The Better Andrews ||Veronica Lodge||

0.5

"Alex, are you okay?" Cheryl asked shaking me awake. I nodded and she had a terrified look on her face. "You were screaming and shaking, what were you dreaming about?"

"I don't remember." I said honestly having no idea what she was talking about. We went back to sleep and Archie woke me up in the morning with the smell of pancakes and eggs cooking. "You made breakfast?"

"You were really upset and I want to look out for you. You are my little sister after all." Archie said and you rolled your eyes. "Come on, not even a laugh?"

"You're like a ten minutes older than me." I said and he hugged me before setting a plate down in front of me. "What no bacon?"

"I can't make bacon, at least not unburned bacon." Archie said and I smiled at him, drizzling syrup on my pancakes. "Is Cheryl awake?"

"Nope, she was still sleeping like a baby." I said and I heard footsteps coming from the living room and turned to see her looking tired. Archie handed her a plate and she sat in my lap, setting hers next to mine and being a bit more cuddly than normal. "How'd you sleep?"

"Okay once you stopped screaming." Cheryl said and I rolled my eyes. "Seriously, you need to get that checked out. I can't stay over all of the time if you are going to keep me up super late with your concerning screams."

"I'll talk to someone about it." I said and Cheryl kissed my cheek. We finished breakfast, I showered and made myself presentable before going downstairs to see Jughead sitting at the table, obvious he'd been crying.

"He did so much for me and never asked for anything in return." Jughead said and I patted his back. "Hey, I'm sorry for your loss."

"God, this death thing sucks." I said opening up the liquor cabinet before seeing a foot close it. I followed it up the leg and saw Betty giving me a look. "Okay, my dad died and I can't have a goddamn drink, this is bullshit."

"You're not even 18, you shouldn't be drinking." Alice said and I turned around to see her standing there with a glass of wine in her hand.

"You're drinking right now." I said and she handed me the glass. "Thank you."

"You're here to make sure she doesn't do that." Betty said taking the glass from me. "I mean, she's a child after all."

"Yeah, but she's sad and it isn't like alcohol helps that a bit." Alice said and I grabbed my jacket and decided to go for a walk. I walked around for a few hours before a car pulled in front of me, the tinted window rolling down to reveal Veronica Lodge's face.

"Your brother has been worried sick about you." Veronica said and I shrugged. "Get in the back, you don't have to go home, but you can't wander around the town."

"Can I go to your place?" I asked and she nodded. I got in the backseat and buckled up because while I will walk around town knowing that there is some guy shooting people for money, I won't risk death from a car accident. "Thanks Veronica."

"No problem, besides, I know it can't be easy coping with the loss of someone so close to you." Veronica said turning to face me. When we got to her house, I slept in her bed with her. She ran her fingers through my hair until I fell asleep and it felt much more soothing than when Cheryl did it. I decided that I would be going to school tomorrow, not wanting to miss anything important or everyone talking about me.

"Thank you." I mumbled looking up at Veronica. When I woke up in the morning, Veronica was dressed for school and doing the finishing touches on her makeup. "Morning."

"I didn't think you'd be up at this time." Veronica said and I shrugged before sitting up. "Are you going to school?"

"Yeah, can't really afford to miss now can I?" I asked knowing that I'd probably missed a bunch of school because I didn't feel like going. She offered to let me find something in her closet that might fit me, but I declined, being just fine with my clothes and knowing that her clothes wouldn't fit me anyways. She was a lot shorter than me and had a fuller figure.

"Veronica, come on, I have some papers to go through." Her mom said and I followed Veronica out the door. "I'm sorry about your father Alex, you're always welcome in our house."

"Thanks, looks like that's two people that have offered their homes to me." I said and Veronica had a confused look. "Betty's mom, she's kind of like a second mother to me."

"Do you need your backpack or anything?" Veronica asked and I nodded. She texted Betty to grab my school things and when I got there, Betty was waiting with my bag and a jacket.

"Thanks Bets." I said and she smiled before hugging me. "Is Cheryl worried?"

"Yeah." Betty said and I walked to Cheryl's locker. School was fairly normal, my classes seeming to go a lot slower than normal, not seeing Archie in between them was really weird, and Cheryl seemed a lot clingier.

"Cheryl, I realize that this is not a great time for either of us, but do you think that maybe we should take a break?"I asked and she looked surprised. "I want to date you and I like being with you, but this is something that I should deal with on my own."

"Um, okay." Cheryl said and I hugged her. "If you ever need me, you know where to find me."

"Yeah and I promise that once I feel more stable and if you still want me, I will do everything to get you back." I said and she kissed my softly before walking away. I checked myself out of school and walked home to my brother who I should have stayed with the entire time.