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 everyone’s breath away. He found a few of his friends and grabbed a drink, happy to see Betty’s smiling face on stage. The host quickly rushed to the mic.
“Alright folks! That was it for Betty Cooper!,” the manager announced. Applause arose from the crowd while he just frowned, sad that he missed her act. “But that’s not all we have in store for you. Please welcome, a star on the rise, Veronica Cecilia Lodge!,” 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, “Carolina, Carolina, at last they’ve got you on the map. With a new tune, funny blue tune, with a peculiar snap!,”. Her voice was something no one heard before. It was the tweneties, people of color, mainly women, weren’t usually out performing. Her angelic voice filled his ears.
“You may not be able to buck or wing. Foxtrot, two-step, or even sing; If you’ve not got religion in your feet, you can do this prance and do it neat,” 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 boy’s eyes. Her voice faulteted and he smirked at her, knowing the effect he had.
“Veronica Lodge! This is the first gig you’ve ever gotten. You’ve worked so hard to get here, don’t mess it up now!” She mentally berated herself.
So she surprised him, she sent him a wink and continued singing. “Charleston! Charleston! Made in Carolina! Some dance, some prance. I’ll say there’s nothing finer than the Charleston, Charleston, gee how you can shuffle;Every step you do, leads to something new. Man I’m telling you, it’s a lapazoo!,” 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.
“Buck dance, wing dance will be a back number; But the Charleston, the new Charleston. That dance is surely a comer. Sometime, you’ll dance it one time, that dance called Charleston. Made in South Caroline!,” 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.
“You did amazing, Ronnie!,” Veronica’s bestfriend Archie exclaimed as she joined him backstage.
“Thank you! God, I can’t believe I did it!,” she squealed. Archie enveloped her in a hug, happy for his friend’s success.
“Wait, Arch! I’ll come with you, I wanna know what people think of me. Maybe I’ll meet someone?,” Veronica replied. Archie chuckled and nodded and the made their way to the bar.
“Two margaritas, Toni,” Archie ordered.
“You got it. And you were great out there, Lodge,” Toni smiled.
“Thanks Toni,” she gushed.
“So, who’s up next?,” Toni asked.
“Your girlfriend,” Veronica smirked slyly.
“Quiet, Ron. Someone could’ve heard you!,” Toni hissed quietly. Veronica winced and whispered an apology. Let’s just say, no one would like the fact that a lesbian couple worked here.
“Next up, Cheryl Marjorie Blossom!,” 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 Veronica’s attention on stage.
“Seriously? Douches,” Toni muttered. Veronica nodded in agreement. She knew exactly how terrifying it was to be up there, at your most vulnerable state. She would’ve 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.
“Hey! You guys!,” she slurred as she pointed an accusing finger at them.
“What’s going on, baby? Getting drunk where you work doesn’t seem like a good idea,” one boy smirked.
“I got this, Reg,” the raven haired boy Veronica saw earlier spoke up. “How can we help you, dollface?,” he asked casually.
“You can help me by shoving that martini glass down your throat so you’re not disrupting my friend’s performance!,” Veronica snapped. The boys let out various whistles and “oohs”. Veronica rolled her eyes and stood her ground.
“Listen, sweetheart. We’re paying to be here, right? So I can do anything I want. Anything,” 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 didn’t. 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.
“Hey Ron, what’s in your hair?,” Toni inquired.
“What 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: “Meet me on the roof”. 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. “What the hell, live life on the edge, Ronnie,” Veronica thought to herself. “Hey guys, I’ll be back,” She told her friends. She got up and left, followed by a few ‘see you later’s’.
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. “So you did find the note. I was worried that it might have gotten lost in there,” he chuckled.
“Is there something you need,” she sighed irritably while pinching the bridge of her nose.
“My name’s Jughead,” he replied.
“Great, mine’s Veronica,” she drawled with a sarcastic smile.
“Well, my name’s usually a good ice breaker,” he chuckled nervously. I gave him an expectant look. “So, you’re a feisty one,” he started.
“I didn’t come here to be patronized, Jughead. Tell me what you want,” Veronica snapped.
“Ah, But you did come up here. Is it because I’m rather dashing?,” he wriggled his eyebrows.
“I’m leaving,” she replied as she turned to leave.
“No wait. I’m sorry,” he rambled as he rushed to catch my arm and spin me back around. “I just wanted to say, you’re voice is angelic. And you’re pretty. Beautiful, really,” he gushed out.
Veronica raised a brow, searching his eyes to make sure he was being genuine. “Thanks,” she replied once she found no evidence of hidden motives.
“And maybe, just maybe, I might get a chance at a date?,” he added.
She smirked as she put his note in his hair. “Maybe,” 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 couldn’t 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 you’re having a wonderful holiday and I send my love!!
