Chapter Text
It had happened unplanned, unlike most things Archie did.
He had not slept well the night before, and tiredness made him stupid. Usually he biked straight home for lunch -- it gave him options other than ‘eat nothing because some senior broke my lock’ -- but he’d made a wrong turn on the path, and found himself emerging near the town center. That was perfectly fine. He had money on him, and there were plenty of shops nearby. What was unfortunate was this was Vigils territory, a place they liked to prowl after school. Archie didn’t know how far their power extended, and frankly now was not the time to find out.
He slipped into a deli shop and ordered a sandwich. As he ate, he observed the passerby. It was a favorite pastime of his, and honed the senses.
There was the tall man stepping hurriedly along. He seemed well groomed, but tired. He left behind a trail of faintly wet footprints. Archie frowned, thinking. It had not rained recently, and the rest of the man’s shoes and clothing seemed dry. It was possible he’d stepped in a spill indoors, but the material of the shoes made it difficult for water to stay very long. Archie concluded it was most likely he’d walked through a stretch of dewy grass shortly before this block.
Then there was the woman walking to the left of the sidewalk, against the flow of the crowd. Archie judged that she might be visiting on holiday or for work. And the little boy tugging his mother to cross the street unnecessarily really just wanted a closer look at the candy shop.
Glingelingeling. Archie glanced at the door, then jumped up, wiping crumbs from his jacket. One of the Vigils -- there was no way they wouldn’t recognize him. Archie moved quickly, making it to the door as the Vigil was at the counter.
The bell rang shrilly again. Archie broke into a run, but unfortunately, he, once again, was not looking where he was going.
Fate, that fickle thing, had steered him into another Vigil, who grabbed his arm and called out, “Jack, we got a trespasser!” Archie whirled around to see Jack (presumably) peering out of the deli shop.
Shit.