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“And with that, I now have the longest road!” Betty gloats as she triumphantly places her wooden piece on the centre of the board. Veronica grumbles and reluctantly slides the Reward Card to the blonde.
While Jughead reaches for the dice, Archie groans. “How long do we play for?”
“Until somebody reaches ten points. We've been over this, Archiekins,” Veronica reminds him. Her normally sweet demeanour was being overshadowed by her competitive edge. She loves him, she really does, but they’ve explained the rules half a dozen times already.
Betty and Veronica had decided that they were overdue for a double date, so Betty had offered up her house for a board game night. The two couples sat around the coffee table, munching on chips and trading resource cards. Veronica can’t remember the last time the four of them had been so tranquil and carefree like this. Ever since she had moved to Riverdale two years ago, it’s been murders, gangs, families falling apart… but ever since the Black Hood was unmasked as Betty’s dad, her own father’s plots were foiled, and Jughead became the benevolent Serpent King, things have been weirdly quiet.
On one hand, there are no murder mysteries to distract them from college applications. On the other, she’s antsy for some good drama to be unveiled.
Archie opens his mouth to say something, possibly to complain about the length of the game, when the doorbell rings.
“It's probably just FP,” Betty says as she moves to stand up to open the door. At the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, she reconsiders and simply re-crosses her legs knowing that her mother would be down in a moment. Sure enough, Alice comes rushing down and her perfectly curled hair bounces around her shoulder with each step.
“FP? As in Jughead’s dad, FP?” Veronica asks in a hushed tone. “Your mom’s going out with FP? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it’s not a big deal?”
Not a big deal? Not a big deal?
She couldn’t comprehend how her straight-A, sleuthing best friend could be so stupid.
This was the scandal of the year.
Veronica opened her mouth to form a sharp rebuttal but decided against it when she noticed Betty’s mom opening the front door.
“Come on in, FP,” Alice greeted him with a smile. “I just need to find my purse.”
Overhearing her, Betty calls out. “Mom, is it the one on the couch?”
Alice releases a sigh of relief and rushes into the living room.
“So where are you two off to tonight?” Veronica asks, raising a curious eyebrow as Alice rifles through her purse. The woman is dressed in a blue blouse, jeans and brown booties. She’s definitely trying very hard to look like she doesn’t care. “Off to paint the town red?”
FP snorts from the doorway. “Please. More like painting the town beige.”
“Shut up, FP,” Alice glares at him before turning back to the kids. “We're going to a craft show.”
The girls let out uncontrollable giggles while Jughead shakes his head in disappointment.
“Who are you and what did you do to my dad?” Jug asks, bewildered. “Last week he made a casserole. A casserole .”
“You weren’t complaining when you ate it all, did you?” FP shot back.
Alice rolls her eyes. “Boys, stop being so dramatic. It’s just a craft show.”
“It’s my punishment for making Alice watch Sharknado ,” FP smirks as if that it explained it all. “I still say it was worth it.”
Alice turns to the kids. “If anything comes up, you know how to reach me! Have fun!”
And with those parting words, she and FP exit the house and the roar of his motorcycle fills the silence they left behind.
Veronica blinks. “Let me be the first to say it. That was weird .”
Jughead and Betty stare at her blankly.
“What do you mean?” Betty tilts her head.
“FP and Alice hanging out and going to a craft show,” Veronica stresses. “That’s weird.”
“Not really,” Jughead shrugs as he casually reaches for a handful of chips. “They hang out all the time.”
“They’re friends now, V,” Betty explains. “It’s much better than when she was trying to frame FP for murder.”
“And it’s good for my dad to be getting out and trying new things since the divorce,” Jughead adds. “I actually feel better about applying to college knowing that he’ll have somebody he can count on.”
Veronica mulls this over. She supposes it makes sense. A beautiful, odd friendship of two lonely souls, brought together by their divorces and kids leaving for college. That is apparently totally platonic.
Archie, who had checked out a long time ago, finally speaks. “You know, Ronnie, I think it's pretty cool how Jug and Betty are so chill about their parents dating. Guys, we know how weird it can be, so I’m proud of you.”
Betty and Jughead turn to him, mouths agape.
Archie frowns unsure of what it was that he said. “What?”
“They’re not dating!” Betty sputters.
“They watched Sharknado together,” Veronica blurts out, causing furious green eyes to turn towards her. “That means Netflix and chill which means…”
“Please, stop inferring that my dad has a sex life,” Jughead sinks into the couch, probably wishing he could disappear.
“Guys, Archie has a point,” Veronica pushed, eyes twinkling with mirth. “Think about it. Do they partake in planned activities involving just the two of them?”
“I guess-”
“Technically-”
Given the Craft Show Date, that’s unsurprising, so Veronica pushes forward. “Do they text?”
“So what if they do?” Jughead asks. “I text people other than Betty all the time!”
“Ah, dearest Jughead, but do they only text when they plan on seeing each other?” Veronica asks. “Or is it totally random?”
Jughead and Betty share a pained look while Archie frowns at the interrogation.
“He sends my mom snake memes,” Betty admits quietly. “She shows me the ones she thinks are funny.”
Jughead’s eyes look like they’re going to bulge out of his head. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because they’re not funny and it seemed irrelevant,” she protests meekly.
Veronica smirks and crosses her arms triumphantly. “Final question, have they been to a restaurant with tablecloths?”
She can see the wheels turning in their little naive heads as they think back.
Archie speaks up. “Does that new place in Greendale have table cloths? FP told my dad the steak was really good.”
Bingo.
Veronica kisses Archie’s cheek. “Thanks for backing me up, Archiekins.”
“You’re welcome, I guess,” he looks at her utterly bewildered. “Ronnie, are they going to be okay?”
She turns back to her friends. Jughead is rubbing his temples, and Betty’s head is resting in her hands.
“They’re just suffering from a paradigm shift. They’ll be okay.”