It's over, it's finally over.
You walk slowly over to her, trying to be as careful as possible not to make any noise until the last moment, almost as if she were an animal you were trying not to spook. All your efforts are for nothing though, she heard your footsteps and knew exactly who you were by how you walked, she could pick out the way you exhaled in a crowd of people, that's how well she knows you.
"He's gone," she says as you take a seat next to her on the ledge, you know that she chose this place because no-one would find her here but she should have remembered who showed this spot to her. You hand her the open bottle of alcohol and look down at the water of Sweetwater River rush past.
"Is it enough?" you ask, is it enough that he's gone. Will the nightmare stop now that he's locked away? Will his people stop coming after you and anyone who tries to help you? Will the southside be given back to the Serpents? But most importantly, will she take you back?
"It'll never be enough," she grits out and you both fade into silence that wasn't uncomfortable but it wasn't easy either, instead just passing the bottle between you until there was nothing left. You frown when you take the empty bottle from her and shake it a little to see that there really was nothing left, sighing you toss it into the running water, watching it drift away. "Bad."
"You have no idea," you say with a snort at how slurred her word was, it's not like yours was any better but all of a sudden you're both laughing, deep belly laughs that make you laugh more. She tilts her head back, misjudging her centre of gravity and almost falls backwards but you're there, your reflexes still sharp enough to catch her and your laughter dies down as she buries her face in your chest.
"I'm drunk," she mumbles, placing her hands on your chest and pushing herself up gently, her eyes land on your lips and you're watching her, not daring to breathe in case you scare her off again. She smiles and uses her hands to tug sharply on your shirt jerking you forward enough for her lips to be on yours. It's so familiar that you don't question it, just open your mouth against hers the way you always have, the way you've wanted to for so long.
And then she pulls away so quickly you grab at her sides for fear that she'll tip over the other way into the water. "Archie," she gasps and you can hear the regret in her voice and suddenly Hiram Lodge being led away in handcuffs means nothing to you because it changed absolutely nothing.
"Ronnie," you say softly, pleading with her to remember when she called you 'Archikins' and this kiss was just as easy as breathing, it wasn't spoiled with regret. She closes her eyes as you tuck her hair behind her ears, so carefully it was like you were handling the most fragile glass.
"I can't do this, I'm with Reggie now," she says and you drop your forehead to hers, shaking your head as if this contact will make her change her mind. "I'm with him and he loves me and I can't do this to him, I should go."
"Stay," you beg, this is what you've been fighting for, for so long, Hiram put away and his clan dispersed so there was no fear of anyone close to him having a target on his back. "Please."
"I can't, I want to be with him, this isn't a choice," she says pushing out of his arms. "I'm sorry."
Just like that she's gone, walking away from you again, no matter what you do, you wouldn't get her back, you lost her the moment you put that phone down and left town with Jughead to keep her safe. You watch as she disappears into the distance, you should probably make sure that she gets home safely, you aren't even sure what the state of the town is right now, as soon as Hiram was whisked away you came here, you should check but you can't move.
The sky has turned considerably darker and the temperature dropped far lower than acceptable for the clothes you're in when someone finally comes for you, when someone notices that you had disappeared long enough to panic.
"Archie, we were worried," Jughead says sounding out of breath, like he had run to you and you blink up at him, you can feel the blank expression on your face.
"You're freezing," Betty says from behind him throwing a jacket around your shoulders and trying to rub some heat into your arms. "How long have you been out here Arch?"
Jughead mumbles something about getting back home but Betty sits down next to you and wraps her arms around you tucking her face into the crook of your neck and Jughead sits on your other side wrapping his arms around you both. The three of you huddle together, protecting each other like you did back when you were kids, when Betty's mom was being extra crazy or Jughead's dad was really drunk or the first time your mother took off without a word. These are your best friends and you love them more than anything.
"I got your text," Betty says after a few moments picking her head up. "V is safe, she's home, she and her mom are going to hide out at the Pembrooke for a while."
"Until they figure out how to handle the shitstorm heading their way," Jughead says and you can't see his face but you can practically hear the roll of his eyes as he speaks.
You nod and burrow back into their embrace, you don't want to move just yet. You can feel them having a silent conversation above your head about what to do with you and if you were in any other mood than what you're in right now you would probably tell them off for trying to baby you and not trusting that you can do anything right. But you don't care that you're being treated like a child, you don't care about what they're saying, you don't know that you're going to care about anything again.
"Come on Archie," Betty says gently, tugging at your arm to get you to stand up and walk to the car with her and Jughead. "Let's go home."
"You know what, it's laughable that we are subjected to the mundane comings and goings of high school," Jughead complained as you're strolling through the halls on the way to class. "Laughable."
"The rest of the world doesn't care that it was us who took down a giant drug ring or that we buried the Gargoyle king," Betty told him, your eyes flutter down and you see her fingers lace with his as she squeezes his hand to tell him to shut up. You watch this scene from behind them, without really taking anything in, it's such an insignificant moment for an out of body experience but it a strange feeling that you shake of as quickly as you can. "Do you really want fame over this? Because that's the alternative."
"Media and crazies," Jughead says with a shiver at the thought of too many people wanting to talk to him when he didn't want to talk to them. "No thanks."
"This is where I leave you, I'll see you in English," she says pressing a kiss to his lips before turning and looking at you. "Arch?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, we'll see you later," you say quickly, trying as hard as you can to quell the worry she's built up at your every move since you've gotten back to Riverdale but it doesn't work. You sigh as she smiles at you and then shoots Jughead a warning look to keep an eye on you before disappearing into her class.
"You're not fooling her with that fake smile of yours, you know that right?" Jughead asks you and you nod, he should really give you points for trying though.
"She doesn't need to put me on suicide watch or whatever else she thinks is wrong with me," you say with a frown, Betty has been monitoring your every mood swing, she's worried, you know this and as much as she tries to check up as inconspicuously as she can, it frustrates you. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure about that?" Jughead asks you and you roll your eyes, you've had variations of this conversation with Betty and Jughead so many times in the past couple months that it's starting to drive you just a little crazy. "It's not going away anytime soon, you might as well deal with it."
"What's not going away?" you ask furrowing your brows.
"Riverdale high's hottest couple," Jughead says unable to stop his face from twisting disgustedly at the thought, you grunt but turn your face away from him, you're in no mood to discuss this, it's been weeks since you've been back and all you seem to do is push Veronica deeper into her relationship with Reggie and further away from you.
"I just need to fight a little harder, to win her back," you say, wincing at the pressure you feel on your chest at the thought of not being enough to get her back, you might be young but you already know that Veronica Lodge is the love of your life and you need her back.
"You left Archie," Jughead says with a sigh and that hopelessness that you've been fighting to push down breaks through at the tone of his voice and you just want to scream that you didn't leave because you wanted to but no-one wants to listen to your side. "As hard as this is to hear, you left her and she moved on, so man up and be happy for her instead of wallowing."
"I'm not wallowing," you grit out just annoyed with how this conversation was going, you're pretty sure if it Betty was with someone else Jughead would be worse than you are right now but you don't comment on that.
"It's been months, I know you thought that you could defeat the evil guy and she would just be waiting for you with open arms but we all know that Veronica Lodge is not the waiting princess," Jughead says and this time your smile is genuine.
"Yeah, she's the princess that would rip your entrails out if you thought she was just going to stand by and let the men handle it," you snort and Jughead laughed out loud at that. "I messed up Jug."
"No," Jughead says slapping a hand on your back, his voice gentler. "No, you didn't, it sucks that he was there when you couldn't be but you didn't mess up."
"I should have stayed," you say to yourself, your eyes automatically drawn to the small yet incredibly commanding frame that is Veronica Lodge striding down the hall ahead of you, Reggie by her side, her protector, the person you should have been, everything feels so backward that the need to leave town and just be on the run again is strong. "Let's just go to class."
"Tell me you don't love me and I'll stop," it was maybe a week after you got back to Riverdale from your 'Adventure' when you talk to her alone, when Hermione had just been given the information you had gathered and Hiram was blissfully unaware of what was about to hit him.
"Archie," not Archikins, she warns you and you already know that you are not going to like the answer she was going to give you but you're desperate and you push on.
"Ronnie, I never wanted to let you go, or leave, I had to, you know I had to," you say, you can hear the panic in your own voice and struggle to keep yourself calm. "I had to keep you and everyone around me safe."
"I know what you had to do Archie but you left me here, in Riverdale, while you were parading off on farms with other girls, I'm quite sure you weren't thinking of keeping me safe then," she snaps and you wince, you wanted to be the one to tell her about the girl on the farm the one you pushed away because you were still in love with her. You aren't sure how she found out but you have a sneaking suspicion that her father was just waiting to tell her when he got back after almost catching you. "Did you want me to put my life on hold?"
"No," you say firmly, that was the opposite of what you wanted for her, that was the reason you made that call to break up with her because you never wanted her to put your life on hold, you never wanted her to waste her life pining for you when you had no idea how long you would be on the run for. But you were back in Riverdale now, the threat was gone, you could be together without fear. "I love you Veronica and I just want you to give me another chance."
"I am finally happy again, you cannot just waltz back into my life after months of nothing and ask me for another chance," she hisses, you can see the anger bubbling up beneath the surface. "It doesn't work like that."
You step forward and gently grab her elbows, swooping down to kiss her, it's the only chance you have and you need to know. It takes her a few moments before she registers what is happening and pushes you away, one hand firmly on your chest, breathless and confused and angrier than she was before.
"You can't kiss me like that," she snaps and you have to resist the urge to flinch because that kiss had a point, you have one last request from her.
"Tell me you felt nothing and I'll leave you alone," you say, it's the same plea as earlier, you need her to say the words, if she felt nothing from that kiss, if she didn't love you anymore then there was nothing left to fight for.
"Just leave me alone," Veronica tells you, using the hand on your chest to push you away before turning and stalking off out the door. You sigh deeply and run your hands through your hair, thinking that was not how it was supposed to go.
"What are you doing Arch?" Betty asks when she comes to find you later, you're trying and failing miserably to concentrate on the homework you need to catch up on. "Veronica is furious, she hasn't said anything to Reggie yet but be ready for a fight when he finds out."
"I can take him," you mumble, they might have saved you from that fight at the prison but they were not there for all the fights you had to survive before. Reggie was nothing compared to that, you really want him to come after you so you can show him exactly who he's dealing with.
"I bet you can, but if he comes after you, just stand there and take it otherwise you're going to have a lot more enemies than you expected," she warns you, partially amused and partially serious and you frown deeply.
"Since when is Reggie everyone's favourite person," you ask, annoyed, it wasn't just Betty and Jughead who were on board with this new relationship, it was the rest of your friends, the Serpents, Pop's, it was like you stepped into an alternate universe where you are the enemy and Reggie is the golden boy, Veronica's boy.
"Since he showed up, everyday, and stuck by V's side and fought with her for Pop's," Betty says, rubbing your back in what should be comforting, her voice dropping to the soothing tone she usually reserved for when she had to tell you things that you that she knew you were not going to like. "Look, I know this is not what you were expecting when you got back but this isn't you Archie, let her go, you're hurting her more like this."
"Yeah," you say gritting your teeth, the last thing you wanted to do was hurt her but you are so close to getting rid of Hiram, to getting your life back, you just wanted that to include the girl you loved as well.
"Come on we have a town to save," she tells you, tugging at your arm to stand up and follow her, it was time for them to meet with Hermione, she had a plan and she needed their help. "And you are just the person we need to save it."
"Stop staring, you're going to burn a hole through her Gucci bag with those laser eyes, Red," Josie says with a chuckle looking up to see what had grabbed your attention through the window and you look up at her when her voice breaks your concentration.
"I don't know what you're talking about," you say as you look back down to the sheet music on the table, your cheeks going red at getting caught. "I was..."
"Staring at Veronica and ignoring the very brilliant idea I had for out set on Saturday?" Josie finished with a raised brow, daring you to argue with her and you laugh and shake your head. "Go through this set with me and I'll let you complain to me all you want about them."
"Josie…" you begin unsure of what you were going to say but then you shake your head, maybe you should take this distraction.
"Ok, we're doing this now," she said with a sigh, flattening out her pages and sitting up straight, giving you her full attention. "What is wrong?"
"Everything," you say defeated and Josie raises an eyebrow with an expression that told you that was not an answer she was willing to accept, so you try to explain what's going through your head. "I want her back, I want things to go back to how they were before, I don't want to be this person."
"This shell of a person who stares longingly at Veronica and ignores everything else?" she asks and you snort and nod, that pretty much summed it up. "Ok look, you're a great musician, I'd hate to see you lose your passion for music because of the Lodges, you and V aren't over just yet, I know you know that, everyone else out there knows it too but I think you need to let go a little, give her some space."
"What if me letting go pushes her further into his arms and I never get her back," you say gnawing at your bottom lip, you hate that everyone is telling you to let go, you don't want that to be an option.
"What if you doing this makes her believe that he really is better," Josie countered and your eyes snapped up to her, you didn't think about that. "V loves you but she's also afraid of how badly you can hurt her, when you broke up with her it tore her apart, she's not going to risk that."
"So what do I do?" you ask after a moment, you didn't think that fighting for her could push her away, you think maybe Betty warned you before but you were too set on getting Veronica back that you didn't actually listen to her.
"You will be the Archie Andrews that she fell in love with, the adorable puppy that plays football and loves music and takes care of people, who tries to be a good person, even if that means eating all the vegetables he hates and doing his homework so Betty doesn't stress out," Josie says and you grin at her and nod, you could do that. "And most importantly, be the one that helps Josie McCoy pull of the duet she's been dreaming off for the last two weeks."
"Okay, okay, tell me your idea's," you say dramatically rolling your eyes, focusing completely on Josie, letting her explain what she wanted from you. It was easy to get lost in the music, to strum out the chords and match it to Josie's vision, it was almost therapeutic to you, you didn't realize how much you've been ignoring things you used to love while obsessing over Veronica. "Thank you Josie."
"For what?" Josie asked once you were done with the rehearsal and she was happy with the way everything sounded.
"For dragging me back into music and talking some sense into me," you tell her struggling to find the words, you want to say more but you can't think of anything that wouldn't come off as cheesy. "I think this is exactly what I needed."
"To stop wallowing?" she asks and you make a face, that was the same word Jughead had used to describe your mood as well and you don't think you like it.
"Yeah, wallowing," you mumble in agreement anyway as Josie stood and gathered up all her pages. "See you tomorrow."
"Last rehearsal, bring your a-game," Josie sang as she walked out the music room. For the first time since you got back to Riverdale you feel calm, running your fingers over the strings of your guitar you feel a flicker of the boy you were before the black hood walked into the diner and shot your dad all those months ago.
You look up out the window and find Veronica again, she and Reggie are holding hands as they speak to Kevin and Betty, she looked beautiful, Veronica always looked beautiful, more importantly she looked happy. You know how hard the last couple of weeks had been on her, from her father being taken again and the backlash against her and her mother, the investigations, the accusations, you wanted to be there, to be the one to protect her, to shield her from it all but Hermione had taken her daughter and together they fought their way through it.
And now here she was, with her arms wrapped around Reggie, laughing at something Kevin was saying and leaning up to kiss him. You look away then, the pain too much, you couldn't watch her kiss someone else. You might hate the fact that you aren't the one making her happy but all you want is for her to be happy.
So with that in mind you decide that you will let her go, you will try, it would be hard but if she wanted Reggie then you would step back, until there was a time that she wanted you again. What else could you do?
"That was incredible," a voice says starling you, you and Josie had just finished your set, it went so well that Josie hugged you extra tight and pressed a kiss to your cheek, it was the happiest she'd been with you, well, ever.
"Thank you, I like your hair," you say to the girl before your cheeks heat up and you realize how forward that might sound to someone you literally just met 5 seconds ago. "I'm Archie ... Andrews."
"Sabrina Spellman," the white haired girl says with a chuckle, taking the hand you held out and shaking it. "I like your hair too."
"Thanks," you mutter a little self-consciously, pushing a hand through your red locks. "I'm going to put this in the truck, do you want to walk with me?" you ask it's been a while since you've spoken to anyone outside your circle of friends and she seems nice.
"Sure," she says with a little shrug motioning for him to lead the way.
"So what brings you to Riverdale?" you ask, she raises an eyebrow at this and you chuckle. "It's a small town, I know almost everyone our age in this town."
"I'm from Greendale," she says with a laugh. "My aunt's are ... visiting, so I tagged along."
"So you're just here with your aunts?" you ask and she nods making you frown slightly as you open the truck and place your guitar inside, as much as you loved your dad you would probably be a little bored at a high school fair with him. "Do you want to hang out with my friends and me?"
"Wouldn't I be intruding," she asks tilting her head and you shake your head.
"You'd be doing me a favour, most of my friends are couples so it would be nice to have someone to talk to when they get extra couple-y," you say and she nods. "And my ex-girlfriend is there with her new boyfriend and it's still really awkward."
"Oh that does sound awkward," Sabrina says making a face as you start walking toward the crowds to find your friends. "Well in that case I'd be glad to be your distraction Archie Andrews."
You smile and start to tell her about Veronica, about how you had to leave her behind and how she was now with one of his friends and everyone was behind this new relationship so you feel like you're on the outside looking in. Sabrina tells you about how she needed any excuse to leave Greendale because she and her boyfriend broke up and everything was fine until Christmas when things changed and now everything was weird but she was at a new school now so maybe that would make things a little easier.
You introduce her to the Riverdale gang and you're immediately grateful that she found you and decided to talk to you because exactly what you thought was going to happen has happened, your friends have coupled up and while that was never a problem when you were with Veronica, it is now.
"So what's your plan, besides staring at their hands like you want to literally cut them apart with a knife," Sabrina asks and you shake your head, you hadn't even realised that you were staring at Reggie and Veronica's joined hands on the table.
"No plan," you mutter eventually staring down into your water bottle as if it would have the answers. "I wanted to fight to get her back but everyone keeps reminding me that I wanted this for her, I didn't want her to wait for me and now that she's actually moved on I just need to deal with it."
"You're not dealing so well," she tells you and you nod because that's kind of obvious, then she rests the side of her head on your shoulder with a dramatic sigh, you raise a confused eyebrow but you don't move. "It's the same with me and Harvey, I'm moving to a new school so I broke up with him because it was just easier."
"For reasons you're not going to tell me?" you ask and Sabrina squished her face but nodded.
"Exactly, but if I had to see him with someone else, I would probably curse them both with warts or something stupid just because I was feeling petty," she said and then smiled at the confusion on your face, this girl was really strange. "Magic could be real."
"Sure, sure," you say sceptically, wondering if maybe this Harvey guy dodged a bullet. "She's happy, I just need to live with the fact that she isn't in love with me anymore."
"You sure about that?" Sabrina asked and you smile tightly, you know that she did love you but you also know that she chose Reggie and maybe she loved Reggie too, you are just too afraid to ask that question.
"Yeah, I'm sure about that," you tell her with a sad smile and suddenly you feel like crying because you feel so hopeless. "It's what everyone in this town keeps telling me."
"Let me tell you something Archie, everyone in this town is stupid," Sabrina says and you choke out a laugh, it's nice to have someone so completely on your side. "I have been getting death glares from two girls at this table, the blonde is mostly just worried about you but your raven haired girl there wants to pry me off you and she wants it to hurt."
You grunt and shake your head, with everything that's been said and done in the last few weeks you don't believe her but you like that she's trying to make you feel better. She reaches up and sets your hair, just brushing it off to the side and you raise your eyebrows asking if that's better and she smiles yes, she's so easy to be around that it feels like speaking to Betty and it almost lets you miss the jealousy on Veronica's face. Almost.
"Your hair reminds me of Nick's, this guy from my new school, not the colour obviously just how bouncy it is," she says and you sputter out a laugh trying not to spit out the gulp of water you just took.
"There's another guy?" you ask incredulously and she made a face that said 'sort of' and started telling you all about him which makes you wonder if all girls just move on really quickly, or if it's just the ones that you knew. Sabrina is talking so fast and you're trying to catch all the important details that you barely realise that she's distracted you from the constant pain in your chest when you see Veronica and Reggie together and for that one night you happily let yourself be distracted.
"Archie, your left foot first," Betty laughs as you manage to mess up the dance moves, again. Its rehearsals for the school musical for this year and you and Betty are partnered up again, it's like Kevin is trying to live out his old dream for you and Betty with his casting choices.
"Sorry, I forgot, lets go again," you say going through the moves in your head and figuring out where you went wrong.
"Oh no, I need a break," she says grabbing her bag and other things. "I'm meeting Jug at Pop's, do you want to come? It's been a while since we've hung out."
"I'm fine, you go, I'll get Kevin to go through the moves with me again," you tell her, the last couple times you've agreed to go out with Jughead and Betty, Veronica was there and by default, Reggie, and you are in no mood to deal with the lovebirds today, especially not when Reggie took every opportunity to throw his relationship with Veronica and how much she relied on him with her business in your face, taking over Pop's and the speakeasy at the last group hang out.
"You learnt the moves for Carrie much faster," Veronica says coming up to you after Betty left and you stare at her, a little worried if you move or speak she'll disappear. "Archie?"
"Sorry, I just ... you're talking to me again?" you ask surprised, she's been avoiding being alone with you since the Sweetwater River incident, the only time you've had contact with each other was when you were at the same place at the same time. "Never mind, urm, Carrie was easier," you finish lamely, not wanting an answer to the first question because she was talking to you now and you didn't want it to be awkward.
"Not only are we talking again but I'm going to help you learn the dance," she says looking down, you know that look and that tone of voice, she's sorry about the things that have happened but her actions were valid so she won't apologise. At this point you'll take what you can get.
"You think you can save this disaster of a dance?" you ask teasingly and she laughs, taking your hands in hers and you swallow hard, she hasn't touched you in so long that it sends sparks through your body.
"Just follow my lead," she says and you smile looking down at the ridiculously high heels on her feet and shake your head. She steps back and you step with her its easy when she's counting out the steps with you, you don't even step on anyone's toes this time.
She's laughing when you twirl her and you're sure that your face is in a permanent smile from having her in your arms for so long, you trip on your own feet at the end of it and send yourself sprawling on the floor. You stay there staring up at the ceiling exhausted, she kneels down next to you giggling uncontrollably and you can't help but laugh with her. "I'm glad you find this funny, that's enough for today."
"Aside from that last blunder, I think you have this Archikins," she says and you both freeze at the nickname, its been so long. But then you smile and she smiles back at you and its as easy as breathing and you feel like maybe everything is going to be ok again.
"Ronnie," Reggie calls from the other end of the stage, his face is set in annoyance and you can't help but feel a little smug about it no matter how much it ruffles your feathers that he calls her Ronnie.
"Oh, we're off to Pop's are you coming?" she asks and you raise an eyebrow as you push yourself to sit up, asking if she's seriously asking that, you really, really aren't going to be the fifth wheel again. "Right, well try to keep yourself vertical Archie."
"I will," you say watching her disappear out of the hall with Reggie who glared at you the entire way out, Veronica looked back one last time as she went through the door and you smiled and flopped back onto the floor, that was progress.
"Looking good Hot Stuff," Kevin says as he walks by you and holds out a hand to help you up.
"Thanks," you mumble, a blush spreading across your cheeks. "Kev..."
"Yeah?" Kevin prompts when you stop and you look down for a second before looking back at him.
"She's happy, right?" you ask, everyone has been telling you that she is but you're well aware of how she can portray herself, even to those who know her well, Kevin has always had this way of being there at the right emotional times.
"Mostly," Kevin tells you patting your arm gently. "Hang in there Andrews, I feel a change in the air."
"A what?" Archie asks but Kevin is already gone, disappearing behind the curtains and you're fairly certain you see Moose but you don't question it, you have other things to worry about.
"So how's Sabrina?" Veronica asks coming out of nowhere while you're picking at the strings on your guitar.
"What?" you ask startled by the intrusion, you thought you were supposed to be alone on this part of the stage, it was late enough that the school was deserted save for the students rehearsing for the upcoming musical and you're sure you checked if Veronica was one of them. "Oh, she's doing great, she's causing havoc at her new school."
"She seems nice," Veronica says, taking a seat next to you and you nod and wait for her next move. Things were easy between you two for the past week of rehearsals, she's checked in on you and your dance moves frequently since the first time, your relationship has fallen into inside jokes and a lot of teasing which Reggie frowns at and Jughead smirks at but you love because it gives you back that hope for the future that you lost.
"Yeah, she is," you say furrowing your brows gently, you didn't think Sabrina and Veronica spoke at all. You and Sabrina remained friends, chatting to each other when things got bad, it really helped you because you didn't have to worry your friends anymore, when you were angry or sad or the nightmares came, you could vent to her and she to you, she would set you straight and no one in Riverdale would know how weak you truly were.
"You never got a chance to teach me how to play," she says changing topics when she saw that you weren't going to tell her anymore about Sabrina, you have the suspicion that she thinks you and Sabrina are dating but she won't ask you straight out so you let her think what she wants for now.
"Do you want to learn now?" you ask, anything to keep her next to you, with you, and she smiles and nods reaching out to take your guitar her. "Ok, do you remember how to hold it?"
Veronica didn't say anything just shot you a look that told you to stop asking stupid questions and you chuckle and hold up your hands as she strummed a few times without actually holding any chords. "So what's first?"
"Let's try the G-chord, that's used in a lot of songs," you say showing her where to place her fingers on the strings. "Wait, no, that's not right," you laugh when her fingers slipped to the wrong strings.
"Help me Archikins," Veronica whined and you laugh again.
"Come here," you say scooting closer so you can wrap your hand around hers and place her fingers in the correct positions, her hands are so tiny under yours, so delicate, you clear your throat to speak. "There we go, that's G."
Veronica strummed and smiled when it actually produced a sound that didn't want to make her cringe and you smile with her, unable to stop yourself. She looked up and was surprised at how close your faces were, your eyes drop to her lips and back up to her eyes gauging her reaction to your position and then started moving closer when she didn't protest, just to see if she would pull away or not. Your phone starts to ring in your pocket just as her eyes slip shut and you lean back, mentally swearing whoever is calling you.
"It's Sabrina, I need to take this, you keep practicing," you say jumping out of your chair and almost sprinting down away from her, knowing that if you stayed there you might make a mistake and that you had to take this because Sabrina only calls if there's an emergency. "You either have the best timing or the worst."
"Hello to you too," Sabrina chuckled and you can hear voices in the background, they sounded British. "Which was it?"
"Well Veronica and I were about to kiss," you tell her, with a sigh, leaning against the wall and running a hand through your hair.
"Is she still with him?" Sabrina asks and you make a noise of agreement. "Then my timing is perfect."
"Well, thank you I guess, what did you call about?" you ask and she started to tell you about something that happened with Harvey. She sounds sad and you really try but you can't concentrate on what she's saying, she can tell that you're distracted and tells you she'll call you later but by the time you got back to your guitar, Veronica is gone and you don't know whether to be disappointed or relieved because she's still with Reggie and you would probably spiral back into the dark place you just crawled out off if you kissed her and she regretted it.
Once the musical is over, it feels like everything reverts back, Veronica doesn't seek you out anymore or attempt to speak to you and you're back to staring longingly at her every time you catch a glimpse of her which is increasingly rare.
The thing that's strange about it all is that you don't see very much of Reggie out of football practice either, its either they're hiding out together or they're avoiding each other and everyone else. You're hoping it's the second one.
"What do you think the theme for the dance is going to be this year?" Betty asks doodling something in the margin of her book.
"Probably something stupid," Jughead comments, stuffing the rest of his burger into his mouth.
"I would appreciate more faith in my ideas," Kevin says annoyed before looking over at Betty. "If you would join the committee you could help us come up with ideas."
"I would, but the Blue and Gold has me working overtime," Betty says and Kevin frowns.
"Hmmm, I'm sure it's just the paper and not the co-editor working you," Kevin snaps looking between Betty and Jughead and you burst out laughing.
"Who pee'd in your Cheerios Kev?" Veronica asks catching Kevin's comment and taking a seat in the only available space, next to you.
"No-one, I haven't slept in 3 days trying to plan this dance," he says rubbing at his eyes. "It's making me cranky."
"At least you have a venue sorted that's not the school gym," Veronica says with a knowing smile and Kevin perks up at the thought.
"Why yes I do and it's perfect," he exclaimed. "V, you've just solved half my problems."
"If only everyone's problems were that easy to solve," she mutters and you frown.
"Everything okay, V?" Betty asks and Veronica nods.
"Of course, I just didn't realise how much running a business would take out of me," she says stifling a yawn. "It's been long enough, I should be used to it by now."
"If you need help," you offer, flipping your hand over under the table and sliding it under hers, letting her interlace her fingers with yours and squeeze your hand in thanks.
"Yeah V, just say the word and we'll be there," Betty says as Veronica thanks them, by now Kevin has noticed how close you and Veronica are sitting and his eyes go wide.
"B, Jughead, I almost forgot we need to discuss that thing about the Blue and Gold in your office," he says looking at Betty and nodding his head toward the door. "Now."
"Oh yes, we'll be back before you guys even know we're gone," Betty says standing and pulling a confused Jughead up. "You don't mind right?"
"Wait my fries," Jughead complains but Betty already has him half way across the cafeteria.
"That was smooth," you joke and Veronica laughs and shakes her head her other hand going under the table to run her fingers over your knuckles, you look down at your joined hands and back up at her but her eyes are fixed firmly on her fingers drawing patterns on your hand. "Ronnie, about the other day."
"Right," she says, her eyes snapping up to the table as she let go of your hand and you frown deeply. "I mean obviously, we weren't going to kiss, that would have been a mistake, you're with Sabrina and I'm with Reggie."
"I'm not with Sabrina," you say, trying not to be hurt at her calling your almost kiss a mistake. "But you're right, it's probably for the best that nothing happened."
"You're not with Sabrina?" she asks and you shake your head no. "Oh."
"Oh?" you ask, raising a curious eyebrow at the smile on her face.
"Just an observation, Archikins," she tells you and you furrow your brows as she shakes her head and reaches out to pull Jughead's plate of fries closer to her and holds it out to you, signalling that she wasn't going to elaborate so you shouldn't even ask. "Fries?"
"Veronica?" you ask tentatively when you hear her sobs in the hallway on the way out to the field, Veronica blinks up at you with wet eyes and immediately tried to wipe the tears away. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, nothing at all, don't you have a game starting in the next 10 minutes," she asks looking down at her watch and attempting to laugh. You nod, taking in her cheerleading outfit, so does she. When it looks like she isn't going to move, you slide down the wall so you were seated next to her on the floor of the deserted corridor not willing to leave her alone while she was upset. You sit in silence, listening to the drums outside as the crowd got hyped up for the game, the announcer says something and you look up as if you could maybe hear better if you looked in the general area of the grounds.
"Vegas thinks he's a guard dog or something now," You tell her when the silence becomes too much for you to bare and Veronica tilts her head up to look at you in confusion but you carry on with your story. "Ever since we got back from our adventure, he's stationed himself by the door, checking out whoever comes to visit and chasing away people he's never seen before, he gave the girl scouts a run for their money the other day."
"I think he was just after their cookies," Veronica tells you with a watery laugh.
"That's also very true," you snort shaking your head. "Vegas is going to get fat if he keeps eating all that junk food."
"My dad sent me pearls," Veronica says in a defeated voice after a moment and you can tell that it had been weighing heavily on her. The last time he was in jail she worked so hard to find out if he was guilty or not, this time she knew how guilty he was and the manipulation he was capable off and yet you can tell a part of her still wanted to take these pearls as an apology.
"Oh," you say, unsure of what else you could possibly come up with that would make her feel better so instead you reach out and pull her into a hug, letting her bury her face in your chest and cry. You press your face into her hair and hold her as tightly as you can until her cries weaken and she stops, but she stays in your arms, clutching to your uniform.
You don't know how long you two stay there, on the floor of the corridor clinging to each other but you're quite sure that you've missed the game and that this corridor was going to be flooded with students soon.
"Hey, are you asleep there?" you ask and she shakes her head and laughs at the question, so you cup her cheeks and bring her face up to face you. "Ronnie, no matter what's happened between us, you know you can come to me with anything right?"
"I know," she whispers closing her eyes as you press a kiss to her forehead, your lips lingering on her skin longer than was necessary. "Thank you."
"What's going on here?" Reggie's tense voice comes from the door, you and Veronica look up to see him standing there staring some of the Bulldogs and Vixens are behind him but Cheryl's shrill voice tells them all to get lost. You wonder what it must look like to them, a Bulldog and a Vixen, sitting on the floor, holding on to each other. "You didn't show up for the game, we were worried."
"We're fine," Veronica says, taking your hand when you stand up and offer to help her up.
"You don't look fine," Reggie comments taking in her red puffy eyes and tear stained cheeks, you can see the muscles of his jaw clench and unclench.
"Relax Reginald," Veronica says in the easy tone she has, walking toward him. "My mother called to let me know that daddy wants to see me and Archie was just here to witness my ... emotional reaction to it, lucky for me he didn't leave me alone."
"Lucky," Reggie says and you can hear the sarcasm in his voice, you're contemplating whether it's worth Veronica's anger to take a swing at him when Reggie decides first and his fist connects with your jaw and you're lying flat on the floor, you probably deserved that a couple of months ago, but not right now. "Stay away from her."
"Reggie what the hell is wrong with you," Veronica asks as she kneels down next to you and you can't say that punch wasn't worth it if it got her pissed at him and at your side. "Go cool down, far away from me."
"Ronnie," he pleads and she shoots him a look that tells him that if he doesn't leave her sight she would cause immense physical harm to him. So he shoots you one last glare and leaves.
"Are you okay?" she asks touching your jaw and you give her an 'are you kidding me' look to which she just rolls her eyes to. "Humor me."
"I'm fine, I've had worse," you tell her and she narrows her eyes at you to let you know that was not something you should be proud off. "Shouldn't you go see how he is?"
"Tomorrow," she says looking down and you wonder how great things actually were between them. "Drive me home Archikins."
"Of course," you say, a smile on your lips, maybe things were looking up.
"They broke up, so why are you talking to me instead of going out and getting her?" Sabrina asks mildly amused at your problems and you roll your eyes and keep running, you're doing laps around the field while you talk to her.
"Because, it hasn't been that long, I don't even know if she feels that way about me anymore," you pant out slowing down slightly, you feel ridiculously out of shape.
"Of course she does, have you been listening to yourself speak at all," Sabrina asks now full on laughing at you and you groan, coming to a complete stop and putting your hands on your knees. "Look at the facts, she needed you when her dad was arrested that's why she was at your river spot, she was so jealous that night at the fair when you ignored her for me, she helped you with your stupid dance, she almost kissed you, she was very happy when she found out we weren't dating and she chose you over him at the game, if that doesn't scream still in love with you, I don't know what does."
"They've barely broken up," you repeat, you're quite sure Reggie was the rebound but they were together long enough that you don't want to be her rebound from that.
"If you say you're going to be a rebound I will actually curse you," she says and you hear someone in the background excitedly offering to help.
"What kind of weird boarding school do you go to again?" you ask furrowing your eyebrows.
"Not the point, Reggie was the rebound, you're the relationship, so stop being a pain in my ear and go get the girl," she tells you with a laugh, you shake your head and look up to see the girl in question walking up to you and you smile and narrow your eyes slightly. "She's there isn't she? Go get her tiger, I want details later!"
The call disconnects just as Veronica steps up to you, "Hey teen outlander," she says and you smile at the name, it's one of the first things she called you when she moved into the town.
"Hey yourself," you say pulling the earphones out of your ears, your breathing almost back to normal. "What are you doing out here?"
"Walk with me?" she asks looking around at students watching the both of you, you nod and follow her off the field toward the courtyard to a more deserted part of the school. "Your bruise is healed."
"He didn't hit me that hard, Ronnie," you say, your hand automatically reaching up to touch your chin. "Is everything okay?"
"Just peachy," she says stopping and reaching out to take your hands in hers.
"Then why do you look so nervous," you ask feel your own nervousness start to take over.
"Archie, when you came back to Riverdale, back to me, you said that you wanted things to go back to the way it used to be, you wanted me to give you another chance," she says and you nod slowly.
"I remember," you say a little hesitantly, unsure of where exactly she was going with this but she cuts you off before you can speak again.
"I walked away from you then because I was angry and scared, I couldn't tell you that I didn't love you or that I felt nothing when you kissed me because I do still love you Archie and I feel so much every time you touch me and that will never change," she says her voice wobbling just a little bit and you feel your heart-rate pick up. "I shouldn't have walked away from you when all I wanted was you so here I am now asking you if you would give me a second chance."
You aren't sure how to breathe anymore when she says that, you weren't expecting her to ask you for a second chance, she was not at fault in this. You don't think just saying yes is going to be satisfying enough so you do what you did all those months ago, your face breaks into the biggest smile as you take her in your arms and you kiss her, this time she doesn't pull away, this time she pulls you closer, her fingers in your hair and a smile on her face.
"That's not even a question," you say bending down to pick her up so you were face to face, you can't describe the happiness you feel to have her in your arms like this again. "I love you Ronnie."
"I love you too," she tells you her nose bumping against yours playfully before she's kissing you again.
This is what you've been missing since you returned, this is home.
A/N: What even was 3x09, I saw some spoilers before I watched the episode and I was fully expecting him to get shot or stabbed but a Grizzly Bear? Really?
So this format might be confusing, to everyone who made it this far congratulations, if you want this in third person please let me know and I will post that as a second chapter. I experimented with second person way back when Glee was a thing, I had no dialog in there because I had no clue how to add it in but it worked well here and I like how this turned out
I liked the episode, I hated the Veggie scene but more because the song was literally the only build up to that kiss that there was, there was no moments between them when he was her henchman at least nothing that would point to them becoming romantic, until that kiss and it frustrates me
Anyway, please review, I hope to have something new soon, I have ideas but I lack the time
Until next time (^^,)