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As soon as Veronica met her new college roommate, a blonde by the name of Heather Chandler, she could tell that this girl must've been one of the top dogs when she was in high school.
Heather dressed sharply and her makeup was always on point. Her posture was perfect and she carried herself with an importance that Veronica found herself envious of.
Initially, Heather was a bit of a bitch. She clearly viewed herself very high in comparison to those around her and, while Veronica definitely considered her roommate to be a friend of sorts, she didn't really like Heather Chandler all that much.
It wasn't until Veronica came home to find Heather hyperventilating over a homework assignment that she properly considered that this plastic woman had any real interiority.
It was easy to write off Heather as a cliché mean girl who hadn't matured past high school yet. It was harder to grapple with the fact that even mean girls have feelings.
"Heather?" Veronica said softly as she approached the blonde, who was hunched over her desk with her head in her hand, breathing heavily and shaking like a leaf. Heather immediately straightened up to the best of her ability, but it was nothing more than a cheap mockery of her usual stoicism.
"The hell do you want?" she snapped, though her voice came out crackly and Veronica could see now that she'd been crying.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, freak" Heather turned back to her desk. Veronica peaked over to find a book open and a blank sheet of lined paper next to it. "Go away"
"Maybe I can help"
"Why the fuck would you want to do that?"
"I mean, you're kind of a bitch, but I do care about you" Veronica told her earnestly. Heather looked at her again, her expression more vulnerable this time. "What's the trouble?"
"...I can't read this" Heather said, avoiding Veronica's gaze as she handed Veronica the book.
"How come?"
"I'm..." Heather swallowed thickly, stealing a quick glance at the other woman to search for judgment. Heather was many things, but she wasn't weak. She'd lose her shit if this nerdy little brat thought she was weak or undignified. However, no such thoughts were evident on Veronica's face. "I'm Dyslexic. The spacing is too close together and I can't read it"
"Oh" Veronica said, a bit taken aback. Heather seemed so perfect, she would've never imagined the girl had a learning disability. Even more, she didn't expect her to admit such a thing to her college roommate who she didn't seem to think very highly of. "That's okay"
"No, it's not" Heather objected firmly. "I have a book report due in two weeks and it's a huge part of my grade. I'm going to fail and then get kicked out and then all this will have been for nothing!"
"Heather, hey" Veronica soothed. "It's gonna be okay. You could get an audiobook"
"This book doesn't have one yet, it's really new"
"Oh" Veronica hummed in consideration for a moment. "I mean... I could read it to you"
"...You'd really want to do that for me?" Heather asked, surprised. "I've... I've not been the kindest to you"
"I want to" Veronica nodded. "And, in return, you can focus on being nicer. Not just to me, but to everyone. You're kind of a bitch"
"...Okay, fine, deal"