Hearing an alarm blaring, Lauren let out a tired groan and threw an arm out to shut the alarm clock beside the bed off. Her hand moved wildly around until it finally connected with the noisy device and didn't even flinch when it fell on the floor with a loud thud before being rewarded with silence.

She kept her eyes closed, wanting a few more minutes of sleep, but that thought was ruined when her cell phone beeped with a new text message.

A puff of air ending in a small whine escaped her lips as she tossed the bright orange comforter aside and sat up in bed. Leaning over toward the bedside table, she unlocked the cell phone to see who had texted and saw a cherry emoji followed by the word 'BOMBSHELL'- which was how she had Cheryl Blossom listed in her phone.

Instead of reading the text, she locked the screen back and raised her arms in the air to stretch. She was still too sleepy to deal with Cheryl right now.

Things between her and Cheryl were hard to explain at times. They weren't the best of friends or even close friends, they were more like acquaintances or at times allies, even though the two basically grew up together since her father and Cheryl's father, Clifford, were good friends.

She and Cheryl were more involved with each other's lives when they were younger; between taking different dance classes together and going to Thornhill with her father to play with Cheryl and Jason while he had secret meetings with Clifford, but when they got older things began to change. Suddenly they had a different circle of friends and barely talked unless it was about the River Vixens, but they still knew if one of them needed something, the other would quickly rush to their side.

Dragging herself out of bed, she grabbed a thin cotton robe from the back of the closet door and slipped it on over the tank top and polka dot pajama shorts she had slept in while exiting her bedroom.

She made her way downstairs and shuffled into the kitchen as a yawn escaped. When she heard a familiar voice wishing her a good morning, she turned her head to the side and was surprised to see her mother sitting at the small table tucked in the corner, reading the newest Riverdale Register and drinking a coffee. Usually, she was long gone by now, tending to the many charities she was involved in or committees she was apart of.

"Morning," Lauren mumbled back as she walked further into the room.

Nothing else was said between the two while Lauren grabbed a spoon from a drawer and stuck it in her mouth, then grabbed a bowl from the cabinet. Walking to the other side of the kitchen, she opened another cabinet to grab a box of cereal.

After pouring the cereal into the bowl, she placed the box back into the cabinet then shuffled over to the refrigerator to grab the milk. She poured way more milk than she needed, then placed it back inside and made her way over to the small table to sit across from her mother.

"So what's going on in the wonderful world of Riverdale?" Lauren asked, feigning interest as she pointed toward the newspaper with her spoon.

"Nothing new. Stabbings and shooting on the Southside and-"

"Everything perfect on the Northside," Lauren said sarcastically, cutting her off as she took a bite of the sugary cereal.

"That's not what I was gonna say." Melissa shot her daughter a look. "Trust me, I've dealt with enough Northsiders...none of them are perfect."

"And some Serpents aren't as bad as they seem," she said as Toni and Fangs crossed her mind. At one point she would have added Sweet Pea on that list as well, but after he cut off communication with her recently she realized maybe she didn't know him as well as she thought.

"Serpents?" Melissa questioned.

"I meant Southsiders, but especially Serpents. They're in the papers the most, right?" Lauren questioned, trying to cover the slip-up. "Plus it was just a guess anyway. I mean, every part of every town has their good people and bad people, right?"

"Right," Melissa agreed with a nod, feeling like there was more to what her daughter was saying, but didn't call her on it.

Silence fell around the table as Lauren ate cereal and Melissa finished reading the paper. The only sound was the occasional scrap of the spoon against the bowl or the rustling of paper as it was turned to a new page.

Placing the last few pieces of cereal in her mouth, she tuned out the click of her mother's manicured fingernails tapping against her coffee cup and glanced around the kitchen, her eyes landing on the digital clock on the microwave.

Usually, by now her father would have come through the kitchen to grab a to-go cup full of coffee and out the door with minimum words passed between them. She still couldn't shake the brief conversation they had the night before in his office. It wasn't so much about what he said, it was more about what he didn't say that had her worried.

Lowering her eyebrows, she looked back at her mother. "Is Dad still sleeping?"

"No, he caught a ride from someone about an hour ago."

"To the garage?"

"No, work. I guess the car's not ready," Melissa answered. "Although I'm not sure why. It shouldn't take that long to change a tire."

"Wait, what?" The spoon slipped from her hand and fell into the bowl in front of her, spilling milk on the table.
She felt her heart pounding in her chest at her mother's words. She knew for a fact that her father told her his battery had died; so why was he giving her mother another excuse?

With a sigh, Melissa stood up from the table and carried her empty coffee cup to place it beside the sink, then grabbed a paper towel to take back over to her daughter to clean her mess.

"When he left work last night, he found his tires sliced. He assumed it was someone he had sentenced or went up against in court. He made a lot of enemies as a lawyer and even more as a judge," she said, repeating the words her husband told her the night before when she questioned him about the car.

"And that's what he told you? Those were his exact words?" Lauren asked.

"Yes, why?" Melissa placed her hands on the back of the chair she had been sitting in and looked down at her daughter.

"No reason," Lauren lied. "Just curious."

"Hmm," Melissa hummed. Catching the time on her designer watch, she reached out to grab the newspaper she had been reading and folded it. "Well, I should get going. I have a few errands to run before meeting Alice for lunch."

"Why are you meeting Mrs. Cooper?" she asked, wondering why she was having lunch with her best friend's mother. The two women were friendly toward each other, but it wasn't like they were gal pals. Other than her godfather Travis, who her mother has known since she was a teenager, she didn't think her mom even had friends.

"She's writing an article for that new charity I'm running." Melissa walked away from the table and over to the counter near the back door where her clutch purse was sitting. She looked inside the purse to make sure she had all she needed. "Which is a good thing, because we need all the publicity we can get."

"Well, good luck," Lauren said with no emotion.

Standing up from the table, she carried the bowl over to the sink and poured the milk down the drain, watching it swirl then disappear. Normally she would have drank it, but after realizing she was right the night before and her father was lying, she couldn't stomach it.

"Thanks." Her mother grabbed a light-colored blazer she had placed earlier beside the purse. "Do you have everything you need for school today?"

"Yep." Lauren turned to leave the kitchen until she realized she did need something. She spun back around to face her mother. "No, wait, I need to fill up on gas this morning. Should I use the card or do you have cash-"

Checking her purse and realizing she didn't have much cash inside, Melissa cut her off, "Just use the card."

"Okay. Will do." Lauren turned to walk out of the kitchen, hearing the back door open and shut to signal her mother leaving the house and entering the garage.

Walking into her bedroom, her thoughts went to her father as she wondered what else he could be lying about. Was there even anything wrong with his car? And if not, where was it?

She stepped into the shower and felt the same feeling of dread that she did when she walked into her father's office the night before. Between the way he was acting, to how his office looked and now the missing car- it was clear something was going and it wasn't anything good.

She tried to push the thought from her mind as she dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a white baby doll tank top with lace trim. She left her brown hair down and applied a touch of makeup, then left the bathroom to slip on a pair of white sneakers.

Grabbing her book bag and purse, she reminded herself to grab the supplies she bought last night and left in the kitchen, then grabbed her cell phone from the bedside table, seeing she had another text message from Cheryl.

With a sigh, she clicked on the messages, both were basically the same, reminding her she needed to be present for the River Vixen tryouts after school.

She locked the screen on the phone and slipped it into the back pocket of her shorts, then out of habit, walked over to the dresser to pull open one of the drawers that held all the shorts and t-shirts she wore at practice. It wasn't until she reached in to grab one of the yellow and white tops that she froze for a moment and realized what she was doing.

This isn't what she wanted. She didn't want to be a River Vixen anymore.

In all honesty, she never really wanted to be one to begin with. When they started high school, Betty was determined to be a River Vixen- it was her dream, but the dream wasn't just for her to be one. She wanted to cheer right along beside her best friend.

Back then, Lauren didn't have the heart to tell her she didn't want to try out, she didn't want to see the disappointed look on her friend's face if she said no, so she did it- the only problem was, she made the team and Betty didn't.

She offered to quit, but Betty wouldn't hear of it, and again, she didn't have the heart to argue. Plus in Betty's mind, she would make the team eventually and once she did, then their dream of cheering together would come true.

She still hated the thought of letting Betty down, but if the summer taught her anything it was that she had to start doing what made her happy and not being a River Vixen, would make her extremely happy.

With that thought in mind, she tossed the t-shirt back into the drawer and slammed it shut, then reached back to grab her cell phone. She quickly typed out a short text to Cheryl, that simply said, I quit.

Slipping the phone back into her pocket, she felt a smile appear on her face for the first time that morning. Even her steps felt lighter as she walked out of the bedroom and felt like maybe this year could be different, maybe it could be better.

•••

The hope of a better year didn't last long after her book bag broke and fell in a mud puddle, she realized she forgot her school supplies and the cherry drink she bought at the store spilled all over her white top when she opened it, but the worst had to be when she went to fill up her car and the card was declined.

The one bright spot on her day was the fact that the owner of the gas station was familiar with her family, so he still let her fill the car up with promises that she would come by the next day with cash.

Arriving at school, she tried to fold her arms in a way where no one could see the huge red stain on her shirt until she could figure out a better way to cover up, but first she needed to find her locker; even though she had nothing to put in, which was another problem that needed to be solved- finding school supplies.

After walking up and down several hallways, she finally located her locker and let out an annoyed groan when she spun the dial, but it wouldn't open. Looking at the numbers on the sheet of paper in her hand, she slowly spun the dial again, making sure she stopped at the right number each time, but when she tried to open the door, it still wouldn't budge.

She took in a deep breath and was seconds away from punching the door, when she felt someone come up behind her, then saw a fist hit the right corner of the door twice before pulling the door open. Turning her head, she saw her ex-boyfriend standing behind her and gave him a small smile in thanks.

"One of the guys on the team had this locker last year," he explained when he saw the question in her eyes.

"Of course I would have to get the difficult locker."

Opening the door wider, she caught a whiff of something musty and noticed whoever had the locker last didn't clean it out and had left behind an old, moldy sandwich. She scoffed and slammed the door before covering her mouth and nose. "And the grossest one."

"It's not that bad," Archie said while breathing through his mouth.

"You're a horrible liar, Arch." She shot him a look.

"Sorry." He chuckled.

"It's fine." She shrugged, then leaned back against the locker beside hers. "I'll just ask the janitor to do a deep..." Remembering the foul smell that hit her before, she added, "Deep...deep clean. Plus it's not like I need the locker today anyways."

"Why not?"

"I forgot my school supplies at home."

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a new notebook and handed it to her. "Here."

"Archie, you don't-"

"It's fine. I have more than enough." He waited for her to take the notebook, then dug into the bag again to pull out a black pen.

"Thanks," she mumbled as she took the pen from him as well. "At least that's one problem solved."

"What's the other one?" he asked, then saw her motion toward the stain on her shirt. "I was gonna ask about that, but figured it was a cherry soda explosion."

"You would be correct."

"Can't you just wear the shirt you were gonna wear for practice?" he suggested, knowing the River Vixens would be meeting after school.

"I didn't bring anything to change into."

"Why not?"

"'Cause I kinda quit the Vixens," she quietly admitted as she made a face and waited for his reaction.

"You- what? You quit? But, why? You loved being a Vixen," Archie asked with wide eyes.

"No, actually, I never liked it," she said, seeing the shocked look on his face.

She shifted nervously from one foot to the other and watched his mouth open and close a few times as he tried to figure out how to respond to her confession. If she was being honest, she didn't really like the way he was looking at her...almost like he didn't recognize her.

When she saw him open his mouth again, she quickly cut him off before he could say something she didn't wanna hear. Things were still a bit awkward between them and she didn't want a repeat of the night before at Pop's.

"Well, I guess I better hit the restrooms and see if this shirt can be saved."

"Wait, Lolly!" he called out, getting her attention.

She saw him reach into his bag again and pull out a dark grey t-shirt. "Archie, what are you-"

"You can wear this." When he saw her open her mouth to protest, he added, "I packed an extra one to change into after practice, but I can just wear the one I have on now."

"Archie, I dunno-"

"It's just a shirt, Lolly," he interrupted. "It doesn't have to mean anything. I mean, friends share clothes sometimes, right?"

"Right," she breathed out with a chuckle. She thought about pointing out that it might be weird for exes to share clothes, but she honestly didn't wanna go through her whole day with a huge stain and smelling like cherry soda.

"Thanks, Archie." She smiled. "Seriously, this is...just thank you."

"You're welcome," he said back as he resisted the urge to wrap an arm around her and pull her toward him. Basically, it's what he had wanted to do since he approached her- it's what he would have done when they were together.

Instead, he gave her arm a gentle squeeze. "And hey, just think, as bad as everything has been this morning, you have nowhere to go but up."

She softly chuckled at his comment and went to respond, but before she could the two were interrupted by Reggie Mantle, one of Archie's teammates and not one of Lauren's favorite people. He was a typical jock who only really had three loves; football, sex and himself.

"How's it going, Lauren?" He came to a stop in front of them with his eyes on her. "I see someone did some growing this summer."

"I'm the same height I was last time you saw me, Reg," she pointed out. She actually didn't think she had grown any at all in a few years. It was like she hit 5'3 then stopped growing.

"I wasn't talking about height." He shot her a grin as his eyes dropped to her chest, causing her to let out a scoff as she folded her arms across her chest and used the t-shirt to try to cover herself.

"Well, there goes that theory," she quietly said to Archie, referring to his comment earlier about how things couldn't get worse.

"And look at you! Bro, you are ready for football," Reggie continued as he looked over at Archie. "I'm not kidding you, dude. You got ripped. Look at this arm, it's diesel!"

"That's my cue to leave," Lauren mumbled, knowing Reggie was nowhere near done talking about football.

She gave Archie a small wave, knowing she wouldn't be able to get a word in as Reggie began to ask him how much he could bench now and asking for tips. She rolled her eyes as she began to walk away and heard him ask if Archie was taking any performance-enhancing drugs.

It was obvious that Archie had bulked up over the summer, but he wasn't the drug taking type- it was all from hard work at his father's construction company.

Walking down the hallway in search of a restroom, she didn't make it far when Kevin Keller appeared at her side and began walking in step with her.

"Did I see what I think I just saw?" he questioned.

"I dunno, Kev, what do you think you saw?" She shot her friend a confused look.

"You and Archie reconciling. That is what I saw, right?"

"Nope, sorry, that's not what you saw."

"Wait, really?" Kevin came to a stop and lightly grabbed her arm to stop her. "You two are really not getting back together? I honestly thought this thing going on- whatever it is- was just temporary. You know, just a summer thing and getting to be free for a few months. You both go do your own thing without being tied down, but then come back together at the start of the school year."

"It was never about being free or being able to do anything without feeling tied down," Lauren stated.

"Archie got hot," he said, pointing out the obvious.

"Archie has always been hot," she countered. "It's not about that either."

"He's got abs now, Lolly. Abs!"

"I know, but it's not about that as well." She laughed as she began to walk down the hall again.

"Yeah, but..." Realizing what she said, he quickly caught up to her. "Wait, how do you know about the abs?"

"I saw him last night." Seeing him raise his eyebrows, wanting to know more of the story, she rolled her eyes. "I swung by his house yesterday because he texted me and when I got there he was in the shower so I was waiting in his room and he walked in with only a towel. It wasn't a big deal."

"Not a big deal? You were in his room and he came in naked-"

"In a towel," she corrected him.

"Naked with only a towel," he continued. "And nothing happened at all?"

"No, nothing happened. We talked for a bit, then met Betty at Pop's."

"So you didn't take that ginger bull by the horns and-"

"No, I didn't," Lauren cut him off with a laugh. "I'm telling you, Kev, seriously, nothing happened."

"What about earlier at the lockers?" he questioned. "I saw him give you a shirt."

"Yeah, because of this." She pulled the shirt away from her chest to show him the red stain.

"Cherry soda explosion?" he questioned.

"Yep." She nodded. Remembering what Archie said earlier, she repeated, "Plus, friends share clothes sometimes, right?"

"Yeah, but you two aren't just friends, you're exes. Different rules apply."

"What do you mean?"

"When people are just friends and share clothes, it's fun and innocent, but when a couple does it it's more intimate," he explained as they came to a stop. "It's like giving someone your Letterman jacket to wear to symbolize you're going steady and to say to others, 'hey, this person is taken.'."

"Maybe that's how it is for some, but not Archie," she argued. "He was just being friendly. He would literally give any of us the shirt right off of his back and you know it."

"True. Sweet old Archie Andrews just might be the exception to the rule," he said, agreeing with her. "But either way, just tread carefully if you're not interested in going back there. Don't wanna give him the wrong idea."

"Of course not," she stated. "Look, I care about Archie, and a part of me will always love him, so I'm not trying to hurt him in any way. He's a great person and he deserves the best."

Kevin opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, they heard a familiar voice down the hall, causing them both to turn their heads to see Betty talking to a brunette they've never seen before.

"Who's that with Betty?" Lauren asked as she eyed the new girl.

"I dunno," Kevin mumbled before it hit him who it was, causing him to let out a gasp. "Wait, I bet that's Veronica Lodge."

"Who?" she asked confused as she looked over at her friend to wait for him to answer.

"She and her mom moved here from New York after her father was arrested."

Seeing she still had no idea what he was talking about, he continued, "How have you not heard about this? It's almost as big of news as Jason's tragic drowning. Pretty much everyone is talking about them- former Riverdale residences leaving and making it big, but now one's in jail and the others had to leave their rich and glamorous life. I'm completely invested in the story, it's more compelling than anything you could find on TV."

"What was her dad arrested for?"

"There's a lot of rumors floating around about what he did," he answered. "I've heard everything from fraud and embezzlement to assault and murder, but my guess would be the former."

"Probably so. People like that usually just hire someone to do their dirty work." She imagined some of the jobs the Serpents had been hired to do through the years.

There were a couple of times over the summer she showed up at the Whyte Wyrm to hang out with Sweet Pea but he was running late. He would never tell her why, but she wasn't stupid, she knew he was doing something illegal.

"And how many shady criminals have you been hanging out with?" Kevin joked, never realizing how many she had been around over the summer.

Letting out a forced laugh, Lauren ignored his comment and nodded toward the two girls talking at the end of the hallway. "We should probably go introduce ourselves, right? Be nice to the newbie?"

She didn't wait for him to answer as she began to walk toward her blonde friend and heard Kevin's shoes squeak on the floor as he rushed to catch up to her.

"So what's the social scene like here? Any nightclubs?" she heard Veronica asking Betty as she and Kevin came up behind them.

Lauren appeared beside Betty, seeing her best friend shoot her a smile, while Kevin circle around the trio to answer Veronica's previous question, "A strip club called the Ho Zone and a tragic gay bar called Innuendo."

He began to walk backward as the girls continued to walk down the hallway. "Friday nights, football games and then tailgate parties at the Mallmart parking lot. Saturday night is movie night, regardless of what's playing at the Bijou, and you better get there early, because we don't have reserved seating in Riverdale."

"There's also the Twilight Drive-In. Unfortunately, it's closing soon so if that's your thing you better go there quick," Lauren added, feeling her face fall for a moment as she thought about all the memories she made there over the summer. Now knowing someone bought it and it was being torn down soon was like the nail on the coffin that was her summer.

"And Sunday nights...Thank God for HBO," Kevin began to speak again as the group came to a stop, no one noticing the shift in Lauren's mood since it was over in a snap and a smile was plastered on her face again.

"Veronica Lodge, this is Lauren Kinley and Kevin Keller," Betty said, introducing her two friends that were standing on either side of her. "Veronica's new here. Kevin is-"

"Gay, thank God. Let's be best friends." Veronica held out her hand to him to shake. Turning her attention to Lauren, she shook her hand as well. "Both of you. I love your bracelets by the way."

"Thanks." Lauren glanced down at her wrist to the bracelets she had slipped on earlier, but the one that stood out the most was a thin white braided leather one.

Seeing the bracelet on her wrist now felt like a punch in the stomach. She wasn't paying attention before when she grabbed similar looking bracelets to wear, if she had she wouldn't have picked that one since Sweet Pea had given it to her a few weeks ago after he caught her looking at it in a store.

She could have easily afforded it, but he insisted on buying it for her, then flashed her that smirk she found it hard to say no to until she finally agreed to let him pay for it.

Later, as he placed it on her wrist, he even commented the bracelet was made for her since it had a small round charm with the letter 'R' hanging from it. She tried to argue that it probably meant 'Riverdale', but he wouldn't hear of it.

Pushing the memory out of her mind, she flashed Veronica a smile and complimented her on the first thing she noticed- the pearl necklace around her neck.

"So how long have all of you been friends?" Veronica questioned the small group.

Throwing an arm around Lauren to hug her close, Betty said, "I met Lolly in kindergarten and we quickly became the best of friends."

"Only after you gave me your last lollipop," Lauren pointed out. "Which is also how the nickname Lolly got started."

"That's cute." Veronica smiled.

"And Kev became a part of our group when he transferred here in middle school." Betty tossed her other arm around him.

"That's great you all have been friends for that long," Veronica said. "I only hope to make lasting friendships like that as well."

"Well, we're a pretty accepting and welcoming bunch, so-"

"Is it true what they say about your dad?" Kevin spoke up, interrupting Lauren, who shot him a look, as did Betty.

He looked back at them, giving them a small shrug and wondering why they were looking at him with wide eyes. He didn't think he had done too bad waiting to ask the question. In truth, he wanted to ask as soon as he approached the new girl but decided to bite his tongue for a bit.

"That he's the devil incarnate? I stand by my father," Veronica said back with a hint of attitude. Folding her arms across her chest, she questioned them, "Does everyone here know?"

"Well, uhh..." Lauren dragged out as she turned her head to look at Betty and Kevin, neither one of them knowing how to answer the question- which was enough of an answer for Veronica.

"Wonderful. Ten minutes in and I'm already the Blue Jasmine of Riverdale High." She scoffed before walking away from the group.

Betty and Lauren turned to shoot Kevin another look before they linked arms and began to walk down the hallway to catch up with Veronica. They each took a different side of the new girl, then glanced at each other for a moment, both trying to think of something to say to change the subject from Kevin's awkward question earlier.

"So, uh, did Betty give you a history on the school?" Lauren asked as Kevin caught up to the trio of girls. "She always likes to start with that."

"Yeah, we covered that," Veronica answered.

"Oh, and of course there's the Back-to-School semi-formal dance this weekend," Betty spoke up, finally thinking of something for them to talk about as they arrived at a different hallway, closer to the music room and gymnasium.

"Oh!" Veronica grabbed Betty's arm to pull her closer to her before coming to a stop. "There's the hottie we were with last night."

"Last night?" Lauren questioned while she and Kevin came to a stop on Veronica's other side. Looking down the hall, she saw Archie coming out of the music room with a disappointed look on his face. "You were at the diner last night?"

"She showed up not long after you left," Betty answered before Veronica could speak.

Nodding her head, Veronica added, "I was picking up an order and met Betty and him...The red-headed Ansel Elgort." Keeping her eyes on his form as he began to walk in the opposite direction as them, she asked, "Is he your boyfriend?"

"No, we broke up," Lauren answered at the same time Betty said they were just friends and Kevin chimed in with, "No, he's straight."

Ignoring the other two answers, Veronica turned her attention to Lauren. "Was it recent? The last thing I wanna do is come between someone-"

"No, no, it's fine," Lauren interrupted with a shake of the head.

"In that case, mind putting in a word?" Veronica asked her with a smile before the group began to walk down the hallway. "I've tried every flavor of boy but orange."

"Actually, to clarify...Lolly and Archie aren't dating anymore at the moment, but they are endgame," Kevin said, butting into the conversation.

"What? No, that's not- we're not endgame," Lauren stated.

"Plus, it was kinda recent. It happened at the start of the summer, so I dunno if anyone is ready to move on yet," Betty said, speaking for the couple, even though one part of the ex-couple was present for the conversation.

"If you're not over him, you should ask him to the formal." Veronica turned her head to look at Lauren, who had slowly been shaking her head since Betty's comment.

"Seriously, guys, it's over. I'm sorry," she said to her two friends as she flashed them a sad smile. Speaking to Veronica, she added, "I can't speak for Archie, but it is over between us, and the last thing I should do is ask him to the formal."

"Actually you should, but I heard it might be getting canceled. Because of what happened to Jason," Kevin announced. "They're gonna tell us at the assembly."

"Who's Jason and what happened to him?" Veronica questioned them as her steps faltered, causing the other three to do the same before they each looked at each other, wondering how they should explain what happened when no one knew exactly what did happen.

•••

After explaining to Veronica the best they could, Lauren told the others to save her a seat in the gymnasium while she ran to the restroom to change shirts before the assembly. She did not want to go through the rest of the day with a red, sticky stain on her shirt.

She peeled off the ruined top and was relieved to see none of the soda had bled through onto her white lacy bra. Grabbing a paper towel, she wet it then began to wipe away any stickiness from her skin, instantly feeling better. Maybe Archie was right before, maybe her day would improve.

Grabbing the shirt Archie let her borrow, she slipped it over her head and watched the soft fabric swallow her small frame. Reaching behind her, she gathered some of the extra material and tied it into a knot, revealing a thin line of her flat stomach.

Feeling satisfied with how the shirt looked, she glanced up and made a face when she saw her hair. When she left the house earlier it was smooth and laid straight down her back, but now it was a fuzzy mess, and not to mention she had basically sweat off all the makeup she applied earlier thanks to the morning she had.

She opened the oversized purse she carried and was thankful she had a hairbrush, hair tie and bag of makeup inside.

After touching up on her makeup, she piled her hair on top of her head in a messy bun, then jerked her eyes to look behind her in the mirror when she heard the restroom door open and saw a blur of red. She pulled in a deep breath to prepare herself for the confrontation with Cheryl Blossom. She should have known she would track her down as soon as possible.

"What is this?" The redhead pulled her cell phone out of her purse and held it up.

"It's a cell phone, Cheryl," Lauren answered, hoping she could play dumb and slip past the other girl, but deep down she knew she wouldn't allow her to get away that easy. She would just have to remember the confidence she gained over the summer and stand up for herself.

"No, halfwit, I meant the text message you sent," she said back with a hint of attitude. Turning the phone toward her, she read out loud the two-word text Lauren had sent her earlier, "I quit."

Taking a step closer to the brunette, she raised her head to look at Lauren. "Now, I know you don't mean the Vixens because no one quits the Vixens without my say-so, and last I checked, I didn't give you the go-ahead to quit."

"Last I checked, I don't need your go-ahead to do anything, Cheryl." Lauren began to put everything back into her purse, including the ruined shirt she had on before.

"Is this really how you wanna do things, LP?" she questioned, using the nickname she gave her years ago- which was the first letter of her first and middle name. "Did you hit your head over the summer and forget who you're dealing with?"

"No, I didn't forget." She turned around to face her. "I know who you really are, Cheryl, which is why I also know whatever threat you're about to make, you won't follow through on it- at least not with me. We've known each other too long...since birth, basically, and we might not be as close as we once were, but I know when it really counts, you won't turn on me."

"Maybe I won't." A cheery smile appeared on her face before it fell and she continued harshly, "Or maybe the loyalty you think exist because our daddies are besties is just an illusion. The question is, do you want to test that theory?"

With a scoff, Lauren rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, "Great talk, Cheryl. Thanks for making my day a million times better with your kind words and your sunny disposition."

Without another word, Lauren walked past the redhead and headed for the door, but before she could open it, Cheryl called out for her to wait, causing her to turn around to face her.

"What?" Lauren folded her arms across her chest, preparing herself for round two.

"You're right. I'm not going to threaten you to stay on the Vixens."

"Thank you."

"I'm not finished," Cheryl quickly added when Lauren turned to leave. "And as nice as it is to see you gained a backbone, I just want you to know, I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing this for you."

"What do you mean?" Lauren asked confused.

"You're right, we have known each other for a long time- since we were infants. We've been involved in the same activities since we were kids and I've seen you quit every...single...thing," she said, saying the last three words slowly. "Every dance class we took. The art classes, gymnastics, singing lessons...you name it, you quit it, and do you know why?"

"No, but I'm sure you're gonna tell me," Lauren mumbled.

Cheryl ignored her comment. "Because when things get hard, you quit and you run away. You don't stick around to deal with it, you just shove it all away and move on."

Seeing Lauren lower her head at her words, she knew she was shutting down, but that didn't stop her from saying, "And let's not forget you self-sabotage yourself constantly. I mean, you had a great thing going with Archie until you quit that as well."

"That's not what that was about." She jerked her head up. "I didn't break up with Archie to sabotage myself and I don't quit things because they're hard, I'm just...I'm trying to find myself and figure out who I am without someone else telling me who I should be, and I know you can understand that."

"I do," Cheryl softly said. Growing up as a twin, some people would already assume the type of person she was based on meeting Jason, it was like they didn't want to even bother with getting to know who she really was.

"So then, you can understand why I'm quitting, right?"

With a slow nod, Lauren thought the conversion was over until Cheryl flashed her a genuine smile. "But for what it's worth, you're one of the best dancers we have. I guess you learned a thing or two before you quit all those dance classes, and that is something we could use until we find a suitable replacement."

Throwing her head back with a groan, Lauren dropped it to look at Cheryl. "Alright, fine! I'll be there this afternoon, but I can't promise I'll stay on the squad."

"Perfect!" Cheryl clapped her hands together once in front of her. "This year is gonna be great! I'll see you then, LP. Don't be late." She brushed past Lauren to leave the restroom, her signature red hair blowing in the air as the door was jerked open.

Now alone, Lauren shook her head and breathed out a chuckle as she thought about what just happened. Only Cheryl could cause someone to go from quitting to agreeing to stick around briefly. All she could hope was this moment was her rock bottom and the only way to go now was up.

•••

A/N; Thank you to everyone reading. At first, I wasn't too thrilled with this chapter since it's basically a filler, but after reading back over it I actually enjoyed all of her interactions with the canon characters.

I hope you all are still enjoying the story. I know it's starting off slow, but it will pick up.

Happy reading!
xx