IMAGINES ▹ ROSS BUTLER

↳ uncharted waters

( UNCHARTED WATERS ) 
by mantlelificent

Like just about any other problem that happened over the summer, yours was an extremely shallow issue compared to what happened to Jason Blossom on the fourth of July. The closest person you might have possibly heard the story about the star quarterback came from an unlikely source—from the arrogant douche himself, Reggie Mantle.

Then again, you probably shouldn't spite him so bad, seeing the fact you slept with him in one of his very notorious parties at his grandiose estate. Multiple times. At possibly, in multiple circumstances. Even if it wasn't in his parties.

Anyway—Reggie wasn't at the tip of your favorite list at all. Although you were a popular River Vixen known for your pretty face and one thousand follower Instagram page, you never really felt 'real' within the social circle in which Jason and Cheryl Blossom held tight like a king and queen, in a sibling-ish sort of way. Your preppy, fun, and manipulative cheerleader personality shown in school was just as faux as your social-climbing mother's boobs. You were different—and you desperately knew it. You liked reading and studying—most importantly, you loved chemistry. You enjoyed looking at sunsets and taking photos and writing stories. You weren't much keen at parties and any place loud—but goodness, you were terrific at lying.

So that's what occurred to you the night Cheryl created a mandatory-no exceptions party for all River Vixens to join. Your mom left early for a date, and you had nothing fun to do that night since it was summer, so you dolled up and painted on your best face, and went to the party as a different person, as per usual.

That night, you thought it would be as normal as any other party. But, it was different. Because, unusually, Reggie Mantle—whom you have never actually spoken with in a real conversation before—looked far out of sight from his usual drunken mess on the second floor hallway of the Mantle Estate, his physique seated tiredly on the floor, back on the wall, drink in one hand, and expression somber.

You remembered that you had moved your way to him, because first of all, he wasn't really someone who intimidated you. Though, you didn't really like him since he picked on most people. You didn't really care much about anyone else, and he never really piqued your interest growing up—until that moment.

You sat next to him, and Reggie glanced up at you in surprise. He had this quiet look on his face—very strange and very unusual, as you always saw him jovially and arrogantly moving through the school halls, towering everyone with his 6'3 frame with his football pals.

"What's your problem?" You questioned, seriousness tilting your tongue. He had looked at you, you remembered, as if he was going to hesitate. Though, instead, he began telling you all about why he was that way. Apparently, it was all about his parents going through a rough patch as they were slowly falling out of intimacy.

"Oh," you had said. Then you told him, in all seriousness, that like anyone else in the world, it was a circumstance not worth thinking over in the long run. It was just going to turn you rotten if you thought more and more of it. Realistically, life was that way. There was no point drinking yourself to shit because the world turns every day and it will not wait for you while you wallow in something that wasn't your fault.

Reggie had looked at you silently at first, then answered. "I thought you were just some cheerleader with a brain of a goat."

"The goat-iest," you replied cheesily, in a drunken haze.

Reggie slowly glanced at you and burst out chuckling.

That night, you talked as close as what you would think not anyone could have seen transparent through Reggie Mantle's person. In a drunk haze, you had this realization that maybe, just maybe, Reggie was just as two-faced as you were. That he also had this side of himself that he had never shown to anyone.

Maybe just to you.

As drunk as both of you guys were, you slept together. The next morning was an endless vocation of shiiiit through your head, and you left early before he could awake to see you.

You thought it was something he wouldn't remember; but as the next day came, you received a text from him saying, hi what r u up to. I got ur number from Cheryl. Don't freak out haha. – Reggie.

That didn't end there, though. The next few parties did not start with you finding Mantle's face that way—broken and somber. But with his usual douchebag self.

"Yo, [y/n]!" The handsome jock would greet flamboyantly, a smirk on his face, making a purpose to touch your arm or shoulder when he'd see you. You wouldn't noticed it at first, but through the following parties, he was beginning to follow you around and spend more time with you, as if he enjoyed your company.

It didn't really get to you, you knew what occurred was a one night stand.

However, he begun talking to you more. And when at first it became forced, now it felt seemingly effortless, as if you guys were best of friends from the way he would greet you with his shiny teeth the moment you would walk in through his front door with a tag of other Riven Vixens.

That's why you were feeling a bit nervous now for the first day of school. You knew the social circle would feel a little bit free, now that you were closer, but had some sort of connection, with Reggie Mantle. You knew there was a spark between you two, but you refused to acknowledge it for Reggie wasn't the type of person who'd be with the real you. You told yourself that you just liked the feeling of having someone else in bed.

The next time you saw Reggie was at the school hallway on the first day back. He had a snapback, a blue shirt that fitted him well, and a physique that possibly grew even bigger over the summer. He was a tower, and yet, you couldn't stop looking at him from your locker.

When he walked with Archie Andrews, the handsome boy who also significantly grew over the summer, and Moose Mason, you couldn't help just one last glance before he could end in the other way. At the same time, both of your gazes connected, and with your beating heart, Reggie looked at you with knowing eyes and gave somewhat of a smile.

You knew no one had seen it. You felt a tiny bit special—knowing that Reggie had some sort of acknowledgement of you, even if it correlated to a bad reason.

Shaking it off, in your head, you decided at that moment, you were never going to sleep with Reggie Mantle ever again. That this was going to be a problem that should stay underneath the darkness. You knew if you let it grow even more, you were going to ooze out sweet, sticky love and fall in love with the douchebag. You knew yourself. You knew that would possibly happen.

So you swore up and down that Reggie Mantle was going to go back being uncharted waters.