Everyone, including Archie and Veronica stood frozen in the back room just staring at each other. Gina was the first to recover, moving to stand in front of the newcomers, clad in nothing but that bright orange Music Town apron.
"Welcome to Music Town. May I service you?" Gina equipped in a light voice, her hands clasped tightly under her chin, her body language turning more girlish than necessary.
Veronica's laugh broke the tension, and Archie managed a big smile, his eyes never leaving Gina's. It was then that Joe moved forward to introduce himself and chastise Gina.
"This is Archie Andrews," Veronica spoke proudly, gesturing to Archie and flashing her big smile around the room, as the pair shook hands.
"Let me introduce you to everyone," Joe spoke, motioning to his employees. "We all love the new album," Joe continued trying to change the awkward atmosphere in the room.
"What's he doing here," pipped Warren harshly from the back, which earned him some smacks over the head from A.J. and Lucas.
"I really like it," Corey stated overenthusiastically, clearly fangirling over being this close to Archie Andrews, which was making Gina smirk.
"Let's get to work," said Archie, smoothing his red locks with his hands and adjusting his letterman jacket with an air of importance.
A.J. moved to pick up the camera and started taking pictures of Warren, the first few of which also included Archie, with his arm slung around Warren's shoulders, ignoring his disgusted gaze. Jughead did his best to hold in his snicker and Betty buried her face in his shoulder. Lucas was still seated on the couch and seemed indifferent to the whole event.
Archie walked towards the front of the store, barely giving Jughead a glance and Betty a once over as he went past. Corey, Mark, Joe, Veronica and Gina followed him out.
Mark stepped up to the small table he set up to announce Archie but was drowned out by the loud cheers from the long line of female fans in the main room as they spotted Archie. The man of the day suddenly appeared next to him with his trademark smile and a generous wave before leaning towards Mark and whispering in annoyance that he wanted a different chair to sit in. Veronica seemed perplexed by Archie's request, as his anger built, but Joe stepped in quickly with a new chair.
Archie sat down and greeted the first guest as if nothing had been amiss, not even glancing back at the others. The first woman was a dark-haired beauty in her mid-thirties, wearing a powder blue pantsuit and clutching a rather worn copy of her favorite Archie Andrews record. He took it from her and began his sweeping signature as she rambled on about how amazing that album was, gesturing with her hands and giggling like a school girl.
"You were my favorite singer in high school," she nearly shrieked. Archie paused at that, his smile faltering until his lips were in a thin line and he sent her a rather offended look.
"Who is your favorite singer now?" Archie threw out at her with venom in his voice, his whole demeanor changing instantly.
The woman's smile froze on her face before she recovered. "You! It's still you!" she laughed while nodded her head. Archie handed back her album, his smile still not returned as he scoffed and looked away.
Meanwhile in the back, Lucas and Warren were both sitting on the worn couch, A.J. was drawing like his life depended on it at the table, and Betty and Jughead were seated on the floor whispering to themselves. Joe was locked away in his office, and Veronica was sitting in the yellow armchair typing away on her phone.
"So many babes out there!" Mark exclaimed as he came barreling through the back doors. "Archie wanted some water," he mumbled in explanation out loud more to himself than others as he headed towards the store room.
"Make sure it's bottled water," Veronica quipped without looking up from her phone.
"Hey Mark," Lucas asked inquisitively, to get his aloof friend's attention.
"Yea?" Mark answered with interest, turning to face Lucas.
"Who is your favorite singer?" Lucas asked seriously. Mark looked thoughtful for a moment, looking up and squinting his eyes in concentration.
"Axel Rose," Mark finally said confidently, a giggling smile on his youthful face.
"If Axel Rose was driving down the highway and he saw Archie Andrews broken down on the side of the road, you think Axel Rose would stop and help him?" Lucas asked, not looking away from Mark. A.J. and Warren both looked at Lucas in confusion. Betty leaned into Jughead and whispered, "Which one is Axel Rose again?", which caused Jughead to widen his eyes and cover his face with his hands as Betty furrowed her brow even more.
"Does Axel have a jack?" Mark asked after a few moments, clearly not having heard Betty.
"No way, man! Axel would spin the wheel, take aim, pound on the gas and take that sucker out!" Warren yelled loudly, demonstrating with hand and foot motions plus sound effects.
"Warren. Warren! Where do you get this hostility from?" Lucas asked in a concerned voice, which made A.J. laugh to himself and return to drawing.
Mark returned to the front and Warren eventually got bored of waiting and noticed the shiny quarters on the floor. He reached down and spent a few moments trying to pick them up off the carpet.
"Who glued these quarters down?" Warren asked in agitation.
"I did," A.J. and Jughead said practically at the same time. "What the hell for, guys?"
"I don't feel the need to explain my art to you, Warren," A.J. answered smoothly, not even looking up as he continued to draw.
"Warren, look what you took," Lucas exclaimed disapprovingly, holding the stolen albums in his hands. "Rap. Metal. Rap. Metal. Whitney Houston." Lucas recited each word, holding up each album for Warren to see.
"It's for my girlfriend, okay?" Warren attempted to rationalize.
"Sure it is," Lucas replied sardonically. "You know, someone like you needs to diminish their criminal impulses, not magnify them. Maybe some jazz or classical," Lucas added in a lighter tone.
"Maybe you bite me," Warren threw back at Lucas, who was wearing a look of thoughtful concern.
"Hey, silence is a virtue, man," Jughead quipped from his spot on the floor, which made Betty smile and lean her head down on his shoulder.
"Hey, do any of you guys like Archie's new record?" Veronica interjected. Everyone else laughed.
"Small town USA teeny bopper shit right?" Warren asked and Veronica nodded.
"It tested well among teenage males," she added, folding her hands together in front of her.
"Veronica, did you compare the amount of Archie Andrews fans to the incidents of homosexuality in teenage males?" Lucas asked knowingly, setting Warren's laughter off again.
"No," Veronica answered, clearly thrown a bit by the question.
"Hi," Archie greeted warmly as a young teenage girl with blonde frizzy hair stepped up to the table and handed over his record to sign.
"Who shall I make it out to?" Archie asked.
"Denise," the girl replied flatly, not offering a smile.
"Denise. I've always liked that name," Archie replied, as he flashed her his winning smile.
The girl rolled her eyes. "It's my mom's name. She loves you. I've never even heard of you," she quipped.
Archie smile froze. "Does your mother still have her teeth?" he asked through gritted teeth. "Forget it," he continued, handing her back the album and waving her off.
The next customer, an aging blonde woman, in her late 50s, walked up to the table singing her favorite Archie Andrews song at the top of her lungs and Archie did his best to hide his annoyance by smiling politely until she was done.
In the back room, the silence was once again broken when Birko walked through the door. His 6'2 frame made him cower after everyone else, his short, jet black hair falling into his brown eyes. The black combat boots he wore stomped loudly on the carpet, his black jeans were worn with holes and his maroon shirt was halfway buttoned.
"Lucas! I heard a story about you," he spoke as he crossed the room to his work cubby.
"Really? Which one?" Lucas asked in his interested tone.
"Where you stole $9,000, went to Atlantic City, and there is a contract out on you," Birko said in a casual tone. Warren seemed to be the only person shocked by this information, as if the way he rapidly looked at everyone else with his jaw wide open was any indication. Veronica never looked up from her phone.
"Hey has anyone seen Debra today?" Birko asked as he clocked in with his timecard. At the mention of Deb's name, Jughead's expression turned rather dark, and Betty rubbed his arm reassuringly.
"Yea, we saw her. She shaved her head and she has a bandage on her wrist," A.J. answered somberly.
"Really," Birko answered, seeming a bit stunned by that answer.
"Really," A.J. confirmed, not looking away from him.
Birko rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand and then looked over at Veronica as if noticing her for the first time. "Who are you?" he asked curiously.
"I'm Veronica Lodge. I work for Archie Andrews," Birko laughed a bit a that, which set everyone else's laughter off, even Betty.
Veronica's polite smile dropped off her face and she excused herself as she got up and walked over to Joe's office, shutting the door behind her.
After a few moments, Joe's outraged voice filled the back room. "You're quitting?!"
"It's not them, it's Archie. Plus, I don't like his music," she added, opening the door and walking back out into the back room.
"C'mon you gotta stay," Joe begged as he followed behind her.
"I need a change of scenery," Veronica answered while shaking her head. She turned to walk out the door to the parking lot, her heels clicking on the carpet as she went.
Joe huffed in frustration and returned to his office, slamming the door behind him.