"You know Sweetie Pie, this has probably been one of the best days I've had in a long time. I feel like an actual teenager."
chapter thirteen — another encounter
That supposed retirement party for FP? Guess what, turns out he was going back into business with the Serpents! Debbie fumed as she crossed her arms, refusing to even acknowledge Betty, who had tears streaming unashamedly down her face. She didn't care if her and Jughead had broken up. She was more furious that her cousin did a fucking strip tease in front of middle-aged gang members. Betty sighed, "Debbie—"
"Don't even talk to me. Please," Debbie swallowed the lump in her throat. "Did you even consider the consequences of what you did? What if someone had filmed it? What if you got hurt? What if—"
"Well, nothing happened! I'm perfectly fine!"
"We both know you're not!" A silence engulfed the both of them after that. "I know what happened with Chuck. This? It's not okay. Whatever you have going on, you need to stop it and learn how to actually deal with it, instead of dressing up like some BDSM junkie and talk to someone. You're breaking my heart, Betty."
Betty sighed. Neither of them talked to each other until they got home. Debbie went ahead to her room, while Betty was chastised for what she did. She could hear the fury emerging from her aunt and she wished Betty would at least learn her lesson. Debbie sheepishly took out the sunglasses from her bag and blankly stared at it, deciding to put it by her desk in the meantime. Something else slipped out of her desk, though.
It was the number of that Toni girl, the bartender they had talked to for FP's party. Hastily, she punched the numbers into her phone and reminded herself to call the girl in the morning. Lord knows what she's probably thinking about the Coopers right now.
Debbie badly needed some rest after the chaos that ensued that day. Practically jumping onto her bed felt like pure heaven as she melted like putty in the hands of her comforter. Glancing at her phone though, she had a strong urge to ask Toni for Sweet Pea's number.
Nah. Debbie thought as she finally drifted off.
—
Christmas carols played in the background as Debbie propped her feet up on the linoleum table and watched as Jughead wrote a new entry onto his book, snorting occasionally on a few cheesy lines that he had written, to which he responded with a sharp frown. Taking a sip of a snickerdoodle milkshake this time, Debbie savoured the taste of the cool beverage and leaned back, inspecting the jolly cheer around Riverdale, despite a serial killer on the loose.
But hey, whatever lets them sleep at night.
Archie and Fred had bursted through the door with a magnificent tree, and both she and Jughead looked up. "What do you say, Pop? Is it okay?"
"The best tree yet." Pop, as warm as hot chocolate, replied.
After a brief discussion, Fred had gone back to selling trees, while Archie immediately headed over to them. Jughead had closed his laptop. "You guys gonna stay in town for break?"
"We were gonna go over to my mom, but she booked a single's cruise, so..." he drifted off. Jughead scoffed and Debbie yearned for the feeling of the sun's rays on her face. She really wished she was at a single's cruise too.
Shaking her head, Debbie leaned forward and took a sip off her milkshake. "How are you and Veronica?"
"We've been better." Archie blankly replied. It was general knowledge that over FP's retirement party, many relationships had broken off. Particularly Betty and Jughead and Veronica and Archie. She briefly wondered if she should start a blog dedicated to their relationships. Debbie highly doubted that it wouldn't be a smash hit, considering that their relationships were the next most interesting other than... you know, the murders. Maybe even a show!
"If it's any consolation, Betty and I haven't been the best either." Jughead sympathized.
Fred re-entered the diner and glanced over to them. "Jughead? A tree for you and your dad. On the house," when Debbie gave him a glare. "You too, Deborah."
"It would have to be a small one, Mr. A." Jughead reopened his laptop. Fred nodded as Debbie interjected with a request of a large tree, as Alice had a flair for supersized things.
Archie sighed. "So I'll see you guys at Kevin's Secret Santa thing?"
Debbie rolled her eyes as she and Jughead shared a look. "Yeah. 'Cause that's exactly what we need right now." All of them collectively chuckled, and Archie went back to selling trees, Debbie with her milkshake, and Jughead continued writing.
So it seemed that Christmas was indeed coming to Riverdale. Whether she liked it or not. Debbie left some cash on the table and put her coat back on. "I gotta go, need to get some gifts for the family and that stupid Secret Santa thing. Do you think Cheryl would like some red lipstick?"
"How am I supposed to know? I don't speak girl." Jughead responded, eyes glued to his work.
"You're so much help." Debbie exited the diner as Jughead smirked.
It was a leisurely drive to Greendale. Riverdale's shops didn't provide exactly what she needed and Greendale was the next best place to get stuff, since they had a massive mall at the heart of its town. Debbie wandered around the mall, wondering where the hell she was going to find red lipstick that that Cheryl would like. The girl probably had an endless supply of it. Finally, she saw a Sephora store and marched towards it like a woman on a mission.
While there, she spotted some perfume that her aunt might appreciate, and she kept that in mind as she put it into her basket. Suddenly though, she froze. What the hell was he doing there?
Lo and behold, Sweet Pea stood there, among the immaculately lined rows of eyeshadow and numerous makeup items, sticking out like a green thumb, with his leather jacket and tattoo exposed as clear as day. And he held some really expensive looking eye shadow pallete.
Despite the fact that every sense in her mind told her to run out of there and never acknowledge him ever again, she cocked and eyebrow and approached him with the sureness that her aunt had perfected. "Are you stalking me?"
He looked up, startled, and hid the palette behind his back, glaring at her ferociously. "Could ask the same about you, princess."
"I asked first."
"Well, I asked last." He growled at her and took out the palette, realizing it was her. Sweet Pea glowered at a nearby worker, effectively scaring her away. Debbie went closer and her eyes widened at what he held in his hands.
"This is some expensive makeup and it's not even that great. Are you getting it for your girlfriend or something?" Debbie curiously asked. Totally not for her own interest or whatever.
"I don't do girlfriends," he tensed. "Besides, I was thinking of getting something for Toni, but I have no idea how all this shit works."
Debbie raised an eyebrow and tried not to laugh, gently taking the palette away from him. "First of all, these don't compliment her features. Second of all, are you sure she would even like makeup? I know she's a girl, but I think she'd appreciate other stuff more."
Sweet Pea thought for a second. "Well, she's really into boots and vintage jackets."
"That's a start." Debbie bemused, cracking up at how much he cared. It was, indeed, a start. "Come on, let me pay for these stuff, then we'll look for stuff for her."
He froze in his tracks. "You're gonna help me?"
"I know I may seem like a bitch, but I'm not heartless and Toni's great." She looked him up and down. "You're also a lost cause and I feel really bad for you, so come on before I change my mind."
The rest of the day was spent subtly texting Toni about her sizes, eating tacos at the food court, and lecturing Sweet Pea on actual meaningful gifts for girls. Once, she patted him on the head while on top of a chair. "Chicken nuggets are a great option too."
Finally, they had gotten what they seemed to need, but Debbie still needed to buy something for a distant cousin of hers. She rolled her eyes and pointed at it on her list, as Sweet Pea nodded. "I need to get this cousin of mine something to wear that's not overalls or flannel for family reunions. She always borrows my stuff, and it's gotten annoying," a pause. "She's a lost cause like you too."
Sweet Pea rolled his eyes. "I'm totally okay with that."
"You're gonna come with me?"
He shrugged nonchalantly, raising up the armfuls of shopping bags he held with ease. "Might as well. Who knows what would happen if I left you with all these heavy bags? Bet you'd probably collapse or something."
"My hero," Debbie snorted, motioning for him to walk faster into the department store. The moment he entered, he immediately scoffed at the flocks of teenage girls already gawking at him. She merely grabbed his free arm and directed him somewhere else. For some reason, the attention on him ticked her off. Whatever, she told herself. Looking up at his scowling face, she asked, "I'll go check out some clothes and you can wait," she searched the perimeter before pointing at a waiting area. "Over there."
He nodded, and Debbie went off on her search, eventually returning with five hangers. She glanced at his bored expression and couldn't help but get curious. He perked up at her gaze and she immediately looked away, hurrying into a fitting room. There was one dress her cousin might like, but she was unsure, biting the inside of her cheek. Screw it, she said and decided to put it on. Still, Debbie couldn't help but think it was a little too much, mostly because of the sequins radiating off the tacky lights above the mirror. Huffing, she opened the door and raised an eyebrow. "Well?"
Sweet Pea's eyes seemed to widen and he cleared his throat. "Pretty... good. You should buy it for yourself instead."
"You think so?" For kicks, she twirled and did her best Marilyn Monroe impression, fluttering her eyelashes and smiling coyly.
Sweet Pea rolled his eyes, but a wisp of a smile remained on his lips. "Alright, alright. The dress is pretty good. Let's move so we can get out of here."
"And I thought you liked my company." She chuckled and headed back to the fitting room, but not before hearing a comeback from him.
"You wish, Cooper!"
Once Debbie had opted to buy the dress, Sweet Pea patiently waited by her car, having gotten tired of carrying around all the stuff they bought, and held two cups of soda they had gotten from the food court. Debbie skipped over to him and plopped herself up on the hood of her car, taking one of the cups from him and digging into the drink. Sweet Pea watched her for a moment, before taking a sip of his drink as well. The sun had begun to dip, and orange and red streaked both of them in the setting sun. Debbie stopped drinking for a moment and leaned back against her car. "You know Sweetie Pie, this has probably been one of the best days I've had in a long time. I feel like an actual teenager."
"Eh, this is probably like," Sweet Pea made a low gesture. "Top fifteen."
Debbie scoffed. "Glad you think about me that way. Still don't like you by the way."
"Likewise, Cooper. Let's go back to hating each other?" To this Debbie grinned and nodded. There were small smiles etched on both of their faces though. Debbie clapped her hands and hoisted herself off the car, throwing her cup into a nearby garbage can. Sweet Pea got off as well and clasped his hands. "Better get going, got some stuff I need to do."
Debbie nodded. Carefully, she handed him his bags and pursed her lips. "Thank you, really. For helping me."
He smiled, a genuine one this time. "Anytime, Debbie."