Riverdale Renegades: Thirteen of Hearts

Welcome to Unordinary

The dog stiffens at the push of syringe. I release a sigh.

"Alright 'Waddles' is all done, Derrick," the student veterinarian says. She smiles at the dog's name.

"Thank you-," I start, my eyes looking for her absent name pin.

"Oh, it's Blaire," Blaire introduces herself, "Sorry, I forgot the name tag today," she apologizes.

"Nice to meet you," I say, offering my hand. Is it too weird to offer a handshake? She looks from my hand to my eyes with raised eyebrows, almost hesitating to shake my hand, but she does anyway.

"You're not from around here, are you?" Blaire guesses. 'Yeah I thought it was weird and it is,' I realize too late.

"I just moved here," I admit, running my hand through my hair reddish-brown hair, the other patting Waddles on the back.

"Heh, the town is a little weird... but uh you'll get used to it," Blaire tells me, the smile in her blue eyes is reassuring.

"Good to know," I reply.

"So, what brought you here," She wonders.

"Brought me- well I was looking for someone," I answer, "Why- How did you-," I ask Blaire, who gives me a smile.

"Everyone seems to come to this city for some reason. It's just... something about this city, sorry," she laughs, "I hope you find who you're looking for," she explains while tapping in Waddle's info. I swipe, sign, and we start for the door. Just as I exit, someone heads in, some dude in a hoodie with jet black hair strides in. He glances my way with noticeable vibrant green eyes but turns away. I exhale, picking up the pace.

"Hey Blaire," he calls on his way in. I drop Waddles off at home, a little apartment in the middle of town. Now, off to the coffee shop down the street. The sidewalks are always moving with people, a lot of people. Crowd after crowd passes by. It's a big difference compared to my hometown, a quiet suburban town. Not that I haven't been to the city before, things are just different now. I used to be okay with a lot of people, but I could really use some space. I blend into the crowd, but I feel like a sore thumb. There's just too many people. I head in and bump shoulders with some buff fellow in a big black jacket with spiked dark hair. "Sorry bro," and "Sorry man," we both say in unison and keep moving. I grab the door for some golden blonde.

"Oh- thank you," she chimes at me, glancing back with sweet doe-like brown eyes and a warming smile. I glance back, too, simply nodding, and head into the cool, coffee-rich, sweet smelling shop. 'She was pretty,' I notice.

"There he is. Thought you'd get lost, man," Eric calls to me. I roll my eyes.

"Hey, I'm not that stupid, cut me some slack,"

"Right, I forgot you weren't 'that' stupid, man," he mocks backs. I shoot him a sharp look but smirks cross both our faces. We can't help it. Old familiarity crosses through both of us.

"It's been a couple years," he finally points out. It's been months, almost a year.

"I've been- busy," I blurt out, "a tall espresso, shot of vanilla, please," I say to the barista. We wait for the drinks down at the other end of the counter.

"Busy, missing phone calls, parties, your family even tried calling my family. Figured you'd kicked the bucket," Eric admits to me. I shrug one of my shoulders in response, "Seriously?" Eric tries to read me.

"Nothing, just busy. Quit trying to read my mind," I shoot back with a crooked smirk.

"Psychotherapists aren't mind readers," he informs me monotonously, rolling his eyes, too. I sigh internally and send up a silent thank you.