**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING FROM RIVERDALE, BUT I DO OWN DIANA AND HER STORYLINE***
Diana finally stumbled through her apartment door with an exhausted sigh. Taking off the ebony boots, she carefully placed them away from the door before walking into her living room. Her mother sat on the couch, a glass of white wine in one hand and her head in the other.
"Mom, what's going on?" Diana asked, racing over to comfort her mother.
Hermione wiped her eyes, plastering on a watery smile as she assured her daughter she's fine. "I'm just tired I think. I didn't have much luck with job hunting today". Then she looks down at her daughter's outfit. With a questioning eye, she says "That's very interesting dance attire Diana".
"I thought you said Fred Andrews would give you a job?" Diana replied to which her mother anwsered with a grim shake of her head.
"I thought he would" She said as she placed her wine glass on the table in front of her. Not bothering to look at her daughter, she continued with a sigh "He said he couldn't risk having the Lodge name attatched to his business".
Diana stayed silent beside her mother, picking up the cup from the table and downed the remains of her mother's wine. "I have some money saved from my working days with dad.." The thought of her father causing her blood to boil with a furious rage. Shaking away her anger, she shifted her attention to her mother "We can dip into my college fund too if we need to plus I'm working at Pop's now so we should be covered" Diana said as she poured herself another glass.
"It won't come to that" She said as she peered at her daughter through her lashes.
Diana hummed in response as she took a swig of her drink before sitting the glass back on the table. "I'm good with numbers so I'll create a budget for us tommorrow. In the meantime, why don't you go down to Pop's tommorrow to see if he'll offer you a job. They're pretty short staffed right now so I know Pop Tate would appreciate the help". She finished with a glance to her mother.. Placing a comforting arm around her mother, Diana muttered "We'll figure something out mom, don't worry".
Hermione sighed into her daughter's embrace. "That should be my line Mejia".
"Maybe another day" Diana anwsered with a shrug and a smile.
Hermione went to respond, but ended up with a yawn.
Diana examined her mother for a moment then said "It's been a long day for you. Go to bed and I'll wait for Ronnie". Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but Diana silenced her with look. "I have some homework I want to get finished before Monday anyway. Go mom".
With a kiss to her daughter's forehead, Hermione anwsered with a smile "Don't stay up too late" Then she went off to bed, leaving Diana to sit on the couch and think for a moment.
The moment didn't last long as Veronica slumped through the door. She was dressed in a black and blue party dress with black heels to compliment the look. Her expression didn't match however as she appeared dejected.
"Ronnie, what's wrong?" Diana asked, quickly sitting up as she regarded her sister with a wary glance.
Veronica examined her twin a second too long before taking a seat beside her. She wordlessly laid her head on her sister's lap, closing her eyes as Diana ran her fingers through her hair.
"What happened?" Diana replied as she watched Veronica sigh dramatically. "Does it have something to do with the dance tonight?"
The room grew silent as Diana combed her sister's waves in a soothing manor. She waited patiently, her concern growing as each second went by.
Finally, Veronica shifted on her back to look at her twin. Her sad eyes spoke volumes above her small voice "Am I a bad person Di?"
"I think you've made some mistakes, but that doesn't make you a bad person. You've changed a lot since we left New York Ronnie. This move has been good for you". Diana anwsered honestly then brushed a piece of hair as she finished "Tell me what happened so I can fix it".
Veronica sighed, closing her eyes as she bit down on her lip. "I think I lost a friend tonight". She opened her eyes and said "I kissed Archie".
Diana's eyes widened, her fingers coming to a halt "Does Betty know?" she muttered, resuming the soothing motion.
"She was there when Cheryl made Archie and I go into the closet. When the time was up and we came out, she was gone. I think she at least suspects something". Veronica said with a bite of her lip. "I don't know what came over me Di. One minute, I was trying to help Betty and then I was kissing Archie. Betty trusted me and I betrayed her".
Diana nodded and said in a firm tone "Monday, we'll buy some flowers and you'll apologize". Glancing down at her sister, she placed a kiss to her forehead "We're Lodges Veronica. When we break things, we find a way to put them back together".
Another silence overwhelmed the room before Veronica sat up and regarded her sister with a somber expression. "Do you think the stuff they're saying about daddy is true?"
Diana sighed and looked down at her hands. She couldn't tell her the truth. but she also couldn't lie to her sister. So she went with a safe middle ground.
"Dad is a business man Ronnie, good and bad aren't always convient. But..." Finally meeting her twin's gaze, she finished "We are not our parents. We get to choose what kind of people we want to be".
"Do you think Betty will forgive me?" Veronica asked tentatavily.
Diana smiled, brushing a strand of hair away from her sister's face "If she doesn't then we'll figure something out. Don't worry so much".
Veronica let out a sigh of relief as she pulled her sister to her in a firm embrace. As Diana held Veronica in her arms, a feeling of despair coursed through her. Tugging her tighter, she knew that while the night was calm; a storm was just on the horizons.
It was a chilly Saturday morning in Riverdale. However, not even the brisk weather could slow a certain inky haired teen down as he finished the last of his chapter.
We'd all be feeling it.
That the world around us had changed, maybe forever.
That Riverdale wasn't the same town as before.
That it was a town of shadows and secrets now.
Hey everyone! This is the rest of Episode one. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you leave me some comments.
foxcharin