Caia was trying to forget about what had happened at the speakeasy that night. She had been ghosting Reggie, ignoring his calls and staying as far away from him as possible. Veronica too, but that was hardly plausible when news broke that Archie had come back to town. She couldn't let her relationship problems get in the way of her friendship. So she went to the group celebration at Pop's, of course.
"Two chocolates, two vanillas, and a root beer float for Archie," Pop Tate recited as he set down the drinks in front of each respective customer. "Welcome home, son."
"Thanks, Pop," Archie voiced.
Betty furrowed his eyebrows at the former redhead who has know home dark. "Since when did you drink root beer floats?" She questioned as she handed Pop her credit card to pay.
Archie shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I'm just not in the mood for a strawberry milkshake." Caia didn't blame him. She wasn't much in the mood for her milkshake, either.
Jughead sighed at the way Archie was acting. "New drink, new hair, new haunted vacant look in your eyes-" he observed.
"Guys," Veronica interrupted. "Archie just lived through The Revenant, let him order what he wants."
Oh, right. That was new too. Archie had gotten attacked by a bear during his solitary isolation.
Archie looked around at the small group of friends. He noticed Caia staring intently at her milkshake, but didn't say anything about it. "So," he began. "What'd I miss while I was gone?" He inquired.
Betty glanced down at the table and then over at Veronica. Roni decided to break the news. "Well, thanks to the town quarantine orchestrated by my father, Pop's was shut down and just reopened," she explained. "And he's also been attacking shipments to the speakeasy. But, thankfully, I've hired the Serpents as my full time protection," Veronica turned to her boyfriend. "And that service extends to you, Archie."
"You don't have to worry about Hiram's goons coming after you or your dad," Jughead informed. "You won't be able to see 'em, but I have guys watching you twenty-four seven. And I have a possible lead that could diffuse this threat permanently," Jughead assured.
Everyone seemed surprised by that. Even Caia looked up, her eyebrows furrowed on confusion. "What, Jug?" Betty questioned.
Jughead made a quick once over of the restaurant to make sure no one was listening before leaning forward. "You can't tell anyone," he stated.
Caia nodded. "We won't," she promised.
Jughead nodded, then began revealing his information. "Fangs is deep undercover in the Gargoyle Gang," he admitted. "He hasn't met the king yet, but he's still working on it. And when we get access to him, we're gonna take him down." Caia raised her eyebrows at this lofty goal. "My bet is that it's Hiram underneath the mask." He gave a way stare over at Veronica, judging for her reaction. "Sorry, Veronica."
"Don't be. I wouldn't put it past him."
"Well, there goes studying for the SATs," Betty sighed.
Archie set his milkshake down, seeming alarmed. "What? SATs?"
Caia nodded. "Yeah, they're this Saturday," she informed. She had completely forgotten about them to until a poster in the school hallway had reminded her.
Archie sat back as this realisation hit him. Veronica put her hand on his leg as Betty tried to reassure their friend. "Don't worry, Arch. I'll help you study and get you caught up, okay? We all will." She offered. Archie sighed, exasperated.
Suddenly, Pop Tate returned to the table. "I'm sorry, Betty, but your debit card was declined," he informed. Betty took the card back, staring at it with confusion.
"I got you, B," Veronica offered. She turned to Pop. "Just put it on my tab, Pop," she informed.
Later, as Caia put on her jacket in anticipation of leaving, Archie pulled her aside. Caia looked up at her friend who wore a concerned expression on his face. "Are you okay, Caia?" He questioned. "You seemed kinda," he paused, thinking of the right word. "Distant tonight."
Caia forced a smile, shaking her head. "No, no, Archie, I'm fine. Don't worry about me," she informed. "You've got enough to worry about, you shouldn't be concerned about me." She began to walk past Archie to get to the door, but he grabbed her elbow and stopped her.
Caia turned back to Archie. "Are you sure?" He questioned. "Just because I've been gone and stuff doesn't mean you can't tell me if something's going on." Archie was specifically thinking of the problems Caia had endured with her dad. He didn't want her to go through something like that alone again.
Caia cocked her head at Archie's genuine concern. She set a hand on his arm reassuringly. "I'm fine, really, Archie. I promise."
*
The next morning Reggie made his way through the hallways, smiling when he saw Veronica at her locker. He walked over, greeting Veronica with a small touch on the arm. She turned to him.
"Everything all right?" He inquired. "You didn't text me back last night." After these words, Reggie leaned in for a kiss.
Veronica immediately pushed him back. "Reggie, cool it," she warned. Reggie furrowed his eyebrows as Veronica glanced around the hallway. "Archie's back." Reggie sighed in realisation and panic, setting an arm on one of the lockers as Veronica shut her locker.
"Archie's back?" He questioned. "Since when?"
Veronica crossed her arms and faced her former flame. "Look, I know we were," she paused, unsure of the right word. "But, I can't tell Archie that one of his best friends and his ex girlfriend got together while he was away. Also," she began, staring up at the boy. "I feel like absolute trash for doing this to Caia. She wouldn't even look at me last night. Have you even talked to her about this yet?"
Reggie's face dropped as he sighed and turned his back to the locker. "No," he admitted. "She's ghosting all my calls. I don't even know what I'm supposed to say to her."
Veronica rolled her eyes. "Reggie, you literally tried to kiss me five seconds ago and you haven't even talked to your girlfriend about what we did yet?" She accused. "You need to make your peace with Caia. Granted," she sighed. "So do I. But that's just another reason why this," she motioned between the two of them. "Has to stop."
Reggie closed his eyes, nodding. "Enough said," he finished. He turned back to Veronica. "How's Archie doing, by the way?"
Veronica faltered. "He's feeling- unsettled and stressed," she explained. "I may not be able to do anything about the former, but I definitely can about the latter." Suddenly, an idea hit Veronica. "With something that'll help all of us blow off some steam. A party."
Meanwhile, Caia was aimlessly wandering the halls. There were large bags under her eyes, part from sleep deprivation and part from genuine sadness. Reggie and Veronica's betrayal had really taken a tole on her, both physically and mentally. Not only that, but Caia was definitely partially drunk. At eight in the morning.
Caia opened her locker, trying to blink away some of the sluggishness. Suddenly, Sweet Pea appeared beside her. "What's up, dude?" He inquired, concern laced in his voice. "You look like you just got hit by a truck."
Caia turned to face him. "Is it really that bad?" She questioned.
Sweet Pea raised his eyebrows, cocking his head toward the mini mirror in Caia's locker. "Check for yourself."
Caia did, and was disappointed to find out that it really was that bad. She groaned, turning back around to face Sweet Pea. "My life is really falling apart," she muttered.
"What?" Sweet Pea inquired, raising his eyebrows. "Why the hell is your life falling apart?" Suddenly, he caught a whiff of something and sniffed the air, leaning down to get closer to Caia. "C, are you drunk?" He demanded.
Caia widened her eyes. She hadn't planned on Sweet Pea realizing that. "No..." she trailed off, completely unconvincingly.
Sweet Pea crossed his arms. "Okay, Caia, cut the crap. What is going on?"
Caia sighed. She accepted her fate and decided to just come clean to her friend. "Reggie cheated on, again," she paused and closed her eyes as she recounted the image that had been assaulting her brain for the last few days. "With Veronica."
Sweet Pea clenched his fist. His expression became livid. "That bastard," He muttered.
Suddenly, as if on cue, Reggie appeared at Caia's locker. He put a hand on Caia's arm, giving a wary glance at Sweet Pea, who was glaring heavily at him. "Can we talk?" He pleaded.
Caia stared at him, clearly unimpressed. She was about to say something, when SP did it for her. "Uh uh," He replied, taking Reggie's hand and removing it from Caia's. "She doesn't have anything to say to you, cheater."
Reggie's eyes widened as he tore his glance from Caia to Sweet Pea and back to Caia. "How many people have you told?" He exclaimed.
Caia glared at him. "How many people have you kissed?" She shot back.
Reggie rolled his eyes, grabbing Caia's arm and dragging her across the hallway into an empty room where Sweet Pea was conviently missing. He pulled her into the room and shut the door behind them before turning to Caia.
She stood beside the teacher's desk looking very unimpressed. Her arms were crossed. "Sweet Pea was right," she shot. "I don't have anything to say to you."
Reggie sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. He took a few steps toward Caia and tried to touch her arm, but Caia backed away. "I know you're not going to believe me, but I really am sorry, C," he stated, dropping his hands and accepting the fact thay Caia wasn't going to let him touch her anymore.
Caia scoffed and shook her head. "Honestly, Reggie, I don't really care." Reggie's face dropped. "Last time this happened, I said this was your last chance. And you blew it." Caia took a few steps forward, staring up at Reggie. "I don't care if you like Veronica more than me, I care that you weren't man enough to tell me yourself."
"But I do like you more!" Reggie exclaimed. His face softened. "I love you, Caia."
Caia shook her head. "If you loved me you wouldn't be making out with another girl behind my back." She felt a few tears well up in the corner of her eyes. "If you loved me you wouldn't have done this to me again. I've been hurt too many times, Reggie. I can't do this anymore if you won't respect this relationship." Caia paused and turned around, setting your gaze to the floor. "Everything I've been through, and I keep coming back to you. And you keep hurting me. Maybe it's my fault. But I can't help loving you, Reggie. And I don't think I'll ever be able to stop." Caia glanced back up at Reggie, a few tears now making their way down her cheeks. "But this time, I'm done. I can't do this right now. I can't be with you right now. I'm not letting you put me through this again. Especially when I know you love someone else." Caia wiped the tears from her face and made her way to the door. As she passed Reggie, he grabbed her arm, turning her around.
"Caia-" he began, pausing his statement in the middle. "Can we at least still be friends?"
Caia's eyes were sorrowful. "I don't know, Reggie," she admitted. "I just need time."
With that, Caia exited the room, and Reggie had lost her once again.