For the Heart of the Sun.

"Thanks for helping me, I guess," Vero chuckled as she walked with Andy through the snow, "I'm pretty sure standing up to you is alot easier than standing up to Gretchen."

"How come people pick on you?" He asked. Vero stopped in her tracks and looked at him curiously.

"How do you know people pick on me?" She asked in return.

"Where'd you get that cut from?" He asked. Vero's eyes widened as she touched her right cheek. A small band-aid was resting comfortably over where her cut was. She looked down at the ground as the thoughts began to flood back.

[[EARLIER IN THE FOREST]]

While still in the woods, all the students were walking back to the school. Vero managed to make her way to the back again, due to the fact that Mrs. Bester was distracted by the beauty of the forest in winter. Andy's kiss was still fresh in her mind, and it created a bright innocent grin on her face. Gretchen noticed this and decided to do something about it. She took hold of Vero's sleeve and yanked her back a little.

"Whatcha smiling about, Zero?" She sneered, giving the blonde a smile dripping with sugar.

"N-nothing," Vero studdered, her eyes traveling to the ground.

"Stupid freak," Gretchen's friend Megan chuckled, "She's probably stoned or something, that's why she's smiling so much."

"Not even," Gretchen chuckled, "I saw you with a boy back there. You whoring yourself now, Zero? and in the middle of the school day? What a slut."

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about," Vero stammered, her cheeks turning a light pink. Gretchen furrowed at her and shoved her back a little.

"You're blushing, you slut!" She jeered, getting up into her face, "You know very Goddamn well what I'm talking about. Emery got a zero for the day because of you. Haha, guess it fits, huh Zero? You're such a sick little freak!"

"N-n-No i'm not," Vero stammered. Those words felt thick and bitter in her mouth. Megan and Gretchen arched their eyebrows upwards and exchanged glances.

"What'd you say?" Megan asked.

"I-I said, I'm not a...a freak," Vero repeated. She screwed her eyes shut as she swallowed the lump in her throat. She was SO in for it now. Gretchen's face scrunched up like she tasted something disgusting. She looked over at Megan and pointed over to a skinny branch. Megan hurried along and grabbed it for her, placing it into Gretchens skinny hands. She looked over at vero with a smile that even Satan would cringe over.

"Keep walking, piggy," She replied, jerking her head in the class's direction. Vero took a deep breath and slowly started to walk again. Gretchen and Megan stepped behind her and took turns whipping the stick at her legs and jacket.

"Oink! Oink! Oink!" Megan snorted, earning a laugh from Gretchen in response. Vero closed her eyes and tuned out their jeers and noises.

"And if I only could,
Make a deal with God,
And get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building..."

"Hey Vero!" A voice called out. Vero opened her eyes suddenly and turned around, earning herself a whip across the face with the skinny branch.

"Vero!"

"Hm?! Wha?!" She spoke out. She looked up at Andy and saw his concerned look on his face. She licked her lips a little and suddenly wrapped her arms around him. She gave him a tight hug and buried her face into his leather jacket. She took in a certain musky scent from his clothes, she liked it alot.

"Gretchen and the others at school hurt me when you left," She admitted, "I'm used to it by now, don't get me wrong, but I...I'm not strong like you."

She screwed her eyes shut, but then opened them when she felt his arms wrap around her. He gave her a tight hug before unwrapping his arms and looking directly in her eyes.

"Hit back," He stated, "Hit back, and hit back hard."

Vero looked down at the ground and leaned into his chest.

"There's several of them," She mumbled.

"Then Hit back even harder," Andy spoke, "And keep hitting back, hit back until you can't hit anymore. Then they'll leave you alone."

"What if..."

"Then I'll help you," Andy answered, squeezing her tightly in his arms, "I can do that. I'll help you fight everyone of them. I promise, they'll leave you alone. You just have to fight back, fight back harder then you'd dare."

"I'm scared to," She answered honestly.

"Don't be," He replied, "It's them who should be scared, scared that Karma is coming to get them."

He unwrapped his arms and stared at her warmly, placing a hand gently on her cheek. She placed her hand over his and closed her eyes, a sweet innocent smile on her face. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead. She could feel the faint chill of his lip ring on her skin. He gently broke the kiss and went down to her lips, pecking them softly. He gently brushed her lips with his own, the faint, sweet taste of strawberries on his tastebuds. Vero's doll-like eyes futtered shut as she kissed back with the same amount of delicate sweetness. Once they were done, she slowly broke away and licked her lips lightly. She turned away from his stare with a light blush coming to her cheeks.

"Do you wanna go somewhere?" She asked curiously, "I know this really cool place that's still open."

"Sure," Andy chuckled, stuffing his hands into his pockets. Vero jutted her lip out a little at the sight of him.

"You wanna get some gloves?" She asked. He shook his head and smiled lightly.

"I'm good, are you?" She nodded lightly and linked arms with his. Together they walked down the street and headed out into the darkness. Matt looked at them through the window and sighed, shaking his head.

"What a dumbass," He replied.

"What's going on?" Ashley asked, furiously pressing the A button on his Xbox controller.

"Andy's fooling around with our neighbor," Matt answered.

"What? No wa-WHAT THE FUCK?!" Jake yelled out, "God! I can never get past fucking Baraka!"

"That's because you're using Scorpion, scorpion fucking sucks," Sandra chuckled, "And what do you mean, he's fooling around with her?"

"I mean he's practically making out with her on the playground every night," Matt answered, "I don't want him going near her."

"What, it's not like she's bad news or anything," Ashley mentioned.

"No, but he sure as hell is," Sandra replied.

BODY. SOUL.

After a few minutes of walking, Andy and Vero had finally made it to their destination. It was an old fashioned Sweet Shop that had been around since Vero's childhood. She said that the owners, Patty and Boris, had practically raised her on the delicious taste of chocolates and melon flavored candies.

"Trust me, you'll love it," Vero replied, "They'll practically treat you like family."

She took Andy's hand gently and started to guide him over to the entrance. He stopped firmly into his tracks and looked at the door.

"Wait, do they own the place?" He asked.

"Uhh..yeah," She replied, "They live here too. Why?"

She watched curiously as Andy stared at the door blankly. She stared at the door as well, trying to figure out what Andy's intentions were. Perhaps he thought that if he stared it long enough, it would eventually crumble into a million little pieces. Just then, Andy gave her hand a squeeze and he looked down at her with a smile.

"I think I'll stay out here, you go ahead and go in," He proclaimed. Vero furrowed at him and pouted a little.

"What? But I wanted you to meet them," She replied.

"I know, but I don't do so well around...people," He remarked, "You go on in. I promise, I'll meet them some other time soon. Some time when I look better."

Vero looked at him up and down. His long black hair was being covered partially by a black beanie. He wore tight skinny jeans that were decorated with chains and a black rosary hanging off the side. They were ripped at the knees, and patched up in different spots. His black leather jacket and wool scarf was what topped off his dark, mysterious look. She blushed lightly as the butterflies fluttered around her tummy.

"Okay," She replied, "But you owe me then."

"I owe you?" He chuckled. She nodded rapidly with a cute grin on her face. He smiled lightly at her and leaned in, their noses just barely touching.

"I'll take you out for tea, then," He replied. Her muscles instantly tensed up as he kissed the tip of her nose. Her face immediately turned red and she covered it with a strained squeal.

"I hate you," She giggled out, walking away from his touch. She looked back at him a couple times before officially entering the store and going to the counter. An old woman was refilling a jar of freshly made toffee. Vero tapped on the bell lightly and immediately got her attention. She waved lightly and reached into her coat pocket.

"Hi, can I have a bag of mixed candy, please?" She asked sweetly, handing over the money.

"For you, darling? Anything," The sweet shop lady chuckled, "It's good to see you again, Veronica. Oh! and by the way, Boris and I came back from florida the other day, and guess what we collected up for you?"

Vero let out a gasp as her doll-like eyes widened and sparkled like diamonds.

"Is it sea shells?!" She chirped, "Oh please tell me it's sea shells Patty, my heart would absolutely burst!"

"Even better, little doll," The lady chuckled, "We found a bunch of beach glass."

Vero's mouth widened and she let out a strained squeal of delight. She absolutely treasured the bits of colored glass, especially the ones dulled down by the works of the sea. To her, they were like precious exotic stones. The sweet shop lady's husband scooped out various candies and put them all in one bag. He shook up the bag gently and then handed it to Vero.

"Here you go lady, and I'll go get that beach glass for you,"

"Oh thank you Mr. Fedondis, you both are practically saints to me!" She chirped. Mrs. Fedondis smiled warmly, her wrinkles practically covering her smiling eyes. Her thoughts were distracted when Tabatha, their orange tabby cat started to hiss and groan at the window. She looked over and spotted Andy outside the window. He was eyeing the cat that was eyeing him back with the same amount of coldness. The bright orange tabby flashed it's tiny sharp fangs and started to paw furiously at the window.

"Oh Tabatha, hush now! We have guests!" The lady scolded, "Veronica, aren't you going to introduce me to that young man right there?"

"I wish I could do a proper introduction Mrs. Fedondis, but Andy over there doesn't want to come inside," She mentioned, "I think he's scared of Cats or something. I mean look at him with Tabatha over there. She looks like she wants to eat him alive."

"Poor thing," Mrs. F replied, "Tabatha, you mangy thing, hush! You're being very rude today! I don't know what's wrong with her Vero. She's usually as lazy and slow as an old bloodhound on thanksgiving."

"Well she's probably in heat or something," Vero replied.

"Heeere ya go!" Mr. F announced proudly, "A nice sackfull of Beach glass, florida made."

Vero accpeted the bag happily and shook it gently, the gentle sound of clinking glass rang in her ears.

"Thank you so much you two!" She chirped, "I'll be sure to bring Andy in another time, I'll drag him in here if I have to."

"See to it that you do!" Mrs. F called out, "I wanna meet the boy who has my girls feather's all ruffled up!"

Vero chuckled lightly and bid the couple goodbye. She walked out of the shop and put the bag of beach glass in her coat pocket. She looked next to her where the window was, and saw that Andy wasn't there. She furrowed a little and looked around. She spotted a dark figure standing under the street light with a cigarette at hand. She let out a sigh. If only he didn't smoke. She opened up the bag of sweets and walked up to Andy with a smile. She couldn't really see his expression all that well since the shadows covered his face partically.

"Here, have some," She chirped, popping a piece of toffee into her mouth. Andy took the cigarette out of his mouth and looked down into the bag. He looked hesitant about something. His blue eyes made contact with her big brown ones and he gently pushed the bag towards her.

"No thanks," He replied.

"Are you sick?" She asked curiously. He shook his head no as she swallowed lightly and looked down in slight disappointment. She then looked up at him with a smile and nodded.

"Okay then, more for me I guess," She chuckled lightly. Andy took a small breath and looked down at the bag of candy once more.

"Well, I can just one, I guess," He replied, "I haven't eaten candy in awhile."

"How can you not have candy? It's the best thing in the world," Vero chirped, "I wouldn't be able to live with not having a single piece."

"Well, it's very easy for some people," Andy chuckled, reaching into the bag. He ended up pulling out a piece of stained glass candy. He looked at the thin, green sheet of hard sugar curiously with a blank expression.

"Oh that's a good one," Vero chirped, "It tastes like granny smith apples."

He closed his eyes slightly as he popped the piece of candy into his mouth. His tastebuds nearly lost it in delight. A bright grin appeared on his face as several memories of his childhood flooded back to him. Soda bars, halloween nights, Apple picking in the fall, all of this was coming back to him from one simple piece of apple flavored sugar. A smile stretched across his face as he chewed it down and swallowed. That was absolutely heavenly to him. He'd forgotten the great joy sugar had given him. It had been so long since he had some.

"It's delicious, isn't it?" Vero asked, "I love the strawberry ones, oh! you should try these, chocolate pearls. They're mini chocolate balls painted over with an edible pearl-like finish."

She put one in his hand and he immediately shoved it into his mouth, chewing it down and and letting his tastebuds go into a frenzy.

"This stuff is fucking amazing," He spoke out. He swallowed and licked his lips with a smile.

"I forgot how good this tasted," He replied, "Thank you, Veronica."

Vero looked at him with a smile as she munched on a piece of apple taffee.

"No problem," She replied, "You should try a Jolly Rancher. Especially the cherry ones. Those are my fa--Andy."

Andy clenched onto his stomach suddenly and let out a strained groan.

"Shit," He muttered out. Vero got close to him and touched him on the shoulder.

"Andy, are you okay?" She asked in concern. He let out another painful groan and gently pushed her away. He ran a few feet away from her and engulfing himself in the dark. She winced at the sound of something wet hitting the ground. He was throwing up.

"Oh no," Vero muttered, "Andy!? Are you okay?!"

"Don't come over here," He rasped out, "Don't--"

He started to puke again. Vero screwed her eyes shut as she started to tear up a little.

You're so fucking stupid! Look what you did to him! He's sick!!

She took a small shaky breath and started to step over to where he was.

"Andy I-"

"I said don't fucking come over here!!" He yelled, "Shit."

"Andy I just wanna make sure you're alright!" She yelled back, "I'm sorry if i got you sick! I always fuck things up! I know it, alright?! I just wanted to say that I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm SORRY!"

"JUST GO AWAY!" He screamed. Vero shot back at the loudness of his voice. She heard the sound of feet pounding into the snow. He had run off.

"Ronnie, where were you? What's wrong?" Vero's mother asked out. She had opened the door to a red eyed, moist-faced, and teary Veronica. The pale girl walked into the room with a lifeless expression on her face. She tuned out her mothers rapid, concerned questions. She tuned out the sound of the kettle's comforting whistle on the stove. She tuned out the newsman on the TV, reporting three more disappearances and one more animal attack. She tuned out everything except her own thoughts.

I hate you Veronica. I fucking hate you. Just go away.

She walked into her room and locked the door shut, not bothering to acknowledge her mom. She took a hot bubble bath, scented her pillow with lavender, and crawled into her tent-like bed. She turned on the Christmas lights that shone above her like little stars through the silk canopy. She curled up into the fetal position and looked down at her ugly, bony feet. Her toenails were painted with a pearly overcoat. The pearls reminded her of the chocolate, and the chocolate reminded her of what she did to Andy. She should've just stuck with no, but no, she couldn't. She wanted him to like her, and looked how that ended up.

Tears began to sting her eyes as he pressed her forehead to her knees.

"Words like violence
Break the silence
Come crashing in
Into my little world..."

She sang silently to herself as the tears began to slowly seep down her cheeks.

"Painful to me
Pierce right through me
Can't you understand
Oh my little girl..."

She began to sob quietly as Depeche Mode played soundly in her head.