It was not unusual to find him at Pop's after practice, his Varsity jacket proudly displayed on his shoulders. The only thing uncommon was the company currently seated across from him.

In the place of his blonde haired best friend was the girl he'd befriended his first day as a freshman. He'd tagged along when Betty had been assigned to give her a tour, eager to learn everything he could about Riverdale's newest coed.

At fourteen, he had been transfixed by her, and now, only three months shy of his eighteenth birthday, he still was.

Not that he would ever admit that out loud, of course.

It was strange to be there with her, he couldn't remember the last time they had been alone. Usually, Betty was at his side, Reggie somewhere in the background, glaring daggers at him any time he so much glanced at his pal's ex-girlfriend.

"Archiekins..." She began.

"Yeah Ronnie?"

"About Reggie's eye..."

Archie fixated his gaze on the raven haired girl, no longer fearing Reggie's wrath. "What's going on with Betty? Why the hell would she punch him?"

"I don't know what's going on with her." Veronica admitted. "She's been spending a lot of that Serpent girl, Toni-"

"Has she been with Jughead?"

"I don't know."

He sighed, raking a hand through his copper locks. It was her life, she could do whatever she wanted, she did do whatever she wanted, but the Serpents were dangerous, everyone knew the rumors, and that only intensified his desire to protect the girl next door.

"Why did she punch Reggie?"

"She was defending me." Veronica muttered, her eyes glued to the table.

"Ronnie?"

"Reggie's an ass."

He could have laughed. "Tell me something I don't know. What happened?"

"He told me he loved me."

Archie raised an eye brow, suddenly wondering if he should be concerned for his best friend's mental state. "Um... What?"

"He told me he loved me." Veronica repeated, a single tear sliding down her cheek. "He said he loved me, and then he kissed some sophomore slut right in front of me."

His jaw tightened.

"Ronnie..."

"Betty punched him because he called me a bitch."

For a moment, Archie forgot the situation, relief flooding through him. That was the Betty Cooper he knew and loved, the girl who defended her friends.

A sniffle broke him from his thoughts.

"Ronnie." He said again. He stood up, moving to sit beside her, his arm resting against the back of the booth. "Hey, Ronnie, don't cry. He's not worth it."

"I believed him." She whispered.

He wanted nothing more than to bash Reggie's face in for hurting her, but Betty had already beaten him to it.

Reggie was the dumbest boy he knew.

Any guy would be lucky to have Veronica Lodge.

"He's an idiot, Ronnie." Archie told her. "He doesn't deserve you, he never did."

Veronica's head fell against his shoulder, filling his nostrils with the scent of her Chanel No. 5 perfume. He brought a hand up, brushing dark curls away from her face.

"Archie..."

"Veronica, listen to me."

She peered up at him, devastation still etched across her features.

He would have done anything in his power for her to never look, or feel like that again.

"You're gonna find someone someday." He promised, his arm falling comfortably around her shoulders. "Someone who knows what it means to have you when they have you, somebody who laughs at your favorite joke even when you've told it a thousand times, someone who memorizes the words to your favorite songs so they can sing them along with you, someone who will remember your birthday, and lets you pick the movie three times in a row just because it makes you smile..."

Archie trailed off quickly, the realization of what he had just said slowly coming back to him.

"Someone like you?" Veronica asked.

And then, he was leaning towards her.