(A/n: Hey, so, as some of you may already know if you follow me, I didn't get around to posting this chapter yesterday, since I was helping with a food ministry, and I'll probably be continuing to help with it each week, so I'm going to be moving this to being updated on Tuesdays, at least for now. So, yeah. Enjoy act two!)

Dear Diary,
I'm going steady. Mostly he's awesome. If a bit too rock and roll. Lately he's bumped off three of my classmates. God have mercy on my soul. They were just seventeen. They still had room to grow. They could've turned out good. But now we'll never know.

"There's been a lack of girls climbing through my bedroom window lately."

I turned and saw VD. 

"Take a hint." I said, frowning.

"Okay. You're mad, I get it."
(A/n: Cassandra, you're angry, I get it-)

"No, I don't think you do. 'Ich Luge bullets'? You lied to me."

I saw a split-second of guilt pass over Varian's face, but he quickly regained his cool demeanor. Something seem to have bothered him about being called a liar.

"You were lying to yourself. You wanted them dead too." he tried to rebut.

"Did not!" I argued.

"Did too." he said back.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Hey!" he said, breaking the cycle, "Did they make you cry?"

"Yes." I hesitantly answered, knowing where this was going. 

"Can they make you cry now?"

"No," I said, "But you can."

That shut him up for a couple of seconds. But then he continued.

"Just wait 'till you see the good that comes of this."

"No good could possibly come of this." I replied.

"Call me an optimist." he said, and with that, he left.

"Oh, I sure could think of something to call you..." I muttered aloud to myself. I sighed heavily. Did I love him? Or was this just an infatuation?

Later on there was a funeral for Lance and Eugene. It was a fairly normal funeral, and several people spoke about how they had seen them both in a new light, after reading their suicide note (which VD and I had written).

"What is that? That smell in the air- is that tolerance? Inclusion? Love? How often can you say it's a good day to live in Sherwood, Corona? You're welcome, town!" VD said, smiling. We were talking after the funeral.

"Hey... You don't have to be so smug about it." I replied. Not really feeling the best.

"Your love keeps me humble." he said, then kissed me. I pulled away.

"So, who's next?" he asked.

How on earth could he even think about killing off someone else?!

"Heather Duke? She started that threeway rumor. I've been underlining meaningful passages in her copy of Moby Dick, if you know what I mean."

"No!" I said, stopping him, "No, I do not accept this! We've already killed three people! This ends right here, right now!"

"Or what?"

"I'll... I'll break up with you." I said, hesitantly.

"Every war has casualties. That doesn't mean that it's not worth fighting." he rebutted, turning and taking a few steps away, but stopping and turning back around, "What, what, you'd rather go to jail, hmm? And then give a free pass to the thugs who hurt people? Evil jerks that make life so unbearable that you can't stand to live in the world anymore!"

"VD?" I said softly. Something had to have happened in his past for him to be this way. There was a moment of quiet before I asked a question, "How did your mother die?"

His expression seemed to soften, from anger into hurt.

"You really wanna know?"

"Yeah." I nodded gently.

"My dad said it was an accident. But how could it have been? She walked into that building two minutes before it caught on fire. She went in and then... ka-boom. She left." 

"I'm really sorry." I said.

"It's okay. The pain gives me clarity. You and I are special, we have a lot of work to do."

"What work?" I asked. What could he possibly have planned now?

"Making the world a decent place for people who are decent!"

I took a step towards him.

"When does it end?"

"WHEN EVERY JERK IS DEAD!!!"

Varian had now stepped right in front of me. I took a step back and sighed.

"Fine, we're damaged, really damaged. But that does not make us wise." I said, "We're not special. We're not different. We don't choose who lives or dies. Let's be normal. See bad movies, sneak a coke and watch TV." I continued, "We'll bake brownies, or go bowling. Don't you want a life with me?" I said, tears threatening to fall, "Can't we be seventeen? That's all I want to do. If you could let me in, I could be good with you."

VD turned away from me.

"People hurt us," I continued.

"Or they vanish." Varian added, turning back around.

"And you're right, it really blows. But we let go,"

"Take a deep breath,"

"And go buy some summer clothes. We'll go camping,"

"Play some poker,"

"And we'll eat some chili fries." I said, holding out my hand to him, "Maybe prom night?"

"Maybe dancing?" he said, taking my hand. He pulled me close to him, placing his free hand on my waist, and I put my other hand on his shoulder. I looked up into his eyes as we began to sway, as if we were dancing.

"Don't stop looking in my eyes."

"Your eyes." he repeated, almost smiling. I smiled widely at him.

"Can't we be seventeen? Is that so hard to do?" we said together, "If you could let me in, I could be good with you. Let us be seventeen, if we've still got the right."

We slowly stopped dancing, and he let go of my hand and hugged me tightly. I hugged back.

"So what's it gonna be?" I asked, "I wanna be with you."

"I wanna be with you,"

"Wanna be with you,"

"Tonight!"

We kissed. It was just as wonderful as the first.

"Yeah, we're damaged," 

"Badly damaged," he repeated.

"But your love's too good too lose." we both said.

"Hold me tighter." I said, and VD hugged me even more.

"Even closer." he said.

"I'll stay if I'm what you choose." I said.

"Can't we be seventeen?"

"If I am what you choose." I repeated.

"If we've still got the right." 

"'Cause you're the one I choose." 

"You're the one I choose." he finally said. I smiled.

"You're the one I choose." we both said together. He kissed me once again.

Later that day, I was at the library, looking for some books for a school assignment.

"And they lived happily ever after! You really believe that? You think it all goes back to normal? Don't give me that wounded look, you know exactly what he is and you love it." I heard Stalyan's voice in my head, this time accompanied by the image of her. 
And here I was, thinking that I had gotten over the guilt of the situation.

But was she right?

I mean, I'm not quite sure what VD is....

"Stop talking." was all I replied with.

"Only a true dead best friend would give it to you straight."

I was about to just ignore her, but Rapunzel ran over to me, with Cass tagging along behind, and Stalyan disappeared for the moment.

"(Y/n), we need your help!" Raps exclaimed.

"Sure, what?" I responded.

"Something doesn't add up. We think Eugene and Lance were murdered." she said.

"Well, color me impressed! Nancy Drew is onto you, (Y/n)." Stalyan said, popping into my head once more.

"Why would you say that? They found the suicide note!" I rebutted.

"It could have been faked! You forge stuff all the time, right?" 

"Right..."

"I am in love with this dorky girl." Stalyan said.

"That's ridiculous! Who'd wanna kill Eugene and Lance?" I said. (A/n: Yeah! Who'd want to kill them?!?! ...oh wait-)

"We're thinking it was your friend Varian. You saw how he went after them in the lunchroom." Cassandra said.

"Yeah, that sucked." Lance said, as he and Eugene popped into my head as well. Great.... More voices in my head reminding me of what VD and I have done...

"We wanna look in VD's locker, and thought maybe you could get us the combination." Cass said.

"I bet there's all kinds of interesting things in that locker! Maybe some 'Ich Luge bullets'?" Stalyan commented.

"This is a pretty wild theory, guys." I said.

"(Y/n), it seems pretty reasonable." Cass said.

"Yeah." Raps agreed, nodding her head, "I don't care what they said at the funeral, Eugene didn't really like Stalyan."

Oh right, VD had added that to the suicide note...

I tried to think of what to say, but my thoughts were interrupted by Lance and Eugene fighting or something. I became overwhelmed by everything. The noise, the guilt.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" I shouted.

"Stop what? (Y/n), what's wrong with you?" Cassandra asked.

"Sorry, I'm really sorry. I'm just, I'm trying to understand, okay?" I said, "Eugene liked Stalyan. Why would you think anything else?"

"He kissed me, remember? On the kickball field?" Rapunzel stated, strongly.

"In kindergarten."

"My heart knows the truth."

"Time to choose, (Y/n). Eat or be eaten." Stalyan said.

"Why would Eugene write me that note if he didn't still feel something?"

"You know what to say." Stalyan pressed.

"Why would he invite me to his homecoming party? I'm gonna confront VD."

"No, please don't!" I said.

"Do you have the guts?" Stalyan smirked. It was time for the truth.

"Oh, you floor me Raps, you really do." I said, with a sad smile.

"What do you mean?"

"Eugene didn't write that love note, I did." I nearly whispered.

"No..."

"I warned you Raps..." Cass said, placing her hand on Rapunzel's shoulder.

"...Yeah. The Populars put me up to it. The whole school was in on the joke, and no one laughed harder than Eugene. He didn't love you. He was a jerk. Now he's dead." I turned away from them, sadly.

"Come on, Raps." I heard Cassandra say, and then heard them walking away. I looked up to see Stalyan looking at me, smugly.

"No, look, I had to hurt her, okay? If VD caught her going through his stuff, he would-"

"-kill her?" Stalyan said, "Is that what you're afraid of? I thought the desperado hung up his six guns! Don't you trust him?"

I asked myself the same thing...