I'd try to say something like, "That makes one of us," just to see how you'd react. But I'm here. [Veronica doesn't bother to hide the fact that she missed Archie. The barrier is there between them, but a book isn't large enough to limit their interaction. She hates that she broke up with him, or that he broke up with her, or however that went—it feels like a haze from another life. She just knows that haze is going to turn into clarity sooner rather than later. It's a mess, and one she's not quite ready to deal with at this time.

That will be for tomorrow, possibly. Or the moment she leaves the Andrews house and has to return to her dad wondering if she was with Archie, because somehow, he's the type of guy who knows everything that's going on. It's going to be a really big issue now that Archie's back.

Her hand drops from his face to his hand, fingers moving over the bumps of his knuckles.]

How was big city life? I wondered how you'd do there. Did you play any shows? [These are stalling questions, because she just wants to push him down and kiss him. Veronica just wants to pretend that she has some self control.]