For the Heart of the Sun.

*Knock* *knock* *knock*

"Hey Andy, are you okay?" Sandra peeped out. She slowly cracked open Andy's bedroom door and peeked inside. The skinny boy was sitting on the window sill, letting the winter wind make its way into the room. She stared at the side of his face and sighed lightly. He looked so sad, so empty. Her eyes traveled down to his attire and she gasped. Blood was staining his white V-neck shirt. She opened the door wider and rushed over to him in concern.

"Andy," She breathed out, "Andy what did you do?"

He didn't respond, nor did he look at her. He just turned his head slightly and stared out into the darkness.

"I was hungry," He mumbled out.

"Andy! We-" She stopped and took a breath, "We have things here to take care of all that. Hayes came by with a new jug filled to the brim wi-"

"Okay one!" He interupted, "Fuck Hayes, and two: Fuck Hayes. He can't keep traveling back and forth 7 hours just to slit someone's throat and give us the blood. It's about time we fucking fend for ourselves, instead of depending on a 65 year old fucking man!"

"What the fuck is your problem," Sandra argued, "Hayes has been there for us ever since we were turned. He helped us every step of the way, and here you go taking his shit for granted! Hell, he's a fucking wanted Serial Killer now Andy! Not to mention a Pedophile, and an Assaulter; all because he tries to help all the fucking rejects like us!"

Andy didn't reply to that. He merely hissed and averted Sandra's menacing gaze. She shook her head at him and hissed as well.

"You're so selfish sometimes," She replied, "It's bad enough that we have to hurt other people so that we can survive. And here you are, just gallivanting around killing at will, just because you had a case of 'the munchies'. You're fucking hopeless Andy."

Sandra walked out of the room in a tizzy, shutting the door hard behind her. Andy looked down at his hands and let out a shaky sigh. He couldn't tell Sandra about what had happened at the Sweet Shop. If he did, he knew that they'd all try their hardest to make sure he couldn't see Vero again. He didn't want that. He liked Vero, alot. He liked how big her eyes got at times, how her cheeks would turn a pale pink when she blushed. She was so beautiful to him, and yet here he was pushing and pulling her around like some rag-doll across the dirt floor.

He leaned his head back against the window sill and sighed, licking his lips that were coated in a young man's blood. He turned his head and placed his hands on the wall next to him. He slid out the window and planted his feet against the brick.He quietly climbed across and peered in the window nextdoor. Vero was sitting on her bed, reading a book with tears on her cheeks. He stared at her sympathetically and sighed, climbing back into his room and cleaning himself up. He wiped most of the blood off his face, but he was so white you could still see it stained on his mouth and neck. Once he was done with that, he climbed back out the window and crawled over to Vero's. He tapped on the glass lightly.

"Vero," He whispered, peering at her through a dark corner of the window. He watched as she perked up a little and looked outside in fear.

"Wh-who's there?!" She whispered back sharply.

"It's Andy," He whispered, "Can I come in?"

She squinted her eyes and attempted to peer at who was out there.

"I guess, but where are y-"

"Don't look at me," He demanded, "Tell me I can come in, and then turn around."

The pale blonde nodded her head lightly and set her book down on the nightstand. She snuggled into her blankets and turned away from the window.

"You can come in," She recited. Andy pushed the door open and stepped down onto the floor. He shut the window quietly and tip toed over to the side of the bed. He looked around the room curiously. So many pictures of maps were on the walls, Chinese origami was hanging from the ceilings, and a silk canopy decorated with Christmas lights was draped over her bed. She had bundles of sticks tied to all four of her bed posts, one of then holding a little nest with foam robin's eggs inside. He smiled lightly. This was definitely a room for Veronica. His head quickly shot over as Vero started to turn around.

"Can I look no-"

"No!" He whispered sharply, "You can't look at me at all tonight."

"Are you really that sick? Did I do something wrong?"

He could hear the hurt in her voice. He licked his lips a little and shook his head.

"No, no it's not you," He answered truthfully, "I just can't eat...some things."

"What can you eat, though?" She asked curiously.

Andy started to slip off his shirt and pants, ignoring her question completely. Once he was down to his boxers, he pulled up the blankets and crawled into bed with her. She shivered a little.

"You're chilly," She replied.

"Sorry," He apologized, "Is that gross to you?"

"No," She replied simply, "But...how'd you get to this window? It's a 30 foot drop."

"I flew," He answered, laying on his back and looking at the ceiling.

"O-Oh," She mumbled. Andy couldn't see it, but Vero's cheeks were the pinkest of the pinks right now. She could feel Andy's skin brushing against hers. She never had a boy sleep in the same bed as her before. How marvelous would it be if he wanted to hold her hand, or even hold her close to his body? How marvelous would it be if he kissed her shoulder gently and played with the loose curls of her hair. She longed for a romantic companion like that. One that would treat her like a precious object. To her, love was a precious object, an object shared between two delicate hearts strung together by fate. She smiled warmly and closed her eyes. She suddenly opened them at the feel of Andy's fingertips brushing against her arm.

"You're so soft," He whispered, his fingers traveling up her arm. Her skin tickled a little as he gently went up and down. Her muscles tightened and her throat practically clamped shut. She felt the bed sink down a little. Andy shifted to scoot closer to her back. His warm breath gently prickled the skin on her neck. Her arms grew goosebumps as he continued to gently touch the skin on her arm. As his fingertips slid across her skin, they finally landed down to her hand. Andy licked his lips a little as he summoned up the courage to take her hand and hold it. A smile brighter than the sun was on her face as he grasped her hand gently and squeezed it a little. She squeezed it back in response, letting him know that she was okay with it.

"u-um, Andy?" She spoke out.

"Mm?" He mumbled, clearly falling asleep.

"Will you u-um...be my friend?" She asked out. She really wanted to ask him to be her boyfriend, but she didn't want to jump to the moon just yet. When she didn't hear anything, she either assumed he was asleep, or scared shitless. She really wished she could turn around now to see his face. The suspense was eating at her.

"Can we still hold hands?" He asked out.

"Yes," She answered.

"Can we still kiss?" He asked.

What?! Then be my boyfriend then!

"I like kissing you," He mentioned.

"I like kissing you too," She replied, "W-well we can be...you know, um...more than just friends."

He didn't respond. She took a small breath and screwed her eyes shut.

"We can be..be boyfriend a-and girlfriend," She stated. She winced as she awaited his remark. She felt his hand squeeze slightly harder than before. It didn't hurt, but she couldn't tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I...I don't think we could do that," He admitted, "I'm...I'm kind of...bad..for you."

"Well I don't care if you smoke cigarettes or anything," She mentioned. She heard him let out an airy chuckle.

"It's not the cigarettes, hun," He replied, "I'm just bad for you in general."

A smile stretched across her face. It was a classic "Baby, I'm Bad News" moment, like those Noir movies from the 30's. The detective is a fast talking loner who warns the innocent high class girl about his dark past. She doesn't care. Her heart is swollen with love for him, and wants to be with him regardless. He warns her: "Baby, I'm bad news." Too bad this wasn't a noir film, this was real life.

"Oh..." She merely replied, "O-okay I guess...but we're still friends."

"Yeah," He spoke, "We're still friends."

"Good," she replied, a small smile on her face. She honored the fact that they were friends.

"Vero, I'm sorry for being a jerk tonight," He replied, "I get pretty irratable sometimes."

"You were sick, I understand," She replied, "Goodnight Andy."

"Goodnight Vero."

The pale blonde went out like a light, breathing lightly and falling deep into her dream state. Had she been awake still, she would've felt Andy's soft lips kiss the skin on her shoulder.

Veronica woke up to find Andy gone from her bed. All that was left was a small note on her pillow.

Tonight, I'll take you out for tea. Dress nice.
<3
- A6

A smile stretched across Veronica's face as she slipped out of bed. She stretched out her arms and let out a sigh of happiness. Maybe today wouldn't we so bad.

"35 year old Humphrey Jones was found dead in the park last night," The news reporter announced, "Police investigators believe it to be yet another animal attack. Several of these attacks have been going on in several cities around this area, and now have hit close to home. Cheif Andrew Brewster gave out...."

"Poor old Humphrey," Vero's mom sighed, sipping on her coffee, "He used to come in every day to sit with Sal, Pete, and John Boy. They'd chat about everything those four; baseball games, fishing excursions, race bets. That little group won't be the same without Humphrey in the picture, I'll tell you that much."

Vero placed a tea bag in her cup and poured in the hot water. She turned to look at the TV and gasped when she saw Claire's picture on screen.

"The search continues for 18 year old Claire Bennet," The newswoman spoke, "Claire Bennet was last seen walking out of a local 17+ night club in an inebreated state. Word on how she came to recieve alcohol is still in question. Witnesses say that they saw her and a so called 'friend' walk off together down the street."

"I saw her land in a heap of trash bags," A witness testified, "She was chuckling and laughing with her group of friends, and they continued to walk off. This guy who was close behind them went after her and picked her up. I thought nothing of it because he looked like her friend or something, I dunno."

"Did you give a description to the police?" The interveiwer inquired. The witness shook his bald head and sighed.

"I can't remember anything," He replied, "It's the strangest thing. I can't remember if he was white, or asian, or even Puerto rican. It's all just a blur."

The interveiwer nodded and put the mic to her lips.

"We've asked several witnesses so far, and all of them have given the same answer: They don't recall what this man looked like," She replied, "We'll keep you updated on the investigation as it progresses. I'm Sam Sparks, and this is WTTN news."

Vero furrowed at the thought, but couldn't help but smirk at the cruel twist of irony that had occured. Claire had finally gotten her dose of Karma.