darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. - martin luther king, jr.
It was the final night that the Twilight Drive-In would be open for the people of Riverdale to enjoy watching an old movie in the safety and comfort of their cars. I was with Kevin and Veronica in Kevin's truck. Ted left this morning and I didn't want to be stuck inside alone.
"How have I never seen this movie before?" I asked amazed as we watched the well selected movie.
"I honestly have no clue because it is a classic." Kevin tells me, just as the love scene between the main characters comes up.
"I want the fairytale." I whisper in awe, as I watched the two.
"Don't we all Vi." Veronica agrees and lays her head on my shoulder, just before Cheryl pulls her car in front of the truck.
"Make some room, outcasts." Cheryl announces as she gets out of her car and walks over to us.
The three of us look confused but we all move over to allow room for Cheryl. Kevin was sitting in one corner of the truck, with Veronica beside him and myself beside her. Which means the lovely Cheryl Blossom will be spending this evening with me.
"I'm getting more popcorn, anyone want anything?" I announce while moving out of the truck.
"Soda please." Veronica smiles, chomping away on her buttery popcorn.
"Not a glass of champagne to go with your channel popcorn?" Kevin jokes, taking out his phone and taking a quick snap of my sister.
A few seconds later I feel my phone vibrate. I got a notification from Instagram leering me know of Kevin's recent post. I began to laugh and watched a scowl cover Veronica's face.
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[tagged v_lodge & violet_lodge]
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KEVIN.KELLER: Veronica Lodge brings her own popcorn to the drive-in. #itsthechannelwayorthehighway #getonherlevel
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"I'm off." I chuckled and walked over to the food counter.
"Hey can I get a refill and a soda please." I asked the guy behind the counter. "Also a pack of..." I was interrupted by someone grabbing my arm roughly. "Mrs.Cooper?" I ask once I realise it was Betty's mom.
"Come with me." She demands and pulls me towards her car, where Betty sat in the front seat and Archie's dad looked around in confusion from the back seat.
"What's going on?" I whisper to Mr.Andrew's in the back seat of Mrs.Copper's car.
"She says it has something to do with Archie and Betty." He explains.
"Why would that involve me?" I wonder, just as we pull up to the school.
"Follow me." Mrs.Copper tells us before getting out of the car and rushing towards the school.
"Betty, what am I doing here?" I asked and pulled her closer to me.
"I'm not sure Vi, my mom will tell us soon." Betty mumbles with a look of fear on her face.
"Are you okay Betty?" I looked at her with concern.
"I'm fine Violet, come on." She pulls me along to wherever her mom was taking us.
"Well, well, well." Mrs.Cooper announces as she pushes the door to the music room open. "There they are." She gestures to Ms.Grundy and Archie who look shocked. "What did I tell you?"
"Can someone tell me what's going on here?" Ms.Grundy asks.
"Of course." Mrs.Cooper agrees. "Archie, would you like to share with us what you and Mrs. Robinson have been doing during your "music lesson"?" Mrs.Cooper air quotes. "And please don't leave out any of the lurid details, because Betty here keeps a very meticulous diary, and I'm more than happy to fill in the details." She gestures to Betty, who stood beside me with tears in her eyes.
"I never thought that I would live to see the day." Mrs.Copper continues on as she moves closer to Grundy. "I thought the one thing that we could keep our Riverdale safe from was child predators." She mutters in disgust.
"Ms. Grundy's not a predator." Archie disagrees. "She's a good person."
"Archie, you don't have to defend me." Ms. Grundy assures.
"No, he doesn't." Mr.Andrews agrees.
"Well, they're not denying it, are they? They're clearly guilty." Mrs.Cooper continues on. "I think the next step is we take this to Sheriff Keller, and let the wheels of justice take over."
"Dad, you can't let that happen." Archie pleads.
"Son, it's complicated." Mr.Andrews reminds him.
"She didn't force me to do anything, I went after her. Everything that happened, I wanted it to happen." Archie explains.
"There's no surprise there." Mrs.Cooper adds.
"Why are you doing this, Mom?" Betty cries, as she grabs her mom's arm. "Putting Ms. Grundy on trial?"
"This isn't just about her." Mrs.Cooper explains. "This is about him." She shoves her finger onto Archie's chest and then moves her eyes to me. "And her. I want you see what kind of people Archie and Violet truly are."
"What are you fucking talking about?" I yell at her in frustration.
"You slept with Archie when you knew all along Betty was in love with him." Mrs.Cooper begins. "You also knew about him and his mistress this whole time. Why didn't you stop it?"
"I was trying to protect him, from people like you." I glare.
"But why protect someone who isn't even your friend?" She brings up what I said the night of our fight.
"Archie is my friend." I tell her in defeat, slowly backing down.
"Wait a minute, that is what this is about?" Mr.Andrews interiors. "Your crazy grudge against my teenage son and his friend?"
"I'm never going to stop being friends with Archie and Violet, Mom. Ever." Betty snaps.
"We are done here." Mr.Andrews announces.
"Oh, we are far from being done here." Mrs.Cooper disagrees.
"Stop." Archie yells but the two adults continue on. "Stop! Please." Finally he managed to get everyone's attention. "You're right, Mrs. Cooper. You're right. I'm selfish, and I'm stupid, and I don't deserve to be your daughter's friend. But please, don't hurt Ms. Grundy because you wanna hurt me." Archie defends.
"This isn't about hurting anyone, Archie." Mrs. Cooper shakes her head. "It's about doing what's right, and, of course, informing our neighbors." She threatens.
"Alice, I swear to God..." Mrs.Andrews snaps.
"Publish one word about this, Mom, and I will tell everyone that I broke into Ms. Grundy's car." Betty begins. "That I robbed her, and made up the story of their affair. It will be like, I finally... Snapped."Like Polly."
"Betty..." I warn her, trying to calm her down but I was completely ignored.
"It'll prove what everyone already thinks about us. "Crazy runs in that family. "Like mother, like daughter." Betty finishes her threat.
"You wouldn't dare." Mrs.Cooper whispers in shock.
"I'll quit." Ms.Grundy spoke up. "I'll quit my job. Will that satisfy you?" She snaps at Mrs.Cooper.
"Yeah, it will. It has to." Betty agreed. "And I absolutely would dare, Mom."
"She has to leave town." Mrs.Cooper tells Archie after a few seconds of silence.
"The hell she does." Archie yells.
"Son." Mr.Andrews tries to calm him down.
"Why does she need to leave town?" Archie asks.
"Because it's what's best." His dad explains. "And Alice will keep her word."
"I will." Mrs.Cooper agrees.
"I'll pack up my things, I'll be gone by morning." Ms.Grundy mumbles and rushes out of the room.
"Ms. Grundy." Archie calls and follows after her.
The room was silent as we watched Archie and Ms.Grundy. Betty had tears rushing down her face, Mrs.Cooper was still in shock and Mr.Andrews looked torn. I was still confused to why I was here. I rushed to grab my phone when I heard the familiar ringtone blare around the silent room.
"Shit." I mumbled and rushed outside. "What?" I snapped as I continued out the front doors of the school.
"Violet?" Veronica yells through the phone.
"Hey Ronnie, what's up?" I asked and sat down on the curb.
"Seriously Violet, "what's up"? You disappeared and haven't answered any of our messages." She snaps and I imagine her shaking her head in frustration.
"Sorry V. When I went to get a refill, Mrs.Cooper grabbed me and brought me to the school with Betty and Mr.Andrews." I began to explain myself.
"Oh God, what happened?" Veronica groaned.
"She found Betty's diary and she read all about Archie and Ms.Grundy." I looked around quickly. "She's fucking crazy." I whispered. "She threatened to publish the story but Ms.Grundy promised she would leave two. immediately."
"Holy shit." Veronica muttered in shock. "How's Archie holding up?"
"He looked heartbroken but they're all still inside. I'm out the front sitting on the curb, Mrs.Cooper drove me here." I looked up at the night sky that was full of stars.
"Vi, it's a forty minute walk home and you shouldn't be walking home at night, alone." Veronica reminded me.
"You don't think I know that Ronnie." I snapped. "I might ring Kevin to come collect me." I tell her.
"Kevin can't, he just rang to tell me his dad's office was trashed. All the evidence has been stolen." She updates me.
"Fuck." I whispered and lay my head on my pulled up knees. "It must have been Jason's killer."
"Probably, another reason why you shouldn't be walking home." Veronica reminds me, yet again. "I saw mom tonight at the drive-in."
"She was going on a date but Mr.Andrews." I explain, shivering from the cold, night breeze.
"She was talking with the same Southside serpent from the other night." Veronica snaps, frustrating by my lack of interest. "What if moms in danger Vi?"
"She's not in danger Ronnie, she's our mother. Mom knows exactly what she's doing, so just chill." I try to calm my twin.
"When will you be home?" Veronica changes the subject.
"I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm not getting in a car with Betty and her mom." I shiver at the near thought.
I look up and squint when I notice headlights point directly on me. I tried to cover my eyes and get a better look at the car but I was completely blinded. Finally the person switched off the car and opened their door.
"Get in Violet." Mr.Andrews calls, while getting out of the truck and allowing me room.
"Got a lift Ronnie. I'll text you later." I assured Veronica before hanging up and hoping into the truck and awkwardly shuffling in beside Archie. "Thanks Mr.Andrews."
"Call me Fred and no problem, nobody should be walking around this late at night." He shrugs off.
The rest of the car ride was quite, except for the radio playing soft music. Archie's head was leaning against the window and his eyes were glued to the floor. I looked away from him and realised we were pulling into Archie and Betty's lane.
"Mr.Andrews." I speak up.
"It's almost twelve in the morning Violet, you can stay at our's tonight." He explains and pulls up to the house.
"Okay." I mumble in defeat and wait for him to get out of the car.
Mr.Andrews didn't wait for us, as he walked to the front door and went inside. As I was walking around the car and I stopped when I noticed Archie was making no effort to move.
I opened the car door and gave him a reassuring smile. "You are not those things you said. You're not stupid. I promise you, this wasn't your fault."
I moved away and waited for Archie to get out of the truck. He let out a sob before rushing out of his seat and pulling me into his arms. I pulled him close and closed my eyes as he continued to cry into my shoulder.
"Let's go inside." I whispered after a while of standing out in the cold.
Archie didn't say anything, so I laced our hands together and pulled him inside his house. I gave Mr.Andrews sad smile as him and Vegas watched us from the kitchen, with tears in his own eyes.
Once we had made it to Archie's room, I sat him down on his unmade bed and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. When he made no effort to move, I grabbed the end of his shirt and pulled it over his head.
He gave me a small smile before lying down on his bed and grabbing my hand when I began to leave the room. I gave him a confused look but he ignored me and pulled me to lay beside him. My back was to his front and his arm was wrapped tightly around my waist, keeping me in place.
"Thank you." He whispered and cuddled his forehead into my shoulder. "Friends?" He mumbled.
"Friends." I assured and closed my eyes.
I still hate that word.
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I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for a while now. I hated Archie and Ms.Grundy together. Good news though, Violet and Archie are friends again!
Thanks so much for reading, don't forget to vote and comment.
~Nix xx