Young Gods || [Not Updating]

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[chapter one]

Sometimes, when it's late and she can't sleep, Veronica tries to work out what her life would have been like if she'd never moved to Riverdale.

She'd still be the Old Veronica. The girl who partied hard and didn't care if she woke up the next morning. Always ready to go out on a high than risk facing a low.

She'd still be friends with Nick. For all she knows, she could have been his next victim.

She never would have met Betty or Archie or any of the people who'd become the planets orbiting her sun. She'd never have seen the effects of her daddy's business up close. And she most definitely would never have fallen in love as hard or as messily as she had.

Her and Archie are old news. The oldest news actually. So old that she doesn't even have his number any more. She misses him though, misses the way he used to do things, the way he saw her for who she was not everything that she had.

The Black Hood had been the straw that broke the camel's back. After that night. After him and Betty went to take him down. No matter how hard she tried, it was never same after that. She couldn't get to him. Couldn't read the mist behind his eyes. He became distant. Started going to Betty instead of her.

In a way, she understands. They went through something few people will ever be able to understand. It makes sense that they'd find comfort in each other.

But that doesn't mean she's not hurt about it.

Because Veronica Lodge doesn't get dumped. Technically, she still hasn't been. She saw it coming and nipped it in the bud before he had the chance to open his mouth.

She doesn't know if Betty broke up with Jughead or if it was the other way round, but it doesn't matter. All that really matters is that they're broken up and Jughead's fallen down the rabbit hole to gangland.

She doesn't see him as often as she used to. She guesses it could be worse. She's seen gangs. Real gangs. The disgrace and disaster that comes from that walk of life. But she would be lying if she says that she isn't slightly worried about him.

But only slightly.

It's probably because she's not friends with Archie and Betty. Jughead's the last connection she has to that period of time. The last thread keeping recent history from disappearing entirely.

That's if he even considers her a friend.

Shutting her locker, she steps back and takes a deep breath. Life is slightly less exciting now that she's practically friendless.

Speaking of Riverdale High's very own Son of Anarchy, Jughead turns the corner and starts down the hallway towards Veronica.

She doesn't realise that he's heading towards her until he comes to a stop inches away from her face. He moves slightly, leaning against her locker, and looks at her.

"Can I help you?" She says.

He sighs. "Probably not."

"But you're going to ask me anyway, right?"

She likes these moments. The once in a blue moon occasions where the two of them are paired up for something in class or bump into each other in the street. She likes the feeling of being normal.

Another sigh. "Yeah, unfortunately."

"Well," she smiles. "Go on."

"I need you to look at this and tell me if it's something to do with your dad." He shoves a bundle of papers into her hands and pushes himself off of the locker. "No need to rush or anything, it's just a matter of life and death."

Rolling her eyes, she puts the papers into her bag and crosses her arms over her chest. "You know, a please would go a long way."

She knows that if she asks him to, he'll drop on his knees and beg. If he's asking her, it has to be important. She's always last on his list.

"Please," he huffs. "Veronica."

Her name sounds cold in his mouth. Ice cold. She likes it.

"That's more like it."

A final sigh as he rolls his eyes and starts down the hallway. She watches him till he turns the corner and disappears, arms tight over her chest like a coat of armour protecting her body.

And as she stands in that school hallway, she hopes, not for the first time, that the papers in her bag really don't have anything to do with her dad.

Edited (19/09/2019) - Fixed some goofs.