"I cannot believe you spent the entirety of last night making out with Jughead Jones." Ronnie was sprawled across the lounge opposite Olivia, examining her new manicure.
"I've told you, V, we weren't making out, it was one kiss and then my alarm went off to meet Smithers so our mother wouldn't spiral into the void again." Olivia's tone was droll but Veronica saw the sweet smile that twisted her lips.
"Gross, you actually like this dweeb." Her words were harsh but her voice was full of laughter and when Olivia looked up at her from the homework on her lap she saw that Ronnie's face matched her voice, a genuine smile lighting up her sharp features. She unfolded herself off of her lounge and padded over to where Liv was reclining and deposited herself directly on top of Livs Biology notes.
"Ronnie you lunatic!" Liv laughed and slapped at her twin before trying to lever the paper out from under her unsuccessfully "What do you wantttt?" She whined slumping back against the sofa in defeat.
"You know I am all for extracurricular romance, but if it's serious just make sure you're in control, you know I'll smack him down if he hurts you." Ronnie's tone was teasing but there was a sharpness in her eyes that told Liv she wasn't completely teasing. Liv rolled her eyes at her twin and grinned at her.
"No need to go all Kill Bill on me V, we're just hanging out, it's nothing serious." The thing about having a twin is that you know them as well as you know yourself, and Veronica knew Olivia, knew that when she was lying she had a tendency to pick at her bottom lip… Just like she was doing at that exact moment. Ronnie watched her with a wry look and was about to pounce on her when mercifully her phone buzzed.
"Ah, the Red Phone beckons, who summons your attentions this fine evening?"
"Oooh, the perfect opportunity to put my beautiful twins feelings to the test." Ronnie had a way of filling Liv with dread with the shortest of sentences. "Dinner at Pop's, you, me, Betty and Kevin" Veronica popped off the couch and strolled out of the living room, calling over her shoulder as she went "And dear Jughead of course!"
Olivia slid sideways on the couch, curling up on her side and hugging her knees to her. "Why was I cursed with such a psychopathic twin?" She asked out loud to the empty room.
.
An hour later found the twins crammed companionably into a booth, Jughead, Olivia and Betty on one side and Kevin and Veronica facing them.
"The Drive-In closing is just one more nail in the coffin that is Riverdale. No, forget Riverdale, in the coffin of the American dream. As the godfather of indie cinema, Quentin Tarantino, likes to say…" Olivia had never seen Jughead like this, passionate, fierce and not a little angry. She was filled with the urge to soothe his frazzled edges but with her sister watching her like a hawk from across the booth she settled for catching his eye and smiling sadly at him.
"Please, God, no more Quentin Tarantino references." Kevin cut in exasperatedly, Liv got the feeling that this rant had been going for a while before they had arrived, long enough for Jugheads favourite director to be dragged up a few times.
"What? I'm pissed." Jughead replied hotly, flailing his hands on the boothtop "And not just about losing my job, the Twilight Drive-In should mean something to us. People should be trying to save it."
"In this age of Netflix and VOD, do people really want to watch a movie in a car? I mean, who even goes there?" Veronica replied, her tone reasonable and not a little impatient.
"People who want to buy crack." Kevin's answer sounded serious but his eyes sparkled with humour.
"And cinephiles, and car enthusiasts. Right, Liv?" Jughead looked to her hopefully, needing backup.
"Totally." She reached one hand toward him under the counter and slid it reassuringly over his knee, squeezing gently, his eyes softened and though he turned them quickly away from her, his fingers appeared beneath the booth and tangled with hers.
"Anyway, it's closing because the town owns it, but didn't invest in it, so when an anonymous buyer made Mayor McCoy an offer, she couldn't refuse." Jughead couldn't let go of this just yet it would seem.
"Anonymous buyer? What do they have to hide? No one cares." Veronica was barely trying to hide the irritation from her voice now.
"I do! Also, you guys should all come to closing night, I'm thinking American Graffiti Or is that too obvious?" he was resigned to it, trying to make the best of it.
"I vote for anything starring Audrey Hepburn. Or Cate Blanchett." And Ronnie was relieved they were almost finished talking about it.
"Or The Talented Mr. Ripley." Kevin chimed in sharing a cheeky grin with Veronica.
"Betty, your choices?" Jughead asked the quiet blonde. She looked up slowly like she was waking from a dream.
"Everything okay, B?" Veronica asked, concerned all of a sudden, as if just realizing that Betty hadn't really spoken since they had all piled into their booth.
"Yeah, I'm just thinking. Um Maybe Rebel Without a Cause?" she smiled weakly at Jughead and he chuckled before turning finally to Olivia.
"How about you ShortStuff? And don't say Harry Potter." Liv raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow at him an amused smirk twisting her lips.
"I wasn't going to Jonesy, you insufferable ass." Any sting in her words was immediately soothed by her hand stroking over his knee again. "I know you're all rocking a theme here but surely the last night of any cinema should be heralded out by the greatest film of all time…"
"I said not Harry Potter Shorty" He said in an amused, long-suffering tone.
"I don't mean Harry Potter, I obviously mean Temple of Doom… Indiana Jones, duh!" Olivia looked around the table for support.
"Genius" Kevin replied "Harrison Ford is the hottest of the hot, plus action, mystery, romance, you just cant go wrong."
"I guess it's decided then." Jughead chuckled "Outvoted in my own booth." But he didn't look displeased, indeed he seemed heartened by everyone joining in to decide the best way to give the drive-in one final hurrah.
"Here you go, kids." Hermione chose that moment to appear with their snacks, smiling around at them.
"Thanks, Mom." Veronica replied with a cheery grin as Hermione left them to hand out more orders.
"If I would have known Mama Lodge was working as a waitress at Pop's, I never would have given Veronica a spot on the Vixens, it's off-brand, and sends a false message about acceptance." Jughead felt Olivia stiffen beside him as Cheryl's words, barely legible, drifted over.
"After her TMZ-style take-down of Chuck, all the Vixens kind of like Veronica now."
"Do they? Be sure to put all that cash in the register. You are a Lodge, after all, and Lodges are known to have sticky fingers." Cheryls voice was louder now, no doubt to ensure that everyone could hear her humiliating the twins mother. Liv stood suddenly, or tried to, her knees knocked the underside of the table hard and she was jolted back down to sitting before she twisted and started over the back for the booth. Jugheads hands caught her by the waist before she got too far and she stilled enough to hear the razor sharp warning in Veronicas voice
"Cheryl…"
"Honey, I got this. Cheryl, I went to school with your mother, she didn't know the difference between having money and having class, either." Jughead saw in that moment where the twins had inherited their steel from, he hadn't appreciated before how proud or strong Hermione was.
"Now, that's an odd combo of people." Kevin broke the tension at the table, pointing out where Archie and his dad had just walked in with an older woman.
"Archies mom?" Olivia asked Jughead quietly, puzzled as to why that would be an odd combo. Jughead chuckled, a humorless sound.
"That's not his mom, Liv, that's his music teacher, Miss Grundy? You must've seen her around school?" Now that he mentioned it, she did look familiar.
"I'll be right back." Betty stood suddenly.
"No. Betty, No." Jughead tried to get her to sit back down but she was already gone, leaving Jughead looking out of the window, his face stressed. Soon they were all looking out the window, watching Betty scold Archie, frustrating when there was no sound to add context.
"What's happening out there? Do we know? Is it about me?" Ronnie burst out suddenly
"I have a strong inkling, and no. Also, I'd let it go." Jugheads voice was deadpanned, annoyed about something though Liv couldn't be sure of what.
"Yes, but you're you, and I'm me. You do you, girl, I'll be back." Ronnie was off in a flash, too quickly once again for Jughead to intervene.
"What was it like before you two got here? I honestly cannot remember." Kevin leaned in across the table, presumably to gossip, but at his words Jughead had turned to look at Liv, a strange intensity in his gaze and Kevin waited a moment longer before clearing his throat and rising muttering something about the bathroom. Jughead continued to stare at Liv, the intensity in his eyes softening but never completely dying.
"What is it, Jonesy?" She tried for amusement but her words came out soft "Something on my face?"
"Just trying to remember…" She must have looked at him quizzically because he immediately clarified "What life was like before I met you…."
She was pleased to say the least and reached for his hand. "I'm sorry about your drive-in, Jonesy, if I had a magic wand I'd use my first spell to make it stay." His face split into a sweet smile at her words.
"Would you mind terribly if I kissed you right now?" His voice was husky as he leant in, his eyes widening as she placed two fingers on his lips to slow his advance.
"On principal, no, however if my obsessively nosy twin caught it I'm afraid her head might spin right around with excitement." If he was disappointed he hid it well with a rakish grin and a light stroke of his thumb over her cheek.
"Fair enough." He chuckled. "Can't argue with that logic." She swiftly kissed him, catching him at the corner of is mouth.
"I'll make it up to you I swear." She smiled at the answering heat in his eyes.
.
Cheryl was in fine form the next day at school, Olivia assumed it was purely because of the smackdown her mother had delivered her at Pop's the night before but when she corned Liv, Ronnie and Kevin in the lounge right before last period it became obvious that she had been withholding her Ace.
"It's this quintessential rite of passage, making out with your boy or girlfriend at the movies." Kevin was musing, he and Veronica standing near the back of the lounge.
"Why don't we go together? I can't promise you any action, but maybe I'll bring you good luck." Veronica asked practically.
"Aren't you going with Liv?" Kevin asked suspiciously.
"I am not, my traitor of a twin will be attending with her beau and leaving me to fend for myself." Ronnie replied, pressing her hand to her forehead melodramatically.
"It's gonna be an emotional night for Jonesy, I can't just leave him to mope." Liv muttered from the lounge she was reclining on beside them, nose deep in a book. Far from being annoyed, Ronnie was mostly secretly thrilled that for the first time Liv hadn't objected to Veronica alluding to Liv and Jugheads involvement.
"Great. Another night, another hag." Kevin sighed equally dramatically, causing Ronnie to laugh.
"Speaking of hags Veronica." Cheryls voice cut unwelcomely through the empty lounge, "It's so devastating to me that your mother has to sink to such unspeakable lows just to keep those knockoff Hermes bags on your arm. What's next, selling her hair extensions?" Cheryls expression was nothing short of viper-like as she sauntered towards the trio.
"Our mom's a waitress, Cheryl, not Fantine. And your faux concern reeks of ulterior motive. What is it?" Ronnie crossed her arms and surveyed Cheryl scathingly
"Only to remind you both of your place in this school, nay, the town's social hierarchy." Cheryl cut Olivia a disgusted glance then and Olivia felt rage lick at her stomach. She stood sharply, her book falling to the ground from her lap.
"Threatened much? Don't worry. You may be a stock character from a '90s teen movie, but I'm not. And what does any of this have to do our mom being a waitress?" Liv asked, her voice dripping with suppressed anger.
"It's just that I saw her talking to a Southside Serpent last night, in the alley behind Pop's. They were having an extremely heated, intimate discussion. See for yourself." Cheryl had been talking with an air of someone cradling a bomb, and just like that she dropped her nuke and revealed her phone, a clear photo of their mother displayed.
"Who or what is a Southside Serpent?" Ronnie asked, forcing her voice as close to disinterested as she could manage it.
"They're this gang of bikers who pretty much stays on the south side of town. And thank God, 'cause they're sort of dangerous. Drug dealers and petty thieves." Kevin cut in then, seemingly relieved that Cheryl had taken that moment to sass back out of the lounge, her attack run complete.
"Then what was our mom doing with one of them?" Olivia murmured, stepping closer to Kevin and Veronica, so as not to be overheard.
"I dunno." Liv replied, her tone heavy "But I suppose we should find out…"
.
"Ugh, Who knew working would be so tiring?" Hermione said by way of greeting later that evening as the twins walked through the door.
"Mom…" Ronnie started tentatively as she set her handbag down on one of the lounges.
"Hmm?"
"Cheryl showed us a picture…" Ronnie started, but her words were lost, concern written over her pretty face.
"You were standing behind Pop's with a Southside Serpent. Those guys are thugs, what were you doing?" Liv finished her thought, taking the words out of Ronnies mouth.
"First off, you have nothing to worry about. Come here, sit, both of you." Their mother gestured them closer and pulled them to sit on either side of her. "Now, remember girls, I grew up here. The Southside Serpents may be from the wrong side of the tracks, but I went to high school with some of them. I was just being polite." Hermiones tone was calm and even, her beautiful face untroubled by their concerns.
"Cheryl said it looked like you were arguing…" Ronnie started again, more unsure now that her mother was so confidently rebutting their worries.
"Arguing?" Hermione chuckled "Hardly, he made a lewd comment, and I put him in his place."
"Mom, if you're in some kind of trouble.." Liv leant towards her and grasped one of her mothers hands in her own.
"I'm not. Mijas..." She took Ronnies hand too and pulled them both closer to her "And when have I ever lied to either of you?"
Their mother had soothed their anxieties smoothly and efficiently, but, Olivia thought to herself as she lay in bed hours later, their mother had always been a terrific liar, and she was certain she had seen a flicker of fear in her eyes as they had started to confront her.
"Only time will tell…" She murmured to herself and she turned onto her side and tried vainly to find sleep, having no idea that in that apartment that night, none of the Lodge women would sleep well..