because of you

"It's almost like...it's a party."

"Right. Ha... I guess I hadn't expected the whole town to be here. My own fault, really. It- Any- Anyway. Are you here with someone?"

"Veronica! Wow, you ask the big man for a miracle and he sure delivers. Come admire the assortment of fruit no one's gonna eat."

"There was surely something better you could have asked for, Robert. I... Okay, sure. I mean, if no one else is going to do it."

He glanced around. "If you go left, it's shorter, but you would have to dodge two ice sculptures. How fast a runner are you?"

"Knowing my luck, I'd go running right into them and cause an even bigger catastrophe. I-..." she looked down at her feet and then back up to him, "Did not wear the right shoes for this. Maybe we could cause a distraction?"

In all honesty, Noah wasn't all that interested in big town-wide gatherings, but he never missed a single one. He might now have a wife and a son to focus his attention on, but he would drop everything for just one glimpse of her–anything to know that she was safe... that she was happy. Veronica never did seem to leave the house anymore though, so all events would lead to him hanging with his school friends and returning to his reality. He loved Bex, he really did, but thoughts of his dearest friend and how quickly everything changed had him in knots.

Veronica had become a shell of the person she once was. Year by year, piece by piece, until she didn't recognise her reflection anymore. She thought about Noah De Luca all the time. He was her best friend, he was her favourite person. When she needed something to hold onto, something that was hers alone, she thought about him. Veronica had fallen so far into a black hole, she didn't know how to get back out of it. Felix was never out of town... until he was. Until tonight. In the pit of her stomach, she knew something was very wrong but she wasn't ready to face it yet. Alone. God, she was so alone...

"Were you expecting something different?"

"No, I-...," but she didn't have answer, not really. So she deflected, unkindly, as usual. "What were you expecting, Mireya?"

"Tell me about it. I'm not sure if it's a party or a zoo."

"Do you think it's too late to make a break for it?"

Gunn hadn't been back to the underground since he left more than half a year ago, so he had to rely on Lily opening the door for him. People acknowledged him when he entered, trying to start up a conversation with him, but he had already been away from her for too long. Barely even looking at another person, he made his way thought the familiar corridors until he reached Erica's door. Maybe he should have knocked, but Gunn simply had no patience left in him. The door flew open and his heart almost stopped; he was home, she was safe... it was crippling how much he had missed her. "I found her."

Erica had crawled back into her shell since her brief appearance on prom night. The sound of the alarms underground were still echoing in her head as she stared up at the ceiling. Erica thought today might be the day, the one where she could get up and be again. Like maybe the light would turn back on. Her light. Ruby had come back to Corey, she'd heard that by now. It gave her hope, but it had been a long time since that had been enough for her. Erica almost didn't lift her head when her door came flying open, but when she did, her whole world stopped. He was home. He came back to her. Erica had sat up - stood up - staring at him like she wasn't sure if he was real. Was he real? When he spoke, her heart dropped. Her throat was dry, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. When she spoke, her voice was hoarse and unfamiliar, but it was a start. "You found her."

"Oh my god... They're all-..." Callie couldn't breathe. How had she not noticed any of this? She hadn't paid attention to all those graduates sneaking into Havensdale High School and she certainly hadn't noticed the bad guys moving the weapon. Had someone messed with her cameras? They were working fine now, but there was definitely footage missing. "Everybody, listen up." She spoke into all the earpieces, trying to keep the emotion from her voice. "It looks like four people made it out and are hiding out by the bleachers. One seems to have split off, but she's not looking good. I'm working on ID's, but if someone could get over there..."

Erica hadn't left her room in... She didn't know. The days, months, had blended together a long time ago. The last time she had felt even remotely herself was on the day Gunn left. The day he promised that he would fix it, that he'd be back. Erica had smiled, she had believed him. She said she believed him. With him gone, she crawled into a black hole and nothingness. But the alarms had never gone off like that, for this long, before. Whatever possessed her, whatever reason took hold of her, she'd gotten up. She'd left the room. She'd shuffled all the way to the main floor, walking by frantic agents in a haze. That's when she saw Callie. Erica hadn't known she was still moving until she was beside her. "What- What happened?"