bitter heart - a jeronica fanfic

part three

"What can I get for you young men today?" Pop Tate asks, taking out his notebook to write down our order.

"Two chocolate milkshakes, thanks Pop," I reply, giving him a smile that Archie mirrors. Pop smiles back and disappears into the kitchen.

I turn back to Archie, who's fidgeting nervously with his thumbs.

"So how have you been, Arch?" I ask finally, and he jumps a little at the sudden sound.

"Fine," he replies, his voice shaky. He seems like a skeleton of his old self, ever since the night Veronica's body was found he's been a nervous wreck. I knew he was hiding something- I just didn't know what.

"Are you sure bud? You know you can talk to me-" I cut myself off as Pop Tate nears our table, not wanting to exploit our conversation.

"Thanks Pop," I say, and he smiles and nods.

"This ones on the house, boys. You two have already been through so much this week- the least I can do is give you a free milkshake to ease your worries," he says, and I grin.

"You're the greatest Pop, thanks so much," I say, and Archie mumbles his thanks too.

Once Pop is out of earshot I turn back to Archie, who seems to be in a trance.

"Veronica's favourite flavour of milkshake was chocolate," he says finally, and I nod, my lips pressed together in order to hide my frustration. I needed him to talk.

"Archie, you seem off. Is everything okay? Did something happen that night?" I ask, and I see him hesitate before speaking again.

"I think I was just imagining it."

"No, no, tell me. What is it, Arch?" I press on, and he sighs before finally answering my question.

"The night Veronica was killed I saw something... weird. I don't know what the heck was happening, but I saw a figure walking towards our cabin. I thought it was Veronica, so I decided to go out and talk to her, but then she turned around and walked away. It might not have been her, but she - or, they - were walking towards your cabin, Jug," Archie finishes, uncertainty apparent in his voice.

My hand began to cramp from how fast I was scribbling down Archie's words, but it didn't slow me down. Maybe someone had been following Veronica - maybe they had found her and she had heard something and walked towards the sound - but that didn't make any sense.

If the sound was coming from the direction of our cabin, I definitely would've seen them. I was watching out the window the whole time, staring out at the stars, and at the forest in which the love of my life had entered, never to return from.

I shake my head and take a deep breath, reminding myself not to think about Veronica. Not to think about how much I missed her. Not to think about how much I wanted her back in my arms, not to think about how much I wanted to hear the sound of her gentle breathing as she lay on my chest.

Archie noticed I had gotten lost in thought, and interrupted my spiral.

"Jug, I feel awful not for asking earlier, are you okay? I know this must be terrible for you, you and Veronica were so in love," he says, and I purse my lips and nod.

"Yeah. But there's no use crying over it. What's done is done, right?" I reply, trying to keep my voice from cracking. Archie looked slightly disturbed as he looked at me, but tried his best to hide it.

"It's okay to be upset, dude. We all miss her," he says gently, and I slide back against the booth slowly, clenching my teeth together.

"I know, Archie. I know it's okay to be upset that my girlfriend was murdered," I say sharply, feeling myself getting more and more agitated. Why was he pushing me so hard, wasn't I supposed to be asking the questions?

Did he ask me a question? I don't know. No- he definitely did. What if he's trying to do the same thing I am, and try to find Veronica's killer? What if he's doing it to cover his tracks- to make someone else seem like they did it.

I freeze. What if he's framing me?

I grab my milkshake quickly, taking a sip. I meet Archie's eyes finally, and he's looking at me, concerned. As if. He's a better actor than I thought he ever could be.

"Jug.. I know you're going through a hard time, with and without this whole situation.." Archie begins, but I cut him off, laughing in a way that sounds crazed even to me.

"I was just fine before Veronica died! Just peachy! Everything was wonderful and glorious and there were unicorns and rainbows, all radiating from that girl. And then someone murdered her. Someone murdered my girlfriend. Someone murdered Veronica, Archie. Do you understand that?" I say, my voice getting louder and louder as I continued talking, and I felt my breathing growing more rapid.

I heard a crash and felt a stinging pain in my hand, causing me to look down and see that I had broken the glass milkshake cup that Pop had given me, and that now my milkshake was coated on my shirt, the table, and on my jeans.

"Holy shit dude!" Archie exclaims, rushing to get me a paper towel. I don't bother waiting for him, and flick my hands out to try and eliminate some of the chocolate liquid from my hands and sleeves.

I stand up from the booth in a flash, not wanting to stick around and talk to Archie anymore. I don't want to listen to anymore of his lies. At least I know now that Archie can't be trusted.

At all costs he can't be trusted.

And now I needed to find a new person to interrogate, someone that wouldn't lie to me and try and provoke me. The pain in my hand remained as if a reminder of what Archie has been trying to do, and I shake my head angrily.

The red headed golden boy had made his way to the top of my suspects list, and all I needed to convict him were answers to a few questions- answers from one of the other teenagers that were in the other cabin the night Veronica was murdered.

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Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I just didn't have a lot of inspiration, but I'm back and more chapters should be coming soon :) Comment any theories you have on who killed Veronica- I would love to read them!