Soli Deo gloria
DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Riverdale.
Varchie, you guys! :D
"You know, Archiekins, just because you and your dad are baching it here in your man-cave doesn't mean you both have to give in to stereotypes and be complete and utter slobs," Veronica teased Archie, gesturing to the assorted hoard of belongings strewn across the Andrews's garage.
"We're not trying to; we're just so busy right now," Archie said. He leaned against the open garage door and cocked his head.
"Well, when you do find the time, I'll provide the proper motivation for you to get it done," Veronica said sweetly. She leaned against the old basketball hoop outside of the open garage.
Archie's interest was piqued. "What kind of motivation?" he asked curiously.
"If you want any of this," Veronica gestured to herself, "you need to clean up all . . ." she waved a lithe arm out, encompassing the entire mess littering the Andrews's driveway, ". . . this."
The inside of the garage no longer contained the available empty space for a car. Archie's music obsession, with Fred's permission, had completely taken over the space. All the walls were soundproofed. Hooks once used for holding up hammers or saws now held up guitars. On the wall was an idea board covered in tacks holding up handwritten pieces of half-finished musical scores. A set of drums bought online sat in the corner for whenever Archie got into adding some cymbals or beats to his music. The rest of the garage's contents spilled out like candy from a tipped-over Halloween bowl. Tools once carefully put away now lay about gathering rust. An old ping pong table shared space on the driveway and on the grass, killing the green carpet beneath it. The lawnmower sat next to the weed hacker and the pile of old work gloves. Old pieces of construction machinery sat under haphazardly laid tarps.
It was a mess but Archie and Fred, being busy and being men, didn't care too much. Of course, when Veronica came by Archie's house after school to 'work on some homework', it was all she could see.
"I'd think that some proper motivation," Archie admitted.
"I hope so. None of this stuff should be out here; it should be properly put away. Thrown away, too, some of it." Veronica waved a hand to a couple of tumbling small boats. "Why do you have kayaks? I have never seen or heard of you kayaking ever," she said, looking curiously at him even as she pulled up a bit of tarp for a better look at the dirty old pastel-colored boats.
Archie put a hand on these old kayaks. He said, "Well, we got them a couple of years ago. When Mom moved out. Dad needed to get out of the house and I found these in an outdoor sports catalogue that we get in the mail. Dad and I ordered them to ship to the store and one Saturday we went and picked them up together. It was like an hour and a half drive. Then we went kayaking on Sweetwater River. We were on the river for the rest of the day. I don't know how many hours we kayaked, but the sun was setting when we went ashore. I don't know how many miles we rowed but I could barely lift my arms the next day. All I know is that it helped Dad to get out and free his mind from thinking about . . . everything. We bonded a lot on that trip. We've been mostly good ever since."
Veronica kept his eyes until he looked away. That'd been a dark summer. His dad's mind was somewhere else and all Archie wanted to do was get his mind off of . . . his mind. "I dunno. Something in the fresh air and exercise and the feeling of freedom . . . like you can get away from what's haunting you . . . That really helped him."
Veronica knew Archie's own mind was occupied with dark thoughts: about his dad, recovering slowly at home. She knew what it was like to have a dad who took up residence, rent-free, in your mind, and wouldn't move out. While she'd do anything to be rid of Hiram Lodge, she knew Archie had good reason to keep thinking of his poor dad.
"That sounds like a really good therapeutic exercise that I'd like to find myself partaking of. You should do it, too," Veronica decided.
Archie was wrenched back from yesteryear. "I'm sorry, what?"
Veronica pulled her shoulders back and said clearly, head high and voice determined, "I want to go kayaking."
"You? I'm sorry, you want to go kayaking?" Archie stuttered.
"Yes."
"You . . . go kayaking? Who—who would you go kayaking with?!"
"Your dad, obviously. You guys bonded a lot over kayaking, so why can't he and I do the same thing?" Veronica waited a beat before saying, blinking her pretty eyelashes, "Archie, I'm kidding. I'm talking about going kayaking with you."
"O-oh. Okay." Archie blinked, surprised.
Veronica smiled, showing off her dazzling white teeth and shiny lipstick, and said, her hands pulling at his early spring jacket collar, "I can see the wires short-circuiting in your brain, Archiekins. Your mind can't fully wrap around the idea of me going voluntarily outdoors and exercising. It does not compute. It's a good look on you, this adorkably confused thing you've got going on."
"Oh, thanks. So, um, Saturday, then, I guess? Sweetwater River?" Archie stammered, still in disbelief.
"Pick me up at one. Sounds great. I'm looking forward to it." Veronica pressed her lips to his cheek and said, intertwining her fingers in his, "Let go take a look at that homework."
Archie, still in a daze, walked after her.
Jughead and Betty were able to articulate the exact thoughts Archie entertained but somehow couldn't exactly spit out in coherent sentences. "You're going . . . kayaking?" Betty said at Pop's on Thursday night. They still frequented the same booth, despite the shooting that forever haunted the place in Archie's eyes. The three Riverdale High students would never interact together with Jughead otherwise, since they couldn't sit together at lunch five times a week anymore.
Jughead busied himself spinning his dirty straw around his empty milkshake glass in disbelief. "I find that really hard to believe, borderline made-up."
"What? Because I like wearing party dresses and high heels means that I can't like nature?" Veronica challenged, wrapping an arm around Archie.
"No, but it means that you and nature definitely have some friction between you, which probably means that you will no doubt not get along, which will probably lead to you capsizing," Jughead said, logically.
"I'm not going to capsize. I'll have Archie with me. He knows all about kayaking," Veronica said, squeezing her hand on Archie's arm.
Jughead threw Archie a sympathetic look while Archie grinned and bore it. He wasn't going to tell Veronica that he didn't want to go kayaking with her (he could imagine the impossible idea of them having a lovely time with little-to-no mishaps. Well, he could imagine) because he knew that it'd probably end in disaster. He didn't want to tell his girlfriend that Jughead was right; Veronica Lodge and the great outdoors were two entirely different worlds that would clash like polka dots and stripes in the same outfit. But dear Archiekins had her playing on his heartstrings; he didn't want to crush Ronnie's enthusiasm.
"Veronica, you've never gone kayaking before. Or done any kind of outdoors sports at all. Just . . . be careful," Betty told her.
"Oh, I will. I'm almost seventeen. I can take care of myself. And when I do need someone's help, I've got Archie right by my side." Veronica snuggled against Archie's arm, making him feel as warm as her smile as she looked at him.
Oh, the reactions wouldn't stop coming the closer Saturday got. Hermione Lodge looked downright alarmed at the very idea. Hiram Lodge pulled Archie aside and pointed his finger at him and gave him the ol' 'If anything happens to my daughter, I'm gonna kill you, just so you're warned' speech. Fred Andrews laughed for the first time in months. He couldn't get the picture of Veronica Lodge, wearing designer sunglasses and diamond earrings, calmly rowing along deep, murky Sweetwater River. "Just make sure she doesn't capsize, Arch," Fred told him.
"I won't let her capsize. I won't let anything happen to her. You know that, Dad," Archie said.
Fred nodded; he knew how helpless his son felt last year, unable to help his best friends. He would do everything in his power to keep his girlfriend safe.
"We had a good time kayaking that one time, didn't we, Archie?" Fred said.
Archie nodded. "Yeah, Dad. We did."
They both looked at each other without smiles. They knew that well could've been the last time they'd gone kayaking together, or really bonded over something together. Archie's pursuit of music over football did little to bring them together; the gunshot really put things in perspective.
"Maybe after your little excursion with Veronica, you and I can take another take at ol' Sweetwater River," Fred suggested lightly.
Archie didn't take his suggestion lightly. He said, with a hardness in his eyes that was much too old for his youthful face, "That sounds like a great idea, Dad."
"Good. Good," Fred said. He normally would've said that they'd do it soon, the soon being here as some time in the distant future. Now, though, Fred couldn't say such words so carelessly. He knew that he would set a definite date that summer to spend some time in the great outdoors with his only son.
In the meantime, Archie found Veronica bright-eyed and bushy-tailed outside of The Pembrooke Apartments on Saturday at one. She thanked their butler for opening the door for her; he tipped his hat to her as she, almost bubbling over with enthusiasm, hurried over to Archie's dad's pickup truck. She hopped into the front seat and rocked the cab as she said, slamming the door in her excitement, "On time, just like a real proper date. You'll earn major points in my dad's book. Which, I guess, at the end of the day, is a good thing." She straightened up and said with a cock of her head, "You are dating his daughter, after all."
Archie hadn't said a single word since she appeared at the entrance of The Pembrooke, mostly because, like usual, she took his breath far, far away from him. She wore white short shorts and a black tank with thin straps and a curved collar-line. Her shining black hair's coils were collected in a high ponytail. She wore Cool Strength lipstick and pearl earrings, and $1 flip-flops. Archie's tongue loosened as he looked down at her perfectly pedicured tiny feet and said, "Nice shoes."
"Thanks." She regarded his heavy brown sandals and said, "You too."
"We're gonna need practicality versus looks today," Archie said, in explanation.
"Which is why I wore these as opposed to my Burton knee-high brown boots," Veronica said, like duh. She buckled in and opened her window, letting her arm rest in the open wind as Archie blasted the radio and pulled them out onto the open road. He didn't notice the sweeping look her critical bright eyes gave the cab. Whatever company Archie hired to clean up the staining blood from the inside of his dad's truck had done a perfect job. Somehow, it reminded her of FP Jones and Joaquin Santos cleaning up Jason Blossom's blood. She gulped and quickly turned her head away, letting herself instead take in the lovely spring Riverdale wore. She didn't want to remember last autumn.
The wind whipped into the cab but did little to disturb Veronica's gorgeous and immaculate hairdo. Practical and fashionable. The wheels of the pickup crunched against the bank as Archie set the car in PARK. Sweetwater River had four different little parking lots along its banks, but none here, at this one spot that Archie always found himself coming back to. It was the spot he and Ms. Grundy were. It was the spot where he heard Dilton Doiley's shot. It was the spot where Jason Blossom's body washed up.
"Archie?" Archie turned to look at Veronica with searching, concerned eyes. She put a hand on his arm. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," he said quietly, still slow in being brought back to reality. He was in the here and now, not in yesterday's memories. He just had to keep telling himself that.
Veronica looked out at the bank. She couldn't see all that Archie's eyes saw, but she knew. She knew. "I feel like this place is kind of cursed, after what happened to Jason," she said.
"There used to be a lot of celebrations around Sweetwater River," Archie said abruptly. Veronica showed no reaction to this quick turn of topic. He said, "We used to celebrate summer down here. People would come out to swim, fish, even hike along its trails. It was like Riverdale's unofficial park that everyone went to when the weather was nice. There used to be school fish fries. On Saturdays after football practice all the guys would come down here to cool off, do cannonballs. That sort of thing." He sighed. "No one's done that kind of thing since last June."
"Well, then," Veronica said, squeezing Archie's hand still tight on the steering wheel, "let's be the first to get back out there. After all, it wasn't the river that killed Jason, like everyone thought for a while. It's just the place of discovery, and it couldn't help that." The river was guilty of nothing but being the spot where FP Jones and Joaquin Santos had dumped the body. That was all.
Archie sighed, but pulled his keys out. Looking at Veronica, her with such naïve hope and get-going spirit, he said, "Then let's go."
She beamed and kissed his cheek before flying out the passenger door.
The smile on Archie's face and the warmth in his cheeks grew with equal strength as he sighed and got out of the car. He found Veronica eyeing the two massively long individual boats with a critical eye. "Can these be taken out by one person or does each load need to be shared?" she asked.
"We're definitely gonna need two people to get these out," Archie said. "They look light, but they definitely don't feel it." He brought the backwall of the pickup's bed down and used both arms to drag the front of the first kayak out. Veronica put her hands on the back end and helped lower it. Her eyes popped out but she betrayed no surprise or complaint otherwise as they hefted it down to the edge of the water until its bow was almost dipped into the cool river.
Veronica drew a heavy breath as she straightened up, hands on hips. Archie almost laughed as he said, "Doesn't put you off kayaking, does it?"
Veronica threw him a look as they fetched the second one. "You of all people should know, dear Archiekins, that a little extra work never put off Veronica Lodge once she's put her whole mind to something." With that kind of mentality, the second kayak easily joined its mate on the rocky bank. "So," Veronica said, once again catching her breath, "how does one go about casting off in a very rickety boat?"
"Well, for kayaks, the first person gets launched out by the second person," Archie explained. "I'll launch you out first. Getting out by yourself is kind of a pain; also, the odds will be more in favor of you tipping over. I've got more experience, so I'll go second."
"All right. Sounds good. Make sure not to tip yourself over, Archiekins," Veronica said, smiling, as she took her seat in the boat. Her back straightened against the stiff back of the seat and her nice slim legs laid down flat in the bed of the boat. Her flip-flops stamped against the front pedals. Archie handed her a light doubled-ended oar and said, squatting, "Here's how to hold it." His hands brought her own to hold onto just above each paddle. She looked up at him with bright eyes that almost distracted him off task. He cleared his throat and continued. "Make sure to dip evenly on the right and the left or you'll be going in circles. Or worse, tipping over."
"And we wouldn't want that," Veronica said quietly, her eyes never falling from his face.
Archie caught himself before they got completely off topic and continued. "There are two sides to the oar. If you flip the oar and row forward, you'll actually find yourself going backward. Do that if you get stuck in shallow water or are about to go off the waterfall or something. And, um, that's it. The main thing is just to keep yourself steady. The water can be really, really deep in some areas." Veronica watched him bend over into the other kayak and bring out two life jackets. "Which is why we're going to wear these."
"Oh, Archie," Veronica said, eyeing the bright yellow life jackets with a sigh, "I get the danger involved that requires us to wear these, but the fashionista inside me fainted dead away just now."
Archie smirked as he handed her one. "Good thing the only person who's going to see you wear this is me."
"Well," Veronica sighed, tugging on the life jacket and buckling it in, "that's not entirely true."
Archie glanced up now and then from securing his own life jacket. "How so?"
"Please, Archie," Veronica said, tightening the straps along her side, "you can't expect me to go on a fun adventure with my boyfriend and not take a few pictures?"
"I'd forgotten," Archie said, even as he drew out his own cellphone.
Veronica, pretending to be shocked, put her hands on her hips. "Forgotten? My my my, Archie. That's some short-term memory."
Archie held up his phone. "Smile, Vee," he said.
Veronica sighed before putting on her brightest smile. If there was going to be a picture of Veronica Lodge wearing an ugly but necessary piece of life-saving apparel, she was gonna look pretty damn fine in it. Once her picture was taken, however, Archie had to have a picture taken of him (which he really didn't mind), and then they shared a quick selfie before they were actually out on the water.
Once Veronica had safely stuck her cellphone in her back pocket ("It still sticks out. See, Archie, girl's clothes do not have big pockets. It's shame on the fashion industry"), Archie gave her a big push and launched her out onto the river.
They'd brought the kayaks a little upstream from where Archie had parked. They'd gone beyond the rock where Cheryl was found the day that Jason supposedly 'drowned'; further upstream, before the river fell in a waterfall. Archie called, "Veronica, paddle upstream. You don't want to go any further downstream, or you'll go over the waterfall!"
"Got it, Archie!" Veronica took a deep breath and patiently began rowing. She was pleased to find that it was easy work that didn't tax her muscles. It was pleasant to sail upstream, pushing yourself along the dark green surface of the deep water. She pulled down her sunglasses, as she was heading straight toward the sun. She laughed to herself in delight; Jughead and Betty wasted too much time with their worrying; this was easy, and fun! Veronica Lodge could do this.
Archie had to launch himself, which was easier said than done. He cast most of his boat into the water before scrambling into it. The shore was shallow, allowing him to stick his oar out onto the river's bottom, giving him perch and something to lean on as he settled down into his kayak. Once he felt secure, he performed quick long strokes upstream. Veronica was a black, yellow, and pastel red spot up ahead. Archie pushed down his own sunglasses and let his hardworking arms bring him fast on her tail.
Veronica glanced over her shoulder now and then, to get an idea of where Archie was. Sometimes she'd wave a hand at him; other times her competitive nature took over, and she strove ahead. Despite how far her determination got her, Archie's arms, used to football, eventually caught up with her.
"Hello, stranger. Fancy meeting you here," Veronica said conversationally, amused as he brought his kayak right alongside hers.
"You come out here often?" Archie played along.
"Never before, but I might make a habit of it. If I could only find the right person to go with each time . . ." Veronica mused.
"I think I know somebody," Archie teased.
"Really? Let him know that I'd be very interested in keeping his company afloat Sweetwater River," Veronica said, tilting her head with a bright smile illuminating her face.
They kept abreast in silence for a quarter mile or so, just breathing in the delightful simple luxury nature afforded them. The weather was pleasant, neither too hot or too cold. The sun fell like warm butter on their shoulders while shadows were welcomed along the edges of the river. The river itself gave off a cool vibe; the wind sent long-reaching ripples across its calm surface; you could brush alongside a fish or a turtle as you rowed.
It was so nice and pleasant that Archie kicked himself for broaching into the unknown. "Hey, Vee?"
"Yes, Archiekins?" Veronica asked, looking straight ahead, while Archie wore a sigh.
He struggled to find the right words. He'd seen the warm, vulnerable side of Veronica Lodge. He'd also seen the cold, vengeful side of Veronica Lodge. He might be her boyfriend, but he didn't want to end up on the wrong side of the line. "Why did you want to go out kayaking? The real reason?"
Veronica sighed as she rowed, keeping her eyes up ahead. Archie steered his kayak to bump into hers, forcing her to notice him. He gave her an encouraging look.
Archie was her boyfriend; it wasn't like she didn't want to tell him why; it was just . . . even Veronica Lodge, social butterfly, struggled for words sometimes. Now she looked at him with the same look he'd worn to look at her. "It's just . . . you made the trip you took with your dad out here on the river sound like the most wonderful thing. Almost like it was a miracle. So I thought, 'You know what, a kayaking trip is all we need to solve all our problems.' It's kind of a stupid thought, I guess."
"It's not a stupid thought, Vee. It's a good thought. On my trip with me and my dad, we did have the best time. Out here on the water, breathing in fresh air, away from the worries and problems of real life: it does clear your head. But I don't get what you mean by problems. What kind of problems do we have, Vee?" Archie suddenly sounded worried. Were there problems in their relationship that he'd been stupidly blind to? Had Veronica been alluding to something this entire time that had gone completely over his head?
"They're not problems we have, Archie. They're problems that you have, and then I have. Solely. Our relationship is good. Like this boat." Veronica put a hand on her faded pastel boat. "Very much afloat."
Archie smiled a little. Veronica continued, her own smile disappearing, "Your dad's shooter gives you more pain than he ever gave your dad." Archie looked away. "It's true. Don't deny it. It's not a thing to be ashamed of. I know how many late nights you've spent waiting for the shooter to attack again. I know about your own diggings into who he is, your own investigation besides the sheriff department's."
"I'm not going to stop," Archie said. "I'm not going to stop until we find him."
"I know." Veronica gave him a reassuring smile. "I just wanted to take you away from that place in your head for a while. You don't have to let the shooter rule your life. Especially not here. Here, floating on this river with me, you're free from him."
Archie didn't know what to say. For as frivolous and vain Veronica Lodge seemed to some people, to the people who knew her, she had the warmest heart and soul as anyone they'd ever known. She was intuitive and feeling; she was rich and from New York, and she was a great, caring friend. Girlfriend, too. He felt immense gratitude for understanding him.
"And, as for my problems. . ." Veronica sighed and looked straight ahead. "I had to get away from my parents. Hiram and Hermione Lodge might have long-stretching fingers, but they can't touch me here in Sweetwater River. They don't own this river, the same as they don't own me. They can't catch me here." Veronica looked at Archie, pulling up her sunglasses so he could see the worry in her eyes. "You know, Archie?"
Archie couldn't emphasize, but he could surely sympathize. Everyone in Riverdale had some kind of trouble with their parents. Veronica Lodge was exempt from many things; having morally and ethically perfect parents wasn't one of them. "I know, Veronica."
Veronica looked relieved; that was all that needed to be said. They understood one another.
They spent so many hours sailing up and down Sweetwater River. This trip seemed to banish all lingering haunting thoughts about Jason's corpse. They were released from that which usually held them back. They laughed without restraint and tired their arms splashing each other. The late spring sun was starting to gently set as they strove toward land.
Archie made it safely to the bank but grew a little concerned as Veronica rushed past him. "Hey, Vee, turn your oar! Paddle backwards! You're getting too close to the waterfall!"
Normally, Veronica Lodge would laugh in the face of danger. This time, though, she wore no smile as she hurriedly paddled 'backwards', flustered in her panic. The edge of the waterfall loomed. It looked like a drop off the edge of the world. In reality it was just a quick drop down a too tall waterfall, but the danger buzzing around it like an electric fence felt the same. She struggled, but the current pushed her further downstream, and her tired arms complained and begged her to stop. Her will and mind wouldn't let her stop as her stark reality came rushing up to her: if she didn't fight the river, she'd get swept down it. She yelled in frustration as the current unheeded her cries and pushed her gently toward the waterfall.
Archie lost no time. He circled around the edge of the river, fighting the current. He was almost at the edge of the river before he expertly turned himself around. Now facing upstream, he fought the current flowing against him as he rowed to Veronica. He found purchase on her kayak floating directly toward him and gave it a sharp turn-around. Veronica yelped as her kayak swerved directly to the east instead of following its direct line to the south. She took this breather to quickly gather herself and using her oar, propelled herself around until she was heading north again. She glanced quickly over her shoulder once she found herself going upstream, anxious to see where Archie was. He hadn't spent so much time pushing her around that the current swept him down over the waterfall, had he?
She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw his powerful arms fighting the current as he trailed behind her.
"Archie," she said, once they were out of danger, "thank you. I'm so sorry; I was going too fast downstream and I thought I could stop in time—"
"Vee," Archie said, sounding a little weary but a little happy at the same time, "it's okay. It's okay. I'm just glad I was fast enough. If anything ever happened to you, I . . ." He bit his lip, deciding not to finish that thought.
Veronica understood. She said in a gentle voice, "Let's go ashore."
The spot they ended up at was upstream from their pushing-off point. They wanted to stay as far away from the waterfall as possible. While their pushing-off point had been like a shallow beach, here they docked at a ledge a foot higher than the water, even though the water several feet deep. Veronica hit the bank first and was able to climb out quickly enough to escape difficulty.
She looked at Archie as he pulled in alongside the bank and offered him a hand. "Here, take my oar. I got it," he said. She took his oar and he gave a running jump onto the bank. His foot slipped against the muddy bank and Veronica, mortified, watched him fall into the water. She instantly threw his oar to the ground and scrambled to the edge of the bank. She saw him pop up, spewing water. She closed her eyes and felt relief and an urge to giggle bubble up inside her as Archie shook his head like a dog. She opened her eyes to see his wet red hair shine in the sunlight. She couldn't help saying, "And everyone thought I was the one who'd end up in the water." She offered him a hand, and this time Archie gladly took it. Once he was up on dry land, she said, "Good thing you brought the life jackets. Unfashionable, but terribly necessary." She put her head against his chest and found comfort in his beating heart. He said, "Well, at least no one capsized."
Veronica's laugh made him happy. "Yes. Funny how that was the one thing everyone was worried about. Don't they know all the incredible dangers, besides the pleasant aspects, of kayaking?"
"You say that like you've been kayaking for years," Archie said. "Like an old veteran of the sport."
"Ugh," Veronica said, clutching her arms. "I certainly feel like I've been kayaking for years." She didn't complain, but groaned most exorbitantly as they carried the kayaks, life jackets, and oars back to the pickup. Once seated in the cab with Archie drier from use of an old towel from the backseat, she said, "We had a good time kayaking, didn't we, Archie?"
Archie smiled, his mind clear and his happiness untainted for once. He wrapped an arm around his girlfriend and said, "Yeah, Veronica. We did."
They sat in pure silence for a moment, letting rest enter their weary bodies, before Veronica looked up into Archie's eyes and said, "One more picture? Just one more, for all our adoring social media followers? I'm sure the wet hair will surprise everyone since it was ten-to-one that I was gonna be the one to take an unexpected swim."
Archie laughed and agreed to it. Veronica dug out her cellphone, still Veronica under the sweat and muscle fatigue. Veronica Lodge loved posting selfies with her boyfriend online, just as much as she loved kayaking on Sweetwater River with him on a perfect spring day.
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