FORBIDDEN FRUIT [ARCHIE ANDREWS]

CHAPTER ONE

The brunette felt a knot grow in her stomach. What the hell was she thinking? How was she going to face either of them?

She composed herself and took a deep breath. She was going to see them eventually and it might as well be in an empty diner. As she pushed open the door, the small bell chimed. Archie and Betty had been talking to a dark headed girl in a dark cloak, but at the sight of August both of their eyes locked on her. At first, Archie was confused, August was not as he remembered. Her hair was long and dark brown now, compared to the short and light hair he was accustomed to. The next thing he picked up on were her clothes, he had never seen her wear heels before or a tight mini skirt like she was sporting now. It's not like she wasn't pretty before, but now? Now, she would be on the football players hit list of hot girls to sleep with.

"August?" Betty spoke first and August head turned in their direction, "When did y-"

"Just a few hours ago." August quickly said, not even letting Betty finish her question.

"Is that a Jean-Paul Gaultier coat?" The dark haired girl asked, her eyes raking over August's outfit.

"An original actually. I just finished a study abroad program in France, and I picked up a few pieces along the way." August explained as she tried to ignore Archie's hard stare.

"Maybe Riverdale isn't as drab as I first thought. I'm Veronica, by the way." Veronica smiled, showing her perfect white teeth.

"I'm August," She said, giving a small smile, "I'm guessing you're new here?"

"You guess correctly, I'm from New York City. My mom lived here and we've moved back."

August didn't see Betty kick Archie underneath the table, begging him to say something.

"A-Are you here to stay, Auggie?" Archie stammered, letting the old nickname slip.

"For now," It came out more cold than August intended, but she was saved by Pop calling her name, "I need to head back home, but it was nice to see you guys," She said directed towards Betty and Archie, she then turned to Veronica, "And it was nice to meet you, Veronica, maybe I'll see you around."

She quickly grabbed her food and scurried out the door. As she pulled out of the parking lot she began to wonder if she was way over her head.

The next morning, she woke up early enough to watch the sunrise. She watched as the sun danced across the sky, bringing hues of oranges and pinks along with it. She listened carefully for any signs that Kevin was awake and found none. A peek out of her window and not seeing the patrol car confirmed her thought that her dad had slept at the station, which wasn't uncommon. She quickly took a shower, then got ready for her first day. She changed into her embroidered skirt and pale blue blouse after styling her hair and putting on a small amount of makeup.

 She tried her best to be silent as she crept down the stairs, leaving a short note for Kevin before she left:

 Grabbing breakfast before school.

  August

 The brunette gazed longingly at the picture of her and Kevin that was hung up in the hall. She and her brother had been close, but that was before August left and Jason Blossom disappeared. She had been home for less than forty-eight hours but it was very apparent that Riverdale wasn't the same and neither was it's residents.

  As she pulled into Pop's, August took notice of Jughead's slouched form sitting in one of the front booths at the local diner. She locked the car door behind her, making her way into the familiar restaurant. 

"Do you serve milkshakes this early, Pop?" She called out as the front door closed behind her. The older man looked up at her and a wide smile grew on his face. Out of the corner of her eye, Jughead glanced up then looked back down to at his computer.

"Of course, but only for you." He chattered and August replied with a simple yes before asking for it in a to-go cup. After Pop had taken her order she approached Jugheads table. 

"Hey Jug." She said with a small but sad smile painted on her face. The dark haired boy stayed silent and didn't even spare her a second glance.

"Really, Jughead?" She scolded, but before she could continue on with her rant he interrupted her. 

"Yes, really. I'm obviously busy and I don't want to waste my time talking to..." He looked her up and down, taking in her expensive looking outfit and new hair. "Whatever the hell you've become."

"You are unbelievable, Jughead Jones. You know I didn't mea--"

"Intention doesn't matter, August. You still did it." 

"Jug, I..." Jughead got up and collected his things, leaving August at a loss for words.

"See you around, August." She didn't even bother looking up and meeting eyes with her once best friend. She simply let him walk right out of Pop's. August knew what she did was wrong but it was too late to take it back or fix any of the damage she had caused. She had to get Jughead to forgive her, she just had no clue how. The brunette quickly wiped the few tears that had escaped, before getting her milkshake from the waitress.

  Last night, she had noticed the town's subtle changes but now it was clear to the teenager that Riverdale would never be the same-- especially her best friends.