Change My Mind (Riverdale AU)

Four

      "Ugh I have such a headache." a girl of about 15, dressed in a tight black dress, her eyemakeup smudged, long dark hair disheveled, and dangling her heels in her hand, as she  stumbled through the front foyer area of the hostel, as Veronica sat with Grandmother Park and Nathan in the dining area, eating breakfast, when they took notice of the young girl stumbling in.

Nathan's jaw became slack, his dark eyes brimming with irritation, and anger. He got up from the table, and took his younger sister by the arm.

"Geez, Lena you can't keep doing this! You want to turn into dad?!" Nathan scolded her, his eyes flashing as his anger increased.

She looked back at him with bleary eyes, hiccuping as she took a seat on one of the recliner seats in the living room, holding her head.

"Calm down Mr. Always Has a Stick Up His Ass" she retorted, reaching for a water bottle on the coffee table and taking big gulps, still holding her head.

Veronica was watching this with confusion, turning to Grandmother Park.

"Who's that?" she asked in a quiet voice, and Grandmother Park was about to answer her, but Nathan had overheard her.

"My dumbass sister" Nathan explained, and Lena flipped him off before going to the kitchen to grab an advil and stumbling across the room to her room, slamming it shut behind her.

Nathan groaned, rubbing his temples in frustration. Grandmother Park sighed, and Veronica poured her some more tea, before getting up from the table, walking over to where Nathan sat and taking a seat beside him.

"Hey, you okay? I hear siblings can be tough. I was an only child so I don't know much, but..." she trailed off sheepishly, unsure where she was going with this.

Nathan glanced back at her, his jaw still slack but he nodded. "Yeah, it's just hard. I feel like I have to be more of a father figure to her than her brother, but she doesn't listen to me or my grandmother, ever since... ever since our mom died" he replied, saying the last part with a slight hitch in his throat.

Tentatively she placed a light hand on his shoulder. "I know I haven't been here long, but I'm sure you're doing the best that you can under the circumstances. Do you want me to talk to her, girl to girl" she suggested, although unsure exactly what she could say to the girl. Veronica had gone through a rebellious streak herself so maybe she could say something as a wakeup call to the girl.

Nathan gave her a small sad smile, nodding. "I guess it wouldn't hurt, thanks Veronica" he replied sincerely and she smiled back, walking over to the sister's room, and lightly knocking on the door.

"What?" the girl called back, still irritated and groggy sounding. Veronica winced before opening the door just an inch.

"Hi. I'm Veronica, a new tenant here. I was wondering if you might want to talk" she explained slowly and the girl narrowed her eyes at her, before sighing and gesturing for her to enter.

Veronica walked inside, closing the door behind her and took a seat at the girl's desk.

"Do you owe my brother or something?" she asked, sitting back against the headboard of her bed, now dressed in baggy sweats and a shirt,  gulping water, listening to some korean rap on her laptop.

Veronica pursed her lips, thinking about this and shrugged. "In a way I guess, but I also um, how do you call it went through a phase.." she replied lamely, and the girl's eyes narrowed again.

"What was your name by the way?" Veronica asked, and the girl rolled her eyes, snapping her gum.

"Lena. Going through a phase?" she repeated Veronica's statement, raising  a questioning eyebrow.