A/N: First of all, so sorry for the late update and lack of updates. Last week was pretty crazy, due to the fact that I MET MADCHEN HERSELF AT THE RIVERS EDGE CON! And I'm still recovering. It was truly the most rewarding experience of my life. If you want to know more you can ask me about it on my curiouscat 90samick or simply on Twitter @sheiiyjohnscns. With that being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
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"Hermione have you seen my gym sweater?"
"Archie, love, the gym is closed this time of year, you know that." Hermione reminded her stepson as he ran around the house looking for his beloved sweater, he considered it lucky because every he had worn it during a practice, his football team won a game.
"I know but I'm going for a run." He explained to her as he tied his shoes.
"I put it in your top drawer." She answered before returning to the dining room table to work, passing her daughter in the living room, who had been playing video games all morning.
"You should go with him mija, the fresh air will do you good." She says to her.
"I'm good here thanks." She responds, barely taking her eyes off the television screen.
"Veronica, your mothers right. You can't be cooped up in here all day blowing up zombies." Fred advises.
"Hey, you guys shouldn't have got me it for Christmas then." Veronica answers back.
"She's got a point there." Hermione mumbled before taking a sip of her coffee.
"Will you at least take the trash out? Pretty please?" He asks of her. She rolls hers eyes and pauses her game, getting up to retrieve the trash from the kitchen.
She dragged the bag out to the trash cans outside their house and saw an unfamiliar blonde leave the home next door with a baby on her hip. She seemed to be retrieving a toy from the truck and returned back to the big house with the red door.
She figured that they must be their new neighbours and was interested in them immediately.
"Looks like someone finally bought the house next door." Veronica announces as she returns.
"Someone did?" Fred questions
"Yeah, I just saw a girl go in there with her baby brother, the truck outside is theirs too." Veronica explains
"New neighbours? Well in that case we should go over and introduce ourselves." Hermione advices
"That's great. You get right on it." Veronica said before jumping back onto the couch and continuing her game.
Hermione rolled her eyes at her daughter. "I meant all of us, young lady." She said before grabbing Veronica's arm and pulling her up off the couch.
"Arch, we're going to say hi to the new neighbours, come down." Fred yelled up the stairs.
"Since when did we have new neighbours?" He yelled back
"Veronica saw them come out just now. They must've moved in last night." Hermione responded
"Okay hang on I'll be right down." He informed them. A couple minutes later and they all left for next door, Hermione with a bottle of wine in her hand, ready to greet the new neighbours.
Fred was the first to ring the bell when they stepped onto the porch and approached the door.
"What if they don't answer?" Archie asked.
"Let's hope they don't, then we can go back." Veronica mumbled in an unimpressed tone.
Unfortunately for her, they were home, as they heard bickering between the three Smith women from the other side of the door. From what they could make out, it was about rooms and missing items.
"Maybe we should come back later." Fred suggested
"No. Just wait." Hermione told him. They heard footsteps coming towards the front door and put on great big smiles as they heard the person on the other side opening it up. There stood Alice in a black printed t shirt with the bottom of it tied to her back, exposing her stomach a little, a grey denim skirt, thigh high leather boots, her hair tied up and a cigarette hanging out of her mouth.
She narrowed her eyes at them the minute she saw them. She couldn't figure out who would be planning visits this early in the morning.
"Can I help you?" She said before taking the cigarette out of her mouth.
"Hello, I'm Hermione, and this is my husband Fred, we live next door and thought we'd welcome you to the neighbourhood." Hermione said enthusiastically.
Alice let out a sigh of relief and began laughing. "Oh thank God, I thought you Jehovah Witnesses, I was this close to slamming the door in your face." She laughed as she moved to the side allowing them to come in.
"I'm Alice by the way." She says proudly. "Girls?! Get your asses down here, our neighbours came to say hello!" She yelled as she leaned against the banister.
"Sorry about the mess by the way, we literally moved in about 12 hours ago and don't know where to put half our stuff." Alice explained.
"That's fine. This is for you by the way." Hermione says offering her the wine bottle.
"Wow, thanks. The only thing neighbours gave me in my old neighbourhood was crack." She says to them, not noticing the alarming look on Hermione and Fred's faces.
Their moment is interrupted by Polly and Betty coming down the stairs.
"Oh, these are my girls Polly and Betty." She says pointing to them as they stare at their neighbours.
"Hi." Both the girls said in unison.
"Hi girls, I'm Hermione and this is my husband Fred, and these are our kids Veronica and Archie."
"Hey!" Archie greets enthusiastically, bringing a smile to Betty's face
"Don't you have a son?" Veronica bursts out.
"No. Just my girls." Alice answers
"What about the baby I saw you holding?" She says pointing to Betty.
"Oh he's mine." Betty answers nonchalantly. She notices the surprised looks on all four of their faces but doesn't say anything. She's used to people silently judging her for being a teen mom.
"Uhm, Girls hurry up and shift this crap out of here and upstairs. I want it out of my sight, I've got cleaning to do." She tells Polly and Betty.
"Kids why don't you help?" Fred says to Archie and Veronica. The four teens then take themselves upstairs carrying the remaining boxes to the rooms, leaving the adults alone. Alice invites them to sit down and they happily oblige.
"So where are you from originally?" Hermione asks
"Boston, mostly. Lived around that area my whole life." Alice answers.
"Lovely city. I've been wanting to go for a while. What made you move to Riverdale?"
"I just needed a change. You know, city life gets hectic and drama never happens in a small town like this." Alice partly lied. That was part of the reason she moved but mostly because she was evicted and practically on the run from an insane and dangerous crime Lord she had stolen from.
"Well Riverdale is a lovely town. We both grew up here, right honey?" Fred says, smiling at Hermione.
"Yes, born and raised. It's a loving community and there are brilliant schools in the district too."
"Well I'll be honest, schools and their reps aren't really a dealbreaker for me. As long they take my girls in and give me a break 7 hours a day 5 days a week, I'm good." She says as she opens up the wine and begins to pour herself a glass.
Meanwhile upstairs the teens were having a riveting conversation of their own.
"You can just put it down there." Betty told Archie who carried a box of her belongings to the table by her bed. Fortunately for them, the house was already furnished when they moved in.
"So where did you guys move from?" Archie asks
"The slums of Boston." Polly jokes before sitting down on Betty's bed
"I can't believe you have a kid" Veronica blurt out randomly, causing the four to look at each other awkwardly, hoping the conversation topic would change or wouldn't end in a fight between the two. Betty could be quite scrappy when it came down to it.
"What's his name?" Archie asks trying to break the tension
"Tyler." Betty says proudly.
"Where's his Dad?" He continues.
Betty rolls her eyes at the question. Being asked about Tyler's deadbeat father was not something she enjoyed.
"Juvi, rehab, dead? Take your pick."
"Did it hurt?" Veronica continues to press.
"Sex or labour?" Betty asks
"Well, both." Veronica confirms. "I need all the deets before I enter that side of life." She smiles before lying back against the cabinet by Betty's bed
"Wait. You're a virgin?!" Betty asks in shock with her mouth slightly agape.
"Well, yeah. I'm only 15." Veronica asks slightly embarrassed.
"Too much information!" Archie interrupts.
"Oh please! I bet you get your pick of girls, you don't look like no prude to me." Polly says to him, causing him to blush with embarrassment.
"I have more important things to worry about actually." Archie snaps back, still feeling embarrassed.
"Like what? Friday evening dates with your right hand?" Veronica joked, causing all the girls to laugh.
"Shut the hell up Veronica!" He yelled before he stormed out of the room.
"Someone's touchy." Polly joked.
"Ignore him. He's been like this since the start of freshman year. I'd ask what's wrong but I don't really care." Veronica admits nonchalantly.
"So are you guys going to go to Riverdale High next month?"
"I don't know. I got expelled from my last school so they might not even except me." Polly says without a care in the world. She had always hated school to begin so once she was expelled it didn't phase her in the slightest.
"You got kicked out? What did you do?" Veronica asks excitedly.
"I may or may not have broken a girls jaw." Polly says proudly.
"And what about you?" Veronica asks Betty.
"Yeah probably." She answers.
Back downstairs, the adults were continuing their discussion.
"So what is it you do?" Hermione asks as she sips the tea Alice had kindly offered. Not something she normally does for guest but it was a new start and she wanted to make a good impression.
"Well I never went to college or graduated so nothing too impressive. I've worked in bars and clubs mostly and that's about it." Alice answers leaning back into the couch.
"Oh, well if you're looking to get back into that, there's a bar over in SoDale, the Whyte Wyrm. We know the owner, we could put a good word in for you if you like?" Fred kindly offers.
Alice grins a cheesy smile, not quite believing how nice her neighbours are being and she's known them all of half an hour.
"Seriously? You'd do that for me?" She smiles. "You know I thought it would be a bunch of prissy stuck up assholes living in this town looking down their noses at everyone but you two? You're amazing!"
Hermione laughs before taking another sip of her tea. "Well, we can't say there aren't people like that in town, because that would be a lie, but we're definitely not like that."
It's drawing close to evening and the Smiths and Andrews have had quite a day. Alice wasn't used to neighbours being so friendly towards her so she was happy to have met them, but something about Archie's behaviour earlier that day kept plaguing Betty.
As she put Tyler down in his crib and walked over to her curtains that night, she noticed that what she assumed was Archie's bedroom was directly opposite her, and the sight she saw as he opened his bedroom door and a beanie wearing dark haired boy about the same age as her had walked in definitely had her raising her eyebrows. There the two boys were, making out like nobody was watching, or so they thought.