Today is the day. The dreaded day that she hoped would never come. The day that every teenager wished would never come. The last day of summer. Tomorrow would be Mariah's first day at Riverdale High School and she honestly would rather get hit by a bus than go to that hellhole.

She had planned on spending the last day of summer vacation having fun and being productive. Instead, she found herself lying in bed asleep. Although sleeping was much more preferred than preparing for school.

When she did wake up however, the first thing on her mind was food. After brushing her teeth, she quickly went downstairs, finding her mom in the kitchen washing dishes.

"Good morning mom," Mariah yawned out. Her mother looked up from the dish in her hand and smiled. "Well look who's finally awake," she said. "Did I sleep in?" Mariah asked her mom.

"As a matter of fact you did. Again," Ms. Coleman replied, perplexed. "I'm starting to get worried," she added. "Well excuse me for trying to enjoy my last few days of sleep before I'm back to getting no sleep at all," Mariah said to her mother.

Her mother rolled her eyes, "Stop being so dramatic." She placed the last dish on the rack and dried her hands.

"I'm not being dramatic. Once school starts, I'll get zero sleep and you know it," Mariah said. "Anyways, I made chocolate chip pancakes with bacon and eggs. There's leftovers if you want some," her mother said, changing the subject.

"Of course I want some. I'm hungry," Mariah replied without a second thought. "You're always hungry. And don't get used to me making you breakfast," her mom laughed. Mariah was already shoving eggs into her mouth.

Amara laughed at her daughter again. "Well I'm going to the hospital. I have a surgery in a few hours so I better head out," Amara said to Mariah.

She kissed her daughter on the head before exiting the kitchen. "Have fun!" Mariah called after her mother. Amara Coleman turned around and stuck her tongue out at her daughter before leaving. Mariah laughed a little before continuing to eat her breakfast.

When she was done, she went back to her room and back into her bed. She sat in her bed, under the covers, and on her phone. After a while, Mariah went to take a shower and wash her hair. About an hour later, she called Cheryl.

"Hello?"
"Cheryl I'm bored."
"I'm great! Thanks for asking."
"Hey, I'm serious."
"Well what do you want me to do about it?"
"I don't know. Un-bore me?"
"Sorry, but I'm busy today."
"Busy doing what? Online shopping?"
"If you must know, I'm preparing myself for school tomorrow. You do know we have school right?"
"Ugh! Don't remind me."
"Maybe you should pick out an outfit for tomorrow. I can help you if you want."
"Who picks out their outfit for school the day before? That's weird."
"I'm gonna ignore that comment. Anyway, I gotta go. Talk to you later. And don't forget about cheer tryouts."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Bye."

Mariah hung up the phone without waiting for a reply. Groaning loudly, she flopped backwards onto her bed. Soon after, she fell asleep. By the time she woke up, the sun was setting.

"Dammit! I missed lunch!" Mariah said, in frustration. She threw the covers off of her body and walked downstairs into the kitchen. She decided that she'd make herself dinner before remembering that she couldn't cook. She then thought about going to Pop's. It was then that she remembered that she didn't have a car.

"Well this is a predicament," she sighed. Mariah thought about what to do. She couldn't call her mom because she was at work. Cheryl's probably still 'too busy' worrying about school stuff. Hearing her stomach growl, she put on some shoes, grabbed her house keys and wallet, and then left the house. "I'll just walk," she mumbled to herself. "Food is important."

The walk to Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe proved to be longer than she thought. By the time she got there, her legs ached. "This was a mistake," she gasped out, slightly out of breath. "Shit. I gotta start conditioning again," she said.

She sighed, looking up at the diner. "The things I do for food," she muttered, before walking into the diner. Upon entering, she heard the bell ding above her head. As she walked to the counter, a voice calling her name stopped her.

"Mariah? Is that you?" The voice asked. Mariah turned to the source of the voice and saw a pretty blonde girl who looked very familiar, though she couldn't quite put her finger on who it was. Seeing her confusion, Betty continued speaking, stepping away from the booth she was currently sitting at. "It's me. Betty. Betty Cooper," she said.

Realization crossed Mariah's face as she stared at the blonde. She was then filled with dread. If Betty is here, does that mean Archie is here too? Mariah wasn't ready to see him, not yet. Not ever.

"Betty. Hi. How are you?" Mariah asked, forcing a smile onto her face. "I'm good, how are you? I heard that you were back and I wanted to see you. Maybe bring over a welcome back gift but, I don't know where you live." Betty smiled, a genuine smile. Mariah was a little confused. Although she and Betty were never really close, she thought that the blonde would be mad at her.

"I've been good. And it's okay, no gifts are necessary," Mariah replied as she now stood in front of Betty, a real smile coming to her face. A person cleared their throat, grabbing the girl's attention. It was then that Mariah noticed the redheaded boy sitting in the booth that Betty just stood from. And there he sat, Archibald Andrews, in the flesh. Mariah took in a sharp breath and Archie gulped.

The two stared at each other for a while, an awkward tension hung in the air. Archie admired Mariah, he hadn't seen her up close since she got back. He hated to admit it but she looked beautiful. Mariah took a good look at Archie as well. She took notice of his muscles, his jaw was more defined, and he looked hot, to say the least.

Betty looked between the two before speaking up. "Archie, aren't you going to say hi?" She asked him, giving him a look. Archie snapped out of his daze and looked at Betty before his eyes returned to Mariah, a harsh glare resting on his face.

"What are you doing here?" He asked Mariah, ignoring Betty's question, the glare still on his face. Mariah was taken aback by the glare but then gave him an annoyed look. "I came here to get some food. Why else would I be here?" She snapped. His glare hardened.

"No. I mean why are you here, in Riverdale?" He reiterated. Mariah sighed, thinking of an excuse. She couldn't tell him the truth, but she couldn't come up with a lie. "Do you really care?" She asked him, narrowing her eyes a little. "No, not really," Archie replied.

"Yeah, I didn't think so," Mariah said with attitude. Archie rolled his eyes. "Oh please don't tell me that you're mad at me. Because you have no reason to be mad," Archie said angrily, his voice raising. Mariah looked at him, the small amount of anger she had dissipating. "No, I'm not mad," she told him.

Archie laughed bitterly. "Really? Because the attitude that you're giving me tells me another story," he said.

"Yeah well you're kinda being a dick right now," Mariah said, her anger returning. Betty watched on, unable to think of what to do.

"I'm being a dick? Well excuse me for being upset that you're here," he practically snarled. Once again, the anger that Mariah felt went away but this time, it was replaced with hurt. However she concealed her emotions to the best of her ability. "Alright Arch, that's enough. And people are starting to stare," Betty cut in uncomfortably.

"No, it's okay Betty. He has every right to be upset," Mariah said calmly. Archie scoffed and stood up, giving her an annoyed look. "Yeah you're right. I do," he said. "You just left, without saying anything. How could you do that? I'm your best friend. I was your best friend," he continued, correcting himself at the end. His voice had softened and the glare that previously adorned his features turned to a look of hurt.

Mariah tried to ignore what he said. Although, I was your best friend, continued to echo in her mind. "I'm sorry," she whispered, not knowing what else to say. Archie scoffed again. "That's it? That's all you have to say?" He asked incredulously.

"Well what do you want me to say?" She asked him. "I want an explanation. That's all I've ever wanted. For three years that's what I wanted," he said. In that moment, he forgot that Betty was standing right next to him. That he was standing in the diner and that there were other people around. In that moment, it was just him and Mariah.

"You never called me to explain. You never emailed, never wrote. You didn't do anything to show me, to tell me that you were sorry. That you wanted to have some sort of friendship again after you broke ours. I thought you would at least call me. Give me some excuse on why you never said goodbye. But you never did. Not once did you ever give me the explanation I deserved. For three years, I haven't heard anything from you. And now here you are, three years later, back in Riverdale. And I'm still here, with no explanation," he finished.

For the first time in a long time, Mariah was speechless. She felt tears beginning to form in her eyes and was afraid that they'd spill. Archie looked at her intently before sighing and looking away. Betty tried to break the tension. "Look, there's obviously a lot that you two have to discuss so why don't you guys go somewhere more private to talk it out," she suggested with a hopeful look in her eyes.

Archie shook his head and sat back down. "No. I have nothing else to say to her," he said. "Come on Archie---" Betty tried before he cut her off. "Why are you defending her Betty? It's not like she gave you a proper goodbye either," he said in confusion, trying not to raise his voice at her. Betty sighed, "I'm not defending her. It's just, it's been years Archie. I think she deserves a second chance. Don't you?"

Archie looked at her flabbergasted. He couldn't believe what Betty was saying. "Not everyone deserves a second chance," he mumbled back.

Mariah took a deep breath before speaking. "I'm just gonna go," she said, before rushing to the bathroom. She should have left the diner, it would have been smarter. But at that moment all she thought about was getting away.

As she entered the bathroom, she went to the mirror and looked at herself, rubbing her hands across her face. A few tears slip out of her eyes and she wiped them away harshly. Mariah didn't know why she was crying and she was angry at herself for doing so. She expected a reaction like this from Archie once she saw him. But actually hearing his words hurt a lot more than she thought they would. But she deserved them, she knew she deserved them.

"Stop. You don't get to cry. Not after what you did," she scolded herself. Mariah ran her hands through her hair and looked at herself in the mirror. "I have to get out of here," she mumbled. A sigh escaped her lips and she turned to the door, exiting the bathroom.

As she left the bathroom, she saw a brunette girl leave Betty and Archie's table and walk up to the counter. Upon closer inspection, Mariah realized who it was. She quickly walked passed the booth where the blonde and the redhead were still seated and toward the girl.

"Veronica?" She questioned. Veronica quickly turned around upon hearing the familiar voice. Her eyes widen in shock before she spoke. "Mariah? What are you doing here?" She asked.

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" She asked Veronica incredulously. She couldn't believe that Veronica was here. This could be bad, it could mess things up. Make things worse.

"I live here now?" She replied, though it sounded more like a question. "I didn't know you were coming back here," Veronica continued.

Mariah gaped at her. "What do you mean? I literally told you that I was moving back to Riverdale," Mariah whisper shouted. From their booth, Archie and Betty watched the two converse, in confusion and curiosity.

"Oh. I must have not been paying attention when you told me," Veronica replied with a sheepish look. Mariah laughed softly in spite of herself, in spite of everything, as she looked at her old friend. The action bringing a smile to Veronica's face.

"I should go. My mom's waiting for me," Veronica said, holding a bag of food. "Yeah I should probably get going too. I have a long walk ahead of me," Mariah replied. "Have you already eaten?" Veronica asked Mariah.

Mariah glanced at Archie and Betty, who were both still watching the interaction, and then back to Veronica. "No. I lost my appetite," she said. "I'll see you later I guess." And with that, she left Pop's and began to walk home.

When she got home, she took a shower and changed into her pajamas. She crawled into her bed and curled up underneath her covers, wanting to forget about the events of that night. But she couldn't. She couldn't forget the things that Archie said. She couldn't get the look of pure anger and hurt on his face out of her head. And she definitely couldn't sleep.

She tried calling Cheryl, but was met with her voicemail. She tried calling her mom but got her voicemail too. She thought about calling Veronica but decided against it. There was only one other person she could call: Jason. Mariah dialed his number and almost pressed talk before stopping, remembering that no one would pick up. He wouldn't pick up. She would never hear Jason's voice again because he was gone.

Mariah sighed sadly and put her phone back on its charger and onto her nightstand. She stared up at the ceiling, contemplating on going to school the next day. She didn't want to go. She didn't want to face Archie, not again. She turned onto her side and closed her eyes, trying to sleep.

After a few hours of lying in bed, she finally fell asleep.

°°°°

Hello beauties. Chapter three is here. I feel like this is really bad and cringy but here it is anyway. I feel like this story is slow but I don't want things to go too fast, you know? I don't like when books just jump into things. I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter will be the first day of school and it should be fun but idk because I haven't started writing it. Anyways, I hope that everyone has a nice day.