What We Once Were

Chapter 8

Veronica's POV
"V, are you okay?" Betty asks me, as I slump down on the couch in the student lounge. "I feel awful, I think I'm getting sick" I say. "Want me to take you to the nurse?" She asks. I shake my head "no I'm trying to get through the day. It's Friday so I'll just rest the whole weekend and be better for Monday" I say. "Hey guys" Archie says while walking into the lounge. "You okay Ronnie? You look a little pale?" He says. I groan "thanks for the new information" I snap. He makes a face at Betty and she smirks, while he sits down on the couch next to me. "I'm sorry, I just really don't feel good" I say while leaning my head back on the couch. "It's okay" he says, patting me on the leg. I look at his hand briefly touching me and I still feel a rush of electricity through my leg. He pulls his hand away and there is a brief moment where I'm looking in his eyes and he's looking in mine. Well until I get a rush of nausea, "oh god" I say while standing off the couch and running to the bathroom. "V" I hear Betty yell after me. I push the bathroom door open and run into the first open stall. I drop to my knees and throw up everything in my stomach. I feel Betty's hands pull my hair back and tie it into a loose pony tail at the bottom of my head. I pull away from the toilet and sit down on the ground, not caring how dirty it probably is. "You need to go home" Betty says softly. I nod my head "I know" I say. "Archie is the only one here who drove today, are you okay with him taking you?" She asks. I sigh and wipe the sweat off my forehead, while saying "yeah. That's fine"

"Thanks for taking me home" I say while climbing in Archie's truck. He closes the door for me and walks around the truck to the drivers seat "no problem. I'm more than okay with missing first period" he says jokingly. Period. My heart stops and I immediately taste bile. "Wait" I choke out, opening the door and running over to the trash can at the bottom of the stairs leading to the front door of Riverdale High. I throw up into the trash can and I feel Archie rub my back, "geez, you have one hell of a stomach bug" he says. I wipe my mouth and sit back up "Yeah" I say while accepting his help back to the truck. I have something in my stomach, but one thing for sure is that it's not a bug.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Archie asks for the hundredth time. "Yes. You got me crackers, ginger ale, tv remotes, and extra pillows and blankets. There is literally nothing else you can possibly do" I say. He smirks "okay. Well I will see you Monday then. Text me later and let me know how you're feeling" he says. I smile, "I will. Thank you, Archie" I say. He nods and walks out of my room, closing the front door within seconds. I sigh and finally let tears escape, "no no no no" I repeat over and over, hoping that if I say it enough times then it won't be true. I don't even know if I'm actually pregnant or not but I know my period is late, I'm throwing up, and I feel disgusting. I stand out of bed and pace my bedroom, ignoring the swaying of my mind. My heart is racing and I can't even think straight. This would've been terrible even if it were Archie's baby, and the fact that it's not makes it even worse. "Okay calm down. You could be reading too much into this" I whisper to myself. I walk into my bathroom and rummage through my cabinet till I find what I'm looking for. A pregnancy test. Josie gave it to me as a joke after she saw Archie and I making out in the lounge, if she only knew that her joke is the only way I had access to a pregnancy test without having to ask someone to get me it. I pull the test out of the box but completely ignore the directions, I'm pretty sure it's self explanatory. I take the test and then set it in the sink and proceed to set a timer for 5 minutes. I sit on my ottoman for what feels like forever but it's not even the entire 5 minutes. Finally the timer goes off and I look into the bathroom where the test lies in the sink, either positive or negative.

Archie's POV
"How did she seem when you dropped her off at home" Kevin asks. I shrug "fine. Still not feeling great but she'll be fine by Monday" I say. Kevin nods "good. It's dull without her" he says. I smirk "yeah it is" I say in agreement. "Still pining?" Jughead jokes. I sigh "yeah. But there's no way we'll ever get back together" I say. "Don't say that" Betty says "you guys had that moment this morning. Before she had to throw up" she finishes. "Yeah it's just hard" I say. "Yeah well quoting Shakespeare, the course of true love never did run smooth" Jughead says. I nod my head "you're right. Ronnie and I will be together again. Soon" I say confidently.

Veronica's POV
Positive. "No" I whisper. "No" I say louder, dropping the test back into the sick. "No. No. No" I say, over and over. "Goddammit. NO!" I yell, falling onto my knees. I sob until my head is throbbing and my face is red. I take a deep breath and lean up against the wall in my bathroom. I let tears quietly escape my eyes and I stare emotionless at the wall. "I need Archie" I whine to myself, well myself and mine and Reggie's baby.

"You're pregnant?!" Kevin gasps. I nod my head, tears welling in my eyes. "It's Reggie's?" He asks. I nod my head "I'm positive. I got my period after Archie and I broke up" I say. He sighs "even if it were Archie's it would be bad but, this is worse" he says. "Now Archie will find out about Reggie and I" I say. "I don't even know how to say that to him, or how to say I'm pregnant" I say. He shakes his head "I have no idea. I'm so sorry" he says. I nod my head "Yeah. I am too" I say. He sighs and stands up, pulling me into a hug. I cry into his chest and he rubs my back, softly mumbling that everything will be okay. "This is what I deserve" I say, still crying. He pushes me away and looks at my face "what?" He asks. "I'm in love with one guy and fooling around with another, it was only so long where that was gonna work. Now it's all crashing down" I say. He shakes his head "Veronica you do not deserve this, okay? You've been kicked and stepped on for the past few months, this isn't something you earned. You need to stop accepting this crap, and demand something better" he says. "This baby is your business, no one has to know" he finishes. I wipe my eyes and take a deep breath, "you're right. No one has to know."

I never know what to say at the end of every chapter 😂 BUT RIVERDALE IS BACK THIS WEEK!!