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humorisstoredinthetits · 3 months ago

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The Heathers + Veronica Backstories (Pt. 1, Pre-Senior Year)

This post is gonna contain backstories for each of them, because previously I've had them scattered across many different posts, and I wanna have a place where I have a set backstory for each of them because sometimes I forget what I said for them. I'm going to retcon a few things here, either because I forgot what I said originally or I came up with something better, but the basic framework of the events will stay the same.

Also, a lot of this events will overlap, so I'm gonna try and do my best to give a unique, and in some cases more detailed, viewpoint of the same events

Just a fair warning, this is gonna be long, like really long. If you wanna read it all in one sitting make sure you have some time on your hands

Heather Chandler

TW: Religion/Religious Trauma/Child Abuse/Child Neglect/SA/Bullying (This is Chandler's backstory, you should already know this isn't gonna be pretty)

She was born on February 24th, 200X

Her mother came from a rich but very fundamentalist traditionalist religious family, and was essentially sold off to her husband when she turned 18 in exchange for a hefty sum of money

Her father came from a long line of successful businessmen, most of whom were in the steel industry

He was the head of his own steel company, bringing in millions in revenue each year

She's actually a descendant of Andrew Carnegie, with her father's company being a offshoot of the Carnegie Steel Company, breaking off after ol' Trustbuster Teddy broke it apart

Her father wanted a boy to continue the family line, as he also came from a rather traditional family and so the thought of a woman inheriting the family company was unthinkable

You can imagine he was enraged when out came Heather, definitely not a boy

He foolishly believed that he would have a son, despite the doctors telling him several times that the child would be a girl, saying that God would not curse him with a daughter

He was so enraged that he had to be forcibly removed from the room before he hurt someone or himself

So Chandler's life was off to a great start

Things didn't get much better

She was left alone often, with her mother and father arguing daily, which only increased once it was found that her mother could not have any more children

They both turned to religion to help them cope

Her mother prayed that she would be saved from this hell and given the chance to make up for whatever sin she committed that caused her to be given this lot in life

Of course God never answered, and depressed and bitter she turned to the bottle to soothe her sorrows

Her father went to the priest at his church and asked for forgiveness for whatever sin he committed that cursed him with a daughter, and while there he met a nice young Christian Lady and you can imagine how that went

9 Months later Chandler's half-brother was born

From that day on Chandler's father was largely absent from her life, spending most of his time with his Mistress and 'real' son

Her mother wanted nothing to do with Chandler, only doing the bare minimum to keep her alive

Nothing much changed as she grew older and began to walk and talk

Chandler learned from a very young age to not bother mommy or she would hit her, with her fists or a bottle or whatever else she had on hand

Her father wasn't much better, only coming to home in drunken fits of rage, yelling at both her and her mother about how they were disappointments and curses that God placed upon him for some sin and that they ruined his life, during which her mother would do nothing to shield her from her father's wrath

When her mother did bother to interact with her, it was to reprimand her for any minute flaw she could find

Wether that be that she wasn't standing straight enough, or that she was talking wrong or even that she was breathing too loudly

Chandler learned to be a proper young lady at threat of violence

Her mother waited eagerly for the day that Chandler would be old enough for daycare and would not be her problem anymore, at least for most of the time

When dropping her off her mother reminded her that if she acted up there. would. be. consequences. before speeding off

She did like her mother taught her, heading into daycare with her head held high and her back straight

She was surprised at how friendly the teacher was, but she didn't let her guard down, knowing that at any moment the facade could fade away

She was informed that she was going to be sitting with two other girls named Heather

Internalizing the lessons her mother beat into her, she carried herself with a sense of grace and superiority as he headed to the assigned table

She first laid eyes on another girl in red, not really looking at her

She seemed to be staring at a girl in a unicorn sweater across the room, Chandler guessed that probably she wanted to sit with her but she was placed with her and the other Heather, probably because of their names

She then looked at the other girl and was immediately awestruck

Dressed in all yellow and covered in freckles, she was the cutest person she had ever seen, and a strange feeling developed in her chest

She had no idea what it was, but the desire to be her friend was overwhelming, so she turned to her, striking up a simple conversation about their shared name

The girl in yellow looked at her with surprise before quickly replying

She talked extremely quickly and wouldn't make eye contact with her which Chandler found a little strange, but she quickly brushed that aside

They did everything together that day, playing, drawing, they even put their cots next to each other while they napped, and Chandler realized that Mac, as she had come to call her, was her best friend, and she would do anything for her

That philosophy was put to the test when some boys named Kurt and Ram harassed Mac, touching her and trying to get her to play with them, and she was crying and trying to get away but they kept getting closer

Remembering the last time her father came over and her mother threatened to 'kick him in the balls' while motioning towards the area where his legs met, she ran over and planted her foot in Ram's area after a fast kick, before repeating that action with Kurt

She then took Mac over to a secluded corner of daycare while she cried

Eventually the teacher came over and asked what happened, and Chandler lied through her teeth, telling her that she was helping Mac after some boys were being mean to her, and that they were lying about her hitting them

Luckily for them the teacher believed the well behaved girl helping her crying friend over two boys and so she didn't get into trouble

When her mother came to pick her up she asked if she made any friends, and when she told her about Mac she became enraged, saying that of course out of everyone she had to make friends with the r-word and while Chandler didn't know what that meant and wanted to argue and defend her new friend, she knew it would only make it worse for her

But in her mind, she vowed that no matter what her mother said or did, she would never abandon Mac

She stayed true to that vow, despite the abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother, despite the screaming from her father or even the taunts from the other kids who saw Mac as different

As she moved from daycare to Kindergarten to elementary school and beyond, her and Mac were outcasts

No one wanted to be around Mac, who cried at the drop of a hat, who would never shut up about her interests, who would interrupt class constantly, and neither did anyone want to be around the weird girl who hung around her

Chandler had learned Mac was 'autistic' and that meant her brain worked differently from her's or most other people's, but she just couldn't understand why other people were mean to her because of it

All she knew was that she had to defend Mac, because Mac couldn't stand up for herself

But despite all of the bullying and abuse, they shared a few fond memories from the younger parts of their lives

Mac's Dad took them to the movie theater to see a movie called Frozen, which they absolutely loved

They dressed as Anna and Elsa for Halloween the following year (Mac was Anna, Chandler was Elsa) and they got a bunch of Frozen dolls and various toys for Christmas

Frozen became a comfort movie for them, whenever one of them was stressed or upset they would put it in to help them calm down

**Line break bc Word count**

Chandler's mother left her at Mac's place a lot, thankful to have someone who would look after her so she didn't have to

I'll get more into it in the Mac section, but Mac's dad would watch over Chandler, really just glad that someone wanted to be friends with his daughter

As her and Mac moved into middle school, their treatment at the hands of the other kids went from exclusion to harassment

They were called names in the halls, things were thrown at them, their things were stolen, it was just a bad time all around

All that Chandler could to to shield Mac from all of it was making herself the target of ridicule instead

She started to act up, get in trouble, act a fool, anything she could think to draw attention towards herself and away from Mac

And if someone said or did something to Mac in spite of her efforts?

Then she would beat their ass, just like her mother did to her

Of course with all the trouble she was getting in she was suspended multiple times, and each and every time her mother yelled at her and beat her, but in Chandler's mind it was worth it, people were realizing that Mac wasn't the easy target everyone thought she was and were moving on to easier targets, people like Martha Dumptruck, Hucklebetty Finn and Tom Sawyer

Despite this, she knew that it wouldn't work forever and that it wasn't sustainable

Besides, it was awful to get yelled at and beaten and harassed

She needed to find a different way, some way to be outside of the cyclone of bullshit, or maybe some way to be above it

That's when an idea struck and she came up with an idea

The summer before they started high school, Chandler went over to Mac's house and told her the plan

They were gonna be popular

They were gonna study the latest fashion trends and practice makeup to look their best, become friends with the right people and practice just ignoring everyone who said something to them instead of reacting

It didn't matter if they weren't popular yet, the mere projection of status would make most people back off and think they were above them

And for the people who still bothered them after all that, if they didn't give them a reaction they would eventually get bored and find someone else

Mac, albeit reluctantly, agreed to her plan, and they began studying up on looking good

They ran into a few problems early on

The main one was that they didn't know anybody, and those who did know them knew them as losers, meaning they needed to find somebody with connections who could introduce them to the right people

After a bit of searching, they found someone who more than exceeded their needs

Heather Duke was head of the yearbook at Westerberg Middle and was entering the club in high school, so she already had contacts there, and those people also had a wide variety of contacts

Plus, Chandler knew Duke was also a loser with no friends, having abandoned Dumptruck a while back, and would probably love the chance to be above it all

Duke jumped at the opportunity to finally escape the hells of loserdom, readily giving away information to her new friends in exchange for lessons on fashion and how to act popular

She even knew people who knew people in college, and they knew just a simple 'oh yeah the Heathers? They're chill' would do wonders for their status

Unfortunately, as Chandler came to learn, this status came with a price, one that she didn't want to pay but understood she had no choice but to

Throughout the summer, the reborn Heathers were introduced to the world at parties, standing strong with their heads help up high

It seemed to work, no one laughed at their entrance or silly color-coordinated outfits, in fact it was like a switch was flicked

People who had once thrown paper balls at them in the halls greeted them like old friends, bullies who once spread rumors about them smiled and laughed along with them as they handed them red solo cups full of strange liquids

Chandler recognized this liquid immediately from her mother's many drinking binges and despite her reluctance, she knew that to fit in she would have to suck it up and deal with it

Eventually the guy who threw the party, a college freshman named David, came over and introduced himself, before inviting Chandler to a back room to 'get to know her better'

She had an idea of what was about to happen, and before she went she told Duke to make sure Mac never went anywhere alone with anyone, especially a guy

Look I feel really uncomfortable discussing this in great detail, we all know what happened between Chandler and David (don't worry he gets his comeuppance) but for the sake of the story I'll leave it at Chandler didn't want to but for the sake of popularity, the only thing protecting Mac from being harassed like she had her entire life, she put up with it

Eventually the first day of school came, and they walked into the building as new women, goddesses even

Like Moses and the Red Sea, the halls parted for them as they strutted forward, anyone unknowing quickly understanding what was going on and moving out of the way

School became a breeze for them

Chandler understood that popularity came with certain favors, like getting nerds to do their homework in exchange for protection from bullying, or having two meatheaded jocks do anything for them in exchange for the slightest bit of attention

Of course they weren't at the top of the school yet, many seniors who had been there for years did not react well to their position being challenged by these freshmen

But Chandler quickly found out what made them tick and used that to her advantage, making them look like fools while the Heathers came out on top

The perception of them became solidified as these telfon warriors who allowed nothing to bother them and stayed above the peasantry of the school, but could dish out comeuppance if anyone dared to inconvenience them

Things began to follow a pattern

Duke, through her contacts with the yearbook, kept up on the latest gossip and fed it to Chandler, who decided if it was worth their while or if they needed to intervene, and how they would do so if that was determined to be the best course of action

If intervention was necessary, Duke would spread rumors through the nerds at yearbook and Mac though her cheerleader squad to the popular people, from which it would travel through the school

Speaking of Cheer, Mac joined the squad at Chandler's insistence and while watching her first meet, Chandler felt a strange feeling in her chest

She had always known that Mac was a rather attractive woman, but seeing her do her routines in her outfit, which showed off her newly acquired muscles, awakened something in her

She started to become really awkward around Mac, not being able to talk to her without her face going red and stumbling over her words

Eventually Mac, one day while they were at her place, took a deep breath before looking Chandler in the eyes (something that she knew was hard for Mac to do) before telling her that she loved her

That was nothing knew, they told each other that all the time, but this time it felt different

Mac quickly added that she loved her in the gay way and that she wanted Chandler to be her girlfriend, and that she had been in love with her from the first day she met when she was so nice to her and stood up to the bullies and-

Mac quickly rambled on about why and how much she loved her, while Chandler's face grew redder than her blazer

Internally she was having a screaming match, she had never considered that she could be gay before, but the possibility of her being gay made a lot of things make sense

But she also knew that being gay was a death sentence and could undo all their hard work

**Line break bc word count limit**

Eventually she said fuck it and kissed Mac, interrupting her rambling

They made out for a while before Chandler pulled away

When questioned she told Mac that they would have to keep this a secret, at least until they got out of high school

After that she didn't know, but she knew that she loved Mac too, probably for just as long, and that she would do anything just to see her smile

They never could recall on what day Mac's confession took place, so they decided that their anniversary would be on Sep. 1st, the day they met

Life continued on, their popularity and status only increasing with every passing day

Anyone that challenged them was retaliated against with as much force as they could muster, until no one dared mess with the Heathers

She continued to go to the Remington Parties, this time alone

She didn't want Mac, or even Duke, whom she had come to care about more than she had expected, to see what went on behind the scenes

The nights she spent with David were a secret she planned to take to her grave

Freshmen year passed, then sophomore, then they entered junior year

Things didn't change much for them

They stayed on top of Westerberg's Hierarchy, they passed all of their classes with minimal effort due to a combination of nerds doing their homework and essays and cheating on their tests

There was a teacher, Ms. Fleming, who swore up and down they were cheating but could never prove it, and tried to get them in trouble for anything she could think of

These punishments were often revoked under threat of retaliation by their rich parents, which were empty threats but she didn't know that

Later in the year they threw a party for Duke's birthday, a tradition which had come about as a way to maintain their status

Chandler had bought Duke a red dress as a present

Duke loved red but that was Chandler's color so she had to settle for green, but Chandler figured that it was her birthday so it was ok for her to wear another color

Internally she wanted to see her wear red, she just knew that she would look hot in it, and boy was she right

But she wasn't ready to admit this to herself just yet, she said it was just for her birthday

Duke was just so happy during the party, not like the Duke who had been slowly retreating into her shell over the past few years

And then Chandler felt it

The same feeling she had felt with Mac at her first cheer meet years ago

She quickly pushed it away, she was with Mac, she couldn't feel this way

Unfortunately while dealing with this revelation she ended up in the same bathroom that Mac was taking refuge in, and in her drunken state she accidentally blurted out how hot Duke was

Eventually they went to Mac's and when she woke up she remembered what she said the previous night, becoming incredibly embarrassed

Mac quickly confronted her, asking her why she was avoiding her friend, to which she quickly blurted out that she thinks she's in love with Duke

She was shocked when Mac just laughed, asking if that was all it was

Mac then told her that she was also in love with Duke, and that made what she was gonna ask way easier

She proposed a three-way polyamorous relationship where they would all date each other

Chandler was confused at first, she had never heard of this, but after a few days of talking it out and researching, she decided that she was ok with it and they asked Duke out

Duke said yes and all's history

Junior year turned into senior year

The same old same old, one more year before they can escape

Popularity had become a curse, requiring more maintenance than an old car to stay on top

Plus, it made Chandler really conflicted

Was it just to subject others to the same torment she went through just to spare herself and her loved ones from the same fate?

She pondered this as she did her makeup, as Ms. Fleming came in to 'catch' them in the act and give them another bs detention, and as she went through the whole song-and-dance routine a girl stepped out from one of the stalls and headed Fleming a note

Heather McNamara

(I know its not in order, probably should be doing Duke next but idc)

TW: Child Abuse/Ableism/Child Neglect/Bullying

Mac was born on June 22nd, 200X

Her mother was a fucking bitch, to put it lightly

She only married Mac's dad for his money, but her plans were foiled when she was forced to sign a prenup

Her plan quickly shifted into waiting for him to die, as he was already older (not super old, but in his middle 30s while she was early-to-middle 20s), and when he died she would take the money and spend the rest of her life traveling the world in luxury

She had no desire to work or get a job, instead choosing to lay around and mooch off Mac's Dad

Her Dad, unlike most parents that will be talked about, was a gentle man who loved his daughter more than anything in the world

She was the light of his life, and when she was born he took a long paternity leave to spend time with her

He ran a engagement ring business, known as being the home of the best quality rings in the central Ohio area

As such, he got plenty of business, most of which he put back into the store, but he always put some aside for his daughter, both for future savings and to spoil her rotten

But as she grew up and he spent time with her, he noticed that she was a little strange

She would never look anyone in the eyes, became very upset whenever her routine was changed, like if daddy had to go to work on a day when he would not normally have to she would have a meltdown, and became fixated on certain things

At this age she was obsessed with My Little Pony, watching in for hours on end, and the little she did talk was often about the ponies

He had a suspicion of what was going on so he had her quickly tested and it was discovered she had autism

He didn't care, she was his daughter and he would do whatever he needed to make sure she lived the best life possible

He told his wife the news and his plan that she, as a stay-at-home mom, could help take care of her until she was ready

Mac's mom pretended to go along with it but internally she was screaming

She never wanted to have a kid, she only had Mac because her husband really wanted a kid and she thought it might get him to get rid of the prenup, and now she has to deal with a disabled kid too? No way Jose

She tried to beat it out of Mac, slapping and pinching her whenever she acted out, which was quite often

It wasn't her fault, Mac was a child and autistic, she couldn't really control herself, but she didn't care, she just wanted her to stop

As soon as she could she signed her up for daycare behind his back so she didn't have to deal with her

Mac was unceremoniously dropped off at daycare, extremely nervous and unsure about this whole thing

She sat down at her assigned table, staring at the wooden top, just wishing she could go home, when a girl sat at the table and started talking to her

She looked like an angel in red, carrying herself in such a way that radiated confidence and coolness

Mac got a strange feeling in her chest, and she just knew she had to be friends with this girl

She replied quickly, desperate to keep her attention, and the girl laughed

Not in the mean way that mommy laughed at her whenever she messed up, but like Twilight Sparkle and her friends did when one of them did something funny

Note: I know nothing about My Little Pony, so anything that I say about it may be extremely incorrect

She knew she acted different, her mother never failed to point that out to her, but this girl, Chan-Chan as she called her, didn't seem to care one bit

Chandler stuck by her all day, not once leaving her side

She never got bored with her, or got tired of her weirdness, or even looked at other kids, just staying with her

She even protected her from the bullies like Kurt and Ram who were gross boys that she wanted nothing to do with but wouldn't leave her alone

She even comforted her when she cried, which is something only her dad did

In short, she was the perfect friend, just like the ponies

When she was picked up she told her mother about her new friend and how cool she was only to be quickly and harshly told to shut up

They got home and after a few hours so did her dad, and when she told him about the awesome day she had at daycare he was enraged, but didn't let Mac see it, telling her that he was glad she made a friend

Once Mac left the room he stormed over to his wife, demanding an explanation

They had agreed to not put Mac in a public school until she was ready, starting out slow with a tutor or a specialized center for autistic children, and yet here she goes signing her up for daycare

Her mom yelled back that she didn't sign up to take care of a r-word and-

Her dad slapped her mom as soon as that word left her lips, and coldly told her to get out and that he was filing for divorce

She did, staying silent the entire time as she did so

Once she left Mac's dad went up to her room, where Mac was hiding under her bed, afraid of all the shouting

He told her that mommy was leaving and not coming back, to which Mac immediately brightened up and became excited, which was the final nail in the coffin, affirming his decision for divorce

He also asked a bit more about daycare and her friend Chan-Chan, and upon seeing how excited and happy she seemed when talking about her, he decided to keep her in daycare so he didn't take away her only friend

Of course he would sign her up for therapy to help her manage her autism better, but if she was making friends then it wouldn't be the worst idea to let her stay

Mac's mom was not happy, however, and quickly turned to the internet using her MySpace (I think it was still relevant at that time) account to spread lies that he was cheating on her and she was filing for divorce

Privately she told some that he was impotent and gave her a r-word child, and her conservative family agreed that she was right to leave him and that nobody wanted to deal with a child like her

Thankfully due to the prenup her dad was able to keep his fortune, house and business, as well as custody of Mac

Unfortunately, the rest of Mac's family believed her mother's lies, and her father was inundated with calls berating him for cheating, most cutting off ties with him

It crushed Mac's dad to hear all of this, and when trying to tell the truth failed he resolved to keep moving forward

After all, he had a daughter to raise

He told her at every opportunity that her autism was not something to be ashamed of or hated, but it was just something that made her different

She didn't have to be proud of it or even like it, but she shouldn't beat herself up over it

Everyone had things that made them different, just like how all the My Little Ponies were all different, but that didn't make their differences bad

Our differences aren't good or bad, they just are, they're a part of life we have to recognize and accept

If she can find some matter of pride in it, then good on her, but she doesn't have to

Unfortunately, Mac had spend the first few years of her life learning from her mother that her autism was a curse, and those lessons were hard to forget, especially when she learned them at such a young age and at such a critical point in her development

He also met her friend, which until now he didn't know her name was also Heather

He found her to be a polite and courteous child, but most importantly she was a good friend to Mac, someone who cared for her almost as much as he did

He realized that she didn't have the best home life, and would often invite her over for playdates when he couldn't be home to watch over Mac

She was incredibly thankful for this, not only did she get to spend time with her best friend, but she also got to be away from her mother

Back to Mac, she really started to enjoy things

**Line break bc word count**

Her mother was gone, she had an amazing friend and dad who loved her, everything was perfect, everything was grand, she had the whole wide world in the palm of her hand

If you get that reference you're amazing

That was until she started first grade

Things changed, a lot

Everything was just so different, it was harder, the teachers were meaner, her whole routine changed

Chan-Chan was there to help, and she knew she could turn to her dad if she needed anything, but it didn't change the fact that her life had changed significantly

The worst part, however, was the other kids

They started to stay away from her and Chandler, refusing to sit at the same table as them, not letting them play with them at recess, asking the teacher if they could have a different partner during group work

She didn't understand why they did that, but it hurt her deeply

Chandler always stood up for her, telling the kids how mean they were being, but the bullying never stopped

Mac got into Pokemon around this time, and would play it on her 3DS a lot

She was absorbed into this fantastical world, but that came at the price of blocking everything else while she hyper-focused on it, including her only friend

Chandler was upset by this, her best friend was so focused on this stupid game that she didn't have time for her!

She tried to tell Mac to put the dumb game down and spend time with her, but Mac just kept playing, not really understanding why Chandler was getting so upset about it, which only made her stressed and upset, causing her to retreat even deeper into the game

After an incident which some bullies tried to take her 3DS, causing Chandler to retaliate physically against them and both of them subsequently get suspended, she came to talk to Mac, apologizing for the way she had been acting in regards to the whole Pokemon thing

Mac had been really upset since the whole thing went down, her dad was upset with her for bringing the 3DS to school when she knows she wasn't supposed to

She wasn't grounded or anything, just a gentle reminder that she needs to leave it at home, but it made her feel awful for upsetting her dad

She curled into a ball on her bed and just stared at the wall

Her dad, upon seeing the state Mac was in, called Chandler and asked her to come over to talk to her about the whole thing as she was really upset

Chandler lightly knocked and upon hearing no response she let herself in

She tried to apologize but before she could get a word in Mac quickly uncurled herself from her ball and started yelling, which took Chandler off guard as Mac almost never yelled

Mac said that she felt like an awful daughter and friend, and that the bullies were gonna bully them even more from now on

Chandler tried to interject but was quickly cut off by Mac, who continued on her tirade

She said that ever since she got into Pokemon she had been becoming more distant and upset and she didn't understand why and that she's so scared that she'll lose her as a friend and she doesn't want that she's been her best friend since forever and if she loses her she doesn't known what she'll do and-

Her words become unintelligible as she sinks onto the bed

Chandler rushes over and pulls her into a tight hug while she sobs her eyes out

They stayed like that for a good while until Mac, with Chandler's help, is able to calm down

Once that happens, Chandler begins to apologize, saying that she was upset that Mac was spending so much time on the game as it felt like she was ignoring her, but she was just being selfish because she didn't really understand it and didn't want to, but that would all change

She headed to her bag and picked out some Pokemon plushies she had secretly ordered online, before handing them to Mac, who looked awestruck

Chandler then said that she was done being selfish, and that she would watch and play and do whatever pokemon stuff Mac wanted to do

Mac readily accepted her apology and gifts, before grabbing her 3DS and beginning to explain everything about Pokemon to her

With the most serious challenge to their friendship behind them, they moved forward into their middle school years, which Mac considered to be the worst years of her life

For starters, the bullying got worse, more than it had ever been before

Her and Chandler could barely do anything without some comment or thing being thrown at them

Trips to the bathroom meant water being splashed at them

At gym the other girls would push past them or purposefully knock them over while they ran

And speaking of gym, the other girls constantly ridiculed her over her freckles, causing her to break out into tears almost every day

And as her body began puberty, it began to change rapidly, including the start of periods, which caused her to have a panic attack when she found out that she would essentially be bleeding and in pain for a week every month

She, being a very sensitive person, hard a hard time coping with these situations

Her dad tried his best, but he was wholly unprepared to deal with teenage girl problems, especially with ones about her time of the month

However, he always reminded her that no problem was too difficult to overcome, and that these problems didn't have to be fixed alone

She always had him, Chandler, and her therapist to turn too and ask questions or for help if she needed it

It was hard for Mac to internalize these lessons

From a very young age her mother had told her that she should just stay out of the way and deal with it on her own, things told to her simply so her mom could continue to sit on the couch and watch TV and not parent, but they were things Mac internalized, especially because she was so young and they came from a (supposedly) trusted source

As such, she was often reluctant to ask for help even if it was obvious she needed it

But, because she often did not know how to handle these situations, she found herself unable to do anything to improve the situation, leading to a meltdown or panic attack

Her dad recognized this pattern, and would often attend meetings with her and her therapist to explain it to the them and help them develop strategies for when she encounters a stressful situation

It is here that her dad also came to realize the extent of bullying that his daughter was facing, and he made attempts to contact the school to have something done

Unfortunately, his attempts were met with indifference, and his idea of pulling Mac out to a school more suited for her needs or even to the special education section of her school was rejected, as it would mean that Mac was separated from Chandler, something which she would not accept

Faced with a difficult situation, her dad and therapist struggled to come up with an effective response

Ignoring them seemed to have no effect, as did telling the teacher

Fighting back only got them in trouble while the bullies got off scot-free, and they couldn't just simply leave the school, as Mac wouldn't go without Chandler and Chandler's mom wouldn't even consider the idea of moving her daughter, calling her a wimp for letting herself be bullied and that she taught her better than that

Chandler eventually took it into her own hands

She pulled Mac aside one day and told her that she was gonna fix things, but she had to trust her

Mac trusted her with her whole heart, and so she agreed

If she knew what was coming, she would have steadfastly refused

Chandler began to draw attention to herself, making her the target

If bullies began to harass the two of them, she would do something to take the attention off of Mac, be that by making some sarcastic remark, retaliating against them, or by any means that she had at her disposal

The method worked, at least somewhat

**Line break bc word count limit**

The bullying against Mac slowed down significantly, but did not stop entirely, while the bullying against Chandler increased to previously unseen levels

Whenever confronted, Chandler told her that it was fine and that it took the attention off of her, right?

While that was true, it hurt Mac deeply to see that her best friend had to take the brunt of the force just because she couldn't handle it

She resolved to work on herself, she would do anything to make sure that Chandler didn't have to do it again

When the summer before high school began, she went to her therapist, explaining her dilemma

She applauded Mac for taking steps to ask for help, before telling her that maybe in her new school, she could have a fresh start with things, and let it be a chance to re-invent herself into someone who stands up to the bullies

She also mentioned that her twin sister, Pauline, worked at Westerberg High as an English teacher, and while she was a little weird, she would listen to her if she told her that she was being bullied

The next hang-out with Chandler, told her that she wouldn't stand by as she was bullied just because she wanted to protect her, and that they would do something about it, brining up a few of the things that her therapist told her, listing them off

Chandler stopped her when she mentioned re-inventing themselves, as she interjected that she had actually had the same idea, going into detail about her plan to make them not just no longer bullied, but popular

Mac was originally apprehensive about the idea

From her experience with popular kids, they were rude and mean and didn't care about other people, and Mac didn't want them to change

Chandler reassured her that it wouldn't happen, reminding her of her promise to never leave her

Still unsure but out of alternatives, she agreed to go along with Chandler's plan

They quickly came upon a issue with their plan when the topic of making connections came up

They pulled out their yearbook, and began going through everyone, seeing if anyone could help them

They didn't have to go far before Mac landed on the page with 'Heather Duke' on it

She was vaguely aware of her due to their shared name, but she did know that she was head of the yearbook, and that probably came with some contacts

Chandler added that she knew that Duke was lacking in the friends department, having ditched Martha Dumptruck a while back, and would probably be willing to help them out

Duke was then invited and accepted into their group

Mac was originally wary around Duke

It had been her and Chandler for so long, and now there was this other person

What if Chandler liked her better? What if they abandoned her? What if Duke made fun of her? What if what if what if what if....

These thoughts spiraled around her head, almost leading her into a panic attack

This happened at one of their first hangouts as a three-woman team, and unable to cope with the thoughts and unwilling to go to Chandler incase she thought Mac was weak or something for not being able to handle something as simple as having another friend, she made a quick excuse before heading into her bathroom and crying

Chandler made a comment under her breath, saying that she should've known that this would upset Mac and that she should've talked to her about it, a comment that Duke was not supposed to hear

Unfortunately for her, her comment was not as quiet as she thought, and Duke upon hearing it put 2 and 2 together about what upset Mac, and told Chandler that she would handle it

She tried to protest but Duke ignored her and just kept walking

Duke approached the bathroom door, hearing the muffled sobs coming from the other side, before knocking quietly and upon receiving no response, she slid down, back to the door

She told Mac that she understands that this is a difficult time for her, and they have a lot riding on this and as a part of that, things are changing

She also said that she understands that she is the outsider here, upending the status quo they had for a very long time, but also that she wasn't here to mess it up

The friendship between the three of them isn't replacing what was already there, but building upon it

Mac got the impression that Duke knows that she thinks that she's a threat to her and Chandler's friendship, and she starts to feel awful

She didn't mean to give that impression or even want to feel that way, she's just scared about the what ifs and all that

Realizing that she needs to fix this, she quickly swings open the door, which thankfully opens inwards, before pulling Duke into a big hug and sobbing into her shoulder

Duke was initially stunned, but quickly hugged back as Mac continued to cry

Once she finished crying, Mac profusely apologized, an apology which Duke readily accepted

Chandler watched from down the hallway, impressed at the way that Duke handled the situation

They studied and practiced the art of popularity, until eventually it was time for their first outing as The Heathers

They were going to some party at Remington University, and Mac wasn't exactly thrilled

Chandler had talked to them beforehand, telling both her and Duke to let her doing the talking, which didn't exactly reassure her

As soon as she entered her nostrils were assaulted by the smell of weed, vomit, and plain old BO

Mac wanted to bolt out of there as quickly as she could, but she remembered what they practiced and tried to ignore it to the best of her ability

Eyes turned to the group, and Mac wanted to melt under the pressure, but she forced herself to stand strong and keep looking forward as they made their way towards who Mac assumed was David

He started flirting with Chandler, which besides the fact that he was definitely way older than her also made her feel enraged

She didn't understand why, but seeing David flirt with her made her want to punch holes in things

Chandler eventually left with David, but not before whispering something Mac couldn't hear in Duke's ear

Duke stood by her side the entire night, not leaving her once

It reminded her a lot of Chandler in their younger years, keeping a lookout for any shady characters and steering her clear of any bad situations

She had her first bit of alcohol at the party, some beer in a red solo cup

She gagged at the taste, but remembering why they were here she quickly downed it

Thankfully Duke led her to some tastier drinks, of which she had several

The party passed by in a blur

She remembers talking to several people but she couldn't remember their faces, names or even what she said to them

She thinks she did a good job because she remembers them laughing along with her instead of at her, which is always a good sign

But what she remembers vividly is seeing Chandler come out of a back room with David looking terrible

Mac wanted to say something but Chandler gave her a look, and being friends for so long let her know that the look meant to keep quiet, which she did

Chandler never spoke of what happened that night, no matter how much Mac asked

Then the first day of high school arrived and Mac was understandably nervous

Sure things had gone well at Remington, but now it was the real deal, the final test to see if their efforts paid off

Waiting in Chandler's brand new Porsche (she had insisted that they couldn't ride the bus, that was for losers) she was chewing on her nails out of sheer nervousness

Chandler reassured her that nothing would go wrong, they worked so hard for this and now they were going to see the fruits of their labor

With much apprehension she stepped out of the car and almost immediately all eyes turned to the three of them

**Line break bc word count limit**

Just like during the Remington party Mac wanted to run back to the car, but instead she took a deep breath and kept her head held high

Her heart was beating hard in her chest as she walked into the building and even more eyes turned to her

But surprisingly, it worked

She saw her former bullies trip over each other in a failed attempt to get out of their way

People she had never seen before looked in the opposite direction wherever she looked, desperate to not make eye contact and risk their wrath

Even boys double her height who could easily push her out of the way parted as she and the other Heathers strutted down the hall

It was weird, not a bad weird, but still weird

She could not remember a time in recent memory that she went an hour without something happening to her, and now she's went almost a whole day without so much as a dirty look thrown her way

At lunch, Chandler pulled out a sign-up sheet and handed it to Mac

It was for cheerleading, and when she looked at Chandler with a confused look she explained she wanted Mac to try out

Duke had her influence over the nerds in yearbook and she was the leader who everyone feared, but she needed Mac to venture into arguably the most important sector of students, the popular kids

They had succeeded in establishing themselves as part of the upper crust, but to be at the top they had to be an inescapable force, no matter where in the school one went

And with Duke handling the nerds and Chandler having the general population, all that was left were the popular kids, and the majority of them were either cheerleaders or in some sport

That's where Mac came in

Having a Heather planted there allows her to keep an ear out for any negative attention being thrown their way, and if she notices it it'll be her job to dispel it, as well as being an ever-present reminder that the Heathers are always watching

Duke made a comment about someone called Big Brother, which Chandler ignored

Like most things, Mac was unsure about it, but today had been perfect, and she would do anything to make sure it stays that way

She quickly filled out the form and dropped it off on the way to her next class

As the day ended and they headed to Chandler's car, Mac realized with a start that this had been her first day of school in years where she didn't have a meltdown or panic attack, and realized that all of this work had been worth it

As the days went on Mac quickly became used to her routine as a Heather

Duke fed them gossip, they debated on wether to and how to intervene, and if they needed to Mac would make a comment at cheer practice, which would spread like wildfire amongst the popular sector of students

With her reputation she was able to easily join the cheerleading team despite her lack of experience

She quickly learned how to cheer, however, her naturally flexible and slim body working wonders to aid her in her pursuits, and she climbed the ranks of the squad fast

The coach told her that she was on track to becoming head cheerleader by sophomore year

Mac was overjoyed, as for the first time in her life something came to her easily

School was tough for her, especially math, and she could rarely concentrate long enough to get all of the information

Her and Chandler spent many a hour reviewing the information in a desperate attempt to get Mac to understand, but it never went as well as Mac had hoped, and Mac rarely got above a C

But now nerds did all their work for them, leaving Mac with plenty of time to focus on other things, like cheer, Chandler, keeping up with the latest gossip, Chandler's really kissable face, making sure they stayed at the top of the food chain, Chandler's sexy body, practicing her cheer routines, Chandler's really big bre-

Wait, where did that come from?

With all of the free time on her hands, Mac started to notice her thoughts turning to Chandler, and not in just a friendly way

Whenever she was with her, which was often, her eyes always trailed to ... certain parts of her body, and she found herself unable to look away, even after Chandler called her name several times

She had no idea what these thoughts meant or why she was having them, and knowing she couldn't talk to Chandler about this, she turned to the only other person she could

As she finished explaining her troubles to Duke, Duke took a deep breath and said in a very matter-of-fact voice "You're in love with her"

Mac choked on air as soon as the words escaped Duke's lips

She quickly reasoned that of course she loved Chandler, they had been friends for years, it was only natural to love your friends, they were kinda like your family

Duke, knowing where Mac's thoughts were going interjected saying that she loved her not in the friendly way but in the gay way

Mac immediately insisted that she wasn't gay, to which Duke questioned if she had ever felt an attraction like this to any guy, to which Mac hadn't

Once the realization hit that she was in fact gay, she immediately started panicking because holy shit she was in love with her best friend and what the hell is she gonna do about it holy shitttttttttttt!

Duke helped calm her down, before encouraging her to ask Chandler out, because lord knows she won't do it herself

She's confused, before Duke sighs in exasperation and explains that Chandler is gay for her too

Mac had a similar reaction to when Duke told her that she was gay

She quickly explained that it was obvious to anyone who spent more than 5 minutes around the two of them that there was romantic tension between the two of them just waiting to be broken, but they were both just so fucking oblivious to it

She added that she was glad that she came to her first because she was tired of waiting for them to realize it themselves

Mac made a rather bad excuse before darting out of the room

She reasoned that Chandler couldn't be in love with her, she flirted with boys all the time

And if she did love girls she wouldn't want to be with her, she's this stupid little autistic girl who can't do many things without guidance and cries really easy and can't handle routine changes without having a meltdown and.....

Yeah, there was no way Chandler was in love with her

....Just to be sure, the next day she would pay close attention to how she acted around her, juuuuust to be sure

Lo and behold, the next day came and she started observing Chandler's behavior

Things that had been so commonplace that Mac ignored them became obvious indicators that Chandler was in love with her

For starters, Chandler always stood beside her, like physically standing next to her at all times

She also realized that whenever they had a moment alone, Chandler would unconsciously grab her hand

She didn't think that 'just friends' held hands when they were alone

But the biggest indicator was during gym, when they had to put on their uniforms

After tearing her eyes away from Chandler's body, she quickly realized that Chandler was oogling her

It seemed to be unconsciously, as when Mac called her name Chandler jumped in surprise, seemingly unaware of what she was doing

Ok so Chan-Chan was into her, that was definitely the case, so Mac supposed that she had to ask her out

She spent hours scrolling through Instagram, then Twitter, then Tumblr in search of cute ways to ask out your crush

None of them really tickled her fancy, however

They were all fancy and elaborate, and while they were cute and thoughtful that's not the kind of relationship her and Chandler had

They were best friends before anything else, and Mac thought it best just to keep it simple

She eventually decided on just asking her

She brought up the idea of having a sleepover at her place one day at lunch

**Line break bc word count limit**

This wasn't anything out of the ordinary, they had sleepovers all the time

Having texted her about it beforehand, Duke knew to make up an excuse for why she couldn't attend, that way it would be just her and Chandler

The rest of the day passed by at a snail's pace, every ticking of the clock sending shivers down Mac's spine, knowing what was coming up and how it could all go wrong

She was unable to pay attention in class, her thoughts consumed with what ifs about this going all wrong

And before she knew it, she was at home, with only a few hours to prepare before the sleepover

Her dad just happened to be home early that day, and upon seeing his daughter enter he came over to greet her, only to see a look of sheer terror on her face

He quickly asked what was wrong, before Mac ran into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably

He quickly moved them over to the couch, holding her while she bawled

Eventually she was able to calm down and explain with a shaky voice why she was so terrified

He quickly reassured her that he would love her no matter who she chose to date, but also that she had nothing to worry about

Chandler loved her more than anything in this world, there was no way that she said no

He also added that he's been waiting for them to start dating, it was kinda obvious that they liked each other

In a exasperated tone Mac said "Daddddddd" before he left her to start setting up for the sleepover

The setup was nothing spectacular, just a normal sleepover as to not alert her to something being different

There were the bowls of snacks, popcorn, candy, and as she put the blankets on the couch she realized that they always snuggled when they watched movies at their sleepovers

God they were oblivious

Chandler eventually arrived and Mac's nervousness reemerged but she quickly banished it, knowing that for this to work she needed to keep up the facade that everything was normal

They quickly made their way to the living room where everything was set up, and headed to their respective spots on the couch

The fire inside Mac burned brighter as they started to snuggle, the skin-on-skin contact only adding more fuel to the flame

Mac had decided on Frozen, a movie that they both loved as kids

Normally she got deeply engrossed in the movie, but today she just couldn't, her full attention set on the feeling of Chandler's body laying against her's

As the climax approached Mac became even more nervous, culminating in her grabbing the remote and pausing the movie as soon as Anna punched Hans off the boat

Chandler gave her a confused look as Mac took a deep breath and looked Chandler in the eyes, explaining that she loved her

When Chandler looked confused she quickly added that she loved her in the gay way and she wanted them to be girlfriends, before launching into a tirade about how amazing she was and all that she did for her and-

Chandler smashed her lips onto her's as they flopped backwards onto the couch, Chandler laying atop Mac as they continuously made out

As all good things do their make out session came to an end, and as Chandler grabbed the remote and unpaused the movie, before turning to Mac and saying that 'oh by the way, my answer is yes'

Before they went to bed that night (sleeping next to each other in the same bed, god how did they not realize they were gay before this) Chandler had to have a serious talk with her, explaining that they couldn't be out openly for obvious reasons, to which Mac was a little disappointed but she understood the necessity

Things stayed the same for the majority of the next three years

Her and Chandler had date nights whenever they could escape their popularity

In sophomore year as coach had promised she became Head Cheerleader, brining newfound influence to The Heathers, giving her much more sway over the football players who only wanted her for her status and body

Her body became a lot more muscular as a result of all the training she had to do, which Chandler often reminded her that she found it sexy as hell

The status quo didn't really changed until Duke's 17th Birthday party

She was sitting on her couch, rather tipsy

Chandler was god-knows-where, and so she was laying around with a few members of her cheer squad, and while she was drunkenly looking around the room she laid her eyes on a red blob moving around the crowd

At first she thought it was Chandler, but after closer inspection she realized that it was Duke, in the red dress Chandler had gotten her

Over the past few years Duke had gotten more withdrawn, choosing to stay by herself instead of joining her and Chandler, and spending much of her time with them with her nose stuck in a book, but this Duke was the exact opposite

She was the life of the party, going from group to group where her arrival was always met with cheers and laughter

Seeing Duke so happy made her feel happy, excited that her friend was finally letting lose

Duke passed where Mac was sitting on the way to another group, and as she passed, still laughing, Mac got a really good look at her

She had really dolled herself up, getting her hair and makeup done professionally, and combined with the smile that seemed to be etched into her face she looked beautiful, not to mention the dress that hugged her figure so good.....

Mac felt her cheeks burning up and a familiar feeling enveloped her

She shot up, immediately recognizing this feeling

She made an excuse that she had to vomit before running into the nearest bathroom

She nearly did vomit from the realization, but managed to keep it down by focusing on the cold, hard floor beneath her

Unfortunately, it did nothing to stop the oncoming panic attack

Thoughts shot around her mind over what an awful person she was, how Chandler would hate her if she ever found out, how-

Someone stumbled into the bathroom, scaring the hell out of Mac, who thought it was some drunk weirdo

It was a drunk weirdo who came in, but it was her drunk weirdo so it was alright

Chandler stumbled her way onto the floor, laying her head in Mac's lap and she stroked her hair

Drunkenly, Chandler starts ranting about how hot Duke was in that dress but then quickly lowers her voice, talking about how sweet she can be when she wants to and how fun she is and how she misses the old Duke and

She goes on and on for like 30 minutes before she eventually passes out

This conversation made Mac realize that she might not be the only one who has a crush on Duke

The next day both her and Chandler are at Mac's place sobering up when Mac brings up the conversation in the bathroom

Chandler blushes bright red and refuses to talk about it, literally running out of the room

Chandler eventually comes back and that's when she pulls out the secret weapon

Over the years Mac has realized that if nothing else, there is one thing going in her favor

She is incredibly cute, a fact that Chandler often reminds her of, and with that power comes the ability to do a puppy dog face to get what she wants

When Chandler sees it, all of her resistance crumbles immediately and she admits that she may have a teeny tiny crush on Duke

Before she can say a word in her defense Mac starts laughing

As Chandler gives her a confused look, Mac explains that she also has a crush on Duke, she was actually in the bathroom last night panicking about it before she came in

The real question now is, what do they do about it?

With a quick google search they learn about this thing called polyamory and after a quick discussion they both agree that they would be ok with a relationship like that

All that's left is to ask Duke

They do question if Duke is into them or even into girls, but they both have a hunch that she is

**Line break bc word count limit**

The next Friday they hold another sleepover

Mac decides she's gonna ask Duke like she did Chandler/Chandler did to her, just play it normal and wait for the moment to kiss her

After all, if it aint broke don't fix it

The sleepover goes as normal, they watch some Youtube, gossip about the morons at Westerberg, listen to some music

Eventually Mac feels that the time was right, before leaning over and giving Duke a big ol' smooch on her lips

Duke, clearly on autopilot, starts kissing back, before she comes to her senses and jolts away from Mac, a look of terror across her face

Instead of the anger she suspects, she sees a giggling Mac and a smirking Chandler, and she quickly demands an explanation

They quickly explain that they're into her and would like to have a 3-way relationship with her

Duke looks very unsure, and asks for a moment to think about it

They give it to her, only to hear her scream "YES, YES, YES, HELL FUCKING YES LETS FUCKING GOOO" and watch her rush back into the room, before giving the both of them a huge kiss

Things become amazing with Duke

Mac, who had always had trouble sleeping, finally starts to get regular good sleep when she sleeps between her two gfs

School becomes bearable, because even if they can't show it, she gets to spend all day with them on top of no one bothering them

Duke is also a fun person to be around, after joining their relationship she seems to have come out of her shell a lot and Mac comes to love all the silly pranks she pulls on Chandler or how determined she gets to win a game

And simply, Mac has a lot of love in her heart, and she wants to share it all

The rest of Junior year passes, and before she knows it its the first day of Senior Year

They're in the bathroom, just fixing up their makeup, when Fleming comes in

She doesn't know how her kind, caring therapist is related to this hippie, but they are and they have to deal with her

She tries to give them detention but before they can threaten her a girl dressed in a really ugly scarf comes out of a stall and hands her a note

(can you tell who my favorite Heather is?)

Heather Duke

TW: Extreme Child Abuse/Eating Disorders (Bulimia)/Bullying/Self-Depreciation/Ableism/Co-Dependency

I'm so sorry I'm doing this to you Duke

Duke was born on March 17th, 200X

Her parents were second-generation immigrants from South Korea, with their parents moving to America to escape the military dictatorship of Park Chung Hee

Her maternal grandparents initially settled in California before moving farther east, first to Denver, then Chicago, before heading to Ohio

Her paternal grandparents followed a similar path, from Phoenix to St. Louis before also settling in Ohio

Being the only some of the only Asians around, the families quickly became close

They opened up a Korean Restaurant in Columbus, which after many years exploded in popularity and grew profitable as the only, and best, authentic Korean cuisine in the central Ohio area

The road to success had not been easy for her grandparents, having to work long hours in odd jobs just to keep their families fed

With that popularity came profit, and soon the families were richer than their wildest dreams

They eventually adopted the last name Duke, after old European nobility, as a way to better blend in to their lives in America

All of their children worked in the restaurant as soon as the law would allow, working long hours to ensure it ran smoothly

As one family's eldest daughter and the other's eldest son came of age, they were married and pressured into having children, and many of them

With the money from the restaurant, they were able to purchase a large house in a wealthy neighborhood in a town about an hour away

Before Duke there was her 2 year older sister Helen and 1 year older brother Henry, with Duke being the final child her parents would have

Her parents chose all names that started with H, as well as American names, afraid of mistreatment if their heritage was too obvious

Immense pressure to succeed was placed on all three children, similar to how their parents had similar pressure placed on them by their parents

Success was not only expected, but demanded, and failure would not be tolerated

Duke found herself quickly falling behind her siblings, not only due to the age gap but also due to her lack of ability

While her siblings were reading fluently in both English and Korean by 5, Duke struggled to read basic sentences in either language at the same age

She had to attend special classes to help her catch up, something that her parents were greatly ashamed of, a fact which they never failed to mention to her

She was constantly compared to her siblings, told that she was dumb for failing to do anything right, and given harsh punishments if she failed to accomplish whatever task her parents set for her

She was often hit, her things taken, destroyed, or thrown away, denied food or water, forced to sleep on the floor, among many other disgusting things

A deep resentment arose between Duke and the rest of her family, as the other children were treated well as academics came to them easily, while Duke struggled under the weight of the expectations placed on her

Duke was placed in daycare as soon as she was old enough to, her parents hoping that her struggling in front of the other children would humiliate her into doing better

While playing, waiting for the teacher, a girl came up to her

She had big pink glasses and a unicorn sweater, introduced herself as Martha, and asked if she could play with her

Duke was taken aback by it, someone wanted to play with her?

The two quickly became friends, playing with the My Little Pony toys until the teacher gave them their assigned seats

Duke was disappointed to learn that she would not be sitting with Martha, and instead with two other girls named Heather

The other two girls paid her no mind, and Duke reciprocated in return, choosing to stare longingly at Martha across the room

Eventually they were freed from their tables and allowed to go out and play, and Duke and Martha were reunited

They talked while they played, and Duke was surprised to hear about how Martha's home life was

Her parents told her to do her best and have fun, they seemed to never yell at her or be disappointed in her, and they often told her that they loved her

Duke realized with a start that she had never once been told by her parents that they loved her, and the pit of resentment she held for them only grew deeper

Martha asked if she wanted to tell the teacher about her parents, but Duke refused, seeing it as a sign of weakness

Martha tried convincing her otherwise, but Duke wouldn't budge so she eventually dropped it

The next few years passed by with things staying mostly the same

Duke continued to struggle, continuing with remedial classes as she entered formal schooling

Her parents became increasingly angry as Duke failed to grasp what, in their opinion, were simple concepts, and as a result their punishments became more severe

Additionally, her siblings received awards and honor roll, and Duke was forced to attend these ceremonies, with her family spending most of the events criticizing her and asking why she wasn't getting an award

Her siblings also became extremely arrogant, joining in on the harsh treatment of Duke

In 2nd Grade, at her teacher's insistence, Duke was tested and it was discovered that she had dyslexia and ADHD

Her parents did not pay these diagnoses any mind, asking why she couldn't simply 'get over it'

Her grades did slightly improve as the school offered some accommodations, but to her parents anything less than an A was unacceptable, and so her treatment remained largely unchanged

Her and Martha continued to spend time together, with Duke spending many an afternoon at her house

It was a major shock when Martha's parents treated her with kindness, like she was their own daughter, and internally she became jealous of Martha

Why did she get stuck with terrible parents who hated her, who couldn't see that she was trying her best?

She later stopped going to Martha's, too jealous of the life she was able to live

Elementary turned to middle, and Duke became a target for the bullies

Duke was an easy target, she struggled in class, often being so frustrated that she was moved to tears, she never fought back (unbeknownst to the bullies, Duke couldn't fight back, unless she wanted to face even more punishment from her parents) and she hung out with Martha Dumptruck, literally the least popular person at Westerberg Middle besides Heather McNamara

Even worse, she started puberty, and her body began changing

Like everything else, her parents began criticizing her body, saying that she was too fat and needed to eat less, lest she never find a husband, criticism that was not given to her older sister, whose beauty her parents constantly praised

She found herself unable to shake the words her parents shouted at her, noticing herself comparing her body to the other girls in the locker room during Phys Ed

Things became worse by the day

Her parents were relentless in their attacks, yelling from the moment she came home to the moment she left, or at least it seemed

The bullies' assault was relentless, never failing to knock her lunchtray down or shove papers off her desk

And even worse, they had started making comments that she was even fatter than Dumptruck

Martha had always been a rather pudgy girl, and obviously Duke was no where near her size, but she began to see herself thaat way

Martha tried her best, telling her that she wasn't fat and that she was already skin and bones, but Duke refused to believe her

She stayed by her side, always listening when Duke needed to vent about her parents or school or whatever, and although she never knew exactly what to say she always tried her best to comfort Duke

**Line break bc word count limit**

She eventually made up her mind to tell someone at school about Duke's living conditions, going behind her back to do so, but the staff gave her an empty promise of doing something about it

They never did

In 8th Grade things reached a breaking point

Nothing in particular caused this breakdown, everything just came to be too much one day

Duke reevaluated her life, realizing that if she was to survive until she turned 18 and could get the hell outta dodge, she had to play her parent's game

She turned to the internet, spending hours searching for how to be skinny quick

I'm not going into great detail about her ED, but to summarize she found bulimia and all that entails and began to do it

She also knew that her academics had to improve

She would spend hours reading her textbooks over and over again, even when the words swam across the room and her attention was fleeting, she just had to get this information down, she couldn't stand another fucking punishment from her parents

She began to spend every free moment studying, practicing, working, neglecting everything else, even Martha

Eventually she even began to see Martha as a distraction, but being too afraid to dump her outright, she just started to ignore her

Any conversation attempt was met with silence, invitations ignored, it was like Martha was talking to a brick wall

Eventually it resulted in a large outburst from Martha, questioning what she did wrong, why was she acting like this, only to be met with silence

Internally Duke was screaming for Martha to just leave, but she was too frozen to be able to do anything

A smaller, quieter voice questioned if what they were doing was right, but it was ignored and pushed away

Eventually Martha broke down in tears and ran from Duke

People didn't exactly like Martha, but even people who bullied her agreed that what Duke did was cold, and the bullying against her ramped up to a 10

Duke didn't care, she was too focused on studying and making sure she kept her weight down to notice

She also joined the yearbook club, as her siblings were apart of many clubs and sports, so Duke tried to join some as well

Yearbook was the only one still accepting members, so she went with what she had

It was filled with entirely losers who couldn't care less about it, but Duke quickly whipped them into shape, and by the end of the year they had a beautiful yearbook, with the club sponsor sending a note about her to the sponsor for the club at Westerberg High

By the end of the year her grades had improved substantially, but not high enough for her parents standards

Her final report card was met with only a minor comment that she was improving, but that this was still garbage compared to Helen and Henry

Her summer saw her secluded in her room, surrounded by books

She began to follow a cycle

Wake up, study, eat, purge, study, eat, purge, eat, eat, purge, purge, purge, pur-

Her phone buzzed

This was extremely unusual

Sure she had social media accounts, but on account of her unpopularity nobody bothered to message her, other than to send her some depraved message

Still, something felt different about this, so she headed over, only to see a message from an H. Chandler, asking her to come over, as she had a proposition for her

She initially dismissed it, but curiosity won her over and she asked 'what kind of proposition?'

When Chandler responded 'we're gonna be popular' she almost laughed

She knew Chandler, who didn't

That girl had Martha-yelling-at-her level freakouts on the daily, and she had that weird autistic girl hanging on her at all times

The three of them are literally at the bottom of the totem pole, there was no physical way for them to become popular

Text Chat Between H. Chandler and H. Duke

Sure, and then we'll go discover the cure for cancer

I'm being serious

Uh-uh sure you are. Look, I got shit to do, I don't have time to waste on some stupid shit.

I need you, look you're in the yearbook club right? You have connections, you know people, and those people know people, and they can help us be popular

Even if I did, how do you think just knowing people will help us be popular

The popular people go to these parties at Remington University, all you gotta do is get you, me and Heather McNamara an invite and our popularity is good as gold

What? And what do you mean our?

Obviously you're gonna be a part of this, if you help us you get a spot right at the top, floating above all the bullshit. I know you're bullied a lot, don't you want that to be gone? All you have to do is make people think you're popular, and that perception of popularity translates into actual popularity, its all about how popular people think you are. And people think you're popular if you go to exclusive parties on college campuses, look good, and have other people spread word of how popular you are.

I'm listening

We go to the party, flirt around with a couple of guys, I've heard they're all creeps and pervs, they'll do anything for attention from a pretty girl. We get all dolled up, go, talk to a few guys, they tell their friends about how cool we are, that gets passed down the gossip train until everyone at Westerberg knows who we are and how cool we are, and by the first day we're top of the school

If, and its a big if, I do this, how do we know it'll work?

Hey, things can't get any worse than they are right now, if it fails, at least you get some friends outta it, so you're walking away with something regardless

Duke hesitated, fingers hovering over the keypad

She wrote Yes, then quickly deleted it and wrote no, before deleting it and writing yes again

For 5 agonizing minutes she deliberated over what she should do

She's taking a big risk here, this could all fall flat on their faces

But, like Chandler said, she has nothing to lose if things go wrong, so she quickly typed "I'm in" before hitting send

As the group, christened the Heathers for obvious reasons, began to plan for the debut as popular people, Duke really came to like her new friends

Chandler, despite her rather abrasive exterior, is a caring person who did everything she's done just to protect Mac, and Duke really respects that

Of course, there's the voice in the back of her head again, telling her she should've done everything Chandler has done with Martha, but she pushes it away once again

And Mac is a sweetheart, super friendly, like a golden retriever or a little rabbit, and she's been nothing but welcoming to Duke once she got over the initial awkwardness of having a new friend

The day before the party, they all try on their outfits and practice their makeup

Duke makes a comment about how this outfit really hides her fat, and when she's met with silence she turns to look at her friends

Chandler has a concerned look, but a peek at her eyes shows that she's picked up what's going on

Of course she has, a different, meaner voice tells her, who wouldn't notice her barely eating and going to the bathroom seemingly every hour, but like all the others Duke pushes it to the side

Mac, on the other hand, has tears in her eyes, looking at Duke with a sad look before running over to her and pulling her into a tight hug, telling her that's she's beautiful and shouldn't talk about herself like that

She feels.... cared for. Loved, even.

For the first time in her life she has people that love her for who she is, not what they expect from her

And that's when she feels something, a warm, pulsing feeling in her chest and she blushes hard at the contact

She lies in bed for hours, tossing and turning over what it means, before realizing what it is

Its love

Duke had heard of girls loving girls before, mostly from her parents questioning if she did, because clearly with those looks she won't be attracting any men

Realizing that she wasn't getting any sleep anyway, she heads online and scrolls through page after page, eventually discovering that her experiences weren't unique, and that there was a whole group of people like her called lesbians, a group that all supported each other and reminded each other that their feelings were valid

She comes to two more, rather upsetting realizations that night

1.) Chandler and Mac are also lesbians, it is so obvious to anyone who pays attention for more than 5 minutes

2.) They're gay for each other, and would choose each other over her every time

That realization hits her like a train

Of course, the two people she falls in love with are in love with each other, and probably have been for years

With how oblivious they are she could probably get with one of them without them realizing their feelings for the other, but she decides against that

She would be just an awful person to break them apart, and they were in love with each other first, its only fair that they get first dibs

The thought makes Duke bitter, but she resigns herself to her fate

Its because of these feelings that she looks forward to their first Remington Party

Free Booze is free booze after all

Heading into the party is like stepping into a different dimension

For once, heading into a room full of people doesn't mean resigning herself to whatever torment people have planned for her, no now she has heads turning for other reasons

After they are introduced to the host David, who Duke finds to be rather creepy, everyone treats them like they've been friends for years, despite never meeting before today

They head straight to the drink table, where Duke grabs the nearest solo cup and starts chugging, and as the effects of the alcohol kick in she feels her worries melt away

She vaguely notices Chandler begin to walk away from them with David, but sobers up when she hears what she whispers to her

"Look after Mac, don't let her go anywhere with anyone, especially men"

The reality of the situation sets in for her, and she quickly puts down her cup

She realizes that most of these men, despite them being minors, want to have sex with them, and that's why most of them are being so nice to them

She also realizes why Chandler went into the back room with David

She spends the entire night watching Mac like a hawk, making sure no one puts anything in her drink, keeping her away from any sleazy guys, and putting a stop to her drinking once she becomes too intoxicated

Eventually Chandler returns and they make their exit

They head to Mac's place to spend the night, and as they get her settled in Duke pulls Chandler to the side, demanding an explanation

Chandler, for the first time Duke had ever seen, breaks down into tears, and Duke holds her while she bawls into her shoulder

It continues for a good long while before Chandler is able to gain her composure and explain between sobs what she had to do with David

Duke is horrified and suggests calling the police or even murder, but Chandler stops her, telling her that David is the key to their popularity

He has influence over the college students, telling others how cool the Heathers were, which they then pass down to the high schoolers, creating a sort of mystical aura around them, because everyone will think 'wow look at the Heathers, they hang around in college parties, they're so cool and we don't want to mess with them'

But what David giveth David can taketh away, and if she doesn't do what he wants then their popularity goes bye bye

Duke tries to tell her that it's not worth it, but Chandler tells her to shut up, and that she will do anything to keep the three of them safe from bullying, and if this is the price she has to pay, then so be it

She also begs her not to tell Mac, and that it'll break her heart

Duke is unconvinced but eventually gives in and agrees to not tell Mac

She also decides that if she ever sees David in a back alley on a dark night, well, you can imagine what will happen

Their first day of freshmen year arrives quicker than she expected, and Duke is excited

She is ready to not be a loser anymore, to walk strong in the halls and not let things bother her

They enter the building as a pack, in synchronized motions as they strut to their lockers, all other students parting for them

Duke quickly gets a hang of her role in their clique

She, through the students in the yearbook, which she became the head of only a few weeks into the school year, will get the latest gossip

She passes on this information to Chandler, and they decide what needs to be done, and if it involves her, she will carry out whatever Chandler needs her to do

Its simple, yet effective

They quickly become infamous for their unforgiving judgement of those they deem unworthy, and the few people that remember how they were in middle school and try to harass them quickly back off

Because of her status, the nerds do her homework, and her grades skyrocket

Her parents quickly took notice, and started to treat her better

Gone were the hours of yelling and lectures and beatings, now she was praised like her siblings, and with that she finally understood her parents for who they were

They didn't care about her, they only cared about how she reflected on them

**Line break bc word count limit**

And while it was nice to not be punished every time she so much as breathed, she hated how it took so little for their attitudes to shift so dramatically

She once again resolved to leave at 18, getting the hell outta Sherwood, maybe going to California or Seattle or somewhere far away

Things were going great, until one day she saw Mac and Chandler holding hands at the lunch table

She quickly put two and two together, congratulating them on their relationship

They both started blushing and trying to deny it, but Duke only laughed and told them that they were so obvious

Internally, Duke felt like absolute shit

Sure, she knew this would happen eventually, but being reminded that the two girls she loved would never love her back, and even worse they loved each other, hurt

She quickly excused herself before heading into their bathroom and vomiting her guts out

She felt so ugly, so unworthy of love, so... fat

Again, going into little detail here, she started exercising way more, eating even less and vomiting even more

Chandler and Mac noticed and tried to talk to her about it, but Duke gave some meaningless words about how she was working on it

And so her high school life continued

She would eat, purge, collect gossip, respond to gossip, run, eat, purge, run, eat, purge, and so on

She did everything she could to hide her purging from the other two

It wasn't really necessary, they both knew, but Duke saw it as a weakness and she didn't want them to think she was weak

One day, the pattern that had been routine over the past few years came to a screeching halt

It was her 17th birthday party

Her parents were mercifully out of town, as her sister Helen was getting married, so they were able to use her house to throw a party

Chandler had gifted her this red dress which was absolutely gorgeous

When they had decided colors for their outfits she had wanted red, as it was her favorite color, but Chandler had already claimed red so she was forced to settle on green

But she had told Duke that it was her special day, so she deserved to wear red

Unlike the other parties Chandler was looking after Mac, leaving her free to drink as much as she pleased

Alcohol freed her in a way, melting down the walls of stress and hate that she constructed around her heart

She, for the few blissful hours that the alcohol worked its way through her bloodstream, forgot about her parents, her crushes, her bulimia, and let everything and anything fall to the wayside as she lived in the moment

She went around, talking to everyone and anyone, not caring to uphold the facade of popularity, just enjoying the deafening music and the sights of her drunken classmates

She went over to Mac to see how she was doing and she looked a little off, but Duke brushed it off as the alcohol

She would later come to find out that she was incredibly mistaken

Later while she was heading up stairs she ran into Chandler, who had the same strange look on her face

Upon seeing her Chandler seemed panicked, before rushing into the nearest bathroom

Duke shrugged it off as her needing to vomit, its not like she has much room to talk there

The party eventually ended and everyone went home, but she couldn't get her mind off of the weird looks on her friend's faces

She brought it up at lunch the next day, asking if they had drank something weird, to which Chandler blurted out in an unusually loud tone that yeah, they had drank something weird, right Mac?

Mac jolted before quickly agreeing with her

Now Duke considers herself to be pretty smart and she knows they're lying out of their asses, but about what exactly?

Was something going on between them? She knows they're dating so maybe they had a fight? Or, what if they were planning on kicking her out of the Heathers? Or, maybe she's just seeing things that aren't there

Or, maybe, as a small voice in her heads tells her, maybe they have a crush on her?

It would line up, both of them have been blushing a lot and only around her and usually whenever she says something, and Chandler has been unable to keep up the stone-cold facade she usually wears while they're at school, and being around her crush would probably do that to her

She immediately rushes to the bathroom before vomiting up what little she was able to eat during the lunch period

ThEy HaVe A cRuSh oN hEr yeah right, why would anyone want to date her?

All she is, is an ugly, fat, worthless, disgusting person, and any delusions that she's worthy of love is just wishful thinking

The next week is one of the worst of her entire life, and that's saying something

She does her best to avoid the other Heathers, spending much of her time in the back corner of the library, just trying to block out all of the voices in her head

The other two notice and try to look for her, but she just avoids them, not wanting to confront the reality that they don't like her and only keep her around for her connections

She cries herself to sleep each night, not getting a wink of rest

It gets even worse when on Friday Chandler "invites" her to a sleepover

Invites in quotations because there is no choice, she has to go, it is not an option

She prepares herself for what could possibly be the worst day of her life, taking a deep breath before knocking on the door to Mac's mansion

It looks like a normal sleepover, and starts like one too

They watch some youtube, gossip, the usual

She notices both Chandler and Mac are a little fidgety, obviously waiting for something

She knows what it is, they're gonna tell her that she's out of the Heathers, they only set this up to give her the news easily, she's such a stupid, worthless pig who can't even-

Mac leans over before giving her a deep kiss

Duke, on autopilot, immediately starts kissing back, before her brain wakes up and realizes that SHE IS KISSING HEATHER MCNAMARA HOLY SHIT and quickly kicks away from her to the opposite side of the couch, on the verge of a panic attack

She vaguely hears Chandler say 'goddamnit Mac you weren't supposed to just kiss her like that' before they both slowly make their way over to where Duke lays

She shrinks into the couch, trying to bury her head in a pillow before they try and convince her to just talk to them

She adamantly refuses, preferring to just melt into the couch

The other two decide to just fuck up before pulling her up and forcing her to look at them

Duke immediately bursts into tears, apologizing profusely and saying that she understands if they hate her and that she'll leave and-

This time Chandler is the one to give her a big ol smooch, shutting her right up

Now Duke is super confused, to which they say they owe her an explanation

They tell her the story of what happened at the party, ending with their discussion of their feelings and decision to try and ask her out

Chandler explained that they were going to wait to bring it up more naturally, but someone got tired of waiting and just had to make a move

Duke is stunned

She cannot believe that they actually like her and want to do a three-way relationship with her, it just refuses to register in her mind

The voices in her head are screaming at each other, one saying that this is exactly what she wanted, the others screaming that she would disgust them by showing them the real her, or that this was all a trick

Duke is tired of it all and says fuck it before pulling them both into a tight hug and giving them a kiss, giving her answer

Things become fucking amazing

She finally knows what it feels like to be loved, and its an intoxicating feeling

She wants to be around them constantly, wanting their touch, their love, them

**Line break bc word count limit**

At the start Chandler and Mac are happy to indulge their gfs desires

They can see that she hasn't had the best life, and this is her first relationship and she's just getting used to the feeling

And, its just Duke being a bit affectionate and clingy, it's not a problem

But after a while it becomes a problem

Duke gets extremely upset whenever they can't spend time together, to the point of panic attacks and crying fits

Whenever they aren't together, their phones are blowing up with calls and texts from Duke

When they have to leave, Duke literally grabs them, begging for them to stay and to not leave her

And whenever they aren't there, her bulimia gets 10x worse and she can't help but throw her guts up

This alarms all of them

Chandler and Mac because their gf literally can't be apart from them without having a breakdown, and Duke because of how dependent on them she's become in such a short amount of time and how volatile her emotions have become

Its like a floodgate just opened and all of the repressed emotions flowed out and they'res no way to stop them

Eventually the three of them sit down, and Chandler and Duke explain that while they love her, she needs some help if their relationship is going to continue

Duke acquiesces, saying that she knows, but she cannot control it

Its like her body is on autopilot

Mac explains that she probably needs to talk to a professional, to which Duke counters that her parents would never let her, they don't believe that mental health is a thing

Mac then says that she already thought of that, and that her therapist Dr. Fleming (Duke has a look of horror at those words, before Mac quickly explains that she's Ms. Fleming's sister and is much more chill) scheduled two more appointments per week for her, but due to some schedule conflicts she will be unable to make those, and only if there was another patient named Heather who could go in during those times

Duke is stunned and a little unsure, but with some encouragement she eventually agrees

The day of the first meeting arrives and Duke is on the verge of tears due to nervousness, but her gfs are there to support her, and she goes in

She enters the office and sees a woman who looks remarkably like Ms. Fleming, to the point that she could easily mistake her for her, before making her way to the chair

Ultimately the meeting goes better than Duke could have ever hoped

Dr. Fleming is really nice and caring, but most importantly understanding and trustworthly

She lets Duke vent about all the fucked up shit she's dealt with over her entire life, not interrupting or anything, just letting her talk

When she finishes Dr. Fleming guides her to some conclusions about her behavior and mindset and how it all draws back to her parents, telling her that as a young child she most likely took all of her parents harsh attacks against her as truth and internalized it, establishing as truth in her mind that she is all of these things that her parents told her she was

Her bulimia, self-depreciating thoughts and all of her issues stemmed from a self-image formed from the perceptions of people who did not want the best for her and who did not love her, and over the course of their sessions she would have to unlearn what her parents taught her before re-forming her self image with the real truth

As for her newly acquired clinginess, it comes from her anxiety that they will leave her, and she just has to remind herself that they won't, they've always come back before

She ends by telling Duke that this will all get easier over time, and to not beat herself up if she makes a mistake or takes a few steps back

Therapy and healing is not a process one can streamline or a set path, its a journey that one has to go on

She also prescribes Duke some ADHD and Dyslexia meds (idk if Dyslexia meds are a thing, if they aren't insert whatever people use to deal with dyslexia)

Over the next few months Duke's mental state improves dramatically

Thought much hard work, tears, and encouragement from her gfs, her need to purge subsides for the most part

There are still days where she feels the need to, but they are getting fewer and fewer, as are the days where she actually goes through with it

Every time her gfs aren't disappointed with her, they don't yell at her or demean her, they remind her that she's beautiful and and that they love her

Speaking of her gfs, her need to be around them also subsides, having gone through many exercises where she worked on controlling her emotions while they weren't around, eventually making it so she could be away from them for significant periods of time

In addition, her new meds allowed her to start reading without the words flying off the page or her concentration slipping, and something that she once detested became a favorite pastime of hers

She continued the bi-weekly meetings with Dr. Fleming, and she really helped her out

Duke entered her senior year of high school a changed woman, no longer having a cloud of darkness following her everywhere she went

Sure, Westerberg was a shithole, but she had her gfs and that's all that mattered

Unfortunately the need to purge overwhelmed her that day and she was unable to control it, so they headed into the bathroom while she vomited

While she calmed down she heard Ms. Fleming enter and start berating them, before standing up and seeing a girl in a rather strange outfit hand her a note

Veronica Sawyer

No TWs because surprise surprise Veronica's childhood didn't suck major ass

This one is also gonna be a whole lot shorter bc not much happens until she joins the Heathers, when they called her a nobody it was the truth

Veronica was born on January 16th, 200X

Her family was your average, suburban middle-class family

Her dad worked in a office in a nearby city for a company that Veronica could never remember the name of

Her mom was a stay at home mom and stayed with her until it was time for her to start school

Side note whenever I imagine her parents I think of them as Marty's parents from Back to the Future before he changes the past

The Sawyers were relatively well off, they had a decent sized house, two cars, and could afford to go on vacation every year

They were also a loving family, both parents doting on Veronica

She was a very intelligent child, picking up on things very quickly

She had a first-grade reading level before even going into preschool and could write simple sentences at the same time

She also had a strong moral fiber, demonstrated when during a playdate organized by some members of the neighborhood, some kids were picking on a girl, and Veronica told them off

The other kid's parents went cry to their parents and started a huge fuss, but Veronica's parents stood their ground and told them that their child was bullying another and Veronica only made them stop, and that they're just mad that their child got caught and are facing the repercussions of their actions and actually have to parent

You can see where Veronica got it from

The other parents huffed and left and Veronica quickly made friends with the girl she saved, who she learned was named Betty and actually lived next door to her

They continued to play together, even carpooling when they started daycare

They were thankfully seated at a table together along with a girl named Martha who they attempted to befriend, but she rebuffed their efforts, instead choosing to play with an asian girl dressed in red

They shrugged it off and went on with their lives

Things stayed the same for the next few years

Veronica and Betty would hang out, go to school, play, usual kid things

While in elementary school, Veronica was placed into the gifted program, being taken out of class to work on things that were closer to her intellectual ability

But things changed when they went to middle school

They got bigger, that was the trigger, like the Huns invading Rome

Her and Betty quickly found themselves at the bottom of the hierarchy, much to her confusion

She was friendly and kind to everyone, she didn't cause trouble or do anything to make anyone hate her, so why all of a sudden did everyone?

She realized that they were stuck at their position, and the best thing to do would be to lie low

She had tried to stand up for herself, but it also became clear that teachers favored the more popular students and would defend them, much to her chagrin

She was enraged at the unfairness of it all, and upon talking to her parents about it she understood that there wasn't much she could do

Sometimes life was just like that, and the sooner she understood that the easier her life would be

They both also told her that they weren't exactly the most popular people in school either, but that once high school ended things became a lot better

They never had to see those people again, and people grew up and out of it

Plus, karma came for them eventually

They both gave examples of how their bullies died from overdoses, drunk driving accidents, or were in prison for heinous crimes

They told her that she was a good person, and to keep doing what she was doing, because she was doing alright

Her perceptions solidified, she returned to the monotony of school

Her and Betty tired to stay out of the way, but it seemed like they just sought them out to harass them

With much reluctance they just took it, knowing that even if they told an authority figure nothing would be done anyway, not to the precious football players and cheerleaders who would get kicked off their teams if they got a disciplinary report against them

Every day Veronica took a deep breath and reminded herself that they would get what they deserved one day

She also began to keep a diary at the suggestion of her parents, transcribing her day and helping her work through her feelings on all of the bullshit she dealt with

Around this time her parents got her a tabby cat for her birthday, which she named JFK after a president she really admired

JFK was a lazy ass cat that just sat around all day, but he was very beloved by all members of the Sawyer household

This stayed true until 8th grade, when while in line for lunch she heard shouting from across the cafeteria

She saw Martha Dunnstock yelling at Heather Duke, shouting things that she couldn't make out

Eventually she ceased her rants and stormed out the cafeteria

Veronica made a split second decision to follow her into the hall, where she saw her slump against the wall and curl into a ball

She tried to talk to her but Martha couldn't hear her over her sobs, so Veronica just sat by her, patting her back and offering soothing words while she calmed down

Eventually Betty joined them, and once Martha stopped crying they introduced themselves before asking what happened out there

She explained that her only friend was ignoring her and she tried to confront her about it, but she would say anything and it just made her so fucking pissed

Veronica then invited her to sit with them and the rest is history

This also awakened in Veronica a need to fix problems for other people, as it was something she felt like she could do to help out

While they did find themselves significantly more bullied than they were before, she was okay with it, because she helped out someone who desperately needed it

They entered high school and things became even worse, but she just stood tall and took it

A new group flew to the top, called the Heathers, including Heather Duke, and because of this they seemed to have it out for Martha, and by extension her and Betty

She could expect on a given day to have rumors spread about them, things smacked out of their hands, notebooks thrown across the gym, and everything else the demented minds of the popular students of Westerberg high could come up with

She put up with this for three years, every week, every period just constant bullshit

She wanted so hard to retaliate, hit back, call them names and throw their things

But she couldn't, not only because she would get punished for it, but also because she knew she was above that

She refused to stoop down to their levels

And yet, she longed to be the one looking down upon the peasants of Westerberg, forcing her will onto the student population

She knew it wasn't right, but the idea of being able to finally be free of everything was an amazing thought

Going into senior year she decided that she was done just sitting around and taking it, she was gonna fight back

Lunch came around and Ram Sweeney was being his usual dick self, and after he smacked her tray she got in a good line about him spending the rest of his life as a gas station attendant

Unfortunately it backfired and she was forced to flee into a bathroom

On top of that, she accidentally wandered into the Heather's bathroom, realizing this once she heard their voices reverberate off the tiled walls

She stayed quiet and thankfully they didn't notice her

She heard the sounds of what she assumed was Heather Duke vomiting, before hearing Ms. Fleming come in

Fleming was out to get the Heathers, she let everyone know it, and while Veronica agreed with the sentiment she wishes she wouldn't be so open about her hatred of some teenage girls, it just made her sound pathetic and weird

**Text break bc word count limit**

She heard Fleming start her spiel, and knowing the Heathers were about to get in trouble she started to grin, before it quickly faded, knowing that they would find some way to get out of it

Then an idea struck, one that would alter the course of her life forever

She had picked up forging handwriting as a skill while bored in class

She would try and replicate her teacher's handwriting as accurately as possible while they droned on, and eventually she was able to apply the skills she got from that to anyone's handwriting

She quickly scribbled down a note in the yearbook director's handwriting, before taking a deep breath and stepping out, telling Fleming that they were all out on a hall pass, yearbook....

(yeah ik this one kinda sucked, but Veronica was a nobody who just so happened to be placed in a situation that she could take advantage of, and before that she lived a normal life and didn't do much to change it)

From here I'm gonna tell the story of Senior Year to get to the status quo that the rest of my stories/headcannons are based off of. It'll shift POVs depending on whose perspective can add the most to the story

It's so long, in fact, that I decided to break it into two parts to make it easier to read and giving you the ability to take a break in the middle of the story

#heathers #heathers the musical #heather chandler #heather duke #heather mcnamara #veronica sawyer #poly!heathers+veronica #poly!heathersxveronica #heathers headcannons #heathers au

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