In which Reggie Mantle begins to pursue Jacqueline Hall, Riverdale High's good girl, in hopes of earning some points for the football's playbook. Somehow, only to find himself being the one that gets played and used.
Or
In which the player is the on...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The following day was Sunday and Jack sat with the rest of her Serpent friends at the Whyte Wyrm, "Tomorrow's Halloween, Jack," Toni reminded her in a calm tone, causing Jack to turn to her.
"I know," She replied without a care in the world, causing Joaquin to give her a concerned look.
"So?" Joaquin questioned her curiously "Is the plan still on?"
Jack was hesitant to answer at first, not knowing if she truly wanted the plan to continue. The next day was Halloween and Jack couldn't help but feel as though she didn't want to break Reggie's heart.
It was just days before when she finally realized that she cared for Reggie. It wasn't love just yet, as far as she knew, but it was a strong liking, "Yeah, it is," She finally replied in a confident tone, "The party starts at six. I'll expose him at eight, right when it's starting to get crowded with people. Then, while everyone's talking about it, I'll rush out and head to the Wyrm. I'll be wearing what I'm wearing to do the Serpent Dance under my Halloween costume. It'll make it all easier."
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sweet Pea asked his best friend concerned, feeling as though she wasn't actually okay with the plan like she used to be. Something was up with her and Sweet Pea seemed to be the only one to notice it.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Jack replied, but she felt as though she was only saying it to try and reassure herself.
_____
At Reggie's house, Reggie was home alone and invited Jack to come over. The couple was laying on Reggie's bed, facing each other. Both teenagers held their heads up with their arm as they conversed about something deep, for the first time ever.
"You trust me, right?" Reggie asked Jack curiously, breaking the small moment of silence between them.
"Of course, I trust you," Jack immediately answered and for once, she actually meant it, no matter how hard she didn't want to believe it.
Reggie used his free hand to grab Jack's, both of them fingers intertwining, "I just wanted to say," He paused, letting out a sigh, "I promise you that I'll never betray you."
"How do you know that?" Jack asked him quietly, "You have no idea what will happen in the future."
"I know because I love you," Reggie confessed, his voice just above a whisper.
Jack's eyes widened in shock and she felt a pang of guilt. She knew she couldn't say it back, "You don't have to say it back," Reggie assured her, making her feel a bit better, "I didn't expect you to. I just--I just had to tell you before it was too late."
"What do you mean?" Jack questioned him, a confused look on her face.
"Nothing," Reggie replied, shaking his head.
Jack sighed, deciding to just give up and not ask him what he meant. Usually, she wouldn't have, but since her plan seemed to have worked, she needed to go to the second to last step in her original plan.
"Hey, would you maybe want to go to Jason's Halloween Party with me tomorrow night?" She asked him curiously and Reggie's eyes widened in shock.
"You're actually going?" he asked her in disbelief.
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Jack replied with a smile on her face, "I may hate Jason, but those parties are awesome."
Reggie nervously chuckled, hesitantly replying, "Well, if we're going to the Halloween Party, we're going to need costumes, right?"
"Well then, let's go," Jack replied with a smile on her face.
______
That night, Jack and Reggie ended up buying articles of clothing to make their own Halloween costumes. Of course, they did a couples costume. They ended up picking to be Sandy and Danny from Grease, after Jack had suggested it and Reggie literally wanted to do anything she said, starting to feel guiltier than usual for what was yet to come the following day. Instead of just getting the already made costume put together, they bought their own clothing that would fit with the characters.
The following morning, Jack woke up, looking sadder than usual. She sat up from her bed, checking the time on her phone to see that it was noon. She walked upstairs in her pajamas.
As she walked over to the coffee maker, Elena entered the kitchen, "Mom told me to tell you that she has to go to work and that she's going to give you your birthday present later on," Elena informed her before walking over to Jack, pulling her in for a hug, "Happy Birthday, Jack."
"Thank you," Jack muttered quietly, looking uncomfortable as she didn't hug Elena back.
Elena rolled her eyes, pulling away from the hug as she looked Jack in the eyes, "I know you're up to something tonight, Jack. And it's clearly bothering you. So what is it?" She asked her sister concerned.
"I'm breaking Reggie Mantle's heart," Jack replied, not even bothering to make herself a cup of coffee like she planned to. Instead, she walked downstairs, forgetting to take her usual morning pills like she usually did.
Jack paced around the basement as she tried to keep herself calm. She thought back at her time at hospital and on what they had told her were solutions to what she was feeling.
"Try listening to loud music, ringing a buzzer, or blowing a whistle when you need a jolt."
Jack took a deep breath, quickly walking over to her Bluetooth headphones. She quickly picked them up, placing the headphones on before pressing play on her music.
'Do I Wanna Know' by the Arctic Monkeys came on and Jack quickly turned the music all the way up. She bobbed her head to the beat, lying down on the floor as she closed her eyes.
Still not feeling enough, she thought back to another piece of information.
"Focus on an image that captures your attention. This can be something in your immediate environment (a great view, a beautiful flower arrangement, a favorite painting or photo) or something in your imagination that you visualize."
She kept her eyes closed, imagining an image of the beach in Nantucket she had gone to with her family when she was eight.
A genuine smile formed on her lips at the thought of it, beginning to calm down. She continued to take deep breaths, calming herself down.
She knew for a fact, that night was going to be a long one.
