Work Text:
it has been a few weeks since JD died.
June had passed, and it was July.
Specifically, July 4th.
Veronica wasn't excited. She already hated fireworks; they were loud and bright, and no one seemed to know when to call it a night.
But after JD's death, she felt she wouldn't be able to handle it. She was nervous all day because of the thought of the colorful explosion.
But she managed to make it through the day without crying in a bathroom stall, so she considered it a win.
The sun was still up, and it was pretty early, only 3:45 PM, so she still had some time to prepare; then the doorbell rang.
She rushed to the front door and opened it.
It was Duke and McNamara.
"Hey, Ronnie! me and heather wanted you to come watch some fireworks with us. y'know, if you don't have any plans." McNamara said, excitement clear in her tone.
Veronica tensed up at the mention of fireworks.
"come on, veronica. You don't have any plans, do you?" Duke asked, already annoyed by the fact McNamara dragged her out.
Veronica sighed and muttered, "Fine. where are we going?"
"My house. My dad bought a bunch of the sky fireworks and a few of the ground ones." McNamara said while pulling Veronica out of the house.
Veronica grabbed the doorknob and shut it while being pulled out.
Veronica sat in the passenger seat next to Duke and quickly buckled.
Veronica's leg bounced as the car drove.
The sun started setting as the time passed.
veronica glares out the window, watching as the sky turned orange.
Duke pulled into McNamara's driveway and parked.
The three get out of the car and stepped onto the pavement.
"I have some camping chairs inside. I'll go grab them so we don't have to stand." McNamara said, then headed inside her house, leaving Duke and Veronica alone.
"So what kinda fireworks did she get again?" Veronica asked, trying to mentally prepare herself for whatever crap she has to deal with tonight.
"Not sure. She didn't tell me. Why?" Duke replied. Duke didn't care for fireworks. She thought they were a waste of time and litter. But McNamara loved them, so she was willing to see some pretty colors for her friend.
Veronica tenses again, then mutters, "Just curious."
Duke shrugs.
McNamara eventually comes out with two folding chairs and a fabric bag with fireworks in it.
"Hey, guys! I got the chairs. I could only find two, though." McNamara says while putting the bag on the floor and unfolding the chairs.
"You two can sit; I'll light 'em up!" McNamara exclaims while taking out a large skyrocket.
Duke slumps into the chair, and Veronica sits in the one next to her.
Duke and Veronica watch as McNamara lights the firework.
McNamara runs back and stands next to them, watching the sky.
Veronica bounces her leg as she listens to the hissing sound of the fuse.
The firework shoots up; Veronica flinches at the sound, her breathing picking up pace as she desperately tries to stop thinking about JD.
Duke glances at her, noticing the slight panic on her face.
She leans a bit closer to Veronica.
"You doing okay? You look like something's bothering you." Duke whispers, gently putting her hand on the other girl's knee, stopping its bouncing.
Veronica gives a nod then whispers back.
"I'm fine, just nervous about something. I'll uh deal with it when I get home later."
Duke nods accepting that answer.
She leans back in her chair but leaves her hand on Veronica's knee.
McNamara grabs another firework and walks back out to the street.
McNamara lights it and rushes back.
She sits on the floor next to dukes chair.
The firework launches into the air, the colors lighting up the sky.
It's a beautiful sight for everyone else but for Veronica.
She stares up at the sky as reminders of JD exploding are the only thing she can think about.
She puts her hand on dukes and squeezes it.
Duke looks at her noticing she looks worse then before.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Duke asks one more time.
Veronica shakes her head in response, squeezing dukes hand one more time.
"Oh, okay, do you want to go inside?" Duke asks, not too sure what to do.
Veronica nods and mutters a quick "yeah"
Duke gently nudges McNamara in the shoulder with her knee.
"Hey, Heather, me and Veronica are gonna head inside for a bit. We can continue the fireworks in a bit." Duke says while getting up from her chair.
"Okay. I'll join you guys inside in a bit." McNamara says, while watching Veronica and Duke go inside.
"Okay, what's going on, Sawyer?" Duke asks, her tone worried but also stern.
Veronica stares at her, with a bit of hesitation; she speaks, "I just…. fireworks mess with me a lot."
Duke's expression softens, and she lets out a small sigh.
"You wanna stay inside? I'll go tell Heather we're gonna stay inside," duke says, her tone soft.
Veronica nods and mutters a quick "that'd be nice."
Duke gives a quick nod then heads back outside.
Veronica walks into McNamara living room and flops onto the Couch.
She leans her head back on the back of the couch and stares at the wall, still trying to calm herself from the fireworks.
After a minute or so Duke returns with McNamara.
"Hey, we're back." Duke says while sitting on the couch next to her.
"Yeah. Y'know you could've just told us you didn't like fireworks. Actually that's not a bad idea. We should watch a movie. I'll go make some pop corn, you two pick a movie." McNamara says then she leaves the living room, and enters the kitchen.
After McNamara leaves Duke quickly wraps one of her arms around Veronica's shoulder.
"You feel a bit better?" Duke asks, gently rubbing the other girl's shoulder.
Veronica leans into her touch and mutters "yeah, I'm fine now."
"Good. Now what movie do you wanna watch?" Duke asks while playing with the ends of Veronica's hair.
Veronica lets out a small hum of contentment.
"You can pick just something with not too much action." Veronica says while fidgeting with the hem of her shirts sleeve.
McNamara returns and sits on the other side of Veronica.
"So what movie are we watching?" McNamara asks, holding a bowl of popcorn.
"How about the wizard of oz?" Duke says while still playing with Veronica's hair.
McNamara puts the bowl on the small coffee table in front of them then gets up.
"Okay, I'll go turn it on." McNamara says then she walks over to her TV.
She opens the cabinet and grabs her VHS of the wizard of oz.
she puts it in and turns on the TV.
She heads back to the couch and sits down.
The movie starts.
Veronica glances at McNamara, who's attention is fully on the movie.
Then she rests her head on dukes shoulders and puts one of her arms around the slightly taller girls waist.
Duke blushes at the sudden touch, but melts into it quickly.
The two cuddle throughout the whole movie, Veronica dozing off halfway through.