Peculiar Interest

Chapter 7

I always knew Betty was lovestruck. She loved Archie ever since we were all kids, and Archie could never decide between her and Veronica. I remember I used to be jealous of Archie for being able to get the attention of many girls without any effort on his part. As for me, I was just too tryhard. Maybe that's why Veronica always turned me away when I tried to get her to go out with me. As for Betty, I always found her to be pretty cute, just that she was too much of a goody two shoes for me although we did go on a date once, but we didn't really feel that way for each other. It was Veronica who I really loved, I just wasn't good at showing my feelings in a way that showed I was sincere and not just using her like the many guys that flocked to her.

What Betty had told me that night made me realize we were more similar than I had thought. We were always the second option when it came to the people we loved. No matter how much we tried to make them look our way, they never cared. We didn't want to show that it hurt, so we kept the pain to ourselves. To this day, I don't think either Archie or Veronica knows the pain they've inflicted on us.

"Betty, I know your pain," I had told her.

She was silent for a moment, then opened her mouth to ask, "You do?"

"The very girl who stole Archie away from you was stolen from me. I once loved Veronica. I gave up on her shortly after I moved, but it always felt like shit whenever she used me to gain leverage against Archie. She always treated Archie like a god, but me like a dog. Once I moved though, I felt optimistic about finding someone better."

I felt a lump in my throat and I gulped as I wondered if I should tell her about Amelia. I decided I would keep it to myself for now.

She was silent again, but then said, "You were never very open about your feelings. If you don't mind me being honest with you, I always took you as an egotistical, selfish guy who only wanted Veronica because she was pretty and rich. But tell me Reggie, what is so unappealing about me that no guy ever wants to look my way?"

I put my hands on her shoulder and looked into her eyes so that she would know I was sincere in what I was about to say.

"Betty. There's nothing wrong with you. You're smart, kind, and very pretty. You shouldn't have to be jealous of someone like Veronica. Veronica is her own person and you are your own. Archie may have chosen Veronica over you, but that just means theres someone out there who is way better for you than Archie. I know you've spent your whole life chasing after him, but now you should work towards being the best person for the one you truly belong with. I know it's hard, but it's time to let go. If you need anyone, just know that I'm here. I'll help you through this, I promise."

More tears rolled down her face, but this time, she was smiling, "Is this the same Reggie Mantle I've known all my life?"

"Yes and no. I am still Reggie Mantle, I'm just not the way I used to be. It's a long story. Honestly, everything I just told you is something I should be telling myself as well. We are both individuals with broken hearts that need healing. But maybe we should get going before it's too late."

We continued walking. The weather was rather pleasant, not too cold and not too warm, and every now and then a cool breeze would run through us. Riverdale was beautiful. New York is filled with dull brown buildings, too many cars, too many people, and not enough nature. But Riverdale was quiet with trees everywhere, I honestly missed it. Sure it's not as exciting as New York can be, but that's the beauty of it.

"Reggie. Everything you told me really meant a lot. I always wondered if something was wrong with me, but for the first time, I have started to believe that maybe I'm too hard on myself. I should be more proud of myself and the things I've accomplished."

"I'm glad," I replied and smiled, "I knew a lot of girls that admired you. You were well-liked in high school."

"You think so?"

"For sure."

"Well Reggie, you weren't too bad yourself."

"I can't say I agree. I like the person I am now much better than the person I used to be."

"You were quite confident in yourself. A little too much, I might add," she chuckled.

"Oh trust me. I still have a bit of ego. Check out these muscles." I pulled up my sleeve and flexed my biceps.

She laughed so hard, "Oh my god! Stop that! You may have changed, but you're right, the ego is most definitely still there!"

"Told you."

Soon, we'd arrived at her house. I was quite sad that I had to let her go. I was enjoying our conversation a lot, it was like rewriting the days of our childhood except we were actually friends this time instead of just classmates.

"I suppose I should get going," she said sadly, "But do keep in touch with me. Why don't you lend me your phone?"

I took out my phone and opened up the contacts list, then handed it to her. She wrote her number and gave it back.

"Thank you so much for walking me home, Reggie. Text me when you get home, alright?" She then waved and went inside.

-----------------------------

After a nice, hot shower, I laid down on my bed in my towel and grabbed my phone from the side table. She told me to text her, so I decided I would.

"Hey, it's Reggie."

I waited for a reply which came rather quickly, "Hey! What's up?"

"Just took a shower. Might head to bed soon. I just thought I'd text you so you'd have my phone number in your contacts"

"I see! I just finished a warm glass of milk and I was thinking about watching something on Netflix. If you need to go to bed though, I'll let you do that."

"Full Metal Alchemist is really good."

"I've seen that already. I never knew you were into anime though."

"It's a secret. Don't tell anyone"

"I won't :P I'll let you sleep though, today was a long day. Goodnight! Text me tomorrow"

"I will, Goodnight Betty."

-----------------------------

A/N: This is what I've managed to squeeze out for now! I need to plan out the rest of the story so it might take a little longer for chapters to  come out, but at least I got two done 😂 I'm cool with suggestions if you want to DM them to me though I can't promise I'll implement them into the story

Thanks again if you managed to read this far ahead!!!