contact post;

[occultatum]

voice | video | text | action

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voice;

[perfectible]

[ This is a few hours later, after the punching.] Are you okay?

voice;

[occultatum]

I didn't know you were afraid of the dark.

[Which is. Not an answer.]

voice;

[perfectible]

I'm more afraid of two people I care about getting hurt.

[ she's not letting him get away with it.]

[occultatum]

I wouldn't have hurt him.

[He sounds vaguely irritated.]

I didn't kiss you to piss him off. I didn't do it because-

Look. It doesn't matter. I'm fine. Sore, but I get the point.

[perfectible]

I know you wouldn't have hurt him. If you were going to you would have. [ Instead he made it dark, the non-violent option.] And I know you didn't do it to piss him off.

It matters to me.

[occultatum]

Betty.

Does he understand what it means to be here?

[perfectible]

He's still adjusting. He hasn't seen how bad things can get. [ He doesn't understand what it's like to be here alone with her.

She sighs.] He doesn't remember his time here before and... he loves me. He doesn't want me to get another citation or get hurt.

[occultatum]

I fought with Reggie.

I fought with Reggie, and I kicked him out. That's why I just-

Look.

I'm not sorry. And I'm not saying it was smart. Sometimes I'm an asshole, but that wasn't what I was aiming for.

[perfectible]

[ And there it is. She assumed it was something more than just wanting to kiss her.]

What happened with you and Reggie?

[occultatum]

If I tell you, you can't tell anyone.

Not Jughead, not Reggie. Not Archie. No one.

[perfectible]

I won't tell anyone. I promise. [ And she means that.]

[occultatum]

I was on that spice. The one that makes you turn into the opposite sex.

And he called me Ronnie.

[He pauses.]

In the middle. Of sex.

[perfectible]

[ This is a lot to unpack.]

Ronnie-- [ It clicks.] Do you mean as in Veronica?

[occultatum]

Yeah.

I mean as in Veronica.

You see why you can't tell Archie?

[perfectible]

[ She sounds distracted and bewildered.] I didn't know he had... those kinds of feelings for her.

[ Pause.]

Nick... I'm sorry that happened, that's... horrible

[occultatum]

They dated.

Didn't you know that?

[perfectible]

They dated? [ Reggie wouldn't do that to Archie... would he? Would V do that to Archie? ]

No... I didn't.

[occultatum]

Well.

That is about as much as I know, too.

[perfectible]

[ Okay, this is a lot to process and she needs to focus on Nick for now.]

What can I do?

[occultatum]

About Reggie?

I don't think that you really can do anything about that.

[perfectible]

Then what can I do for you?

[occultatum]

Tell Jughead to stop hitting people.

You can hit them yourself if you want to.

[perfectible]

[ She lets out an amused sound.] Okay, I can do that.