"The Drive-In closing is just one more nail in the coffin that is Riverdale... No, forget Riverdale, in the coffin of the American dream. As the godfather of indie cinema, Quentin Tarantino likes to say... " Jughead was ranting loudly in Pops.
Abby walks over to where he was sitting with Veronica, Betty, and Kevin. "Jughead, I know you're hurt but can you keep it down? Others are trying to have a nice dinner." Since laying down the law with her family she told Pops that she would start working night shifts because only working daytime on weekends brought in such small change that she might as well not have a job.
"Thank god, I don't think I could take any more Quentin Tarantino references." Kevin sighs.
"What? I'm pissed. And not just about losing my job. The Twilight Drive-In should mean something to us. People should be trying to save it." Jughead kept his volume up making Abby's right eye twitch.
"In this age of Netflix and VOD, do people really want to watch a movie in a car? I mean, who even goes there?" Veronica was shocked when she found out the town had a drive-in.
"People who want to buy crack," Kevin remembered the last time he went, he thought everyone was on something.
"And cinephiles, and car enthusiasts. Right, Abs?" He turns to the other person that loves going to the drive-in.
"I do love going there. I curl up under a blanket in the back of my dad's pick up watching an old western. But, I'm afraid Veronica's right? With Netflix, the drive-in would need to step up their game like the theater with their chairs and the food." She never thought she would go to a theater to sit in a comfy recliner and eat good sushi.
"Oh my god, I love those chairs. I fell asleep watching Baywatch. There was a shirtless Zac Efron and Dwayne Johnson, let that sink in." Kevin gasped, leaning back like he was in the comfy chair.
"Anyway, it's closing because the town owns it, but didn't invest in it. So when an anonymous buyer made Mayor McCoy an offer, she couldn't refuse... " Jughead was speaking at a normal volume now to the relief of everyone else in the diner.
"Anonymous buyer? What do they have to hide? No one cares." Veronica chuckles.
"I do! Also, you guys should all come to closing night. I'm thinking American Graffiti... Or is that too obvious?" He looks around at his companies.
"It is a little on the nose." Abby nods.
"I vote for anything starring Audrey Hepburn. Or Cate Blanchett." Veronica gave options.
"Or The Talented Mr. Ripley. Betty, your choices?" Kevin points at his blonde friend.
Betty looks up at them in a daze. "Everything okay, B?" Veronica asks.
"Yeah, I'm just thinking. Um... Maybe Rebel Without a Cause?" She gave Jughead a pointed look and got a chuckle from everyone at the table.
"Here you go, kids." Hermoine came over and put their plates in front of them.
"Thanks, Mom." Veronica smiles.
"Oh, I'm sorry Mrs. Lodge. I'm over here talking, making you do all the work." Abby apologizes.
"Don't worry about it, you're only a kid you shouldn't be working so hard." She smiles at the young girl who reminds her so much of Fred. She walks around making sure that no one needs anything.
"How is she doing?" Veronica asks her mother's coworker.
"She's a great worker. Almost everyone is nice to her." Abby said.
"Almost?" She asks.
"It's a small town and some people are resentful of others who leave it. So, there were a few rude people. But, your mom is strong. She handles it all with class." She assured her.
They looked over when they heard a slamming noise to see Cheryl's hand over Hermoine's. "Be sure to put all that cash in the register. You are a Lodge, after all, and Lodges are known to have sticky fingers."
"Cheryl... " Veronica went over to defend her mother. Abby followed her to make sure there wasn't a catfight.
"Honey, I got this. Cheryl, I went to school with your mother. She didn't know the difference between having money and having class, either." Hermoine smiled at her before walking off.
The doorbell chimes making Abby turn her head to see her dad, brother, and Ms. Grundy, Archie's music teacher, come through the door. "Hey, how was the concert?" She walks over to them.
"I thought I was going to be bored but it was amazing." Fred smiles.
"That's good, let me show you to the table." She guides them to an empty table.
Betty walked over to the table and stood next to Abby. "Hey, Betty." Fred smiles at his son's friend.
"Hi, Mr. Andrews, Ms. Grundy. Archie, can I talk to you?" Betty looks down at him.
"Sure. I'll call you later?" He nods.
"No. Actually, now. Just school stuff. Outside?" She smiles. Abby noticed that Ms. Grundy seemed nervous. It made her suspicious. Archie got up and they walked outside.
Abby brought their milkshakes and Archie wasn't back yet. "I'm going to see what Archie wants to eat?" She walks towards the door without getting their order. Veronica put her hand on the door at the same time as her.
"Are you being noisy too?" Veronica asks.
"No, I'm getting his order." She lies and walks out the door with Veronica right behind her.
"Are you and Ms. Grundy, like, together, like, romantically?" Betty asks, making the two girls behind Archie gasp.
"Oh, my God. You and your music teacher are having an affair?" Veronica made them known.
"Archie, that's fucking disgusting." Abby was going to spit in her food.
"We are... ...together. Look, I know that sounds bad, but..." Archie stumbled over his words as he tried to defend their relationship.
"Bad? It sounds scandalous." Veronica smiled at the fun gossip.
"It sounds like jail time to me. Illegal!" Betty shouted the last word.
"Betty, don't go there." He shook his head.
"No, let's because it is pedophilia. She's a manipulative predator. She probably saw you with your guitar and I'm going to be sick." Abby felt like throwing up at the thought of someone taking advantage of her brother.
"Look what you did, you have my sister worrying over nothing." He glares at Betty as he rubs Abby's back. "Ronnie, a little help here?"
"I mean, technically, Betty's right. And ethically... Well, what is Grundy to you, anyway, your girlfriend? Your booty tutor?" Veronica gave her opinion since he asked her.
"She's rape you, Arch." Abby cried into his varsity jacket. Some disgusting grown woman manipulated her teenage brother into having sex with her.
"No, I wasn't. I wanted it and I don't know what to call her. " He let his sister know he was okay before answering Veronica's question.
"You said you were at the river alone. You lied to Sheriff Keller, to all of us. Why? To protect her?" Betty glares, not believing Archie could be so misled.
"She believed in me when no one else did," Archie said what he thought made their relationship so special.
"You didn't give anyone a chance to believe in you. You hid your music, since finding out about it, everyone has been supportive." Abby pushed him away to glare at him.
"Betty, say something, please." He looks over at his childhood friend, wanting to know that she would keep his secret.
A car pulls up and honks the horn. Alice yells out to her daughter, "Get in the car, Betty. Now." Betty looks at Archie and shrugs her shoulders before getting in the car for it to drive off.
Archie looks over at the two women that now knew his secret. "Oh, Archiekins... You're in it deep this time." Veronica sighs.
"Can I talk to my sister for a second?" He asks.
"Sure." She nods and walks back inside.
"Archie, I just don't want you to get hurt." She wipes the tears from her eyes.
"I'm not going to, I promise." He grabs her hand and pulls her back into the diner.
"Hey, I'm going to take my break and there's a cute boy at the counter requesting your service." Hermoine winked at her coworker as she made her way to the door.
Abby looked over at the counter and was surprised at who was waiting for her. She made her way over to the counter. "Hey Sweet Pea, everything alright?"
"I'm looking for a study buddy and I remember you saying that nights were slow after the dinner rush." He pointed down at the study guide that they made with Fangs earlier that week. He had a test for Macbeth coming up.
"That might not be for another hour." She told him.
"Let's alright, I can study by myself until then." He shrugs and looks down at his papers.
"Well, what kind of milkshake do you want?" She asked.
"Chocolate." He told her. She made him one before going around to check on the tables.
She put a double bacon cheeseburger with onion rings and another milkshake in front of Sweet Pea. She sat down with a mushroom swiss burger with fries and a cookie n cream milkshake. "I didn't order this." He looks down at the plate.
"Don't worry about it. I got it." She waved her hand.
"You're not paying for my dinner." He shook his head.
"Don't tell me, you're one of those guys that think it makes them less of a man if a woman pays." She rolled her eyes.
"I'm very secure of my manhood." He glares.
"Then it's no problem." She smiles before grabbing the study guide. "Why is Macbeth named the King instead of Malcolm?"
"Because the idiot ran away." He took a big bite of his burger.
She asked three more questions and he got them all right. "Do you know everything?" She put the study guide down.
"Yeah." He nods.
"Then why..." She let the question hang in the air.
"Because it's like I said you don't get to control who you have feelings for." He looks at her.
"You have feelings for me?" She pointed to her chest.
"You are the girl I waited an hour and a half to study with for a test I didn't need to study for." He waited for her face to move from being shocked. When her expression didn't change, he went on. "I know that I've been a jerk. You can do better than me but I'm just asking for a chance."
"Do you want to go to the last movie at Twilight Drive-In?" She asks.
"Yeah, I'll pick you up an hour before the movie so we can get a good spot." He nods.
"So, I'll pay since I ask you." She smiles. He gave her a look. "Alright, alright you can pay." She giggles.
Abby was waiting in the house by herself. Fred went to pick up Hermoine and Archie was off doing god knows what with his teacher. She got up to look herself over in the mirror again. She had on a long sleeve lace crop top, high waisted jeans, and heeled combat boots. Her hair was half up in a high ponytail and light natural makeup. She accessorized with an Alice in Wonderland choker and a rose ear cuff. The knock on the door made her put on a crossbody Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas purse and open the door. "Woah." Sweet Pea gasps. He was in his normal attire of jeans, t-shirt, leather jacket, and biker boots.
"Thanks." She giggles. She grabbed his hand after locking the door. They walked over to the blue 1966 Ford F-250 pickup. "Hey, you brought a truck."
"Yeah, figure you wouldn't want to stand at the drive-in." He opened her door. She slid in and he got in the driver's seat. He drove towards the Twilight Drive-In.
"That might have been painful since this is the first time I'm using these boots." She looks down at her stylish combat boots.
"Then why did you wear them if you thought you were going to stand?" He asks.
"Because they're cute." She shrugs.
"My God, you really are a prissy princess aren't ya?" He let out a chuckle before stopping when he realized how harsh that sounded. "Sorry, you're going on a date with me and I'm being an asshole." He curses himself for not having a filter.
"No, it's fine. I like that about you." She looks over at him.
"That I'm an asshole." He pushed his eyebrows together.
She giggled before answering. "No, that you're always honest. It's refreshing. I admire it, I wish I was more like that. I get in my head too much and I worry about other feelings even when they're hurting mine…. Well, that was depressing, it's only been five minutes into our first date." She mentally scolds herself.
"Hey, you just said you wanted to be more honest. If you want to share something, especially with me, then do it. Doesn't matter what it does to the mood." He grabbed her hand to give it a squeeze. He pulled into the Twilight and bought two tickets from the ticket booth. He parks in a free space towards the back. "I got a surprise for you." He got out of the truck.
She got out and followed him towards the bed of the truck. She gasped when she saw it was filled with pillows and blankets. "This is amazing." He helps her climb into the back. "Is this an air mattress?" She felt the soft cushion instead of the metal bed of the truck.
"Not only that." He reached in to pull a pizza from under a pillow.
"We think alike." She opens her purse and turns it over for all the junk food to fall out.
"Tonight we ate like Kings. I'll get us drinks. Mountain Dew, right?" He noticed that was the soda she usually got at the Whyte Wyrm.
"Yeah." She nods her head. She watches his back as he walks to the concession stand with a smile on her face. She felt like she was dreaming that this guy she was incredibly attracted to not only returned her feelings but took notice of the things she liked without her having to tell him.
"Well, don't we look giddy?" A voice whispered in her ear making her let out a small scream.
"You scared the shit out of my Fangs." She cursed her friend.
"If you didn't spend so much time staring at Sweet Pea's ass, you would notice your surroundings." He hops over to sit next to her on the air mattress.
"Hi, Toni and..." She looks over at the guy she didn't know.
"Hi, I'm Joaquin. Just wanted to see the girl that these three have been obsessing over." He gestures to Toni and Fangs. She assumed the third being Sweet Pea.
"You're going to be disappointed to find that I'm boring." She laughs.
"You're not boring, just a prissy nerd." Sweet Pea hands her a large drink. "Get out of my seat." He glares at Fangs.
"Alright, alright. I'm out of here." He jumps out of the truck.
"Have a good night." Toni waves as she pulls the guys away.
Sweet Pea took a seat next to her. "Oh, gummy bears." He picks up a Ziploc bag she brought. "What is the red stuff on it?"
"It's Li Hing Mui powder. It is a Chinese dried plum. Tomoko got it from some family she has in Hawaii once. I've been ordering it online ever since." She opens the bag and pops one in her mouth.
"Oh, this is good." He sucks on a gummy bear to get all the flavor before eating it.
"You should taste it on a snow cone." She sips her soda.
"Are you hinting at another date? My, my, you're forward." He put a hand on his chest and smiled.
Abby stares at his large smile, never having seen it before. She thought he looked adorable when grumpy. He looked breathtaking when he was happy. She leaned forward and let their lips meet. She didn't let herself think, she moved with the moment. She wraps her arms around his neck to pull him closer and deepen the kiss. His hands slid into her back jean pockets and gave her a firm squeeze. She ran her fingers through his soft slick back hair.
"Hey, Hog. Why don't you come back and hang with….oh sorry, Sweet Pea" FP chuckled when he saw that he accidentally interrupted his younger member date. His jaw dropped when the teens separated and he saw who his date was. "Abigail." He looks at his goddaughter.
"Hi Uncle FP." She gave a small wave.
"Let me talk to you." He grabs the Serpent by his collar and pulls him out of the truck and behind the concession stand. "What are you doing with her?"
"Watching a movie." He answers.
"Didn't look like you were watching a movie to me?" He sneers.
"The movie didn't start yet." He shrugs.
"Normally your dating life isn't my business but that's my goddaughter." He pointed at the truck. "I'm not planning on humping and dumping her. I'm hoping for a relationship." Sweet Pea was cut off by his leader.
"That girl has a bright future ahead of her." FP snaps.
"I'm not going to take that from her. She is still going to go to college. Look, this is our first date. We're just trying things out. But, if things do get serious I promise I won't stop her from doing anything she wants to do." He gave his word and FP never saw the boy ever break that.
"I don't think you could even if you tried." He grabs the teen's collar again and pulls him back to the truck.
"Is everything okay?" Abby looks at the two leather-clad men.
"Yeah, just straight something out." He drops Sweet Pea's collar. "You let him know if he misbehaves." He smiles at her before walking back to his bike.
"You okay?" She looks her date over as he climbs back in.
"Yeah, just got the talk is all." He straightened his collar.
"That's so embarrassing." She put her head in her hands.
"You're not the one that got pulled around by the collar." He snorts.
"That was kind of funny." She giggles, picturing it in her head.
"So glad you find it funny." He rolled his eyes. He opens the pizza box and passes her one before taking a slice himself. The light dimmed as the movie started to play. Being that it was the last night, they weren't playing any commercials.
Abby leans her head against his shoulder as she watches the movie. The whole time the Serpents in the back were making loud noises. If she hadn't watched this movie before she would be highly annoyed.
"Hey! Do you know what happens to a snake when a Louis Vuitton heel steps on it? Shut the hell up, or you'll find out!" Veronica stood up on the bed of Mr. Keller's truck to yell at them.
"She got big balls." Sweet Pea glares at the girl.
"Yeah, she does. I don't think she knows what fear is." Abby watches the rich girl sit back down after getting applause from everyone else at the drive-in. "But, in fairness making noise during a movie is rude."
He hummed, letting her know she was right but he wasn't willing to admit that."Pass me the sweet tarts." He wraps an arm around her waist. She poured some of the mini sweet tarts into his hand that wasn't on her. He put some into his mouth. She lay her head on his chest to watch the rest of the movie.