Jughead strolled into the busy bar in downtown Chicago. He came here often with his friends to stir up trouble. The young raven haired boy also had eyes for the singer there, Betty Cooper. That blonde beauty took everyoneās breath away. He found a few of his friends and grabbed a drink, happy to see Bettyās smiling face on stage. The host quickly rushed to the mic.
āAlright folks! That was it for Betty Cooper!,ā the manager announced. Applause arose from the crowd while he just frowned, sad that he missed her act. āBut thatās not all we have in store for you. Please welcome, a star on the rise, Veronica Cecilia Lodge!,ā the manger added. People clapped politely, not sure how anyone could top Betty.
The stage cleared and a periticularly petite raven haired girl peaked from the curtains, drew in a breath, and emerged onto the stage. Jughead perked up as he saw the girl. She was stunning. Her raven haired locks sat on her shoulder and her long purple dress fit her figure perfectly.
She cleared her throat and began to sing, āCarolina, Carolina, at last theyāve got you on the map. With a new tune, funny blue tune, with a peculiar snap!,ā. Her voice was something no one heard before. It was the tweneties, people of color, mainly women, werenāt usually out performing. Her angelic voice filled his ears.
āYou may not be able to buck or wing. Foxtrot, two-step, or even sing; If youāve not got religion in your feet, you can do this prance and do it neat,ā she continued on. As she sang, she made eye contact with every single person. She wanted to gauge every persons reaction. She kept singing confidentially, that is until she met a certain raven haired boyās eyes. Her voice faulteted and he smirked at her, knowing the effect he had.
āVeronica Lodge! This is the first gig youāve ever gotten. Youāve worked so hard to get here, donāt mess it up now!ā She mentally berated herself.
So she surprised him, she sent him a wink and continued singing. āCharleston! Charleston! Made in Carolina! Some dance, some prance. Iāll say thereās nothing finer than the Charleston, Charleston, gee how you can shuffle;Every step you do, leads to something new. Man Iām telling you, itās a lapazoo!,ā Veronica continued. Jughead, startled by her bold actions, wiped the smirk of his own face. From then on, he maintained eye contact with her. For he wanted to examine her every feature, and she needed something to focus on as she sang.
āBuck dance, wing dance will be a back number; But the Charleston, the new Charleston. That dance is surely a comer. Sometime, youāll dance it one time, that dance called Charleston. Made in South Caroline!,ā she finished. Everyone instantly shot out of their seats to give the bold newcomer a standing ovation. Jughead slowly clapped, maintaining his signature smirk as his eyes bore right into her head.
āYou did amazing, Ronnie!,ā Veronicaās bestfriend Archie exclaimed as she joined him backstage.
āThank you! God, I canāt believe I did it!,ā she squealed. Archie enveloped her in a hug, happy for his friendās success.
āWait, Arch! Iāll come with you, I wanna know what people think of me. Maybe Iāll meet someone?,ā Veronica replied. Archie chuckled and nodded and the made their way to the bar.
āTwo margaritas, Toni,ā Archie ordered.
āYou got it. And you were great out there, Lodge,ā Toni smiled.
āThanks Toni,ā she gushed.
āSo, whoās up next?,ā Toni asked.
āYour girlfriend,ā Veronica smirked slyly.
āQuiet, Ron. Someone couldāve heard you!,ā Toni hissed quietly. Veronica winced and whispered an apology. Letās just say, no one would like the fact that a lesbian couple worked here.
āNext up, Cheryl Marjorie Blossom!,ā the manager boomer. Toni, Archie, and Veronica clapped excitedly for their friend. The bar remained generally quiet as the redhead sang. Well, except a group of boys. And among them was the boy that captured Veronicaās attention on stage.
āSeriously? Douches,ā Toni muttered. Veronica nodded in agreement. She knew exactly how terrifying it was to be up there, at your most vulnerable state. She wouldāve died of embarrassment if people acted like they were that uninterested. And maybe it was the two maragaritas she had, but she felt confident enough to go up there and give them a piece of her mind. While Toni and Archie were engrossed in the performance, Veronica stumbled over to the boys.
āHey! You guys!,ā she slurred as she pointed an accusing finger at them.
āWhatās going on, baby? Getting drunk where you work doesnāt seem like a good idea,ā one boy smirked.
āI got this, Reg,ā the raven haired boy Veronica saw earlier spoke up. āHow can we help you, dollface?,ā he asked casually.
āYou can help me by shoving that martini glass down your throat so youāre not disrupting my friendās performance!,ā Veronica snapped. The boys let out various whistles and āoohsā. Veronica rolled her eyes and stood her ground.
āListen, sweetheart. Weāre paying to be here, right? So I can do anything I want. Anything,ā he replied, stroking my hair back and giving me a once-over. Veronica looked at him disgusted. The boys all got up and left the bar, smirking at her as if they knew something I didnāt. She scoffed and made her way back to her friends. The performance ended and she joined in with the rest of the bar applauding Cheryl.
āHey Ron, whatās in your hair?,ā Toni inquired.
āWhat paper?, she muttered as she searched her hair with her hands. She pulled out a little folded peice of paper. She furrowed her brows in confusion as she opened it to see a note: āMeet me on the roofā. Veronica but her lip, debating if she should go. This was Chicago, he could be a mobster that called her up there to kill her for disrespecting him. āWhat the hell, live life on the edge, Ronnie,ā Veronica thought to herself. āHey guys, Iāll be back,ā She told her friends. She got up and left, followed by a few āsee you laterāsā.
Veronica climbed the narrow stairs all the way up to the roof. Sure enough, the mysterious raven haired boy was up there, alone this time. Veronica cautiously approached him. He turned to face her and gave her a light smile. āSo you did find the note. I was worried that it might have gotten lost in there,ā he chuckled.
āIs there something you need,ā she sighed irritably while pinching the bridge of her nose.
āMy nameās Jughead,ā he replied.
āGreat, mineās Veronica,ā she drawled with a sarcastic smile.
āWell, my nameās usually a good ice breaker,ā he chuckled nervously. I gave him an expectant look. āSo, youāre a feisty one,ā he started.
āI didnāt come here to be patronized, Jughead. Tell me what you want,ā Veronica snapped.
āAh, But you did come up here. Is it because Iām rather dashing?,ā he wriggled his eyebrows.
āIām leaving,ā she replied as she turned to leave.
āNo wait. Iām sorry,ā he rambled as he rushed to catch my arm and spin me back around. āI just wanted to say, youāre voice is angelic. And youāre pretty. Beautiful, really,ā he gushed out.
Veronica raised a brow, searching his eyes to make sure he was being genuine. āThanks,ā she replied once she found no evidence of hidden motives.
āAnd maybe, just maybe, I might get a chance at a date?,ā he added.
She smirked as she put his note in his hair. āMaybe,ā she replied. She gave him one last glance before descending down from the roof and back into the bar. Jughead took the note from his hair to see her telephone number on it. He had a huge smile on his face as he descended down the stairs and back to his car.
He couldnāt wait to meet his raven haired princess again.
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Buuuuuut this is a Jeronica Secret Santa gift! (@vughead_ff on Instagram for 20s idea)
A historic fic For: @outruntheavalanche
I hope youāre having a wonderful holiday and I send my love!!