plantfood | [Veronica, Stacy & Webster

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[Veronica, Stacy & Webster - Opposite Plot]

There is something different.

Mathias isn't quite aware of it, although he feels it on some level, he feels brighter and better and just different. He can't name it, can't place it and, most importantly, he doesn't want to. Whatever is different, it isn't bad.

He's headed down the boardwalk with a bounce in his step and a grin on his face, feeling lighter than he has in some time. Nothing can bother him these days, nothing can so much as touch him and he thinks, if he has time, he'll go visit Webster. Maybe they can talk about Veronica, like Webster always wants to. There are stories to tell now, certainly, and Mathias feels like he's in the mood to do some real talking.

Walking along, heading nowhere in particular, he breathes in deeply, enjoying the scent of the jungle around him. Every time someone passes him, he smiles brightly and waves, calling a loud, cheerful, "Hello!" Some people look startled, although he can't begin to understand why, and others greet him in return, looking just as happy as he feels.

Just ahead, he spots a familiar face and he hurries, almost running. "Hey!" he shouts happily. "Hey, hi! It's so good to see you!"

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She'd woken up early, at dawn, her eyes snapping open and a horrible feeling of dread clinching in her gut. She wasn't alone, she never was, but this particular morning, it felt wrong waking up next to a boy who was seeing someone else.

Oh God, what must Veronica think?

She slipped out from under the sheets silently and crept from the room in her pajamas, changing hastily in the bathroom and making her way quietly into the kitchen to make herself some breakfast.

For an hour, she read quietly, alone in the rec room with the jukebox playing softly in the background. When it was time for some fresh air, she was dressed modestly, a towel and a bottle of sunscreen and a book stowed away in her bag, along with a bottle of water and a piece of fruit for later.

You could never be too prepared.

"Hey!" Mathias shouted again, waving frantically as he got closer to Stacy. It was like she hadn't heard him or something and he ran down the boardwalk until he reached her, then stopped, grinning and panting.

"Hi," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets and rocking back on his heels, mostly just looking pleased to be standing there with her. "Where are you going?"

Blinking, Stacy frowned in confusion, looking at him like she'd never seen him before in her life. She knew the face, of course, but he could've walked right past her, shouting, and she might never have looked. Sounding like that, he might as well have been a stranger.

"Mathias? Hi," she hesitated, wondering if she really wanted her peaceful afternoon interrupted, "I was going to go down to the waterfall. I thought it might be quiet there."

"Can I come with you?" he asks, still looking at her with that open, honest smile. "I'm going to go visit Webster later, too, I think he wants to hear about Veronica, but I want to spend some time with you. If that would be okay. Would that be okay?"

He's talking far more than he would on any other day, but he almost doesn't notice. It feels good, like some sort of wall has finally been taken down.

"Yeah... sure," she answered slowly, completely at odds with what she really wanted.

Was he always this chatty?

"You're sure Veronica wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not," Mathias answers quickly, thinking that's probably true. Veronica knows all about Stacy, after all, he's been completely honest with her and besides, it isn't like he can just stop being friends with Stacy.

Although, Stacy seems to be acting sort of weird today.

"Are you alright? Are you feeling sick? Perhaps we should not go to the waterfall. Maybe I should take you in to the clinic to see a doctor?"

He'd answered without thinking, the words rushed and a little too loud, and he's either lying or he just doesn't want to think too deeply about it.

For now, she decided it was best to just let it go.

"I'm fine," she assured him, arching a brow, "I could ask you the same thing, you know."

Confused, Mathias looks down at himself as if he expects to see something physically wrong. Both his legs are still there -- though, if he's to believe that movie, that one was a close call -- and he isn't bleeding, so he looks up at Stacy again, nodding.

"I'm fine," he says, still looking confused. "Why wouldn't I be? I feel great, actually. Very good. Very..." He isn't sure the word he's looking for, so he just settles for offering Stacy another smile.

His good cheer is infectious, surely, and Veronica can't help but be grateful she made extra sure of herself before she headed out this morning. The clothes box has been just the kindest thing, fitting her out with the sweetest little sundress she ever did see. Nervously running a hand over the full skirt, she jerks it back toward her and trots up to meet Mathias, throwing her arms around his waist with a happy sigh. "I was hoping I'd run into you today."

"You were?" Mathias asks, feeling his smile growing wider still as he wraps his arms around her shoulders and leans down to catch her mouth in a kiss. That Veronica wants to see him still makes him so happy, it fills him with cheer and when he pulls back, he sighs happily.

"I was hoping I would see you, too," he admits. "Seeing you is probably the best part of my day."

"Great?" she offered, her lips twitching. There was something off about him, but she'd let it go, for now. She had a feeling, whatever answer he gave, it wouldn't be much help to her.

"Come on, if you're coming," she said, brushing past him, and she would've been fine with whatever decision he made.

"Oh, Mathias," Veronica says, a little flustered as she presses a hand to her heart. "That's awfully sweet of you to say. On both counts, I mean." Fluttering her eyelashes, she ducks her head a little. "It's the best part of my day, too."

After all, the minute she spotted him, didn't her day just brighten up? And it had been so bright already. Whatever weight had been on her shoulders before seems to have lifted so utterly, she simply can't care what caused it to begin with.

"Don't you want me?" Mathias asks, concerned, as he trails after Stacy. She seems very aloof, very cool, and he isn't sure he likes it. In fact, it sort of hurts his feelings.

"It hurts my feelings," he tells her. "When you're so cold, I mean. I don't like it very much at all."

"You're just so great," he says honestly, lifting his shoulders in a shrug. "Things here are very hard sometimes, trying to be normal and act normal when, in fact, all my insides are sort of broken, but you make everything seem easier."

He isn't sure where this is all coming from, but it's the truth, and that's what counts. For some reason, he's just never been able to say it before, but now it feels right.

"Oh, no, no, no," she says, a persistent sort of clucking as she shakes her head and tips it to the side, reaching to take his hands. "You can't think of yourself that way. You've been so brave. It takes real bravery to go through what you did and - oh, well, you know what I mean."

There's a part of her that's afraid that he'll think she's foolish, that her words are silly, and it's so difficult to pretend that isn't so. She doesn't like to think about things as dark as this, but the truth is right there and he ought to know it.

There are definitely a lot of reasons Mathias likes Veronica so much, but the fact that she's so nice and complimentary doesn't hurt at all. Smiling softly, he squeezes her hands, feeling good to know someone out there thinks he's brave.

"You're not like any other girl I know," he tells her. "Would you like to come for a walk with me? Webster says I should consider baking some cookies for you, but I think Webster just wants to get me laid and you should know, that's not my main priority at all. I just like spending time with you." Maybe that isn't something he needs to be sharing, now that he's thinking about it. But Webster did say it.

It makes her blush to hear, not quite embarrassed, but a bit unsettled all the same, and Veronica ducks her head. "Oh, well, I'm sure his motives aren't so unselfishly base as all that," she protests. "It's actually really sweet. But you don't need to bake for me or - or do anything but be your own self. I'd love to walk with you."

The reasons she holds herself at bay are numerous, but it would be awfully inappropriate to discuss them, she decides - unladylike and unsavory, and really, a bit too sad for such a bright day. All she wants is to be happy in his company, and it's soothing to hear him say the same.

"Oh, no, they are," Mathias assures her, nodding as he takes her hand and begins to walk down the boardwalk once more. It's a nice, quiet stroll, all the green is very calming -- something he hasn't truly felt since before Mexico -- and the distant sound of the waves crashing on the beach makes him smile.

"Webster likes me to tell him about you," he continues. "But I mostly keep things to myself. I'm not sure why I do that anymore. It seems very silly not to tell everyone just how much I like you."

"Do I want you? What are we even talking about?" she asked, utterly gobsmacked, but not for the usual reasons.

"I'm not trying to hurt your feelings. If you want to come, come. Why do we have to make such a big production out of it?"

"You're not being very nice," Mathias informs her and now he's not sure that he does want to go anywhere with her. "After everything we went through together before we got here, I would think you would be a little nicer. And... you're being strange."

There, he's said it. He actually doesn't feel that good about having said it, though. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that."

Veronica can't - doesn't even try to - suppress a giggle at that. It just seems so miraculous still that someone as wonderful as Mathias - that anyone at all - could care about her as he does. "I want to shout it from the rooftops," she says, bright and laughing. "The whole world ought to know."

"We should do that," Mathias agrees, wondering why he hasn't thought of such a thing before. "We should have a nice dinner with your dad and tell him how much we like each other, too."

That seems like a brilliant idea, one that's come out of nowhere and he isn't sure how he hasn't thought of it earlier. Veronica is so nice and he remembers her dad being pretty nice, too, especially that day on the beach when he had helped him with Henrich.

"Oh!" Veronica's hand flies to her mouth at the thought, and she finds herself nodding fervently. The idea of it makes her a little bashful, certainly, but isn't it about time her father had a chance to get to know Mathias? It only made sense that the two best men in her life should meet. "That's perfect. I love it. Oh, and he'll love you. Oh, can we? We really should. I could cook, too. Oh, what to make..."

"Yes, let's do it," Mathias says with a smile, feeling excited and nervous all at once. He's already thinking of all sorts of things to tell Mr. Mars; his life story, of course, and just how much he likes his daughter. All things he expects Veronica's dad might be pleased to hear.

"Oh, I'm excited just thinking about it," he continues. "We can cook together and I can really make a good impression on him. I'm very good with parents, I think, I always have been. I hope your dad likes me, I really do."

"He will," she says, fervent in her need to believe this. Goodness, if he doesn't, she won't know what to do. "He'll like anyone who makes me happy, and you make me awfully happy. I'll have to arrange something. I know he's just so busy, but I'm sure he can find time for this."

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[Veronica, Stacy & Webster - Opposite Plot]

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