As a popular pop song softly came through the car speakers, Lauren absentmindedly tapped her fingers against the steering wheel as she drove through town, passing by all the buildings and landmarks that never changed. Her hometown was like any small town across America; life was simple, life was safe and free from tragedy...or at least it was.

July fourth changed everything for her once innocent, little town when the Blossom twins went for a boat ride at Sweetwater River early that morning. Later on, Cheryl was found by the river's edge, but Jason was never seen again.
No one other than Cheryl knew what happened. The story she told was she had dropped a glove in the water and Jason reached down to grab it, accidentally tipping the boat and panicking which caused him to drown.

The 'July Fourth tragedy'- as it as known around town- wasn't the only change she encountered that summer. Her parents were acting even more distant after returning from their trip; if they thought the trip would save their marriage they were wrong.

Her mother was gone more than usual and her father seemed jumpy all the time- like he was just waiting for the next tragedy to happen. It was a side of him she had never seen before and the few times she did see her mom she looked worried and stressed- something else she had never seen before since the woman very rarely showed emotion.

And things with her...well, the summer wasn't that kind to her as she had hoped. The night she crossed over to the Southside and spoke to the tall Serpent wasn't the last time. She went, again and again, telling herself it was just for fun and a distraction from her broken heart from ending things with Archie, and maybe if she had kept it that way she wouldn't feel the way she did now.

Or maybe if she never stepped foot in the Whyte Wyrm that second time things would have been different and maybe her heart wouldn't have been broken a second time.

- Flashback -

A few nights after meeting Sweet Pea, Toni and Fangs; Lauren found herself inside her mother's van giving herself a pep talk again before stepping out into the night and walking into the crowded bar.

She didn't show up the next night like Sweet Pea suggested; mostly because she wanted him to wonder where she was and keep him guessing, and also mostly because she was nervous.

This time her entrance didn't catch many Serpents attention since it was so noisy inside from the crowd. She didn't even glance in the direction of the bar, her eyes were toward the back looking for a certain tall dark-haired Serpent.

Catching a glimpse of him at a corner pool table in the back, she began to walk toward him until she noticed he wasn't alone. Fangs was with him again, along with several other young Serpents, but that's not what caused her to pause- it was the beautiful blonde dressed in black with a black leather Serpent jacket pressed against his side as he laughed at something Fangs said while his opponent took a shot on the pool table.

Blowing out a quick breath, she shook her head, feeling like a fool. What did she expect- that he had been pining over her and wondering if she would ever show up? Hell no, he moved on to the next girl.
She wouldn't be surprised to learn he didn't even remember meeting her the other night. She was probably just another random girl he hit on daily.

Blinking back tears, she turned away from the pool tables and looked over at the bar, letting out a disappointed sigh when she didn't see Toni behind it like last time. Apparently, nothing was going to go her way tonight.

Not really knowing what else to do, she held her head up high and walked over to the bar and sat down on a bar stool toward the end. After ordering a soda, she scrolled on her phone to keep from looking back over the pool tables, but after a few minutes, she couldn't stop herself from taking a peek.
Now the beautiful blonde was joking around with Fangs while Sweet Pea took a shot. When she saw him sank the black eight ball, she wished she could rush over there and congratulate him on winning the game.

She tapped her fingers nervously on the countertop as she tried to talk herself into walking over there to do that. What was the harm in walking past him and tossing out a 'good game'? Even strangers did that at times to be polite.

Taking a sip of her drink, and suddenly wishing she ordered something stronger than soda, she was about to stand up, but before she could, the blonde bounced over to Sweet Pea to do what she had planned- she even took it a step further and threw her arms around his neck to give him a hug and big wet kiss on the cheek.

With a scoff, she turned back toward her drink to grab it and finish it with one swallow. She tossed down some money, then pushed away from the bar and made her way toward the restrooms feeling like she was going to be sick.

She didn't know why it bothered her so badly to see someone hanging all over Sweet Pea. He wasn't her boyfriend; hell, she wasn't even dating the guy. For all she knew the blonde was his girlfriend and she had no business checking him out to begin with.

Once the nauseous feeling went away, she walked over to the sink and splashed cold water on her face, then rested her hands on the counter on either side of the sink with her head lowered. Blowing out a breath, she raised her head and looked at herself in the mirror and slowly shook her head at herself.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she quietly asked herself. "You don't do this, you don't get jealous. Never! And especially over a guy you only spoke to once!"

Glancing down at the countertop, she lightly traced a dark line on the cheap wood vinyl and wondered how to get herself out of this situation.

For a moment she wished she had Toni's cell phone number, but then thought maybe it was best she didn't. This wasn't her side of town, she should have just stayed on the Northside. She was stupid to think stepping out of her comfort zone and trying something new was suddenly gonna change things.

Raising her head to look in the mirror again, she noticed a small window behind her and for a moment wondered if she would fit through it, then quickly shook that thought away.

"No," she hissed at herself. "You are not going to sneak out of a window like you're ditching the world's worst date. You didn't do anything wrong!" With a roll of her eyes, she scoffed, "Well, other than thinking it was a smart idea to visit a bar full of Serpents thinking a certain one would actually remember you."

Standing up straight, she knew what she needed to do, but first, she fixed her makeup and made sure a hair wasn't out of place as she felt the mask she always wore slip back into place. Turning to leave the restroom, she didn't make any stops or even glance around as she made her way to the exit and left the building.

She was halfway across the parking lot, heading for the van and already plotting to never step foot in the Southside again when a familiar voice caused her to pause and all previous thoughts to escape her mind.

"Where did the My Little Pony hair go?"

Biting her bottom lip to hold back a smile, she slowly turned to face him and tried not to show any reaction as she saw him sitting on a matte black motorcycle. He had a black helmet with the Serpent logo on the side sitting in front of him on the gas tank with his arms folded and resting on top of it while his eyes were locked on her.

Remembering his question, she shot him an unamused look as she began to walk toward him and fold her arms across her chest. "You're making fun of my hair when you literally go by the name Sweet Pea."

"Who says I'm making fun?" Sweet Pea asked. "Maybe I liked the My Little Pony hair."

"I don't know what's funnier; the fact that you keep calling it My Little Pony hair or the fact that you even know what My Little Pony is." Lauren chuckled and took another step, coming to a stop beside him. "Are you secretly a fanboy, Sweetie Pie?"

With a shrug, he said, "Some things are better kept secret."

"My lips are sealed," she joked as she moved her fingers across her lips- like she was zipping them shut.

After her comment and action, he couldn't stop himself from glancing at her lips for a moment before leaning back on his bike and looking around the parking lot to stop himself from staring at her further.

The night he met her, he worried he came on a little strong and scared her off when she didn't show up at the Wyrm the next night. He was beginning to worry he wouldn't see her again until he saw her come into the bar earlier.

He kept waiting for her to approach him, when that never happened he thought he missed his shot. But now somehow by some stroke of luck, here he was talking to her again and the last thing he wanted to do was risk chasing her off. He didn't want to have to wait days again until he saw her.

Seeing him look around, she thought maybe he was looking for his girlfriend and figured this was a good time to slip away. If she remembered correctly there was another gallon of ice cream in the freezer calling her name.

"So where you headed off to in a hurry?" he questioned, seeing her take a step back from the corner of his eye. He turned to look at her as she came to a stop. "I know it can't be home. You haven't been here that long."

"Yes I have," she lied. She didn't want him to assume she came just to see him and when that was a bust she just had a quick drink then was planning to flee the scene- even though that was exactly what happened. "I was at the bar, having a few drinks and then-"

"You had one drink at the bar, then disappeared for close to ten minutes," he cut her off. "I'm gonna guess bathroom?"

"Careful there, SP. You're sounding like a stalker," she teased.

"Not a stalker, just observant."

"Said all stalkers at some point, I bet."

Laughing at her comment, he shook his head, then turned the subject back. "Got anywhere you need to be right now?"

"I dunno. You tell me." She shrugged.

"Wanna go for a ride?" he questioned as he nodded toward the motorcycle he was sitting on.

"That's probably not a good idea."

"Probably not." He smirked. "I don't hear you saying no though."

"I probably should." Remembering what she saw inside earlier, she added, "I mean, I wouldn't want to make your girlfriend mad."

"Girlfriend?" he asked confused.

"Beautiful blonde hanging on you earlier."

"Oh, you mean Kasey," he said, realizing who she meant. With a shake of the head, he added, "She's not my girlfriend. Just a really good friend."

"Hmm, right," she hummed. "Should have known. You probably don't have girlfriends. Just a lot of really good 'friends', right?"

"Yeah. Pretty much," he answered honestly, which surprised her. She figured most guys like him would try to convince a girl that she was the only one for him and promise her everything just so he can get in her pants.

"Although Kasey is just a good friend. Nothing going on there," he added, pulling her from her thoughts. "And the type of really good 'friend' you're referring to, I don't have one of those at the moment, but I could be persuaded into starting a new friendship with someone. If you know someone who's offering."

Lauren rolled her eyes and chuckled when he winked at her. "You know, I'm starting to think you're nothing but trouble."

"And I'm starting to think you're not gonna say no," Sweet Pea said back, holding out a helmet. He watched her bite her bottom lip in thought, then couldn't stop himself from smiling when she reached out to take the helmet from his hand.

"I'm only doing this because I've never ridden on a bike before and I think it could be fun- which was the whole reason I showed up tonight...to have fun." Pointing a finger at him, she playfully glared at him. "This has nothing to do with you and that cute little smirk you think gets you everything."

"Whatever you say, Bright Eyes," he said, shooting her the smirk that she was referring to- the one he knew for a fact got him what he wanted regardless of what she said.

After slipping on the helmet, keeping the visor up so she could see him, he saw her pause for a moment and held out his hand for her to take. She flashed him a soft smile as thanks and held on to his hand to steady herself as she placed a foot on the rear footpeg and tossed a leg over the seat.

"You good?" he questioned after she sat down and stopped wiggling around to get comfortable.

"Mm-hm," she muttered as she nervously placed her hands on his sides, feeling the worn leather of the Serpent jacket he was wearing.

"You might wanna hold on tighter than that," he suggested while pushing up the kickstand.

"Oh, trust me, once we get started I'm gonna latch on to you and never let go."

He couldn't stop a smile from forming at what could be a double meaning to her comment- even though he knew she didn't mean it that way- still he found himself glancing back at her. "Good to know."

With a chuckle, she placed a hand on the side of his face and playfully pushed him to face the front. "Save that smirk for someone else, Sweetie Pie. It doesn't work on me, remember?"

"Whatever you say, Bright Eyes," he repeated himself from earlier as he started the motorcycle, feeling her wrap her arms around his waist and bury her face against his back.

Before taking off, he tapped her hand and raised his voice to be heard over the loud bike to ask her if she was ready. He felt her nod her head and tighten her hold around him to signal she was, but even with knowing what was going to happen, she still let out a small squeal when he drove across the parking lot and turned onto the road gathering speed.

- End Flashback -

Hearing a horn blow from behind her, she was pulled from the memory and realized she had been sitting at a stop sign for who knows how long. Throwing up a hand to apologize to the person behind her, she tapped on the gas and turned onto the road on her right.

Minutes later, she parked her car in front of Archie's house and glanced over at the front door. She couldn't believe it had been a few months since she climbed those stairs and broke up with him- it felt longer than that after everything that happened over the summer.

At the time she accepted the ride from Sweet Pea, she had no idea it was going to be the start of something. The summer was supposed to be about finding herself and with that one ride it sent her on a path she never knew she needed to take- she found more than herself; she found someone who saw beneath the mask and liked the version they found. She just wished she would have known before the summer ended that she would lose him just as fast as she had him.

Pushing Sweet Pea from her mind, she exited the car and made her way toward the front door of the Andrews' house. Coming to a stop, she went to knock on the door, until it was pulled open by Fred like last time.

"Hey, Lauren, it's been a while."

"Yeah, I-I...busy summer, you know?"

"Yeah," he softly said, then looked back at the house before turning his attention back to her. "Archie told me about the breakup."

"I'm sorry," she said, her tone matching his. "I never meant to hurt him-"

"No, I know," Fred cut her off. "I know how much you both mean to each other and there's nothing wrong with taking a break at times to find yourself."

"There was a time where I thought I did find something, but then I lost it and now I feel more lost than I did at the beginning of the summer." She frowned as pieces of her summer flashed before her eyes.

"Sometimes things happen as a lesson and to help us grow, and other times-"

"It just wasn't meant to be," she interrupted, assuming that was what he was going to say.

"No." He shook his head. "I was going to say, sometimes it wasn't ready to be."

Thinking about what he said, she flashed him a small smile. "So basically, if it's meant to be it'll be."

"Exactly." He smiled back and laid a hand on her shoulder, then gave it a small squeeze. "And don't worry about getting lost. We all lose ourselves sometimes and in those moments are when we really find what we're capable of."

"Thanks, Mr. A," she said with a genuine smile. "If I'm being honest, I really missed your fatherly chats this summer."

"I'll always be here if you need a fatherly chat," he promised her.

After a moment of silence passed between them, he nodded toward the house, telling her she could go on in. He told her that Archie was showering after a long day on the job site, but to make herself at home while she waited. She nodded her head in thanks, then stepped into the house.

She glanced around with a soft smile, happy to see that nothing had changed in the months since she was last there. There were already enough changes that had happened, she couldn't handle it if the Andrews' house had changed as well- the place had always felt more like home than her own house.

Making her way up the stairs, she walked down the hall to Archie's room and saw that his bedroom door was open. Remembering that his dad had mentioned he was going to take a shower, she came to a stop in the doorway, trying to decide if she should walk in or wait for him in the hall.

She nervously rubbed her hands together and looked both ways down the hall, then turned her head back toward the bedroom when she heard a soft whimpering sound. A smile appeared on her face when she saw Vegas laid out on Archie's bed.

Without a second thought, she stepped into the room and walked over to the bed to sit down beside the dog. She leaned down to press several kisses on his head and began to pet him. She spoke to him a few times, then paused when she saw a notebook laid open on the bed.

Leaning closer to the book, she noticed cords and lyrics written out. She picked up the notebook for a moment and read a couple of lines, then quickly tossed it back onto the bed when she realized it was something Archie had written.

"Nope. I shouldn't read that," she quietly said, trying to talk herself out of reaching for the notebook again. "Not gonna read it. I'm not gonna read it. I'm...gonna read it."

Reaching out, she grabbed the notebook again and glanced over the song he had worked on last. She slowly nodded her head as she imagined the cords in her mind, the song was off to a great start.

Hearing a whine, she looked down at Vegas and whispered, "Don't judge me. I only looked at one song and it's not even finished...it's not that big of a deal."

When Vegas laid his head down with a sigh, she playfully rolled her eyes and tossed the notebook back down on the bed. "Fine, I'll stop looking."

Giving the dog a scratch behind his ears, she tried to stop herself from turning her head to look one more time, but she had no self-control, she was just too curious.

Turning to look at the notebook again, she noticed it had turned to another page when she tossed it onto the bed. She reached out to grab it and read a few words, this song was a lot sadder than the other one- this one was all about heartbreak, love lost and breakups.

She lowered her eyebrows in concern as she read more and could feel the hurt coming from the page. She couldn't help but wonder if the song was about their breakup. She knew he was upset about it, but didn't realize it was that bad.

Hearing footsteps coming down the hall, she quickly tossed the notebook down on the bed again and threw up her hands as Archie walked into his bedroom.

"I didn't look!" she called out, then felt her eyes widen in surprise when she noticed he was only in a towel, his muscled chest, broad shoulders and abs on display- all of which he didn't have at the start of the summer.

"Lolly! What are you doing?" He tightened the hold on the towel around his waist and saw her place her hands over her eyes to keep from looking.

"Your dad was leaving when I got here and he told me to go on in and that you were taking a shower. I was just gonna wait in the hall, but I saw Vegas on your bed and came in to pet him-"

"No, I mean what are you doing here now?" he asked, cutting off her rambling as he walked over to his dresser and grabbed a pair of boxer briefs to slip on under the towel.

"Oh! Well, you, uh, you texted me about meeting up," she reminded him as she kept her eyes covered but turned her head to follow his voice. "I can show you on my phone if-"

"No, it's fine. I know what I sent," he said, stopping her from reaching into her back pocket for her cell phone with one hand, while the other still covered her eyes. He reached out to grab a pair of jeans he laid out on his desk chair earlier to wear. He removed the towel and slipped the jeans on, then grabbed for the light-colored shirt to slip on over his head. "But, I meant meet at Pop's. Like we always do before the start of a new year."

"Oh, yeah, um, I was kinda thinking of skipping that this year."

"What? Why?" he questioned, confused on why she didn't wanna go this year. It was something they, along with Betty and Jughead, would do the night before a new school year started- they always loved making predictions on how the new year would go.

Turning toward her, he saw she still had her hands over her eyes, causing him to say, "You can look now, by the way."

"Oh," she breathed out as she lowered her hands and blinked a few times to adjust to the light in the room.

He ran a hand through his damp red hair, then grabbed the desk chair and straddled it. "So, why aren't you going this year?"

"Well, I mean..." She gestured between them, hoping he got her meaning. She thought it would be obvious that it would be too awkward for the exes to carry on traditions.

When she saw the confused look on his face, she sighed. "Come on, Arch, I mean, things are still a little weird between us. This is literally the first time we talked since..."

He nodded his head in understanding when her voice trailed off. He knew exactly what day it was they last talked and didn't need to be reminded of it.

He had come a long way over the summer; throwing himself into his music, starting a fling with his music teacher and staying busy at his dad's construction business, but now sitting across from his ex-girlfriend- his first love- he realized those wounds were still a little raw.

"I think it only feels weird because we haven't talked all summer," he pointed out. "But, I mean, that's what you wanted, right?"

"Yeah...well, kinda," she said. "I didn't really mean not talk the whole time, I just wanted to find myself, Archie-"

"I know," he cut her off with a nod. "So I gave you your space."

"And I really appreciate that," she said back with a soft smile.

He returned the smile, then blew out a breath. "But now school's starting back and we're gonna see each other all the time anyway so might as well start tonight at Pop's."

"And you don't think it's gonna be awkward?"

"No." He shook his head and hoped the answer he gave was true.

Reaching behind her to grab the notebook she was reading earlier, she held it in front of her as she softly asked, "Are you sure about that, Archie?"

His eyes glanced over the words, even though he really didn't need to read them, he had them memorized.

He dropped his head for a moment with a sigh, then looked back up at her. "I wrote that at the beginning of the summer when things were still new and fresh in my mind."

"So this isn't how you feel anymore?" she questioned, shooting him a look like she didn't believe him. "Because the words in this song are...they're heartbreaking. I can feel the pain and anger in each one, Arch."

"No, it's not...I-I..." he stuttered, tripping over his words as he tried to explain himself. "They're just words, Lolly."

Turning the notebook toward her, she glanced down to read, although she didn't know why. The words were burned in my mind since she first read them. "And some of these words say 'Nothing will ever be the same.' and 'We can never be friends.' and-"

"I know the words," he stopped her. "Look, there was so much I was thinking and feeling after we...and I, I just needed to get it out somehow," he admitted, not being able to say the words 'broke up'.

At his admission, she glanced down at her hand, which was rested on Vegas as she softly petted him. The action normally calmed her down, but the turn in conversation had her on edge.

She understood how he felt, the breakup wasn't easy for her either. He was her first love, he was safe and comfortable, and there were times over the summer she still wondered if she made the right choice, but then she thought about the times she stepped outside her comfort zone or faced her fears. Those were moments she wouldn't trade for anything, they were moments she felt the most alive and learned a little about herself.

"I'm sorry, Lolly," his soft voice said, causing her to jerk her head up as a confused look appeared on her face.

"Sorry for what?" she asked him, but instead of answering he motioned toward the notebook and the words he knew had hurt her feelings when she read them.

"Archie, you don't have to apologize for that." She shook her head. "I should be the one saying I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you that badly, or at all, actually."

"I know."

"I guess you were right about one thing," she said, her tone low and full of guilt. "Things will never be the same between us."

"Lolly..." he began to say, but she quickly cut him off as she stood up from the bed.

"I should, uh, I should get going." She nodded toward the bedroom door.

She knew it wasn't fair to him to just take off instead of talking things out, but she couldn't do that now. She wasn't ready to let those thoughts and feelings out, so for now, it was best to shove everything down- which was something she was good at.

"Wait!" He jumped up to stop her from walking out of the room. "Maybe that's true, maybe things will be different, but it doesn't have to be a bad different. At the end of the day, Lolly, I don't want to lose you from my life."

"I don't want to lose you either, Archie," she said, her tone honest and strong. "I never wanted to lose you completely."

"And you won't," he promised as he took a step toward her. "So Pop's?"

A smile appeared on her face when he held out a hand for her to take. With a slight chuckle, she placed her hand in his as she nodded. "Pop's."

•••

Archie and Lauren had barely walked into Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, when the latter felt someone throw their arms around her neck and knocked her off-balance. If it wasn't for Archie's quick reflexes Lauren and the bubbly blonde with a high ponytail would have ended up on the floor.

"Lolly! I missed you so so much," Betty exclaimed as she hugged her best friend tight. Because of her internship, she wasn't able to see or even talk to her best friend over the summer.

"I missed you too, Bets," Lauren said, hugging her back.

After getting his own hug from Betty, Archie nodded toward the front counter, offering to go place their order since the diner was packed so they wouldn't have to wait for someone to come take their order. He asked the girls if they wanted their usual, then after seeing them nod their heads to answer, he began to walk to the counter while Betty linked her arm with Lauren's and the two began to walk toward their usual booth. It was about halfway from the door and against a window, giving them the perfect view of the parking lot.

As they got closer to the booth and Lauren noticed it was empty, she lowered her eyebrows in confusion before turning her head to look at Betty. "Where's Jug?"

"He can't make it. He said he had to work tonight," Betty said, repeating what Jughead had texted her earlier that day when she asked him if he was meeting them. "So, looks like it's just us three tonight."

"It almost wasn't," Lauren mumbled, her tone almost too low for Betty to hear, but she did.

"Why?"

"Well, because of that..." She nodded toward Archie, who was still standing at the counter placing their order. "And..." She motioned toward herself.

Betty nodded her head, understanding what she meant. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that."

"You don't?" Lauren asked with a surprised look on her face.

"No." Betty shook her head, her blonde ponytail swinging from side to side. "We've all been friends for so long and been through so much. Like the time you accidentally broke my Barbie doll, but I forgave you."

"This is a little different from that, Bets. This time I broke his heart, not a doll," Lauren pointed out.

"I know, but I just mean, sometimes things just happen, and it might sting for a while, but it's not a reason to end a friendship over," she explained as they approached their booth and she slid in on one side. "Plus, this isn't the first time Archie's feelings were hurt. What about the time we played spin the bottle at your first boy-girl party and you had to kiss Jughead...I thought Archie was gonna lose it that day, and yeah, things were a bit awkward for a while, but he got over that."

"I'm not gonna lie, I thought he would never forget it." Lauren slid into the seat across from Betty.

"It wouldn't have been so bad if he wasn't convinced for so long that people ended up with their first kiss. And since he was crushing on you so hard, he thought that meant you two could never date and you would end up with Jughead."

"I remember that." Lauren chuckled. "Once he finally told us that and we explained to him that wasn't how it worked, then he got over it."

"And once he realizes the breakup wasn't anything personal and that you do care about him, he'll have an easier time getting over this." Reaching out to lay a hand on top of Lauren's, she gave it a small squeeze. "Everything will work out in the end. I truly believe that."

"So you think as long as we sit here like we usually do, and laugh and joke around like we usually do, then things will eventually just go back to normal?"

"In time, yeah." Betty nodded. "It won't happen overnight, but gotta start somewhere, right?"

"I guess," Lauren softly said. "I just don't want things to be awkward and weird."

"It won't be." Looking over Lauren's shoulder, she saw Archie walking toward them. "You probably should have sat beside me though."

"Why?" Lauren turned her head to see what her friend was looking at, then looked back at her. "We don't know that he's gonna sit beside me."

"He always sits beside you, Lolly," Betty pointed out.

"Well I thought you said it wasn't gonna be awkward," Lauren quietly hissed as she leaned across the booth so only Betty would hear her.

"It might be a little awkward," Betty whispered back and held two of her fingers close together.

"Thanks a lot, Bets." Lauren scoffed.

"Sorry," the blonde mouthed before Archie reached the table.

"Pop said our order should be finished in about fifteen minutes." Archie slid into the booth beside Lauren out of habit.

It wasn't until he turned his head to look at her that he realized what he had done, but it was too late to do anything about it. If he suddenly stood up to sit beside Betty instead it would be too obvious that he was trying to avoid being near her, and after he talked her into coming along and reassuring her that things wouldn't be awkward he didn't want to go back on his word.

Betty lowered her eyebrows in concern as she watched Archie lightly drum his fingers against the table and avoid looking at Lauren, who was too busy looking out the window to even notice.

Blowing out a low breath, she folded his hands and rested them in front of her on the table as she tried to start a conversation to fill the silence, but only got one-word answers from them no matter what she asked them. Not knowing what else to do, she began to tell them about her summer internship, hoping it would inspire them to share their own summers.

After their food was placed in front of them, Lauren finally pulled her attention from the window and flashed the waitress a smile in thanks. She placed her elbow on the table and rested her head on her hand as she grabbed a french fry to dip in her vanilla milkshake.

She could hear Archie talking from beside her as he talked about his summer full of pouring cement and writing songs, but she didn't turn her attention toward him like she normally would, instead she kept her head down as she picked at her food until she heard her name being called.

"What?" She jerked her head up to look at Betty.

"I was asking how was your summer?" the blonde repeated herself.

"Oh, it was okay." Lauren shrugged.

"What did you do?" Betty took a sip of her milkshake.

At the question, Lauren pulled in a breath as different moments flashed through her mind like a picture book, and most of those moments involved Sweet Pea.

She remembered every joke and laugh, every talk they had- rather it was deep and serious or just something random and silly that popped in their heads. She thought about all the rides he took her on while she sat behind him on his motorcycle. She remembered how it felt to have the wind whipping her long brown hair around and the smell from his jacket as she would press her face against the worn leather.

As more intimate moments crossed her mind, she felt her face heat up. If she closed her eyes she could swear she could still feel his warm breath fanning her face before his soft lips pressed against hers. There were times she could taste the beer he had been drinking or the menthol from the cigarettes he smoked, but other times he tasted like peppermint from the candy he crunched on while trying to kick the nicotine habit.

Biting her bottom lip she also remembered the feel of his strong, callused hands running all over her body and the look of him hovered above her with that smirk on his face that he was convinced got him whatever he wanted, and after remembering all those times when they ended up in that position she was starting to think maybe he was right- that smirk did get him what he wanted.

No matter how badly she wished she could forget, she knew she would never forget those moments with him, but she also knew those were not the moments that Betty was asking for, and they were definitely not moments she wanted to spill in front of her ex, Archie.

Clearing her throat, she tried to push Sweet Pea from her mind as she said, "Not a lot. Since all of you were busy, I just kinda hung out at home some while Mom and Dad were gone. Went on drives...hung out with Jughead."

It only took a couple more times at the Wyrm for her to find out that Jughead's dad FP was a Serpent- and not just any Serpent, but the king. After talking to Jughead about it, he had asked her to keep his secret and in return, he would keep quiet about her secret fling with a Serpent.

"Jug sneaked me into the drive-in several times," she added with a laugh.

With that comment, came a flood of other memories with Sweet Pea, the ones of them going to the Twilight Drive-In in her mother's van. She honestly couldn't tell them what movies they showed or what happened, before they always ended up in the back making out.

Leaning toward the glass beside her, she took a sip of her milkshake to cool herself off. "Oh! And I went camping at Sweetwater River a few times."

"Wait, what? Camping?" Betty asked as her mouth dropped open and the french fry that was in her hand dropped back onto the plate. "You hate camping."

"I've never been camping," Lauren reminded her.

"I know!" the blonde exclaimed. "Because you always said you hated it."

"Well, I figured this summer was a chance to try something new." She smiled as she thought about the kind of camping she did. It involved her, Sweet Pea and the back of her mother's van. She could get used to camping if it meant waking up in his arms with the view of the river in front of them.

"That was the point of your summer, right?" Archie questioned- the bitter tone in his voice causing Lauren to snap her head to the side to look at him. "Dropping everything old while you try something new?"

"Archie..." Betty softly said as she watched Lauren turn her head and look down at her unfinished plate of food.

"I-I didn't mean it like that," Archie quietly explained as he turned to look at his ex. He didn't even mean for the comment to slip past his lips, and he definitely didn't mean for the tone he used.

He tried so hard earlier to assure her that he didn't still feel the anger and hurt that he poured into his songs, but now that he sat beside her and heard how happy she was over the summer, that anger found its way back into him- he just never meant to toss that anger toward her.

"I know, it's okay," Lauren said, her voice so low the two sitting with her barely heard.

She tried to hold on to the feeling of the times when she didn't shrink back. There were times over the summer where she stood tall with a loud booming voice as she stood up for herself. There were times where she didn't shove down whatever emotion she was feeling and let everything out, but now around her Northside friends again she could feel the mask she always wore around them slipping back into place.

For the next several minutes things were quiet at the table, even Betty kept her mouth shut since it was obvious the two in front of her wasn't in the mood for small talk.
Lauren had been so worried about things being awkward, but she would take that over whatever the mood was now, and it didn't help that she could feel a shift between Archie and herself. Whatever step they took to reclaim their friendship, it felt like they had taken two giant steps back.

Not wanting to make things worse, she kept her head down and tore off small pieces of the french fry she was holding, before smushing it between her fingers and dropping it back onto the plate. She didn't even notice Archie had left the table to visit the restroom until Betty called out her name to get her attention.

"Are you okay?" the blonde questioned when Lauren lifted her head and brushed her hands off.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The lie easily slipped past her lips as she forced a smile.

"You know he really didn't mean it..." Betty placed a hand on top of Lauren's to stop her from picking up a fresh french fry. "He's just-"

"I know," Lauren cut her off. "He's still mad and upset, and I totally get it! I completely broke his heart months ago and it's gonna take more than a meal at Pop's to make things better, and I knew that! I knew this was how the night was gonna go, but he was so sure this is what we needed to do, and I couldn't say no and disappoint him again, but now here we are and it's like I have disappointed him anyways, and I just...I feel like-"

Blowing out a breath, she snapped her mouth shut as she ran a hand through her hair and tried to calm herself down. Whatever emotions she was feeling, she shoved them down when she saw the look in her friend's eyes, she could tell her outburst had shocked her.

"You feel like what?" Betty questioned.

"Nothing. It doesn't matter," Lauren said, brushing it off.

Looking at the back wall, her eyes landed on the neon clock hanging on the wall, then looked back at her friend. "It's getting late and I'm tired, and I still have to go buy supplies for school tomorrow, because for some stupid reason I put it off until the last minute this year. I really didn't mean to ramble on like that to you, I'm sorry, Bets."

"It's okay, you don't have to apologize, Lolly." She flashed her a bright smile. "That's what friends are for."

"Thanks," she softly said as she forced a smile back.

Silence fell over the table for a moment as Betty took a sip of her milkshake and saw Lauren shredding her napkin into little pieces.

Realizing what she was doing, Lauren dropped what was left of the napkin onto her plate, then turned her attention to her friend, her eyebrows pinched in worry. "How mad would you be if I skipped out on the rest of the night?"

"I wouldn't be mad at all." Betty shook her head. As much as she wished she could finish a meal with both her friends, she knew now wasn't the time. Lauren looked tired and drained from trying to keep it together all night and Archie was trying- unsuccessfully- to keep the pain and anger he felt locked away.

Maybe it was too soon to bring the exes together or maybe there would never be an appropriate amount of time that would be perfect.
Maybe they were getting too old for silly traditions or maybe it would be those traditions that helped to bring things back to normal- either way- as Betty watched her friend leave Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, she couldn't help but worry that more change was about to blow in their lives and not everyone would be left standing.

•••

A/N; I know Sweet Pea wasn't technically in this chapter, just a flashback. There will be a few more flashbacks of their summer until they see each other again.

Thank you to everyone reading! 

Happy reading!
xx