PRETTY LIES || REGGIE MANTLE x OC
Rating: Mature/Explicit
Pairings: Reggie Mantle/Lydia Boyd (OC); slight Moose Mason/Lydia Boyd (OC)
Word Count: 87,257
Warnings: explicit sexual content, language, teen drug and alcohol use, crude/misogynistic language and humor, abusive and neglectful parents, fighting/violence, religious themes (Specific warnings can be found at the beginning of each chapter)
Author’s Note: This fic originated when I thought to myself, why the heck doesn’t anyone seem to care Midge is dead? followed quickly by and how did Reggie get off scot-free for trying to kill Fangs? This fic was the answer to those questions. Set during the summer after Season 2, this fic is an AU that explores how things might have gone had Riverdale given these poor kids some closure.
Thanks to @rivendell101 for the lovely graphic!
Summary:
Pastor’s daughter Lydia Boyd has been best friends with Midge Klump her whole life. When her best friend is brutally murdered in front of her very eyes, she is forced to reconsider everything she’s ever known to be true. Lydia used to think she had it all figured out, that life made sense, but a newfound relationship forged by grief with bad-boy jock Reggie Mantle makes her consider the possibility that the framework of her entire existence might be no more than a pretty lie.
Reggie Mantle knows he fucked up. He’s made more mistakes than he can possibly count, and now the world is falling apart around him. From an innocent crush, to a desire to belong, to the only friends he ever had, everything is being ripped away. He doesn’t know how things managed to spiral so far out of control, but he knows that she makes him feel safe.
In a year filled with grief, longing, mistakes, hatred, and doubt, Lydia and Reggie rediscover themselves and learn what it means not only to love unconditionally, but to allow yourself to be loved back.
Preview:
“Lydia,” Reggie asked, unsure if he could trust his eyes. “Is that wine?”
“Sure is,” she replied, unscrewing the top. “The finest off-brand communion wine.” Sighing she leaned back against the wall, her arm brushing against his. “Sometimes, when I feel like absolute shit, I snag some and come up here to get away.”
Reggie watched as she took the first sip of wine. For a girl that was supposed to be the perfect little pastor’s daughter, she was sure full of surprises. It wasn’t until she set the jug down and gave him a pointed look that Reggie realized he was staring. Swallowing hard, he picked up the jug and downed a sip—it was possibly the cheapest wine he had ever tasted, but the effect it had on his headache was near-immediate. “What are you getting away from?”
“Mostly the crippling realization that my best friend is dead, but also my dad sometimes.”
Reggie’s eyes widened, and he attempted to sputter out a reply. Before he could, though, she started laughing.
“Jeez, man, I was kidding.” She grabbed the wine and took another sip. “My parents are just a lot sometimes.”
“I get that.” Reggie exhaled slowly, running his hand through his hair and doing his best to keep his eyes fixed on the view instead of Lydia. “I really get that.”
“Want to talk about it?” She turned those piercing green eyes on him, and his heart started thudding. “You seem like the king of repressed issues.”
He scoffed, looking away before her eyes sucked him any deeper. “That may be true, but you’re definitely the queen.”
“Oooh, touché, you got me.” She passed him the wine, and her skin felt hot against his when he grabbed the jug. “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”
READ THE COMPLETED FIC ON A03 HERE
