𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐒𝐈𝐙𝐄, riverdale [1]

TWENTY SEVEN | Near Death Experiences

The next day, Mariah sat with Jughead at a lunch table in the cafeteria. The two were continuously throwing food at each other. The boy started it, obviously. Veronica walked over to the two, "Betty's babysitting Polly, mind if I join you?"

"Are you sure you want to sit at the social pariah table?" Jughead questioned and Veronica sat down. "I've been sitting at it for months, why should today be any different?" Veronica replied. "By the way, I've been thinking. You and I have a lot in common," Veronica added.

"Really? Because I haven't noticed anything similar between you two," Mariah said and Veronica rolled her eyes. "I think she means because my dad's going into to prison and her dad's getting out," Jughead said and Mariah nodded. "We also both have dark hair," Veronica said lamely. "But yes, the prison thing too," she added and Mariah chuckled.

"Jughead," Cheryl said as she walked over to the three. They looked up at the girl expectantly. "I'm sorry. I had no right to pummel you the way I did that day. As recompense, I'd like to give you this," Cheryl said, tossing Jughead an item. "My iconic spider brooch. It'll catch a pretty penny at the local pawn shop. Enough to keep you in burgers and "S" T-shirts for years, if not decades," Cheryl concluded.

"Cheryl, what's going on?" Veronica asked. "Yeah, Cher. You're acting strange. Is everything okay?" Mariah added in. "I'm--" Cheryl began before being cut off by Kevin. "Guys, hurry. It's Betty's locker. Come on it's bad. Come on, come on!" Kevin urged and they all stood.

"This conversation is not over. Do you hear me?" Mariah said to Cheryl who gave a small nod. She quickly followed after her three friends as they ran to the exit of the cafeteria. "What's going on?" Archie asked as they ran passed him. Mariah hurriedly grabbed his arm. "Run now. Ask questions later," she said as she pulled him along after her.

They all reached the hallway and pushed through the crowd of people. On Betty's locker were the words 'Go To Hell Serpent Slut' in red. It looked like it could have been paint. But maybe it was something else. Jughead quickly pulled Betty away from the scene and Mariah looked around her in disgust.

She didn't understand why people were so cruel and stupid. This is why Mariah hated people. This is why she hated this town. She rolled her eyes and angrily stormed away from the crowd of people.

Archie followed after her and caught her by the arm. She turned around to face him, a glare on her face which softened slightly when she saw it was him. "What do you want, Archie? I'm not in the mood to talk," Mariah said. He nodded and gave her a small smile. "I figured, but I really just wanted to see how you were doing. We haven't had a real conversation since homecoming," Archie said.

"You mean since I found out that you broke your promise? Yeah, I know," Mariah said. "Look, I know what I did was not cool and there's nothing I can say to make it okay. But I care about you, Mariah. I care about you so much and I was worried. I know you say that you're fine and that everything is okay but I don't believe it. I wanted you to be able to have someone else to talk to if you needed it. In case I couldn't help you as much as I'd want to," he said.

Mariah sighed and looked at the ground. "I'm so sorry, Mariah. I really am," Archie concluded. "I know. I get that your intentions were pure and that you were just trying to help. But that doesn't change the fact that you broke your promise to me. It doesn't change the fact that you broke my trust. And I'm not saying that I can never trust you again, but you're gonna have to earn my trust back, Archie," she said.

"How do I do that?" He asked and she shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe learn to keep a secret?" She half joked and he smiled. "I'll do whatever it takes to earn your trust back. To earn your forgiveness," he said. "I forgive you Archie," Mariah said. "I realized that life is too short to be holding grudges and to be angry all the time. I've put things into perspective and I came to the conclusion that there are a lot more important things in life than petty bullshit and stuff," Mariah added.