This is a story about a girl and the chaotic life of this girl.
From the outside, she appears like most girls at 16.
Beautiful.
Carefree.
Innocent.
Dig beneath the surface though and you'll begin to see the cracks that lie underneath her caramel façade.
The name of this girl is Diana Lodge.
Diana's story began as a fairytale.
Loving parents, a close-knitted relationship with her fraternal twin Veronica, and all the luxuries a person could crave in this world.
However, this fairytale doesn't have a happy ending.
The welcome sign of her new home came into view, its bright lights creating cascading shadows over the town with pep.
Riverdale.
The birth place of Hermione Lodge and Diana's current position of refugee.
Checking the reflection of her twin, Diana felt dread settle into her stomach. The ride there had been silent, as Diana had expected it to be.
Veronica was still in shock after the summer's series of events had played their final hand as was her mother who sat across from the twins. As she sucked in a deep breath, the young woman came to a simple conclusion.
A new town would never make things the same for her family.
The car pulled to an abrupt stop, knocking the raven haired woman out of her daze. Diana rushed to open her door, smiling up at the family driver as he had already beaten her to it.
"Miss Lodge" The elder man rang out, his green eyes crinkled in the corner with amusement.
Diana chuckled at his antics as she muttered "You couldn't have let me win just once Griffin?"
Griffin rolled his eyes playfully, a smile tugging his wrinkled lips upward "I don't believe that is in my job description Miss Lodge" he said, causing Diana to chuckle once more.
"I suppose not" Diana replied, a sad smile replacing her grin as she tugged the man into a firm embrace. "I'm going to miss you old friend".
She felt his smile on her shoulder before Griffin lugged himself away to meet her hazel eyes. "Do stay out of trouble during my absence Miss Lodge".
"No promises Griffin" Diana said as her mother called for her. With one final smile to her friend, she finished "Take care of yourself Griffin" then she ran off to join her mother and sister, regarding the building they would be living in with apprehension.
Her mother threw a casual arm around both her daughter's waist as she whispered encouragingly. "Now brace yourself girls; the apartment is small, but it's…"
"Quality always" The twins recited together, Veronica with a roll of her eyes while Diana added a tentative smile to her sentiment.
"Plus, it's the only piece of property with my name on it rather than your fathers" Hermione continued, earning Diana a sad glance from her sister.
With a sigh, they hurried behind their mother as she descended into the apartment building.
"Ms. Hermione!" An elder gentleman exclaimed, smiling brightly at the women as he continued "Welcome home!"
Diana's mother smiled brightly. "It's been too long Smithers" Motioning to her children, Hermione continued "These are my daughters, Veronica and Diana".
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance" Smithers spoke with a tip of his hat causing a shy smile to find it's way to Diana's lips.
"Hello" She replied just as Veronica whined "Mother, can we go to our rooms now?"
"Ronnie, manners!"" Diana chastised her sister to which Veronica anwsered with a scowl.
Hermione rolled her eyes had her daughter's antics; Smithers calling out to her in an amused tone "Shall I get your bags miss?"
"Would you please?" Hermione sighed in relief, and then sent a quick glance to her daughter's. When her gaze finally fell back to Smithers, he noticed the mischievous twinkle in her eye as she asked innocently "By chance, would you know if Pop Tate's Chock 'lit Shoppe is still open?"
Smithers chuckled "In the mood for a burger perhaps?"
"You know me too well Smithers" She replied then circled back to her girls, who offered matching puzzled expressions.
"What is a Chock 'lit Shoppe?" Veronica asked.
"And why does it sell burgers?" Diana finished as a smile came across her mother's face.
So meet Diana Lodge; new resident of Riverdale!
If you are a new reader; Welcome! I hope you enjoy Diana's story and I encourage you to look into my other stories.
If you've read any of my other work; Welcome back! I also hope you enjoy Diana's story!
After I watched the pilot of Riverdale, I instantly felt like I needed to write some of the things I would've done differently. A lot of the story remains the same, but there are some major plot points that I twist around to fit my narrative.
This shouldn't be important, but I feel I should address the topic of Sexual Orientation in my characters.
For instance, Diana is bisexual. Like most of my original characters, I made her this way because she is very much a reflection of me. That being said, she will date boys and girls, but there is a love interest that I hadn't planned on being there. It may change as I edit, but as of right now, the love interest is a boy. If this upsets you then this may not be the story for you and I'm sorry. I encourage you to stick around as her sexual orientation is only a part of her character, but you do you at the end of the day.
Other sexual orientations you should be aware of going forward are Jughead and Cheryl.
Jughead is Gray Asexual meaning he doesn't have sexual feelings, but can have sex if he grows attracted to another person (attraction being based off trust opposed to physical attributes). He has romantic feelings which means that he will sometimes acknowledge romantic inclinations with action (I.E kissing, hand holding, etc.). If you are upset at the thought of being Asexual meaning that someone doesn't act on any romantic feelings they have then this may not be the story for you. I wrote him this way because I was very much in love with the ACE version of Jughead, but I also loved the show's version of Jughead. I wanted a mix of both of them and Gray Asexual seemed like the most suitable option. To be completely honest, it just fits Jughead's narrative. He is Gray Asexual, not Aromantic.
Cheryl is Aromantic meaning she doesn't have romantic feelings for anyone in this story. My version of Cheryl is this way because when I watched the show; Cheryl's love for Jason made an impression on me. I thought that Cheryl truly lost her soulmate when Jason died and that her loyalty to him would've put her off having romantic feelings her whole life. She valued her brother in a way that she values no one else which is something I really hit on in this story like they did in the show. I also wasn't a fan of adding another girl into Archie's haram like in the comics. Don't get me wrong, Archie is swell. However, he is much more than a love interest and I intend to make him a more complex character. Following that, Cheryl does have sexual encounters with some of the characters. Not flat out sex of course because this is rated T, but there are some kissing scenes. She has relationships with other characters that are friendship based and grow off trust instead of the idea of loving that person romantically. She is Aromantic, not Asexual.
The way I wrote these characters may not fit in what you think Asexual or Aromantic is and I hope this is okay with you. I am not Asexual or Aromantic so I had to do my research. I tried to do as much as I could in terms of research, but if I get something wrong to a point that it bothers you; I encourage you to reach out to me. I am only human and I am capable of making mistakes. My intention is never to offend anyone.
If I'm being honest, I wrote Diana's story when I was going through a hard time. She and Emilia (a protagonist from another story of mine) became healing characters for me.
Anyways! I will try to update this story every week alongside my other stories. Again, I encourage you to check those out. I also encourage comments! Conversation is what makes my day!
XOXO
foxcharin
