Fight or Flight

“The new album comes out in a few days.”

“Yeah, it does,” Matt said, ecstatic about the release of the band’s new album.

Veronica couldn’t stop her mouth from twitching upwards. She could tell that he was excited about the new music. She could see the way his eyes filled with passion as they walked back towards the pier’s parking lot at a leisurely pace.

“Are you going to come to the album release concert tomorrow?” He asked.

She inhaled and exhaled hesitantly. “You know I’d love to, but honestly, I don’t go out much on the weekdays. I wish I could hang out all night like you guys.”

Working twelve-hour workdays and sometimes more than that was bad enough in itself. She usually used the time after work to relax. Therefore, it didn’t leave much for a social life outside of work.

“I don’t know how I forget sometimes,” He muttered more to himself than her.

“Forget what?” She asked.

“I just- you’re so normal,” He hesitated, not knowing how to fully explain it. “It’s like, sometimes I forget you’re in the military.”

“I’m normal?” She asked, raising her eyebrows in amusement. “Thanks. You know, that’s a compliment to me.”

“I mean, you act normal,” He clarified. “You’re definitely unique, though.”

“Still taking that as a compliment,” She snickered.

“Well, it was a compliment,” He said.

Matt stopped at his silver Mercedes, giving her a signal to hold on for a moment. He fetched his keys from his pocket and unlocked the car door. Veronica watched him reach into the console and grab a flat item. He shut the car door, holding the plastic case in his hand.

“I brought it with me in case you weren’t able to come tomorrow, but I would have given it to you anyway,” He said, holding the case out to her.

Veronica grinned ear to ear and laughed in endearment at his gesture. She took the CD case, titled Hail to the King, from his grasp. She looked down at the white deathbat logo on the front cover.

“Do I get an autograph on it, too?” She asked with good-humored sarcasm.

“Open it and you’ll see,” He said with a chuckle.

She got the hint from his tone, but she opened up the case anyway. There, on the actual disc, were five smudged signatures.

“Of course you guys already signed it,” She said, rolling her eyes playfully. “Thank you, Matt. I’m gonna turn it up loud and listen to it all the way home.”

“I hope you like it.”

“I will,” She said. She just knew that she would love the album. She stepped forward to hug him and thank him for the CD. “I wish I could go to the show and celebrate with you guys tomorrow.”

“Maybe you can,” He said, looking down at her. “If you can’t celebrate with us, you can celebrate with me. Say, next Saturday?”

“Hm,” She sighed and pretended to think about it. “I think you and I can celebrate this Saturday. I don’t see a problem with that.”

“I’ll pick you up then?” He offered.

“I’ll text you my address.”

“Great, so it’s a date then,” He said, clasping his hands together and nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Yeah,” She mocked him with a laugh. “It’s a date.”




“Shit,” Veronica hissed into the mirror.

She’d spent ten minutes trying to perfect the art of applying eyeshadow, mascara, and eyeliner. She struggled with trying to get a decent, similar ‘cateye’ look for both eyes. She either put it on too thick or too thin or one wing was further out than the other. She was not used to wearing makeup, ever. During her reintegration periods after coming home, Nathaniel’s wife usually helped her get back into the feminine side of things. Audrey helped a lot, but Veronica could never do the makeup aspect of it.

When she figured both eyes were decent enough, she applied the mascara. She stroked her upper and bottom lashes with the round mascara brush. She realized how hard it was to apply eye makeup with a closed mouth. She always ended up making a weird, lopsided face in the mirror as if she’d been stuck with novocaine. She finished off by swiping her lips with a soft pink just to give her lips a bit of color. She always stuck with the basics of makeup. She didn’t have the time or patience for a full face of primer, foundation, and powder. She made a mental note to send a photo of her job well done to Audrey before the night was over.

Audrey was also Veronica’s stylist while she was away and when she came home. Audrey had a habit of buying clothes for Veronica while she was deployed. She usually presented a whole new wardrobe upon Veronica’s return home. Veronica didn’t really mind it. It was like her closet was magically expanding itself while she was away.

Veronica didn’t go shopping much unless it was to a consignment store or another type of clothing store with low prices. She went shopping for better and more expensive things when Audrey insisted she go shopping with her. Without Audrey, Veronica would opt for a t-shirt and jeans every day. She still wore her t-shirt and jeans, but she always added a feminine touch to it. Audrey did not approve of her androgynous fashion style too much. The only things Veronica had multiple pairs of and wore almost religiously were her beloved combat boots.

She walked over to the full length mirror on the closet door, inspecting her outfit. She wore a pristine white, sleeveless peplum top that accentuated the curves of her waist and hips. She picked out a t-shirt at first, but she could imagine Audrey shaking her head over her shoulder. She made the white blouse less dressy with a pair of black skinny jeans with rips at the knees and plain black combat boots. She was minimal on the accessories, settling for a simple pair of drop earrings.

Looking at the clock, Veronica realized she had a few more minutes until Matt was expected to come. He said he would pick her up at around seven o’clock. She hoped that she was dressed well enough for wherever they were going. She didn’t know what to expect but she was all for it.

While I wait, I can send a picture to Audrey, she thought, picking up her phone from her dresser. She posed in the mirror and as soon as her thumb hovered over the capture button, the doorbell rang.

“I’m coming!” She yelled, hoping that he’d heard her from across the apartment.

She quickly struck a pose in front of the mirror, taking a full shot of her outfit. Turning on her front-facing camera, she made a silly face and pressed the snapshot button. The sound of her doorbell ringing again snapped her out of her mini photo session. She pushed back the stray hairs into her sleek, bouncy ponytail. She grabbed her black clutch and ran out of her bedroom, jogging to the door.

“Sorry,” She blurted out as soon as she opened the door.

Matt chuckled, “Don’t be. You look nice.”

“Thanks, and you don’t look too bad yourself,” She acknowledged, looking him up and down. He was more casual than her, wearing just a black t-shirt with dark wash jeans and sneakers. She figured she was dressed appropriately. She wouldn’t want to be too over or under dressed.

“Are you ready?” He asked her, moving from the doorway.

“Yep,” She nodded, stepping outside of her apartment.

She locked the door behind her and followed him down the steps to the parking lot. It was a comfortable temperature outside as the sunset and the sky turned into a mixture of sherbet.

“Thank you,” She said when he opened the passenger door for her like a gentleman. She had no clue that chivalry still existed these days. She slid right in, resting her back against the leather seat. She snapped her seatbelt while he got in from the driver’s side. “So where are we going?”

“I got us reservations at a restaurant. I hope you like Italian food,” He answered, pulling out of the parking lot and driving away from the apartment complex.

“I do,” She said, once again commending him for his choice of restaurant.

“Afterwards I figured we can do whatever you want,” He shrugged.

“This is your album celebration, remember?” She reminded him. “You choose what you want to do.”

“How about we choose what to do together?” He offered a compromise, glancing at her before merging onto the main highway. “Oh, and I’m paying for dinner and everything else tonight. Just so you know.”

“Okay,” She frowned.

“I can tell you’re stubborn,” He commented.

“I’m not that stubborn,” She argued. She was a little stubborn, but she was so used to being independent.

“Sure, you aren’t,” He said sarcastically.

For the duration of the drive, it was a comfortable silence between them besides the radio playing some old school rock music. Veronica subconsciously tapped her foot along to the beat while peering out the window. Her right hand gripped the handle of the door as she got more nervous. She focused on the road that seemingly went on forever. Her eyes naturally focused on every piece of debris on the road and if she was driving, she would have swerved to miss every pothole.

“What are you looking at?” Matt spoke up, noticing she’d been looking out the window for most of the ride.

“Huh?” She questioned even though she’d heard him. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

She took a deep breath, hoping for a good night.



“Welcome to Spark Woodfire Grill. I’m Vincent and I’ll be your waiter for the evening,” The young, dark-haired waiter introduced himself without even looking at Matt. Veronica held his full, undivided attention. “And your name is?”

“Nothing you need to know,” Veronica gave him a sarcastic smile, noticing his interest in her right off the bat. She usually read people very quickly and she was just not the girl to hit on.

“Well, you know, I just like to get to know my customers while I serve them,” He said with a double meaning, “especially the pretty ones.”

“Yeah, no thanks,” She shook her head, trying to stay somewhat polite. “Now if you’ll just leave us alone for a few minutes so we can look over the menu…”

Vincent put his hands up, taking the hint. “By all means, go ahead. I’ll be back.”

Veronica rolled her eyes when he turned his back. “I don’t know if he’s more repulsive or disrespectful…”

“I just think he’s a bastard,” Matt said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“I think he got the hint,” She suggested while reading the menu.

Vincent came back within minutes to take their drink orders. Veronica and Matt both ordered soft drinks instead of alcoholic drinks. They both thought that the waiter had successfully taken the hint after he didn’t make any further comments while writing their drinks on his notepad.

“Here,” Vincent said rudely, practically slamming Matt’s drink down on the table in front of him.

Matt prevented the near spilling of his drink, all the while giving the man a death glare. Veronica’s mood instantly switched to annoyance by the waiter.

“Here you go, Gorgeous,” The waiter said, setting Veronica’s tall glass of raspberry lemonade down with caution.

She looked up at the waiter, staring at him stone faced. She bit the inside of her cheek over his complete disregard for Matt’s presence.

“What are you having for dinner, Gorgeous?” Vincent asked haughtily, holding his pen over his notepad.

“Don’t you get that she’s not interested,” Matt snarled through gritted teeth.

“I don’t believe I was speaking to you,” He snapped at Matt before turning back to Veronica.

“No, no,” Veronica interrupted, ready to stand up from her seat. The guy was really messing with the wrong people. “He’s right. I’m not fucking interested, alright? Leave me alone.”

Vincent narrowed his eyes at her and smirked, “I think you’re lying.”

“Trust me when I say that I’m not lying,” She sneered, clenching her fists under the table. She decided she had enough of his harassment. “This is what you’re going to do- you’re going to take our order and you’re not going to come back until our food is done, alright? Otherwise, I can simply request another waiter.”

“No, okay,” Vincent stammered. “I’ll just take your order. Please don’t. I apologize.”

“Good,” Veronica said forcefully.

Matt and Veronica watched him walk away until he disappeared from their sight. The air between Matt and Veronica was somewhat tense. They were both visibly upset. Veronica took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to find some type of tolerance for the pushy waiter.



“Your meals,” Vincent said in a flat tone, placing their plates in front of them. Noticing Veronica’s glass was empty, he looked down at her. “I’ll go get you a refill, on the house.”

She bit her tongue, refusing to thank that asshole of a waiter. At least afterwards he would be gone until they requested the bill. I’m not going to let him ruin the night, she thought to herself. She muttered an insincere ‘thank you’ when he came back with another glass of flavored lemonade. She bore holes into his back until he was gone and serving another table.

Turning her attention back to their dinner, she reached out and grasped her cold glass. The condensation nearly made the cup slip right from her hands. Glancing into the glass before putting it to her lips, she noticed a difference in her drink. The dark pink raspberry lemonade was now fizzing like a soda. She pursed her lips together to keep from screaming and slowly set her glass back down onto the table. She noticed Vincent watching her with that arrogant smirk of his from behind the bar.

“Don’t eat that,” She warned, smacking Matt’s hands away before he chewed the first bite of steak.

“Why not?” He asked with his fork and knife still in his hands.

“Because,” She said, pointing to her seemingly carbonated drink. “The guy’s pissed. I don’t trust it.”

Matt dropped his silverware onto his plate, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”

“Matt, don’t,” Veronica said, not wanting to cause a scene. “Come on, we’re leaving.”

She grabbed her clutch from the seat and stood up. She was pissed as she stomped over to the register with Matt right behind her.

“Tell them that you’re not paying for this shitty service and make sure that bastard gets fired,” She hissed. “I’m going to the restroom.”

Veronica walked in the direction of the restrooms, discreetly keeping an eye on the wicked waiter that was also walking down the hall. He pushed open the door to the men’s room. She balled her fist and slipped into the bathroom after him, not caring if there were other men in there. He turned around from the sink with that same smirk.

“I knew you’d come after me,” He said arrogantly, approaching her.

“Yeah, I guess I did, huh?” She said, the corner of her mouth twisting from her honeyed voice. She was going to show him who he shouldn’t mess with.

In barely a second, Veronica kicked both his legs from under him, dropping him onto his back. He groaned from the pain and squirmed on the linoleum tiles, trying to get away from her. She gripped one of his ankles tightly and locked his knee in place. She placed her foot right over his trachea and his collarbone.

“You’re pathetic,” She spat, leaning over him. “How dare you. How dare you be so disrespectful to me and my company? You’ve got balls, dude. You really do.”

She applied more of her weight onto her foot the angrier she got.

“You crazy bitch,” He choked out, latching onto her boot to try to relieve some of the pressure from his neck.

“You know, you’re lucky that it’s me because the guy that I was with, he could wreck you,” She threatened. “I’m going to make sure that you no longer have this shitty job that you obviously don’t care about to make fucking minimum wage. And don’t you ever harass another woman like you did to me again.”

She briefly considered completely choking him with her foot or snapping his collarbone. She took her weight off of his throat, giving him a swift, hard kick to his ribs instead.

“Fucking feckless piece of shit,” She growled, practically ripping off the handle of the door and storming out of the men’s bathroom.