Back in Riverdale

Chapter 10

"Hello Veronica," Hermione awkwardly paused, "It is your mother. I wanted to see if you were free to meet me for lunch soon?" The answering machine finished recording her call.
"Press 1 to send call. Press 2 to delete." She sighed and deleted the message. Fred looked up from the couch where he was sitting.
"Did you delete it?" He asked. Hermione nodded sadly and sat down on the couch next to him.
"What if she says she doesn't want to see me again?" Hermione stressed.
"You won't know until you call." Fred said gently. Vegas jumped up on the couch next to them. Hermione nodded and picked up the phone. Instead of calling, she texted her. She froze in fear as she saw Veronica typing back. Then a message had a reply seconds later.
"Sure mom, does tomorrow work for you?" Hermione was beaming for the rest of the day.
—
"But what are we going to talk about?" Veronica turned back to Jughead. She could barely believe he convinced her to see her mom.
"Anything. Talk about your business and the investigation or me." Jughead joked. Veronica blushed and closed her phone.
"We literally have no leads." Jughead opened up his laptop. They were sitting in a booth at Pops. Jughead had been shocked when the Sheriff handed them the death report and said that was all the evidence they had found. Veronica plucked the folder from Jughead's bag and perused through it.
"Canvassing does us no good because it's just as helpful as asking me." Veronica started talking to herself. Jughead snuggled against her as he scrolled through the girl's social media accounts.
"The family was no help." Veronica decided. "And too many people heard gunshots across Riverdale to help the case." A sudden dm caught their attention on the girl's instagram.
"Hey, how are you after everything? Did it go according to plan?" Jughead froze. Veronica glanced at the screen.
"Holy shit."
—
Toni woke up and for a second couldn't remember where she was. Memories filled her mind as she woke up to medical equipment and the hospital walls. Her heart started speeding up and she was afraid she might spiral out of control until she felt a soft pair of lips kiss her forehead.
"What's wrong?" Archie asked. Toni breathed a sigh of relief and sank into him.
"Nothing." Toni lied. Archie knew she was lying but feigned belief.
"How long do you think Cheryl is staying in Riverdale?" The question was innocent enough but it was the second to last thing she wanted to talk about.
"She'll probably leave after the funeral." Toni glanced at her phone, buzzing with alerts from Sweet Pea and Veronica.
"Not gonna check it?" Archie slowly sat up. Toni moved off the bed to give him space.
"No, everything's too crazy right now." Toni remembered the promise she had made to Veronica and Jughead about the Ghoulies. "It'll be over soon." She swore to herself. Archie gave her a confused nod. They paused awkwardly. Archie bit his lip, a nervous habit that Toni recognized. Neither person knew what came next in their relationship.
"Will you go out with me?" Archie finally asked.
"I would love to." Toni kissed his cheek and picked up her purse. "Text me when?"
"Sure." Archie picked up his phone. Toni quickly exited the hospital room and dialed a number she had sworn to herself she would never call again.
"Hello, Toni, darling."