𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗲'𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲, ( 𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝘇𝗶𝗲𝗿 )

[05] TO THE LOSERS!

His eyes searching her for any sight of disappointment and he could see it written all over. Twenty-five years later and he still could read her like an open book. If she was disappointed that meant she cared, he thought as he watched her shake her head.

Veronica quickly responds. "Kind of hard when I haven't even remember your guys' existence until last night," She retorts, taking a small sip of her drink.

The Losers laugh at the response, scoffing before Richie answers. "Yeah, me and Ed's mom. We're very, very happy, right now," He explains.

Bill choking on his drink, spitting it back into his cup as the room in filled with laughter once again. Veronica's heart filling up once again as a smile forms on her face, laughing along with her friends at Richie's answer. It was just so him.

Grimacing, Eddie jumps in. "Fuck you," He cusses, rolling his eyes.

"You guys totally fell for it," Richie bursts into a fit of laughter as he slaps Veronica's arm, practically begging for her to look at him. "You should've saw your face, R. It went all sad and droopy! Are you jealous? Is my Ronnie jealous?" He asks, unknowingly using the exact same words he had uttered that day at the pharmacy. That day she got jealous of Beverly. It was so long ago.

Kicking his foot with her leg, Veronica rolls her eyes as she looks to Mike and Bill. "I don't think his mind has fully developed since we were younger," She comments, shaking her head as Richie begins to babble again.

"She's very sweet. Sometimes, she'll put her arm around me and she'll whisper to me," He imitates a Wookie, putting an arm around an unimpressed Veronica who stared at Ben with dead, pleading eyes. 'Help me,' She mouths.

Eddie shakes his head. "We all get it! My mom's a great, big fat person," He says, eyes wide as the group all begins to laugh. "Hilarious! Hysterical!" He takes a shot.

"Hey! What about you, V? You get hitched or whatever?" Ben looks to Veronica, despite already knowing the answer — anyone who knew Veronica could tell she was single, just by the way she looked at Richie.

Scoffing, she takes the glass of water next to her plate and guzzles it down. "That's my drink!" Beverly laughs as Veronica drinks most of it.

"Oh, sorry, here!" She responds, reaching for the other glass on her other side and passing it to her. "I think, I'm drinking too much but," She goes on, leaning her elbow on the table and resting her chin on it. "No, I do not believe that I have 'gotten hitched or whatever'," She finishes, her eyes smiling droopily at her friends.

Mike tosses a napkin at her. "What? You too cool to be dating?" He teases as she rolls her eyes once again, lifting her head up as she shakes her head.

"Ha, work makes me busy like a motherfucker," Veronica responds, taking another sip of water to sober herself up a bit.

Beverly looks to her. "Where do you do work?" She asks curiously.

She places the water down onto the table and moves her hair to her back. "I'm in social work," She responds, taking a glance around the table — Noticing the looks of surprise of her friends faces.

Richie puts his lips into line before snickering. "You work with kids, Ronnie?" He asks, scrunching up his nose. "You're good with them?" He goes on, the others beginning to laugh while Veronica tosses a chopstick at him.

"Fuck off, fuckface," She laughs, shaking her head with a smile. "Yes, I'm actually rather good with them. Why're you so surprised?" She asks with an edge in her voice as pout comes across her face.