𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐙𝐄, riverdale [1]

THIRTEEN | Rest In Peace JJ

"Val, hey. Come in," Archie said. Mariah placed a fake smile on her face though it looked more like a grimace. Valerie smiled and entered the house. The smile didn't leave her face when she saw Mariah.

"Hey Mariah. What are you doing here?" Valerie asked. "You know, I was just about to ask you the same thing," Mariah said. Both girls turned toward Archie, waiting for an explanation. "I invited both of you. I thought that the more people, the more ideas," Archie said.

"Awesome," Mariah said at the same time Valerie said, "Cool." Archie nodded his head. "Okay, let's go upstairs," he said. The two girls followed him up to his room. When they entered, Archie put some pillows on the floor. He grabbed his guitar as Valerie sat on the bed and he sat on the floor.

Mariah stood uncomfortably in the doorway of his room. Archie looked up at her and patted the space next to him, urging her to enter. Mariah complied and sat down next to him. The redhead began playing a song on his guitar and Mariah smiled at him as he played. It was the first time she actually heard his music and she thought it was really good.

When he was done, Valerie spoke. "Good. Now right it down," she commanded. "Musical notation. Not in tabs. Kind of obnoxious, but Oscar's right. You catch on quick, newbie," Valerie said. Her hand rested on his shoulder and she smiled down at him. Archie smiled up at her and Mariah rolled her eyes.

"Why am I here again? I mean, Valerie's better at this music stuff than I am. I don't see how I'm helping," Mariah spoke up.

"You're both good at songwriting--" Archie started but Mariah's laugh cut him off. "I'm terrible at songwriting, remember?" She asked. Archie shook his head dismissively. "No, you used to be terrible at songwriting. Now you're actually good," he said in a matter of fact tone.

The blonde looked at him in confusion causing the boy to sigh. "Cheryl showed me one of your recent songs," he admitted and Mariah groaned. "I'm going to pummel her," she mumbled angrily.

Archie narrowed his eyes. "You told me you didn't write songs anymore. You lied," he said.

"I didn't lie. I said 'no, not really' when you asked if I still wrote songs. 'No not really' isn't a definite no, therefore I didn't lie," Mariah defended. A knock sounded on the door and Fred Andrews entered the room.

"Hey son, time to... Uh hey," Mr. Andrews chuckled as he saw the three. Archie and Valerie quickly stood but Mariah remained seated, seeing as she was extremely comfortable in her seated position. "Hello Mariah," Fred said. Mariah smiled and waved, "Hey Mr. Andrews," he said.

"Hi. I uh... I'm... I'm his old man," Fred said awkwardly to Valerie. "Dad, this is Val. And you already know Mariah. Val, my dad," Archie introduced. Valerie raised her hand in a slight wave. "Val. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Val. Valerie. Right, Josie and the Pussycats. Oh, I'm a big fan. I... Yeah, I saw you guys at Taste of Riverdale. And you were rocking hard," Fred stuttered out.

Well now Mariah knew where Archie got his stuttering habit from. "Thanks, Mr. Andrews," Valerie replied a little awkwardly.

"Actually, Dad, we're in the middle of some music stuff, so..." Archie trailed off. "Oh, right. Yeah. I'm gonna just close this, not all the way. Um," Fred said as he exited the room. "Thanks, Dad. Goodbye," Archie said. Fred left and then walked past the ajar door and Mariah laughed quietly.

She felt he phone buzz with a text and pulled it out. It was from her mom who apparently needed her at home in that instant. "Uh, I gotta go. My mom needs me. I'll see you guys later," Mariah informed the two. Archie nodded, "Yeah, okay. I'll see you tomorrow."

He pulled the girl into a hug, which caused Mariah to smile. She pulled away and waved to Valerie. "Bye Valerie," she said. "Bye Mariah," Valerie replied with a smile.