Veronica and Kevin gasped when Betty stepped out of the dressing room.
"Oh my god! You look gorgeous!" Veronica cried out excitedly
"It's perfectly you!" Kevin agreed
"Yeah? You think so?" Betty bit her lip as she smiled excited and nervously.
"Definitely" Elodie piped up from the first time nearly all fitting, which had been a solid half-hour. The three turned to her, "It's a cute pink that compliments your skin tone. And the cut-outs show off your waist nicely" She added
"Thanks Elodie" Betty smiled
"That's the one! Let's get it!" Veronica smiled.
The problem with picking a dress for Veronica Lodge is that she looked spectacular in everything. So it was just a matter of finding the dress that suited her personality, because everything suited her body.
"Try this" Kevin held up a lacy Black and Tan dress.
"Ooh! I like!" Veronica smiled and went to change.
It was easy to tell by the smile on her face that this was the one. Surprisingly, she looked to Elodie first, an eyebrow raised.
Elodie simply nodded.
She then went on to receive praise from the other two on how good she looked, which of course, she did.
"That just leaves you Elle" Kevin smirked
Elodie sighed.
"Alright"
She looked around lazily, walked over to the rack with dresses her size, shut her eyes, spun it around, and randomly pulled out a dress.
She carried it into the dressing room, put it on, and stepped out.
"Shit Elodie" Kevin mumbled
"Wow, you look..."
"Amazing" Veronica finished for Betty.
"Sweet" Elodie nodded and changed out of the dress quickly. She swooped up some multi-colored, sparkly heels and headed to the register.
"Put them all my card" She mumbled to the cashier. He nodded and slid Betty and Veronica their cards back. They had been talking, and hadn't noticed that they hadn't been charged, which Elodie was completely fine with.
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}
After changing into her dress and shoes and letting Veronica brush some mascara on her eyelashes and some blush on her cheeks, Elodie was ready to go.
However, that took ten minutes, so she had been sitting and waiting for forty.
It had nearly been an hour since they'd arrived at the Cooper household—Elodie entering by the window in order to avoid Alice Cooper—and she had heard enough giggles and 'Oh my god! You look beautiful!'s to last her a lifetime, and the night hadn't even begun.
Finally, another twenty minutes later, Archie arrived and the five were ready to go. They had agreed to take two cars, Elodie and the boys in one, and Veronica and Betty in another. Elodie entered the dance with two boys on her arm, the other two girls not far behind.
Elodie tightened her grip on Archie as she looked at the decor.
Pictures of Jason were everywhere.
"It's okay. We're okay Elle, were okay" Archie whispered to the girl. She bit her lip before nodding and continuing on.
Kevin took her out onto the dance floor and they chatted and danced until Elodie noticed something.
"Um Kevin, I think a certain football player is trying to get your attention" She whispered, turning them around so he could see.
"Oh my god" Kevin whispered.
"Gotta go?" Elodie guessed, an eyebrow raised.
"If you don't mind?" He smiled.
"Go right ahead" Elodie let go and gave him a little shove before exiting the dance floor herself. She opted for climbing to the highest set of bleachers and people watching.
You could get so much from just watching someone. Everyone. Elodie could see Kevin and Moose disappearing into the boys bathroom to do god knows what, Veronica was sipping punch and talking to some random person, and Archie and Betty were dancing. She asked him something, smiling. His smile faltered. He gave her a response. She let go of him, her eyes watering.
"Yikes" She whispered as Cheryl Blossom called for quiet. She introduced the musical entertainment, but Elodie found herself bored.
Then came Cheryl's speech.
Elodie rolled her eyes by the first sentence if it, and—quietly this time—made her way out of the school, unnoticed.
She texted Archie that she was going home as she climbed into her car and headed to Pop's.
She threw on her army jacket and entered the diner, waltzing herself over to one of the furthest back booths, where she usually sat, only to find it pre-occupied by a certain blooming author, hunched over his laptop. The screen gave him an almost-sickly blue glow.
Jughead looked up at her and blinked, surprised.
"Hi" He said after awhile.
"Hey" She replied casually as she slipped into the seat opposite him. He closed his laptop slightly in order to see across to her easier.
"That's a nice dress you have on" He noted.
"I hate school dances. Especially ones that fuel egocentricity and use death as some sort of source for celebration. But thanks anyways" She stated. Jughead smiled slightly at the girl.
"Why are you smiling?" Elodie frowned.
"You're funny. You were someone completely different at the beginning of the summer. Riverdale's pastel sweetheart" Jughead noted.
"I wish people would stop saying that. And now I'm Riverdale's obnoxious biker-goth chick, or so I've been told" She tapped her fingers on the linoleum counter top.
"Biker Goth chick" Jughead chuckled, "I like that"
"Me too" Elodie smirked as she took a fry from the basket in the middle of the table.
"I was wondering when you two would meet. My regular night hawks" Pop smiled as he came over, "Usual for you Miss Nova?"
"Yes please" She smiled.
"Comin right up" He nodded and walked away.
"Where's your knight in shining armor tonight? I thought I saw him earlier" Jughead piped up.
"If you're referring to my friend Archie, then he's pre-occupied with a certain pink-wearing blonde" Elodie replied boredly.
"I thought the dance wasn't over for another hour or so?" Jughead noted.
"And I thought I was having a conversation with you, not an interrogation?" Elodie noted back sassily.
"You're quick" He smirked.
"I've got killer survival instincts" She raised her eyebrow into a perfect, challenging arc.
"I hear tragedy will do that to you" He countered, trying to get a reaction out of her, gage her. But she remained calm.
"And I hear the rafters of the Drive-In are more comfortable than they look"
Elodie hit her mark. Jughead looked embarrassed and surprised.
"You're not the only detective in this town Jones. Truce?" She stuck her hand out, it was still home to a beautiful blue corsage.
"Fine. Truce" Jughead smirked, shaking the girl's hand.
A buzzing interrupted the conversation. Elodie took her phone from her jacket pocket, stood, and walked outside to take the call.
However, Jughead wasn't left alone for long. Because lo and behold, who would've walked in but Archie Andrews, in the flesh. Jughead reopened his laptop and pretended to be typing something. Archie asked if Betty had come in. Pop told him no, then said something about him no doubt, as they both glanced in Jughead's direction. Archie walked over.
"Uh, can I sit, Jughead?" Archie asked.
"If you want" Jughead replied as he looked up at the red head. Archie slipped into Elodie's spot. He quickly and subconsciously realized that he enjoyed his previous company more, but pushed that thought away.
"What are you working on?" Archie asked tentatively. Small talk. Jughead was never great at small talk.
"My novel. It's about this summer, and Jason Blossom" Jughead replied.
Archie looked uneasy. On edge. Like he wanted to say something but he couldn't.
"He was seventeen years old and how will he be remembered?" Archie blurted out. Jughead frowned. "As captain of the water polo team?"
"The Aquaholics?" Jughead snorted, "Considering how he died, probably not"
"No, what I mean is..." Archie sighed as he trailed off. He was having trouble picking what to pursue--music, football, or construction--and this recent fall out with Betty at the dance and everything with Jason, it was all just too much. And above everything, he just wished he could talk to Jason. Archie wished that he would've talked to him more when he had had the time; he wished that he would've gotten to know Jason better when he was alive.
"Was he doing everything that he was suppose to do, everything he wanted? I mean, did he even know what that was?" Archie thought out-loud.
Jughead didn't have an answer. So he switched subjects.
"Coach Clayton was in here talking to Pop Tates. Varsity. Does that make you, what, Mr Popular Football God now?" Jughead switched the subject. Archie looked down at his hands.
"No" He replied solemnly, "In fact, I'm kind of terrified I just lost one of my good friends tonight" Archie sighed.
"If you mean Betty, whatever it is, just talk to her. You know, it'd go a long way" Jughead said. "Would've gone a long way with me" He added after a moment.
Archie nodded, then was on his way.
In his rush to get to Betty's house, he didn't even realize he brushed past Elodie in the doorway. And in her rush to get to Jughead, she hadn't either. She looked paler to Jughead as she approached, her hands were shaking.
"What? What is it?" Jughead asked immediately, worried about her.
"It's Jason" Her voice wavered, "Kevin found his body in Sweetwater River... with a bullet in his head"
~~~~
A/N: The last conversation between Archie and Jughead is directly from the script so all rights go to ABC but the rest is all original just an FYI