the other boys ⇨ jarchie

6

archie.

my heart is in my mouth. what was i thinking, kissing jughead? why did i do that? i'm such an idiot. he's told me about not wanting to engage in contact with someone like that unless he knows them inside and out - but then again, he's known me since kindergarten. we know each other's most horrific secrets and our biggest fears. maybe it was just unexpected; but i can't calm down, as desperately as i want to.

i approach betty and veronica outside of english, my teeth gritted and legs stiff. they're quietly gossiping, betty leaning against her locker while veronica fumbles through her handbag.

"oh, hey archie," betty says, "veronica thinks she's lost her homework."

"we had homework?" veronica exclaims blankly, mouth agape.

betty raises an eyebrow. veronica isn't usually this focused on her studies. "yes, but it's not due until next week."

i scratch the back of my neck nervously. "guys, i've gotta confess something."

"is it about you and jughead last night?" betty winks, nudging veronica.

i shake my head. "ok, first of all, it was 5 o'clock, and we did not have sex."

veronica smirks, linking arms with betty. they're definitely planning something. "ooh," she laughs, "so did you guys... touch each other? like, jughead jerked—"

"oh my god," i cringe. "that is not what we did."

"what did you guys do then?" betty asks.

i bite my lip. "we were just talking, about the sun and the stars, and his stories and the poems he writes. and we told funny childhood stories." they start cooing, but then i take a deep breath for the final reveal. "i kissed him."

"oh my god!" the two girls screeched, looking at each other.

i ignore the confused glances of some students. "...this is the bad part."

"oh."

"we kissed, and he started kissing back. i thought it was good, but he was really panicky and confused. it was so unexpected for him, and i really don't know what to do. i said bye, it wasn't awkward, but then when i looked back he was really stressed and he looked like he was crying."

"oh no," betty whispers, "how horrible."

veronica frowns. "so he didn't enjoy it?"

"i'm not sure. i don't think i'm gonna ask him about it though, because the atmosphere might be really tense, you know?"

"yeah, i guess so," veronica agreed, narrowing her eyes slightly. "i can ask cheryl to keep an eye on him in english if you want."

i nod my head, quite skeptical about this whole ordeal. cheryl was devious and cunning, why would she want to help me? "ok, thanks v. that'd be great."

as i finish my sentence, a familiar flash of fox-red hair walks past, black satin heels clicking with each step. cheryl blossom, of course. just my luck.

"hey, cheryl!" veronica calls out.

cheryl turns around and smiles as she sees veronica. she slowly struts toward us. "hey," she says, in an usually cheery mood. "you called múa?"