Loyalty - Regonica

viii • we shall

Chapter eight:

"Veronica!" A voice shouted from behind her. Veronica had been staring at the grey clouds in the sky, completely lost in her thoughts about Archie. She wondered how the hell she could have so many thoughts about the situation, as it was simply to forgive or not to forgive.

"Veronica?" The voice repeated, the figure pacing himself next to Veronica. Veronica snapped out of her thoughts and faced the tanned boy, eyes slightly wide from sudden shock.

"Chuck, uh, hey." She exhaled loudly. Chuck stared at her uneasily, almost nervously. "Are you okay? You seem ..."

"... Exhausted? I'm exhausted." Veronica had brushed a strand of her raven hair behind her ear, letting out a small sarcastic scoff. Chuck chuckled and slowly nodded. "Uh ... No offence though."

"All good. Are you walking?" Veronica averted her eyes from the road to Chuck. Since his house was quite close to Veronica's building, Chuck usually walked with Veronica. Chuck nodded, taking a few steps foward to pace himself with her.

"So," Chuck muttered under his breath "the dance is tonight. Are you going?"

Veronica frowned. She was going to the dance alone, Archie could've at least broke the news after it. She had only just processed how much of an idiot she was going to look like third wheeling her friends. Even if she sounded cool about it, she really wasn't. "Yeah, i'm third wheeling Bughead and Choni for the night. It's better than being completely alone, I guess."

Chuck chuckled, twiddling his thumbs together nervously. Of course, Veronica didn't notice of how desperate he was to ask her out to the dance. She simply dug her heels into the cracks of the concrete, glancing up to the grey sky.

"Well, you don't have to third wheel ..." Chuck finally had cleared his throat, watching Veronica cock her head to the side "You could come with me. Then I won't be alone too."

"That's sweet—if you're trying to ask me out," Veronica had met eyes with him, a hint of amusement in her eyes "but you're going to have to be way more smooth than that. You're Chuck Clayton for god's sake. Try again."

Veronica watched Chuck scratch his head in thought, before clearing his throat once again, plastering his signature smirk on his lips. "Hey, Veronica, that dress looks nice, but I bet it'll even look nicer on my bedroom floor."

Veronica scoffed "We're not talking about sex, Chuckie, we're talking about a romantic school dance. You know that, right?"

Chuck clicked his tongue. "But if we hook up first, you're highkey automatically my date for the dance."

Veronica had finally given up on teasing the boy and sighed dramatically in defeat, patting him on the back. "I'll pass on the sex, but you can pick me up at my house at eight—with a rose, preferrably. I'm soft for romantics."

Chuck smiled like an idiot and dug his hand in the pockets of his jacket, pulling out a small piece of white paper and passing it to Veronica. Veronica quickly slipped it in her handbag.

"There's my number if you need it." Chuck walks towards the front yard of his house. Veronica nodded and continued to walk towards her apartment.

"Oh, and call me!"

* * *

Veronica was finishing the last touch of her makeup before her father called her out, telling her that her date was at the door. He didn't seemed too fussed about the fact that it wasn't Archie, which, of course, was fantastic, since she thought her father would kill him if he hurt her. 

He made that quite clear to Archie, but that fucking idiot risks his life anyway.

Veronica opened the door to Chuck, who stood in an expensive good looking suit, a basic yet handsome look. He held a red rose, just as she had asked him for. Veronica smirked at him as he smirked back, checking her out.

Veronica wore a medium length dark navy blue dress, which was quite lavy around the collarbone, yet blended into her skin well. A slit went down her left leg, of course, showing her beautifully tanned legs. Veronica left her hair down to the way it was, yet changed her makeup style to darker shades of eyeshadow and eyeliner, making her eyes pop.

Overall, she was quite the stunner, and Chuck knew that. He passed the rose to Veronica, who gladly accepted. She brought the rose to her nose  and inhaled deeply. "It's been a while since i've smelt a rose, I almost forgot it's scent."

"Archie never got you roses?" Chuck raised an eyebrow. Veronica hid the small stab in the heart at the mention of Archie with a sarcastic smile and fold of arms. "Ouch, Clayton. No 'A' words aloud."

"Still a touchy subject. I get it—sorry."

"It's fine. We should go now." Veronica smiled faintly at the tanned boy, who tapped his foot on the floor nervously.

"Shall we?" Chuck winked. Veronica locked her arm with his.

"We shall."