In the heat of the moment, you end up doing stupid things. Guilty as charged, but not as guilty as Veronica.
No, she isn't the villain of the story of my life, but she's quite the nuisance. The nemesis, if you will. The one who I believe was put on this earth solely to torment me until the day of my inevitable demise. In my father's words: she sucks.
When the Whyte Wyrm burnt down, I expected her to be caught up in it. Archie had been naïve enough to leave her in the bar alone with the Serpents, but ultimately, I knew the blame would find its way towards her somehow.
I examined the outside of the burning building, and ended up finding a note in the parking lot. I managed to keep my cool and wits about me whilst Archie was panicking.
"What'sit say?" Archie asked, running towards me with the speed of a cheetah.
I cleared my throat. "'To Forsythe Pendleton "Jughead" Jones III or whomever it may concern otherwise,
We at the Blossom Mansion formally invite you to our dinner party tonight. Drinks and gourmet food will be served despite the lack of living personnel. Be here by sun-up or you may expect Veronica to be sleeping in Sweetwater River.
Sincerely, Cheryl 💋'"
I crumbled the paper and pitched it into the flames. Even though my blood pressure was at its peak with Veronica, I realized that this wasn't her fault. It was the redheaded devil, Cheryl's. It had her fiery branding all over it and I needed answers on the how, why, when, and where of all of it.
"Well, we're going after her, aren't we?" Archie inquired anxiously. He looked between me and the fire nervously. "We can't just leave her there."
"I can, but I have to know why Cheryl did this. Or, at least how it started." I explained.
Archie was silent, thinking deeply. I could tell he was actually sparing some brain cells by the way he rubbed his chin and looked up into the night sky. "Do you think the offer of dinner is genuine?"
"I'm certainly famished, but no, Archie. Who do you take them for? I've seen it a million times in the movies. We'll get there, and it'll probably be a trap." I replied.
"Then why do you want to go if we could get killed? Or worse?" Archie's eyes widened.
"Answers, Archie, answers." I groaned. "Anyway, what's worse than being killed?" I crossed my arms.
"Losing the one you love," Archie said.
I looked into the fire and bit my lip, reminiscing in the flames my good times with Betty. She was gone just too soon. I appreciated her, but not enough.
"I'm sorry, Jug, I didn't mean to bring that up." Archie held my shoulders. I looked up into his eyes dejectedly.
"It's okay, I should've expected you to answer that way." I pulled away from his grasp and turned my back on him. "Let's just go, Veronica's waiting."
We began walking, I triumphantly, and Archie a little more unsteady. Occasionally I stole a glance at the boy who seemed to be falling behind somewhat.
"Jughead can we talk about Betty?" Archie raised a brow. I gaped at him and squinted down at the ground, a frown carved into my lips.
"No, she was a victim of Veronica and that's all there is to it. I've moved on." I waved him away.
"I don't think you have. I saw the way you looked when I brought her up the first time. You still love her." Archie noted.
"Of course I do." I stopped, sighing. "She was everything to me. I miss her so much. I couldn't believe that I had her, and then just lost her like that." my voice cracked.
YOU ARE READING
AFTERLIFE :: Riverdale
Fanfiction"When the Blossom murder case was solved, somehow, everything went back to normal, resolved. That spring night, however, none of us expected that the murder case was literally coming back to life. But, I couldn't argue with the testimonies of Archie...
