I braced myself for the worst scenario. Maybe my parents pulled me out of Pembroke Academy simply because the missed me- I seriously doubted it. I got the phone call two days ago from my mother. They were bringing me back home to attend Riverdale High. No explanation, no 'Can't wait to see you." Nothing.
My first guess was they found out about my, um, extracurricular activities and this was just a cruel cover up to tell me they were shipping me off to Europe or something. Sweeping things under the rug and forgetting about them was a Blossom family specialty.
For as long as I could remember, I was the last thing they wanted in their perfect, aristocratic world. I was different. I didn't have the right friends, or an 'appropriate' personality. But there was one thing about me in particular that my parents hated. I- Orchid Nicole Blossom- was blonde. I guess I didn't get their precious ginger gene. They made me dye it when I was a kid, but since I've been gone for so long it had gone back to its naturally golden state.
I leaned my head against the limousine window, staring up at the menacing gates surrounding the mansion. I had been to Thornhill twice in the past three years. There was a brief two week vacation between Pembroke's summer program and the start of the school year when I was allowed to return home, only to be locked away in my room until it was time to go back. But now, on the seventh of July, I'd be coming back for good- or at least, that's what my mother promised.
The limo pulled up to the house where my parents and my older sister Cheryl awaited, all looking unusually grim. I took a deep breath, accepting the impending doom. As soon as the driver opened my door, Cheryl threw her arms around me.
"Oh Nikki, I've missed you so much!" She exclaimed. I pulled away so I could see her face. Even though she had makeup on, I could tell she had been crying.
"I missed you too Cherry." I looked to my parents, studying their frowns. "What's going on?" It was then I noticed the absence of my fifth family member. "Where's Jason?" My mother's frown tightened.
"We will discuss the matter inside. Now come." My parents went inside, followed reluctantly by Cheryl. I sighed, looking at the massive cage before me, twilight casting shadows of every corner.
"Let my prison sentence begin."
The inside was just as big and lifeless I remembered. Of course, not all of the memories I had of this place were bad. When I was little, Jason would take Cheryl and I to the river to go boating and Cheryl would make us all flower crowns, despite how much Jason disliked it. He would tell me stories every night about princesses that had shiney, gold hair just like mine. The three of us would chase each other down the hall way, laughing and grinning, Jason's laugh being the liveliest. That's why, when the words left my father's mouth, I didn't believe him. I couldn't.
"Jason drowned in Sweetwater River three days ago. He's gone." To my family's surprise, I laughed.
"Real funny dad. Where is he?" They just stared at me in shock. Cheryl was on the verge of tears. "I knew you guys had a dark sense of humor, but this is too far. Where is Jason?"That's when Cheryl did start to cry.
"Do you honestly think that we would joke about this?" My mother spat.
"It's the only thing that makes sense!" I was yelling now, hiding my grief with anger.
"Orchid-" Dad started.
"It's Nicole, father. I haven't gone by that name since the second grade."
"Nicole," he corrected, patients with me clearly dwindling, "your brother is dead. This is not a sick joke. It is the fact of our lives now." The way he said it made my stomach turn. No emotion, no remorse or grief. Like he was telling me the family goldfish had died and not his son.
"No." I said, shaking my head. "No, he's not. He can't be. Jason called me last week. He sounded fine… he sounded happy. He can't just be gone." Cheryl stepped towards me, reaching out to hug me.
"Nikki-"
"No Cheryl!" I yelled. I squeezed my eyes shut, taking a deep shaking, breath. "No." I turned around and was out the door before any of them could say another venomous word. Pembroke's uniform Mary Jane heels weren't exactly made for running, so I threw them into the lawn before sprinting through the gate.
The entire town looked different than when I drove through before. Darker, sadder, secretive. Even though I couldn't see them, I could tell people were watching me from inside their houses. Judging me as I ran passed, wanting so desperately to ignore their accusing glares. To add to my luck, lightning cracked across the sky, bringing an endless pour of rain with it. I kept running, not caring about my shirt- which was completely soaked and probably see through now, or the fact that my feet were bleeding, cover with scratches and thorns.
I couldn't tell what was more blinding, the rain or my own tears. I had been dreaming of coming back to Riverdale since the day my parents sent me away, but I would stay at Pembroke for the rest of my life if it meant I could see my brother again.
Once I had reached the deep suburbs, I couldn't help it; I let out the loudest, most devastating scream I could manage. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire town heard me. With the scream came more tears. Soon i was a gross, snotty, sobbing mess standing in the rain. I was so consumed with my grief that I didn't notice when a familiar truck passed by, or when the boy in the passenger seat asked his dad to pull over.
"Nik?" A voice behind me shouted over the downpour. I slowly turned around and cried out in relief.
"Archie?" His red hair was plastered to his forehead and his shirt clung to his now muscle sculpted chest. I let a sob escape my lips as Archie pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around me. "Jason's dead!" I wailed. "He's dead!"
"I know." He whispered, holding me as I cried into his shoulder. "God, I'm so sorry Nik." He gently pushed away and his eyes dropped to my translucent shirt. "Hold on." He went back to the truck and grabbed his sweatshirt, wrapping it around me, instantly covering my arms in warmth. "Do you need a ride home?"
"No." I shook my head violently. "God no. I can't go back. Not yet." I sniffed, feeling slightly embarrassed since I probably looked like a total freak show. If only my parents could see me now.
"My dad and I are actually going to Pop's. You can come along if you want."
"That would be great, Archie." I wiped the tears away from my eyes. "Thank you." He put his arm around me, rubbing my shoulders to warm me up as he lead me back to his dad's truck. Archie let me take the front seat and climbed to the back.
"Dad, you remember Nicole Blossom right?" He asked, giving me a reassuring smile in the rearview mirror. I waved awkwardly.
"Hi, Mr. Andrews."
"How could I forget about the Blossom family rebel?" He smiled and I could feel the mood lighten a little. Mr Andrews had a way of making every situation seem better. "How long has it been? Two years?"
"Three." I corrected, playing with the zipper of Archie's sweatshirt.
"So are you staying for the rest of summer?" He wondered, starting the car and pulling away from the curb.
"Actually, my parents are letting me come back and attend Riverdale High this year." I watched as Archie's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Really? That's great Nik." He said, a bright boyish grin spreading across his face. I caught an escaping tear that ran down my cheek, thinking about why I was really here.
"I think they want me to be here for Cheryl. She was closer to Jason than anyone." Mr. Andrews put a comforting hand on my shoulder.
"We're all sorry about Jason. He was a great kid."
"Yeah… he was." That's when I did what Blossoms do best. I pushed down my emotions and plastered on a smile. "Well Archiekins, you'll just have to fill me in on what I've missed."
"Yeah..." He nodded skeptically. Archie was always able to tell when I was upset and he could tell now that I was pretending.
"Well I'm sure there won't be a lot to catch up on." Mr. Andrews chuckled. "Not much happens in this town."
"Tell that to Jason." Archie muttered. His dad shot him a look. As we pulled into the Pop's parking lot, images from when I was young played through my head. Pop's was my refuge from Thornhill. With an order of fries and a banana milkshake, I could forget about the screwed up mess that was my life. And right now, I needed a sanctuary more than ever.
As soon as the door was open, I was knocked off my feet by the amazing smell of french fries and coffee and all other forms of diner food. Since it was late, the diner was pretty empty besides its most loyal regulars and a boy sitting alone in a booth. Even though his face was buried behind the screen of is laptop, I'd recognize that crown cut beanie anywhere. I sauntered over to his table while Archie ordered for me, remembering all of my favorites.
"Jughead Jones. You're a sight for sore eyes." His eyes grew with shock and I smirked.
"Nicole?" He slammed his laptop shut and stood up. As I pulled him into a hug, I could feel his shoulders tense. Sure, Jughead wasn't really the hugging type, but something was up. When I pulled back, he was staring at Archie, who looked away quickly. My jaw dropped.
"When did that happen?"
"Hm?" Jug tore his glare away and turned back to me. I gestured to the ginger. He shook his head. "With Archie? Nothing, I've just been meaning to talk to him. Anyway, when did you get back? And why?" Jughead was one of the few people who had figured out the real reason for my absence, and it wasn't because I wasn't getting a 'proper education', as my parents had told everyone.
"Today actually, and I'm assuming my parents brought me back because of Jason." His eyes dropped to his laptop. I started to open it. "What are you writing?"
"Nothing." He closed it again and confirmed my suspicion. Whatever it was, it was about Jason. He scratched the back of his neck. "Look Nik, I'm really-"
"Please don't say you're sorry." I interrupted. "I've gotten to many apologies tonight." I took a step back towards Archie and his dad, who were waiting for me in their own booth. "I'll let you get back to that great American novel. See you at school?"
"Yeah." he smiled awkwardly. "See you at school."
After a round of burgers and milkshakes, Archie offered to let me crash at their place. I knew my parents would freak, but that wasn't why I said yes. I honestly didn't believe I could handle going home, seeing the look on Cheryl's face or the family pictures on the walls- Jason's painted eyes staring at me. Mr. Andrews was happy to let me stay and even offered to make it a movie night, popcorn and all. I told him I just needed some sleep.
Once we got to their house, Archie and I had a long argument about which one of us would take the couch. He insisted I could take his bed, but I eventually won and he brought down a pillow and a blanket from his room, sitting down on the couch next to me.
"Well, I'm gonna head to bed." Mr. Andrews announced. "Got a long day of construction tomorrow." He pointed to Archie. "Don't forget, I can hear everything." His eyes went wide and his face bright red.
"Dad!" He exclaimed and his father laughed before disappearing into his room. Archie sighed. "That's not what he meant."
"Don't worry Archiekins." I giggled. "It's not like I haven't heard it before, if not worse." He raised an eyebrow so I evaluated. "Rich boyfriend, snobby parents- story of my life." I thought about what happened at the party and corrected myself. "Ex- boyfriend."
"Well hopefully things will be better now that you're back." He said. I rolled my eyes at his naivete.
"Except that my brother's dead, Arch." I snapped.
"Right… sorry."
"No it's okay." I blew out a long breath. "It's just so much to take in in one day." He wrapped his arm around me and I layed my head on his shoulder. And it was nice. Neither of us said a word and simply drank in each other's presence. He shifted.
"I should probably get some sleep. I'm helping with the constriction in the morning."
"That's how you go these!" I teased, squeezing the muscles in his arm. He laughed, swatting my hands away.
"Yeah, yeah, joke all you want." His smile fell and his brown eyes filled with worry. "Are you gonna be okay?"
"I'll be fine." I assured him with a shrug. "Besides, I've got a ginger Macho Man upstairs ready to rescue me if need be." I yawned and rubbed my eyes. "Goodnight." He gave me a half smile.
"Night."
Cold. All I could feel was cold. Not the kind of cold you simply need a coat for either. The mind numbing, bone-deep freeze that tears the senses away from a person. All around me was dark. I tried to scream, but my mouth filled with water as soon as I opened it. The tide was carrying me at an impossible speed. Everything was moving too fast and my heart was beating out of my chest. And then it all stopped. I was frozen in place, finally able see since the sun's rays broke through the river's surface. Now that I could see, everything seemed more peaceful. The water was clear and completely still. A shadow passed over me and I looked up to find what was casting it.
A rowboat moved over me slowly. I swam up towards it, trying to make some kind of sound to make them hear me. The closer I seemed to get, the smaller the boat got. It didn't make any sense. Before I could figure out what was going on, a cold dead hand latched onto my arm. I was too scared to look and screwed my eyes shut, but I already knew who it was. Jason.
When I opened my eyes again, Archie was kneeling in front of me, his big puppy dog eyes staring at me. His hand was on my forehead, pushing my hair out of my face.
"Hey," He said, his voice groggy with sleep. "You okay?" I nodded, my mind still clouded with the dream. "My dad and I are heading out. I left you some toast on the table."
"Mmmkay." I mumbled into the pillow. He smirked and followed his dad out the door. I could hear the truck engine roar to life and the tires pull out of the drive way. To my own surprise, my father's words came to mind.
"Your brother is dead… it is the fact of our lives now."
"The fact of our lives now." I repeated to the empty house. I watched the ceiling, picturing it as the moving rapids of Sweetwater River. "Riverdale…" I sighed. "Welcome home Nikki."
I'm so obsessed with this show, it isn't even funny. Anyway, Nikki will dive head first into the plot in the next chapter, so I hope you are excited for that. I know that Veronica's apartment is called The Pembroke, but I wanted to add that since Cheryl attended Pembroke Academy in the comics. I really hope you guys enjoy and want to see more!