Thorn sees Veronica leave the inner-circle first and head for the Andrews' kitchen to be alone. Betty's haunting version of Happy birthday is enough to freak anyone out, Thorn thinks, and then Archie is next to leave. He follows their friend out of the room, concerned no doubt.
"Veronica?" he questions. Archie sees her wipe away her tears, and knowingly he says, "the stuff with your dad?"
"It's just the tip of the iceberg," Veronica tells him, sniffling. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Okay." Archie sucks in a breath and then asks, "You want a drink?"
Playfully, she replies, "Isn't it the New York sophisticate that's supposed to corrupt the sweet, small-town boy?" Archie laughs and then joins her, leaning against the side. Veronica looks at him and then says, "You know you're not going to find the answer to your Thorn-related problem at the bottom of your drink, right? She won't like that Archie, trust me."
"I don't think she likes any Archie right now," he says honestly.
"Of course she likes you, Archiekins," says Veronica, "you're her best friend and that means something, at least it does to her. It's sad actually," Veronica adds, "that you and her are back and forth thinking that the other is over what happened, that you're both moving on, when really you're both stuck on each other; waiting for the other one to make the move."
"You don't know that."
"I do," Veronica tells him, "she was going to tell you on the night of the variety show and then she saw you kiss Valerie. She was heartbroken."
"She wanted to be with me?" says Archie. He lets out a gasp of air in disbelief, blinking twice as he takes it all in. "She always says we can't happen."
"Listen to yourself, Archie," Veronica says. "Can't, not doesn't want it to happen. She wants you, but it's scary, you know, letting someone see all of you." Veronica finds Thorn talking to Kevin, watching how for a brief second her smile vanishes when she thinks no one is looking and then she plasters it on the moment someone turns to her. "She's from a strict family, old-money. She's been trained and shaped by Clifford. She's probably scared - terrified - of showing you that side of her. Baring yourself to someone isn't easy, especially for Thorn. She's been told her whole life that caring makes her weak, so how is she supposed to react when you show up with your big heart and dumb smile?" Veronica nudges his side. "She does care for you, but she's scared."
"How do I change that?" Archie asks. "She won't even speak to me. She doesn't tell me anything."
"You've hardly given her a reason to want to, Archie," says Veronica. "She's lacking trust in you right now. You're giving her bits and pieces, here and there, and it's not fair. It's torture, Archie. You've got to figure out if you're all in or all out; and if you're still unsure, then call it quits. Save you both the heartache."
Archie looks to her, seeing the tears now clinging to Veronica's bottom lashes. "Are you sure you're okay?"
She sniffles. "No offense, Archie," says Veronica, "but I'd rather not talk about this right now with you. I'd save my parental issues with my incarcerated father for Betty or Thorn."
"We are friends, Ronnie," Archie says.
"Some things we really need our girls for though," she replies.
"Hey," Thorn interrupts the two of them. She stops on the spot on seeing the two of them, the saddened mood around them both easily readable. "Everything okay?" asks Thorn.
"Yeah, I just need--"
"Veronica needs her friend right now," Archie says, cutting off the raven-haired girl.
"Oh, V." Her face softening, Thorn asks, "Is it about your dad?"
Veronica goes to be speak, but she becomes scared that she'll breakdown, so she nods. Tears threaten Veronica's eyes as she does so, making Thorn snap into action. Thorn immediately walks over to Veronica and hugs the girl, and Veronica collapses against her friend's shoulder. Veronica lets out a sob as soon as she feel someone hugging her. Veronica's cries are muffled by Thorn's shirt, and Thorn just strokes her friend's hair soothingly.
"My dad," sobs Veronica, "he threatened me. Said he'd destroy my mum if I didn't make a statement."
"Hey, it's okay," Thorn comforts her, "It's okay. We'll figure it out, together, okay? I promise we'll figure it out."
Veronica whimpers in response as Thorn continues to soothe her cries. Thorn looks up to see Archie watching them intently, him regretting ever saying she was a selfish friend. Archie's seen Thorn do this - comfort people like she doing - so many times before and he never spared a thought about what she was going through. He never thought that maybe Thorn was the one in need of being held, told that everything is going to be okay.
Thorn gives him a small smile. "Thank you," she mouths to him, still hugging her friend, and he nods in understanding, wishing he could have seen what was happening behind the act Thorn plays so well.
"Oh, sorry," Jughead apologises, interrupting the two girls hugging. They pull apart and he says, "I didn't know."
"We're just coming to get ice-cream, so..." Betty looks between the three of them and asks lowly, "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, no, I'm just not in a party mood like I usually am," Veronica says, wiping away her tears.
"That makes two of us," mutters Jughead.
"Whoa, wait," Betty grabs his arm and pulls him back to look at her, "you're not actually upset that I threw up a party, are you?"
"It is nice, Betty. I appreciate it," Jughead says. "It's just I would be happier if it were just the five of us in a booth at Pop's."
"Yeah, but we always do that," says Betty. "And I wanted to do something special."
"'The road to hell is paved with good intention,'" he quotes.
"Why is everything so doom and gloom with you, Jug?" Betty snaps. "Why can't you just be normal for once?"
"I'm not normal," he says, "I'm not wired to be normal." The door-bell rings and Jughead sighs, "How many more people did you invite to this thing?"
"No one," defends Betty. "Inner-circle only."
Archie walks towards the front door, followed by Thorn and Veronica. Betty and Jughead come through too, them both being interested at who's showing up at the Andrews residents, and before Archie could open the door, it bursts open.
Cheryl steps forward, leading the rowdy bunch of high school students. "Do you really think you could have a party without inviting moi?" she asks them.
Chuck Clayton joins her side, "Or me?"
"Archie," Moose calls his attention, "where do you want the kegs?"
Archie takes a moment to think before he decides. He ignores the fact it's Jughead's birthday because all Archie wants is to get drunk and forget about the brunette next to him. "Screw it!" he says with a smile, laughter irrupting out once he gets a roar of approval. "One in the kitchen, one in the backyard."
"Archie," Thorn pulls at his arm as the ginger boy tries to walk through, "what are you doing?" she asks. "This is for Jug, not you."
"I'm making sure he has a birthday he'll remember," Archie claims.
"Archie, please, think about this," she begs, and he stops to look down at her. "This isn't what Jughead would want."
Archie thinks he can kiss her. She looks so perfect to him now and with what Veronica told him, Thorn's waiting for him to make the move. He goes in, but he stops when he hears someone clear their throat.
"Archie?" Thorn asks.
"Where am I putting the set, man?" asks one of the guys Archie recognises from music AP.
"It doesn't matter anyway," Archie mumbles. His eyes go up behind her to the DJ, "in the living room," he says.
Thorn blinks and he's gone, already joining the football team as they pour a round of shots. Archie necks his back quickly, him yelling out in glee with the others. One of the team pats him on the back, encouraging the ginger on. Archie looks back at Thorn. He takes in her disappointed face, how she rolls her eyes at his actions, and then he shoves his shot-glass forward again, willing himself to get drunk out of spite.
Thorn shakes her head, "Archie, what have you done?"
*
Thorn stands in the kitchen. She's wrapped up in Kevin's arms as they talk to friends briefly. He leads the discussion about his "not really his boyfriend-boyfriend Joaquin" while Thorn sips at her beer. It's her third drink, and it's doing nothing. She's drinking out of bitterness, because Archie Andrews is an idiot and if he wants to get drunk, so does she. She's so mad, the alcohol doesn't seem to affect her.
How could Archie be such an idiot? When did he become so insensitive to Jughead's feelings? The party is for Archie - not Jughead. It doesn't take an idiot to figure that one out.
She catches a glimpse of ginger hair as a figure comes stumbling in from the back door. The drunk boy walks through the kitchen, swaying a little as he carries on walking.
"Archie?" questions Thorn. Her drunken-self feels concern as she watches him make his way up stairs. She goes to follow, but an arm keeps her in place. Thorn turns to looks at Kevin. "What?" she asks.
"Are you really going to go after him?" asks Kevin curiously, "after everything?"
"He's my friend," argues Thorn, "I need to check he's okay."
"It's never going going to be over with you two, is it?" he asks her.
"Please, give ten minutes, twenty at the most, and then I'm all yours," she promises, and Kevin nods.
"Be careful please. Your heart is more fragile than you know," Kevin says sweetly.
Thorn places a brief kiss on his cheek. She loves her best friend with all her heart. No matter how brutal and distant she can get, Kevin always finds the good in her and pulls her back with a hug.
She shoves down her plastic cup after downing the rest of her beer. She hurries through the house and up the stairs to find Archie. Thorn feels she's going to slow but when her foot catches on the top step, causing her to fall, she knows she's drunk and shouldn't have finished that beer.
She shouldn't have drunk.
Thorn pauses before she finds herself pushing open his bedroom door. "Archie?" she says softly.
Thorn hears his voice as she steps into the dark room. The light from his phone illuminates his face as he sits on the floor, crying softly. He sniffles a little, pressing a button on his phone forcefully before he tosses it to the side.
"Archie, are you okay?" she asks.
Archie turns his head to look at her and it's all it takes for her to see how miserable he truly is. "No," he says, shaking his head.
"Okay, we can work with no," she says. Thorn joins him on the floor by his bed. "If you'd had said yes, then we would have had a real problem." She sits on her knees facing him. Thorn brushes his wet hair from his forehead, feeling how hot the boy is from all the alcohol. "I think you need a glass of water, Archie," she says. "You look dreadful."
"I think I called my dad," he tells her weakly. "He's signing the papers."
"Oh, crap, Archie," Thorn strokes his head as she looks at him sadly, "I had no idea it was happening so soon." She sighs, and says, "I mean, my parents split when I was nine, and I've still got issues. You've only had a few years."
"I just had this feeling they were gonna get back together, you know?" he says.
Thorn gives him a sad smile, rubbing his shoulder gently. "I know."
"What if that's all I'm destined for, losing the love of my life?" he says, rambling, "Like I have this amazing life, great house, great wife, great kid; and I just lose it all like, poof - gone."
"Archie, what are you on about?" she asks him.
"You," he breathes out. Archie turns to looks at her helplessly and he grips her hand. "I've tried. I've tried moving on and it was working. Well, I thought it was working, but it didn't. Every time I think I'm over you, I see you and I realise I'm totally not over you. I can never be over you. I'm always going to be under you."
Thorn can't help the smile tugging at her lips. "That would be incredibly romantic if you weren't drunk, Archie," she replies.
"It's too late now," he shakes his head, "we've been over this. I should let you move on, you know?" He pauses, "but I can't." Archie looks into her blue eyes, mesmerised by them. "I can't watch you from a distance without wanting to hold your hand. I can't move on. I definitely can't watch fall in love with someone else. I can't."
"You don't have to worry about that," she says softly. "I won't be falling in love."
"Again?" he asks hopefully.
"Oh, Archie," Thorn sadly caresses his face and says, "we can't do this."
"But we've had so many moments," he slurs. "So many almost kisses. All I want to do is kiss you."
"We pinky-swore, remember?"
"And a pinky-swear is for life," he claims, huffing a little.
Seeing how sad he looks, Thorn, without another word, presses a soft kiss to his lips. It's brief, her lips barely touch his for two seconds, but it's a kiss and it feels right. She pulls back and Archie leans in again, grabbing the back of her head and pulling back in for another kiss, and without her better judgement, Thorn kisses him back for a moment.
"We shouldn't," she whispers, pulling away again.
"I know. Betty's downstairs," Archie says, and the guilt hits her.
Betty. The most important reason for the pinky-swear. Forget about Clifford and Thorn's family, Betty would be crushed if she ever knew. Betty would never forgive her, and Thorn knows she and Archie could never live knowing their best friend hates them. Hates them for possibly finding love in each other.
Thorn remembers the very reason she called it quits with Archie.
"Yeah." Thorn taps his shoulder. "Let's go get you some water."