I

Liar, liar, liar, Veronica's brain screeched as she pulled Archie further into her room, kissing him impatiently. Why was he so hung up on worrying about her mom hearing them? He'd clearly demonstrated he didn't feel the same qualms about being naively obvious in other aspects of his life. Like when he was staring at Betty and Jughead kissing, with that small town rom-com look on his face; it screamed 'There she is, the one who got away!'

Veronica was mostly annoyed because, early on, she'd done her damnedest to push those two together and now, when she wanted him, he was honing in on her best friend. He'd denied it to her face. Liar!

She pushed away from Archie's chest, trailing her fingers down to his abdomen before yanking her arm out of his reach.

"Be right back, Archiekins." She stared into his surprised face with her flat cat eyes. Who knew he'd turn out to be the manipulator, the deceiver, the femme fatale, when she was the one who looked the part? Veronica just had to make sure this night was as hollow for her as it was for him. She would act out her role perfectly on the surface, but feel nothing inside. The alternative was to allow Archie to make her a shade of Betty.

She turned on her heel and rocked her hips from side to side as she walked away from Archie. At the door of her walk-in closet, she looked back and gave him a sultry wink before disappearing inside.

In the small space, Veronica's façade cracked and she felt her face collapsing. She sunk down against her door, resting her forehead on her knees and taking deep breaths. She had brought Archie here. She was the one in control.

When it came down to the crunch, nobody ever picked her. Her father picked his stupid corporate maneuvers over their future together. Her mother picked her slippery, back alley real estate deal over Veronica's trust and respect. If Betty were available, Veronica was sure that's who Archie would be with right now. Veronica had to pick herself for once.

She stood and riffled through a drawer brimming with satin. The nightie she was after slipped between her fingers like a sharp knife through sushi. When her mother had seen it, she'd been scandalized. Veronica snorted at her mom's ability to be so morally rigid about this and yet so crooked when it came to protecting her father's interests. She had told her mother she only bought it to wear over a white cotton T and jeans, capitalizing on the '90s trends that were suddenly back in fashion and unlikely to return again while Veronica was young enough to fully embrace them.

Veronica pulled off her clothes and slipped the negligee over her head. Normally she wouldn't leave her things lying on the floor of her closet―if her mother had coached her in the joys of spending, she'd also impressed upon her the responsibility of wardrobe stewardship―but she reminded herself that she wasn't herself tonight.

She stepped out of the closet to see Archie looking at a photograph on her dresser. He had taken his jacket off. Veronica clicked the door shut behind her, making him turn. She was angry that his brown eyes looked so honest now.

"I―Ronnie―I―oh man…"

Archie's eyes stroked her from head to toe and back up. Veronica's heartrate picked up and her stiffened nipples felt sensitive as the material brushed over them. It was her signature royal blue with a neckline low enough to put the 'V' in 'Veronica' and a severely straight hem that made the distance between it and her mid-thigh look like a mile.

She raised one of the eyebrows that had been crafted with more intention and artistry than the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

"Haven't you ever seen a girl in her pajamas before, Archie?"

Archie tucked his chin and lifted both eyebrows.

"You and I both know that isn't pajamas."

Veronica shrugged and sat on the edge of her bed, crossing her legs carefully so they would look as long as possible. Internally, she was already exhausted. In the safe, quiet moments when she daydreamed, she'd thought about her first time with Archie happening spontaneously, with excitement, and nerves, and none of the orchestration Veronica was trying to pull off tonight.

Seeing Veronica seated seemed to hand back some of Archie's ego and she watched his posture relax. Apparently a girl who didn't look like she was about to stalk towards him and pounce like a wild cat wasn't a sexual priority, because Archie actually looked kind of distracted.

He looked back over his shoulder at the collection of frames she had on her dresser.

"I didn't know you could play the piano. All you ever do with the Pussycats is sing."

"What's the matter? Worried that dating two Pussycat pianists will start to look like a fetish?"

Archie rolled his eyes and crossed the room to sit next to her.

"No, you pervert."

Veronica smirked but Archie was still looking at her so she nodded her head slowly and explained.

"I can't play the piano, but I can play the part of someone who can."

Archie looked confused in his adorable way. Watching his face made Veronica feel sick. His honesty is an act!

"You'd make a great spy, Ronnie. If you were ever interrogated, it would take so long to get the truth out of you that they'd probably just give up."

Veronica laughed, surprised.

"I know certain pieces. Für Elise, Bach's Major this and Minor that, some slower works of Gershwin's. Basically anything straightforward enough to be memorized but never read off the page."

Archie shook his head.

"Veronica, that's incredible. But why?"

She leaned back on her hands, unconsciously opening up her body language.

"Because a daughter with a pretty face and a classical repertoire is a great prop at dinners that are really meetings," Veronica rocked her head to one side like an old fashioned metronome, "that are really deals," she rocked it back the other way, "that are really fraud." She looked sideways at Archie.

"That's messed up." Archie looked genuinely pained. Veronica bit the inside of her lip. She shrugged.

"But I bet you could play the fuck out of Für Elise."

Veronica's jaw dropped.

"Go wash your mouth out with apple pie, you despoiled all-American! I didn't even know you could swear." She leaned her shoulder into Archie's. "But you're right. I could."