Varchie Oneshots

When the Party's Over

Veronica's POV
The moment I walked out of my room from school on the morning of Jughead's surprise party, I knew it wasn't going to be a good day. 

That's why when Betty had suggested that idea of surprising Jughead, I had thought that there would be no better distraction from what I was going through than planning a birthday party. 

So, I brought the decorations and dropped them off at Archie's house after school, but I had to go see my fathers lawyer after, so I couldn't stay to help set up. Needless to say, by the time I got back to Archie's house I was in a foul mood. 

"Surprise!" Everybody cheered when I opened the door. I rolled my eyes. 

"Do I look like Jughead to you?" I grumbled. I wasn't angry at them for thinking it was him, I was just in a bad mood and wanted to get it out. 

Finally, Ethel, who was standing at the window, announced that Betty and Jughead were actually heading in, so we turned the lights off and hid. 

"Surprise!" We all cheered. Jughead looked less than thrilled, which got me a little bit mad because we had put quite some effort into this, but I understood now that he wasn't a party person. 

I walked up to him, and wished him a happy birthday, in Spanish of course, as as I introduced him to Kevin and Joaquin, Betty came out of the kitchen with a birthday cake. 

She sang him happy birthday, and it made me begin to wonder. Would I ever have somebody that would care for me enough to do something like this for me? Definitely not in this town, where the rumors about my father got here before people had even gotten the chance to meet me. I was tired of the secrets and the not knowing what rumor would come next about me and my family. Rumors carrying information that even I wasn't aware of. 

I unconsciously reached for my pearls, which I had learned in the past few days that I unknowingly pulled at the necklace when I was uncomfortable. I remembered, when my fingers reached nothing, that I had ripped my necklace off my neck, beads falling everywhere, out of resentment for my dad. 

As Bughead blew out the candles, I wiped the lone tear that was coming out of my eyes, before walking quickly into the kitchen, not wanting anybody to witness my inevitable breakdown. 

I bent over the kitchen sink, tears coming out of my eyes, but I was quiet as possible. I didn't want my personal problems dampening the excitement that everybody shared about Jughead's birthday. 

"Veronica." I heard a voice from behind me. I quickly turned around, wiping the tears off of my cheeks. It was Archie, who had a concerned look on his face. 

"Is this about your dad?" 

"It's just the tip of the iceberg. I don't want to talk about it." I sighed. 

He offered me a drink, before telling me about his parents finalizing their divorce, which made me immediately think of my mom. Did she cause this? I found out that no, she hadn't, and this had been coming for a while, but the relief that washed over me finally brought me to tell him what happened. 

"He threatened me, Archie. He said that if I don't support him, he would take my mom down with him." I admitted, before going on a rant about the uncertainty that I was facing towards both of my parents innocence. 

He interrupted me by wrapping me in a huge hug, which immediately made me feel better. I buried my head into his chest, breathing in his scent, partially reeking of alcohol but also his cologne. 

We stayed like that until Betty and Jughead walked into the kitchen. 

"Oh. I'm sorry." Betty said, looking slightly taken aback. 

"We were just getting ice cream." She added as we jumped apart. 

Betty and Jughead started arguing about this whole party situation, and I decided that I didn't want to hear it. I headed to the couch, where I sat with a small slice of cake. After a bit, everybody left, the excitement of surprising Jughead was gone after he had left with Betty, still arguing amongst themselves. 

"I'm sorry that you have to go through this." Archie told me, taking my hand. 

"I'm used to it. I swear, I hear a new lie about my family everyday. I'm sick of it, but I'll get over it." I sighed. 

"But this thing with my mom, I want it to be a lie. I don't want her to be a criminal. But I don't want to make things only about me. I'm sorry about your parents." 

"I drunk dialed my dad. I don't know why, because it's not like I want them together. I just don't want things official." He shrugged. 

I nodded, squeezing his hand. 

"When my mom first left, she offered for me to come to Chicago. I picked my dad, but sometimes, I wonder if I would be better off there." He pondered. 

"I can tell you one thing. If you had moved, we would have never met. And that would have been a tragedy of epic proportions." I told him. 

He looked into my eyes, and I looked back, before he kissed me. I hesitated for a few seconds, before kissing him back. When we finally pulled apart, I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. 

"Want to watch a movie?" He asked. 

I nodded, and we decided to watch some romcom movie, that I'm sure he wouldn't have agreed to watch in any other circumstances, but he tolerated it for my sake. Although neither of us paid much attention. 

"Can I stay here tonight?" I asked softly after the movie ended. 

"I don't want to face my mom tonight." 

"Of course." He told me. He went and grabbed himself an air mattress, and blew it up as I texted my mom that I would be staying at Betty's house for the night. 

We stayed up, on separate beds, for a little while longer, just chit chatting before I fell asleep.