Young Gods || [Not Updating]

•15•

[chapter fifteen]

The first article about Veronica drops three days after 'flyer incident'.

Her parents are angry enough about the photos leaking without this anonymous article popping up. They know it's a load of shit but that doesn't stop her father storming off to make a phone call.

Bad press, it turns out, does not help people win elections.

Veronica skims through it at the breakfast table. It's pretty tame, all things considered. A couple of paragraphs about Veronica's 'copious drug use' and a final paragraph about Veronica being 'a secret cam girl.' Not exactly believable for a seventeen year old girl, but Veronica didn't ask for good writing.

Hermione doesn't say a word but she has a glass of rosé with her French toast so it's fair to say she's not too happy about it either.

Veronica puts up with the moping because it makes her less suspicious. She's supposed to be upset after all. It's why they don't bat an eye when she locks herself in her room. She's suffering after all.

(Little do they know that the music she blasts through the walls is just to hide the sound of the printer cranking out more articles.)

The angry thud coming from her father's office means that he's heard about the second article. Printed the night before and distributed to every house in town, even Veronica doesn't know what this one says.

"Veronica!" Hiram's voice slams off of every wall in the apartment. "What the hell is this?"

He storms out of the office holding a tablet in his hand. Lighting up the screen is a badly photoshopped picture of Veronica making out with a Serpent. She can't tell who it is, but it sure as hell isn't Jughead.

"It looks like a bunch of lies." Veronica says. "Don't you think."

"Veronica Lodge, pictured above, is rumoured to be having not one but two different affairs with members of the Southside Serpents. And though we don't have the names of these serpents we have it on good authority that Veronica is expecting a little bundle of joy with one of them."

As he finishes speaking, Hermione drains the last of her wine and stands up to get something stronger.

"Oh, come on," Veronica rolls her eyes. "I'm not pregnant and I'm not having an affair. Please, I know I'm a Lodge but even I wouldn't swoop that low."

"Veronica," Hermione sighs.

"We need to find out who's behind this." Hiram snaps. "The longer it goes on the harder it's going to be to separate truth and lies."

"For who? You or everyone else?"

"Don't you dare look at me like that, Veronica, if you just learnt to control yourself then we wouldn't have this problem."

"Control myself? Really? When are you going to look in a mirror and realise that you might be part of the problem? Who do you think taught me how to act?"

"Stop talking before you go too far."

Veronica stands up, her chair scraping across the floor. "Or what, dad? You're going to get rid of me? That's how you solve most your problems, right? Bet you wish you could just dump me in Sweetwater River and get on with your pathetic little-"

The slap echoes around the room and brings with it a cloud of heavy silence. Veronica puts her hand over her burning cheek and blinks back tears. She will not cry in front of him.

"Mija," Hiram says quietly. "I-"

She pushes away his hand and grabs her bag from the floor. Whatever he's going to say, he can save it for later.

She's still shaking when she gets down to the lobby. The doorman sends her a questioning look but lets her leave.

She's a couple of blocks away from the Four Seasons when a beat-up old car pulls up next to her. She carries on walking, ready to run, until she hears a familiar voice.

"Veronica," Fred Andrews calls from the drivers seat. "Are you OK?"

"Fine as always, Mr. Andrews." She smiles, but the corners of her mouth barely move. "You?"

"I've had better days," Fred says. "Do you need a ride? Looks like there's a storm brewing."

She bites her lip and slumps her shoulders. It's cold and the dress she's wearing has absolutely no cover from the elements. "I'm going to the trailer park, that's pretty out of the way."

"I'm not in any hurry," Fred says, unlocking the passenger door so that Veronica can get in. "Haven't see you in a while, how's everything going?"

"Great."

"That's good to hear." Fred taps his fingers on the steaming wheel as he drives. "Archie told me you guys had patched things up, Jughead's too, he's real happy about it. Haven't seen him so hyped up in a long time."

"You sure you want him associating with someone like me?"

"You were a good friend to my boy, a good friend to Betty, and, by the sounds of it, you're being a good friend to Jughead. It's how you act towards other people that defines you. What you may or may not have done in the past, well that doesn't mean a damn thing."

"You don't know what I've done."

Fred laughs. "As long as you haven't killed anyone or caused any other sort of harm, I think I'll lean towards trusting you."

"You're a good man, Fred Andrews."

Her turns into the trailer park and pulls the car to a stop. "There are no good men, Veronica, just people trying their best. That's what matters."

Veronica smiles and opens the car door. "You're wrong you know, you are a good man."

"Just trying my best, Veronica." He shakes his head. "Tell Jughead I said 'hi', been too long since I last saw him."

"I will do," she says as she shuts the door. "Thank you for the ride."

"No problem, don't be a stranger alright?" He says, turning the engine on and reversing out of the dusty car park.

She stands there, watching the car till it's out of sight. Then, after taking a deep breath, she turns and heads towards Jughead's trailer.

Maybe Veronica isn't the greatest of people, but she's trying. And maybe Fred's right, maybe that's all that matters.