Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/11060460.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      F/F, F/M
  Fandom:
      Riverdale_(TV_2017)
  Relationship:
      Archie_Andrews/Veronica_Lodge, Betty_Cooper/Veronica_Lodge_(one-sided)
  Character:
      Veronica_Lodge, Betty_Cooper, Archie_Andrews
  Additional Tags:
      Love_Triangles, Light_Bondage, Masturbation, Hand_Jobs, Dom/sub
      Undertones, Merry_Month_of_Masturbation_Challenge_2017
  Series:
      Part 2 of Greetings_to_the_New_Brunette
  Collections:
      Merry_Month_of_Masturbation_2017
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-06-01 Words: 6143
****** Scalene ******
by AmyViolet
Summary
     Everybody is smitten.
Everyone trying out for the cheerleading team is a freshman, except for
Veronica and a pretty blonde girl named Betty. While they're waiting for their
turns to audition, Veronica remarks, "It's weird, right? I thought maybe being
a freshman was a requirement."
"Oh, but you're a transfer. From New York no less, so no stigma there," Betty
says.
"If you already know my origin story, I'm guessing you're not new here too."
"No. I tried out last year and Cheryl turned me down. There were a bunch of us
who she said were 'too pure' to ever be River Vixens. Every one of them except
me was smart enough to realize that trying again is futile."
Veronica studied her. "Well, you don't seem stupid to me. So...maybe you're
going to show Cheryl you're not so pure anymore?"
Betty scowls and shakes a pompom in Veronica's face. "How 'pure' I am or am not
has no bearing on whether I can do a cheerleading routine. And it's nobody's
business. And no, I'm not stupid enough to think Cheryl's going to change her
mind and let me on the team. I'm here because I've been practicing, and I am
going to do a kick-ass audition, and if Cheryl is going to reject me again I
want everyone see that it's her problem, not mine."
"Sorry," Veronica says. "I was just trying to make a joke. You're absolutely
right. And I wasn't funny at all."
Betty glares at her for a moment, and there's a glint in her eye just before
she cracks a smile. "I'm too quick to take offense sometimes. It's not like my
life won't be complete without being a River Vixen. I just get worked up about
injustice."
"Especially when you're the victim of it?" Veronica prods. She means it
teasingly and hopes it comes off that way.
Betty seems to really consider it as a serious question. "I'd like to think
not. But probably, I guess. I mean, I'm only human. I probably wouldn't be this
outraged about a stranger being unjustly denied a spot on the cheerleading
team." She laughs then, and it's pretty much the cutest laugh Veronica has ever
heard.
Betty's tryout is next, and she's absolutely flawless. Well, from what Veronica
can tell, anyway. She's watching from the back of the gym, so she can't see
Betty's face, which is a shame, but she does get plenty of glimpses of Betty's
cute little butt with the cheerleading skirt flying up all the time.
Veronica is up right after Betty, and she tries to focus on the routine and not
how hot Betty looked when she was doing hers...how hot she still looks,
slightly flushed as she watches Veronica perform.
"Brava," Cheryl calls out after she's done. "Of course you're pretty much
guaranteed a spot on the team just based on your reputation, but the fact that
you can actually move is a nice bonus."
"My...reputation?" Veronica asks. "I just moved to this town."
"Yes, and the first thing you became known for is your seven...well, more like
seventeen minutes in heaven at my party. Oh, don't worry, it's a good thing, at
least since you want to be a River Vixen. It's very motivating for the players
to have girls who are easy lays cheering them on."
Veronica just stands there sputtering. There's been some whispering about her
and Archie at school, but up until now it's been discreet enough that she was
able to convince herself it was all in her imagination. While she's still
speechless, Betty marches up to the table that Cheryl and her co-captain are
sitting at. "That is enough, Cheryl! Cheerleading is a sport, it's not an
opportunity for you to publicly pass judgment on your classmates' sexual
activity or lack of sexual activity. It's bad enough when guys do this to us; I
can't understand why girls want to do it to each other!"
"Oh, calm down, Saint Elizabeth. I was going to offer you a spot on the team
too."
Betty hesitates. "You were? ... That's not the point, Cheryl!" Without waiting
for a response, she storms off.
Everyone else is quiet, just watching her go, until Cheryl's minion asks, "You
weren't serious about letting her join, were you?"
Cheryl shrugs. "Mais oui. Some of the guys, it turns out, like a challenge."
Veronica runs after Betty and catches up with her in the hallway outside the
gym. Walking briskly alongside her, she says, "Thanks for standing up for me."
"I'm sure you didn't need me to," Betty says. "Cheryl just makes me so mad
sometimes!"
"But listen. I'm new here, so having someone willing to take my side means a
lot to me. So thank you."
Betty slows down for a second and looks at her. "You're welcome."
Veronica figures this is as good a time as any to make a move. "Would you like
to get some coffee with me?"
"Oh, thanks, but I can't. I'm super sensitive to caffeine and if I have any
after about two o'clock I can't get to sleep at night and then I'm exhausted in
all my classes the next day."
"Well, you could order—"
"Maybe some other time, like some morning? But I'll see you tomorrow at Vixens
practice, right?"
"You're going to join after all that?"
"Like I'd give Cheryl the satisfaction of not! You're going to too, aren't
you?"
Veronica had been thinking it wouldn't be worth it, putting up with the psycho
head cheerleader from hell, but now that Betty is looking at her so hopefully
she finds herself answering, "Absolutely. I'll see you tomorrow then." And she
stands there in the hall watching Betty march off after giving her a friendly
wave good-bye.
She's just about a block from home when she gets a text from an unknown number:
"Want to get a malt at pops". It's followed a second later by another text
that's simply: "?" It's so cute, she thinks, that Betty would send that extra
text with just the question mark, just in case Veronica might think she was
being too pushy otherwise! Not that Veronica would actually mind Betty being a
little pushy with her, but Betty can't really know that yet. Also, and more
importantly...Betty wants to see her again! As soon as she realized that
Veronica's suggestion didn't mean literally coffee, she wanted to go for it!
Veronica is all set to reply in the affirmative when one more text comes
through: "This is Archie btw".
Oh. Of course it's Archie. Veronica didn't even give Betty her phone number,
duh.
She's a little disappointed, but only because she foolishly got her
expectations unreasonably high regarding Betty. Betty just turned down her date
invitation. Even if it was because she didn't recognize it for what it was,
that's not a good sign. If Betty didn't recognize it for what it was, then
there's a good chance she's not into girls and Veronica's interest in her is
hopeless. Veronica thought she was picking up an into-girls vibe from Betty,
but honestly her gaydar isn't that great. It seems to be based on wishful
thinking more than anything.
Archie, though. Archie is definitely into girls.
And Veronica is into him. She hasn't really gotten a chance to get to know him
yet outside that closet, but inside that closet she discovered some amazing
talent. And there were those hints at other interesting things, like his
safeword comment.
And the question mark text really is cute.
Archie tries not to stare at his phone waiting for a reply. Veronica is
probably busy. He can't expect her to drop everything for him. It's just...he's
been thinking about her pretty much constantly since the party. He'd hoped they
would run into each other at school, but he's only seen her from far away. They
don't have any classes together; maybe she's a junior or even a senior?
He's pretty sure he pleased her at the party though. She was so wet, like even
before he started. And she just kept getting wetter and wetter, and, sure, some
of that was probably his own spit, but his own spit couldn't produce that
powerful scent that can only come from a girl who's super turned on. And she
pulled his hair super hard when she came, and it's almost like she knew what
that would do to him (although how could she? but then again maybe Archie is
easier to read than he realizes, at least for someone as smart as Veronica),
and Archie almost thought he was going to come without even touching himself.
He didn't, luckily. A part of him sort of wishes Veronica had seen him do that,
but he barely knows her yet and he's not sure what she would have done. He
jerked off a bunch of times as soon as he gotb back to his room at home, once
or twice imagining letting Veronica see him come in his pants, but mostly just
reliving exactly what actually happened.
Finally his phone dings! (Actually it's been less than ten minutes since his
final text, he realizes when he sees the time.) He's almost scared to look in
case it turns out to be a text from anyone other than Veronica, but he does
look, and it is her! And it says, "Why don't you pick me up in an hour?"!! And
then a few seconds later there's another text with an address, probably the
address where she lives!!!
Arhcie runs to the bathroom, combs his hair, brushes his teeth, and then runs
down the stairs and out the front door. Then it occurs to him that on the off
chance Veronica lets him go down on her again, she might not want to feel his
stubble (if he has any), so he runs back upstairs to shave. Then back down the
stairs. Then back up once more for a new shirt, partly because he's worried he
might be sweaty, but mostly because he realizes it's only a ten-minute bike
ride to the address she gave, if that, and he wants to kill a little time to
avoid being ridiculously early.
He ends up being ridiculously early anyway. Even though he walked instead of
riding his bike, it's barely more than thirty minutes since she said to give
her an hour.
The building is this super fancy apartment building that Archie has never been
in. Every time he's been past it he's wondered what kind of people would live
in a place like that. Most rich people in Riverdale have houses—or estates,
even, if they're Blossoms. His dad once told him it was probably full of people
who were rich but too old to take care of a yard and stuff. Obviously that's
not Veronica! Though he can't picture her pushing around a lawn mower, that's
for sure. Anyway, Archie can see from peeking through the glass doors that
there's a huge lobby that's nicer than his house, and he could just go in and
wait, but he doesn't want to be conspicuous. So he just kind of paces around
outside and hopes no one calls the cops on him for loitering.
When it's finally been an hour since Veronica's text, he walks into the lobby,
trying to act confident but probably failing. He's immediately greeted by a
butler! Or probably just a doorman, but he's dressed how Archie imagines
butlers dress. The butler/doorman asks if he's Mr. Andrews, here to see Miss
Lodge, and escorts him up to the third floor. Veronica opens the door, and she
and the butler/doorman exchange pleasantries or whatever, but Archie isn't
really listening. He's way too distracted by how Veronica looks.
She's got on this little black dress and pearls and some of those super tall
high heels, like she's going to a party or something. Archie's a little
confused about why she's so dressed up, but he doesn't really care, he just
cares that she looks fucking amazing. The dress hugs her figure really tight
and shows off all her curves. It's got a low neck that shows off her cleavage,
and he's pretty sure she can't be wearing any panties or there'd be a line. And
the shoes are, like...if they were boots they'd pretty much be dominatrix gear.
"You look so...good," he eventually manages to say.
"Thank you," Veronica says, and she spins around, and wow. No panty line,
definitely.
Remembering they're supposed to be going out, Archie looks down at his own
outfit, high tops and jeans and a cotton henley. "Pop's isn't really that
fancy," he says apologetically. "We could go somewhere else if you want, but
then I'd have to go home and change."
"Or we could just stay in," Veronica suggests. "I'm pretty sure there's ice
cream in the freezer if that's what you're hungry for. Personally I could go
for something else."
Oh god!
Archie takes a step toward her. "Yeah?" he asks, willing his voice not to
break. This is his opening, he can't blow it! "I've been wondering about that a
lot."
"Wondering about what?"
"Well, like, at the party? You said you wanted to do things to me. But actually
you didn't do anything to me, I did stuff to you. And I'm not complaining at
all, I loved that so much, but I'm just curious if there was other stuff you
had in mind when you said that."
Veronica takes a step forward too, and now they're close enough that he can
feel her body heat. "Just idle curiosity?"
"Not totally idle," he admits. "I'd probably let you do whatever it is."
"Well, I'm curious about something too. And not just idly. Why do you have a
safeword?"
"Hmm?"
"You mentioned that you hadn't told me your safeword, which leads me to believe
you have one. So my question is why."
"Oh, well a safeword is so..." God, was he really stupid enough to mention
safewords when they first met? What's she going to think when she finds out
what they're for!? But maybe she'll think it's hot. Or at least, if she freaks
out he can just say he read about them on Wikipedia or something. "Like, if two
people are playing a game or something—like, just for fun!—and one of them ties
the other one up and the person who's tied up goes, 'No, let me go!' it might
just be part of the game and they don't really want to be let go, but then the
safeword is like a code word that both people know if the tied up person says
it, they really mean they want to stop."
Veronica looks confused for a second, and he's about to apologize for not
explaining it well—it's not like he's an expert or anything—but then she gets
this gleam in her eye and asks, "So you like to be tied up?"
"Um." Archie was definitely not trying to imply that...even though he really
actually does. "That's just one example of what a safeword can be used for."
"I know that. I'm asking if you, Archie Andrews, like to be tied up."
"Uh..." Should he lie? But what if she is into it? "I mean, I've done it. But I
like plenty of regular things too!"
"Mm-hmm." Veronica looks him up and down, and he actually wonders if she's
picturing him tied up. And if so, what does the mental image do for her? All
she says is, "I'm afraid I have zero expertise in bondage."
"It's okay! It was mostly the other person's idea anyway, and I like normal
stuff too, so..."
"Wait, so, are you saying you didn't like it? Because I'll try to put the idea
out of my head if that's the case. But if you do like it..."
Archie ducks his head a little. "You don't think it's weird and freaky?"
"Okay, first of all, freaky isn't a bad thing in my book." Veronica places her
finger under Archie's chin and nudges it until he's looking at her face. "I
think I'd be into it. I'm just warning you that I don't have the equipment or
the expertise to do much right now." Veronica studies him again. He realizes
his chest is beating super hard and wonders if Veronica can tell. She
continues, "I do have some scarves, though, and I think I could manage to tie
your hands behind your back. If you want."
Archie sucks in a deep breath. "Yeah. Um...yeah."
"Then follow me." As Veronica turns, she hooks her finger under the collar of
Archie's t-shirt, and she pulls him along behind her to the bedroom.
The walk to the bedroom isn't long or anything, but it does give Archie time to
wonder if this is such a good idea. He barely knows Veronica. He's probably
stronger than her, but if he's tied up, she could do literally anything to him.
The fact that there's actual danger involved is...it's so fucking hot. His
brain knows that it shouldn't be hot, but his dick is blissfully unaware.
At least his brain is functioning enough to send a quick text to Betty. And
it's functioning enough to tell Veronica, the second she closes the bedroom
door behind them, "My safeword is jellybean. So if I say jellybean you have to
untie me. Okay?"
"Jellybean, got it. But really I don't think we know each other well enough yet
to rely on that. If you tell me to untie you, I'm going to untie you." She
hesitates. "That won't ruin it for you, will it?"
"Oh. Yeah, that's probably a good idea. I mean, no, it won't ruin anything." He
considers telling her about the text he just sent, but he doesn't want her to
think he doesn't trust her.
"Good. So, shall I get a scarf?"
Archie nods, his mouth too dry to answer out loud. Veronica turns away from him
and walks toward the dresser, and it occurs to Archie that he could run for it.
He doesn't actually want to—in fact, he wants very much to be right where he
is—but nonetheless it occurs to him that he could.
Veronica spends a long time rummaging about in her drawer, and the suspense
just about kills Archie. Are they actually doing this?
Finally she returns, threading a narrow strip of blue silk through her fingers.
It's strange that something so insubstantial seems so powerful...makes Veronica
look so powerful...even though there's a look of slight uncertainty on her
face. She's never done this before, Archie remembers. He's not used to being
the more experienced person, and he's not quite sure how to handle it. "Do you
want me to..." he starts.
"Hands behind your back, Andrews." Archie complies immediately, instinctively
dropping his head at the same time, as Veronica circles around behind him. He
feels the silk wind several times around his wrists before she ties it. "That's
not too tight?" she asks.
"No." It's definitely not too tight; he'd know right away if it were.
Tentatively he tries moving his arms, curious if she tied him up too loosely.
She didn't. He can move his arms a couple inches in either direction, but he'd
have a legitimately tough time getting free without help.
They're really doing this now. Archie's heart rate speeds way up. All the extra
blood is going straight to his dick.
Veronica places her hands on his hips. The gesture make him think about her
fucking him from behind. She can't do that, obviously, but she does take a step
forward so that she's pressed up against his ass, and she asks, "What should I
do with you now?"
He's not sure if it's a rhetorical question, but when she doesn't say anything
else, he guesses he should answer. "Anything you want."
"Oh, Archie," she says, "you really have to be more careful with people you
barely know."
Yeah. Yeah, he probably should be. "Just don't hurt me," he amends. He almost
adds much but doesn't. He probably really should wait until he knows her better
for that.
"No pain. Got it." She slides her hands under his shirt and drags her nails up
his sides so lightly it makes him shiver. Then onto his chest, though more
fingertips than nails now. She caresses his nipples and even squeezes them a
bit, but still lightly. He actually wishes she would squeeze a little harder,
pinch them even, but he doesn't feel like it's his place to make requests, and
anyway she doesn't linger there very long.
She walks around in front of him and pushes his shirt up to his armpits and
just ogles his chest. Forgetting for a second that his hands are tied behind
his back, he tries to grab the shirt and pull it over his head to help her out.
The mild jolt to his shoulders reminds him that he can't do that. "Tsk, tsk,"
Veronica says with a tiny smirk. She reaches for him slowly, so slowly that he
has time to wonder what she's going to do.
What she does is methodically undress him from the waist down, starting with
his belt, then his shoes, pants, underwear, and finally socks. She doesn't
speak while she's doing it, and she doesn't touch him more than necessary,
though she does hold a hand against him to help him keep his balance when he
has to lift his feet.
And then he's just...naked. Except for his shirt, but the way it's pushed up to
his armpits sort of makes him feel more exposed than if it were gone
altogether.
And of course the scarf binding his wrists together.
Veronica, she's still fully dressed. She still has her stilettos on...she still
has her pearls on, for god's sake.
She circles him several times, just looking, not touching, but so close he can
feel her breath, her body heat. She doesn't speak, and Archie doesn't dare to
either. It's so quiet in the room that he thinks she can probably hear his
heart thumping.
When she stops she's behind him again, same fucking-him-from-behind position as
earlier. This time he can feel the fabric of her dress against his ass. It's
rougher than it looks...almost scratchy. She does the thing with her
fingernails up his side again, only not as lightly. She brings them down again
along his back this time instead of his chest, and she moves away enough that
she can scratch them down over his ass. He thinks for a second that maybe she's
going to put one inside, but she keeps going, down the backs of his thighs and
then slowly back up the fronts of them.
Having her behind him is almost like being blindfolded. Even though she hasn't
made any surprise moves so far, he's in constant suspense about what she's
going to do next. He has certain hopes, based on the movement of her hands
toward his dick...but those hopes are dashed as she flattens her palms against
his hips and brings them across his torso.
"You have nice abs," she says, and it's been so long since she said anything
that the words make him jump.
"Thanks," he says, reflexively tightening them under her hands.
"And your cock," she says, noticeably aspirating the final k-sound. "I wonder
if it's still as hard as it was a minute ago."
It is—maybe even harder—but Archie's not sure if she's asking him an actual
question. He hopes she plans to find out for herself, but of course he doesn't
suggest it.
Veronica walks around so she's in front of him again and looks him up and down.
Every time her gaze falls on his cock he feels it twitch. Finally she asks,
"How do you propose to get me off, all tied up like that?"
Archie drops awkwardly to his knees, narrowly avoiding losing his balance and
ending up face-first on the floor. "With my mouth?" he suggests, peering up at
her. It's really the only answer. His mouth is already watering in
anticipation.
"Hmm. You are very good at that. But..."
"But?"
"But, on second thought, I don't think I'm going to let you touch me at all
this time."
"Oh." To say Archie is disappointed would be a major understatement, but he
tries not to let on. Instead he tries to guess what she has in mind, but he
comes up empty. "I don't know how to get you off without touching you at all,"
he admits. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry for not knowing how to do the impossible," she
says. "Like I said, I changed my mind."
"Why? I mean...if you don't mind me asking."
"Because you look so good on your knees like that, and it's a sight I can only
appreciate properly from a few feet away."
Archie sits back on his heels and lowers his head. He hopes she'll like him in
that position even more.
Veronica crouches down and lifts his chin so he's looking at her. He's worried
that means she doesn't like the position, until she says, "Such a good boy,
Archiekins." She clamps her mouth shut then and is quiet for a minute before
asking, "Was that too weird a thing to say?"
Archie's not sure. He thinks it was a little weird, but he's also pretty sure
he liked it. So not too weird, he guesses, and he shakes his head no.
"Do you want to watch me? Since you've been so good, I think you deserve that
at least."
Archie nods. He really, really wants to see her body. She's still completely
dressed now, and even at the party she was mostly dressed the whole time, plus
it was too dark to really see much.
She disappoints him again, though, by not taking off anything. She sits, fully
clothed, on the edge of the bed; her legs are parted, and her skirt is really
short, and it seems like Archie should be able to see up it, but for some
reason he can't quite, and it's driving him crazy. She looks him directly in
the eye as she caresses her own chest, and he thinks maybe she's at least going
to let him see a breast, but she doesn't, not even a quick flash of one. He
thinks he's finally going to catch a glimpse of something when she reaches up
under her skirt, but no. That is, he can see a little more thigh where her
skirt rides up a bit, but her arm blocks everything else.
She's teasing him like this on purpose, he's almost positive, and there's
absolutely nothing he can do about it.
Nothing but take what she's giving him, that is, namely the opportunity to
watch her. Even if he can't see any part of her body that he couldn't see at
school or anywhere else, he is getting to witness something amazingly intimate.
She's got one hand moving fast between her legs, and one hand groping and
squeezing her own breasts over the clothes. She's looking at him less and less
now because every so often she has to close her eyes, and she's not talking to
him but she's making these little moans, like not loud ones for his benefit but
quiet little almost private ones. Archie still wishes he could see more skin,
and he especially wishes he were the one making her feel this way, but it's
still totally amazing.
She locks eyes with him one last time before dropping her head back and
wailing. For a couple seconds she's still except for one hand moving furiously
between her legs, and then suddenly it's the opposite: she's holding her hand
still and moving her entire body around it. She clamps her legs tight and rolls
onto her side, humping her own hand hard while gasping and screaming. The sight
and the sound of her like that—Archie's pretty sure he can even smell her, even
from across the room—it leaves Archie aching and whining.
Archie tries to keep still while Veronica lies in a heap on the bed catching
her breath. He understands why she's all relaxed and content now, but he's
anything but. He wonders if she's going to leave him in this state, just untie
him and tell him to get dressed and send him on his way. If she does, he
wonders how he can make it all the way back to his house without jerking
off...or, in fact, if he can.
After what feels like a really long time (but probably isn't), Veronica stands
up and straightens her clothes and her hair. Well, she tries, but her hair is
still mussed. It kills Archie...the fact that she looks mostly put together
again, but there's that one little sign still of how she just came, writhing
and screaming, right in front of him. As if reading his thoughts—though
probably actually just by coincidence—she stands in front of him and ruffles
his hair. "How are you doing, Archiekins?"
"Good," he squeaks.
"You do look good on your knees, but now it's awkward for me..."
Before Archie can ask what she means, she's gotten down on her own knees behind
him. "I'm sorry," he says.
Veronica shushes him and pulls him into the "up" kneeling position. She glides
her hands over torso and asks, "Do you want to come too?"
"Please!" he gasps, leaning forward into her touch.
"None of that, though," she says, pushing him gently back. "You have to stay
still."
"Okay."
"I'm going to touch you very lightly. If you really need to come, it'll be
enough."
"Okay," he says, biting back a whine.
And then she does the fingernail thing again, super lightly, up his thighs.
He's going to cry, he thinks, if she bypasses his dick again.
She doesn't. She touches it this time, but just barely, and this time he can't
bite back his whine. He'll never get to come like this, not if he's not allowed
to move and if this is all she's going to do.
Before he actually starts to cry in frustration, she applies a tiny bit of
actual pressure to his balls with her fingertips. He almost cries anyway, but
at least it's in relief this time. Though not that much relief, as she
continues to move her fingers agonizingly slowly and lightly up his shaft, over
the slit, back down to his balls again...It's too much and it's not enough and
Archie can't take it, and he whispers, "Please, Miss Lodge."
She stops moving her hand at all, and Archie is terrified that he's ruined
everything. But then she strokes him once with the palm of her hand, and it's
way better than just fingertips, and then she actually wraps her hand all the
way around his dick. When she moves her hand up and down his shaft it's nothing
you could call jerking, exactly, but it's enough. It's enough that he can't
help but move his hips a little, praying it won't make her stop because he
literally cannot help it. It's enough that in less than a minute he's biting
down on his lip and shooting blasts of warm come up his chest.
Veronica rubs his back with her free hand. "Good boy," she tells him. "I knew
you could come for me."
Archie leans his head back against her and closes his eyes while he catches his
breath. "Thank you," he says.
"You got some on my hand," Veronica says.
"Sorry!" Archie tries to reach for her hand, but of course his own are still
tied behind his back. Figuring it must be what she's getting at, he opens his
mouth and extends his tongue.
"That's okay, sweetie," Veronica says, and she startes to untie him, adding,
"Unless you're into that."
"I mean, not exactly," he says. He's never tasted his own spunk before and
thinks it sounds kind of gross, actually. "But I would do it if you want me
to."
"Oh, Archiekins." She finally gets the last knot or whatever undone, and Archie
immediately stretches and does circles with his arms. They don't hurt, exactly,
but it feels really good to be able to move them again. "How are you doing?"
Veronica asks.
"Amazing," Archie answers truthfully. "You?"
"Also amazing. But I'm not the one who might be expected to be sore."
"Sore? Nah. Maybe a tiny bit, but it was worth it."
"Mm-hmm. Just tell me where," Veronica says, and she starts to massage one of
his shoulders.
Part of Archie wants to protest that it's not necessary, but the part of him
that really likes it wins out, and he lets her keep going until he's in a near
stupor. Finally he notices her flexing and unflexing her fingers and realizes
that now she's sore, and he says, "I'm good now, really. Thank you."
Veronica kisses him on the side of the head and stands up. She wipes the back
of her hand off on the hem of his shirt—even though most of the come must have
soaked into her skin already—and asks, "Do you want that ice cream now?"
After Archie gets dressed again and Veronica fixes her hair, they have ice
cream in the kitchen—neither of them felt like going all the way to Pop's.
Veronica is about to ask Archie whether he's even aware that he called her
"Miss Lodge" when Archie's phone rings. He looks at it and tells her
apologetically, "If I don't answer this my friend is gonna keep calling."
"By all means," Veronica says, waving with her arm to indicate he can go in the
next room if he wants privacy.
Archie stays where he is, though. He answers, "I'm up!" Then there's a short
series of yeahs and uh-huhs before he ends with, "Okay, thanks, Betty. Later!"
"That was Betty!?" Veronica asks before realizing how rude it is that she's
just admitted to eavesdropping.
Archie doesn't seem to take offense, he just says, "Yeah, you've met her?"
"I met a Betty at school," Veronica says cautiously.
"Well, she's the only one in the school."
Veronica can't believe she's only remembering just this minute that Archie
mentioned a girl named Betty that night at the party. The girl named Betty,
apparently. "She's the girl next door. The one you kissed." Her stomach drops.
What has she done?
"The girl next door who I didn't kiss," Archie corrects her.
"Oh. Right." Veronica thinks maybe it's not so bad.
Until, that is, Archie adds, "I mean, she has a crush on me apparently. But I
told her...I mean, I let her down gently. It's not her, it's me. I told her
that."
Shit, there goes Veronica's stomach again. "But you're still friends?" she
asks. "I mean she calls you just to...Why did she call you, by the way? Why did
you tell her you're 'up'?" Veronica's being totally nosy and rude, but she
really needs to know.
"Oh." Archie's cheeks redden. "I sent her a text and asked her to call me in an
hour. Just so, like...I mean, don't be offended, but just in case something
went wrong with what we were doing here..."
"Oh my god, you told her about this!?"
"No! I just told her I was going to take a nap and asked her to call to make
sure I woke up. I swear!"
"Oh." Veronica doesn't doubt that Archie's telling her the truth, but it
doesn't make sense. "Why didn't you tell her where you really are? If you
hadn't answered, it's not like she would know where to send the police."
Archie looks like that thought never occurred to him. After a minute he says,
"I guess you're right. I just didn't want to tell her because...I mean, yeah,
we're friends, but she still has feelings for me so I didn't want her to have
to hear about...you know..."
Yeah, Veronica knows. Fuck. Fuck!
She takes Archie's hand. "Archie...Betty is my friend too. Or...I want her to
be." Ideally more than a friend, but if that's not on the table, as seems to be
the case, then Veronica does still really want friendship with her. "She's the
first girl I've met here who I think I could become friends with. So..."
"So you don't want to do this anymore with me," Archie fills in for her, not
meeting her eye.
"I'm sorry, Archie. Believe me, it's not you."
Archie nods sadly. "Betty was right. That's really no consolation at all."
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