10. Divide et Impera

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Chapter 10: Divide et Impera

Veronica.

As Veronica walked into the detention room that Saturday, she was pleasantly surprised to see JD already there, all alone, as usual his head buried in a book, Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy. Of course. She smiled, sidling up to him.

"Well look who got in trouble on purpose just to see us."

JD raised his head as soon as she spoke, perking up at the sight of her. He marked the page, put the book away and furrowed his brows, acting offended, even though a smile cracked at the corners of his mouth, betraying his playfulness.

"Terribly presumptuous of you to assume I got in trouble just to see you, Veronica," he remarked. "But, saved you the best seats in the house," he patted the chair next to him.

She sat down, thinking it was the best seat only because he was next to it, but quickly scrapped that thought as too cheesy.

"Well, the fight was only one Saturday's detention, so what else did you do?"

"Argued with a teacher over the archaic biology textbook they make us read. The evolution chapter was all wishy-washy to not upset any churches, for christ's sake. Guess giving me detention was easier than admitting I was right," he said a bit too haughtily.

She chuckled.

"And you just had to talk back, huh? Specifically on week two of reading said textbook?"

His smirk turned into more of a coy smile. He scratched the back of his head.

"Well, maybe you were right. I did want to see you."

He said it with an assuredness that made her cheeks flush ever so slightly. Getting in trouble and ruining his Saturday morning just so he could sit next to her in a room where they could barely even talk just had to be the most romantic thing a guy had done for her. In a bit of a warped way, but still.

"Besides, isn't this where we meet for our little extracurricular project anyway?" he added.

"Look at you Mr Loner Too Cool for School being a team player," she giggled, turning her head as she heard Connor and Evan come in. She'd spotted them both chatting at the entrance earlier, but hadn't wanted to interrupt.

"Greetings and salutations," JD said.

"Surprised you two aren't making out yet," Connor said, to which JD threw him a glare, but he just laughed, raising his hands defensively. "I'm just saying."

Biting her lip, Veronica mentally admitted she wondered the same. The tension with the two popular trios had kept her so busy, the fear of ending up as a casualty of the war so glued to Heather's heels, that she hadn't allowed herself to go for anything outside of that. To have him. But maybe she was getting a bit tired of playing their reindeer games.

About twenty minutes later, they were once again all gathered in a circle, with Mr Washington's predicted snoring as background noise.

"Good job on joining The Plastics, by the way," Veronica told Cady with a smile. They hadn't really been able to talk since last Saturday, but she had of course kept an eye on her progress, like all of the school had.

And Cady had really blended in. She even dressed differently, from the comfortable outdoorsy outfits to high-end skirts and blouses.

"They aren't that bad," Cady commented, running a hand through her hair. "Maybe you're all judging them a bit too harshly."

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