Chapter 2

It had been a little over a month since the lifeless body of Jason Blossom complete with a bullet hole through his forehead had washed up onto the shore of Sweetwater River and was discovered by none other than Kevin Keller, the teen son of Riverdale's very own Sheriff. A.J. wasn't exactly looking forward to the first day of her freshman year at Riverdale High on Monday. Things had become rocky between her and her half-brother over the past couple of weeks and she didn't quite understand why that was considering that she and Archie had always been super close. It made A.J. yearn for the old days when she, Archie, Jughead, Betty and even Abby were still kids free to run and play together without a care in the world.

A.J. suspected that the arrival of the new girl, Veronica Lodge who, according to what Betty had shared with both Abby and A.J., had moved from New York City to Riverdale with her mother who was hoping for a fresh start away from Veronica's cruel father might have had something to do with her brother's drastic change in mood and behavior. A.J. didn't exactly get along with the raven haired girl at first but over the past week, she along with both Abby and Betty had each come to realize that there were a lot more layers to Veronica than the 3 girls may have originally realized. Veronica had even introduced the trio to her mom who was currently working as a waitress at Pop's the previous week and while she did like the the older Latina woman, A.J. still couldn't help but feel a strange yet strong connection to Hermione Lodge. She eventually just chalked it up to her missing her stepmom Mary more than usual since a brand new school year was starting in less than a week and not being to go on their annual back-to-school girls only shopping trip like they had done every year since A.J. was in first grade. The teen decided to ask her dad if she could call her stepmother and talk to her for a bit since she had always felt better after talking to Mary about whatever issue she was facing before the 2 adults had divorced the previous year and had gone their separate ways.

Fred was more than happy to allow A.J. to call and talk with his ex-wife. He and Mary had parted on good terms and he was glad that the woman he was no longer married to still continued to take an interest in being there for his daughter when she needed an older female to talk to. His next door neighbor and one of his oldest friends in the world, Alice Cooper, had told A.J. a few years ago that she would always be there for her anytime she needed to talk to someone or if she just wanted to spend time at her house and while A.J. had always been grateful for the kindness that the older blonde woman had always shown to her, she didn't feel very comfortable around Betty's dad, Hal, for reasons that she never quite understood herself.

Fortunately, Mary was completely free to talk with A.J. that night when she called her at her apartment in Chicago and the teen was surprised to learn that the older woman hadn't forgotten about their annual back to school shopping trip and that she had actually gone out and bought A.J. a nice outfit to wear on her first day as a freshman at Riverdale High School and had had it shipped to her via UPS. According to what Mary was currently telling A.J., the outfit she had bought for her should arrive at the Andrews residence tomorrow afternoon between 1 and 1:30.

"I'll make sure to be on the lookout for the UPS truck tomorrow. Thanks, Mary."

"You're very welcome, sweetie. I figured it was the least I could do to make up for the fact that I can't be there for our back to school girls only shopping trip."

"It really does helps. Mary, could I ask you one last quick question before I let Archie talk to you?"

"Of course, honey. You know that you can always talk to me about anything. I may not be living in Riverdale anymore but I'm always going to be here for you."

"I know that, Mary. What I wanted to ask you about though is how did you first know that you had feelings for Dad?"

"Why do you ask, honey? Do you have a crush on someone?"

"I- I think I do, Mary. I know I do. I'm just afraid to say anything to the person that I like about how I feel because he's a friend of Archie's and I don't wanna make things weird between us."

'"Would this boy that you have a crush on be Jughead Jones by any chance, A.J.?"

A.J. could understand why her stepmother thought that she was talking about the raven-haired beanie-wearing teen that had been her half-brother's best friend since forever.

"Jughead's actually not the guy that I have a crush on, Mary. He's like another brother to me and he's actually dating Betty Cooper. They seem really happy together and I wouldn't wanna ruin that."

"Well in that case A.J., all I can really tell you is that you should tell this young man that you have feelings for that you like him. If he doesn't feel the same way towards you, then he's not worth your time or attention. It might hurt if he rejects you, A.J., but you're an amazing and very sweet girl and you deserve someone that will appreciate you and love you just as much as your dad and I do."

A.J. feels tears welling up in her chocolate brown at hearing Mary tell her that she loves her. It was just further proof for her that she had gotten extremely lucky by having Mary as her stepmother.

"I love you too, Mary. I'm gonna hand the phone to Archie so you and he can talk. I'll talk to you again soon, okay?"

"Okay, sweetheart. Please tell Abby, Betty and their mom I said hi."

"I will. Bye, Mary."

"Bye, honey."

I know that this chapter wasn't very eventful but I mostly wanted to establish that A.J. and Mary really do have a good relationship with each other and that A.J. is grateful to have Mary as her stepmother. The next chapter will hopefully be a lot more interesting since it will begin on A.J. and Archie's first day of school.