What We Once Were

Chapter 19

Veronica's POV
I pull out of my hug with Reggie and wipe my eyes, "thank you" I say with hint of a laugh. "Yeah of course" he says nicely. "We can still be friends right?" He asks. I smile a bit, "Yeah. We can" I say. "I'm gonna go in the lounge, I'll see you there?" I ask. He nods and I turn around and leave the bio room, headed for the lounge.

"Hey guys" I say cheerfully while walking into the lounge. "Veronica!" Cheryl says, and quickly stands to greet me. "It's great to see you" she says while hugging me. "You too Cheryl" I while hugging her back, "how was Paris? I'm so jealous" she says while I sit down on the couch next to Kevin. "It was great, thanks. But I'm glad to be back" I say. Cheryl sits next to Toni and takes her hand, "so you two are a thing now?" I ask with a smile. Toni smirks and Cheryl nods her head, "Yeah. About 5 months now" she says. "That's great, guys. Wow I really did miss a lot" I joke. They laugh and I notice Archie walk in the lounge, he sits down in one of the armchairs and completely ignores my gaze. "Anyway what's everyone's schedule?" I ask, putting Archie's attitude to the back of my mind. "Let me see your schedule" Josie says while sticking her hand out. I hand my paper to her and she skims over it, "we have the same schedule, and that's all that matters" She jokes while handing me my schedule back. I roll my eyes and laugh, taking the paper from her hand. The bell rings and everyone stands up and heads for the door, "arch" I say, grabbing ahold of his arm. "Yeah" he asks, turning to me but not making eye contact. "What's wrong?" I ask softly. He scoffs and shakes his head, "I have to get to homeroom. Why don't you go ask Reggie what's wrong, he seems to be the one you go to now anyway" he says before walking away and leaving me alone in the lounge.

Archie's POV
I haven't spoken to Ronnie since I left the lounge this morning. I walk outside the school to my truck and I see Ronnie leaning against it, "I'm guessing by your outburst this morning you're not driving me home" she says. I sigh, "I'm not gonna leave you here, get in" I say while walking over to the drivers side. She smirks and climbs in the truck, but keeping a distance between us. I climb in and pull out of the parking lot, staying completely silent. She doesn't say anything until we're halfway to her house, "Archie what did you mean before?" She asks. I groan and squeeze the steering wheel, staying silent. "I don't get it Archie, it seemed like you and I-" she says, but I cut her off. "Yeah maybe we were. But I went to look for you this morning and you were in the biology lab being comforted by Reggie so it seems like I'm not the only one who can fill the void in your life" I say. She turns to face me "What did you just say to me?" She snaps. I shake my head "It's unforgivable" I say bluntly. "I don't remember asking you to forgive me. You cheated on me, you made that decision that started this whole turn of events. We're here now because of you, so don't start acting like you're the victim here" she says angrily. "Stop the car" she groans. "What?" I snap, turning my head to look at her. "Stop. The. Car" she demands. I hit the breaks and she grabs her bag and climbs out of the car, "Ronnie" I call after her as she walks away from the car. I pull to the side of the road and jump out of the car, "Ronnie get back in the car it's raining" I call after her. "No" she yells back. I roll my eyes and run after her, quickly catching up due to her ridiculous heels. "I'm sorry, please get in the car" I plead. "You're not sorry" she says with a bit of a laugh, "if you were sorry, you wouldn't have said it. Any of it. Anyone who is as sorry as often as you have to say it, would stop doing the dumb shit that you do everyday" she says before pushing past me and walking down the street. I don't bother following her because I know she's right, and if I take her home I'll probably end up apologizing again, but that's not enough anymore, I have to show her.

Veronica's POV
I walk down the street angrily and assume that Archie finally got the message to leave me the hell alone. I can't believe he had the nerve to get mad at me hugging Reggie, it's not like I made out with him while we were together. "Veronica?" I hear someone call from the street. "Oh hey Mr. Andrews" I say, trying to hide the fact that I'm furious with his son. "Do you want a ride home, the rain is getting kind of heavy" he asks. "That'd be great" I say, walking off the sidewalk and to his truck. I open the door and climb in, "sorry I'm getting your seats all wet" I say while buckling my seat belt. "It's fine. This truck is older than you" he says with a laugh. I smirk, "thank you" I say. He nods "so how is it being back?" He asks. I take a deep breath "overwhelming. I'm guessing you know what really happened" I say, hoping I wasn't the first person to tell him. "Yeah. I'm sorry that happened, I can imagine what that was like" he says. I nod "yeah it was hard, it still is. So being here is just adding to it" I say, remembering how easy it is to talk to Archie's dad. "I hope Archie is trying to help, I raised him to be a good guy. He's been a closed book, but there was no hiding the grin on his face when he heard you were coming home" he says. I smirk, "yeah he's been helping" I say. I look out the window and think about what Fred said. I think about the way Archie probably smiled when he heard I was coming home and it almost makes me smile. I pull my phone out and send Archie a text:

V: You still do dumb shit everyday. But I don't want to lose you

I hit send and look back out the window, hoping we can get back to what we used to be. Young and in love.

No update tomorrow, it will be on Friday.

Update days: Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday