She could feel it coming; the reality of her heartache was slowly creeping through her. The dull pain in her stomach made her feel queasy and she could feel the lump reforming in her throat. She pushed it back down, grabbing a pillow and clutching it to her chest along with the comforter. She was not going to spend another second crying over him.
Veronica hated that she was so heartbroken and useless over a boy who she wasn't sure if he ever actually loved her.
Over the months that she thought their relationship was growing, he had been harboring feelings for his best friend. He missed her, he told her. He missed her and he couldn't lead Veronica on when he was feeling like he might have made a mistake. He was sorry and he never meant to hurt her, but he couldn't continue to be with her if he had feelings for Betty.
She had to get over Archie. After all if he can move on before they were even broken up, she could do it.
——
Veronica woke up the next morning forgetting about everything that happened yesterday, but reality set in quickly and the sudden weight in her stomach made her breath hitch.
She had curled into the fetal position without noticing it. It took longer than she would have liked to force the ever-present lump in her throat back down.
She was thankful that she lived alone and no one was seeing her like this.
It took a couple minutes for her to work the courage out of bed, as of now she had no control over her emotions.
She sighed getting up from the bed, and walking to the shower.
As heartbroken as she was, she wasn't going to become a vampire and sit inside all day. Veronica was a Lodge after all, and Lodges never let anything get in the way.
When she was down with her shower, she slipped on clothes and shoes. Grabbing her phone off the counter and walking out the door. She wasn't sure where she was going, as the speakeasy was closed for today, but she knew she had to get out of the house. If she stayed there in longer her emotions and mind would have got the best of her.
Veronica drove around for a few minutes before she saw a coffee shop on the side of the road that she liked.
Grabbing a book she kept in her back seat, she ducked inside the shop. Expecting nothing more than to order a pumpkin latte and read a couple pages.
What Veronica didn't expect was to find her ex-boyfriend having coffee with Betty.
She wished she could have acted cool.
Like she was unbothered by this whole situation, but she found herself aware that her mouth was hanging open and that she was openly staring at them. She had just decided to turn around and head out the door before they noticed her when she heard Archie call after her.
Taking a deep breath, she walked towards him and Betty. "Hey," she said as normal as she could.
Betty, of course, was as beautiful as ever, with glossy blonde hair and expressive green eyes.
Now Veronica was hating herself for not dressing better.
Archie looked her up and down, definitely aware of what he had done to her. "You look nice."
"Thanks," she forced out. "So do you."
It was when she looked down to avoid his eyes that she noticed that their hands were folded together, she felt her heart plummeted somewhere into her stomach.
She needed to get out now before she starts crying.
Then a strong arm slipped around her shoulders and she heard a low voice beside her . "Hey beautiful," Sweetpea smiled at her. "Sorry I'm late," he beamed down at her and lowered his lips to hers.
Surprising herself, Veronica wasn't shocked and she didn't try to push him away. Instead she found herself sinking into the kiss.
His lips were softer than she could have ever imagined them to be and his hand was just barely touching her cheek. He was outrageously gentle. Though the kiss only lasted a mere three seconds, it felt much longer.
And she found that she missed him the second they lost contact.
He smirked at her before turning to Archie. She kept her eyes on Sweetpea, though she could see that Archie's mouth was hanging wide open.
"Hey Red," Sweetpea said, his voice sounding nothing but cocky. "How've you been?" He dropped his arm from her shoulders and instead reached for her hand, which she gave willingly. She felt like she had no control over her body, as it reacted to him immediately. Whatever game he was playing, she found herself eager to play along. He smiled down at her, playing with her fingers as he made small talk with Archie.
"Well, uh, nice to see you guys," Archie said, dragging Betty along with him.
As soon as they left, Veronica turned to him.
"What the fuck was that?" she said, but her anger came out half-hearted. She had secretly enjoyed kissing him and would gladly do it again.
"I've never liked the guy, Ronnie." Veronica felt her stomach twist at the nickname, butterflies fluttering throughout her body. "And you looked like your heart ended up in your stomach when you saw them together. It was the only thing I could think of."
She shook her head, holding in a smile "Well, you definitely caught me off guard."
He smirked, "Really? Well, you definitely played your part convincingly. I would even go as far to say, that you wanted more when I let go."
She felt her face heat up. She looked down to hide her blushing cheeks.
"I, uh. N-no. I didn't." She responded, stuttering in the process.
What the hell was going on with her. Veronica was usually a confident woman, but now she was putty in Sweetpea's hands.
Sweetpea chuckled, yanking her chin up with his hand. Which of course only made Veronica blush more.
"No need to be shy, Veronica. If you didn't know already, I like you."
Veronica gasped, looking up at him through her eyelashes. "Really?"
"Of course," he replied loosening his grip on her. "I kissed you to, yes save you from chicken head, but also because I wanted to. I've wanted to for a while now."
Veronica could not believe what she was hearing. She of course thought Sweetpea was attractive, and yes she had always had small feelings for him. But she had never expected him to feel the same way.
She opened her mouth to say something but he cut her off.
"If you did want more, we could always go back to my trailer. I could give you so much more," he whispered in her ear
His words caused Veronica to clench her legs together.
"Do you?" he asked once more
She nodded her head eagerly.
Sweetpea grabbed her arm, pulling her to the door.
When they reached his truck, he set her on the seat, Veronica's hands instantly wrapping around his neck to play with his hair.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Veronica smiled at him before answering, "Yes. I'm positive."
His eyes darkened before he spoke again.
"Good because there is so much I want to do to you."
Veronica whimpered, trying to close her legs around his hips.
"Ah, Ah. Wait till we get home, Princess," he chuckled, running to hop in the drivers side, ready to already be home.
