Mariah sat at Pop's next to Veronica. Betty and Jughead sat across from the two and the four were discussing random things. "You know Mariah, you never told us how your date with Archie went," Jughead commented. "You want to know how our date went?" She asked him, shock evident in her tone.

"No, not really. But I figured you would have been gushing about it by now," he replied with a shrug. Mariah rolled her eyes at the beanie wearing boy and Betty smacked his shoulder. "Well, it was great," Mariah began. "And so it begins," Jughead mumbled causing Mariah to throw a french fry at his head. It bounced off and hit the table and Jughead picked it up. He put it in his mouth and chewed, a cheeky smile on his face as he did so.

"Continue, I want to hear about your date," Betty exclaimed and Veronica nodded in agreement. Mariah looked away from them, a blush coating her cheeks. "There's nothing to tell. It was nice," she said. "We're gonna get it out if you one way or another," Veronica declared, eyes slightly narrowed. "Hey, did Archie tell you what happened at his dad's construction site?" Jughead questioned suddenly.

"No, what happened?" Mariah asked slowly. Jughead told the three girls about the attack as if it were no big deal. "Why didn't you tell us this before?" Mariah asked the dark haired boy. "I forgot." He shrugged nonchalantly. "Poor Moose. Is he okay?" Betty asked. "His name is Moose, he's fine," Jughead replied. Veronica let out a small laugh and Mariah threw another french fry at him. He attempted to catch it in his mouth but it ended up hitting his nose. He ate that one too.

"Dude, what the hell? I've been texting you," Archie exclaimed as he walked into the diner. He sat down next to Mariah who scooted over and nudged Veronica to do the same. The dark haired girl scowled slightly but moved nonetheless. "Archie, Jughead just told us what happened," Betty said softly. "But I checked out at the words 'construction' and 'site'," Veronica added. "Is there a reason that I wasn't informed about this before today?" Mariah asked with narrowed eyes.

Archie just looked at Jughead and began to speak. "Moose and I are going to the Southside to find those Serpents. You in?" Archie said to the boy. "Whoa! Hey, you didn't say it was the Serpents who beat Moose up," Betty interjected, turning to look at Jughead. "'Cause we don't know that for a fact," Jughead replied, his eyes narrowed at Archie. "Well, it's still worth a shot if it can help my dad. Kevin's boyfriend can get us in," Archie said.

"Get you in where?" Veronica asked. "To some bar where the Serpents hang out. If Moose spots them, we call Sheriff Keller and get these goons arrested," Archie said. "Are you out of your mind, Archie? You cannot be serious right now!" Mariah exclaimed. "Archie, the Serpents are dangerous. They're drug-dealers," Betty said. "That's not what makes them dangerous, Betty," Mariah mumbled. "What? Says who?" Jughead frowned, his attention on Betty. "Polly. Remember? Trev told us that Jason was dealing drugs? It was for the Serpents," Betty said.

"Jason was dealing drugs? You're joking right?" Mariah asked incredulously and Betty shook her head sadly. "You people don't tell me anything. Did you not think that, maybe I should know this information?" Mariah said. "Telling you would have upset you, Mar," Jughead said. "Not telling me is upsetting me more, Jug," Mariah snapped. "Look, you heard my dad, Jughead. Clifford Blossom is trying to torpedo him. Sheriff Keller basically blew him off right in front of us. Somebody needs to do something," Archie said and Mariah glared at him for interrupting her.

"That somebody, doesn't have to be you," the blonde said, eyes narrowed. Archie stood up and began putting on his jacket. "Archie, going into that bar is a bad idea," Jughead said. "I agree," Mariah added. "Jughead, are you coming with me or not?" Archie asked, eyes piercing into his friend. It was quiet for a moment and all eyes turned to Jughead, who said nothing. "Thanks for having my back," Archie said before walking towards the exit.

Mariah stood, "Archie, wait!" She exclaimed. She quickly followed him out the door. "Don't be stupid, Archie. You could get hurt, or worse," Mariah said. "I have to do something Mariah," he argued. "No, you don't. This is a bad idea," she said. "I'll be fine," he replied, kissing her lips briefly before pulling away. "I'll call you later," he added before leaving.

The blonde sighed, "No one ever listens to me. It's ridiculous because I'm always right," she muttered. She walked back into the diner and rejoined her friends.

····

Mariah sat in her living room, reading a book when her phone rang. She glanced briefly at the caller ID before closing her book and placing it beside her.

"Yes Veronica."
"Where are you? You should be here by now."
"I'm at home. Where am I supposed to be?"
"At my place, for the baby shower."
"What baby shower?"
"Polly's."
"I was never informed of a baby shower."
"I told you about it."
"When?"
"Just get over here."

Veronica hung up before Mariah could reply and she sighed. "I swear, these people never tell me about anything," she muttered to herself. She looked down at her clothes and shrugged. "This'll have to do," she said. Mariah grabbed her car keys and walked out of her home, locking the door behind her. She drove to Veronica's place and walked into the building. She stepped into the elevator and went up. When she arrived at the door, she knocked. It was immediately opened by Veronica.

"Finally!" The brunette exclaimed. Mariah stepped into the home that was filled with people, some of whom she didn't recognize. "Mariah Coleman, is that you?" A voice asked. She looked around the room and her eyes landed on Polly. A smile made its way to Mariah's face and she walked over to the girl. Polly immediately pulled her into a hug and squeezed her tightly. "Hi Polly. It's been a while," Mariah said once she pulled away. "It's been too long. Betty told me you moved back to town and I couldn't believe it. How are you?" Polly said, a large smile taking over her entire face. "I'm good. What about you Miss Mom to be?" Mariah joked and Polly laughed. "I'm as good as I can be. I'm really glad you're here," Polly answered and Mariah smiled. "Sorry I didn't bring you a present. I wasn't exactly informed about this baby shower," Mariah apologized.

"I told you about it," Veronica said from behind the two blondes. "No, you didn't," Mariah snapped. "That's okay. You being here is enough," Polly replied. "Have fun Mar," she concluded before going back to her mother.

"These things suck," Jughead said, walking up to Mariah who nodded. "I only ever really come for the food," she admitted. "They do always have good food," Jughead said. "You here for Betty?" Mariah asked and he nodded. "How's that going?" She asked. "I'd rather not talk about my love life with you," Jughead said and Mariah smirked. "Jughead Jones referred to his relationship as a love life. Jughead Jones is in a relationship." She laughed.

"Ha ha, very funny. What about you?" He said. "What about me?" She asked. "You and Archie. You guys are dating," he said. "I wouldn't really call it dating," she replied. "You're dating," he said and walked away.

"You couldn't have dressed nicer for this shower?" Cheryl's voice asked. Mariah turned around and scowled. "I would have if I had known about it," she said. "I assumed that you did." Cheryl shrugged. "You assumed incorrectly," Mariah replied.

"What are you even doing here, Cheryl?" She asked. "Supporting my niece and nephew," she answered. Mariah tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Polly's having twins!" Cheryl said happily. "Wow," Mariah mumbled and Cheryl nodded. "So, you never finished telling me about your date," Cheryl said. "Is now really a good time?" Mariah asked. "Now is the best time," Cheryl answered.

Veronica spoke before Mariah could reply. "Gather around everyone. Polly is about to open gifts," she said. "This is not over," Cheryl said. Mariah walked over to the couch and sat down, Cheryl sat next to her.

Polly began opening presents and everyone was practically on the edge of their seats, except Mariah. When Polly was about to open the Blossom's gift, Archie walked into the room. He was obviously angry as he made his way to Jughead. Mariah stood along with Betty and Veronica and walked over to the two. "Did you know Jughead's father is a Serpent?" Archie asked as the three walked up. Mariah looked at Jughead in confusion and the look on his face made her sad. "No," Betty said quietly.

"That's why he tried to stop me from going to the bar, so I wouldn't find out. After everything my dad has done for you," Archie said. "Archie. I can explain, okay?" Jughead whispered. "But not right now. This is Polly's day, so you two need to check yourselves. I mean it," Veronica said. "Archie," Jughead said quietly. "No save it," Archie said. "Come on," Veronica said.

She guided Archie toward the door and Mariah sighed. Betty looked at Jughead before walking away. Mariah walked closer to the boy and smiled. "Don't worry Juggy, they'll come around," she said. "I'm not too sure about that," Jughead said quietly. "I am. I mean, come on, no one can resist that charm and sense of humor," she said.

"I get that you're trying to cheer me up, but it's not working," he said. "Yes it is, I can see you hiding your smile. Just let it out. You know you want to," she cooed. "I don't like you," Jughead said. "You love me," Mariah sang. "You're deluded," he said. "No, I'm your best friend," she said. "No, you're not, Mariah," he said. "Don't lie to yourself. I'm the best, most amazing friend that you've ever had," she said.

He sighed, "You are a pretty good friend," he admitted and she smiled widely. "I still don't like you though," he said. He gave her a small smile and walked towards the door, giving her a slight wave before exiting the home. "And you know it cost Jason his life," Polly said. Mariah turned her attention to the scene in front of her. Obviously something happened and she missed it but at this point she didn't care anymore.

····

About ten minutes later, Mariah walked over to Veronica, "I'm gonna go. I've had enough drama for one night," she said. "Okay, I'll see you later," Veronica replied. Mariah gave her a quick hug and left. She got into her car and began driving home. She then decided to take a detour and drove to Archie's house instead.

When she arrived, she knocked on the door. A moment later, Jughead answered it and smirked. "Here to see your boyfriend?" He questioned. "He's not my boyfriend," Mariah answered with an eye roll. "Not officially, but he will be," Jughead said. He stepped aside and allowed her to come into the home. "He's in his room," Jughead said. Mariah nodded and walked up the stairs toward Archie's room.

She entered the room without knocking and saw a shirtless Archie. Her eyes widened slightly and Archie jumped in shock. "Mariah! What are you doing here?" He said, scrambling to find a shirt to put on. Mariah tilted her head to the side and admired him. Man, am I lucky? She thought. She shook her head and closed the door. "I guess I want to talk to you," she answered. "I don't have a shirt on," he said, desperately trying to locate a clean one.

"So? It's not like you're naked or anything," she said. Archie blushed and picked up a shirt, quickly pulling it over his head. "Jeez, Archie. It's not that big of a deal." She laughed. He was quiet for a moment and she smirked. "Do I make you nervous Archibald?" She questioned curiously.

"So, uh, what did you want to talk about?" He asked in an attempt to change the subject. "Well, for starters, you're an idiot. But you already knew that. I also want to slap you for being so rude to Jughead. But first I want to punch you for going to that bar in the first place. Plus you almost ruined Polly's baby shower, although it got ruined anyway. Did I mention you're an idiot? Because you are and I don't like you," she answered.

"Whoa, it wasn't a big deal," he said. She gaped at him, "Did you not just hear what I said, you moron?" She asked. "Look, I'm fine. Jughead and I are fine. Everything is good," he replied. "Everything is not good. You're a jerk, did you know that?" She said. "Okay, what's wrong? Are you PMSing? Because I don't understand why you're so upset," Archie said.

Mariah's eyes narrowed to slits and she glared at him so hard that he had to suppress the urge to shudder. "You did not just ask me that," she said. Archie smiled sheepishly, "Do you want some pizza? I-I can order some pizza," he said. "I want to know why you're so stupid," she said. "So do I," he mumbled. She sat down on his bed and laid down on her back. Archie copied her actions. Mariah nudged him slightly in an attempt to get him to move away from her. "You're too close to me," she muttered, a glare still on her face. Archie sighed and scooted away from her a little and the two looked up at the ceiling. "Why did you really come here?" Archie asked quietly.

"Well, I wanted to check on Jughead. But then I got here and Jughead assumed that I was here to see you. I don't know why because I'm mad at you." She pouted. "What did I do?" He asked. She turned to look at him with narrowed eyes. "Oh yeah," he mumbled. She sat up and looked at him when he did the same. "Are we dating?" She asked out of the blue. "That's a random question," he pointed out. "Just answer it," she said.

"I think so," he said with a shrug. "You think?" She asked him. "I don't know," he said. "Jughead says we are," she replied. "I want us to be," Archie admitted softly. "Me too. I know we're not boyfriend and girlfriend because we've only been on one date. But we've only been on one date so does that count as dating?" Mariah said.

"I would assume so," he answered. "Okay," she said. Mariah stood up and walked out the door and down the stairs. "Where are you going?" Archie asked, following after her. "Home," she answered simply. "I don't understand what just happened," he said. "What don't you understand?" She asked. "Everything that happened after the moment you entered my room," he replied. "I was mad at you, you're an idiot, and we're dating. It's simple," she replied. "You are so weird," he said.

"It's one of my best qualities," Mariah said with a smile. "See you later Andrews."

She leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips and pulled away. Archie pulled her back to him and kissed her again. She smiled into it and pulled away again. Archie dipped his head to kiss her again and she turned her head away. "Whoa there. Easy tiger, we are not at the 'kiss Mariah as much as you want' stage," Mariah said. "There are stages to us dating?" Archie asked.

"There are now. Bye," she said opening the door and giving him a wave. Archie furrowed his eyebrows and turned around. Jughead stood by the staircase with a smirk. "Dude, you've got it bad," he said. Archie sighed and looked at his shoes.

Mariah got into her car and drove home. When she got there she changed into some pajamas and went to sleep.

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What even was this chapter? I don't even know but I hope you enjoyed. Be sure to vote and comment. Also check out my other books. Have a good one. P.S. Capsize has reached 100k reads! Thank you guys so much for reading!