Beronica oneshots

Look After You

Six times I knocked on the door, in a certain rhythm, the way I always used to.

It didn't take long before I heard familiar steps coming closer to the door between us.

Suddenly the door was gone, and green eyes met my brown ones.

"Veronica?" She asked in surprise. "Wait."

Before I had an opportunity to open my mouth, she took few steps back into the house in front of me and grabbed a coat. The house I once lived in. Then she came back, took my hand into hers and started leading me around the corner. She stopped, released my hand and leaned against the light yellow wall, and opened her mouth again.

"Veronica, I'm so sorry, I didn't think you'd come here ever again but I'm glad you did, I'm just- I'm so, so sorry I-" she spoke so fast that it took me a moment to silence her.

"No, stop."

"But V, I just wa-" she still tried looking straight into my eyes.

"No, not anymore."

She stared me for a moment, and then released a shaky breath and looked down to the ground.

"I don't wanna talk about us or all of this anymore."

She nodded still facing the ground.

"There's no way that we could get back together, not after this, not anymore. I need you to understand that." I told her strictly. She didn't say anything. "You have Jughead now. Or maybe you will switch him to Archie in some point, or someone else. But I will never be your girl again."

"I'm so-"

"No."

Now she raised her head to meet my eyes again.

"Betty, you don't have to apologise anymore. It's over. All of it." I told her softly.

She just stared at me with her green glossy eyes. Just like she always did when we were fighting about something. She never fought back, because she didn't want to hurt me.

She didn't want to hurt me.

Of course she didn't want to. But still, that's exactly what she did.

Why did I even come here? What if I'm not ready, what if I can't do this?

But I had to. She had to know that she wasn't alone. I was doing this for her.

"Why did you come then?" She asked quietly, just like she had been reading my thoughts.

"Do you remember that night at your aunt's cottage?" I asked her carefully. "The night I gave you the promise ring."

Hurt flashed in her eyes, and she quickly looked away.

"Of course I remember. That night I promised to love you and be with you, no matter what. And that I would never hurt you."

Her voice was almost a whisper, and I saw two little tears roll down her cheeks.

"Betty, look at me." She did what I pleased.

"That's not why I brought it up." I told her, as softly as possible. "And don't blame yourself, some promises are just impossible to keep. It's not your fault."

Of course it's her fault, I screamed inside my head. But I couldn't say it. This girl before me was just as broken as I was. I couldn't make her hurt even more.

"But I promised you something that night too." Now she focused on me again. "I promised you that no matter what, I would always love you and look after you. And that promise I will keep."

"No, Veronica, you don't-" She tried to say but I once again cut her off.

"Betty, I will always love you. That's not something I can just hide or destroy."

"I will always love you too." She whispered. It made my heart ache, and all I wanted to do was kiss her and hold her, but I knew it wouldn't be fair, not to any of us.

After a moment of just staring each other and fighting the urge to act like nothing ever destroyed the love we once shared, I cleared my throat to cut the silence.

"And I will always look after you, Betty." I told her. "I don't care who you are with or are we friends or not, I will never leave you alone."

She stared at me again with tears making little streams on her cheeks.

"I will always keep my phone close. And if you decide that you need me, I will be here in few minutes. And every Friday night when you go drink with your friends, I will not go to sleep before I see that you've made it back home, and you're safe. Where ever you go, I will always be there with you." I took a moment to catch my breath again. "And I promise you, you will never have to be alone or scared of anything, I will take care of you. I will protect you, and I will never let anyone hurt you. Never."

The girl in front of me didn't say anything. She just slowly shook her head and let it fall towards the ground. She took few steps back towards the wall and let herself fall to the ground. She was now sitting on the ground, leaning her head against the wall, still not looking at me.

For few moments I waited for her to say something, but she never did. I decided that my visit was now over, I didn't feel like I belonged here anymore.

"You were the love of my life, Betty Cooper. And you will always be." I whispered. I wasn't sure if she heard it before her whole figure started shaking. I wanted to touch her, to comfort her and tell her that everything was going to be okay. But I knew that I would've just hurt both of us more.

So I only turned around and walked slowly out of the garden, until I reached the gate of the house we once lived in together. There I stopped. It was dark, and I knew she couldn't see me and probably assumed that I had left.

After few moments, she broke. I saw her figure under the light of a little lantern shake, and her loud cries broke my heart. How bad I just wanted to run back to her, but it wasn't my place to stay, not this time. Not when it was me who made her feel like this.

The the front door opened, and a deep voice was calling her name. The boy with a beanie on his head walked around the garden looking for his girlfriend. Finally he found her, shaking against the wall. He hugged her for a long time, then picked her up in his arms and carried her into the warm light of the house. Finally the door closed again, and I was left standing in the darkness.

Slowly I started walking down the street, still keeping my eyes on on my previous home.

It didn't belong to me anymore, neither did she.