3rd Person P.O.V

The next day, Veronica could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she made her way to Westerburg as quickly as she could, clutching her croquet mallet close to her chest. She knew that she had to stop Jasmine from blowing up the school, although she was rather unsure as to how she was going to accomplish that. But she hoped she'd have a plan by the time she reached the school. Reaching the front doors, Veronica paused for a few moments to take a breath, before pushing the doors open and walking swiftly through the hallways, hoping she would be able to avoid having to answer any awkward questions. Unfortunately, no such luck as she encountered one of the last people she had wanted to bump into.

"Veronica? Jasmine Dean told us that you committed suicide last night." Ms Fleming said, looking confused.

"Yeah? Well, she was wrong about that." Veronica said.

"I threw together a lovely tribute, especially given the short notice." Veronica resisted the urge to roll her eyes at that, knowing that Ms Fleming really needed to sort out her priorities. Then, an idea came to her.

"Ms Fleming, what's under the gym?" Veronica asked.

"The boiler room." Ms Fleming answered.

"That's it." Veronica said, a plan now beginning to form in her mind.

"Veronica, what's going on?" Ms Fleming asked, but the brunette teen did not respond as she quickly headed for the boiler room. Upon reaching it, she opened the door as quietly as she could and slipped inside. She could feel her nerves rising, which made her tighten her grip on her croquet mallet. A few moments later, she spotted a figure crouched over a device, and she knew immediately who it was.

"Step away from the bomb." Veronica said, trying to keep her voice steady. Jasmine gave a low chuckle as she stood up and turned to face the blue-clad girl.

"I knew that noose was too loose. And here I thought you'd lost your taste for faking suicides. Oh, and this little thing? I'd hardly call it a bomb. This is just to trigger the packs of thermals under the gym. Now those? Those are bombs. People are going to see the ashes of Westerburg High School, and they're gonna think, "There's a school that self-destructed, not because society doesn't care, but because that school was society". The only place where Heathers and Marthas can truly get along is in heaven!" Jasmine said, her gun pointed directly at Veronica. However, Veronica noted that something didn't seem right with the other girl. Her voice had a slightly fearful undertone lacing it, which led Veronica to begin wondering if blowing up the school hadn't originally been Jasmine's idea, and that she faced some sort of consequences if she didn't go through with it, which matched her thought that there had been an underlying trigger to what had happened last night.

"I wish your mom had been a little stronger. I wish she'd stayed around a little longer. I know you wish your brother was still here with you. I wish grown-ups understood. All the ones you've met have convinced you that life is war. JD, please, come with me." Veronica said, hoping to get through to her ex-girlfriend, whom she had to admit to herself that she was still in love with. Even though she knew Jason was still alive, she knew that Jasmine was not aware of this and was still unlikely to believe it if told about it.

"I wish I had more TNT." Jasmine responded, briefly glancing at the trigger bomb. That's when Veronica knew there was no reasoning with her, so she swung her croquet mallet in an attempt to knock the gun from Jasmine's hand, only for the taller girl to catch hold of the other end of the mallet. The last thing Veronica expected was for Jasmine to kiss her, but it was only when her croquet mallet was ripped from her hands and thrown aside, that she realised it had just been a distraction technique. Veronica's gaze locked onto the gun in Jasmine's hand, knowing that she had to somehow get hold of it. This evolved into an intense scuffle once Jasmine realised what Veronica was trying to do. The gun ended up between the two girls, before the sound of a gunshot made Veronica jump. She looked down, half-expecting to see blood staining her clothes, but then received a shock when Jasmine stumbled back a few steps, and then collapsed to the ground, revealing that she had been the one who had been shot.

"Is that good for you? Because it kinda sucked for me." Jasmine said. Veronica quickly rushed to the other girl's side, kneeling beside her.

"JD, listen to me. It's over. Which wire do I pull? JD, which wire?!" Veronica asked, but Jasmine had lost consciousness and stopped moving. Veronica glanced back at the trigger bomb, which was still counting down, and so she made her decision. She got up and walked over to the bomb, before taking it off the wall and hurrying out of the boiler room. She just hoped she was able to get far enough away before the bomb went off.

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Veronica eventually made it to the football field, but her ankle had begun to hurt, leading her to realise she must have injured it during the fight in the boiler room, but she was determined to keep going. However, she was forced to stop when the pain in her ankle became too much.

"It's ironic, how I still believe there's good in everyone, even the worst of us. I believe we're all worth saving, and I guess that's a belief I'm willing to die for." Veronica muttered, before she collapsed to the ground. She then heard the sound of someone coming towards her.

"Smart girl. Bring the trigger bomb out here, and nobody dies. But you'll never make it in time, not on that ankle." Jasmine said, causing Veronica to look over and see her. The dark-haired girl was clutching her side, pain evident in her expression.

"How much further?" Veronica asked.

"The middle of the football field should do it. Give it to me. I'll take it the rest of the way." Jasmine said, walking over to Veronica.

"No, it's a trick." Veronica said.

"You flatter me, but no. Look at me, Veronica. I'm done for. And I refuse to let you die like my mom. I know what I did, Veronica, and what I tried to do. I was wrong, but I didn't do it because you broke up with me. I just wanted you to know that before this thing goes off." Jasmine said, taking the bomb from Veronica and taking it to the middle of the field.

"What?" Veronica questioned in surprise, but Jasmine didn't answer. In a spur of the moment choice, and a surprising burst of adrenaline, Veronica managed to run over and take the bomb from Jasmine, before throwing it as far away from them as she could. The force of the explosion was enough to send both girls tumbling to the ground. It took a minute or so for the smoke to clear away, but once it did, Veronica sat up and looked at Jasmine.

"So, are you going to elaborate on what you said a few minutes ago?" Veronica questioned, having found that she was no longer in the mood to mess around as the reality of what could have happened finally set in.

"That I didn't try to blow up the school because you broke up with me? I know I've done some questionable things in the time you've known me, but blowing up the school was not my idea." Jasmine remarked.

"Is that why you sounded fearful back in the boiler room? Who made you do it?" Veronica asked. Jasmine was silent for several minutes.

"It was my father. He made me do it. He knew just threatening my life wouldn't persuade me to do it, so he threatened to kill you. He's already killed my mother and my brother, so I knew he wasn't bluffing. So I had to go along with his plot, in order to protect you." Jasmine answered.

"That's why you were always protective of me whenever I was near your father. But why would he still threaten my life if you and I were no longer together?" Veronica questioned.

"Think about it, Veronica. As long as we were dating, I was protecting you, so he couldn't do anything to you. So when you broke up with me, that made you fair game to him." Jasmine told her. By this point, the two had gotten up and started walking back to the school, soon reaching the front doors.

"Jasmine, I'm so sorry." Veronica said, barely registering that she had stopped Jasmine's nickname.

"It's alright, Veronica. People will sometimes go to extreme lengths to protect the people they love." Jasmine remarked, before a searing pain suddenly shot through her body, causing her to wince, which caused Veronica to look at her in concern, before the blue-clad girl remembered the scuffle in the boiler room. Jasmine still had a bullet in her side from when the gun went off. Veronica could hear the sounds of footsteps in the hallways, but her main concern was Jasmine. Veronica was quick to catch Jasmine when the black-clad girl fell, but knelt on the ground in order to properly support her, barely noticing the sound of the door opening.

"Veronica, where have you been? You missed the..... What the hell happened?" Veronica heard Chandler's voice, causing her to look up and see the blonde standing there.

"Don't just stand there, call 911! Jasmine has been shot!" Veronica exclaimed. The sound of retreating footsteps told her that Chandler had hopefully gone to do that, before she turned her attention back to the wounded girl in her arms.

"Hey, listen to me. You need to stay awake. You are not dying on me, Jasmine Dean, you hear me? Help is coming, and I'm not going to leave you again, ever." Veronica said. Jasmine reached up and placed a hand on Veronica's cheek.

"I love you, Veronica. If I make it, would you be willing to give our relationship another chance?" Jasmine asked.

"Stay alive, and I'll give you my answer." Veronica answered, but she was smiling. The sound of sirens could be heard approaching, before an ambulance pulled up outside the school, and a team of paramedics rushed over to get Jasmine into the ambulance. Unwilling to let Jasmine go alone. Veronica stayed by the dark-haired girl's side, and was thankful when the paramedics allowed her to get into the ambulance. Veronica kept hold of Jasmine's hand the entire time, only letting go when they had to rush Jasmine into surgery in order to get the bullet out, so she went and found a seat in the waiting room, hoping that Jasmine was going to be okay.

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Some time later, Veronica felt herself being gently shaken awake, which startled her, since she hadn't realised she'd fallen asleep. The day had just taken its toll on her. Looking up, she saw a doctor standing in front of her.

"Miss Veronica Sawyer?" The doctor asked.

"Yes, that's me. Is Jasmine okay?" Veronica asked, standing up from her seat.

"They were able to get the bullet out. Miss Dean will be fine. She's still asleep from the surgery, but she should be waking up soon. You can go and see her if you wish." The doctor answered. Veronica nodded and allowed herself to be led to Jasmine's room. She pushed the door open and went inside, seeing Jasmine asleep on the bed. Veronica moved the chair next to the bed, and sat down again, placing her hand over Jasmine's. About ten minutes later, Jasmine stirred and opened her eyes, her gaze soon landing on Veronica.

"Greetings and salutations." Jasmine said, giving a light smirk. Veronica laughed a little when she heard that.

"They got the bullet out. You're going to live." Veronica said standing up from the chair in order to sit on the bed, but quickly ended up laying next to Jasmine, being held in her arms.

"I guess that means you owe me an answer to my earlier question." Jasmine reminded her.

"It seems I do. And here is my answer." Veronica said, before she leaned forward and kissed Jasmine. Jasmine gave a slight smile as she returned the kiss, happy that Veronica was willing to give her another chance, and she silently vowed that she would make it up to Veronica for what she had done, no matter how long it took before she regained Veronica's trust. The two pulled apart after a few minutes, but Veronica was quite content to remain in Jasmine's embrace, her head resting on the other girl's chest. Neither of them looked up at the sound of footsteps.

"I see you two have resolved whatever problems you were going through." The two looked up and saw the three Heathers standing in the doorway, and it was Chandler who had spoken.

"Of course we have. Jasmine risked her life to save the school and everyone in it from a crazy shooter." Veronica said. A silent agreement had passed between Veronica and Jasmine, that only the two of them would ever know what really happened, although it was likely they would eventually let Chandler in on what had really happened.

"Hmm, seems we misjudged you then, and it's obvious how protective you are of Veronica." Chandler remarked. She knew she had to keep up her façade while with the other Heathers.

"Of course I am. I am not going to let anyone hurt her, even if that means keeping her safe from you three at any point." Jasmine said, and the three Heathers knew that she meant it. She knew she had a long way to go in terms of mending what she had done, but she was determined to push through. The pain of losing Veronica the first time had almost been too much for her, so she silently vowed that she wouldn't let it happen again, no matter what happened. She just couldn't believe it had taken her getting shot and almost dying to knock some sense into her, but she also knew that sometimes things happened at the least expected moment.