jealous - a jeronica fanfic

Chapter Twenty

Jughead turned to me as I opened the door to get out of the car.

"Are you sure you're ready, Veronica?" he asks me, his eyebrows furrowed with concern.

"I'll be fine, Jug. I'll be out in a few minutes, okay?" I reply, giving him a small smile before stepping out of the vehicle and slamming the car door shut behind me.

I take a deep breath as I stand in Archie Andrew's driveway, pausing to look up at his house, before walking towards the front door. My knuckles hitting the door makes a much louder noise than I expected, and almost instantly the door is answered by just the boy I was hoping for- Archie Andrews.

"Veronica! What are you doing here?" he asks, seeming surprised, but not angry.

"I thought we could talk," I say, and he pauses a moment before nodding.

"Sure. Let's talk. Come on in," he says, stepping back and gesturing for me to enter the house.

I step into the house and am instantly hit by a wave of nostalgia. There were some pretty great memories in this house, but also some pretty.. not so great memories in this house.

Archie sits down at the island and I sit next to him, turning my body so that it's facing him.

"I want to start off by saying I'm sorry, Veronica. I never should've.. never should've done any of it. It was horrific of me and it haunts me every single day," he tells me earnestly, and I can tell he's telling the truth- Archie is an absolutely terrible liar.

I nod, "Thank you for saying that, Archie. I needed to here you say it in person."

"I should've said it a long time ago, I never should've hurt you in the first place, ever. You should've ended it after the first time I hit you- but I shouldn't have done it in the first place. I'm so sorry, Veronica," he repeats, and I place my hand on his.

"I know."

"Good. I need you to know that."

"Archie.. Betty told me about your disorder," I say slowly, and I see his eyes widen.

"What?! That's not information for her to share- it's personal. Please don't tell anyone about this, Veronica, I don't want anyone else to know," he rambles, clearly upset about me knowing.

"Archie, why didn't you tell me? I could've helped you. I could've.." I trail off, and Archie looks at me with a sympathetic smile.

"There's nothing you could've done, Veronica. I had a problem. I still do, even after rehab. I can control myself a lot better, but I still have angry outbursts," he explains, and I nod, biting my lower lip.

"I just.. I wish you would have told me. So I could understand better, just, why."

"I know, I should've. I regret it, Veronica. I do. And I wish I could've protected you, because I did love you, Veronica," he says, and I exhale a breath I didn't know I was holding shakily.

I nod, "I know, Arch. I loved you too. But ultimately, I don't know. I wish you would have told me so I didn't live in a world of fear constantly. Fear that the boy I loved hated me and would beat me up when I went over to his house."

He winces sharply as I mention him attacking me, and I feel anger spark inside of me. This was my pain, not his. He wasn't allowed to wince at the mention of me, because he's not the one who was physically abused for six months. I think he notices my irritation, because he elaborates on his experience.

"It felt like I was trapped in my own body, Veronica. Wanting to control myself and not being able to contain the monster inside of me-"

I cut him off, "You aren't a monster, Arch. You have a behaviour disorder, and you've gotten ten times better at handling that, because of rehab."

He scratches the back of his neck meekly, "I don't know if I can give all the credit to rehab, Ronnie. Learning Betty had IED like me really helped me feel like less of a freak, and knowing other people that I can talk to that can relate to what I'm going through makes me feel way less alone."

I smile hearing him talk about Betty so fondly. It was apparent to me that he liked her, and I was glad- they needed each other. Jughead and I, although Betty and Archie did once love us, didn't know how to help with this stuff. They quite literally understand each other better than anyone.

"I'm so glad, Archie. I'm really glad I talked to you too- this was a really touchy subject for me, and talking to you really makes me feel better," I say, and Archie smiles.

"Me too, Ronnie. Thanks for coming over. Do you wanna stay? We can play Mario Kart, just like old times," he suggests with a goofy grin, the one I've missed so much.

"I can't stay for long, I've got big things planned. But, I have to ask you something before I go," I reply, and he nods vigorously.

"Shoot."

"Did rehab help you- do you think it could help Betty?" I ask, and Archie pauses to think for a moment.

"Rehab did help me a lot, but I really had to work there too. It's not fun and games, or like a medication. You have to have your mind set on getting better. But, if she's willing, I think it would really help Betty be able to live with her IED," Archie replies, and I nod, giving him one last smile.

"Thank you, Archie. I'm glad we worked this out," I say, and hesitating slightly before, I give him a hug. He hugs back hesitantly, and I smile as my chin rests on his shoulder. I feel safe, something I never thought I would feel again with Archie.

I pull away, "I better get going now. See you, Arch!"

I walk out the front door after giving one last wave to Archie, and I walk happily back down the steps. Jughead smiles when he sees me, clearly glad to see me in high spirits.

"How'd it go?" he asks, as I sit back down in the sit next to him.

"Just as I'd hoped it would. Next stop, my house!" I squeal, and he laughs at my excitement.

I can't help it, it feels like everything is coming back together again. I've got the guy, fixed my relationship with Archie, and I only have one more thing to do until I've set everything back on track again.

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This is one of the last chapters, not gonna lie I'm gonna miss this story :( The next few parts are a whole lot of sweet stuff, but I hope you guys enjoy nonetheless :)