P E A C H Y || SWEET PEA

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Peach Cooper. The youngest Cooper child, and Betty Cooper's twin. Fraternal.

No, my real name isn't Peach, it's Sandra, but never call me Sandra, please. I hate the name personally, and Peach has been my nickname since kindergarten.

In the nuclear family dream house, I'm the one that shakes things up. While my sisters have Mom's blonde hair, I have Dad's brown. I have blue-grey eyes, diluting their bright blues and greens. They're all prim and proper in steam pressed clothes, I'm grungey, preferring black skinny jeans and some vintage 90s band tee. Some people question if I'm really Betty's twin, not gonna lie, I question it myself. None the less, we are.

We had the same friend group. Together since we can remember. There wasn't a time I can't remember getting in trouble without Archie Andrews or Jughead Jones. Betty of course was the most sane and rational of us, telling us not to do stuff that'd get us scolded. We obviously barely listened.

Veronica Lodge was the new girl a while ago. She brought our nice quartet up to a party of five. I didn't like parties. She was okay, but I didn't like some of the things she said. She made my friends happy, so I won't complain. We've had some conversations. Said hello to each other and had small talk, but we weren't close.

After the murder of Jason Blossom, the town seemed more on edge. It was tense. The air was thick with worry about the future. And then, I got a phone call from my favourite carrot top, Archie.

• • •

Sitting in the waiting room was nerve wracking. I bounce my leg up and down, looking at my old converse. I can't seem to focus on anything. My thoughts were deafening.

Fred Andrews was shot. My next door neighbor. My best friend's dad. The man who would catch me sneaking into his house at concerning hours, and tell where Archie was and hand me a pack of mint leaf gummies, which he stashed in his house for me. In my favourite place on Earth. Pop's Choc-Litte Shop. Where our friend group and parents would have breakfast and catch up. And he might not survive.

I've been waiting for hours on news about the surgery. Archie was pacing, Veronica was standing by him trying to calm him down, Jughead and Betty were in the corner together. Our parents were talking in hushed voices. Riverdale seemed to stop. Everything was quiet. It was as if Fred Andrews who had glued so many parts and people of this town together, had just unstuck.

I was so stuck in my own thoughts, I never heard anyone enter the hospital waiting room. The Riverdale High Bulldogs came in, and suddenly I wasn't alone. Reggie Mantle was next to me.

Reggie and I were friends. Kind of. We never hung out outside of school, we didn't text each other for anything other than homework. But we were still friends and I really appreciated the fact that he came to check on me right now.

He put his hand on my knee to stop it from moving.

"Hey Peachy. You doin' okay?" It was soft. Softer than I've heard him talk before.

I shook my head. A tear escaped, even though I willed it not to.

"You want something to drink? I have change if you want something from the vending machine."

"Could you get me a water please?" I asked, quietly.

He was gone for a second. A bottle was in my eye sight and I took it from him, mumbling a thanks.