Burning Letters

Chapter 8

Reminder and self-promo

Don't forget this is an alternate storyline and you can read the original on FF and AO3

ALSO if you like this you should check out my other Jeronica stories "I'm sorry" and "Bliss" (also on FF and AO3)

Veronica was lost. Physically she knew exactly where she was. The five seasons, sitting on her couch trying not to fall apart. Mentally she was lost. All the noise in her mind, all the thoughts buzzing around, and all the scenes of what just happened, blinding her. Everything was a mess. The only thought that made its way through the noise was 'I need more'.

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Monday morning was a nightmare in waiting. What was she even supposed to say to Jughead? 'Great time fucking you the other day soulmate. We should really hang out more often?' No, she couldn't talk to him at all without breaking. She walked down the hall and right into Jugheads chest. He didn't even react, just looked down at her with a serious expression written on his features.

"We need to talk." He grabbed her arm and walked her (more like dragged her) into the empty classroom she had found out about him in. She stared at him silently as he looked out the window at his girlfriend and her boyfriend. Yeah, she wanted to die and hope to never have to deal with anything like it again.

"What do you want, Jones?" Her voice cracked as her mind had. She could feel her throat going dry. He whipped around like the wind a few moments later.

"You can't tell Betty... or Archie. What we did was a mistake and it should never have happened in the first place." Veronica felt the tears welling her eyes. Jughead passed her on his way to the door not once looking her in the eye.

"Jug-" Her voice barely made it passed her lips.

"No Veronica... I don't want anything to do with you anymore." He left her standing in the empty classroom alone. She stayed there for a long while looking out the window. She watched Betty and Archie laugh with ease, she watched Betty's face light up as Jughead walked to her, and she watched Jughead look back at her through the window with a look of pity, all the while holding his perfect girlfriend in his arms. The tears fell from her eyes slowly, leaving wet streaks down her cheeks.

The hallways seemed huge and endless. Her heels echoed loudly with each step. She made it into class late but didn't have the will to care. She sat in her seat for an hour numb to the world around her. The only sound to break through her wall was the bell signaling the shift of bodies. Without even thinking she walked to her next class not even bothering to stop at her locker. Nothing anyone said had actually made it into her ears. Everything was just a muffled jumble of voices.

When lunch rolled around she sat in the cafeteria with all her friends. Betty, and Archie, and Jughead. Jughead wasn't really a friend anymore. Not after what happened just a few hours earlier. (But was he ever really a friend in the first place?) She put on her act. They all believed she was fine, that nothing in her world had changed at all. By the end of lunch she started to believe it too but then she saw it. Just a simple gesture that so many people in the halls did. Jughead kissed his beautiful, perfect girlfriend goodbye as she walked into the classroom a couple feet in front of Veronica. Her heart felt like it dropped out of her chest and through the floorboards beneath her feet.

Veronica stood there frozen until Betty was in the classroom and Jugheads back was all the way around the corner at the other end of the hall. She walked into class slowly and slipped into her assigned seat next to Betty trying to remember how to breathe. She felt like she hadn't the entire time she was in the hallway.

"Hey V, everything okay?" Betty's sweet voice punched her in the gut and made her feel nauseous. Veronica plastered on a fake smile and turned to her best friend.

"I will be. I just don't feel too well. I think I'm going to go to the nurse." She smiled softly as she got up and Betty gave her a worried glance through her lashes. "Take notes for me?" Betty nodded but Veronica was gone before she could say anything more on the matter.

Veronica did actually go to the nurse complaining about a fake migraine and nausea that was all too real. The nurse gave her an excused dismissal and Andre came with the car to take her home. If her parents got another call about her skipping class she was going to be in deep shit. She really didn't want to piss off a major crime boss who practically ran the town.

Andre walked her up to the apartment and made her tea before sending her to bed and heading back out for her parents. She didn't really care. All she cared about was sleeping until the next millennium hit.

About an hour after she had finally gotten to sleep her mother came crashing into her room visibly worried.

"Oh My God, Mija! Are you ok? We got a call from school saying you were ill. Do you need anything?" Her mother rubbed her hair as she spoke. It made Veronica feel warm inside like she was a little girl again.

"Yeah I'm just not feeling well I think I have a stomach bug." She gave a meek smile and sighed slightly.

"Call me if you need anything okay?" Hermione stood up and placed her hands on Veronica's shoulders. "You should get some rest. Do you feel up to dinner?" Hermione asked from the doorway. Veronica just shook her head no and laid back down on the bed. The pillow gave her a sense of comfort she knew she wasn't going to get from her friends.

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Veronica awoke in the middle of the night having slept the rest of the day and passed dinner. She made her way into the bathroom if nothing more than to assess the damage. She was still wearing the tight plum dress from the day before. She didn't bother taking it off before sleeping her sorrows away. Her makeup was smudged and she knew a pimple or two would surface as a result but she couldn't bring herself to care. When she looked in the mirror she didn't even recognize herself.

She wiped all the makeup off before stripping from the dress. She went back to her room not bothering to do anything else. She left the dirty wipes on the bathroom counter and the floor tiles were hidden under her dress that lay in a pile on the floor.

She stood staring at all of her fancy silk pajamas not knowing why she had ever worn them. She closed the drawer slowly. She grabbed some sweatpants and an oversized shirt from the back of her drawers. She didn't care about being the perfect New York socialite anymore.

She crawled back into bed, under all her blankets. She stared at the ceiling above her until the sun came drifting through the curtains and her Mother opened her door quietly.

"How are you feeling today, Mija? I saw your stuff in the bathroom." Veronica just looked at her silently. "Well you can stay home today but you are going back to school tomorrow. You've skipped too much as it is." Veronica nodded and Hermione kissed her forehead before she walked back to the door. "Oh and Veronica? If you need anything we're having Andre stay with you today. Feel better I love you."

"Love you too." It was the first words Veronica spoke in over twelve hours and her voice came out harsh and cracked. Her mother smiled slightly before closing the door. 

So I hope you enjoy :)