_{♡ reggie .} 

         _{SCUMBAG .  Jackass .  Even  from  the  other  room ,  Reggie  could  hear  the  disapproval  seeping  into  the  police  chief’s  voice .  Of  course ,  the  town  jail  was  about  the  size  of  his  living room ,  so  sound  traveled  pretty  easy .  That  being  said ,  he  wasn’t  all  that  thrilled  to  be  holding  ‘ visiting  hour ’ ,  but  it  wasn’t  like  he’d  had  much  of  a  CHOICE .  Or  maybe  he  did ,  he  didn’t  know .  Because  whatever  the  technicalities  were ,  the  fact  was ,  he  owed  Betty  Cooper  A LOT  more  than  just  an  apology .}

_{Problem  was ,  he  wouldn’t  know  where  to  begin  to  start .  He  had  a  feeling  there  wasn’t  anything  he  could  offer  that  she  needed .  Or  wanted .  Not  a  lot  of  people  he  could  say  that  about .}

_{He’d  vowed  to  himself  he  wouldn’t  let  her  see  him  sweat .  But  he  hadn’t  accounted  for  this .  The  officer  led  him  into  the  small  cube  of  a  visitor’s  room ,  eyeing  him  as  if  he  might  sprout  knives  from  his  knuckles  like  Wolverine  or  something .  And  there  she  was .  Instead  of  one  of  the  miserable - looking  plastic  chairs  they’d  provided ,  he  noticed  she  was  seated  in  a  wheelchair .  He’d  heard ,  of  course ,  but … A  fleeting  glance  was  about  all  he  could  manage  as  he  moved  to  sit  down .  His  throat  felt  tight ,  constricted . GUILT  ––  that’s  what  he  was  feeling . It  wasn’t  long  ago  that  she’d  pulled  through  for  him  at  a  low  point .  In  a  twisted  way ,  it  made  sense  that  it  was  the  same  do - gooding  that  had  gotten  her  into  the  middle  of  all  this .  And  just  like  before ,  it  had  been  been  his  fault .  History  had  a  way  of  repeating  itself .}

_{❝   Hey ,  Cooper ,   ❞  The  lack  of  edge  to  his  voice  surprised  even  him ,  but  his  face  remained  impassive .  Good .   ❝   You  wanted  to  see  me ?   ❞   He  leaned  back  in  his  rickety  chair ,  almost  regretting  the  choice  with  the  loud  creaaaak  that  followed .  A  beat  of  indecision  followed  before  the  catch  in  his  chest  spoke  for  him .  ❝   How ,  uh … How  are  you  holding  up ?   ❞}

plotted starter for @heartlikegold

         Are you sure about this, Miss Cooper? _{Yeah, Betty, are you sure about this? It’s one thing to talk on the phone, but face to face interaction won’t be easy to} IGNORE _{–– but that’s precisely why she needs to do this. She’d} FOUGHT _{hard to be here; both figuratively, rolling in on four wheels, and literally, arguing for an hour with her dad over why this was} SO IMPORTANT _{to her. She had hinted at the anger sitting like a rock in the place of her heart, but hadn’t belied how massive that rock was, how it made every swallow a struggle. This wasn’t} her_{. Grief and anger and self-pity and frustration and confusion and} ––– BZZZ. CLANG. _{The door unlocked and in walked Reggie Mantle.} 

You know, there was a time we were friends. _{In fact, Betty had still considered them friends. Sure, Reggie was a little rough around the edges, and sure, he could be} cruel _and callous_{… but that didn’t mean he wasn’t without} GOODNESS_{. Now, she wasn’t sure. She knew –– she} BELIEVED _{wholly that he hadn’t meant to hurt} her_{. But that didn’t change that it was her that was hurt.} 

_{It was the way things just… were. Now, was she searching for a reason why? An apology like her parents believed? Or something else entirely?} 

_{She brushed down the cotton of her jogging pants ––} way too soon _{–– and pulled out a jagged piece of…} SOMETHING_{. The corners were} curled like talons, _{like someone had taken a blowtorch them, but the color remained bright beneath the burn marks.} “ _{This was lodged in my spine,} ” _{Betty said quietly, sounding miles away.} “ _{The doctor kept it in a plastic bag for me, like it was a souvenir. Can you believe? Like I was going to go home and frame it on the fucking wall.} ” _{She presses her lips together. The officer by the wall looks surprised to hear Betty Cooper swear.} “ _Sorry. ” _{It’s like he’s forgotten she’s just a teenager. Sometimes, Betty forgets it too. Not right now, though. Right now, she feels as small as a five-year old, with all the hurricane emotion her age permits her.} “ _I’d avoid _{my dad when you get out. He says he wants to kill you. I told him he’s –– …I said I forgave you. That it wasn’t really… your fault. I wouldn’t chance it, if I were you.} ”  

_{Then, because she} needs _{to believe it, because this is} Reggie_{, because it was an act of God, not the poor choices of the boy on the other end of the late night phone calls that brought them both here, because she knows all actions have consequences, but} GOD _{she doesn’t want to believe it, she says,} “ _{It wasn’t your fault. You know that, right?} ” _{For once, she hopes he’ll be}SELFISH_{. So she won’t have to be.}