“Like you’re any more original for picking the exact same song from that gay ‘call your crush’ TikTok video?” JD scoffs, then smirking at Heather. “Are you trying to tell us something, Chan-Chan?”
Heather’s eye twitches, looks at JD like she was seconds away from strangling him. “Yes. I’m trying to tell you to get ready to start pointing because the instrumental just started.”
“Sure thing.” JD waggles his eyebrows again, then points at Heather like he’s already won.
Sixteen seconds and counting down.
Heather points at Veronica without tearing her scowl away from JD’s smug smirk.
Veronica sighs and points at JD.
“Veronica, do make sure your finger lands on Jason when the time comes.”
The brunette rolls her eyes. “Sure thing, your majesty.”
Twelve seconds before the beat drops.
JD’s expression remains a cross between smug, directed at Heather, and relaxed, like the possibility of calling his crush on a random weekend afternoon doesn’t bother him.
The three fall into relative silence. Their actions continue without pause.
Nine seconds left.
JD look even more smug.
Seven seconds.
Heather looks even more determined.
Five seconds.
Veronica looks even more like she wants to be anywhere but that room.
The calming notes of the music is belied by the tension amongst the trio. The phone recording their shenanigans goes unnoticed.
Three.
Heather’s and Veronica’s movement are faster now.
Two.
The lazy smirk doesn’t fall from JD’s lips.
One.
JD’s finger ends up pointed at Heather in the same moment the beat comes.
“ No! ”
“What’s the matter, Heather?” JD’s smirk widens into a taunting grin. “Scared of rejection?”
Heather’s cheeks, all the way to the tips of her ears, turns into a shade of red that rivals her scrunchie. “Of course not!” She screeches haughtily, though her expression says otherwise.
Veronica, frowning, reaches for her phone. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, Heather.”
“Come’n, Ronnie,” JD half-whines, reaching across Heather to poke Veronica. “Don’t spoil the fun.”
Veronica mutters something under her breath that sounded suspiciously similar to an I told you so directed at Heather. The blonde doesn’t react to either Veronica’s comment or JD invading her personal space.
Veronica turns the music off a few seconds shy of its ending.
They say when you call my name, I felt—
“Just do it Heather!”
If it weren’t for the shit-eating look on JD’s face, he’d have sounded like he was begging. “Rip off the band-aid. Call your crush! Carpe diem your relationship into existence!”
The look Heather throws JD is acidic. She shoves him. “Just get my fucking phone, Dean.”
JD looks very happy to comply. He scrambles to his feet to get the phone from the table where Heather left it to charge.
“Here ya go, your majesty.”
Heather only glares at him, then at the phone in her hand.
“Fuck.”
Heather starts fiddling with her phone, trying to buy time. ”Shit.” She goes through her contacts painstakingly slow. “Fuck.”
Heather continues to mutter expletives under her breath.
“Wow, you’re really worried about this.” JD suddenly says, tone going from smug to something closer to amazement.
“Of, course I am!” Heather seethes, sending JD another glare poisonous enough to make him feel like he might drop dead at any moment if not for the sheer look of panic on the blonde’s face.
Heather gets up and starts pacing.
“This is stupid.”
“Well, of course it’s stupid.”
“Jason you are the epitome of stupid.”
Heather keeps pacing. JD keeps his lips pressed tight. Veronica looks like she’s about to take pity on Heather when the girl suddenly stops in her tracks, her back to the other two people in the room.
Silence.
Then, Veronica’s phone starts ringing.
JD’s jaw drop. His eyes widen. Holy fuck this is actually happening.
Heather looked like she stopped breathing. Her shoulders are hunched, tensed. She’s gripping the phone so tightly JD can see her hand shake.
Heather still hasn’t turned to face them. JD’s eyes flit back and forth between the two girls expectantly, mouth still agape. Veronica can’t seem to tear her eyes from her phone screen.
Then, sounding a little breathless and a whole lot of disbelieving, Veronica finally says in a small voice. “Heather, you’re calling me.”
It’s not a question.
JD swears he hears Heather letting out a shaky breath. He watches as her shoulders drop, his full attention on Heather as she turns around.
Time seems to slow down. JD swears things shouldn’t be as dramatic as it should be for him, except it is. And Heather looks like she’s turning around in slow motion. Hair following the movement, a graceful, flowing sight to behold, revealing—
The Demon Queen of Westerburg looking more terrified than JD’s ever seen her.
Heather Chandler hasn’t been the Demon Queen in a long time, and seeing her now, with tears brimming in her eyes as she looks at Veronica expectantly, he remembers why.
“Heather?”
Veronica’s shaky voice as well as the open look of vulnerability on Heather’s face makes JD’s heart clench. Suddenly, he regrets pushing. Regrets agreeing to the plan in the first place. He should’ve insisted they let the two girls come into it naturally instead of forcing it.
He should be making an exit now. Or trying to break the tension. Or, or, or, or something! But he’s stuck on that senselessly soft carpet and he’s frozen and holy fuck his heart is beating way too hard.
The phone stops ringing.
Heather smiles, a small pained thing.
“You didn’t answer your phone.”
JD can almost believe he didn’t hear Heather’s voice get caught in her throat.
Veronica opens her mouth but can’t find her voice. She brings her lips together and grits her teeth. She doesn’t look angry, just pensive.
A moment passes, an eternity of breathless anticipation.
Veronica shakes her head, she looks down at her phone and begins scrolling. Her disbelief now colored with wonder. “I just, I—“ Then, as if steeling herself. “ Heather .” The emphasis on the name could almost be mistaken for a hitch in her voice. “My feelings aren’t a joke. I—”
“Of course, I’m being serious!” Heather explodes, cutting Veronica off. She sounded both offended and defensive.
Veronica doesn’t reply. She stares down at her phone.
Heather continues to speak, voice soft and hurt and searching. “You know I wouldn’t joke about something this important. Not anymore. I couldn’t. I—”
She’s cut off by her phone’s ringtone.
Heather looks down and sees Veronica’s name flashing on the screen. She startles, eyes widening a fraction.
”Looks like an important call,” Veronica says, voice barely above a whisper. “You should answer it.”
A tiny burst of laughter erupts from Heather’s lips, sounding surprised and hopeful.
She answers the call.
“Hi, Veronica.”
“Hey, Heather.”
At this, JD lets out a loud sigh of relief. He didn’t even realize he was holding his breath until that moment. Then, trying to break the tension he was feeling and the panic still drumming in his chest he says, “See, I told you my idea was brilliant.”
After those words shakily tumble out his lips, loud screaming can be heard coming from outside of Heather’s house. It sounded a lot like cheering, punctuated by someone repeatedly hitting a car horn.
Heather hurries to her window to see what’s up. Veronica and JD come up behind her. Veronica presses herself close against Heather, one arm sneaking around the taller girl’s waist. Heather leans against Veronica instinctively, turning to look at the brunette with a smile, ruckus temporarily forgotten until what was distinctively Duke’s voice pierced the air with a loud
“Congratulations, you hoes!”
Followed by Mac screaming, “We can finally go on double dates!”
And Martha adding, “We’re so happy for you, Ronnie! You too Heather!”
All punctuated by Betty repeatedly hitting the horn on Duke’s Jeep and cheering incoherently.
“What the fuck?” Veronica stares at the car parked in the Chandlers’ driveway.
Heather abruptly disentangles herself from Veronica and rushes to her bed. She grabs JD’s phone to look at it and ends up shouting at its owner. “Jason Michael Dean is this Facebook fucking live?!”
“Uhhhhhh,” JD gulps. “Only four people can see it?”
The celebration outside continues. Behind him, Jason hears Betty scream, “It was nice knowing you JD!”
Heather chucks JD’s phone at him with a growl. He fumbles, barely managing to keep it from possibly smashing into the window. “Mother of shit!”
Luckily, his little fumble saves him. He ducks easily just as Veronica’s arms swing to pin him in place. He starts running towards Heather’s door, narrowly missing Heather, who’s now trying to grab him.
“Don’t I get a thank you?!”
He throws the door open and stumbles out.
“You’ll get a thank you after I strangle you!”
Heather’s threat follows him down the corridor.
“If it’s any consolation you guys were adorable!”
As he’s rushing down the stairs, JD swears he hears Duke’s Jeep beginning to drive away.
Oh, fucking no.
“JD, come back here you trench coat wearing ass!”
“Technically, I’m wearing pink satin pajamas!”
JD crashes into the front door of the Chandler’s house. He tosses it open and nearly crashes on the front porch. He catches a glance at Duke’s Jeep as it’s driving away.
Those assholes!
This was supposed to be a group effort.
Mac peers from the passenger side of the Jeep and shouts, “We’re sorry, JD!”
JD feels very, extremely, incredibly, seriously betrayed indeed.