Fight or Flight

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Veronica asked Audrey for the umpteenth time. She’d been nagging Audrey all evening.

"I'm sure," Audrey answered, nodding her head. Her golden blonde hair bounced in its high ponytail. "I've gotta watch Alex and do some laundry."

Veronica knew that Audrey could have taken him to his grandparents’ house, but she shrugged anyway. "Suit yourself."

"If I went, you'd definitely feel like the third wheel," Audrey teased with her hand on her hip.

"You're right," Veronica said, changing her mind on the matter. She linked arms with Nathaniel. "Thanks for letting me borrow your man."

"Anytime," Audrey laughed. "You two have fun."

"We will," Veronica grinned mischievously. Sometimes Veronica and Nate just needed some best friend time. Audrey was always invited to tag along, but she usually declined.

"Keep him in check," Audrey warned, pointing at her husband. "Don't let him get too drunk."

"I won't," Veronica promised, crossing her fingers.

"I might be the one carrying her out the bar," Nate said, glancing at Veronica.

There were plenty of times when she had drunk too much; way too much for her to even stand on her own. Those times usually ended with her vomiting or passing out.

"I'm taking it easy tonight," She claimed.

"That's what you always say when we go out," Nate countered.

"No, I don't. Stop being so overdramatic," Veronica argued.

"Out." Audrey pointed at the front door to end their bickering. She was not going to let them wake her son up. "Now. Go have fun and be safe."

"We're always safe. I've got a gun," Veronica said with a straight face.

"Do you seriously have it on you?" Nate asked, turning to her.

"No, not tonight," Veronica shook her head. Sometimes she did carry her personal gun on her for protection. Not that she needed protection, but anything could happen.

"Okay, bye," Audrey cut them off and rolled her eyes. "Don't kill anyone."

“We’ll try not to,” Nate said jokingly.

"We're leaving." Veronica put her hands up.

Veronica and Nate bickered like kids sometimes, but it was all out of love. Audrey had sometimes questioned their professions based on their life at home. Never having actually seen them in action, it was hard to imagine the two of them being serious and completing organized missions.

"I'll see you later, babe." Nate kissed Audrey's lips.

"Bye," Audrey waved them off.

Nate and Veronica left, cutting across the green lawn to the paved driveway. Glancing at the vehicles they had to choose from, the two of them looked at each other knowingly. Veronica quickly pulled her keys from her pants pocket before Nathaniel even had the chance to search for his.

"We're taking my car," Veronica declared triumphantly, swinging her key ring around her finger.



"Veronica, what are you doing here?" A cheerful voice exclaimed when she and Nate entered The Alley.

Veronica’s eyes searched for whoever had called her name. Her eyes landed on Val. Matt's friend ex-wife, Val.

"Val," Veronica put on a friendly smile. "I'm just here to drink."

"I hear that," Val said and then hugged her.

Veronica reluctantly hugged back and then pulled away. She felt blinded by Val’s bright pink halter top. She wondered why she was at a bar in Newport. "What are you doing here?"

"My sister wanted to try a different place so we came here," Val explained.

"Your sister?"

"Oh yeah, Michelle is my sister," Val said, pointing to another blonde in a red top holding a martini. "My twin sister, actually."

"Yeah, I met her at Johnny's, right?" Veronica pretended to ask like she had no clue. She remembered everything from that night. "She was with Brian, I think."

"That's her," Val nodded. "They're actually married."

Veronica held her tongue. Was it a coincidence that twin sisters went out with two bandmates?

"So, who's this?" Val asked with interest, looking Nate up and down.

"Uh, this is my friend, Nate." Veronica motioned to him. "Nate meet Val. Val, Nate."

"Nice to meet you," Nate said politely. His voice alone and his signature smile could make any girl swoon.

"You too," Val grinned, almost nervously.

Veronica wanted to laugh out loud at her reaction. "Well, I guess we'll see you around."

"Yeah, my sister's probably looking for me," Val said, quickly turning in her metallic stilettos and sashaying away.

"Can you not?" Veronica looked at Nate incredulously after she left.

"What?" Nate shrugged his shoulders innocently.

"Don’t do that." She pointed at him.

"What, this?" He smiled flirtatiously, showing his perfect piano teeth.

"Yes, that," She said, slapping his chest. "You're a married man."

"Sometimes it's fun to play with the ladies," He smirked. "It still works on Audrey. It works on you, too."

"Does not," Veronica argued.

"It does," He taunted. "Look at me."

Veronica swallowed and bit the inside of her cheek in order to keep a straight face. She stared into his ocean blue eyes, trying not to succumb to his deep irises. Glancing down at his mouth, she watched his thin lips curve up into a smirk before breaking out into a full, cocky grin.

"I knew it," He said when she started to blush.

"Whatever, Nate. You're just too cute for me," Veronica said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

She could tell him that he was attractive all day, because he was. He was her best friend and she was not ashamed to admit that he was pretty damn hot.

"I know,” He grinned.

"Come on, we're going to the bar," Veronica announced, pushing through the crowd.

Veronica thought about the last time she had been to The Alley. It had been a few weeks, possibly months since she’d been to the bar last. It was her and Nate’s favorite spot for a good time with some alcohol. The Alley was to Newport like what Johnny’s was to Huntington.

"Two Jack and Cokes," Nate ordered for both of them.

Veronica praised his choice of starter drinks and they continued with their banter until the bartender returned with their drinks. The bartender pushed their cold glasses in front of them. Veronica reached for her glass as Nathaniel reached for his.

"Drink up," Veronica said as they touched their glasses together before downing their drinks.



Veronica spent the night mostly by Nate's side, but also feeling like something was off. She had a strong intuition for when things weren’t right.

She glanced in the direction of the bar where Nate said he was going to get some more drinks. Instead, she found him talking to Val. He leaned against the bar, seeming to enjoy his conversation with her. She watched Val lean in awfully close to him; enough for him to look down her shirt if he wanted to. Veronica couldn’t make out what they were saying, but it was enough to piss her off.

Nate threw his head back, laughing at whatever Val said. She got closer to him, standing on her toes to say something in his ear. Veronica narrowed her eyes at the two of them, watching them like a hawk. If Val was interested in him, she’d better go find someone else. She wasn’t sure if she still trusted Val after she dropped the m-word on her last week. She supposed she shouldn’t be upset because she told Matt that it didn’t bother her, but it did.

Veronica couldn’t help but see Val as the bad guy now. She was probably making moves on her friend at the bar. She couldn’t let that happen. She wouldn’t let that happen. Val laughed and touched Nathaniel’s elbow before walking away. He picked up the two glasses from the bar’s counter, returning to the table. She took her drink from him without even saying thank you.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked, confused by her sudden mood change.

She barely acknowledged him before standing up. She held her drink in one hand, shoving through the crowd to get to Val’s table. She walked up behind Val, not acknowledging her sister either. She tapped Val on her shoulder.

"Hey," Val said, looking behind her. She set her drink down and got up from her chair. "I was wondering if you wanted to sit with us."

"You know he's married, right?" Veronica snapped bluntly, ignoring her offer.

"Excuse me?" Val’s eyebrows shot up in shock.

"Nate's married. I saw you talking to him over at the bar," Veronica said, jutting her hip out.

"Veronica, I- it's not like that. I wasn't flirting with him. We were just talking," Val said, realizing that she was being accused of trying to get with a married man.

"Whatever," Veronica said, not believing her at all. Divorcees were probably the first ones to become mistresses in her mind. “Just know that he’s married and not interested.”

Veronica left Val with her jaw dropped. She had more words for her, but that could possibly start an altercation. She just wanted to keep it short and she knew that she got her message across to Val.

"Alright, what's your problem?" Nate sighed when she returned to their table, sitting down with a huff.

"My problem is that you were talking to that bitch at the bar," Veronica sneered, fuming with anger. "She was all in your face and whispering in your ear, and you let her do it."

"Whoa, whoa." Nate put his hands up defensively. "I thought Val was your friend and now she’s a bitch? Don't accuse me of what you don't know."

If he were anyone else, Veronica would have taken offense to that. However, as close friends, Nate usually got away with saying what he wanted to her. If they were somewhere else in private, they probably would have fought. They had a habit of actually fist fighting when there were heated exchanges. Sometimes words just didn’t cut it for them, but no hard feelings were kept.

"I wasn't flirting with her, and she wasn’t flirting with me," Nate explained. He was used to Veronica playing the jealous girlfriend role when Audrey wasn’t around. "I get where you're coming from, but if you think I would actually cheat on Audrey, you've got it all wrong."