For the Heart of the Sun.

"Anyone wanna bother telling me WHY the fuck I saw Chris and Ricky 30 minutes ago?" Matt asked.

Sandra looked up from her newspaper while Jinxx, Ashley, and Jake looked up from the couches.

"Wait what?!" Jake asked.

"Yeah!" Matt exclaimed, "I just went into the ShopRite to buy an empty jug bottle and a funnel, and fucking Chris is in the same aisle getting the same stuff I was!"

"Awww shit," Ashley hissed, "We might as well pack up our shit now. They always fuck things up for us."

"Yeah man, I'm not in the mood to get killed again, not because of those assholes," Jake sounded.

Just then Andy walked in. He silently shut the door behind him and started to walk past the group without a word. Jinxx cleared his throat loudly.

"Ahem!"

Andy stopped in his tracks, still not bothering to make eye contact with anyone.

"What?" He asked. Matt folded his arms over his chest.

"What took you so long to get back? I thought you were just picking up Vero from school,"

"I stayed over for a bit and ended up falling asleep," Andy answered.

"Well if it would please your royal highness," Matt replied with a light bow, "I thought it best to let you know that Chris Motionless and the others have made this town their new home. We're gonna be packing up ASAP."

"What?! Why?!" Andy snapped, turning around sharply to face them now.

"Because bro," Jake answered as he got up from his seat, "I frankly don't wanna get my ass kicked again by some yakuza, or burned alive by some insane-ass Satan-loving cult, or hanged, or drowned, or shot into swiss cheese, or basically killed like every other time we crossed paths."

"Every time Chris finds us, he brings his problems with and we end up paying for it," Ashley spoke.

"Well let's just avoid them then! We shouldn't have to keep on moving just because of one group crosses u-"

"Dude we all know you wanna stay for that albino chick, but if it's gonna get me shot, I say we all dip out," Jake spoke.

"Yeah man, I'm sorry but I'm not staying because you're horny for some girl," Ashley replied.

"I'm not horny for her, okay?!" Andy snapped, "I just think we should lay low for a bit and see what's going on. We should see why Ricky and the others are here before we start running around like chickens with their heads cut off."

The other five all exchanged glances and Sandra nodded.

"Andy's right, let's see what they want before taking any major action, for all we know they could be just passing through,"

Matt nodded as well and sighed.

"In the mean time, be on your guard, they're crafty bastards,"

Everyone nodded in agreement, and then suddenly the sound of a loud, muffled rumble/roar went off. Everyone looked over to Andy as he clutched his stomach a litttle and winced.

"Aw shit, man," Matt hissed.

"What?" Andy grunted out. Matt rushed to his side and patted his back.

"When was the last time you ate?" He asked. Andy held onto his stomach tighter and looked up at his best friend. His eyes were now silver, his pupils dialated massively.

"Since...I dunno...ah, fuck!" He cursed, clutching onto his stomach as it growled louder.

"Dude! Where the hell is Hayes with out shipment?" Ashley asked out.

"H-He hasn't shown up yet! I've been texting and calling him all this morning," Sandra replied, "Here, lemme try again..."

"No! It's too late," Matt hissed, "God, what the fuck are we even paying this guy for. Alright, Andy, you need to go eat. Now."

The dark haired boy shook his head as he screwed his eyes shut. He let out a sharp hiss and the loud growling finally subsided.

"No...No I...I can make it..." He muttered, "Fuck..."

"Jesus chr-" Matt rolled his eyes and let out a grunt as bit into his own wrist. He flinched a little at the pain, but manned up and sat Andy down onto the couch's arm. He then sat down next to him and held his wrist out.

"Drink..." He demanded.

Andy merely watched as the crimson liquid seeped out of his wrist and dripped out onto the floor.

"Just drink it!" He repeated, "Come on, you're making a mess."

Andy gripped onto Matt's hand and hungrily attached his mouth to the wound. A sharp pain shot through his arm, but it quickly went away as his best friend continued to feed.

"That's not gonna last him," Jinxx replied, playing with the strings on his guitar.

"No shit sherlock," Matt sassed, "But it'll hold him over until we can get Hayes to get us some fucking sustinence."

"He'd better have something for us by nightfall, otherwise we'll all have to hunt for our food," Sandra mentioned, "God, there's no signal here! Why the hell did we even move to this fucking place, it sucks!!"

She shot up from her seat and stomped over to her room, slamming her door shut behind her. Andy then broke away from his friend's arm with a gasp and growled in his throat. His silver eyes turned back into their baby blues and his fangs retracted into normal teeth. Matt got up from the couch's arm without a word and went over to the sink. He opened up one of the kitchen cupboards and grabbed a black glass bottle. He pulled off the cork with his teeth and poured out the bottle's contents. He ran the clear liquid over his wound in the sink, and the bite mark disappeared along with the blood. He put back the bottle contently and rolled down his sleeve. Andy watched as he brushed past him and went to the door.

"I'm going out for a smoke," he announced as he shut the door behind him. Andy looked down at the 4 drops of blood that had now dried into the wood floor. He let out a sigh and got up from the couch.

"I'm going to bed," He muttered, walking into his room and shutting the door.

Andy slipped off his pants and bloody shirt, his skin shivering against the cold air. The heater in his room sucked. He ran his hands through his hair as he walked over to his nightstand and turned on his LP player. The sounds of humming run lightly in the air as he snuck into bed. His eyes began to droop as Yoav sang his favorite Pixies song.

"With your feet in the air and your head on the ground...try this trick, spin it, yeah..."

"So you see, X equals positive B," Vero instructed, "Plus or minus the square root of B squared, minus 4AC, and then divided by 2A."

She scribbled down the formula on Ricky's paper, the dark haired boy squinting at her writing and then suddenly smiling.

"Ohhh! Now I get it," He replied, writing down the math problem. Vero huddled close to him and watched as he solved the problem.

"Uh huh...minus 4...there you go...see? You got it!" She chirped, clapping lightly (seeing as they were currently in the Library.) Ricky smiled brightly and set down his pencil.

"Thanks so much, I couldn't understand Lasky at all with his explanation," He replied. Vero shrugged her shoulders.

"Lasky can be hard to follow if you didn't have him freshman year," She explained, "He's one of those guys you gotta get used to, otherwise you'll get lost like that."

"Well thanks a bunch, I owe you," He replied, smiling brightly at her. Vero's eyes traveled down to his lips. He had spider bites on one side of his lip, and then a single piercing on the other side. That made her think of Andy's Piercing, and to an extension, of Andy. He always played with his lip ring when he wasn't talking or doing something productive. Once, when they were making out, she tugged on his lip ring a little playfully and he got a little...excited.

She giggled and blushed at the sudden memory.

"Thinking of a loved one, are you?" Ricky asked.

"Wha?"

"You're blushing, and giggling," He remarked, "I assumed that you were thinking of someone you love."

"Oh, y-yeah, I'm very smitten with someone right now," She replied, "You know him, Andy Biersack? We're going together right now."

A sudden thought flashed across her mind. They weren't officially going together. Andy had never asked her.

"Really, he never mentioned you as his girl before," Ricky spoke.

"I-I'm sorry, that just sorta slipped out, we're not actually going together but...but we really like each other," She replied.

A small smile appeared on the dark haired boy's face.

"Well I'm glad you're smitten with someone," He spoke, "You get so happy whenever you talk about him, you look adorable when you blush."

"Th..thank yo-"

"There you are piggy!" Gretchen's voice sounded from behind. Veronica let out a yelp and turned around in shock. She put her hands to her chest as Gretchen held out her hand.

"Homework please," She chirped.

"O-Oh! Y-Y-"

"Any day now!" Gretchen snapped. Vero looked down at her backpack with muscles so tense she was surprised she could even move. She could feel Ricky's eyes bearing into her. Her heartbeat began to race. Oh, what an embarassment it was so show Ricky how meek and helpless she really was.

She shifted through her papers and grabbed Gretchen's proper homework. She handed it to her shakily as the Brunette swiped it from her hands.

"God, what's wrong with you? You're acting like such a pussy right n- Oh, hello,"

Vero knew that look anywhere. That look like she spotted something she liked, something she wanted, or should I say someone she wanted. She was giving that look right over to Ricky, and Vero's little doll heart started to sink. She knew what was going to happen. He was gonna fall under Gretchen's spell and become her catch of the week. He then would turn on little Vero and take part in making her life hell. She secretly bid their friendship farewell in her mind.

"Move," Gretchen snapped, making Vero get out of her seat. The brunette scene girl sat down and sat her Betsey Johnson purse in the seat next to her, officially taking up all the seats at the current table.

"Oh, I forgot, Vero, the Librarian wanted to talk to you by the way," She chimed, "Something about an overdue Shakespeare book? That ring a bell? That's why I came over here. You should go talk to her about that."

"Oh!" Vero chirped in shock, "Y-yeah! I'll just...um..."

She turned around sharply and rushed over to the front desk. An overdue book? A shakespeare book no less? How could she possibly forget such a thing! She never missed a due date yet. She was very punctual like that.

"Mrs. Grimsby! Mrs. Grimsby!" She sounded quietly. An older woman with a wrinkled face, coke bottle glasses, and silver white hair turned in her seat slowly. Her shaky left hand adjusted her glasses and peered closely over at the young pale girl with big brown eyes.

"Veronica, dear," Mrs. Grimsby chimed, "How are you? Is everything alright?"

"Gretchen Kale said I had an overdue shakespeare book? I-I don't believe I did but,"

"My dear girl, an overdue book? You? Impossible," She chuckled, "But let's just check to make sure."

The old woman's nimble fingers typed on the computer as she checked up on Vero's checkout record. It was a long one to say the least, but she looked through it all and couldn't find a single stain.

"Nothing," She chimed, "A perfect record still. I think you'll win the Library's Saltwater Taffy prize again this year, deary. 3 years in a row."

"Oh, I surely hope so Mrs. Grimsby," Vero peeped, "And thank you for checking."

The old woman nodded lightly and went about her business. Veronica turned around and fumed over at Gretchen for tricking her like that. She just wanted a chance to talk to Ricky alone, she should've seen that one coming!

She held her Deery Lou binder to her chest tightly as she stepped back over to the table. Ricky laughed lightly about something and started to doodle on his homework as Gretchen continued to rant.

This was it, the moment of truth. She was gonna take Andy's advice and stand up to her. She was gonna summon her courage and get back her seat across from Ricky. The blonde girl licked her lips and took a deep breath.

"I-I-I didn't have a...a book overdue," She spoke out. Gretchen stopped talking and slowly turned her head over to the blonde.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah...I checked with Mrs. Grimsby,"

"Are you sure?" She asked sharply, hinting for Vero to go away, "Because Mrs. G has been known to slip up. Perhaps you should check again."

"Perhaps you should..." Vero's voice grew softer, "U-u-uhhm...get..out of my...seat..."

She just opened the gates of hell, and Gretchen Kale was the monster within it. Her eyes narrowed and her lips purse.

"Wanna run that by me again?" She asked, her voice almost transforming into a hiss. Vero's little heart began to patter so hard she thought she was gonna have a heart attack.

"Um...get out of my seat...please..." She sounded again, flinching as to wait for Gretchen to knock her out senseless or pull her hair out.

Gretchen eyes practically narrowed into slits as she grabbed her purse furiously and chimed out a small "Fine". She got up out of vero's seat and directly into her face before turning to leave.

"Call me sometime, Ricky," She called.

"Sure, see yea," He sounded, watching her as she strutted out of the library. Veronica's thin hands shook as she clutched onto her shell necklace. She closed her eyes and took in a small, satisfying sigh after standing up to the Devil. She did it, she managed to stick up for herself. yes, it was small, but it was worth it, it was worth everything.

She looked over to Ricky as she gave her a crooked smile and nodded.

"Nice work," He replied, gathering up his papers and books,"You're sticking up for yourself, keep it up."

"Y-Yeah," Vero peeped looking down at her feet. She and Ricky walked together to all of their classes. Hyun-Ki joined along too during the hours after Lunch period. When 10th period rolled around, Ricky had to go the way opposite to the Gym, so instead Hyun-Ki and Vero normally walked together. Today though, Hyun-Ki had to go to the nurse. Which meant little bunny Vero was left to fend for herself in the Den of Wolves: aka the Girls Locker Room.

Swimming was the lesson today. Gretchen and her gang had tried to drown her twice. They tried to land on her when they jumped in 4 times, and they would grab her skinny feet and pull her under in the deep end whenever the teacher wasn't looking. After swimming was let out, Vero waited in the bathroom until everyone was done. Unfortunately for her, Gretchen was waiting when she came out, and when she did, she grabbed the pale blonde by the hair and pinned her up against the locker.

"You fucking asshole!" She screeched, slapping her across the face. Vero let out a yelp and cringed as Gretchen threw her to the floor. Her head bumped against the wooden bench along the way. She cradled her forehead and cried as Gretchen punched her back and kicked her sides in.

"You think you're brave now?! HUH?! think you can just fucking walk over everyone?!" She yelled, "You're fucking pathetic! You're nothing!! Just fucking kill yourself already!"

"Stop!!" Vero yelled, "Just stop it, please! JUST STOP IT!"

Gretchen ended it with grabbing Vero up by the hair and throwing her down again. Vero smacked her nose against her hand (her hand trying to be the barrier between her nose and the floor) and blood instantly began to come out. She laid their, face down, and watched as Gretchen's freshly pedicured feet walked past her and towards the door.

"You're fucking nothing, Swine," She hissed, "And those boys you hang out with only want you for your virgin pussy."

The door slammed shut. Tears blurred her eyes. She could taste blood in her mouth. She had to get up eventually. She didn't want to get up though. She wanted to die. She wanted to die. She wanted Gretchen to die. She wanted everyone to just leave her alone and die.

She didn't bother to wipe up her nose as she exited the school. The blood dripped down onto her nice, white fleece coat. Trudging through the cold snow didn't help her aching body. She felt woozy. The sidewalk was sliding from side to side. The buildings were wobbling. She looked over to the apartments. She saw Andy up ahead standing in the snow, waving and smiling brightly. She staggered to the right, and then to the left. She tripped over to her boots and landed in the snow. She laid there and watched as Andy stopped waving. He stood there for a minute before running towards her. Her vision became blurred as two figures in black rushed over to her. Then, finally, her world went dark,

"Vero!!" Andy cried, "Vero!!"

"Dude what's wrong with her!" Matt yelled.

Andy rushed up ahead and kneeled down by her side. He picked her head up off the snow and instantly smelled the blood that was dripping down her chin. His instincts immediately kicked in and his stomach began to growl.

"Dude," Matt replied, stepping back after instantly smelling the blood.

Andy licked his lips, eyeing the liquid lustfully. His head began to lean in for a breif second before he looked away and just merely picked her up.

"Come on, let's bring her inside,"

"Is she alright?"

"Well yeah, but she looks a little banged up. What happened to her?"

"It's those kids at school...they keep...fucking messing with her,"

"Poor girl, she looks so sweet."

"She is...She's the sweetest thing in the world, and they won't fucking stop. I just want them to d-"

"Andy, calm down, it's fine. she's fine now..."

"Yeah, for now,"

"Come on guys, let's go, I'm getting sick of this baby powder smell in her room,"

"Don't worry Vero, they'll pay for this," She heard Andy's voice whisper in darkness, "I promise, they'll all pay dearly..."

Night time fell, and it started to lightly snow again. Andy was huddled into the dark corner outside her window. He was checking on her for the 12th time since she fell only hours prior. Jinxx had managed to tend to the visual/physical aspect of her injuries, managing to get rid of most of the the bruising in her face and the cracked nose. He warned though that the pain would still remain, and chances were she'd be very, very sore. The pale blonde was still fast asleep in her bed, her arms placed neatly on either side, her breathing light. She was in a deep coma-like sleep thanks to Ashley. No dreams or night terrors would haunt her tonight. Tonight, she would sleep in peace, and Andy would check on her until the night sky beckoned for dawn.

He ran his finger tips over the frigid glass acting as a seperator between him and the girl he liked. Seeing her like this, it just stirred a fire in his heart. This rage inside just felt so similar to the one he felt all those years ago, after Ricky killed his friend, his friend whom he cared so much about. Now these people, these heartless pieces of filth were hurting Veronica, his Veronica.

"Don't worry Vero," He whispered lightly into the glass, "I'm gonna make them pay. I promise."

A light winter wind blew by, the snowflakes were slowly gathering on his jacket and hair. He shook a little and took a deep breath into his nose. He then froze in place. His big blue eyes turned into a piercing silver as he hissed lightly and turned. He looked straight down at the jungle gym. Ricky and Chris were sitting on the bars, looking up at him patiently with little smirks on their faces. Andy leapt off and landed with a mere patter onto the snow.

"What the hell do you want?" He asked out, stepping closer to the two with a menacing glare. Chris was the first to speak up, and he let out a taunting chuckle.

"You haven't changed a bit, Andrew," He sneered, "We just came to stop by and say hello. Also Ricky here wanted to make sure that girl was okay."

Andy's piercing silver eyes met over to Ricky's baby blues.

"That girl is none of your fucking business," He jeered.

"Well shit, I didn't see a collar and tag on the girl," Ricky replied with an airy laugh, "I had no idea she was your personal pet."

"She's not gonna be your little fucktoy Olson!" Andy snapped, "You stay the hell away from her or I'll-"

"Or you'll what," Ricky interupted in a taunting tone, "Kill me? Fat chance."

"I will fucking destroy you, you know I can," Andy hissed.

"last I checked Biersack, you're still 0 and 200," Ricky scoffed.

"Just stay away from her, alright? She's doing nothing to you,"

"But she's so pretty,"

"Ricky, I'm warning you,"

"it's gonna be hard since we have all the same classes,"

"What?!"

"Yeahhhh my schedule changed, so we're gonna be seeing each other alot,"

Andy's eyes flashes as he let out a hiss, but was quickly cut off when his stomach started to fiercely growl. He let out a strained grunt as he held his stomach, his knees falling into the snow. He held himself tightly as the need for blood started to overpower his entire thinking. Ricky no longer mattered, he just wanted blood.

"Having feeding troubles, Biersack?" Chris asked, cocking his eyebrow upwards in amusement.

"No," the pale boy grunted out, "Hayes...Hayes is coming soon..."

"Hayes isn't coming, you need to eat,"

"Hayes is...coming! Fuck off,"

"Hayes isn't coming Andy! Listen to me!"

Andy's big silver orbs looked up into Ricky's pale blues as he leapt off the jungle gym. He stepped forward and got on one knee in front of him, placing one hand on his bony shoulder.

"Hayes is dead,"

"What?!"

"We found him 30 miles outside of here," Ricky informed, "His head was torn clean off. His body was only a yard away, burned to a crisp."

"You're lying!"

"No," Chris spoke out sharply, "He's telling the truth. We found a red lipstick mark on his forehead."

The image of those red painted lips and ivory skin flashed across his mind. He could see those glossy waves of her rust colored hair, and those gorgeous eyes.

"You know what that means right?" Ricky asked, "She's back Andy, Scout's back..."

Andy looked down into the snow as his stomach twisted violently. He couldn't be bothered with this right now, he needed to eat!! He held his stomach tighter, clenching his jaw tightly to hold back a menacing cry. He didn't care about Ricky, or Chris. Right now he didn't care that Hayes was dead and that SHE was back, right now all he wanted was to tear open someone's neck and drink them dry.

And boy was someone's neck gonna tear.

He had a few necks in mind, actually, and he couldn't wait any longer to get started.

He shot open his eyes and hissed violently at the pale boy in front of him. Without another word he darted away from the two into the darkness, leaving them in the courtyard all alone.