a frail slippery house, a strong fragile house

@redcirce Merry Christmas! I'm not a published writer but I did the best I could and I hope you enjoy.

A Lesson Of Love - Christmas

"Archiekins, how are we going to win if you eat all the decorations!? You too Mr. Jones! Put the candy on the house! Toni is on her way!" Veronica swatted their hands away from the gumdrops, not before Jughead managed to grab a gumdrop.

"I thought the houses were for eating Veronica..”

"Toni is going to pick one to place beside Cheryl's extravagant ginger-mansion. The losers have to dress up as Santa Claus and his elf to hand out presents to the kids at the gym. So, let's get going-" Veronica focused on her brilliant blonde bestie, who had been delicately piping white icing along the side of the house, resulting in an illusion of icicles. "Betty, it's beautiful."

Betty raised her head to the sound of Veronica's voice and hadn't noticed she'd been in another dimension. Her expression changed the vibe in the room. She smiled, with a single tear dripping from her eye and began to feel her skin slowly turning red. The three of them remained silent, not knowing what to say. She sniffled as she added cinnamon sticks as logs in front of the house.

Jughead leaned in and whispered, “Are you okay?" She nodded her head and smiled.

"I.. I'm sorry. It's hard to work on one of these. The last time I remember doing this, it was with Polly and my dad." She let out a sigh. "One year the three of us had glasses of eggnog while working on the decorations and dad spilled his glass. Mom started having a fit until he slipped trying to clean it up. The four of us laughing so hard my stomach started to hurt. It's such a good memory."

Betty wasn't looking at anyone in particular. She wiped her eyes and began piping the roof. "I'm okay. I'm still dealing with his loss, but things are becoming easier with time and your support means.. the world to me."

A grin grew on everyone's face. Jughead had slid out of his chair and stood behind Betty, crossing his arms around her and planted a kiss on her head. As they embraced, Archie suddenly grabbed Veronica's silky hand and squeezed while mouthing, "I love you Ronnie."

In that moment, Veronica realized she was incredibly vexed by time, by the urge to have their house next to Cheryl's for display. As much as she loved competition, she decided to sit down and reach for the gumdrops, popping one into her mouth and savoring the flavor. Seeing Jughead begin to place the green and red M&Ms around the doorway.

"Okay Archiekins, let's get to it!"

For the next hour and a half, the room was silent as they concentrated on peppermints and gumdrops. A knock on Veronica's front door caught them right as the last touches were being made. Veronica welcomed Toni and admired the small hints of red and green hair that flowed through her locks. Once in the dining room, Toni examined the houses.

"They are both so.. unique. We should take both of them and see what Cheryl thinks." It was the nicest way of saying, “Cheryl is going to flip when she sees these.”

The four of them race off to find the outfits Veronica had already picked out that would match each other. Jughead stepped out wearing a classic reindeer sweater with a bejeweled red nose for every Rudolph on the sweater. Veronica insisted he take his beloved beanie off but he digressed.

"Let me be a little recognizable. This sweater is itchy, and I have to play Rudolph all night." Betty loved the sweater. Tapping his shoulder lightly, she hesitantly holds out a reindeer-eared headpiece. "Do I have to?"

"I let you keep the beanie on. Fair is fair." Veronica smirked with her arms crossed.

"Fine, but my girl gets a pair too." He was brooding with his festive gear until he watched Betty carefully place the headband into her slick ponytail. Beautiful as always. He walked to Betty and pressed his lips onto hers and almost forgot they were not alone.

"Look at the time!" Toni quickly filled the silence to keep things from getting awkward between anyone, but she was the only one who felt awkward. It was time to go, before Cheryl had a full episode of psychotic rage. The five of them rush to their vehicles. "See you at the gym!" She waved and took off. Archie fumbled with the keys to open Fred’s truck.

"Jump in! I mean don't jump in-"

"We know that Archie." Three voices chimed in synchronicity as Jug barely manages to shut the car door with Fred's truck frantically pulling out of the spot and they made their way to the gym without crashing due to speed. Archie was the only one who wasn't pale in the face of fear.

"But I was going the speed limit! We can argue about my driving later. We need to get inside."

The four of them agreed and walking into the gym, it had turned into a winter wonderland. A place to dance, a place for the kids to make their own gingerbread houses, whether to keep or eat. A large buffet of warm ham, stuffing, cheesy potatoes, etc. with glasses filled with fresh eggnog. The spiced eggnog was in the office, so no one ends up drunk until the festivities were over.

"Color me shocked, you decided to come after all." The fiery redhead had entered the area. "We have twenty minutes before this event starts, let's see the houses." It didn't take long for an answer. "Neither one should stand beside my masterpiece, but it's Christmas time and I'm willing to overlook everything wrong with them. Go set them up."

Archie and Jughead took off with the houses with ten minutes to spare. Everyone released their breath. Mission completed. Cheryl had turned this place decked out. The air was filled with pleasant spices and evergreen from the largest tree she could find.

"Cheryl.. is that you at the top with Toni?" Betty marveled at the two porcelain dolls atop the tree.

"Angels deserve the highest spot. I say, T.T. turned this place into a dream. Oh, Kevin and Reggie are here too. You can guess which one is playing Santa and his little helper." They turned to see Reggie looking like a bearded Jesus and Kevin had shimmering elf ears on.

"The red lipstick is a total mood Kevin." Veronica slightly raised her voice and Kevin glanced back.

"I'll text you the shade!"

"Sounds good to me!" She finished right as the doors opened and children were in awe and excited. It's going to be a hell of a night, but it was all worth it. It brought a deep sense of joy among them all. "Who is going where to help the children?"

"Veronica, you're supposed to be on the dance floor, now go. I have to find Toni."

Cheryl wasn't asking, and as much as Jughead despised his outfit, holding Betty in his arms where she felt the safest. Betty was his most important gift he could have ever received. Veronica and Archie only had to look in each other's eyes with love directly from the heart. Soon, Toni was spinning around holding Cheryl's hands as Jingle-bell Rock started playing over an intercom.

Veronica had thought about earlier, when Betty had cried icing the roof. It wasn't about gifts, or food, or snowball fights. It was the connection she shared with her friends. They were the best gifts she could ask for. She arrived in Riverdale not knowing how her presence would affect the local population.

Things began highly problematic, but slowly this group of local teenagers were brought together by fate. The trials and tribulations they faced with one another weaved them tightly together. Many bumps in the road before this night, but it led to that night. The sounds of giggling children and music continued throughout the night. Seeing many who never had a childhood get to experience the thrill of Christmas made with the help of some friends with love in their hearts.

Riverdale was wonky as all hell, but it was home. Ronnie’s perspective had changed. It wasn’t about fancy gifts and extravagant dance floors, the decorations, the food can be top notch, which wasn’t necessarily bad. To really put Christmas in your heart was by loving the others around you and enjoying the happiness of giving without expecting anything in return. Remember that gifts can be material and replaceable. The gift of having a family you love is the greatest gift of all.

Merry, Merry Christmas to @redcirce who is just so sweet. I dedicate this to you, and I hope you enjoy it.