Chapter 47: Dream Girl!
*Aria's POV*
I kept thinking about my dream on the way to school. I kept dreaming of black horses running around. It was weird. And weird equals a mystery. Let's hope not. I need a small brake after the Dream Eater nearly killed me. Archie and I got to school and I was immediately hugged by Dilton. He did this all week after I told him what happened on Monday and then he read the article. Did I mention it's Friday already? I decided to walk with Dilton to my locker since he felt bad.
"I didn't mean to worry you." I say softly to him. "It's quite alright, since I now know you're fine. Anymore nightmares?" He asks me. I shake my head no.
"Not really. It's still early though." I tell him. I saw Big Ethel and, boy, did she not look so good.
"Hey BE, you ok?" I asked her as she came over to me.
"No. Not really." She said sleepily to me.
"I have to go Aria. I need to get ready to show off our science project." He says softly as he goes to leave. I looked over my shoulder and watched him leave with a pinch of sadness. Was he upset with me?
"Did you and Dilton fight?" She asked me suddenly.
"No. I told him what happened to me, which it should be in the article already, and worried." I say softly to her. She nodded in understanding.
"I just got the paper. I was going to read it in homeroom." She tells me as she showed me the paper.
"I had Archie post it, since it's rare I type it almost fully based on my view." I explain as we started walking together.
"Yeah, but it's a good thing you survived. I've noticed these mysteries are getting very dangerous." She tells me.
"I agree. But not all of them are at least. Plus, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger….. To bad it's not enough for the twins." I tell her with a small chuckle. She laughed to my joke.
"Are they really that bad?" She asked me.
"Sometimes. They're usually good for me though." I tell her. We heard the bell ring as we went our separate ways.
*Last class of the day.*
I was sitting in class, drawing until class started. It was a free class actually but Miss Grundy was teaching it. That means mostly reading or homework. Anyhow, I was drawing when a paper plane flew at me. I looked at it before opening it.
'Hey babe, how bout you and me tonight? Vinnie.'
I made a gross face as I read it. I looked up and saw him leaning against the wall. His eyebrows wiggled up and down as he gave a sly perverted smile. I shuddered in disgust. I crumbled the paper and threw it at him. He caught it and did nothing. I rolled my eyes.
"Vinnie still bothering you?" BE asked me. I nodded yes.
"He seriously needs to get it through his thick skull that no means no." I say softly to her.
"He thinks you saying no means yes?" She asked as she yawns. She must be that tired.
"That's right. There's a saying that's told by college guys in my area. No means yes and yes means a-" I was starting to say just as Miss Grundy came in.
"Please take your seats class!" She said as she walked in the same time the bell rang. I swear that woman worked like clock work.
"Students! Dilton Doiley would like to make an announcement on his next science project." She announced happily as Dilton stood next to her, holding the dream machine we worked on together.
"Thank you Miss Grundy, but actually, my assistant and girlfriend, Aria, helped me out." He said with a small smile. He was so proud of the fact that, not only he was showing off his inventions, but got to brag about me as well. I heard a small humph from Jughead, who sat behind me, over Dilton saying girlfriend. It's tough having two boyfriends. Especially when one tells you they love you and the other hasn't yet. I peaked and saw Vinnie pouting over that too. I was happy about it but worried as well. He always tried to hurt the three of us just to get me for himself. I hated it. Oh well. At least he hasn't tried to get into the house yet. Or my room anyhow.
"Oh, well that's nice." Miss Grundy said with a proud smile. Dilton and I were her best students as well as Betty and Jughead when he's not sleeping.
"Dreams. For years, man kind has pondered over the mystery of what dreams really are. Are they just figments of our sleeping imaginations? Or do our dreams occur in another dimension just as real as our own?" Dilton asked as he was giving his speech. I suggested asking the questions to help make it interesting. I smiled because he took my advise for it instead of ignoring it. I felt the questions make the speech interesting. It caught most of the class's attention from what I saw.
"Does that mean I owe Pop Tate for all the burgers I ate in my dreams?" I heard Jughead whisper to Archie. I giggled softly at what he said.
"I plan to explore the mysteries of dreams with our new invention. The Dream Monitoring Helmet." He said as he paced at first before showing it off. Thank goodness he took Midge's advice to make the names shorter.
"I just need a volunteer to help me, since Aria refused." He said as he looked over at me.
"After my last dream experience, I don't want to explore right now." I say to him. It's true. But I knew someone who would volunteer.
"Oh! Oh! Pick me!" BE said as she stood up eagerly. Point for me. I knew she'd volunteer with the reoccurring Nightmare she's been having.
"Good. It looks like I have my volunteer." He says happily. I think he was upset it wasn't me. Oh well. It's not like I dream about him and/or Jughead or anything inappropriate. BE immediately went up to him in happiness. She hugged his arm happily as she asked to help her get rid of the nightmare she kept having of a monster named 'Arnie' chasing her and replace him with Jughead. I heard Jughead groan as a ping went through my heart.
*She still loves Jughead…...But he wants nothing to do with her.* I thought as I tried to hide my watery eyes. Class began and I just rolled with the study hall.
"Aria?" I heard. I looked up and saw BE looking at me.
"I'm sorry. I know you and Jughead are dating, but-" She started but I put my hand up to stop her.
"It's fine BE. I get it. Really, I do." I say as I gave a weak smile. She gave me a look but nodded as she went back to doing homework. She'd see Dilton after class. To be honest, I think she knew I was jealous and upset she said that but didn't want to start a fight. She was my best friend after all. Anyway, once class was over I walked her to Dilton's lab. After I did that, I kissed Dilton's cheek, went to my locker, grabbed my uniform and rushed off to work. Once at work I started feeling better. I just served Archie and Jughead when I went to a table.
"Welcome to Pop Tate's Chock'lit Shoppe, what can I get ya?" I asked as I wasn't paying full attention.
"Hey Babe, glad I got your table." I heard the annoying voice of Vinnie Wells. I then gave him a glare.
"What, dare I ask, do you want?" I asked in a snippy attitude.
"Just my nachos." He tells me. I rolled my eyes.
"You gonna pay for them?" I asked a bit rudely. He always tried not to pay and Pops won't give him a tab. I don't blame him either. Suddenly, he showed me a $10 bill and slipped it in my front apron pocket.
"And a drink too babe. Keep the change." He said with that sick smile of his. I tensed when he did that. He didn't touch me though. I was glad, and surprised, about that.
"Fine. I'll get them." I tell him as I skate off. I got him a medium soda and the nachos and still had roughly $2 as a tip. I wasn't complaining about it. At least he paid. I gave him his drink and nachos and went to walk off, since I forgot my skates again, when Vinnie grabbed my arm.
"Hold on babe. I just wanna talk is all." He tells me. I didn't want to talk to him.
"I told you I'm not going on a date with you, I'm not going to be your girl, and I have even said don't touch me." I said as I yanked my arm away.
"Fine. But I think it was shallow of your buck toothed friend to say what she said about one of your guys." He tells me. I didn't look at him.
"I saw the way you looked. The water in your eyes. Personally, I'd ditch her as a friend all together. A real friend wouldn't do that." He continued. In a way, he was right.
"I'm still her best friend and she is mine. That won't change." I tell him sternly. He just chuckled a bit.
"Funny. You judge and hate me when I make remarks on who you should and shouldn't be around, and yet when she tries to do something similar, you let her walk all over you." He tells me as he munched on his nachos.
"No Vinnie, it's not the same thing. You're controlling, abusive, short tempered and you beat the living snot out of me. She commented on a dream she wanted. That's different." I tell him as I kept calm. He growled a bit but kept his cool surprisingly.
"Fine. Whatever you say babe." He tells me. I rolled my eyes and walked off quickly before he said anything else. When I got back, he left, nachos devoured, the to go cup missing, and a napkin with something written on it. I looked at it.
'If you change your mind, call me. I'd love to hear from you. ~Vinnie.'
I growled as I saw his number on it. I threw it away with the trash.
*Like I'd ever call him!* I thought as I continued with my work.
*After work.*
I had Archie get me, since I was worried Vinnie would try something again, and thanked him.
"If he's still bothering you, report it." He told me.
"I can't Archie. He's technically not doing anything wrong. Heck, he even paid for his food." I tell him.
"He did!" He said, rather than asked, in shock.
"Yeah. He gave me advise that I won't take. He even gave me his number, which I tossed in the trash where it belongs." I tell him as Archie parked the car.
"Just be careful alright." He tells me.
"I can handle him Arch. If I can't then Allegro will." I tell him as I open the door.
'BAM!'
I was tackled to the ground as my face was slobbered on.
"Allegro! Haha! Hi boy. Down. Down. Allegro stop!" I say through small bits of laughter. He stopped and wagged his tail as he looked at me cutely. I loved this dog. I hugged him as I heard him give tiny whimper barks of happiness. I got up and showed him the bag.
"Ok. Sit boy." I say. He sits, knowing I had a treat for him. I usually give him leftover burgers, as long as there were no onions on then, and this time I even got him a couple bones from our rib special we had. I gave him the left over burgers, which he ate, and then I showed him a rib bone.
"Ok. Sit up." I say. He got on his hind legs, front paws over lapped, as he gave me the cutest look.
"Sing boy." I tell him. He did as told and started howling a song I taught him.
"Say 'I love you'." I tell him.
"Aria he can't-" Archie started saying but then grew shocked at what happened next. Allegro said 'I love you'. Sort off. It was a type of barking/howling but it sounded like he said I love you.
"One more time. I love you." I say to him. He said it again. I giggled and gave him the bone. He gently took it before running inside to show it off.
"How did you do that?" He asked me.
"I've been teaching him tricks for a while. He's a good dog Arch. He's not a bad dog at all. He needed time and love and that's what I gave him." I tell him as I went inside. I put the left over bones away in a small part of the fridge before stretching. I had dinner with my family, complimented my Aunt's hair cut, said I love you to them and went to bed with Allegro, who finished his bone happily, as we both fell asleep.
*Time Skip Aria's POV*
Archie was getting on my nerves. He seriously thinks he's the center of the universe, that everything should be done his way. He was getting annoying. He wanted Jughead to spent every lunch with him too. Come on! Yesterday, which was Friday, I had lunch with Jughead in a different part of the school to talk privately with him and Archie flipped! If that wasn't bad enough, Archie wanted Jughead or me to go to the movies with him. I had my date with Dilton and Jughead refused. He got even madder. We have our own lives Archie. Oh well, I convinced him to take BE so Dilton and I could have our date night. He wasn't happy but at least he wasn't alone. Now, it's Saturday evening, and I was at a separate table with Jughead, on our date night, while Archie was at another table with Betty on their date night. I could tell he was complaining. I had checked up on Veronica earlier but she claimed she was fine. I knew she wasn't. She was having nightmares and something in those nightmares was preventing her from dating Archie. I couldn't figure out what though. It bothered me.
"You ok?" I heard Jughead ask me.
"Yeah. I'm good." I say as I began eating the pile of burgers with him.
"Good. As long as you're happy, safe and alright, then so am I." He tells me as he starts eating the burgers. I smiled with light pink cheeks.
"You're so nice to me." I tell him. Honestly, he was. I don't think we've ever fought.
"Well you deserve it. You're such a kind person." He says with a sweet smile. One thing I love about Jughead is that he's honest. I'm not saying Dilton isn't, but he either doesn't say anything to me right away, because it's not important, or he doesn't know how to tell me half the time. Right, getting off topic. I peeked at Archie's table again and saw him perk up.
"Betty must've told him." I said happily.
"Tell him what?" He asked as he started eating.
"Betty moved her tutoring around so she could go to the school dance with him." I said as I started eating another burger.
"Good. Maybe he'll leave us alone." He says to me. We enjoyed the rest of our date together. He even took me home. He gave me a kiss goodbye and I watched him walk off. He was such a gentleman. I walked inside. Archie wasn't home and Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred were visiting my parents this weekend. I felt bad for them but they insisted on going. I decided to plug in my Nintendo 64 and start playing Super Mario. I was stuck on a level and I was determined to beat it.
*1 hour later*
I was close. So close.
*Almost… Almost! So close to the end!* I thought as I was just about to win.
"Aria!" I suddenly heard in my ear. I jumped and ended up dying. My eye twitched as I turned and looked at Archie.
"Sorry. You didn't hear me." He said sheepishly.
"Sorry? Sorry?! Sorry isn't good enough! I now have to do this level all over again because that was my last life!" I scolded in anger as I tried not to yell.
"Gee. I'm sorry. But I wanted to tell you I had a good date tonight." He told me.
"So? I already knew that. Betty told me about moving the tutoring around to be with you." I told him.
"Oh….. Well….. I'm going to bed then. Can't let this handsome mug be ruined." He said as he started walking off.
"You sound like Reggie!" I yelled out to him. He was too.
"I do not!" He yelled back.
"You're right! You sound worse!" I yelled out to him.
"At least I don't wear make up to look better!" He yelled out to me.
"I least I know how to look good and not be a jerk!" I screamed out. He was too. He had been a narcissistic jerk for a few days now. It was annoying.
"At least I can get a date!" He yelled out.
"I can too! Two of them! One flacked on you!" I yelled out.
"Yeah! At least I got a dream girl while you get nightmares!" He yelled out to me. I blinked in confusion.
*Um….. What?* I thought to myself. I shrugged and ignored it as I decided to try and beat the level again.
*11: 57 pm Aria's POV*
I was finally about to beat this level. Once I did, the game would be completed.
'Ring. Ring.' I jumped and, wouldn't you know it, I died. I made a blank face as I heard the phone stop ringing in the middle of a ring.
*Archie must've picked it up. Whom ever it is, better have a good reason why they're calling this late* I thought to myself as I got up and went to check on Archie.
*Archie's POV*
I woke up to the phone ringing.
*Who could that be?* I thought as I picked up the phone.
"'Yawn' Hello?" I asked sleepily. I heard someone talking but I was so tired.
"Betty? What's up?" I asked, still in a sleepy tone. She then said something that jolted me awake. She was cancelling our date to the dance.
"What?! What do you mean you can't go to the Friday night dance with me?!" I asked in shock. She was talking more but I was too frustrated now.
"Well, there must be some reason." I said in a shocked and slightly harsh tone. She just said sorry and didn't want to talk about it.
"Alright. Night." I said as I hung up. I was grumpy now.
*How could Betty cancel on me? And why?* I thought just as I heard footsteps march up my stairs. Uh oh.
"Archibald Andrews!" She scolded as she was, now, at my door.
"Sorry Aria. Betty called me to cancel our date to the dance." I tell her. She suddenly looked at me in shock.
"She couldn't wait until morning?" She asked me.
"Guess not." I replied.
"Well, just get some sleep. I'll talk to her and Veronica in the morning." She tells me before leaving. I just sighed.
"Why are all these bad things happening to me?" I asked myself before yawning.
"Maybe this is all some bad dream." I said sleepily as I laid back down.
"And I'll wake up and everything will be 'Yawn' back to…. Normal. 'Snore'." I said sleepily as I fell asleep after my sentence.
*Aria's POV*
Something wasn't right. All I could do was go to bed for the night. So that's what I did.
*Next day Aria's POV*
I didn't sleep well. Why? Because Archie kept waking up screaming. I couldn't take it. Betty and Veronica barely spoke to me and I was tired. I asked Jughead to take Archie out today while I took a nap. I needed sleep.
*Aria's dream*
I woke up at the Chock'lit shoppe in my uniform. I saw a red haired girl and went over to her. I saw food on my tray so I presumed it was hers.
"Here you go miss." I said kindly to her.
"You're Aria Andrews right?" She asked me.
"Yes, that's right. Do I know you?" I asked her curiously.
"No. But I know you. And I don't like the fact that you're poking your nose into my affairs!" She said to me.
"Excuse me?" I asked as I tilted my head.
"Archie Andrews is my boyfriend and you're trying to get Betty and Veronica back with him! Now It's your turn!" She scolded.
"What?! You did all that?! Then I'm-" I was shocked when saying this and was cut off when everything went black.
"Dreaming. But not for long. I'm Marie Not and I want you to Butt out!" She suddenly told me. I crossed my arms.
"And what if I don't?" I asked her. Suddenly the black horses appeared.
"My Night Mares will deal with you!" She scolds me. I just smiled.
"Look, they don't scare me. I think you tried before, because I remember seeing them, and as cool as they are, you can't scare me." I tell her with a smug smile.
"I had sent them to watch you. I can scare you! I know your fears because of them!" She tells me. Suddenly I saw clear walls around me. I didn't like the look of this. She snapped her fingers and I was surrounded by fire. I screamed and tried to break free but couldn't. I could feel the heat and smell the smoke.
"Stay away from Archie and quit butting in and I'll stop." She tells me.
"No! I…. I'm afraid, yes, but he's my cousin! They're my friends! I won't stop! I won't! I won't!" I cried out as the flames licked my body.
"It's just a dream! It's an illusion!" I cried out before forcing myself awake.
*Awake Aria's POV*
I bolted up from the bed with a shriek. I looked myself over and saw nothing. I broke down crying. I was terrified of fire.
*I can't let her win though.* I thought to myself. I needed to try and stop her. I don't care if I loose sleep. I care about Archie, Betty and Veronica. I have to try and help them.
*But if I try to talk to them, She'll cause them nightmares. And poor Archie.* I thought as I felt useless. When Archie came home alone, I ran to him and hugged him tightly.
"I know about Maria Not. I'll help you as soon as I figure out how to. I don't care about my nightmares." I tell him. He shook his head.
"No Aria, that's a bad idea." He tells me.
"I don't care Archie. I'll help you. No matter what." I tell him bluntly. He sighed, knowing I wasn't going to back down, and hugged me.
*Monday Aria's POV*
I had to drive to school. Why? Archie almost hit Jughead with the car. He fell asleep at the wheel. Jughead was trying to comfort Archie while I drove. I tried not to panic or hit anything. Once at school, Jughead and I started to help Archie inside. I had an Idea.
"Why bring him to school?" Jughead asked me.
"Because, Dilton has his dream machine. Maybe that can help." I explained.
"Good Idea." He says. Archie stumbled and we grabbed him quickly before he fell and hurt himself. At this point, we started dragging him.
"It's alright buddy, hang in there. We'll get you fixed up." Jughead says to comfort him. Archie just let out moans and groans from his exhaustion. I looked up and saw a worried Betty run over to us.
"Hi Betty. Can't talk to you or she'll punish me again." He said as he nearly fell over. He needed sleep. Badly.
"He hasn't slept in over 60 hours, and Aria hasn't in 36 hours. They keep talking about some girl named Maria Not." Jughead tells Betty.
"I'm alright. It's Archie that needs help." I say as I hide my tired form. Don't get me wrong, 36 hours of no sleep is bad, but I got some sleep in between the 60 Archie didn't get.
"Maria Not? That's-" Betty started saying but I stopped her.
"The same girl in yours and Veronica's dreams telling you Archie is hers and to stay away." I say as I held back a yawn.
"Yes, that's right." She tells me.
"We're taking Archie to Dilton for help. Aria's plan." Jughead tells her.
"You and Veronica need to come too. It's part of the plan." I tell her as we walked Archie off. Betty said nothing but ran to get Veronica. Once we got to Dilton, I explained to him everything. Once I finished, Betty and Veronica showed up. I looked and saw BE sleeping with the machine on her head.
"Can you help?" I asked him. I saw Dilton go over to BE.
"This just confirms what my research with Big Ethel, and the information Aria gave me, has found. The dream realm exists in another dimension, and our dream cells go there when we sleep." He says scientifically. My heart fluttered a bit.
*He's so attractive when he talks like that.* I thought to myself.
"But what about this Maria Not person who keeps showing up in our dreams to make us leave Archie alone." Veronica asked as Archie sat down on the chair and yawned.
"Yeah. Who is she?" He asked. I could tell his vision was going.
"My guess is, she's not human. She's most likely a being, one of them anyhow, from that dimension that can bend the reality of that world to her will. It's her home in a way." I said as I laid Archie down.
"Exactly. My dream monitor detected multiple life forms in that dimension. Like the Dream Eater that attacked you." Dilton informed the group as I shuddered.
"Let's not bring that up again." I muttered.
"Sorry." Dilton said as he turned the monitor on. It showed BE running and screaming from the monster, Arnie, that keeps haunting her. It looked cool really. I'm not sure why she was scared.
*Then again, if he is like the Dream Eater and Maria Not, then I can understand.* I thought as I felt bad for her.
"This creature, Arnie, is one of them." Dilton said as he points him out. He cornered BE and she threw her shoe at his face as she yelled at him to leave her alone. When the shoe hit his face, I snickered and covered my mouth.
*Same old BE.* I thought as I composed myself. What? It was funny. Dilton turned the monitor off and looked at us.
"Sadly, I have not figured out how to prevent them from entering our dreams yet." He says as he does his thinking pose. I loved that pose so much.
"Maybe, if you hook us all together in the same dream, we can all gang up on Maria and scare her off." Betty said as She looked ready to fight.
"It's not a bad idea, but remember she'll have more power there than us. But our advantage, besides numbers, is that it's a dream. An illusion. We might be able to win against her." I explained.
"I'm ready either way." Betty told me.
"Me too. For Archie-kins." Veronica added in.
"And I will for my best bud." Jughead said as he puffed his chest out. He was seriously cute as well.
"Well, I've got enough spare dream helmets if you wanna try. Except one of you will have to stay behind." Dilton tells us. This was tough. I knew Betty and Veronica needed to be there, along with Archie, BE was still sleeping and needed too so Dilton could work on her dream. That left me and Jughead. I really wanted to go, but I thought clearly on this.
"You guys go. I'll stay." I say softly.
"What?!" Everyone gasped out.
"Let's not argue. 1. I've had enough dream team action to last forever. 2. Maria will expect me over all of you. 3. If a helmet starts to malfunction, Dilton might need help. Especially if more than one goes out. Just fight her off. If we can make a temp one to get me in there, than good. But I'll stay." I explained as I got the helmets and hooked them up to the girls. I pulled another out and went to Jughead.
"And besides, I trust all of you to drive her away. Plus I can write down data towards the spare helmets and maybe even work on a barrier between the realms." I say as I hooked Jughead's up and then Archie's. Dilton got the monitor and stuff ready.
"Alright. We will." Jughead said before he kissed my cheek gently yet sweetly. All the teens laid down on the cots and relaxed. Archie was thanking everyone, and probably feeling guilty for taking advantage of everyone, while I helped prepare. I wasn't paying much attention though. Dilton was explaining everything as I checked on BE. Arnie was still chasing her. I looked and saw Dilton was distracted. I went and typed in a small code and ended up giving her a gun that shot shoes at Arnie. She was shocked but figured it out quick and used it on him. Arnie wasn't too happy about that. I then heard snoring and looked over. Archie was knocked out. He needed the sleep though.
"Can you hear me? Are you in the dream realm?" Dilton asked through the remote. I walked over as I looked over their sleeping forms.
"I hope this works Dilton. These helmets are only test helmets compared to the original." I said softly to him.
"I'm sure they work." He said as he put a hand on my shoulder to comfort me.
"Yes, we're all in the same dream. And I don't feel tired anymore." I heard Archie through the remote. I then gently took the remote.
"That's no surprise. You're dream cells are what help the brain sleep. Be careful. Maria is no joke. Finding her is the easy part, but driving her away will be the harder part. Just give her a good scare for me." I say to them as I gave the remote back to Dilton. I went and turned the monitor on to view their dreams. Once I did though, I saw Maria in front of them, walking towards them with a wand in her hand.
Uh oh.
*Third POV*
"Forget it Maria! We're standing up to you." Archie said with a sneer. He was done with her. Done with all of this.
"Yeah! We're not going to let you ruin Archie's dreams anymore! We're not afraid of you." Jughead yelled as he, Betty and Veronica banned together and stood behind Archie as Archie marched right up to Maria. In the real world, Aria made fists as she excitedly watched.
"I believe in all of you." She says to herself mostly. She knew Maria was strong, but Archie and the gang were better. She then continued to make very quick work on another prototype helmet. Well, finishing it actually. She and Dilton had worked on it but never finished it because there were a few problems. She didn't care. They needed help.
"How are they doing?" Dilton asked her as she tightened a screw.
"So far so good." She replied as she started to fix the wires. Dilton watched as Archie suddenly got scared.
"Sure I can." Maria said with a smile She then aimed her wand at Archie.
"I'll just send you into your worst fears!" She cried out as she fired her wand. Archie dodged it, but because he did that, Betty, Veronica and Jughead got hit instead. Aria looked up in shock as she saw that.
"No!" She cried out. She stopped work on the helmet and went to the keyboard. Dilton ran to keep work on the helmet for her.
"There's nothing we can do." He tells her.
"Yes there is. I can try to slow the nightmares down or something." She tells him as she watched and typed at the same time. In the dream world, Archie looked back in shock and horror as his friends were now gone. Betty and Veronica were teleported into the school. Veronica was dressed in rags but Betty seemed normal. Veronica looked at the rags she was wearing then opened up her purse. She began searching in it.
"What?! No credit cards?! She turned me into a poor person!" She cried out in fear and rage as she tossed her purse. In the real world, Aria lightly giggled at how she acted
"Daddy help!" She heard Veronica cry out. Then Aria grew curious about Betty. In the dream world Veronica looked at Betty.
"Well Betty, It doesn't look like she did anything to you." She says in a grumpy tone as she looks grumpy with her hands on her hips. Betty looked over at her.
"Oh. My god. It's, like, so hard to think." She said as she rubs her head.
"She made me, totally like, what's that word?" She asked as she looks at a shocked Veronica.
"Oh yeah. Stupid!" She says in a blond bimbo voice as she smiled for thinking of the right word. Aria was laughing at this as Betty ranted on in a panic over her grade being ruined. Aria put the helmet on.
"I hope it works." She said right when she saw Jughead running.
"Run away! They're after me! Giant hungry hamburgers!" He yelled out. Soon, three giant hamburgers with sharp teeth started chasing them. Betty and Veronica screamed and ran.
"Jughead!" Aria yelled out.
"Dilton! Get me in there!" she yelped out as she laid on the bed.
"But the helmet." Dilton started to say but Aria interrupted him.
"Dilton! Now! Please!" She said to him. Dilton nodded and activated the helmet. Aria was now in the dream realm and found the three. She then made a rip in the dream and brought them to a different part of the school, safe from the nightmares.
"It's safe for now." Aria said as she looked around.
"Where are we?" Jughead asked.
"In my dream. Maria doesn't know I'm here yet, so let's hurry." Aria said as they began to look for Archie. Maria was aware though.
"Guess your cousin couldn't stay away either." She says as she waved her wand. Soon a fire broke out. Aria backed up in fear as she started shaking.
"We..I...I won't be afraid!" She screamed as she tried to run through. The man eating burgers popped out and soon, the fire and burgers surrounded them. Archie was afraid for his friends and his cousin.
"Dilton! This isn't working! Get us out of here!" He yelled out to him.
"I can't wake you guys up. She's taken control of your bodies!" Dilton said in pure shock. Maria ran up to Archie with a smile as she hugs his arm.
"You see, Archie dear, I've decided I'm not going to let them wake up unless you agree to stay here with me forever." She says happily to him like she's doing nothing wrong.
"That's rotten!" He scolded as she looked bashful. To her, it was a compliment.
"Look, you can either stay with me and be the perfect boyfriend I've always wanted, or your friends and cousin can stay trapped in their worst nightmares forever!" Maria announced to him as she felt proud of herself.
"The choice is yours." She tells him with a smug smile. Archie stood tall and tried to look brave, but failed. After a few seconds he hunched over with sadness.
"You win." He sadly said while Maria smiled in victory.
"Just let me say goodbye to them before they wake up." He nearly begged. Maria was still smiling.
"No problemo, boyfriend of mine." She says happily and snaps her fingers. Her wand appeared and glowed as she used it. Soon the gang was back in front of Archie, all normal with no nightmares. Everyone was relieved, but Aria was the most. She had been sweating and swallowing tears down. The group smiled as they looked themselves over.
"I'm fashionably rich again." Veronica said happily.
"And I'm my usual brainy self again." Betty said in a perky tone.
"And I'm back to my rightful place on the food chain as the devourer of hamburgers!" Jughead stated happily since he won't be burger food.
"And no more fire." Aria said as she started to calm down with a smile. Archie then came over to the group.
"I'm going to stay here with Maria, so she'll let you wake up." He says in a somewhat sad tone. He then looked down in sadness.
"I'm going to miss you. Sorry I took you all for granted." He continued as Maria tapped her foot impatiently and looked at her watch.
"Say your goodbye's and wrap this up Archie." Maria tells him. Aria ran over and hugged him.
"Please don't." She begged him.
"It's the only way." He tells her.
"Then… Then at least say goodbye to BE and her new friend too." She said in a sad tone. She winked at him as she hoped he got the idea she had. He smiled as he did.
"Did you hear that Dilton? Think you can bring Big Ethel and her new friend over? It's only fair I say goodbye to them too." He asks Dilton.
"Her friend?" Dilton said through the communicator as then thought about it.
"Ok. I'll send them to you now." He said in a worried tone as he connected her helmet with theirs and sent her and Arnie into Archie's dream. Big Ethel came running to the group, screaming as Arnie was chasing her. Aria let Archie go and kept Big Ethel behind her.
"Sorry. The shoe gun broke." She whispered to Aria.
"It's cool." She whispered back to her tall friend.
"Ha! Let's see you deal with this guy! He's an even bigger nightmare than you!" Archie told her as he thought he was victorious.
"Maria?" The monster, Arnie, asked in shock as he had a sad look upon him. Maria turned around and saw him.
"Arnie?" She asked, equally as shocked.
"Uh…. You two know each other?" Archie asked in shock. Aria then smacked her forehead.
"Of course. Most of these beings might since they live in the same dimension." Aria said as she felt stupid at that point. Maria turned to look at us.
"Arnie's my old boyfriend." She said to all of us in a slightly annoyed tone. BE then looked at the group.
"Does anyone know what's going on here?" She asked. Aria whispers the short version in her ear.
"You can read the rest in the Weird Mysteries column." She added. BE nodded as she watched. Arnie then put his clawed hand on Maria's shoulder.
"Take me back baby. Doing the nightmare thing isn't the same without ya." He says as he lets her go. Maria still had her arms crossed.
"You're the best." He added.
"Oh please." She said as she brushed him off.
"There are a lot of people dreaming in Tahiti right now. Let's go scare 'em." He suggested sweetly. Aria awed silently. He might look like a monster, but even they need love too.
"Sheesh Maria, you want me to change into your perfect boyfriend, but it looks like Arnie's your perfect boyfriend here." Archie said as he goes over to Arnie. Aria followed and stood on Arnie's other side.
"Yeah Maria. Any girl would be lucky to find their soul mate. Don't let him go." She says to her. Arnie smiled at both of the kids happily for trying to help.
"I loves ya baby. I think you're the greatest. You're the one for me." He tells her sweetly as he spoke from his heart. Sort of. Did he have one? An odd one supposedly.
"Gee. I've never been in a Tahiti dream before." Maria said as she thought about it.
"Sounds like the perfect make up date if you ask me." Aria said as she went to Maria's side. She wasn't scared of her. She had no reason to be. She only wanted love but didn't realize she had it. Maria looked at Aria's slight smile, a bit shocked she wasn't afraid of her, but smiled in agreement. She turned and looked at Arnie.
"What the heck. Lets give it a shot!" She says happily as she makes her wand appear. She then turns into her true form, which looked like a female Arnie with lashes, a green ripped dress the reddish hair and no beak. She floated over to him and snuggled close to him with a smile as Arnie smiled and hugged her. The two chuckled as they shared a lovey dovey moment. Archie and Aria stood next to each other as they both wiped a tear that fell from their eye. This was a moment, not only both understood, but a rare moment both shared a likeness since both could act differently at times. Archie then did a little cough.
"Could my friends, cousin and I wake up now?" Archie asked kindly. Both of the creatures looked at both the orange haired teens with a smile.
"Yeah, sure. Go wake up." Maria said slightly rudely. Aria didn't blame her though. She wanted to have a romantic moment. Arnie then floated down to both teens.
"Hey kids, thanks for getting us back together. If either of you have a really nasty nightmare, just tell them to lay off. You're a friend of Arnie's." He whispered with his hand up.
"Uh thanks. I think you two deserve each other." Archie said to him.
"And Aria. Good job on locking Dream Eater up again." He added before going back to Maria. Aria's jaw nearly dropped when she heard that but ignored it. Guess Dream Eater is a bad guy to these beings as well. The two teens waved to the couple with a smile, as they waved back while smiling too, before they disappeared in a glow. The teens had to close their eyes to block the glow. Then they all woke up, feeling refreshed and smiles on their faces. The teens woke up as Aria explained to BE everything.
"Um Aria. Your helmet's sparking." BE said to her as she looked frightened. Aria quickly tossed it off just as it short circuited.
"And that's why it's a prototype with cheap fixes." Aria mumbled, relieved that it didn't happen when she was dreaming. Archie was hugged by Jughead before Betty and Veronica went over and kissed each cheek multiple times while hugging him. Aria went over to Dilton, who was taking notes of what happened.
"Dilton? Are… Are you mad at me?" She asked him.
"What? no. Why would you think that?" Dilton asked her in shock.
"Well, you've been distant again. And….. And it just seems like you're mad at me for something." Aria tells him softly. She had to know.
"No, I'm not mad at you. I'm sorry if it seems like I am. I…. I got news that my cousin from California will be visiting soon, and we never once got along." He tells her as he felt embarrassed. Aria soon started laughing.
"That's why you're upset? All this time! I thought you we're mad at me for not volunteering to test the machine or something like that." Aria said as she calmed down. Dilton was in shock at how she reacted, but soon started to chuckle with a smile.
"I'm sorry to have worried you. I should've said something." He tells her as he felt a little better. Aria hugged him sweetly.
"I forgive you Dilton." She says, knowing he would apologize soon. Now that all of that was settled, the group decided to go to Pops to celebrate. It was even better since Aria didn't have to work today. She had earned the day off for working very hard. Aria and Jughead started wolfing down burgers as Dilton took notes on it.
"It's fascinating how much the both of you can consume." He said to the both of them.
"Best burgers ever man." Aria said as she chowed down.
"Definitely." Jughead said as he wolfed down 2 more.
"I've never met anyone who could eat almost as much as Jughead." BE said as she watched them.
"Can't help it." Aria said nonchalantly as she finished eating. Jughead had 9 more burgers than her but she didn't care. Once they finished eating and paying, Archie's treat as an apology and going broker than broke at that point, Archie brought everyone home, including Dilton since he was done with his testings, and he and Aria went home to write in the article.
*Aria's POV*
"Boy. I was really taking Betty, Veronica and Jughead for granted. ~Archie. And me a bit. ~Aria. Yes, and you too. ~Archie. And Acting like you were the center of the universe. Worse than Veronica and Reggie usually do. ~Aria. Ok ok. I'm sorry for that too. Anyway, why they put up with me, I don't know. Well, Aria does because we're family that actually care for each other as friends. ~Archie. But when you did the same thing to Maria Not, it put you in hot water and us as well. ~Aria. Hey! I'm telling the story! ~Archie. Sorry. ~Aria. But Aria's right. And it took the same friends, and cousin, I took for granted to help me out of trouble. Now that's what I call 'Good Friends'. Well, I guess it's time for us to get a good night sleep. ~Archie. …..In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie & Aria!"
We finished the article as Archie yawned again. I helped him over to the bed, even though he didn't need my help, with a smile.
"Glad you're doing better." I said as I set him down.
"I'm so-" He started saying before I stopped him.
"We're cool. We all make mistakes in life. Just learn from this one." I tell him.
"I did. Believe me." He said as he laid down and fell asleep quickly. I tossed a sheet over him and smiled at him.
"You better have." I muttered as I walked to my room. I got dressed in my gown and fell asleep almost instantaneously.