IMAGINES ▹ ROSS BUTLER

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( END ) 
by archiefics 

As a River Vixen and a member of the Varsity Football Team, people expected you and Reggie to be a power couple. You cheered him on from the sideline as he would throw you a flirtatious wink from the field. From the outside, everything seemed perfect. But there were a lot of cracks in the relationship that had been developing for six months.

One of the many jobs you had as Reggie Mantle's girlfriend was making sure he was safe and not getting himself into trouble. But somehow, Reggie always found trouble and trouble always found him.

It was strictly against the Varsity code that if any player was using drugs or alcohol, he would be immediately thrown off the team and suspended from the school. This apparently seemed like an empty threat to Reggie as he kept going out every weekend drinking and doing whatever drug was available to him–pot, coke, JJ, etc. At first, Reggie kept this secret hidden from you very well. When he went out on weekends, he made sure that you thought he was designated driver. But really, he'd make one of his other friends drive home while he was doing who knows what. Reggie would tell his friends not to tell you and if one did, he'd personally kick his ass.

Some of his friends became concerned about the relationship between you and Reggie and how secretive it was getting. So, finally, his friend, Archie, came up to you and told you about what was happening. At first, you were devastated. You thought so highly of your boyfriend and how he wouldn't do anything like that. No wonder everyone in that damn school thought or thinks your clueless. Then that sadness turned into anger. He was keeping secrets from you and lying directly to your face.

When you confronted him about it, he said he'd get his act together. That was two months ago. Reggie still goes out and drinks and does drugs without fail. This is when you decided enough is enough.

It was a Friday night and the boys won their game that night. Naturally, they all had to celebrate. Reggie told you that he was going to have two beers and that was going to be the end of it. You knew that was bullshit, so when the party started at 8, you got there at 9:30 to see the look on your boyfriend's face when you exposed him.

When you entered the front door of the house, the scent of mixed liquor hit your nose. One of your fellow River Vixens offered you a drink immediately as you kindly accepted the drink. You took a sip, then poured the rest of it into the planter next to you. Frantically, you searched everywhere for your boyfriend, asking everyone in sight, but no one seemed to know where he was.

"(Y/N)!" you hear your name called from across the room. You could barely hear it, but it was just enough to get you to turn around. You saw your friend, Betty, standing there, pushing through the crowd to get to you. "Geez. thank God you're here. Veronica doesn't wanna leave yet because she's having too much fun with Archie. Are you leaving anytime soon?"

"Yeah, I only came here to find my scum of a boyfriend. Where is he?" you ask her as Betty turns pale. "Betty, where is Reggie?" you repeat, getting angry.

She grabs your hand pulling you through the crowd to the end of the hall where there is a door leading to the basement. "I'll go with you. It's a crime scene waiting to be uncovered down there," she tells you. She squeezes your hand before going down the stairs to the lower level.

At the bottom of the stairs, you look up at see Archie, bending over with a bill rolled up, snorting some white powder up his nose. As he finishes, he and his friends around laugh as Reggie shakes his hand, preparing for his high. "You've got to be kidding me," you power through saying.

Reggie's eyes meet yours. "Oh, shit," he whispers to himself.

"Oh, shit is right. Reggie, what the hell?" you yell at him as Betty rubs your arm, trying to comfort you. But you are too focused on making sure your boyfriend realizes the severity of the situation. He opens his mouth to speak, but you hold up a hand to stop him. "I told you that this was a bad habit. A dangerous one. But you continue to do and look what it has brought you. You are in a basement with a bunch of low lives doing lines of cocaine. And at what cost?!" you scream, tears pooling up in your eyes out of sheer anger. "Your football career? Your friends? Your family? Your girlfriend? Your life?"

Reggie approaches you as you immediately back up, not wanting to do anything with him. Betty grabs your arm, "(Y/N), let's go," she tells you trying to drag you out of the situation before it gets messy.

"Cooper, mind your own fucking business," Reggie spits.

"Hey, don't you fucking turn this on Betty. At least she is trying to protect me. Something you failed to do," you spit at him. Your words have no affect on him as he laughs.

Brushing a hand through his greasy hair and taking a look back at his friends, who are all staring at you two in shock, he says, "Listen, I couldn't give a damn what you or your friend blondie here think about my "habit"" he makes air quotes around the word habit. "You shouldn't worry about me. I shouldn't worry about you."

Your eyes widen. "Reggie, you're my boyfriend," you emphasize as he scoffs.

"So what?" he laughs as half of his friends making "oooh" sounds and the other half just remain shocked.

A lump starts to form in your throat. Sober Reggie would never say that. This was the drugs talking. "Don't use that tone with me," you croak out.

Reggie laughs, "Okay, mom."

Before you realize what is happening, you slap his face as hard as you could earning a few gasps from the people around you. "You are nothing, but scum, Reggie Mantle. Pure. scum. Go to hell," you begin to cry as you run up the stairs and Betty follows you. You hear her speak to Reggie something along the lines of "Don't bother talking to her again."

As you wipe the tears that fall from your face, you push people out of your way, exiting the party. Veronica sees you and immediately follows you and Betty outside as she drags Archie along with her. "What is going on?" Veronica grabs your hands once you exit the house, the fall wind making you shiver. Archie peels his letterman jacket off of him and gives it to you. You give him a smile before putting it on, the warmth immediately comforting you. "Nothing. My boyfriend is a drug using piece of trash. I can't believe he'd still do this to himself after everything I've told him," you rub your face as Veronica hugs you tightly.

"You don't deserve this at all," she tells you, kissing your hair and rubbing your back. Archie grabs your hands, rubbing his thumb over your knuckles, "You don't have to put yourself through this anymore. This isn't your fight. Leave him," Archie says.

"Andrews, let me tend to my girlfriend and you can tend to yours," an intoxicated Reggie says walking up to you and your friends. Archie immediately steps in front of you. "Oh, what now? You're trying to protect her? Or is this an act so you can bone her?" he threatens.

You grab Archie's hand, telling him its okay. Archie steps down as he wraps and arm around Veronica and holds Betty next to him, making sure the both of them don't get involved. "Reggie, this is over. I don't want to talk to you anymore," you tell him, trying to leave, but he grabs your wrist forcefully. You push him back with a push to his check as he stumbles. "Don't touch me."

"I don't want to go to bed angry," Reggie says, looking at you with his eyes glazed over.

"Fine. You don't have to. You can go to bed upset and alone. We're done, Reggie. Everything we had is over. I don't want you near me or near my friends. If I see you so much try to approach one of us, I will have your ass kicked out of this school," you threaten before walking back to your care, wiping tears from your face.

You hear him call out to you one last time before you drive off.