cheryl & archie friendship fic - for the prompt: riverdale, carnival

Read on AO3 | Summary: Veronica breaks up with Archie on Valentine's Day. It's the last night of the carnival, and Archie needs a friend.

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“Archie Andrews, it isn’t much like you to show up on the cursed doorstep of Thistlehouse in the middle of the night, radiating with your shining beacon of goodness,” Cheryl says, opening the door for Archie, who was, well—radiating with a certain restlessness she can’t quite place a finger on.

“I just thought that you might want to come to the carnival with me tonight,” Archie says, plain as day.

“And why, pray tell, should I come with you when it far past Nana Rose’s bedtime?”

“Because Veronica just broke up with me. Betty and Jughead are off celebrating Valentine’s Day together, Kevin’s on a date, even Reggie is with—someone, I don’t really know. It’s just kind of a bummer, I’ve been saving up these tickets to go with Veronica, and it’s the last night. And I know Toni’s been out of town for a few weeks, so… I thought you might want the company.”

“You mean you want the company,” Cheryl says. The bite doesn’t come out as sharply as she had intended.

Archie just leans by the doorframe, floppy red hair stupidly falling over his face as the moonlight brings out the colours on his Bulldogs jacket. “Yeah, I do.”

Cheryl sighs and grabs her coat from the living room, draped over a chair next to the table of flowers delivered by Toni.

Why must all her friends break each other’s hearts? Is it not enough to simply be with everyone and treat them as you would your family?

Well, Cheryl’s family isn’t probably one to follow in this scenario, so perhaps not the greatest analogy, but she’s had enough of all these flimsy romantic pursuits, these silly cat-and-mouse games they all play with each other. It’s gotten them nowhere, and Betty and Jughead aren’t better off.

Oh, she knows all about who Betty really has feelings for. They just haven’t arrived at that particular turn yet, a car crash in slow motion waiting to happen, and she can see it from a mile away.

“If we are to go to the carnival, I propose we do all the biggest rides first. And if we go to the Haunted House, under no circumstances are you to let go of my hand. Toni says I jump too easily,” Cheryl says as they walk out in the crisp night air.

“You have my word,” Archie says to the sound of their boots crunching gravel.

The magnolias smell particularly delightful at this time of the year, though Archie’s teenage-boy cologne is doing its best to mask all of the best natural scents in the Thistlehouse gardens.

Cheryl looks at him then, takes his hand and stops them before they go any further. “I’m sorry, about you and Veronica. I know you loved her.”

Archie nods. “That’s okay—I mean, I think it’s for the best, anyway. We’ll still be friends.”

Cheryl offers a sympathetic smile. “What greater thing is there for human souls?”

“Is that a Bob Dylan quote?”

Sarah, my friend, I adore you ❤️

(Just in case the ask doesn't transfer when I post this, because I can't see the whole ask right now, Sarah asked for Cheryl's reaction to an invitation to an ugly sweater party)

Also, we all know I can't resist putting Archeryl in here

~~~~~~

"Betty, my dear cousin, you know I love you, but from the depths of my heart I ask you. What the hell?"

"I take it you got our invitation?"

Cheryl huffed a sharp laugh into the phone, staring at the card in her other hand like it was a spider about to bite her.

"To an ugly sweater party? Betty darling, what have I ever done to you to deserve such awful torture?!"

Her cousin laughed on the other end of the phone, and Cheryl could vaguely hear Jughead in the background asking what was going on. She rolled her eyes when Betty explained to him, dropping the card and tapping her freshly manicured nails against the mahogany table.

"It's just a party, Cheryl. It will be fun."

"Cousin, I already agreed to wear something other than my signature red to your wedding, what more must you ask of me?"

"C'mon, Cher, it'll be fun and you know it."

"There is nothing fun about a Blossom purposely wearing something... Ugly." She spat the word like it was a poisonous plant from her mother's gardens, shuddering gracefully.

Betty laughed again, harder than before, and Cheryl could hear Jughead laughing with her this time. Betty must have put her on speakerphone, because now it was Jughead's voice coming through the speakers.

"Let your hair down for a night, Blossom. Let go of that Gothic heroine routine and just relax. Have fun."

"Still isn't what I'd call fun, hobo. But, fine. Only because I know Archie wants to go."

She let them have a moment of triumph, and they chit chatted on the phone for a few more minutes before she hung up.

"Archie dear, I'll need your help finding a sweater for this party Betty and Jughead are throwing."

In a moment, her boyfriend was next to her, grinning sheepishly, holding something behind his back.

"I might have already picked something out for us."

She narrowed her eyes at him, closing them with a groan when he grinned and pulled the sweater out from behind his back.

"Archie. It's hideous." She risked another peek, staring with a thinly veiled horror at the couple's sweater he held. It was a two armed sweater, but wide enough in the middle that the two of them could fit, if their arms stayed wrapped around each other the whole night.

It truly was a hideous thing, her favorite beautiful red color marred by the garish green Christmas tree made out of glittering pom poms and the multicolored lights covering the whole surface of the sweater, even wrapping around the arms.

"You're damn lucky I love you, Archie Andrews."

Ah, Sarah my friend ❤️ how well you know me and my OTPs hahahaha

I apologize in advance for the sad

#49: Caroling through the neighborhood

~~~~~~~~~~

"Caroling? Really? That's what you want to do today? It's freezing outside, Archie!"

Cheryl Blossom turned to look at up at Archie from her position on his lap, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. They'd been watching a movie (Nightmare Before Christmas, as Cheryl was adamant it was both a Halloween movie and a Christmas movie) when Archie had paused it and suggested that they do some caroling around Riverdale.

"Why not? It would be fun. You can't tell me you've never been caroling before."

"I've never been caroling before."

He looked down at her with a curious look in his eyes, one of his hands rubbing along her upper arm.

"No way. You never even went with Jason or anything?"

"Love, you know the family I grew up in. What makes you think any of us ever wanted to go outside in the freezing cold and sing Christmas songs to a town full of neighbors who think we're all insane?"

He nodded, conceding to her point.

"Guess I never thought about that way. Did you ever want to?"

"Archie. It's snowing. And again, it's freezing outside. Why would I want to subject myself to that?"

"Because it's fun."

She could sense that he was holding something back, so she stayed silent, looking up at him with concern. He stared out one of the windows, his fingers still absently rubbing against her skin.

"My uh... my dad and I used to go caroling when I was younger. We didn't really do it the last couple of years because I thought it was too childish, and I didn't really think anyone really liked it. I kept promising him we'd 'do it next year' every year, but never did. Now it'll never be next year. "

Cheryl shifted until she was facing Archie and cupped his face in her hands, making him look up at her.

"Oh my dear Archie."

He hasn't spoken too much about Fred in the past few months, almost as if he didn't speak about his father, he wouldn't be dead. Whenever he did talk about Fred, it was always in a subdued tone of voice, and only ever with Cheryl. They both knew what it was to lose someone they were so close to, to lose the person that had been their solid foundation in times of difficult storms. It had brought the two of them closer together, bonded even more by grief.

She pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, her thumb caressing his cheek. His eyes met hers again, glistening with unshed tears.

"Of course we can go caroling. In honor of Fred Andrews. You call Betty and Jughead, I'll call my Vixens. We'll get a group together. The first annual Fred Andrews Memorial Caroling Event."

She slid off the couch, grabbing for her phone. Archie caught her hand in his, pulling her back towards him.

"Cheryl. We don't have to do this."

"Of course we do, Archie. It's something Fred would have wanted us to do. To come together as a town to spread a little Christmas joy."

The smile that lit up his face was more than enough thanks for her, and she kissed him quickly, bouncing off to retrieve her phone.

Her Vixens all agreed to help, and an hour later, they had a sizable group of Riverdale Vixens, students, and even some Serpents gathered together, all bundled up against the cold with sheet music (helpfully printed by Betty and Jughead) in hand, walking around the town of Riverdale.

They stopped at every house, even surprising Mary by coming by the Andrews household.

Archie's hand found Cheryl's and squeezed a silent communication of his thanks. She beamed up at him, twisting her fingers through his.

"Merry Christmas, my love."