The light in her darkness

The meeting

Hey guys, I'm sorry for not posting in such a long time. Let's get back to the story!

Archie POV

When I entered Pops with Veronica, I immediately noticed the black-haired girl. The one thing I remember the most is her eyes, Her beautiful ocean-blue eyes. "Hi, I'm Veronica Lodge. Nice to meet you." Veronica said as she stuck out her hand. Juliet looked doubtful but shook it anyway and quickly wiped it on her jacket. Veronica gave her a confusing look. "This is Archie." Betty introduced me to her. "I remember you. You're that crazy girl from the plane who wouldn't stop checking her seatbelt." I said without thinking. The ocean-blue eyes looked down a second and looked back at me. "What? Have you guys met before?" Betty asked excitedly. "Uhm, yes. I sat next to him on the plane. Excuse me for a moment while I get to the restroom." She stood up very fast and sped to the bathrooms. "What did you mean with crazy girl?" Veronica questions. "She frequently checked her seat belt and snapped at me. And when we arrived, she washed her hands with those sanitizing towels more than four times." "When she shook my hand, they were dry." "Guys, don't judge her. It was the first time she was on a plane. She never even left her hometown. I get why she's nervous." Betty spoke.

Juliet POV

I rushed to the bathroom because I could feel a panic attack coming up. I opened the first available stall and locked it. I repeatedly tried to tell myself to take deep breaths. That did not help. Slowly, the familiar demon crept into my head. 'They haven't known you for an hour. Betty's friends already think you're crazy. Why can't you be normal for one whole day?' Tears threatened to leave my eyes. Then I heard knocking on the small door. "Are you okay? Do you need help?" An unfamiliar voice said to me. "No thanks, though." I quickly wiped my eyes and opened the door. A girl with brown hair and pink ends looked me right in the eyes. "Are you sure? You seem sad." "No, I'm fine." "I am Toni Topaz." "Juliet Jackson." "Well, I'm going to go. It was nice meeting you. I hope I can see you again sometime soon. Here is my phone number." She gives me a piece of paper and walks out of the bathroom. I put the piece of paper in my jacket. I turn on the faucet and wash my hands for twenty seconds. 'If you don't wash your hands for twenty seconds, something will happen to you.' I walk back to Betty and her friends. "Juliet, we have to go home. My mom is making dinner." Betty told. "Okay. It was nice meeting you." They waved at us as we headed to the exit of the small diner.

FP POV

Alice and I were preparing dinner when we heard the front door open. "Hi, Mom and FP!" Polly spoke happily. We walked to the front door as Polly, Jason, and her kids entered the house. "Guys, what are you doing here?" Alice questioned. "We thought that it was nice to see you guys more often, so we thought we could come by for dinner." We hugged. Alice quickly walked to the kitchen to make more dinner. "Well, make yourself at home. I will put more plates on the table." A few minutes later, Betty and Juliet arrived at home. "POLLY? What are you doing here?" "Betty, Hi. How are you? And who is this?" "Uhm, so that's my daughter. Juliet." I mumbled but loud enough for her to hear it. Polly's mouth turned into a small 'o' shape. "Dinners ready!" shouted Alice from the kitchen. We all walked to the large table and sat down. "So, Juni and Dag. How are you guys doing at school?" Alice asked the twins. "I won the Spelling race at school, grandma." "I won the science fair." "Well, I got the best grade for our art project." The two argued. "Guys, stop fighting. We talked about this." Jason expressed strictly. They muttered a soft 'Sorry, Dad.' as they looked down. There fell a small silence. Suddenly, Polly spoke up. "So Juliet, when did you move to Riverdale?" "I arrived a few hours ago. Betty just showed me Pops." "That's nice." It was silent again. "I didn't know you had a daughter, FP," Jason said. Polly gave him an embarrassed look. Alice gulped loudly. Juliet and I went completely red. "I'm sorry if I overstepped a line." Jason quickly apologized. "No, Uhm. It's okay." I said. After a few hours, Jason and Polly left. "Betty, go upstairs and get ready. We want to talk to Juliet for a bit." Alice told Betty sternly. Betty slowly walked up the stairs.

When Alice was sure Betty was in her room, she turned to Juliet. "So, Juliet. We called the school. They said you could enter next week. So tomorrow we are going shopping for some things." "But Miss Smith, I don't have money for that." "Don't worry about that. You're under our roof, so we are paying for your stuff." I said with a smile. Juliet started to tear up. I saw that she was trying not to cry. "Honey, it's okay to cry," Alice said softly. She started to sob and big tears came out of her eyes. I stood up and sat next to her to rub her back. After a few moments, she calmed down. "Thank you, guys. I think I'm going to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." She wiped her eyes as she walked upstairs. I let out a loud sigh. "I'm so scared that I'm going to fuck it all up. This is my dream. I've always wanted to become a parent. Now that I am one, I don't know what I'm doing." I rambled. Alice laughed. "Fp, did you think that it was that easy? Do you think I knew it all when I had Charles? No, I did not. Hal and I were struggling so badly, Even with Polly and Elizabeth. But I learned it and they turned out great. Remember when you came into our life? Betty loved you from the first second. You will make mistakes, but you will learn from them. She will love you. I'm sure." She hugged me tightly. We stayed that way for a while, before going to bed.