Riverdale: A Ghost Town (Male Reader Insert)

Part 2

Y/N arrives at Archie's house for their practice sessions. The latter of course uses the sound room Archie's dad made for him. They haven't caught up with Veronica yet to figure out what's going on with her, but some people need personal space, and she probably needs to keep practicing with the Pussycats. 

"So, you and Betty have gotten along?" Y/N asks atfter noticing how they were at lunch. Archie nods, a little sheepishly.

"Yeah, I realized how much of an idiot I was acting after seeing Betty so scared at Thornhill." Archie explains and Y/N nods, listening. "So, I apologized like a heartbroken boy trying to get back with his ex."

"Oh, I would've loved to see that." Y/N humorously comments and Archie laughs at him before a question of his own comes to mind.

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, how did you learn to sing so well?" Archie asks Y/N curiously. The Y/H slightly pauses, thinking about how he's going to answer that question.

"Uh, well, I back when I was extremely little, my parents weren't always home to put my sister to sleep." He tells Archie with a fabricated story. "And, she was one of the little kids that was scared of the dark, so I sorta resorted to using my voice to help put her to sleep." 

"Oh." Archie nods understandingly. "So, just a natural talent you picked up?" 

"If that's what you wanna call it, sure." Y/N remarks and they both chuckle. "Seriously though, it was just one song I came up with while listening to those cheesy love songs, it wasn't like I had a whole playlist for Psuedo Echo to cry to."

Archie smirks at this, before getting an idea. "Well... if you don't mind it, how about we play that song instead." He offers and Y/N gives him a perplexed look. "I mean, you're the one that's gonna be singing, I would only want to sing 'I'll Try' in my voice only." 

"Fair point." Y/N comments before shrugging. "Well, if you're insistent about it, but it's not like I have a music karaoke for you to copy or anything."

"Then we'll just come up with it ourselves." Archie states, not discouraged at all. "I'll write a couple beats down and we'll see which one fits." He suggests, and Y/N doesn't have any other ideas, so he nods.

"And hey, it might help you win Cheryl over." Archie then adds with a teasing smile as he lightly punches Y/N's shoulder, and the latter gives him an unamused look.

"It was just seven minutes in a closet." 

(Quick note, the song that's gonna be used was released a year after this episode, so before you comment, I know.)

________________________________________

The Pembroke: Lodges' Apartment

Y/N doesn't feel as nervous as he expected to be here as he sits next in between Archie and the Mayor McCoy, the only person who doesn't have a blood connection at this table. The only small thing that makes Y/N uncomfortable is the fact he feels like she shouldn't talk, though he plans to attempt to record the presentation for a small documentary for the sake of his possible YouTube channel/website. 

"So, Myles, you being a professional Jazz man, I mean, you must be livin' your dream, right?" Fred sparks up a conversation with the important man in the room.

"Well, yes and no." Myles answers with mixed feelings. "The real struggle is always art versus commerce."

Fred respectfully nods. "You know, I've never really been about the big paycheck." He mentions, as if he's trying to humble himself. 

"But if we're talking about the future and long-term security, it can't always be about following your bliss." Sierra comments, glancing at her husband.