Unexpected | Beronica

Chapter 13: The Next Day

It was 10am on Saturday morning as Veronica lay peacefully asleep on her bed, still dressed in her clothes from the day before. Friday had been a hard day from everyone involved, and when she got home she didn't even bother to go under her blankets; she got into her room and flung herself onto her bed, not caring about anything other than sleep. Not only was she too tired to do anything, but she was also too miserable: the type of miserable you feel when you don't want to do anything at all.

Of course, she was worried about Jughead. But she had to be honest with herself; what really made her miserable was what had happened with Betty. She was sad that Betty blamed her for what had happened to Jughead, but she knew deep down that she didn't actually. She was only stressed and needed someone to blame in the heat of the moment. But Veronica was worried about her best friend - she had never seen her that anxious before.

Veronica woke up slowly that morning. Her eyes opened gently as she looked around her all too familiar white walled room. The smell of chestnuts was the first thing she smelled, knowing it came from downstairs where her mother was cooking their typical December weekend meal. Christmas had always been festive in the Lodge family; despite their differences, everyone knew and agreed on the traditions that had been passed down the generations. Every year in December, Hermione would cook different Christmas meals very weekend until the 25th, always making sure the classic smell of chestnuts went through the entire house, no matter how big it was. Veronica loved this tradition because no matter her mood at the time, the smell would always bring out her Christmas spirit and make her smile.

But not this morning. This morning she woke up and she was still miserable from the day before. As she remembered the events, a ball of sadness started forming in her stomach and tears welled up in her eyes. Everything came flashing back to her as she sat there motionless in her bed, her heart aching more and more by the second.

...

After the argument with Betty, Veronica ran away and went to the women's bathroom trying her hardest to hold back her ever impending tears. Betty's words had hit her like a brick in the chest, and as she gripped the sides of the bathroom sink, a single tear fell down her rosy cheek.

She tried to think about the situation; why did she get mad? Why did she react like that? Why did she blame her?

All these questions rushed through her mind as she looked into the mirror in front of her. She knew deep down the answer to all these questions, that she only reacted the way she did because she felt guilty about the fight and was stressed out, but it didn't make it hurt any less. All Veronica wanted to do was be there for her best friend for emotional support, but she only got pushed away. Now she was wondering if maybe it was her fault; maybe if she was a better friend, Betty wouldn't have reacted like that. Maybe if she hadn't been so dramatic with her problems, they wouldn't have fought in the first place. Maybe she just wasn't good enough for Betty. Maybe her old self was coming back to haunt her and Betty deserved someone better than a high school bully.

What she did know though was that, at that moment, Betty was all alone in the hallway with no one to support her. Veronica knew that she couldn't just go back there because Betty's probably didn't want her back, so she did the next best thing.

She wiped away her teary eyes and straightened her back, mentally preparing herself to go back into the waiting room. When she finished checking if her mascara had smudged, she made her way out and sat next to Archie.

"Psst, Arch"

"Uh hey Veronica.. Why are you whispering?"

Veronica paused.

"Uh.. I actually don't know. But that's not the point here; I need to ask a favour"

Archie raised his eyebrows in confusion.