The next day, Mariah sat with Jughead at a lunch table in the cafeteria. The two were continuously throwing food at each other. The boy started it, obviously. Veronica walked over to the two, "Betty's babysitting Polly, mind if I join you?"

"Are you sure you want to sit at the social pariah table?" Jughead questioned and Veronica sat down. "I've been sitting at it for months, why should today be any different?" Veronica replied. "By the way, I've been thinking. You and I have a lot in common," Veronica added.

"Really? Because I haven't noticed anything similar between you two," Mariah said and Veronica rolled her eyes. "I think she means because my dad's going into to prison and her dad's getting out," Jughead said and Mariah nodded. "We also both have dark hair," Veronica said lamely. "But yes, the prison thing too," she added and Mariah chuckled.

"Jughead," Cheryl said as she walked over to the three. They looked up at the girl expectantly. "I'm sorry. I had no right to pummel you the way I did that day. As recompense, I'd like to give you this," Cheryl said, tossing Jughead an item. "My iconic spider brooch. It'll catch a pretty penny at the local pawn shop. Enough to keep you in burgers and "S" T-shirts for years, if not decades," Cheryl concluded.

"Cheryl, what's going on?" Veronica asked. "Yeah, Cher. You're acting strange. Is everything okay?" Mariah added in. "I'm--" Cheryl began before being cut off by Kevin. "Guys, hurry. It's Betty's locker. Come on it's bad. Come on, come on!" Kevin urged and they all stood.

"This conversation is not over. Do you hear me?" Mariah said to Cheryl who gave a small nod. She quickly followed after her three friends as they ran to the exit of the cafeteria. "What's going on?" Archie asked as they ran passed him. Mariah hurriedly grabbed his arm. "Run now. Ask questions later," she said as she pulled him along after her.

They all reached the hallway and pushed through the crowd of people. On Betty's locker were the words 'Go To Hell Serpent Slut' in red. It looked like it could have been paint. But maybe it was something else. Jughead quickly pulled Betty away from the scene and Mariah looked around her in disgust.

She didn't understand why people were so cruel and stupid. This is why Mariah hated people. This is why she hated this town. She rolled her eyes and angrily stormed away from the crowd of people.

Archie followed after her and caught her by the arm. She turned around to face him, a glare on her face which softened slightly when she saw it was him. "What do you want, Archie? I'm not in the mood to talk," Mariah said. He nodded and gave her a small smile. "I figured, but I really just wanted to see how you were doing. We haven't had a real conversation since homecoming," Archie said.

"You mean since I found out that you broke your promise? Yeah, I know," Mariah said. "Look, I know what I did was not cool and there's nothing I can say to make it okay. But I care about you, Mariah. I care about you so much and I was worried. I know you say that you're fine and that everything is okay but I don't believe it. I wanted you to be able to have someone else to talk to if you needed it. In case I couldn't help you as much as I'd want to," he said.

Mariah sighed and looked at the ground. "I'm so sorry, Mariah. I really am," Archie concluded. "I know. I get that your intentions were pure and that you were just trying to help. But that doesn't change the fact that you broke your promise to me. It doesn't change the fact that you broke my trust. And I'm not saying that I can never trust you again, but you're gonna have to earn my trust back, Archie," she said.

"How do I do that?" He asked and she shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe learn to keep a secret?" She half joked and he smiled. "I'll do whatever it takes to earn your trust back. To earn your forgiveness," he said. "I forgive you Archie," Mariah said. "I realized that life is too short to be holding grudges and to be angry all the time. I've put things into perspective and I came to the conclusion that there are a lot more important things in life than petty bullshit and stuff," Mariah added.

Archie smiled at her and she playfully rolled her eyes. Yet a small smile adorned her lips.

····

Mariah wasn't up to going to school the next day. She wasn't in the mood to be around all of those irritating people so she just stayed home.

Betty had called her earlier that day and said that she had an older brother that she never knew about. Mariah was surprised, to say the least, and also intrigued. She wondered who the boy could be.

Mariah lounged on her bed and flipped through a book. She hadn't read in so long and she was glad to get back to it. She was currently on the second book of The Mortal Instruments series called City of Ashes. It was very interesting and she was really into the book.

Her cell phone buzzed next to her and she picked it up, quickly unlocking it to see a text from Cheryl.

Cher Bear 💕: I can't do this anymore. I can't keep pretending that I'm okay when I'm not. I love you Mariah. I'm gonna go be with Jason now.

Mariah read the text and sat up abruptly. She read over the text two more times before standing up from her bed and quickly dialing Cheryl's number. She pressed her phone to her ear and paced her room, frantically running her free hand through her hair.

It was now that she understood what Cheryl had been doing. Giving Veronica her captain spot and giving Jughead her brooch. The blonde was just too slow to realize it in time. Cheryl didn't pick up and Mariah dialed Penelope Blossom's phone number. When she didn't pick up Mariah quickly put on her shoes and ran downstairs.

She entered her mother's bedroom and rummaged through her things in search of the car keys that her mother had taken from her. After a few minutes of searching, she finally found them underneath the woman's nightstand. Mariah exited her home, quickly locking the front door and ran down to her car.

As soon as she was in it, she put the keys into the ignition and pulled out of the driveway. "Where would Cheryl go to be with Jason? Come on Mariah, think!" The blonde mumbled to herself. The gears in her brain turned rapidly as she thought. Realization hit her suddenly and she drove to Sweetwater River as quickly as possible.

After the drive that felt too long, Mariah finally arrived at the river. She quickly turned off the ignition and left the car, running through the snow and toward the now frozen river. She could see Cheryl's red hair from a distance. "Cheryl!" Mariah yelled out to the girl.

Cheryl's head whipped around to face the blonde before turning back around. Cheryl crouched down in the ice and began hitting it with something. "Cheryl!" Mariah yelled again before taking a shaky step onto the ice. She ran as quickly and carefully as possible. This was difficult with the slippery ice but she eventually reached the girl.

"Cheryl, stop! What are you doing?" Mariah said as she took careful steps toward her best friend. "Mariah, leave. I don't want you to be here for this," Cheryl mumbled. "Cher, don't do this. Please," the blonde pleaded. Cheryl stood and faced the girl with unshed tears in her eyes. "Why not? Nobody will care that I'm gone," Cheryl said.

"That's not true! I'll care! Your mom will care," Mariah said. "No she won't! It's obvious to me now that she doesn't care about me at all and I don't think she ever did," Cheryl denied. "Yeah? Well my mom would. You're our family. I've lost so much. So many people. I can't lose you too. Cheryl please, let's just go," Mariah said.

"I can't," Cheryl whispered. Before Mariah could respond, she could hear the faint yelling of Cheryl's name in the distance. Cheryl crouched down again and began using her shoes to break the ice. "Cheryl stop it!" Mariah exclaimed as she tried to pull the girl away. "Cheryl!" A familiar voice yelled. Multiple voices yelled her name as well.

"What are they doing here? They shouldn't be here. You shouldn't be here," Cheryl said. Mariah turned her head and squinted her eyes to see what looked to be Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead. "Mariah? What the hell are you doing?" One of them called. She couldn't quite place the voice but she knew it was either Archie or Jughead.

"Cheryl!"

"Cheryl, please!"

Their shouts seemed to make Cheryl slam her shoes harder into the ice. She really wanted to break it. She was desperately trying to break it.

"Come on Cheryl. I'm not letting you do this," Mariah said. "Go away, Mariah," Cheryl grumbled. "Over my dead body, bitch. Now get the fuck off of that ice and let's go because you are not dying not today. I won't let you," Mariah practically shouted. Mariah could hear the sounds of the ice cracking and she grew even more terrified.

Cheryl stood and turned to face her friend. "Just come to the shore and we'll figure this out together, okay?" That sounded like Veronica but honestly, Mariah didn't know at this point. Mariah looked at Cheryl and then at the ice beneath her feet. She held out her hand for Cheryl to take. The redhead nodded slowly and the blonde let out a sigh. She grabbed Cheryl's hand and pulled the girl next to her.

The sound of the cracking ice grew louder and she could feel it moving beneath her feet. Mariah pushed Cheryl forward just as the ice broke and gave out underneath the blonde's feet. Mariah let out a short shriek as her body fell into the water and she became submerged in the cold liquid. She immediately tried to swim up and toward the hole but there was a strong current in the freezing cold water that pushed her to the side.

The girl moved further away from the opening as the current took her in the opposite direction of it. She desperately tried to swim back to the hole but to no avail. The water pushed her backward and she turned in a circle multiple times. It was getting more and more difficult to breathe and she tried to grasp onto some portion of the ice, pounding her fists against it in an attempt to break it. It didn't work.

She was running out of oxygen fast and she desperately tried not to panic. But it was too late, she was already panicking. She frantically tried to get back to the hole but she couldn't even see it anymore. She became confused and couldn't remember which direction she had come from.

Mariah couldn't hold her breath any longer and gasped, immediately regretting it when she swallowed the icy water. She was drowning and didn't know what to do. Her frantic movements began to slow as she began losing consciousness. Just before her eyes closed, Mariah caught a glimpse of two other people in the water. Jason? Savannah?

The ice above Mariah's head broke. Hands quickly grabbed her arms and pulled her out of the water. Archie carefully laid the blonde down on the ice and leaned his ear to her nose and mouth.

She wasn't breathing.

He then pressed two fingers against her neck and checked her pulse.

He couldn't feel one.

The redhead began doing chest compressions. After the first set, he leaned down and pressed his lips onto hers, blowing air into her mouth in an attempt to get oxygen into her lungs. He repeated the process and grew frantic when she remained unresponsive. "Come on, Mariah. Come on. Open your eyes," Archie muttered as he continued doing CPR.

He pressed his lips to hers again and blew air into her mouth. He lifted himself up and began doing chest compressions again. His vision became cloudy as tears began to form in his eyes. Jughead, Cheryl, Veronica, and Betty stood with wide eyes as they watched the scene. Cheryl was crying hysterically as she watched, unable to think of what to do. All she could think of was how this was her fault.

Archie, once again, blew air into her mouth and Mariah coughed up the water that was in her lungs. She gasped for air and the group released relieved breaths. She slowly opened her eyes a blinked a couple of times. Her vision focused on Archie who was looking down at her. More frantic gasps left her lips before she finally got her breathing under control.

"You're okay. You're okay," Archie mumbled. He quickly took off his jacket and forced her arms through the sleeves. He then picked the girl up bridal style and she wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her head against his chest. He along with Betty, Veronica, Cheryl, and Jughead began to walk away from the river and toward the direction of their vehicles.

····

After going to the emergency room to get checked out, and being released once her mom, who was beyond worried, signed of on it, Mariah now sat in front of her fireplace, a large blanket tightly wrapped around her body. Ms. Coleman would be coming home soon and Mariah was too tired to answer anymore questions. The fire crackled and Mariah's green eyes gazed into it. Cheryl walked into the living room and sat down next to her friend, two cups of hot chocolate in her hands. Cheryl handed Mariah one of the mugs and the blonde smiled.

"I guess I have a reason not to go to the Jubilee. Yay," Mariah joked lightly. The redhead sat down next to the blonde and wrapped an arm around her friend. "I'm so sorry, Mariah. What happened to you, it's all my fault. I should've moved faster. I never should have gone to that river," Cheryl said.

"It's okay, Cheryl. I'm just glad that you're okay," Mariah said quietly. Cheryl smiled slightly, "I don't deserve your friendship." Mariah nodded, "You really don't." Cheryl lightly hit her shoulder and Mariah laughed. "I'm kidding," the blonde reassured. The front door opened and Amara Coleman rushed into the home.

"I still can't believe what happened, Mariah. Do you need to go back to the hospital? We should go back to the hospital!" She said as she stumbled over to her daughter, lowering herself to the ground and wrapping the girl into a hug. "I'm okay, mom. I promise," Mariah said.

"You almost died, Mariah. You may think you're fine, but you're not. I'm sure as hell not okay. And you may only have a fractured rib, but you're lucky it's just that. I really think I should take you back to the emergency room. Just to run a few more tests," Amara said. "I'm alive so, I think I'm okay. No more hospital visits are necessary," Mariah muttered. "What were you two thinking? What you did was beyond crazy. You could have died, both of you. How do you think I would feel if either of you two died? I'll tell you how. I would be devastated. You guys can't do shit like that to me, okay? I'm too old for this. You'll give me a heart attack," Amara ranted.

"We're fine Ms. C. Really," Cheryl said. Amara scoffed and pushed between the two girls, sitting in the middle. She took the mug from Mariah's hand and took a sip of the hot drink. A delighted moan left her lips. "This is some good hot chocolate."

····

Mariah sat alone in her room. She was spinning around in her desk chair when a knock sounded on her bedroom door. "Come in," she called. Archie came into her room and Mariah slowly stood. "Hey," he said quietly. "Hey, how's your hand?" She asked. Archie looked down at his cast and sighed.

"It's uh, broken," he said. She nodded and walked over to him. "How are you?" He asked. "I'm good. I'm alive, thanks to you. Once again, I have successfully escaped death," Mariah mumbled. Archie lifted his lips in a small smile. "Thank you, for saving my life. And I'm sorry about your hand. Although I'm curious as to why you punched the ice instead of using your foot," Mariah said and Archie shook his head. "Don't thank me and don't apologize. I couldn't let you die. And I would do it again in a heartbeat. And I don't know why I used my fist either. I was panicking and didn't really think things through. All I thought about was getting you out of that water," Archie admitted.

"You are amazing, did you know that?" Mariah said and his smile widened. "I'm glad you're okay," he whispered. She smiled up at him, "Thank you, Archibald. I really appreciate what you did." Archie nodded his head before sighing.

The two are consumed in a peaceful quiet. "I love you. I mean, I think I do," Archie blurted, breaking the silence. Mariah looked up at him with wide eyes. "Why do I get the feeling that you mean that in a romantic way and not a friendly way?" She questioned. "Because I mean it in a romantic kinda way? I-I think I'm in love with you. But I don't really know," he admitted.

Mariah chuckled, "Archie, we're sixteen year old sophomores in high school. We don't know what love is." Archie nodded, "Maybe you're right. But this feeling that I have, this indescribable feeling that I get when I'm with you, I think it's love."

Mariah smiled, "Look Archie, we like each other, that much is obvious, but love, I'm not too sure about that. I know the way that I feel about you is strong, I'm just not sure if it's love. How can you even tell?"

Archie shrugged his shoulders slightly. "I don't know," he mumbled.

"I almost died. You were scared,  I get that. Your emotions are probably in overdrive. I heard that stuff like this happens whenever you go through a traumatic experience with someone. You think that your feelings for them are stronger than they were before because you had almost lost them. I understand why you would think the way that you do," she said softly.

"Maybe you're right. I don't know if I'm really in love with you or if it's just my emotions making me feel this way because I was afraid of losing you. All I know is how I feel when you look at me. It's like, I'm the only person in the world. When your green eyes light up everytime you talk about something that you love, I can't help but feel this swell of warmth and happiness. When you smile at me, my heart rate speeds up and my heart feels like it's gonna break out of my ribcage. When you laugh, my knees go weak and it feels like they're gonna give out on me. When you touch me, my skin tingles in a way that I wish would never stop. When you hold my hand, it feels as if our hands were meant to be in the other's, it just feels right. When we hug, I never want to let you go because I like the way you feel in my arms. When we kiss, it makes me so happy because it reminds me that you're actually mine. And I never want to stop kissing you. I know this sounds like some cheesy, cliche romance movie but this is how I feel. This is how you make me feel. And I don't know if this is love, but this is how I'd picture love to feel like," Archie said.

Mariah let out a soft laugh. "Your feelings aren't as indescribable as you thought," she said. The redhead nodded, "You're right. I think I did a pretty good job at describing it."

Mariah quickly closed the space between the two of them and pulled his lips down to her own. This kiss felt different than their other kisses. This one was filled with more passion and emotion than either of them had ever felt. This kiss felt so right and their lips moving together felt so right.

The two pulled away and Archie leaned his forehead against Mariah's. "You don't have to say it back, okay? I just needed to tell you how I feel. Even if it isn't love and I'm just being a hormonal teenage boy," Archie whispered so quietly that she almost didn't hear it. "Okay," she whispered just as quietly.

····

Mariah awoke the next morning to find Archie nowhere in sight. A note lay on the pillow that Archie occupied the night before.

Had to go meet my dad at Pop's for breakfast. I'll call you later.

-Archie

Mariah smiled as she read the note and sighed contently. She stretched her arms over her head and climbed out of bed. She padded across her room to the door and walked out of her bedroom.

She bounded down the stairs and walked into the kitchen where she rummaged through her pantry for something to eat and eventually pulled out a box of cereal. The doorbell rang and Mariah groaned quietly before walking to the door. She opened the door to see a man standing on the porch.

His skin was fair and his eyes were a bright blue. He had facial hair now and the hair on his head was graying, but she recognized him instantly.

"Dad?"

°°°°

Dun dun dun! I almost forgot to publish this chapter today because I am so busy. And before you ask, no they did not have sex. This is the last chapter of Capsize and of course I had to leave it on a cliffhanger. I just had to do it. It's been a wild and crazy journey. I would like to thank those of you who have stuck around and have read this book up until now. It's been fun and I have really enjoyed this experience. This is the first book that I have ever written and I think it is very successful. I would like to personally thank those of you who vote and comment on my book and have continuously shown support. You guys are awesome and I love all of you. I really hope that you guys enjoyed reading this chapter. I certainly enjoyed writing it. I will not be writing a second book. I tried doing so and lacked so much inspiration and motivation when writing it so I deleted it. But, again I hope you enjoyed and have an awesome day. Thanks again everyone!