His parents often worked late

It was the shared loneliness they had first bonded over, and just as she suspected, the only car currently parked in the driveway was his gleaming truck, a birthday present for his Sweet Sixteen.

She had helped his father pick it out.

Because he was the only one home, she felt safe retrieving the key from underneath the tacky frog figurine on his front porch, it had always been hidden there, to let herself in.

Music was blasting behind his closed bedroom door. She barged in without knocking.

Reggie was shirtless, a weight in his hand that he nearly dropped when he caught sight of her reflection in the mirror.

His expression hardened, and he let the weight fall onto his unmade bed before he finally turned to face her.

"What are you doing here, Ronnie?" Reggie demanded.

Veronica allowed her eyes to roam over his naked chest, though she quickly brought her gaze back up to meet his own when he smirked, reminding herself that she had gone to him for a reason.

"If you're here for a booty call, then I'm sorry, babe, but that is off the table."

He held a smugness that she had never seen before, and it suddenly made her resent him a little, it made her remember that as much as she cared for him, they could never be the couple she had always wanted them to be, it reminded her of why she had broken up with him in the first place.

"Never mind." Veronica muttered.

"Ronnie." Reggie caught hold of her wrist, his tone softening. "Wait, I'm sorry. Please stay."

When she didn't object to him touching her, he pulled her closer, sliding a familiar arm across her shoulders, his hand making hesitant circles across her back.

The contact was comforting, enough so to make her doubt that she was wrong about their relationship being doomed.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I need your help." She admitted.

Reggie glanced down at her. "Anything."

Veronica hesitated, and his grip tightened instinctively.

Betty had said it was nothing, and as much as she wanted to believe her B, she had seen the look on Betty's face, she had seen the way that Serpent, Jughead, her friend's former friend, had held onto Betty's arm, tight and steady, like he had no intention of letting her go. Betty was terrified of him, and if there was one thing Veronica Lodge would not stand for, it was someone messing with her girl.

"Ronnie?

"It's Betty." She admitted, after a moment.