| AUTHOR'S NOTE |
the collage above is what josie's birthday cake, power dampening bracelet, and outfit for this chapter look like. it also shows the necklace that veronica gets josie in this chapter ;))

sixteen
happy birthday, jo.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY," Josie's mother, Audrey says over the phone a week later. Josie's birthday is the same day as Jughead's, so they usually end up spending most of it together. Josie usually has a small party with her family and friends from the academy, then goes to Archie's where her, Archie, and Jughead spend the night watching movies. She usually hangs out with the rest of her friends the next weekend. She doesn't like having a big party, because it draws too much attention to her and her mom. But her mom isn't in town for her birthday this year, so she plans on just spending it with Toni. "Who are you spending it with?"

"My friend, Toni is taking me to the movies, actually," Josie replies, fiddling nervously with her bracelet. She's nervous about seeing Toni, especially with how close her and Veronica have been getting lately. She feels like she's doing something wrong by seeing Toni, and still flirting with Veronica. It's not like she's official with either of them, but still, she's confused as hell about her feelings. The doorbell then rings, and she heaves a sigh. "That's her, actually. I have to go. Love you."

"Love you, too, sweetie," Audrey sighs, hanging up the phone. Josie smiles, taking one last look in the mirror before she heads towards the front door. She pockets her phone as she throws it open to see Toni wearing her Serpent jacket, and a pair of leather pants. Her pink hair is in French braids, and she smiles at Josie.

"Wow, look at you."

"Look at me?" Josie echoes, looking the Topaz girl up and down playfully. "Look at you. You look gorgeous."

"Thanks," Toni smiles politely before offering her the spare helmet for her bike. "You'll need this."

Josie takes it before following Toni to her motorcycle. She climbs on the back of it cautiously, slinking her arms around Toni's waist tightly. She holds on for dear life when Toni first takes off, but as the wind flows through her hair effortlessly, she relaxes, finding the feeling welcoming and exciting.

A small smile finds its way to her lips as she admires her surroundings whizzing by. Feeling brave, she puts her hands on Toni's shoulders, and moves so that she's standing up on the foot rests. A carefree laugh escapes her mouth as the duo ride towards the movies.

"You're crazy, Jo," Toni breathes, not having to look back to know what Josie is doing. Josie simply laughs once more, unaffected by what Toni had just said.

"Tell me something I don't know."

They then pull onto a main road, and Josie eases herself back onto the seat, not wanting somebody to see her standing up on the motorcycle. Once they get to the movies, they get two tickets to a double feature, and buy popcorn, M&M's, and a large Pepsi, and a large Dr.Pepper. They then walk into the movie, carrying the food, but Josie stops in her tracks once she sees Betty and Jughead sitting in the third row. She raises an eyebrow at Toni, but she shrugs like it's just a coincidence.

"Hey, guys," Josie deadpans, caught off guard by the fact that they're in the same movie theater. "Mind if we sit with you?"

"Uh, yeah-" Jughead begins, only wanting to spend time with his girlfriend.

"No, we don't," Betty says at the same time, making them both exchange uncomfortable glances. Josie and Toni look at each other awkwardly, before Betty turns to both of them. "You can sit next to us."

Josie and Toni nod before they sit down on the other side of Jughead, leaving an empty space between them, so he can have some personal space.

The feature is a murder mystery movie, so the four love it. But to Josie's surprise, Toni and Betty decide halfway through the movie that they want to leave. Josie and Jughead object, but the Toni and Betty end up getting what they want.

Josie is silent as Toni drives her to Archie's house, so they can binge movies all night. But when the duo walk through the door with Betty and Jughead, Josie frowns, because the house is dark. But after a moment, the lights flick on and Ethel, Archie, Veronica, Kevin, and an unknown Serpent jump out with excited facial expressions. "Surprise!"

"Oh, this is why we left the movie," Josie whispers in disbelief as Toni throws her arms around the witch.

"Happy birthday," Toni grins, hugging her tightly.

"Thanks, Topaz," Josie replies, returning the embrace gently, but she can't help but look past the Serpent at Veronica, who looks uneasy. Josie tries to make eye contact with her, but Veronica excuses herself from the room, basically running to the kitchen. "You shouldn't have. Really."

"Oh, it was nothing," Toni winks at her before moving aside so that her friends can crowd her. Archie gets to her first, reeking of alcohol. For better lack of judgement, Josie decides not to say anything to him though, because she wants to have a drink herself. She then hugs Kev before eyeing the unknown Serpent.

"And you are?"

"Oh, Josie, this is my boyfriend, Joaquin," Kevin introduces the Serpent. He offers Josie his hand, and she shakes it enthusiastically.

"So, you're the infamous Joaquin," she beams, looking at him approvingly. He has dark hair, and eyes as blue as the ocean. "I've heard a lot of things about you."

"Good things, I hope."

"Very good things," Josie clarifies, retracting her hand happily, wondering when she can slip off to go check on Veronica. But she's cut out of her thoughts when Betty and Toni come out holding two different cakes, singing Happy Birthday in tune.

Betty holds a hamburger cake, that makes Josie wanna barf. And Toni is holding a vanilla flavored cake covered in navy blue frosting. It's covered in decorative stars and the top of it says Sweet Sixteen. It's got sixteen multicolored candles on it, but that's not what Josie's focus is on. She's focused on a small card taped to the bottom of the cake with two initials written in curly letters that she knows all too well; VL for Veronica Lodge. She takes the card in her hands, admiring it as Toni and Betty continue to sing.

She picks up the card tentatively before opening it, scanning the words quickly:

Happy birthday, Jo. I hope it's as special as you are. -V

And on the inside of the envelope, there's a gold necklace. Knowing Veronica, it's real gold, and when Josie picks it up, she finds that it has a small key pendant on it. She smiles at it before fastening it around her neck.

As soon as she does, Toni motions to the cake. "Blow out the candles. But don't forget to make a wish."

"I wish it were just the two of us right now," Jughead mutters to Betty, but Josie manages to overhear. Josie stifles a laugh at his negative, being used to it by now.

In an attempt to lighten the mood, Josie smiles as brightly as she can. "I wish I could remember this moment forever."

But her happy demeanor dampens as the words leave her mouth. But she doesn't let it show, she just blows her candles out. Jughead does it right after her, and the group lets out excited cheers. But Josie can't bring herself to cheer.

She's sixteen now, so everything is gonna change. She knows that Father Blackwood will visit her sometime in the next week to talk to her about her Dark Baptism, and then everything will change. She'll be completely immortal, and she won't age ever again. She'll be an entirely different person, but right now, she can enjoy this. She can enjoy being with her mortal friends. But then Kevin tells her about how Veronica had been down from the second she walked into the house. Apparently, she had gone to a meeting with her father's lawyer earlier, and it hadn't been good.

"Uh, excuse me," Josie states before heading towards the kitchen. She finds Veronica at the sink, tears shining in her eyes. "Hey, Ronnie. I heard about what happened... with your dad."

"It's just the tip of the iceberg," Veronica shakes her head, not bothering to hide the fact that she's crying. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay," Josie nods before heading towards the pantry, the place that she knows Archie's dad keeps all of the good alcohol. "Well, then why don't I get you a drink?"

"Isn't it the New York sophisticate who's supposed to corrupt the sweet small-town girl?" Veronica remarks, the sarcasm prominent in her voice.

"Who ever said I was innocent?" Josie counters, clicking her tongue playfully at the Lodge girl as she pulls a bottle of strawberry vodka from the cabinet. She smirks at Veronica, holding it up to show what she'd found. "It seems like we're in luck, because this is my favorite."

She pulls out two glasses, and pours one for her and one for Veronica. She then hands Veronica a glass, and picks one up for herself. "So, you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, but-"

"He threatened me, Josie," Veronica cuts her off quietly, something new in her voice. Something Josie had never heard from Veronica-fear. "Said he would destroy my mom if I didn't make a statement on his behalf. Said she was just as guilty as he was. And maybe he's lying or maybe he isn't. And maybe he killed Jason Blossom, and-"

She cuts off as Josie sets her drink down and pulls her into a hug. She gently pats Veronica's back, not having to say anything to comfort her.

Jughead then comes into the room, pausing once he sees that they're in an embrace. "Oh, sorry. Just coming to get ice cream, so..."

Betty is right behind them, and she pales once she sees their expressions. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, no, I'm just not in a party mood like I usually am," Veronica shrugs as Jughead lets out an annoyed huff of air.

"That makes two of us."

He then rushes out of the kitchen, leaving Betty to scramble after them. Veronica gives Josie a questioning look, but she simply sighs. "Trouble in paradise, I guess. They're both kind of a wild card, so..."

She trails off as she hears some commotion outside. They look at each other before silently heading to the front door, only to see Cheryl come in with about a hundred kids behind her. Moose stands right behind her, holding a keg. Archie appears in the hallway beside Veronica and Josie, looking stunned.

Cheryl smirks at them. "Did you really think you could have a party without inviting moi?"

Chuck then steps up behind her, an equally nasty smirk forming on his face. "Or me?"

"Archie, where do you want the kegs?" Moose asks, somehow managing to hold the keg without breaking a sweat.

Archie looks at Josie, but she ignores him, not wanting to make her birthday a big deal but also not wanting to make a scene. So he grins at them. "Screw it! One in the kitchen, one in the backyard."

Everybody lets out excited cheers before Moose heads towards the kitchen. But on the way, he winks at Josie. "Happy birthday, Jo."

UNEDITED