Mariah sat at the breakfast table in her kitchen eating cereal while her mother sat in front of her eating an omelet. The blonde glared at the older woman as she shoveled cereal into her mouth. Amara ate her omelet as if it was the most amazing thing that she had ever tasted.

"Wow, this omelet is so good," Amara exclaimed, taking another bite. "I wouldn't know," Mariah grumbled. "If you want one, you can go make yourself one," Amara said, taking another bite of the omelet. Mariah narrowed her eyes angrily, "I'm good with my cereal. Thanks." Amara nodded, "You're welcome." Mariah finished her cereal and grabbed her bag.

"Bye mom. I'll see you later," she said, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek. "Bye Mar. Have fun at school," Amara said back. Mariah looked at her in disbelief, "You know I won't."

She grabbed her car keys and headed out of the door, locking it behind her. She entered the vehicle and drove to school. When she arrived, the first thing she did was go to her locker. After it was open, she grabbed her biology binder and pushed it into her bag. A hand suddenly slammed against the locker next to Mariah's and the blonde girl jumped.

"There are auditions for the talent show and you're coming with me," Veronica said from beside Mariah. "You scared the shit out of me, you dumb bitch," Mariah said as she glared at Veronica. The dark haired girl rolled her eyes and smirked. "Let's go, hobo," Veronica said.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Mariah said before continuing to get her notebooks. "Come on. I know you can sing. Just come to the audition with me," Veronica pleaded. "Hm, let me think about it. No," Mariah replied. Veronica smiled, "Archie will be there," she said.

"That changes absolutely nothing," Mariah said. "Please," Veronica begged. "Why?" Mariah whined. "Because I want you to come. And, I want you to showcase your talent," Veronica said. Mariah scoffed, "You're lying."

Veronica sighed, "I just don't wanna go alone," she admitted. Mariah sighed and rolled her eyes, "Fine, I'll go. But I'm not trying out." Veronica clapped her hands happily and closed the locker. She grabbed Mariah's hand and dragged her away.

····

When the girls arrived at the auditorium, they sat in the first row and waited. Multiple people went through their auditions. Next up was Archie who looked beyond nervous. "Archie Andrews? Each fall, Riverdale hosts a Variety Show," Kevin Keller said.

"I thought you said this was a talent show," Mariah whispered to Veronica who shrugged. "But this event is no mere student frolic. And what will you be auditioning with?" Kevin continued. "Uh, an original song that I wrote called I'll Try," Archie answered nervously. "Try harder! Maybe try not sucking so much," Reggie yelled. Mariah turned around in her seat to face him. "Shut the fuck up, Reginald," she yelled back.

Archie blinked and looked down at his guitar. His hands shook and he looked terrified. Mariah felt bad for him. "Take your time, Archie. Though we do have people waiting," Kevin announced. Archie grabbed onto the microphone with his shaking hand. "Oh, my God, what's happening?" Veronica asked.

Josie McCoy leaned forward in her seat toward the two girls. "He's choking," she answered in amusement. Mariah gave the girl a cold glare before turning back to the stage. "Archie? Clock's ticking," Kevin said impatiently. "Kevin!" Mariah hissed. He turned toward her and mouthed a 'what'.

"Excuse me. Sorry, I gotta go," Archie said quickly before rushing off the stage and out the door. Mariah leaned back in her seat and sighed sadly.

····

After the auditions were over, Mariah went to find the redheaded boy. She found him sitting on the ground, leaning against a wall. Valerie was walking away from him. The blonde sighed and walked over to him, putting her bag on the ground and sitting down next to him.

"Are you okay?" She asked him quietly. "Besides the fact that I completely embarrassed myself, I'm great," Archie said. "What happened up there?" She asked him and he sighed. "I don't know. I just got scared," he said.

"It was stage fright Arch," she said and he nodded. "I know," he mumbled. "How do you expect to be a famous rockstar, if you can't even sing on stage?" She asked jokingly. He looked at her and then looked away. He shrugged his shoulders and looked down at his hands. "Hey. It's okay to be scared. We're all afraid of something," Mariah said.

"Well, what are you afraid of?" Archie asked. "Bugs," Mariah answered immediately. "All kinds of bugs. And spiders. Man I hate bugs," Mariah said with a shudder. Archie laughed loudly and Mariah smiled when he did. "Really? That's what you're afraid of?" He questioned and she nodded. "Archie, you shouldn't be afraid to sing in front of people. You have an amazing voice and awesome songs. People will love you," Mariah said.

Archie smiled and she stood up, holding out her hand to him. "Come on Archibald. I'll walk you to class," she said. "That's a change. I'm always the one walking you to class," he said with a smirk. "Shut up and let's go," Mariah commanded. He continued to smirk and took her small hand in his.

She pulled with all her strength to get him on his feet. When he was up she released a breath. "Damn, you're heavy," she said. The ginger laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. The two walked to his next class and made lame jokes on the way.

····

After a few periods, Mariah's favorite part of the school day came: lunch. She sat next to Betty, with her head in the palm of her hand, as she ate her food. Archie stole glances at her multiple times though she kept her eyes on her tray. "It's been months. There's gotta be a reason my mom and dad don't want me to see Polly. But I don't care anymore," Betty said to Jughead.

Archie looked between the two. "What are you guys talking about? Anything I can help with?" He asked. Mariah's cellphone buzzed and she looked down at it to see a text from her mom. She read the message a few times and scrunched her face in annoyance. She glared at her phone intently. She grumbled incoherently and scowled. "Earth to Mariah," Kevin said. She looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "When did you get here?" She asked him. "V and I got here a few minutes ago. We've been having a conversation. Did you not hear any of it?" He said.

"I gotta go," she said quickly, standing up and walking away from the group. They all stared after her in confusion. She walked as far away as she could get before she dropped her bag on the floor and called her mom. "All right, mother. What is going on?" Mariah said as soon as the woman picked up. "That's no way to talk to your mother," the woman said and Mariah could hear the smirk on the woman's face.

"Let's read your text message. 'I need you to pick up a few things from the store.' And then you proceed to send me a list of a million and one things. And not regular things for the house. The type of things that one would buy if they were having guests over. So, I'll ask again, what is going on?" Mariah said. "It's not a big deal, Mariah," Amara said from the other end.

"Are you going on a date? In our house? What kind of date is that?" Mariah asked incredulously. "Oh relax, you conclusion jumper. I invited a few of my female friends from work over for dinner. Afterwards we were gonna go out," Amara answered. "Mom, it's Monday," the blonde replied.

"It's also one of the few days that we have off so we're gonna make the best of it. Now, after school go to the store and pick those things up for me," Amara told her daughter. "I don't have money on me," Mariah said. It wasn't a lie, exactly, but she was trying to find every excuse not to go to the store. "You have your credit card. And I'll pay you back. I know you don't have plans after school because you don't have that many friends," Amara said.

Mariah made an offended noise. "I'm happy with the friends I have, thank you very much. And I said I'd help Veronica prepare for the Variety Show," Mariah replied. "Well you can help her after you help me. Thanks sweetheart. You're the best," Amara said before hanging up the phone. Mariah let out an exasperated sigh and picked up her bag.

"Hey," a voice said from behind her and Mariah narrowed her eyes. She turned around and saw Valerie. "Are you okay? You just left so abruptly and we were worried that something was wrong," Valerie said.

"Oh no, I'm fine. Just peachy," Mariah said sarcastically. "Do you wanna talk about it?" Valerie asked and Mariah rolled her eyes. "No. It's not a big deal. Just my mom bugging my life. Nothing unusual," she answered. "Parents always seem to get on our nerves, huh?" Valerie said with a smile.

Mariah's face went cold, "I only have one parent." Valerie's eyes widened, "No, I didn't mean it like that. I was just--" she started but was cut off. "I'm gonna go," Mariah said walking past the girl and into the school. She entered the nearest bathroom and looked under stalls to make sure no one was there.

It was empty and Mariah released a breath. She looked at herself in the mirror and ran her hands over her face. She pulled out her phone and set a reminder to go to the store. She looked at herself one more time before leaving the bathroom and starting to search for Veronica.

She went to multiple places before finding the girl in the student lounge. Archie and Valerie were also there, together and Mariah rolled her eyes. "There you are Veronica. I've been looking for you," Mariah said, stepping closer to the girl. When she noticed the looks in the three's faces she took a step back. "Am I interrupting something?" Mariah asked and Veronica shook her head. "No, I was just leaving," she said, turning toward the door and walking toward it.

"Ronnie, wait!" Archie called but the girl didn't stop. Mariah gave Archie a confused look before following after her friend. "Slow down," Mariah said and Veronica stopped, turning to her friend. "I cannot believe Archie. He can be such a jerk sometimes. I can't believe you actually like him," Veronica said angrily.

"What happened?" Mariah asked, ignoring Veronica's last comment. "It doesn't matter. Why were you looking for me?" Veronica asked changing the subject. "I told my mom I would help you prepare for the Variety Show so that I could get out of going to the store and buying things for some dinner that she's having. She's still making me go but I still need to act like I'm gonna help you so, I'm gonna help you," Mariah replied.

"I was supposed to sing with Archie but then he became a snake and chose Valerie over me," Veronica said and that's when Mariah came to a realization. "That's why you're mad," she said and Veronica nodded. "I thought you were going to sing alone or something," Mariah said. "Well Archie needed help and I offered to sing with him so he wouldn't be so scared to be up on stage by himself. Then he just dumps me to the side like I'm some unwanted vegetable," Veronica said and Mariah snorted.

Veronica gave her a look and Mariah shrugged. "That was a funny comparison," she defended. Veronica shook her head and sighed. "It's okay. I can join Josie and the Pussycats. Valerie left the group and they're looking for her replacement. Yeah, that's what I'll do," Veronica said before beginning to walk again. "You wanna come with?" Veronica asked turning her head. Mariah shook her head and Veronica shrugged and continued walking.

····

After the next period, Mariah stormed over to Archie's locker. Unsurprisingly, Valerie was with him. "You are a piece of shit," Mariah said as she stood in front of them. "Excuse me?" Archie asked defensively. "You heard me. How could you do that to Veronica? She offered to help you out when Valerie refused and then Valerie leaves the Pussycats and it's just okay for you to throw Veronica off to the side like she's nothing," Mariah exclaimed, she was fuming by now.

"Mariah, it's none of your business," Archie said. "No, Veronica is my friend and that makes it my business," Mariah said. "Actually, it's between Archie and Veronica," Valerie broke in. Mariah glared at her with such ferocity and anger that the other girl stepped back. "I wasn't talking to you, Valerie. So why don't you stay out of my business," Mariah practically growled.

"Mariah calm down. You don't have to talk to Val like that," Archie said coming to the other girl's defense. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt your girlfriend's feelings?" Mariah said.

"She's not my girlfriend," Archie denied and Mariah scoffed. "With the amount of time you two have been spending together, I'm not sure that I believe you," she said. "Why are you acting like this?" Archie asked. "Like what?" Mariah asked back. "Like this. The way you're talking. This isn't you. What's wrong?"Archie said.

"You, Archie Andrews, are beginning to show your true colors," Mariah said. Archie sighed and Valerie opened her mouth to speak but Mariah held up her hand, silencing whatever the girl was going to say. "Look, I don't want to fight with you Archie. But what you did, wasn't cool. Veronica's your friend," Mariah said.

"Valerie is my friend too," Archie said, putting emphasis on the word 'friend'. Mariah was about to reply but the hallway went silent and the students began whispering. She turned around and saw Veronica walking with Josie and Melody. On Veronica's head were cat ears. Mariah smiled when she saw the girl and turned to see a shocked Archie and an angry Valerie. She smirked at them and then turned toward Veronica.

The dark haired girl sent a wink the blonde's way and continued walking with the girls. "See you later Andrews," Mariah said as she headed toward her next class. Archie grabbed her hand and turned her to face him. "Don't be mad at me," he said, almost pleadingly.

Mariah sighed, "I'm not mad. Just disappointed." She removed her hand from his and walked away.

°°°°

Honestly, I feel like this book is getting worse. Do you think Mariah was overreacting? I was angry at Archie for doing that to Veronica and I would've reacted the same way as Mariah tbh. I hope you enjoyed, please vote and comment. Also, check out my book Midnight Decisions. Until the next chapter.