Sick Of Losing Soulmates

Hats

The next morning when Jughead showed up to school without his signature hat on, Archie noticed immediately.

"Dude, where's your hat?" Archie asked

"Are we even on speaking terms?" Jughead frowned

"I'm sorry about last night" Archie sighed, "I'm just... confused. I feel like every aspect of my life is out of my control right now. My... relationship... kinda feels like the only thing I have a say in as of lately"

"Archie-" Jughead started to protest, but Archie cut him off.

"I'm going to Weatherbee today. I'm going to tell him and the Sheriff I was there that morning, but they don't need to know that she was too. I'll just tell them what I know and everything will be fine" Archie said.

To Jughead, it sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself than Jughead. When he didn't respond, Archie switched the subject.

"How was Elodie last night?"

Jughead took a breath.

"Drunk. But... manageable. She got home okay, so she should be fine" Jughead said simply.

"Thank you for that, by the way. She wouldn't've talked to me" Archie sighed

"Seems to be a reoccurring theme" Jughead grumbled before going off to his first period art class.

Art with a certain blonde haired girl, who today, like any other day, would be wearing a beanie on her head. However, today's beanie—wasn't hers.

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Jughead saw her immediately when he entered the room. She was organizing supplies in the back, preparing to work on her project as soon as the bell rang.

Jughead walked past all the art tables right to the back of the room. He plucked Elodie's hat off her head and adjusted it on top of his own. Elodie looked surprised for a moment before she recognized Jughead, then her expression turned to one of disappointment with a hint of smugness. After a moment of silent observation, she reached up and shifted the hat. Jughead tried to read the situation at hand, but couldn't. As her arms returned to a crossed position over her chest, Elodie's face still looked unpleased.

"What a shame" She sighed, "It looked much cuter on me"

"Oh really?!" Jughead laughed, surprised and slightly taken aback.

"Yeah really" She chuckled as the bell rang.

She grabbed a few paint brushes and then went to sit at her table. She sat in the furthest back corner of the room with another girl Jughead hadn't bothered to learn the name of. Jughead made his way to his table and simply watched her work focusedly from his position on the opposite end of the room as her.

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Elodie was making her way from art to English when she was stopped by Betty Cooper.

"Hey! Elodie! Wait up!" The blonde girl cried out. Elodie paused and turned around.

"Betty? What's up?" She muttered, confused. No one really talked to her except Archie in private, and her and Betty certainly weren't close.

"I wanted to invite you to the big game tonight" She smiled sweetly.

"Oh. You and V are on the cheersquad now, right? I think Archie mentioned it" Elodie recalled.

"He did? Well anyways, we are and we'd love to see you there" Betty said as Veronica, Jughead, Kevin, an Archie approached the two like a wave.

"Hey Betty" Veronica smiled and wrapped her arm around the blonde girl's shoulders, "What's up?"

"I'm telling Elle she should come to the game! Right guys?" She grinned at her friends.

"Oh totally! It's our first game as River Vixens! And Archikinz's first game too!" Veronica beemed.

Elodie looked at Archie and frowned immediately, her eyebrows furrowing at the boy. He had a black eye.

"Archie, what the hell happened? Why didn't you text me?!" Elodie hissed as she marched over to the boy, taking his chin in her hand and moving his head around to inspect his face.

"It's fine Elle" He mumbled as he swatted her hand away, "Later"

"You bet your ass 'later'" She mumbled back before turning to Betty.

"I still have the English paper to write, but good luck tonight" She said to Betty before leaving the group and getting to her next class as quickly as possible, which she luckily had with none of them.

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Truth is, Elodie had written her paper days ago.

So she sat at home, crumpling up pieces of paper and tossing them into her trash can while listening to music.

She hated football games.

In all honesty, she used to love them.

Jason was an amazing player, and so fun to watch on the field. And when he wasn't playing, her and Archie, sat in the furthest row of bleachers, would make jokes about everyone in Riverdale and occasionally, Elodie would supply vodka.

Her and Archie didn't do things like that anymore. During the summer they had gotten so much closer, but once the school year started, he was completely different. Not to mention a whole other person when he was with Veronica and Betty. It was like they barely knew each other when he was with them. And now he was doing stupid things like fucking teachers. She had no idea where this change had come from. Sure, Archie had always been a fuckboi, but teachers were a different story, Archie knew that much.

So instead of attending the game, she sulked alone in her room.

Until someone knocked on her door.

"Come in" She yelled as she turned her music down slightly.

"Hey honey, your dad's going to the football game tonight, Fred Andrews invited him. Aren't you going?" Her mother Rona asked her sweetly.

"You know mom..." Elodie struggled to find an excuse. Rona walked in and closed the door behind her. Elodie sighed as her mother sat next to her on the bed.

"Come on honey, I think you need to get out of the house. I'll take care of the kids tonight and you go have fun. Don't worry about a curfew. Me and your father, we just really want to see you happy again" She gave her eldest daughter a small smile as she placed a hand on the girl's cheek. Elodie couldn't bring herself to say no.

"Okay" She replied softly.

"Alright, your dad's leaving in ten" Rona placed a kiss on Elodie's head before leaving the girl to get ready.

Elodie sighed and collapsed onto her bed.

"Perfect" She grumbled.

After a moment or two of self-pity, she stood up and started getting ready.

She threw on a blue shirt, some black ripped jeans, her pristine white track jacket and a dark gray beanie, but one that didn't belong to Jughead this time. She then swiped on some mascara and eyeliner, brushed on some bronzer, shoved her phone in her pocket, and left the house, entering her dads convertible before they drove off.