Chapter Eight
Gabby stomped through the backyard, pulling her knees up as high as they could, yanking the heels of her stilettos out from the ground. When that didn't work, and she raised herself up to her tiptoes to keep from pressing her weight back onto her heels, she shook her head.
It was no use.
Her heels were ruined, no point in worrying about it now. Cheryl seemed not to, either, as she sashayed her way across the grass to the hammock that sat stretched by the Rush's large pool. Gabby tilted her head, watching as her friend lowered herself into the hammock, sitting prettily, crossed her legs at the knee, and oh so carefully twisted so that she lay draped across the netted rope.
Gabby placed her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrows when Cheryl put down her bottle of tanning lotion and carefully rubbed it between her palms before moving it over her chest and arms. It took a moment for her to notice Gabby watching her, and Cheryl slowly turned, lowering her sunglasses to peer at her best friend over the top of it.
"I know I'm a work of art," Cheryl drawled. "But you don't need to stare." With that, she leaned back on the hammock, being careful to stretch her legs out, popping up her outside leg so that it bent at the knee, showing off the definition in her calf.
Her better side, Gabby thought with a wry smile. Nevertheless, she pulled out a phone and took a picture of her best friend, sending it off to her social media profiles and receiving a flood of likes. One of which, was Cheryl's.
"Brava, my dear." Cheryl golf-clapped, after resting her phone on her thighs. "You got it all; the right angles, the perfect lightning, the contrast with the pool…" she reached out and tapped Gabby's arm when she moved to sit next to her. "You've got the Chery Blossom seal of approval."
"I thought I already had that."
"Then, I love you even more."
"If that's even possible."
Cheryl's red-stained lips parted to show off her bright teeth, prompting Gabby to do the same. It made her ignore, just for a moment, the amount of work that was ahead of her for later that night. That night was the biggest opening football game for the season. Whomever decided to have Riverdale High face Southside High so soon must've had some sort of sadistic pleasure in knowing the game was going ot be severely one-sided.
Then again, Gabby heard nothing but whisperings that Southside High was going to do everything in their power to beat Riverdale. The Northside weren't particularly worried, Gabby, Cheryl, the River Vixens and the football team did nothing but laugh at the mere idea of being beaten all week.
Cheryl, of course, simply had her mind on the first performance of the River Vixens for the year and the party to be thrown afterward. It was tradition, the River Vixens putting together a party for the football team after the first game of the year, win or lose. (Though they won more than they lost).
Gabby flipped her own pair of sunglasses over her eyes, adjusted her bikini and angled her face towards the sun in just the way that'd make her a tad bit darker. Just enough. She didn't need the direct sunlight, her skin absorbed it faster than a sponge soaked up water. But the more sunlight, the more she sweated, and the more she sweated, the better the chance that her natural hair under her hair would expand into the beginning stages of an afro and she didn't sit for hours in the salon just for it to be ruined within a few minutes of tanning.
"So, did your homecoming dress come in yet?" Gabby asked.
"Yes." Cheryl's voice was clipped, punctuated with the sharp fap of the magazine page she violently flipped. "But my dear mother got a hold of it before I did and decided it wasn't something I deserved to have."
Gabby lifted an eyebrow.
"It appears my math grade isn't as high as she'd like it to be. Like my mother cares about my math grades. She hardly cares about me as it is."
Gabby continued to watch Cheryl, who sighed a cleaning breath, bringing a hand up to run through her hair. Her eyes zeroed in on the dark bruise that sat on the underside of Cheryl's arm, easily hidden by the sleeve of the long, thin robe she wore over her suit. "To go with my aesthetic," she explained when Gabby questioned her about it if they were going tanning.
It was a mark that could've easily been mistaken for brushing up against the dresser in Gabby's room when Cheryl was doing last minute work on the Vixens' routine. But Gabby knew what it truly was. As much as Cheryl tried to cover it, it was difficult to cover the markings of fingers hard pressed into the skin.
Lowering her gaze, Gabby looked down at her own arm, gently rubbing her fingertips against her wrist. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but she could still feel the curl of her mother's fingers around her wrist, dragging her to stand—back straight—in the corner of her room whenever she misbehaved.
"I expect more of you, Gabriella." A distant Julia Rush said. In her mind's eye, Gabby could see a younger version of herself, head tilted down, pigtails bobbing as she quietly cried, following her mother's footsteps to the corner of the room. "Hey." Julia knelt down, grasping Gabby's wrists, forcing her daughter to look at her. "No more tears. You're a soldier, remember?"
Gabby nodded.
"What was that?"
"'I'm a soldier," Gabby replied.
"And?"
"And I'm strong."
"Alright." Julia stood and directly Gabby into the corner. "You can come out when time out's over. Don't you dare move until then. I want you think about what you did, Gabriella."
"Okay, mommy."
The same grasp on her arm, reminding her to be on her best behavior, to be her best self when her mother's fellow officers were around. And Gabby would stand between her mother and father, smiling her precocious smile as wide as she could, knowing she'd be rewarded in some way once the boring meeting was over.
What she'd give just to have her mother to even stand next to her again. To look at her with pride the same way she would when she did something right. And that was taken away from her.
"Are you sleeping over tonight?" Gabby asked instead, brushing aside the memory that flooded her mind, and, once again, ignited her rage towards a certain Blossom twin.
"I don't know, are the help still going to be here tonight?" Cheryl's question was punctuated by a loud drill filling the air, making birds that perched on nearby branches of the trees surrounding the pool take flight. Cheryl flinched, bringing her magazine up to cover her head in case there was any loads dropped onto her.
"Not if they work fast enough," Gabby replied. She rolled up her magazine and swatted Cheryl on the leg, making her squeal and bring it away. "And it's your fault we need them here in the first place." Cheryl widened her eyes as far as she could. "Don't play innocent with me."
And the girls collapsed into giggles, remembering the last party that Gabby had thrown. A rager that was typical for a Friday night in Riverdale. And typical for someone who's father worked late with his clients nearly every weekend, taking them out to dinner to 'smooze and booze' them as Stephen explained. It went the same as usual, drinks abound, hooking up in almost every room, and a football player becoming a little too excited with the reenactment of a game—or maybe a premonition of what was to come with the Southside High game—and rammed a shoulder through a wall…and the railing of the stairs…and something happened to the basement toilet she wasn't quite sure of.
Enough so that the damage was extensive, expensive, and her father had nearly blown his top. But Stephen had never really been a disciplinarian and although he looked at his daughter with exasperation, he hadn't said much about it. Just called up a construction crew, slapped down a check, and disappeared to work.
"They should be done," Gabby said. "They've been working on it for days now."
"God, how do you sleep with all that noise?"
"I don't."
"Well, I didn't want to say anything about the bags under your eyes but you said it, not me." Cheryl smiled. "I'll be sure to bring some of my best products so we can have a spa night."
"Mmm." Gabby nodded in agreement. She sat up and said, "Midge and Josie said they can come. I'm sure the rest of the Pussycats will come, too. And I think some of the volleyball girls will show."
Cheryl didn't move an inch, but Gabby could immediately see the change in her demeanor. Her shoulders rounded forward, almost caving in on herself, the sides of her face tightening as she clenched her jaw together. Then she smiled, one of the fakest smiles Gabby had ever seen.
Gabby sighed, knowing what was coming. Nothing's ever good enough for her, the thought shot through Gabby's head before she could stop it, immediately feeling guilty. Cheryl didn't have a lot of friends, people obviously cared to hang out with Jason more, it wasn't too bad if she were selective of the people that held her time and attention, was it?
"I mean, they could," Cheryl drawled. "But it'd take years to get them to look like they even know what a spa is, let alone a makeup brush." She slouched further in the hammock, abandoning her perfect posture and added, "And I thought you were a project."
"I wasn't that bad," Gabby defended herself.
She was actually quite cute, if she said so herself. Dressed in some of the best kids' clothing department stores could offer as she and her parents got settled in Riverdale. That is, until she saw how glammed up Cheryl and Jason were, even for second grade students. Higher end clothing, even the tracksuits Jason wore were mimicked by some of the guys as the days went on; Cheryl's brand name skirts, dresses, and overalls were imitated within hours.
And Penelope and Clifford Blossom stood by with the smuggest of smug smiles among the parents that stood around, waiting to pick up their children at the end of the day. Cheryl, ever a Blossom from such a young age, marched up to Gabby, grabbed her hand and said, "I'm your friend now. Let me help you."
Little Gabby's nose wrinkled, a giggle escaping her lips as she said, "Help me? With what?"
"Your outfit."
And Gabby laughed, as if Cheryl made the funniest joke in the world. Cheryl, on the other hand, dragged the young girl to her house, barking to her parents that they had a friend coming and to let her parents know, and showed off her closet. Her expansive closer that may as well have taken up an entire room.
And Gabby showed Cheryl that getting her clothes dirty and actually running around at recess was fun. It didn't take her too long to find out that it was Cheryl didn't have anyone to play with at Recess other than her brother.
A match made in heaven as it were.
"And, anyway, who doesn't know how to swing across the monkey bars?" Gabby asked. "Or that they were even called monkey bars." She paused, feeling a twinge in her stomach.
"Apt name for a girl who likes to run so loose."
Gabby's upper lip curled. She could still remember the same vitriol those words were spewed at her. She remembered the way her heart dropped, the humiliation seizing her muscles, rooting her to the spot. The way she, Cheryl, and Jason looked at each other in confusion, unsure of what the words meant. Then she saw the way her mother's and father's faces went slack. Saw the fire that brimmed in her their eyes and, for the first time in her life, was afraid of her parents.
Of what they could do.
Of what they were capable of doing.
She wasn't stupid. She knew they had a lot of money and that people fell all over themselves to impress her parents because of it; how many 'potential clients' had they brought to the house with their kids in tow for her to have a play date with, how many times had they been to fancy dinners where she had to wear itchy dresses and tuck a large napkin over her lap and be on her 'very best behavior'? Not to mention getting everything she ever asked for Christmas. She wasn't entirely spoiled, she did still have chores to do—though their previous team of butlers and maids did help out a little.
But she'd never seen that money wasn't the only thing that made them powerful people in the world. If looks could kill, the looks they gave that day would've murdered everyone standing around as soon as the words were said.
She shook away the thought, feeling Cheryl's hand press to her knee. Gabby lifted her chin and watched as Cheryl took off her sunglasses and tapped them against her lips. Then she sighed and said, "You know, Jase is really sorry for what he did," she said.
Gabby looked away. She hadn't told Cheryl the whole story of why she was so angry at Jason. Couldn't without having to explain what was going on with him and Polly, not after she-promised not to say anything.
"How'd you know Polly was pregnant?"
"Polly's pregnant?" Gabby repeated, gaping at him like a fish.
Jason faltered. His bravado immediately fell. His eyes had darted over Gabby's face, trying to figure out whether or not she was lying. Sure, Gabby joked about them having babies and being the 'future perfect couple of America' but only joked about it. Honestly, she never thought Jason to be so stupid. There was to be an heir to the Blossom family fortune once Jason was old enough to pass it on, that much was obvious.
But for it to be so soon?
Honestly, the Blossoms would probably have a field day as quickly as they'd lambast Cheryl for being a slut if they were in the same predicament.
Jason left quickly after that. Gabby hadn't spoken to him since then, though he did everything he could to apologize for hanging up on her mother. Did everything he could not to talk about that.
"And I'm sorry, too," Cheryl continued. She squeezed Gabby's knee. "I want nothing more for my best friend in the world to be happy and you're not. I know you miss your mom and if there's anything I could do to help, I would do it for you."
"I don't know." Gabby leaned back in the hammock, making it rock side to side. "How do you feel a bout a first-class trip to Afghanistan?"
"I don't know, camouflage doesn't look good on me," Cheryl said, nose wrinkling. Then she grinned. "But it looks amazing on you. I can already picture it, my best friend being a badass babe in camo, alongside her gorgeous mother. Reunited in times of woe." She clasped her hands to her chest. "I can see it now."
"I've tried," Gabby murmured. Her eyebrows furrowed together. "I try to picture her being back here. What life is like. My dad would be happy again, he wouldn't work so much…wouldn't drink so much so he didn't notice she was gone. Wouldn't…"
Wouldn't what? Continue to ignore her? Pretend that everything was okay when they went to events together? Pretend that everything was okay when he was out on the town? Act like they were the closest a man and his daughter could be when they corresponded only through post-it notes. Wouldn't act like buying her everything she wanted wouldn't make her question why he was on the Southside with the serpents?
Wouldn't…notice how much time she spent with the Blossoms at Thornhill because she was so…
"No need to cry, Gab, your bestie is here," Cheryl said. She reached out and wrapped Gabby in a hug, resting her head atop of Gabby's, understanding everything Gabby didn't say in only the way a best friend could. "You're not alone. You know I love you more than life itself and I won't let anything happen to you. If I have to commander my parent's pilot to take you to your mom, then I'll do that."
Gabby shook her head. Willed the tears that stung her eyes to roll away. She hadn't cried in a long time.
She was a soldier.
She was strong.
And she was lucky to have her best friend know when she was about to break and put the pieces back together.
Cheryl continued to hold Gabby, gently stroking her hair and back. Gabby grasped her elbows and held her just as tightly. Needed something, someone to hold onto when her own father, the only other person who would understand, wasn't there.
"Gabriella!"
Gabby jerked back, startled at the sound of her name being called across the backyard. Her sudden, jerky movement made the hammock rock back and forth before sending the two girls, screaming, to the ground. It took a second of stunned silence, a pile of tangled arms and legs, before Gabby and Cheryl burst out into hysterical laughter. Laughing hard enough for tears to run down their cheeks, streaming their mascara. Once they wiped the tears away, they noticed the blades of grass stuck in each other's hair, pointed, and started to laugh all over again.
"Gabriella! Come here, please."
Gabby got to her feet, smoothed down her hair and, still giggling, went up to the house, where her father stood in the doorway to the backyard. He held the tracksuit she set aside out to her and Gabby quickly put it on before shoving her hands into the pockets of the jacket. She tilted her head back to look up at her father.
Without the teary, red eyes, her father was very handsome. Could probably have any woman he wanted. Even in Riverdale he made sure to dress nicely; jeans and cowboy boots were a staple of his wardrobe, but button down shirts rolled up to his elbows and ties hanging loosely around his neck still made his aura of quiet power radiate in waves.
"What's going on, daddy?" She asked him, trying to appear as innocent as possible in case he found out about the overdrawn credit card she was trying to hide. "Is something wrong?"
"Yeah, something came up and I have to go into the office," Stephen explained. The corners of Gabby's mouth immediately turned down. "But I need you to keep an eye on these guys and make sure that things are finished today." He gestured towards the construction going on around the house, men walking back and forth, carrying drills and tools. "And to lock the doors once they leave."
"And, maybe, get an expansion on my closet while they're at it?" Gabby asked with a cheeky smile.
Stephen rolled his eyes. Shook his head. "What more space do you need, Gabby? It's alright half the size of your room."
Gabby shrugged. She reached up and scratched the back of her head. "I need to update my wardrobe sometime."
Again, Stephen shook his head. He looked behind Gabby's shoulder toward Cheryl, who stood up, brushing blades of grass off her arms and legs. "I blame you for this," he called playfully. "She was just fine before she met you!"
Cheryl simply smiled and waved back.
"Just keep an eye on them, alright," Stephen explained.
"You got it" Gabby saluted.
Stephen smiled, stepped forward, and pressed a kiss to Gabby's forehead. Then he led her into the house, pointing out everything that needed to be finished and what was currently being worked on. Gabby's eyebrows rose as she listened, guilt rolling through her stomach. Here she was, wondering if she could get an expansion on her closet and trying to hide an overdrawn credit card when her father had to deal with thousands of dollars of damage she and her friends caused.
"I'll be back as soon as I can, but you know these guys." Stephen made a funny face and mimed twirling a finger beside his head, making Gabby giggle, before he left the house.
She didn't move from her spot, watching the door her father left through. Left through walking in a straight line, not using his arms to keep himself upright, keep himself from slamming into the walls as his feet were unsteady. Truth be told, she'd never tell her father he'd put as much damage into their house as her parties did.
He didn't need that added stress.
Not when he already had so much on his plate.
"Hi, Gabby."
Gabby whirled around at the sound of her name. Her eyebrows knitted when she spotted Archie standing in front of her. Her eyes roved over the helmet on his head and the tool belt wrapped around his waist, hands covered in gloves…that he was taking off to wipe his palms on the sides of his jeans.
"What are you doing here?" Gabby asked, unable to keep the surprise from her voice. She quickly masked it with a smug tone, tossing her head towards the backyard. "Come for a free show?"
Archie's eyes widened in surprise. He looked at the men that passed by around him, almost as if thinking the worst, then shook his head. "Uh…" He gestured around him. "Your dad contracted my dad to help fix up the damages…I came along to help him." He pulled off his hardhat, running a hand through his hair. "And, uh, Jughead, too."
Gabby snorted at that. There were only a few things in life she couldn't imagine, and one of those things were Jughead Jones doing any sort of construction work. Let alone coming out his dark and brooding cave to do anything that would require use of his hands for more than writing a novel.
"Should I expect Betty to be around here somewhere, too?" She asked.
Archie tilted his head, eyes searching Gabby's. "It's just us," he said, sounding as if he'd wanted to say something else first. Then he frowned, changing the subject. "Just me and Jughead."
Gabby nodded. "Another way for him to 'buck up', right?" She asked, remembering what Archie had told her about Jughead and his father before. "To be more of a man."
He shrugged. "More like, he didn't want to be around his father right now. A lot of stuff going on that Jughead didn't think would be smart to be around…" he trailed off. The answer was obvious. Serpent stuff.
Stuff no one should know or talk about.
Gabby nodded. She could understand that. Her father was the same way. He still hadn't said anything to her about being around the Serpents that night, and Gabby hadn't brought it up. She was curious, but the darkness that heaved over him when she tried was too much to bare. Very similar to the darkness that followed them home after the monkey bar fiasco.
"So, I heard you had a party," Archie said. "That caused all the damages and everything."
"Mm. I thought that was a secret."
"In Riverdale?"
"Good point."
Archie smiled. "I also heard it was how Moose hurt his head?" A brief pause before he added, "Not that it's any different for Moose, never seems to wear a helmet when he really needs it."
A sly smile came to Gabby's face. She folded her arms, locking her gaze on Archie's. "I thought you didn't know much about football. But you seem to know a lot about the guys on the football team."
"You know Reggie, as much as he loves himself, he loves the boys on the football team. Doesn't talk about much else in the locker room." Archie spun his hardhat in his hands. "And, he keeps saying I should join the team."
"Have you thought about it?"
"No." The shifting of his eyes betrayed him.
Gabby tilted her head, hair moving from her face. A dimple appeared in her cheek as she smiled. "Are you sure about that? I'm sure if Reggie keeps asking, you've thought about it a little."
A flush moved over Archie's cheeks, making his very light freckles stand out. "Well, I don't think a lot of people can imagine me being on the football team, you know?" He shifted his hardhat, moving it in front of his stomach, the bit that protruded over the top of his tool belt, lowered his chin.
Gabby pursed her lips. He didn't want to try out for the football team because of what other people would, think. Of what other people would say. Or what he thinks of himself, Gabby thought. She ran a hand through her hair, folded her arms once more. "You know, you never answered my question." At Archie's confusion, she prompted, "What people think of me?"
"Oh."
"Mhm."
"Well, well, if it isn't Archie Andrews," Cheryl drawled, a bright smile on her face as she sashayed into the kitchen. Gabby looked at her, watching Cheryl's eyes laser beam onto Archie. The interruption wasn't and accident. She knew it was done on purpose. She'd probably been watching long enough. Cheryl's quick look at her confirmed it. "What are you doing here? Trying to get a glimpse at your future?" She draped her arm, almost possessively, over Gabby's shoulder. "Or are you trying to get your rocks off like the rest of the pervs around here?" She flicked her chin towards the older men that glanced at the teenagers, passing back and forth through the rooms.
Archie looked at Cheryl, then to Gabby, then back to Cheryl, then landed on Gabby. He parted his lips, shook his head, thought better of it.
"I have to get back to work," Archie said, gesturing behind him.
Gabby lifted an eyebrow. She pursed her lips, sighed, brushed her hair back from her face. "Just don't scratch anything," she said, more for Cheryl's benefit than his. It wasn't what she wanted to say at all. No, she wanted an answer to her question. More importantly, his answer. "I'm sure you can't afford to replace it."
A/N: I'm finally getting back into this chapter after a while of being away and while I'm excited to work on Archabby, I've thought of starting this story over again. I feel there may be better ways for me to get the story across but…I'm still determined to see this through, even if it means editing past chapters. If I do edit them, I'll let you all know.
Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Cheers,
-Riley