Archie sauntered into Pop's for a coffee when he saw Reggie standing at the counter waiting for his to-go order. Reggie was sporting his now-signature combination of a leather jacket paired with slicked-back hair.
"Hey, Reg, man. What's up?" Archie greeted.
"Archibald," replied Reggie
"How are you doing, today?" Archie continued.
"Not bad, my friend."
"Hey, Reggie, what happened to us, man? I know years have passed, but we actually grew sort of close toward the end of our high school days. How'd you end up working for Hiram, of all people?"
"Well, Arch, all my friends moved on and I stuck around, but you know who was still here? Hiram, and he was paying big. That's all there is to the story really. What do you wanna hear? My daddy beat me, so now I'm bad? Nah. Let's be honest; I've always had a dark side."
"I mean, I get it; nothing in Riverdale is gonna pay like Hiram, but he's a piece of shit, man."
"Look, Archie. I don't judge you, so don't judge me, okay?"
"You're right, man. I'm sorry. Hey, would you be interested in changing that to-go order into a for-here order and sit at a booth with me, for old times' sake?"
"For the record, we were never really at Pop's together, but sure, Archie. Why the hell not?" Reggie agreed sarcastically.
After Reggie received his order, him and Archie made their way to an empty booth and sat facing each other. After Reggie removed his food from the to-go bag, Archie was surprised to see that Reggie had ordered a salad.
"I don't think me or my friends have ever ordered a salad here," commented Archie.
"Yeah, I don't put that other crap in my body anymore, man."
"I can tell. I mean you always were in awesome shape, but you're looking just as good if not better now, after all these years."
"Thanks, bro. I don't think you need anyone to tell you what type of shape you're in with those diamond cutters you call abdominal muscles clearly still intact," Reggie replied.
Archie laughed.
"Well, thanks. The army doesn't exactly give you a chance to get in any worse shape. Listen, since the game's gonna be on later, I was wondering if you'd wanna watch it at my place, as sort of an homage to the friendship we started to develop in high school," suggested Archie.
"Fine, man, but since we're doing that, I actually am gonna take this salad to-go. I don't need that much Archie time in one day. I'll see you later," Reggie said, before getting up and leaving with his food.
Archie, now alone in the booth with his coffee, chuckled before taking a sip.