You Make Me A Believer

You Break Me Down, You Build Me Up

Veronica was about to check on her Mom, but she knew she'd already be asleep even this early. She was headed to her own bedroom when there was a knock on the door. 

What with everything that's happened recently, it worried her for a bit. She opened the door slowly. 

"Ronnie," she heard before she saw Archie. He was breathing quickly, as if he ran all the way to her house.

"Archie? What are you doing here?"

He smiled at her and reached out to her, touching her face. 

"What's going on?" she asked him. 

"You're right," he said. "It's not fair. It's not fair to you and to me to start this if I wasn't sure."

"We've already talked about this, and honestly, I have no plans of repeating this talk. You should go home."

She started to push the door but Archie entered anyway, and Veronica had no choice but to close the door. 

"Ronnie, you don't understand," he said, smiling at her. "I don't like Betty as more than a friend. I was confused, sure, I didn't know what I was feeling earlier. I wasn't looking at her wistfully."

Veronica's eyebrows furrowed, not sure where he was going with this.

"I was watching them, sure, but not in the way you think I am," he explained. "I was looking at them, not because I want to be with her. It just confirmed what I've been feeling the past week."

"Okay, now you're confusing me."

He chuckled at her and touched her hip, moving her closer to him.

"I want to be that for you, Ronnie," Archie continued. "I want us to be together. You told me I'm boyfriend-material, right? Well, I want us to be together. No hesitations."

He could see Veronica was still unsure, so he touched her face. 

"What do you think?" he asked. "I know I looked unsure earlier, but I promise you, I don't want to be with her. I'll always like her, but only as a friend. And I like you, not just as a friend."

Veronica couldn't help the smile that was spreading across her face. Before she could say anything or move away, Archie stepped forward, making Veronica step back. 

Archie stepped forward again, and while she stared up at him, he moved towards her and kissed her. 

He thought she might push him away, but she didn't. She grabbed the collars of his shirt and pulled him closer. 

He wanted to get as close to her as he could, and clearly, she wanted the same. But suddenly, Veronica pulled away from him. Archie didn't let her move farther than that, so their foreheads were leaned towards one another.

"What, Archiekins," Veronica whispered with a smile on her face. "You want to be my soulmate?" They both chuckled quietly. "You want to be the broad shoulder I cry on every now and then?"

He stared into her eyes and swept away the strand of hair on her face. 

"Yeah," he whispered back.

"I'd love that, Archie."

"Me, too."

Before he could say anything else, Veronica pulled him towards her again. 

This time, there was no confusion in Archie's head. One thing was for sure -- he was in this, and they were in it together.