✴ SHAPE OF YOU
— ONE: THE SUMMER OF LOSS

     Where do all great writers start?

     Do they start by writing poems in the back of their notebooks during their fourth period? Do they start by writing fairytales or writing fables? Beatriz Ruiz started by typing in words on her computer, obsessed to get every adjective off her tongue, all while keeping it on the down low. Sitting in a booth at the back of Pops, saving her work to her USB chapter by chapter. And while she had good intentions, that might be the key to Astrid Andrew's downfall.

     Pop Tate was used to the sound of the bell ringing every time a customer walked in, and no matter if it was a hyper child ready for a milkshake, a teenage couple on a date, or an older couple making their weekly outing to the choco'lit shop. And every time, he was ready for Beatriz, who would come in with her laptop in her bookbag, her dark curls bounced as she took a seat and ordered her normal meal — a hamburger and a side of fries to later be topped off with a strawberry shake.

     "How's it going today, Beatriz?" Pop walked past the girl after he'd just delivered the older couples drinks. Beatriz looked up from her book, smiling at the familiar and friendly older man.

     "Good, Pop. How are you?" Beatriz folded her book and sweetly spoke. 

     "It's going well! Great now that my best costumer is here! Let me get my best waiter out here to take your order," Pop nodded, tucking the black tray under his arm as he walked back behind the counter.

     "Thanks, Pop," she said before he was out of earshot. She smiled to herself and went back to finishing scene 6 of The Tragedy of Macbeth. She had reached scene 7 when Riverdale's favourite raven-haired boy appeared at Beatriz's booth with a pen and his notepad, apron around his figure.

     "Hey, Richards," Beatriz placed a sticky note in her book as a bookmarker and set it aside, folding her hands and smiling sweetly at her friend.

     "Hey, Ruiz," Axel Richards grinned back. "You want your usual?"

     "Yes, please," Beatriz said as Axel wrote down 'Bea's usual' and headed back to place her order. Beatriz sighed as he left, her shoulders loosening up as she did so. She wanted to finish Macbeth already, but something in her was itching to open up her laptop.

     So she did. She was sitting at a booth pretty far back, no one behind her. She was acting pretty 'Jughead Jones-y', using her classmate as a noun to describe her shady acts.

     Astrid had texted her a couple of days before asking to meet, and Beatriz being used to Astrid's usual behaviour, agreed to meet her at Beatriz's house, sneaking in through her window. Beatriz had no idea what she was in for when Astrid set her two feet down on her tiled floors that day.

     Beatriz had comforted Astrid, insisting she didn't make a mistake by sleeping with Cheryl. It was okay to experiment, they were after all bored teenage girls in high school after all. Most girls experimented anyways. The only advice Beatriz could offer was to be careful, Cheryl was their friend before anything else and anything more was expected to end horribly. Astrid had nodded, agreeing never to do the sort of thing again.

     Of course, after Astrid left, Beatriz got to thinking. Astrid Andrews was a wild child, an unexpected scene of events was always bound to follow the redhead wherever she went. She made a good story idea for the brunette.

     She overall felt a little guilty writing about Astrid without her knowing, but it's not like anyone would ever find out about Astrid's secret life — if she even had one, technically. Beatriz's untitled novel would remain untitled as it was a practice novel in her eyes. She remembered how Astrid insisted that Beatriz should write a story about her and her ever so interesting life someday. 

     That night after Astrid Andrews bolted back out of Beatriz Ruiz's window — as if she had never been there in the first place — Beatriz was overall speechless, but like the good writer she is, she opened up her laptop and hit 'new document'.

     Orion Ruiz, Beatriz's grandmother, legal guardian and the woman she's named after, opens the door with a plate of warm cookies. She's like the typical grandma you see on tv, spoiling their grandchildren. But Beatriz was her only grandchild, and she was the only one in Beatriz's life besides Astrid that openly had a soft spot for Beatriz. "You writing again?" Orion asks in Spanish, lowering the plate at Beatriz's desk so she can get one.

     "Yeah," Beatriz chuckles, spinning to see her grandma. "For me, abuelita?"

     Her grandma nods, a smile on her face as Beatriz takes one. "It says untitled," she points out.

     "I haven't decided what to call it yet," Beatriz shrugs. "I'll know when I'm done."

     "Order for the prettiest girl in the room," Axel Richards snaps Beatriz out of her daze as he appears at the side of the table, a plate in hand. 

     "Awesome," Beatriz side-eyes her computer, making sure nothing is pulled up. "Can I get a glass of water?" 

     Axel nods. "No problem!"

     As Axel leaves, Beatriz pulls out her notebook and pretends like she's doing her summer book report, which is incorrect because Beatriz finished it two weeks ago. She grumbles lowly when she remembers that soon she's going to be studying for real, but pushes the thought aside and keeps typing.

     The sunglasses on her tank top move when she types fast, and she's so focused she almost doesn't see Archie come up to her. "Are you in the middle of something?" Archie says, startling Beatriz slightly. She jumps, making him laugh.

     "Oh God." she dramatically places her hand over her heart. "No, no I'm not doing anything that important. What's up?" she takes her sunglasses and puts them on her head like a headband.

     "Well, I wanted to talk to you about my sister." Archie slides into the seat across from her and folds his hands together in a fist on the table.

     "What about her?" Beatriz furrows her brows. 

     "Hasn't she seemed a little different lately?" he asks. "Like, something's off with her."

     Beatriz chuckled, laying her arm out across the table and putting her hand atop his fist. "Oh sweetheart, are you sure it's not just that time of the month or something?" she shakes her head with furrowed brows. Archie slightly rolls his eyes and she feels kind of bad for using that line, but countless boys have. Archie just isn't like other boys though.

     "I'm sure, I know my sister." he raises his eyebrows and looks at Beatriz with determination in his eyes. "I know something is wrong with her."

     Beatriz contemplated. "Well, maybe something's up, but it doesn't mean it's wrong." she tried to place her words carefully. "Don't take it from me though, obviously I'm a bad friend for realizing there could be something wrong with my best friend in the whole wide world."

     "You're not a bad friend." he unlocked his fist and held Beatriz's hand, an odd gesture between them that they've never done.  

     "Thanks." Beatriz smiled at the redhead, taking a moment before speaking again. "I'll keep an eye on her, and let you know if anything happens." 

     Archie nodded. "Thanks, Bea."

✴

     WE COULD SOON SOME TO REALIZE AN ACCIDENT HAS OCCURRED. Riverdale police will drag Sweetwater river for Jason's body, but will never find it. So a week later, the Blossom family will bury an empty casket, and Jason's death will be ruled an accident, as the story Cheryl tells will make the rounds. Cheryl dropped a glove in the water, and Jason had reached down to get it, and accidentally tipped the boat. He would have panicked and drowned. 

     As for everybody else, we were still caught up in our own lives and drama when, on the last day of summer vacation, when a new mystery will roll into town.

"What's a chock'lit shop, and why does it sell cheeseburgers?" the raven haired girl asked her mother.

     A girl which a storm built inside her would come crashing into the lives of the residents of Riverdale, especially Astrid Andrews. Nobody could tell for sure what was to happen, but the chemistry between the two girls was unmistakable. It was almost like they were two halves of a whole, spent every waking moment by each other's side and took every chance to be together.

     Not that it matters, but we would soon come to another conclusion about the mystery girl who's going to show up and take Astrid's heart without either girl knowing it.

Veronica Lodge is bisexual.

     We just have to meet her first.

✴

SHAPE OF YOU ;
axel is just nice he's not straight