#a:barchiefanfiction

[barchiefanfiction]

Doors of Perception

by @barchied / Kate

Prompt:  "Tell me you don’t have feelings for me. Tell me that right here, right now, standing this close to me that you feel nothing for me. Tell me!"

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17649569

When he opens the door, it doesn’t lead him to his bedroom. He doesn’t find his sleeping form tucked in his bed waiting to be destroyed by this tougher, darker version of himself. Instead, he sees the door of her house. Just like he had what seemed like a lifetime ago now. In a further moment of deja vu, he watches as the door opens and Betty comes out wearing that same pink dress she’d worn to the dance. The one, he realizes now, she was wearing in the vision he’d just had of his friends in the cabin, encouraging him to play. He doesn’t have time to unpack that yet because she’s striding toward him both confident and nervous and he remembers this moment with such stark clarity that he knows what’s coming next.

His heart is beating in his ears as she speaks. Tells him she isn’t going to ask what happened with him and Veronica at Cheryl’s and he has to stifle a laugh because in the grand scheme of everything that seems so insignificant and faraway now. But then she’s asking him that question he got wrong the first time and it’s suddenly crystal clear why his subconscious has sent him back to this moment. “I’m asking if you love me…” The tears stinging her eyes are enough to break his heart all over again.

He remembers what he said the first time. Of course he loved her! But he wasn’t good enough, she was too perfect. He hadn’t meant for those words to hurt her, they were supposed to spare her the pain that he saw foreshadowed in their future. But, as it turned out, their lives would be riddled with pain anyway. Despite his best efforts to protect her by pushing her away, things had still gone to shit. Perhaps that had been his gravest mistake; to deny his feelings for her. They had always been better together after all; stronger, smarter, more capable.

The pained look on her face drew him back to reality. He was taking too long to answer. But, he has to get it right this time. “Of course I love you,” he echoed his response to their original conversation. He moved closer to her though and willed himself to find the right words this time.

“Okay so then why don’t you...want me?” Her voice was thick and her eyes were rimmed red. He hates seeing her like this, especially when he knows he’s the cause of her sadness. Ultimately, wasn’t that what he was trying to avoid in the first place? Wasn’t that why he’d rejected her to begin with?

He takes her hand in spite of himself. “It’s not that simple-.” But, wasn’t it? His courage staggers for a moment and he forces himself to take a ragged breath. “I’m scared,” he confesses that as much to himself as to her. “If I hurt you, if I caused irreparable damage to our friendship I would never be able to forgive myself.” He’s surprised he’s actually said those words out loud but after the other scenarios he’s been through so far, he knows he should just be honest with himself. This will go a lot easier if he just learns whatever this vision is trying to teach him or make him see. “You’re the most important person to me in the entire universe, Bets.” His hand had moved, seemingly on its own accord, to cup her face and he couldn’t help but feel his heart clench at the way she relaxed so willingly into his touch, how her eyes fluttered closed. Her absolute trust in him wasn’t forced or feigned, it was built on their foundation of friendship, of the love she’d always harbord for him. That love, however, had long blossomed into something more for the both of them. Of course in this dream or alternate reality or whatever it was he had the advantage of knowing things she didn’t know. Things this still innocent version of herself could never imagine they’d go through. She was still capable of holding onto optimism because she didn’t know what would happen.

“It’s not going to ruin anything.” She spoke the words assuredly, like it was a promise she could keep for the both of them out of sheer will alone. “It’s going to make everything better; make us closer.” It was like she could feel his thoughts radiating off of him.

He wants to believe her and some parts of him do. Their fingers have become intertwined at his left side and his skin tingles where it touches hers. Their connection is magnanimous and undeniable, and suddenly anything he wants to say about her being in love with some version of him she’s conjured up in her head seems worthless and unwarranted. His natural inclination is to push her away, reiterate that he’ll never be good enough for her. But perhaps he’s been sent back to this moment because he isn’t supposed to use those excuses this time.

Yet, as he studies her perfect, full, bottom lip that is practically screaming out to be touched by him, he still feels the need to send her away. “It’s not that I don’t want you, Betty.” The confession slips out before he can stop it and now he can’t take it back. It hangs between them only briefly before it’s tarnished by his next statement. “But I don’t deserve you or the way you’re looking at me. I have this darkness inside of me and I can’t let it hurt you.” It’s a chore to force out the last part. Because it’s the truth. That’s what he’s always wanted to protect her from, the darkness that exists inside of him. The one that makes him thirsty for revenge at any cost. The one that sent him on the run in the first place. He can’t risk letting her get caught in whatever crosshairs he’ll undoubtedly find on him.

He expects to find sadness on her face but he finds wistfulness instead. In fact, if he’s not mistaken, she actually giggles and shakes her head at him. “Oh Arch, you don’t think I already know that?” It’s her turn to cup his face and he can’t help but have a similar response of relaxing with ease into her soft, sweet touch. “I have darkness in me too,” She whispers softly, her voice almost a breeze against his skin. “But, I’m not afraid of the dark, especially not when I’m with you. Besides, we can bring flashlights.” She flashes him a misplaced smile and he wants to grin with her, let her positivity be infectious, but he feels restrained still and like he needs to put up a fight, for both of their sakes.

“It’s not that simple Bets-”

“It can be though.” She dares back before he can finish that half-assed argument he’d barely even crafted.

“I’m not sure I can be the man you want or deserve, I just-”

She steps closer to him and the sudden proximity cuts him off before her words do. Her wistful tone has been replaced by a more challenging one. “Tell me you don’t have feelings for me. Tell me that right here, right now, standing this close to me that you feel nothing for me.” Her chest is pressed to his now and any semblance of space between them no longer exists. If he’d thought he was tingling when their skin made contact earlier, then he was practically vibrating now.

“Betty, I-”

“Tell me!” She challenged again, drawing her hand down to rest against his chest, her fingers tapping expectantly against the less than luxurious fabric of his suit jacket.

He wants to tell her all of those things. He wants to spare her the pain of loving him like he did in reality. But this is a dream. A hallucination at best, what’s the harm in just seeing what it would be like? Her eyes shine with expectancy and hope and he can’t bring himself to destroy it. Not here. Not this time. “I could tell you those things.” He sighs, looking down so that their eyes are locked on each others, “But, you’ve always been able to tell when I was lying so it wouldn’t do me any good anyway.”

She opens her mouth to respond but her lips parting this close to him seems to awaken some carnal and instinctive need within him because the next thing he knows he’s kissing her. It’s not timid or reserved like their real first kiss, the one they’d shared at the wrong place and time in front of Cheryl’s. No, this kiss is in a class of its own. His arm snakes around her waist, his hand settling at the small of her back, melding them together. This kiss says everything he’s never been able to articulate about how he feels about her and what she means to him. This kiss changes everything.

Suddenly, he’s overcome with overwhelming sadness because this isn’t really happening. This isn’t really Betty. She isn’t really his. This harsh dose of reality breaks their kiss. He doesn’t realize he’s crying until her thumbs are brushing away his tears. “What’s wrong?” She asks softly, drawing him against her without hesitation or reservation.

“It’s not real.” He whispers, but even so he lets himself kiss her again because even though it’s not real; it could’ve been. And this is how it would’ve felt. He’s suddenly angry for robbing them both of this experience. He knows he’ll never forget the feel of her lips or the taste of them, even when he wakes up. He knows he’ll never stop craving them. He also knows he’ll never have them, not anymore. She loves Jug. The window he’d single-handedly decided needed t be forcibly closed, locked, and sealed- would remain that way.

When the kiss breaks this time they’re no longer standing outside of her house. As he opens his eyes he notices they’re somehow in his room. He looks around, confused at first. The room is basked in a faint glow of moonlight and street lamps that permeate through his uncurtained window. It creates a halo around her already angelic blonde hair, “It can be real.” She affirms, pressing her lips to his again and moving them backward.

When he feels his knees hit the side of the bed, he sits, pulling her with him. “We can’t,” He sighs, “We shouldn’t-” But every excuse he tries to muster dies on his lips as they find hers again. “Fuck it-” He mutters to himself, giving in to his desires once and for all. If this isn’t real- there can’t be any consequences to giving in any way.

His deft fingers find the zipper of her dress and it gives them both chills when he tugs it down and the fabric falls from her shoulders. His breath catches as he looks at the matching lingerie set she wears that tells the story of how she’d hoped the night would end. He wonders if this is something his own mind has conjured up, but somehow, he knows it isn’t. He stops trying to rationalize any of this and finally lets go.

He makes love to her. It’s more than he could ever imagine. He feels everything he’s ever wanted to feel. The love that radiates off of her is overwhelming. They cuddle after, before going at it again. And then a third time. He knows he has to savor this while he can. He thinks maybe it’s selfish, but if this hallucination is the only he way he gets to be with her for the rest of his life, he’s going to make it count while he still can. He assumes that when he falls asleep he’ll either wake up to the next part of the game or maybe he’ll have succumbed to his injuries and whatever purgatory he’d been experiencing for the past however long would cease to exist.

He supposed there would be a kind of beauty in it all ending like this. In fact he almost wills himself to slip away and let this be his last memory, even if it isn’t real. He lets his eyes close briefly and sleep is ready to come for him, but her voice brings him back. “What are you thinking about?” She asks quietly.

His eyes snap open, willing him to stay here as long as he can. “How I wish this was real.” He admits earnestly, knowing she probably won’t understand. His voice is thick with sleep and his eyes become heavy again. He knows he can’t hold on much longer, but he isn’t exactly sure what it means. He isn’t as scared as he thought he would be, though.

Everything starts fading away into blackness and he feels the dream coming to an end. He feels tears spring in his eyes and he tightens his grip on her body, which is heaped sleepily against his, not ready to let go yet. Eventually, even the feeling of her begins to fade and just before the moment ends completely, he hears her voice in the faintest of whispers. “It is.”

Then, everything fades to black.

When he comes to, he knows something doesn’t seem quite right, but he can’t exactly place it. In fact, he finds himself in his bedroom and it feels like it’s been weeks since he’s actually been here. When the bed shifts and a warm body is pressed against his, lips bestow a lazy kiss to the place where his would-be injury should have covered. Afraid whatever moment this is might end if he opens his eyes, he keeps them closed, yet he tugs the form close against him. He needn’t see her to know it’s Betty. He can feel her, all around him. He still has the wherewithal to understand the importance of savoring this feeling.  “I had a strange dream..” He mumbles, trying to remember what it was.

He conjures up bits and pieces of memories that seem to be swirling around his mind. It’s hard to tell what’s real and what isn’t. Something about a bear, Betty loving Jughead, being on the run from Hiram Lodge? But just as quickly as those notions appear in his mind’s eye, they flit away before he can fully understand. It doesn’t help that his companion is drawing distracting shapes against his warm, bare skin which only serves to make it harder to concentrate. Suddenly, he recalls details in more clarity. The feel of her fingernails dragging across his back and digging into his shoulder. The fireworks her lips left behind as they trailed over his skin. The soft rock of her hips that culminated in moans of ecstasy. “Betty…” Her name is barely a whisper as his nerves ignite with the memory of how making love to her felt in that dream.

He’s startled more fully awake when he hears a response of “Hmm?” And then the body that had been draped over him shifts again, causing him to open his eyes. He looks down and sees her expectant face and for a moment he’s unable to process that it’s actually her until she pushes a strand of blonde hair back out of her eyes. Her hair is piled in a messy bun atop her head and he can tell that the game or hallucination as brought him to a new scenario.

“You’re still here.” Then, more sadly he adds, “That means I’m still dreaming,” He smiles in spite of himself because even though this can’t be real, he’s content to spend a little more time living in this fantasy he’s created for them. Maybe he’s in a coma in a hospital in Canada and this is all being induced by a line of morphine being pumped into him steadily through an IV. Whatever it is, he’s happy to stay here with her as long as he can.

When her lips are against his an instant later, he can’t help but notice just how real this feels. Last night he was fully aware that everything he was feeling was the product of his imagination. But as he rakes his fingers over her bare chest, the goosebumps that form underneath seem to have appeared on their own accord. He studies her like a book, his eyes taking in every finite detail of the way she looks. He hates himself for rejecting her. Wishes that this was reality and the other stuff was the dream. Or nightmare, as it were. He knows he can’t stay here with her forever but he knows he isn’t ready for it to end either. “I’m so in love with you,” He mutters tearfully before capturing her lips again, pulling her against him.

Each iteration of this dreamworld serves to reaffirm that every single thing that has gone wrong in his life has stemmed from rejecting her. Every version of her is blissfully unaware of all he has cost them and he can’t bring himself to confess to her that he fucked it up. It takes six rounds of this same instant before he’s fully realizing what he’s meant to do. Why he’s here. Why she is.

He’s been going about it all wrong. When the hallucinations brought him back to their moment in front of her house, the night of the dance, he thought he was supposed to choose her. Follow what his heart had wanted and see where it took them. Doing that was nice, but in all actuality, it did little to bring him closure. He owed her so much more than that, he finally realized. It wasn’t a confession of love he was supposed to give her, it was something more raw than that. The edges of this vision start to blur and he feels himself being dragged away. He knows what he has to say next time he sees her. He hopes this world gives him the chance.

Blackness coats the moment again and then, there is nothingness.

The next time he opens his eyes, it doesn’t feel like he is dreaming. The awful pain he was expecting to find in his chest radiates through each of his shoulders and down past his torso. Heart monitors and machines beep around him and draw him further into reality. The pain of his injury is almost nothing compared to the hole he feels when he realizes that Betty is not really his. That none of what he’s imagined will ever be real.

He is starkly aware of the dryness of his throat and he pulls an IV clad hand up to his face, pulling the oxygen line from his nose and blinking his eyes a few times to adjust to being awake for the first time in he isn’t sure how long. The room is mostly dark except for the myriad of lights glowing from the plethora of machine’s surrounding his bed. He groans as even the slightest of movements send terrible, dull, aching pains that radiate all the way through him.

Before his eyes are fully adjusted, he hears someone else in the room. He’s barely able to make out their silhouette, but recognizes when the move closer. Suddenly, he feels a straw tap against his dry lips and he parts them, sucking gently until cool water splashes refreshingly over his tongue. He takes a long drink, letting the crisp revitalizing liquid coat his throat and mouth. When he’s had his fill, he turns his head and feels the straw and cup being moved away and hears it being set on the table. Opening his eyes, he’s expecting to find a nurse, but is startled to find Betty looking back him, concern wrought into her brow.

“Fuck- I’m dreaming again, aren’t I?” He growls, averting his eyes from her. He knows what he’s supposed to do but he thought they’d be outside of her house again. He wonders why his subconscious has put him here and given him all the physical pain of his injury this time. He has a feeling that it’s nothing compared to the insurmountable void he will feel when she inevitable rejects him.

“Shitty dream,” She motions around the hospital room, a smirk on her lips nevertheless. She takes a seat in the chair next to his bedside and draws his hand into hers. “I’m pretty sure you’re awake.” She notes, squeezing gently. “Or I’m dreaming too,” She adds surreptitiously.

“No.” He says firmly, shaking his head. “You wouldn’t be here if this were real life.” His voice sounds so sad and pathetic, but he knows it’s his own fault. After all, he was the one who drove her away. It’s almost more disappointing how they’d let their friendship fall to the wayside since getting into their respective relationships. Maybe it was because deep down, they knew they were never meant to be just friends?

She seems hurt when he says that and drops his hand briefly. It’s not the reaction he’s expecting. “I will always be here when you need me, Arch. No matter what.” Then, she’s taking his hand again and when she squeezes it reassuringly, he forces himself to look at her.

“You won’t, Betty. You can’t.” It’s his turn to retract from her. He knows he doesn’t deserve her comfort. He’s let himself indulge in her too much in the other versions of this head trip. He doesn’t get to, not this time.

“I’m here now, aren’t I?” The earnestness in her voice is almost heart breaking.

“Not really, no…” He begins, frustrated with himself and the grogginess he feels. It makes it harder to articulate what he wants to tell her. And when you can’t coherently make your point, people tend to think you’re just rambling unimportant things.

“You aren’t making any sense, Arch.” She stands up and leans over him, brushing her thumb over his cheek. “You should rest some more, we can talk later.” She adds, leaning down to kiss his forehead and then her hand is reaching out for something on his left side and the pain is seemingly chased away by overwhelming warmth in the form of a morphine drip. He’s afraid if he doesn’t say it now he’ll miss his chance but before he can fight it, he’s giving into her suggestion with heavy eyelids.

When he awakes again, she’s still there next to him. Her eyes are closed but he can tell she isn’t sleeping. She doesn’t look relaxed enough. Still, he tries not to disturb her as he shifts in the bed to get more comfortable. “You’re awake,” She says, letting him know his efforts were unsuccessful. She stirs from the makeshift ball she’d folded herself into in that seemingly uncomfortable chair and stretches her arms above her head before rising and offering him the cup of water again.

He can’t help but laugh at the words she speaks because he knows he isn’t really awake. But he’s also glad for that, because if he were, he might lose his nerve. After taking another long drink of water, he forces the confession out before the moment can fade out again. “I’m so sorry, Betty.” He says rather suddenly. Tears sting the corners of his eyes and her face softens immediately. “I should’ve apologized to you so long ago,”

“Shh, Arch you don’t have to apologize for anything-” But he stops her before she can let him off the hook.

“I do though, I really do. I ruined everything that night.” The expression she wears implores him to explain more. She clearly has no idea what he’s referencing so he does his best to clarify. “I should’ve chosen you Betty.” He wishes he could be more articulate but whatever drugs are pumping through the IV to dull the pain are also mitigating his ability to form comprehensible thoughts or sentences. “I was scared of loving you and I pushed you away and it ruined everything.” He forces himself to look at her and he can see her eyes are red with tears. “I didn’t want to hurt you so I tried to let you go.” As he confesses these things, he recalls the dreams he had about her in quick flashes. The feel of her lips on his. The way their bodies moved together so perfectly in sync as they made ardent, passionate love. The details are so real he feels almost dirty thinking about them with her right there. “But I saw how it could have been for us. And I was wrong. I was so wrong. We would’ve been deliriously happy…” He doesn’t know when she sat down on the hospital bed with him, but she’s gathered him into her arms the best that the various cords, plugs, and machines will allow. “You’re not really here.” He reminds himself, as his tears soak the soft fabric of the sweater she wears. “None of this matters.” He tries to push her away again, to retract into his pain. He deserve all of it and more.

She refuses to let go. Her soothing voice is right next to his ear. “I am really here.” She whispers, “We are in a hospital. You were attacked by a bear.” As she says the words she seems to realize they will probably do very little to convince him that any of this is in fact real. “You gave my phone number to a nurse and they called me. I came up from Riverdale three days ago. You’ve been mostly out of it since I arrived, but the doctors assure me you’re getting better and that I can take you home soon.” Her tone shifts from a matter-of-fact delivery of truth to a more hopeful one at the last words she speaks. “How are you feeling?”

He smiles remorsefully. It seems plausible. But he knows it’s not real. Betty isn’t here. She can’t be. But yet, somehow she is. She’s so close he can smell the sweet, floral scent of her shampoo. “None of that matters…” Before he can stop himself, he kisses her. It makes his chest hurt in more than one way. The pain of the deep scratches in his chest is truly nothing compared to the agony that courses through him at the abrupt way she pulls away from him. It isn’t just that she breaks the kiss, she stands up and staggers back away from the bed completely breaking the contact between them.

“Archie!” Her fingers are on her lips and she wears a shocked, confused expression. “I’m with Jughead.”

“No.” He shakes his head with false confidence. “Not here you aren’t at least. This is some hallucination I’ve been having. I think maybe this is the final piece. Don’t worry, it’ll be over soon.” He looks around the room, surprised that he doesn’t recognize anything about it. He’s spent enough time in Riverdale hospital rooms to know that he isn’t in one now. It’s certainly strange, that the hallucinations have brought him somewhere that doesn’t seem familiar, but he doesn’t think much of it.

“Arch you’re-”

“No, you don’t get it. Seriously, Betty! Nothing that happens here matters. It’s not real. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. It’s why I can admit to you that I made a mistake. That I should’ve chosen you. That I think we’re soulmates. That I’ve been madly in love with you since the second grade. That I always fully intended on asking you to marry me when we’re eighteen. I can say all of that and I don’t have to be scared because I’ll close my eyes and when I open them again, I’ll be in some other form of this dream. There won’t be any consequences. No one gets hurt. I can kiss you, you can like it. We can be together. It’s okay if I don’t wake up because this is so much better than what it really is I….” He trails off as he studies the unreadable expression on her face.

She’s quiet for a long time and she isn’t looking at him. She’s staring intently at the floor and he thinks it’s an odd reaction. She should’ve kissed him by now. Thrown caution to the wind. She shouldn’t be sad or worried. She definitely shouldn’t be crying. They’re supposed to be happy here. That’s the whole reason he hasn’t tried to wake up.

“It’s not supposed to be like this.” He forces his eyes closed with the hopes that when he “wakes up” maybe they’ll be back in his room, wrapped up in his sheets like the last few times. Instead, he sees the same sad, worried look on her face and the same stark, cold hospital room. He closes his eyes again, maybe he just needs to keep them shut for longer, squeeze them tighter.

There’s another beat of silence as he struggles to restart this part of the ‘dream’ unsuccessfully. “Arch, it’s not a dream. Not this time.” She says, her voice laced with a mixture of sadness and regret. Nevertheless, she takes a step towards his bedside, and then another. “Please, open your eyes.” She whispers, brushing her thumb over one of his cheekbones gently.

There’s something final in her voice and all at once, he understands that she’s right. This time has felt different since he originally opened his eyes but a mixture of morphine and denial had allowed him to extend the fantasy his subconscious had created. “I don’t want to.” He confesses quietly, keeping them snuggly shut. He knows that as soon as he opens them, he has to face reality, the dream officially ends. All at once, the things he’d just said to her flash across his mind and he’s suddenly mortified and embarrassed; afraid of how he may have just ruined everything.

“Please,” Her voice is sanguine, cheering him on. “For me,” She adds, knowing full well those words will trap him into doing what she’s asked whether he wants to or not. He does open his eyes, but he can’t bring himself to look at her, and it breaks her heart a little. She doesn’t want him to feel like this. She isn’t exactly sure what it is she wants for either of them in this moment, but she yearns to make his pain go away. And her own, for that matter. Even if he’d made all those confessions under the false pretense of being in some suspended reality, she still felt the weight of them. More terrifying than that, she knew he meant every word. It was amazing how much conviction you could muster when you thought there were no consequences.

“You should-”

“Did you-”

They started and stopped at the same time, which caused him to finally cast his eyes up to hers. “You first, please.” His request was almost desperate, so she was compelled to oblige him.

“Did you mean all those things you said?” It was a very straightforward question, but a loaded one at that. She wasn’t sure what exactly she was hoping for his answer to be, but she felt like she already knew the truth.

For a beat, he just looked at her long and hard, as if deciding whether or not everything was presently too fragile to handle the truth. The prolonged silence, the way he stared so deeply into her soul, those alone were enough to answer her question. But he articulated a response anyway. “Yes, completely.”

She smiled first. A huge, genuine smile that she couldn’t stop from spreading even if she wanted to. But then, she nodded curtly, her eyes brimming with tears again. “Archie, I-” But she wasn’t sure where to begin. Suddenly, she was rising from the chair she’d occupied and in the next instant she was leaving the room. Then, as the door closed quietly behind her, he was alone.

He closed his eyes, and let the tears stream out. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected. Of course that would scare her away. It was too little, too late. Those were the words he was supposed to say all those months ago in front of her house, not now that she’d moved on and fallen in love with someone else. And not just someone else, with Jughead. His male best friend. Just like he had chosen Veronica over her. He’d made the choice to hurt her. He was supposed to live with the consequences. But now? Now he’d made another choice to hurt her again. But this time? This time he wasn’t sure their friendship could survive it.

Less than an hour had passed since she left when he heard the door handle turn and click open again. He’d been sat in quiet contemplation, wondering when she’d be back. She’d left her purse sitting on the floor so he knew she’d have to come back to get that at the very least. He considered, very briefly, pretending to be asleep so she could leave quietly and without any awkward goodbyes. But he couldn’t bring himself to do that. No, it wasn’t just that he couldn’t bring himself to, it was that he knew she deserved so much better than that from him. If this was how everything ended between them, it would have to be done right.

“Bets,” He began, as she closed the door behind her, but she put up her hand to silence him before she lost whatever nerve she’d mustered up that had brought her back in here.

“It’s not fair, what you said to me.” She said, stopping so that she was standing next to his bed with her arms folded across his chest.

“Betty I’m-” She shook her head, indicating that she wasn’t done, that it was still her turn.

“It’s not fair because if I didn’t know, I could just have been fine with the way things were. I could’ve loved him, probably forever. And even if some part of me would always just know that it wasn’t supposed to be, I could’ve just squashed it down and told myself that it didn’t matter because you were never going to-” She was crying now and she took a ragged breath to collect herself. “But now I can’t unhear what you said to me. Or unfeel the way it made me feel.” She looks almost angry at him as she says that.

He wasn’t expecting any of that and in spite of himself, it makes him feel hopeful, happy even. He reaches for her and to his surprise, she takes his hand and stepped closer. He isn’t sure what to say at first, so he just brushes his thumb over the back of her knuckles gently a few times. “Well, maybe I don’t want you to unhear it or unfeel it.” He finally manages, drawing his eyes back to meet hers. They share a thoughtful look as she takes a ragged breath.

“I’m sorry I ran out on you.” He turns her hand over in his own, his thumb brushing against the underside of her wrist now instead. “I...did something.” She said plainly, her eyes falling to look at the hypnotic patterns he traced against her wrist. Before he could ask for more details, she was offering them. “I called Jughead and told him I needed some time and space,” She cast her eyes back to his and swallowed hard, allowing the weight of her words to hit them both with full effect.

Archie swallowed the lump that had formed his his throat as she’d started her sentence. His heart was beating in his ears, thumping hard and blocking out all of the other noise in the room. “You,” He studied her in disbelief. “You broke up with him?” He asked, his voice so quiet it was as though he were afraid speaking too loudly would make it suddenly not true.

She simply nodded, fear still etched into her face until the smile that broke out across his seemed contagious and her own grin played at her lips. “I broke up with him,” Saying the words out loud made her heart clench with guilt, but she knew it was the right thing. She would never feel the same way about Jug anymore, not knowing how Archie felt. Not knowing how she would always feel about him.

“I know that doesn’t mean we automatically-” But before he could finish, her lips were against his and he was discovering his new favorite way to be proven wrong. It was better than any of the kisses they’d shared in his dream-induced mirages. They stopped kissing only when his heart monitor started screaming out beeps indicating his suddenly elevated heart rate. Sharing a laugh, she pulled back slightly. “Why don’t I go talk to a nurse about getting you out of here, hmm?” She moved to stand back upright, but he tugged her back down, kissing her again.

“I’d like that,” He smiled, finally letting go of her and watching in quiet fascination as she left the room. He wasn’t convinced this still wasn’t a dream, but he was content to ride it out as long as he could. Pulling the blanket off his lap, he moved to swing his legs of the side of the bed and stand up. He got a slight head rush and it took a moment to get his bearings, but steadied himself against the IV tower, using it for support to walk to the bathroom.

He was studying the gauze wrapped around his shoulder when he heard her come back in the room. “Good news, they’re just going to come check, clean, and redress your wound one more time and then we need to stop by the pharmacy to get some antibiotics and pain meds and then,” She poked her head around the bathroom door, “We can head out. I can rent us a hotel for the night, unless you have a place? Then we can figure out what we’re going to do in the morning.”

He looked at her through the mirror and smiled gently again, turning around and beckoning her closer. “I have a cabin, it’s probably not too far from wherever we are.” He let his hand rest on her hip and he leaned down, kissing her softly again, almost in disbelief at his ability to do that. “It’s not much, but it’ll do for the night.”

She nodded, grinning in return. “A cabin?” She cocked an eyebrow, “Sounds rustic.” She added, turning when she heard the door to his room open. “That’s probably the nurse. While she fixes you up, I’m going to head down to the cafeteria and grab us some food before they close.” Her stomach growled, as if to punctuate the necessity of the later.

By the time she was returning with sandwiches and drinks, she found him standing in front of the nurse’s station with what appeared to be discharge papers and his jacket draped over his arm. Vegas, who’d been given refuge in one of the on call rooms, was also sat by his feet ready to go. “All set?” She asked, to which he nodded and placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her back towards the elevator’s she’d just stepped out of.

The sun was already setting by the time they got into her car and he knew that he didn’t want to deal with trying to get out to the cabin in the dark with her in tow so he offered to drive since he knew the area better and could get them there a little faster. Despite having been almost mortally wounded by an actual bear, she’d agreed to the idea and so he’d settled behind the driver’s seat and they’d headed out to the woods. An uneasy feeling loomed over them as they drove into the setting sun, but leaving civilization behind them in the rearview mirror felt oddly symbolic.

It took less than twenty minutes to get to the clearing where he knew they could park her car and make a short hike to the cabin. There was still a considerable amount of light left, but he didn’t want to waste any time. She urged him to take it easy as he, again, had just survived a bear attack, but they made it to the cabin in good time regardless. “It’s quaint,” She observed non-judgmentally, staring around the small, humble space as he locked the door behind them. It was no Ritz Carlton, but it would do.

Clean sheets adorned the bed, someone must’ve come back and cleaned up after him when he’d gone to the hospital. He sat down on them, watching as Betty took out the food she’d gotten at the hospital. It wasn’t until she was handing him the sandwich and bag of chips that he realized how truly ravenous he was. Not long after, she sat down next to him and they both ate in relative silence. This still didn’t feel entirely real.

When she was full, she offered him the rest of her sandwich and he took it appreciatively, finishing it in one bite before moving to clean up after them. As he gets a fire going, he is caught off guard by the question she asks from across the room. “In your dreams, did we…” She raises her eyebrows with suggestive emphasis even though he isn’t looking at her.

Turning around and walking back towards her, he can’t stop the grin that spreads across his face. “Yes, that we did.” He also couldn’t stop the slight blush that had come to tint his cheeks with that admission.

“And?” She gave him an expectant look.

“And...it was amazing. Mind blowing.” He couldn’t hide the pure happiness that spread across his features as he recalled their most intimate of encounters, or rather, the ones he’s imagined. His tongue darts out to wet his lips, and he bites down on his bottom one, recalling exactly how it felt.

“Show me,” She isn’t sure if it’s a request or a challenge, but she reaches for his hand, inviting him closer, suddenly envious of this insider information he has.

“We don’t have to…” He says quietly, but he’s already pulling her towards him so she’s flush against his chest and upright.

“I want to,” She admits, almost abashedly. That’s all he needs to hear before he loses himself in her. His lips capture hers with a familiarity they shouldn’t have yet. Maybe those dreams were actually just practice for this.

The real thing is so much better than any dream or hallucination. As they shed every piece of clothing that separates them from one another, it’s done with painstaking love and care, as if neither of them are sure this will happen again so they’ll both bother taking their time to remember every detail as it happens. Her eyes glance over his bandaged shoulder with a moment of hesitation, “Maybe you should rest-” But his lips are crushing hers and along with that, any argument she may put up for him needing to save his energy.

“I could be dying and I’d have the strength for this,” He promises against her neck lasciviously. It’s with that breathy confession that she loses any willpower she has left. She’s lost to her desires, and to his.

She isn’t sure how much time has passed when she finds salacious release for the third time since they started their passionate foray, but she knows she’s absolutely spent and he must be too as she collapses against his chest shortly thereafter. A million thoughts are swirling through her mind now and she isn’t sure where to begin.

She starts first with, “I love you, Arch.”

He smiles, pressing a kiss between her breasts. “I love you, too.”

The fire crackles behind them and she snuggles herself closer against his side, pressing a lazy kiss to his shoulder. “We could stay here,” She whispers the words into existence. “Me, you, Vegas…”

“Betty…” He doesn’t want to ruin this beautiful experience by telling her that it’s not realistic, instead he uses his arm to pull her closer. “We don’t have to decide anything tonight, let’s just enjoy-”

“I’m serious, Arch.” She props herself up on his chest and stares at him plainly, as if she’s already considered all the options and her mind’s been made up. “There’s nothing for me in Riverdale. My mom is…” She shrugs, not bothering to finish. “There just isn’t anything there for me, okay? You can do whatever you want, but I’m not going back.”

She speaks with such self-assurance that he can’t argue. These aren’t the words of some delusional teenage girl who wants to live in a fantasy world. They’re the ones of a person who has been looking for a way out for far too long and now that she’d seen one? She couldn’t go back even if she wanted to.

He studies her face, shadows casting against it as the firelight dances. “Okay,” He nods, tilting her chin up so his lips are hovering over hers. “We won’t go back.” His words are more like a pledge than anything else. Then, he voices one final promise, his eyes finding hers again, “I love you, more than anything. That will never change.”

“More than anything. Forever.” She agrees, stealing one more kiss from his lips before snuggling against his chest desirously, as a thick haze of sleep finally came for them both.

[barchiefanfiction]

And at Christmas You Tell the Truth

by keiraknighted

Prompts:

Betty’s got a work Christmas party and asks Archie to pretend to be her boyfriend to avoid a really creepy co-worker who won’t leave her alone 

“Oh how convenient, some mistletoe”

“Arch, I need a huuuge favour,” Betty says, waltzing into his room and throwing herself onto the bed beside him. He’d been trying to get a quick nap in before work tonight, but now that Betty’s home he’s wide awake. He rolls over onto his side to face her, propping himself up on his elbow.

They’ve been roommates for a year, and he’s used to her impromptu visits to his room by now. It’s honestly the best part of his day.

“What’s the favour?” he asks. He’s pretty sure he’s going to say yes. It’s Betty, of course he’s going to say yes.

“Come to my work Christmas party with me?”

Archie grins. “Yeah, of course. This is more like an invitation than a favour,” he points out.

“That wasn’t the favour part.”

“Oh?” he raises an eyebrow. Betty looks a little sheepish, and he’s wondering what kind of situation she’s gotten herself into that she needs his help.

“You know that guy at work who keeps harassing me to go out with him?”

“Chuck, was it?”

“That’s the one.”

“Do I need to punch him in the face? Because last time I offered you said you could handle it,” Archie says.

“I did handle it,” Betty says proudly. “I told him I had a boyfriend.”

“Okay….” Archie says slowly. He’s still waiting for the part where she asks him for a favour.

“And he didn’t believe me so I told him he could meet my boyfriend at the Christmas party.”

Archie squints at her, beginning to understand where this is going, but needing her to say it out loud. “So, you need me to…”

“Pretend to be my boyfriend for the night, yes.”

Archie hesitates. It’s not that he doesn’t want to help her out. The thought of this guy constantly hitting on her while she’s just trying to do her job makes him want to march down to her office and knock him out. He just hadn’t been expecting this to be Betty’s solution.

He wants to tell her yes, but he’s not sure he can handle pretending to be her boyfriend. Mostly because he’d like to be her actual boyfriend, and he’s kind of pretty much in love with her, but she doesn’t feel the same way and being her pretend boyfriend, even for a night, might end up hurting him even more in the long run.

But she’s looking at him with those big green eyes, pleading him to come to her rescue, and how can he say no to her?

“Yeah, of course,” he tells her. He swallows, already conjuring up images of the two of them walking into the party together, arm in arm, everyone under the impression they’re a couple. He likes the fantasy a little too much.

“Yes!” Betty exclaims, throwing her arms around him. “Thanks, Arch, you’re the best!”

Archie laughs. Her ecstatic reaction is reason enough for him to go through with this. He just hopes he doesn’t regret it.

  The party is being held at the office Betty works at, so even though it’s being held after work hours, it’s not exactly a fancy affair. Archie offers to just meet her there, but she insists on going home and picking him up, seeing as how he’s already doing her such a huge favour.

She’s got her hair out, which is unusual for her, and she looks so pretty Archie thinks he might actually die. He thinks about how lucky he’d have to be for her to be his real girlfriend.

Knots form in his stomach as Betty drives them back to her office, and Archie is suddenly worried that it’s going to be obvious to everyone that they aren’t really together.

“Do we need to come up with a story of how we got together?” Archie asks.

“I’m sure no one will ask,” Betty says. Archie isn’t convinced. Betty seems to sense his reservations, and she removes her hand from the steering wheel to place it on his knee. The simple contact gets Archie’s heart racing. “It’s going to be fine,” Betty assures him. “All you have to do is hold my hand when we walk in and if anyone asks you say we’re together. People are always thinking we’re a couple when we hang out together anyway.”

That’s true. “But what about Chuck?” Archie asks.

“I’ll handle Chuck. And besides, once he sees you, he’ll back off.”

“If you’re sure,” Archie says. He still isn’t convinced. After all, it’s a Christmas party with a bunch of journalists. They’re bound to be good at hounding people until they get the truth. The only thing worse would be a Christmas party at a police station. Still, he promised Betty he’d do this, and if she thinks they can pull it off, who is he to disagree?

Archie feels like he might vomit as he and Betty walk through the front doors. She grabs his hand and gives it a squeeze, and it doesn’t completely put him at ease, but he relaxes a little knowing she’s by his side.

Archie half expects the entire office to be staring at them when they walk in, but no one even looks up from their conversations.  Archie looks over the room, people standing around drinking out of plastic cups, gaudy Christmas decorations on desks and on the walls. Someone has even hung mistletoe from the ceiling. Archie makes a mental note to steer clear of it.

Betty helps him take off his coat as Archie studies her co-workers, trying to work out which one is Chuck.

“He’s the tall one by the photocopier,” Betty whispers, as if reading Archie’s mind. He looks towards the photocopier, where a tall, obviously muscular black guy is talking to a chubby redhead. Archie blanches. He’d been expecting some skinny, gross looking pervert, someone Archie could easily take in a fight. Chuck is… intimidating to say the least.

“That’s him?”

“Yep.”

“You could have warned me.”

“Warned you?”

“That he’s bigger than me,” Archie grimaces.

Betty gives him a disapproving look. “You’re not going to fight him.”

“Not now I’m not.”

Betty laughs at that, and Archie sees Chuck look up from his conversation. Archie and Chuck lock eyes, and Chuck gives him the once over, sizing him up the way Archie had done when he first laid eyes on Chuck.

Chuck mutters something to the redhead, and then he’s approaching them, and the sick feeling in Archie’s stomach returns.

“Betty,” Chuck says. “This must be your boyfriend?”

“Yes,” Betty says. “Chuck, this is Archie. Archie, Chuck.”

Archie holds out his hand and Chuck gives him a firm handshake.

“I thought Archie was your roommate?” Chuck says, raising an eyebrow. “Your best friend.”

“Well, he was. And now we’re together,” Betty tells him. Archie admires the way she holds her ground under Chuck’s intense stare.

“And how did that happen?” Chuck presses. Archie can tell he isn’t buying it.

“Excuse me?”

“How did you two get together?” Chuck repeats. Betty glances at Archie and he does his best to not look like a deer in headlights.

The redhead Chuck had previously been talking to bustles over, along with a couple of Betty’s other co-workers, including her friend Kevin, who Archie has met a couple of times.

“Ooh, I want to hear too,” says the redhead.

“Come on, Ethel,” Betty rolls her eyes. “It’s really not that interesting.”

“We want to hear,” Chuck commands.

Betty swallows. She looks nervous all of a sudden. “Well—” she starts.

“How about I tell it?” Archie interjects. Maybe he’d been anxious about this before, but seeing Betty anxious seems to have kicked in some innate sense he has to protect her. Plus, she’s probably the worst liar he’s ever met.

“Okay,” Betty says, relieved.

“Well, the truth is—” Archie starts. And then he figures, why not tell the truth? At least part of it? After all, Betty won’t know he’s telling the truth. She’ll think it’s made up for the story. “The truth is, I realised about a year ago that I was in love with Betty. And I didn’t know what to do about it. We grew up together, you know, we’ve been best friends since we we’re kids. And I figured she didn’t feel the same way, so I said nothing.”

“That is so heartbreaking,” Ethel says, putting her hand on her heart.

“Shh!” Kevin shushes her. “I’m listening.”

“And then, uh—” Archie glances at Betty to find her listening intently, her eyes wide, hanging on his every word. “And then one night we went out with friends to a bar. Kevin was there,” Archie nods to Kevin. “And we were both still a little tipsy when we got home, and Betty couldn’t get the key in the door, and she was getting so frustrated. It was cute. And then when I laughed, she told me to do it, and I guess I just couldn’t help myself and I kissed her. And it turned out she did feel the same way after all,” Archie shrugs. He looks to Betty again and she quickly looks away, her face bright red.

“Exactly,” she says. “And now we’re together.”

Chuck doesn’t look impressed, but the others seem satisfied. Still, Chuck doesn’t push it instead skulking off to find someone else to talk to, and it seems like they’re finally off the hook.

“Archie, can I get you a drink?” Kevin asks.

“Sure,” Archie nods. He glances at Betty, but she’s already deep in conversation with Ethel and another woman, so Archie follows Kevin over to the drink station, which is just a table with a cooler full of ice and beer, and next to it a large bowl of punch.

“Punch or beer?” Kevin asks.

“Beer,” Archie decides, and Kevin hands him a bottle.

“That was some story,” Kevin muses.

“Well,” Archie sips his beer. “It’s true.”

“Most of it, anyway,” Kevin says knowingly. “I remember that night. About a month ago now. That was the second time we met.”

“Uh, yeah,” Archie nods.

“I’m in on it, by the way,” Kevin says. “I know you guys aren’t really together.”

“Oh.”

“You should tell her.”

“Tell who what?” Archie asks, taking another sip of his beer.

“Tell Betty that you really are in love with her.”

Archie chokes on his beer, coughing dramatically as the bubbly liquid sprays out of his mouth and all over Kevin. “Sorry,” Archie coughs as Kevin grimaces. “I’m not really in love with her though.”

“Come on Archie, we both know the only part of that story that wasn’t real was the part where you kissed her,” Kevin rolls his eyes. “I’ve only met you three times and it’s that obvious to me.”

Archie sighs. He looks over his shoulder to where Betty is laughing with some of her co-workers. “I mean, the other part that isn’t true is the part where she loves me back,” he admits.

Kevin tilts his head. “You sure about that?”

  Surprisingly, Betty’s work party is actually kind of fun, once Archie manages to relax. None of Betty’s co-workers are hard to convince that Archie and Betty are a couple. Except Kevin, who already knows the truth. And Chuck, who still seems suspicious, and who, unfortunately, is the one they most want to convince. He keeps trying to catch them out, asking them supposedly innocent questions about their relationship like, what do you parents think of your relationship? Or making snide comments like, you’ve only been dating a month and you’re already living together?

But neither Archie nor Betty let Chuck get to them. If he wants to be bitter, that’s his problem. Archie is relieved Betty never decided to go out with him. The guy is a nightmare.

At around eight-thirty, Betty interrupts Archie’s conversation with a guy named Dilton, snuggling into his side, and putting her arms around his waist. Archie’s arm circles around her shoulders as if it’s second nature.

“We should go home,” Betty murmurs. “I’m sick of these people.”

Archie chuckles, thankful Dilton is already engaged in a conversation with someone else so he doesn’t hear Betty’s remark.

“Okay,” Archie replies. He presses a kiss to her hair, then swallows the last couple of mouthfuls of beer before throwing the bottle in the trash.

“I should say goodbye to Kevin first,” Betty sighs.

“I’ll get our coats.”

Betty wanders off to find Kevin, while Archie makes his way back to the entrance where their coats are hanging on hooks by the door. He slips his own coat on, folding Betty’s over his arm while he waits. It only takes her a minute, and then he helps her with her coat. She turns back around to face him for a moment, a small smile on her lips, before looking back to the rest of the office.

“Bye, everyone!” she calls.

There’s a half-hearted chorus of goodbyes, and then, “Wait!” Ethel yells. Archie and Betty stare at her in confusion. “Look up,” she says, pointing to the roof above them.

In unison, Archie and Betty tilt their heads to the ceiling. Sure enough, right above their heads is a sprig of mistletoe. Archie is positive that wasn’t there before. Someone must have moved it.

“Oh, how convenient,” Chuck smirks. “Some mistletoe.” He sounds so smug, as if he’s finally caught them out. Like he knows they won’t kiss in order to keep up the charade. Which means they absolutely have to.

Archie lowers his eyes back to Betty’s. She looks a little nervous, but she gives him a tiny nod, as if to tell him it’s okay to kiss her. Archie swallows. He’s been dreaming about this so long. He never thought their first kiss would be at a work Christmas party under some mistletoe in front of all Betty’s co-workers. He also recognises that he needs to make this look like he’s kissed her before. He can’t let himself get carried away.

He leans in, keeping his eyes locked on Betty’s until the last moment, letting them flutter closed just before their lips meet. He’s gentle with her, tender. His hand hovers in mid-air for a moment before he grips her waist. He tells himself to pull away. They’ve done their little show, he’s kissed her. But then he thinks this might be the only time he ever gets to kiss her. And if this is the only time he gets to do it, he’s going to make it good.

He kisses her harder, and he thinks maybe he hears her moan a little. The sound makes his stomach flip over. He likes how her lips part for him as she kisses him back, and he takes the opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth, and then she definitely moans, louder, and the only thing that stops Archie from pressing her against the wall and ripping her clothes off right there is the wolf whistle that cuts through the fog in his head, and he quickly pulls away from her, face burning and heart pounding.

Betty’s face is the colour of beetroot, and her chest rises and falls dramatically as she tries to catch her breath. She averts her eyes from Archie, but he can’t seem to take his eyes off her.

“Yeah, yeah, we get it!” Toni yells. “You’re still in the honeymoon phase.”

Archie glances at Chuck, who finally looks like he’s been convinced that their relationship is real, but he doesn’t exactly look happy about it.

“Come on,” Archie says to Betty. “Let’s go.”

Betty is completely silent as they make their way back to her car, and Archie is sincerely regretting the kiss already. She obviously hated it. He’d crossed the line by kissing her like that, in front of all her co-workers. Why couldn’t he have kept it short and chaste?

Betty unlocks the car and gets into the driver’s seat, and Archie slides into the passenger seat. He closes the door behind him, an apology already falling out of his mouth.

“Betty, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have—” he starts, but Betty cuts him off.

“Shut up,” she says, and then she’s surging towards him, grabbing his face in her hands and pulling his lips to hers. It’s Archie’s turn to moan this time, and she gives him a kiss that leaves him gasping for air and desperate for more.

“Betty—” he murmurs, his lips chasing hers. She kisses him again, and Archie’s head spins, or maybe it’s the world around him that’s spinning. She eventually pulls away and sits back in her seat, much to Archie’s disappointment. He’d like to keep kissing her forever.

His eyes linger on her, and she bites her lip, looking down like she’s embarrassed about the whole thing.

“What was that?” he asks her, still a little breathless.

“Did you mean all that stuff you said?”

“What stuff?”

“How you’ve been in love with me for a year,” she glances at him.

“I mean—” he swallows. “Kind of. I realised I loved you a year ago. I think I’ve actually been in love with you a lot longer.”

Somehow it’s easy now to say it out loud. Maybe it was the kiss, or Kevin’s words of advice, or maybe just because she finally asked him outright.

She looks at him properly then, for the first time since he kissed her. “Me too,” she admits. “I love you too.”

“Yeah?” Archie grins. Butterflies swarm in his stomach and his heart swells.

“Yeah,” Betty smiles.

“How’d you keep it a secret? You’re a terrible liar,” Archie laughs.

“Shut up,” Betty gives him a soft nudge. “We fooled all of them, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, but could we fool them into thinking we’re not in love?”

“Point taken.”

“So, uh, do you want to be my actual girlfriend?” Archie asks.

Betty gives him a giddy smile. “Yes. A thousand times yes.”

Archie laughs, and then Betty’s kissing him again, and Archie thinks it might just be the best Christmas party he’s ever been to.

[barchiefanfiction]

Archie and Betty through the years (from teenagers to middle-age?) being each other's support systems when things get a little tough in their relationships with Veronica and Jug.

Anchor 

by keiraknighted

AO3 // ff.net

“Ronnie, you have to talk her out of it,” Archie begs forthe third time that day. Veronica slides her deep purple dress on and turnsaround, waiting for Archie to zip her up. A bridesmaid dress, for all intentsand purposes. Archie drags the zip up and Veronica turns around, placing herhands on his shoulders.

“Like I said, Archiekins,” she says. “If you think it’s sucha bad idea, then you should talk themout of it.”

“Don’t you think it’s a bad idea?”

Veronica laughs. “Of course I do. But it’s their life.”

“So as Betty’s best friend—” Archie starts, until Veronicacuts him off.

“You’re Betty’sbest friend, remember? And Jughead’s,” she reminds him. Archie looks pained. Veronicastraightens his tie. “You know they won’t change their minds now. They’ve beenplanning this ever since Betty became the so-called serpent queen,” she rollsher eyes.

“But what if they’re making a huge mistake?” Archie presses.And he’d try to convince them himself he would, it’s just—to talk to Betty outof it would feel like betraying Jughead, and to talk Jughead out of it wouldfeel like betraying Betty. And to try and talk to them together is just alosing battle.

Veronica shrugs. “It’s only marriage. And no one knowsbetter than the four of us how well that canlast.”

Archie still has his doubts. But to Veronica, it’s caseclosed. She puts her heels on and heads for the hotel room door.

“Come on,” she says, tilting her head. “The bride and groomare waiting for us.”

  At a chapel in Vegas, two weeks after graduation, Betty andJughead tie the knot, with Veronica and Archie as their witnesses.

Alice had forbidden it, and FP had warned against it. Thathad only made Betty want to do it more. She’s queasy as she walks down theaisle in a dress she bought months ago, not exactly a wedding dress, but it’swhite. Her serpent tattoo is fresh on her hip.

She gets through the vows, and Jughead through his, and thefour of them head to the hotel bar. They’re only eighteen, but they get servedanyway.

Four drinks in, Betty is on top of the world. Surrounded byher friends, married to the love of her life. She’s pretty sure things couldn’tget more perfect.

Six drinks in, she’s outside, desperate for fresh air,feeling claustrophobic, her white dress too tight. Archie’s hand grazes herback.

“Hey,” he says softly. Her head spins. “Are you okay?”

Betty nods. “Too much to drink.” A light breeze tousles herhair, and she closes her eyes, grateful for the coolness of the wind on herface. Archie stays beside her.

“Perhaps it’s time for bed,” Archie suggests. “Mrs Jones,”he adds. A joke probably, but she doesn’t laugh.

“Did I make a mistake?” she whispers, so softly she’s sureArchie hasn’t heard, especially since he doesn’t respond right away.

He takes a deep breath. “Of course not,” he finally replies.“You and Jughead were bound to get married eventually. What difference does itmake if it’s now or in a few years?”

Betty nods. She leans against him, and he wraps his armsaround her.

“Let’s get you to bed,” he says.

The last thing she remembers is him pressing a kiss to herforehead before she drifts off to sleep.

  Moving to New York was always the plan. Archie never thoughthe’d be leaving Betty and Jughead behind in Riverdale. But Jughead says heneeds to get things sorted with the Serpents before he leaves, and Betty, ashis wife, is staying to support him. They both swear they’ll join him andVeronica in New York next year.

Archie loves living in New York, but the thing is, it’sfreaking expensive. He manages to get a job waiting tables, but he kind ofsucks at it, so the tips aren’t great. Veronica, on the other hand, is alreadya successful business owner, and she’s even thinking about turning Pop’s into achain. She’s currently studying business while Archie studies music on ascholarship.

It’s not exactly how imagined it. He lives in a dorm with aroommate he doesn’t particularly like, instead of the nice apartment hepictured sharing with Veronica or Jughead. Veronica refuses to spend any timein his dorm, and he’s always travelling back and forth across the city to seeher. Her apartment is nothing fancy, but the fact that she can afford to livein it alone is impressive enough.

“We should go travelling in the summer,” Veronica saysdreamily, playing with Archie’s hair as they lay in her bed on a Saturdaymorning. “Europe, maybe. Or Australia.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be possible, Ronnie,” Archiesighs. He’d love to give her everything she wants, honestly. But he doesn’thave the money.

Veronica pouts. “Why not? Haven’t you always wanted to go toParis?”

“I’d love to see it with you,” Archie says. “But I’llprobably be working for my dad over the summer.”

“Does he really need you?” Veronica complains.

Archie tries not to sigh again. She just doesn’t get it. “Idon’t know, Ronnie. But I need the money. New York is expensive.”

“Oh,” Veronica says, understanding finally dawning. “I’llpay for your flights.”

Archie groans. He pulls away from the hand twirling in hishair and sits up. “I don’t want you to do that.”

“Archiekins, come on,” Veronica coos, sitting up beside him.“It’s just money.”

Archie tries not to be frustrated with her, but he can’thelp it. “Of course it is, to you,” he huffs. He throws himself out of bed andgets dressed.

“Don’t be such a proud man,” Veronica snaps. “Does it reallybother you that I make more money than you? That I’m more successful than you?”

Her words sting. “Of course not,” Archie says. “I’m proud ofeverything you’ve done. But I don’t want to have to rely on you to pay forthings for me. If you want to go to Europe, that’s fine. But I can’t affordit.”

He thinks he’s explained himself well, that she’llunderstand. But she gives him a pained looks and says, “That’s ridiculous,Archie. I’m happy to pay.”

Archie shakes his head. “Forget it,” he says. “I’ll see youlater.”

Veronica doesn’t bother trying to stop him as he leaves.

On the train home, he calls Betty.

“Hey,” she says brightly. Archie can feel some of thetension drain out of him at the sound of her voice.

“Hey,” Archie replies. “What’s up?”

“I’m just doing the dishes, nothing interesting,” Bettylaughs. “What’s up with you?”

“Veronica and I kind of had a fight,” he says.

“Oh, what happened?”

“She wants to go to Europe this summer and I told her Ican’t afford it. She said she’d pay but…” he trails off. Maybe he’s being dumb.Maybe Betty will tell him he’s being an idiot and he should take a free trip toEurope from his girlfriend.

“Of course she did,” Betty snorts. “I love V, but she reallyhas no clue what it’s like to not have any money.”

“So you don’t think I’m being stupid?”

“I completely get it, Archie. I’m the same, I don’t want tofeel like I owe someone something, even if it’s someone I’m in a relationshipwith. You want to stand on your own two feet. It’s perfectly understandable.”

Archie breathes a sigh of relief. Someone gets it. Someonegets him. “Thanks, Betty. You always know exactly what to say.”

“Anytime, Arch.” 

Betty is pretty sure she shouldn’t be feeling this anxiousright now. Archie is home for the summer and he’s coming over in an hour fordinner at the little unit Betty and Jughead have been renting this past year.She can’t wait to see him. She’s missed him a lot this past year. They spoke onthe phone a lot, and he came home a few times, but it’s not the same as seeinghim every day.

She’s been working for her mom all year at the Register,while Jughead works on his novel and leads the Serpents, doing odd jobs forpeople or writing a story for the Register every now and again for some extracash. But it’s not what she wants to do anymore. She’s ready to get out ofRiverdale, go to college, see the world. She keeps seeing Veronica’s Instagramposts, in a bikini in Greece, or on top of the Eiffel Tower, and she can’t helpbut feel jealous.

She’s got a million things she wants to do in her life, andthe truth is, now she doesn’t know if she’ll ever get to do them.

Her hands shake as she opens the little box containing thepregnancy test. The cashier had congratulated her when she bought it. Betty hadsmiled like she was excited, when in fact she just feels sick. Sitting on thetoilet, she reads the instructions, and follows them to the letter. Now all shecan do is wait.

Her stomach churns. This could be a good thing, right? It should be a good thing. She’s married tothe man she loves, possibly pregnant with his baby. This isn’t some teenpregnancy like her mom or Polly. This is different.

Except she knows she’s not ready. Kids are for after she’sfinished college, after she’s travelled, after she’s had a career and a life.Not now. Jughead will probably bethrilled. She’s beginning to suspect he’s not that interested in collegeanyway, and would rather stay here and lead the Serpents. And a baby would makehim so happy.

She watches the test, praying for a negative. Her prayersaren’t answered.

She decides not to tell Jughead yet. It can wait until afterdinner. She throws the test in the trash and covers it with tissues, then getsto making dinner. She usually cooks, Jughead isn’t that great at it. He alwayssays he’ll do the washing up, but he rarely gets around to it. There’s alwayssome gang issue he has to resolve. Betty had been excited to be part of theSerpents at first, but she’s already bored of it, skipping most of theirmeetings in favour of reading a book on the couch.

The doorbell rings just as Betty is dishing up the chicken.Jughead gets it, and Betty listens as he greets Archie, and then the two ofthem join her in the kitchen. She turns around, and before she can even sayhello, Archie is pulling her into a hug. She laughs, squeezing him tightlyback, forgetting for a moment the worries on her mind. But then he pulls awayand Betty glances at Jughead and the churning in her gut returns.

“I’m so glad you’re home,” Betty tells Archie. “Dinner’sready, go sit down and I’ll bring it to you.”

Archie obeys, grinning, and Jughead follows, leaving Bettyto bring the plates out.

If either of the guys notice that Betty isn’t quite herself,they don’t say anything. Betty is pretty quiet the whole time, letting Jugheadand Archie keep the conversation. It’s not that she doesn’t want to join in,it’s just that she can’t seem to take her mind off the revelation she’dreceived in the bathroom earlier.

They discuss Archie’s college life, the Serpents, Betty’sjob, and Veronica being in Europe. Archie swears he isn’t jealous, and thathe’s not worried about Veronica hanging around those hot European guys.

“She can flirt as much as she likes,” Archie shrugs. “I knowshe’d never cheat on me.”

It’s at that moment Jughead gets a message, and he’s alreadystanding up before Betty can ask who it’s from.

“Sorry guys, gotta run,” he says. “Emergency Serpentbusiness.”

“Seriously, Jug?” Betty pleads. “Can’t it wait? We have aguest.”

“No, one of the new recruits thought it would be a greatidea to graffiti one of the Ghoulies’ cars, so I have to go and deal with that.Besides, it’s just Archie.”

“Surely Toni, or Sweet Pea—”

“I’m the Serpent king, Betty,” Jughead huffs. “It’s my job.”

“Fine,” Betty mutters. Jughead gives her a kiss on the headbefore running out the door. Betty looks to Archie, who looks a littleembarrassed at having witnessed the argument, pushing his peas around hisplate. “Sorry about that,” Betty says.

Archie looks up. “You don’t have to be sorry,” he assuresher. Betty watches him gingerly put a pea in his mouth before she snorts withlaughter.

“I forgot you hate peas,” she says. Archie laughs. “Youdon’t have to eat them. Here.” She stands up and takes his plate, stacking iton top of hers and Jughead’s, then takes them to the kitchen.

“You want me to wash up?” Archie calls after her.

“It’s okay,” Betty says. “I’ll do it after you go.” She putsthe plates in the sink. She stands there a moment, trying to gather herselfbefore she goes back out to face Archie. She won’t enjoy is company properly ifshe keeps dwelling on her pregnancy.

She doesn’t hear Archie enter the room, but then he’s besideher, his hand on her shoulder. “Hey,” he says softly. “Is everything okay?”

Betty squeezes her eyes shut, trying to will the tears shecan feel forming to retract back into her tear ducts. But then they’re spillingout, and she lets out a sob, shaking her head. Why did he have to ask? Shecould have held it together if he hadn’t asked.

He immediately wraps his arms around her, pulling heragainst him tightly. Her shoulders shake as she cries into his chest, unable tostop now that she’s started. He rubs her back, and he lets her cry until shepulls away, wiping her eyes.

“You want to talk about it?” he asks, eyes full of concern.

She isn’t planning on telling him, but somehow it just slipsout. “I’m pregnant.”

He stares at her, not sure what to say. Betty keeps talkingso he doesn’t have to say anything.

“I haven’t told Jughead yet. I just found out before you gothere and I—” she sobs again. “I should be happy. But it probably means I won’tget to go to college next year, or join you in New York.”

Archie pulls her into his arms again. “Hey, hey,” he sayssoothingly. “You have other options. And whatever you choose, I promise I’ll bethere for you. And maybe you can still go to college.”

Betty nods, and somehow, she’s comforted, even though shedoesn’t really believe what he’s saying. She could never afford a baby and college. And if she gives the babyup, or gets an abortion, Jughead will hate her forever.

But for now, she lets Archie let her believe everything isgoing to be okay.

  Archie has had the ring for a while now. He’s been carryingit around in his pocket, waiting for the right time.

But he and Veronica are both finished college now, and hehas a bit of money saved, despite buying the ring. Veronica now owns a Pop’sand speak easy in three locations, and Archie is getting gigs almost everyweekend, plus his day job selling furniture.

They’re in Riverdale for the weekend, for theirgoddaughter’s fifth birthday. Archie can hardly believe little Matilda Jones isready for school already. Betty and Jughead throw a little party for her atAlice’s house, and afterwards, Archie and Veronica take a walk along SweetwaterRiver.

And suddenly Archie can’t think of a better time or place todo it. In the town they fell in love, where Archie hopes the can raise childrenand grow old together someday.

“They looked so happy. I’m going to be honest, I didn’tthink Betty and Jughead would even last this long,” Veronica is saying. “I’mhappy to be proven wrong—” she cuts herself off when she sees Archie loweringhimself to the ground on one knee. “What are you doing?” she asks, eyes wide.

“Ronnie,” Archie says, pulling the ring box out of hispocket. “From the moment I saw you, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of mylife with you. We’ve had our share of ups and downs, but there is no one I’drather have by my side than you. Will you do me the honour of becoming mywife?”

Veronica stares at him. She stares so long, and without asmile, that Archie begins to feel anxious.

“Ronnie?” he prompts, nervous. He swallows.

“Archie…” she starts, her voice soft and sympathetic.Archie’s stomach sinks. He stands up, trying not to let his eyes betray thehurt he feels. “I’m sorry,” Veronica continues. “I just… I’m not ready to getmarried yet. I don’t want to break up, and I still love you… but marriage?” she balks. “I… can’t give youthat kind of commitment.”

Archie nods, clenching his jaw. “I get it,” he says, thoughhe’s not quite sure he does. But what else can he say? He doesn’t want to breakup either. But he really wants to get married one day. And what if Veronicanever gets there? He doesn’t voice his thoughts out loud though.

“I’m really sorry, Archiekins. We should have talked aboutthis, I should have realised you would want to propose soon.”

“Ronnie, it’s okay. I’m just… I just need a minute.”

Veronica nods. “Should we go back to your dad’s?”

“Yeah,” Archie says. “Yeah.”

He goes up to his old room when he gets back, and Veronicastays downstairs with Fred to give Archie some alone time. He shuts the doorbehind him, and when he looks up, his eyes lock with Betty’s through thewindow. She seems surprised to see him, but she smiles and waves. Archie wavesback, but he can’t bring himself to return the smile.

Betty reaches for her phone, and moments later Archie gets atext.

Everything okay?

Archie looks up. He shakes his head. Betty turns back to herphone, and then his phone is ringing, Betty’s name on the screen. He smiles tohimself as he answers.

“What’s wrong?” Betty asks immediately.

“It’s too embarrassing,” Archie sighs.

“You can tell me anything.”

“I proposed to Veronica and she said no.”

Betty winces. “Ouch.”

“I’m such an idiot.”

“Don’t say that,” Betty scolds. “She’s the idiot if shedoesn’t want to marry you. Any girl would be lucky to have you as a husband.”Archie snorts. “I’m being serious!”

“So you’d marry me if you didn’t already have a husband?”

“You know I would.” Betty chews her lip. “She’ll change hermind.”

Archie nods. He hopes Betty is right.

“Love you,” she says.

“Love you too, Betty.”

  Betty is pregnant again. This time, it’s planned. Eightmonths ago, it had seemed like a great idea. Matilda wanted a sibling, Bettyand Jughead were both ready for another child. Jughead had just finished hisnovel and was sending it off to publishers. The Serpents had been drama freefor a year.

But Jughead had received nothing but a string of rejectionletters. It hit him hard. And at first, he was just having a drink or two tolet off some steam. But now…

Well, it’s 2am and Betty hasn’t seen him in hours. And sheknows there wasn’t a Serpent meeting because Cheryl has been posting picturesof her date night with Toni on her Instagram story. Betty hasn’t been a part ofthe Serpents since she gave birth to Matilda.

Betty can’t help but worry. He’s been drinking more andmore, and it’s getting harder and harder to hide from Matilda. She was askingfor her dad when Betty tucked her in earlier, and it made Betty’s heart ache.

There’s a crash at the front door, and Betty sits boltupright in bed. The front door slams, and she can hear Jughead banging around,making no effort to be quiet. She winces when he kicks open the bedroom doorand flicks the light on.

“Would you be quiet?” Betty hisses. “Your daughter isasleep.”

“I’m going to wake her up,” Jughead says, turning around.

“Don’t you dare!” Betty snaps. “I don’t want her to see youlike this.”

Jughead stops in the doorway, turning just his head to lookat Betty. He’s wearing a cold sneer on his face. “Like what?”

“You know what.”

“Like what, Betty!” he growls.

Betty flinches. She hates him like this. He never getsviolet, but he gets mean. “Drunk,” she snaps. “You’re awful when you’re drunk.”

“Oh, I’m awful, am I? Well excuse me for trying to have agood time now and again.”

“Now and again?” Betty repeats, incredulous. “You’ve beenout late drinking every night for the past two weeks! Do I need to remind youthat you have a daughter and a pregnant wife at home waiting for you?”

Even in his drunken state, Jughead has the decency to looksheepish at that.

“You have to stop, Jug,” Betty pleads. “Don’t become thefather you hated when you were growing up.”

Those words seem to trigger something inside him. Hesoftens, walks towards her with apologetic eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, kneeling on the ground beside thebed. He puts his hand on Betty’s swollen stomach. “I’ll quit, I promise.” Hekisses Betty’s stomach. Then he stands up and crawls into bed beside her, noteven bothering to undress. Within minutes, he’s snoring beside her.

She picks up her phone and continues her conversation withArchie.

He’s home. Thanks for keeping me sane. Xx

  Archie wants to think he’s crazy, paranoid. But he’s beensuspecting something for a while now, and every time Veronica tells him she’sworking late, or she’s out with friends, he can’t shake the feeling that she’slying to him. That there’s someone else.

He hasn’t said anything, because he keeps convincing himselfhe’s wrong. It’s just his imagination. He doesn’t want her to think he doesn’ttrust her. And even if it’s true… well, he’s not sure he’s ready to face thatyet.

But she’s not here again, and he’s lonely, he’s been lonelyfor months, so he picks up the phone and calls Betty. He doesn’t want to say itout loud, but he can’t bear the thoughts inside his own head anymore. And Bettywill talk him down, reassure him that everything is fine. Veronica can’tpossibly be cheating on him.

“What’s up, Arch?” she answers.

He hesitates. He doesn’t want to burden her with hisproblems if she’s having problems of her own.

“How’s—how’s Jughead?”

“He’s good,” Betty says. “It’s been two months since hislast relapse, and he started writing again. Something new.”

“That’s great, Betty. And the girls?”

“They’re great too,” Betty says. Her voice always growsfonder when she talks about her daughters. She loves them so much.

“I’m glad.”

“Arch?” Betty says, and she sounds a little concerned now. “Iseverything okay?”

Archie shakes his head, though Betty can’t see him. “I think—Ithink Veronica might be cheating on me.”

Betty doesn’t say anything.

“I’m just being crazy, right?” Archie asks.

“I don’t know, Arch,” Betty whispers. Not what Archie wasexpecting. “I mean, if you feel like something’s wrong… maybe something iswrong. Even if the thing that’s wrong isn’t that she’s cheating. But you shouldtalk to her about it.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, I mean… don’t like, accuse her of cheating. But lether know you’re unhappy. That you feel like something is off.”

Archie swallows. “I really thought you’d tell me I was beingparanoid.”

“Trust your instincts, Arch. They’re usually pretty good.And you know I’m always on your side, right?”

“I know.”

The talk ends in a fight. And the fight ends in Veronicaadmitting it. She’s cheating on him. And even though Archie has suspected itfor months now, the truth kills him.

He feels like a complete fool. He should have ended it whenshe said she didn’t want to marry him.

Veronica apologises over and over, tears in her eyes.

“I never meant for it to happen. I never meant to hurt you,”she tells him.

“But you did anyway,” Archie says bitterly.

She doesn’t stop him when he leaves.

  Betty loves having Archie back in Riverdale, though shehates the circumstances that brought him back. He seems sad about Veronica, buthe also seems happier in some ways too. She knows he always saw himself comingback here someday.

She sees him a lot now, and he loves looking after Matildaand Alison so that she can have a bit of a break from her ten-year-old and her five-year-old.She loves them to bits, but to say they’re a handful is an understatement.

The four of them, Betty, Archie, Matilda, and Alison, are ontheir way back from a trip to the movies. Jughead had been supposed to come,but last-minute Serpent issues had arisen. Betty has long since stopped caringabout anything Serpent related.

They’d had to drive a couple hours, to the closest cinemathey have these days. It’s way past the girls’ bed time, and they’ve bothfallen asleep in the back seat. Betty and Archie talk quietly in the front, soas not to wake them.

When Archie drops them back at Betty and Jughead’s, Jughead stillisn’t home. Betty’s stomach sinks. She tries not to think the worst. Shecarries Alison to bed, while Archie carries Matilda.

“Thanks, Arch,” Betty whispers.

“I’ll see you… tomorrow, probably,” Archie laughs. Heglances to the door. “Do you want me to stay until Jughead gets home?”

Betty hesitates. She shakes her head, even though she doeswant him to stay a little bit. But if Jughead has fallen off the wagon again,it’s probably best if she deals with it alone. Archie nods, and Betty gives hima goodbye hug. It’s at that moment that Jughead chooses to make an appearance.

The front door swings open, and Betty can already smell thathe’s been drinking. She tenses, and Archie is stiff beside her.

“What are you doing here?” Jughead slurs, glaring at Archie.

“Just dropping your wife home.”

“You’ve been spending an awful lot of time with my wifelately.”

“Jughead, stop it,” Betty snaps. “Go and take a shower. Don’twake the girls.”

“Fuck off, Betty,” Jughead snarls. “Don’t tell me what todo.”

Betty flinches, and she can feel Archie get his hackles up.

“And you can fuck off too, Archie,” Jughead adds.

“I’m not leaving her with you like this.”

“Get out of my house, Archie!” Jughead yells. He goes toshove Archie, but Archie doesn’t back down, and Jughead stumbles back.

“Betty,” Archie says. “You and the girls should stay with metonight.”

“That might be best,” Betty agrees. She goes to move towardsthe girls’ bedroom, and Jughead grabs her by the arm, squeezing tightly,pressing bruises into her upper arm.

“No,” he says.

“Jug,” she says. “Let me go. You’re hurting me.”

“Let her go, Jughead.”

Jughead glares at Archie. He takes a swing, stumbling overhis own feet, hitting Archie, and elbowing Betty in the face in the process.

“Fuck!” he yells, shaking out his hand. Betty clutches herface. “Betty,” Jughead says. “I didn’t mean to hit you. I’m sorry.” He soundsweak and pathetic now. Tears form in his eyes, and Betty can feel herselfcrying as well. She stares at him in shock. He hadn’t meant to hit her, sheknows that. But she can’t trust that we won’t accidentally do something worseone day. Like hit one of the girls.

She knows this is it. With one glance at Archie, he knows ittoo.

“Are you okay?” Archie asks. Betty nods. “Get the girls.”Betty nods again, hurrying to the bedroom. She wakes them quickly, and theyfollow her sleepily out of the house and to Archie’s car.

“Betty, wait!” Jughead calls after them. “I’m sorry. I swearit won’t happen again.”

Archie slides into the driver’s seat.

“Betty—”

“Just drive, Archie,” she says, swallowing her tears.

  She’s awake early, in her old bedroom at her mom’s house.Archie had dropped her off last night, and she’d cried into her mom’s armsuntil three in the morning.

She gets up, glancing out the window to see that Archie isawake too. She gestures for him to meet her outside.

They stroll along the street, no destination in mind.

“Are you going to go back to him?” Archie asks.

Betty shakes her head. “I’ve tried too many times, Arch. Ifhe can sober up, I’ll let him see the girls. But he and I are done.”

“I’m sorry.”

Betty shrugs. “I think it’s been coming for a long time.”

“Did you ever think this is where we’d be at thirty? Back inRiverdale, living with our parents?” Archie snorts.

“God,” Betty laughs. “Not at all. I guess life doesn’talways work out like you planned.”

“It’s not all bad though,” Archie muses. “At least I’vestill got my best friend.”

Betty smiles. “Yeah. Thank you, Arch.”

“What for?”

“Being my anchor. No matter what I’ve been through, you’realways there to ground me.”

Archie grins. “Back at you.”

He slips his hand into hers and gives it a squeeze.

“Pop’s?” Betty suggests.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

[barchiefanfiction]

betty and archie go on a little best friends trip to a theme park and betty is scared of roller coasters but she agrees to go on some and archie holds on to betty’s and the whole time and you can add other stuff if you’d like :)

Something Like This

by keiraknighted

After the year they’ve had, Archie feels like he and Bettydeserve this weekend away. It had been his idea, and he’d been oddly nervousabout it when he asked Betty if she wanted to come to New York with him. Butshe’d agreed immediately, excited at the prospect of a weekend away fromRiverdale.

Fred had smirked knowingly at Archie when he’d asked if itwas okay for him to go.

“Romantic getaway, huh?” Fred teased.

Archie blushed, much to his chagrin. “Betty and I are stilljust friends, Dad,” Archie had told his father adamantly. Sure, they were bothsingle now, but that didn’t mean anything was going to happen while they were in New York together. Even if Archie maybewanted something to happen.

Fred had looked entirely convinced by Archie’s assertation, buthe’d given his permission anyway. As had Alice, and he and Betty had spent aweek organising the trip.

They’re staying in Manhattan, but they take a train out toBrooklyn and get off at Coney Island. It’s tacky in the best way.

“What first?” Archie asks as they wander onto the boardwalk.

“Wonder Wheel,” Betty says immediately.

“You don’t want to go on the Cyclone?”

Betty screws up her nose. “Maybe later.”

The Wonder Wheel isn’t as romantic as Archie might havehoped. For starters, they’re caged in and the view is marred by red grates. Andthen there’s the rocking, and the screaming children below. Still, Archie justenjoys being in Betty’s company. She looks out at the beach, while Archie’seyes are only on her, her blonde ponytail being tousled by the wind, the smileon her face. Yeah, he’s got it bad.

When their turn on the Wonder Wheel ends, they check out theshops along the boardwalk, and buy a couple of too expensive ice creams.

“Alright, we can go on the Cyclone now,” Betty says. Archiegrins, and they make their way to the line for the Cyclone. As they near thefront of the line, Betty turns to Archie, looking worried. “Arch, I justremembered something,” she says.

“What is it?”

“I’m terrified of rollercoasters.”

Archie stares at her. How does someone just forget they’re scared of rollercoasters?And furthermore, he would have thought that was something he should probablyknow about his best friend.

“You are?”

Betty nods. “Uh huh.”

“Well, we don’t have to go on if you don’t want.”

“No! I want to,” Betty assures him. “Just… hold my hand,will you?”

“Sure,” Archie agrees easily. As if holding her hand couldever be a hardship. Betty gives him a relieved smile.

The ride attendant buckles them into their seats, and Bettyslips her hand into Archie’s. She squeezes his hand tightly, and Archie’sstomach gives a lurch that has nothing to do with the ride.

As far as rollercoasters go, Archie feels like the Cycloneis pretty tame. The dainty fingers interlocked with his give him moreexcitement than the actual ride itself, but it’s fun anyway. He laughs everytime they go down a particularly steep decline, his stomach churning and Bettyscreaming beside him.

And then the ride is over, too soon, and Archie isdisappointed because it means he doesn’t have an excuse to hold his bestfriend’s hand anymore. Except, even as they get out of their seats and headback to the ground, Betty doesn’t let go. And Archie sure as hell isn’t goingto be the one to pull away.

“You want to walk along the pier?” Betty asks.

“Yeah,” Archie nods.

It’s impossible for him not to think about her hand in his.Even as he responds to whatever Betty says, acting like he’s listening, hisentire attention is focused on the spot where their hands meet. He tries not todwell on it, to wonder what it means, that she hasn’t let go. Has she justforgotten that they’re even holding hands? Or does she just think nothing ofit? Is that what friends do these days? Hold hands?

At the same time, he feels a little pathetic at getting soworked up over a little hand holding. If his heart beats this hard just fromtheir hands touching, he can’t imagine what he’d be like if she decided to kisshim. Not that he thinks that’s likely to happen.

They reach the end of the pier and Archie forces himself tostop thinking about it, dragging his attention back to Betty’s voice.

“I really needed this,” she’s saying. “Thanks for suggestingit, Arch.”

“No problem. After juvie and the freaking Gargoyle King, Ithink we both needed to get out of Riverdale for a little while.”

“Not to mention our exes.”

Archie tries not to wince. Yeah, he’d broken up withVeronica to protect her, and he has no regrets about it now. Even now thatshe’s with Reggie. Archie still isn’t sure how Betty feels about her break upwith Jughead.

“Do you miss him?” Archie asks.

Betty shrugs. “A little,” she admits. “But it was for thebest. Between the Serpents and the game… everything was just too crazy.”

“But now that everything is over…” Archie starts. Heswallows, scared to ask the question. “Do you think you’ll get back together?”

Betty shakes her head. “No. I think that’s done.” Sheglances at him. “And you and Veronica?”

“Well, she’s with Reggie now, so,” Archie shrugs.

“But if she wasn’t?”

Archie shakes his head. How Betty can’t tell that he’sabsolutely head over heels for her,he’ll never know. Has the fact that he’s kept his hand in hers this whole timenot given her a hint?

He licks his lips. “We’re still holding hands,” he pointsout. Whether he’s trying to get her to realise how he feels about her, or justletting her know in case she wants to let go, he’s not entirely sure.

“I know,” Betty says.

“People probably think we’re a couple.”

Betty pulls her hand from his, hurt crossing her face, forjust a moment. “Sorry,” she says. She looks away, back out to the ocean.

“Betty,” Archie says. She glances back at him. “It doesn’tbother me. If people think we’re a couple. I kind of like it, actually.”

“Oh,” Betty says, blushing a little. It’s adorable. “I havea confession to make.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not really scared of rollercoasters.”

Archie raises an eyebrow at her. “I knew it.”

“I just wanted an excuse to hold your hand.”

If Archie thought his heart was racing before, it’s nothingcompared with what it’s doing now.

“I also have a confession to make,” he says. “I invited youto New York because… well, I kind of hoped something might happen between us.”

Betty bites her lip. “Something like this?” she asks, andthen she’s surging up to kiss him, and Archie can’t stop the content sigh thatleaves his mouth. He kisses her back, his tongue finding hers, his headswirling. He could probably kiss her like this for hours, he thinks, althoughthe burning low in his belly lets him know that he definitely wants more.

It’s only a wolf whistle from someone nearby that brings himback to his senses, and he and Betty break apart.

“Now people definitely think we’re a couple,” he laughs.

“Well…” Betty says. “Maybe we could be?”

Archie’s heart swells. “Yeah,” he grins. “Yeah, I’d likethat a lot.”

[barchiefanfiction]

(i like me better) when i’m with you

by kinselllas

Sometimes, dating Betty is so easy, Archie lets himself pretend it’s real.

Post 2x08

prompt:  fake dating fic where they have to pretend to be together for some weird reason 

“This isn’t going to work.”

Betty reaches up to push a lock of his hair back, fingers gentle.

“Yes,” she meets his gaze, “It is.”

Archie swallows, giving her a quick nod in return. They face the double doors of the school and he sucks in a breath, can feel Betty tense against his shoulder. Her hand searches next to him, finding his fingers and gripping tightly. Archie squeezes back.

“Ready?” He asks, barely a whisper.

“Ready.”

Okay, let’s rewind—

Archie is sitting in the library. This is important because Archie is hardly ever in the library. He’d stumbled his way in there a few times, hands up Veronica’s skirt, toying with her buttons. But he’s never been in the library for its intended purpose, which is to- well, study.

But here he is.

Betty manifests at his work table, seemingly out of nowhere, and gives him a soft nudge.

See, Archie and Veronica have been broken up for almost three weeks now, Betty and Jughead for the same, minus an hour or two. Archie won’t admit that he’s kind of…okay with it. He finds new ways to keep busy, although he definitely finds himself spending much more time alone. So alone that when Betty shows up next to him, he nearly jumps in his skin.

“How’s it going?” She asks, and Archie can almost feel how hard she’s trying to be casual.

He notes that she’s been wearing her hair down lately, after everything with the Black Hood and their respective break-ups, Archie hasn’t seen much of Betty. She’s been a blur in the hallway, moving from one activity to the next.

“Not bad,” he shrugs gently, “You?”

Betty shrugs back, but her gaze drops to the table. She opens her mouth to speak, but seems to be contemplating her words. Archie raises his eyebrows before she finally responds.

“I want Jughead back.”

Archie mumbles an “Of course you do” under his breath and pretends to focus on the textbook in front of him. Betty reads his response and furrows her brow in confusion.

“I mean,” she offers, eyeing his profile, “Don’t you want Veronica back?”

“Maybe,” Archie sighs, he honestly hadn’t given it much thought. “I guess.”

Betty’s eyes light up at the answer, leaning in closer.

“Great!” she shrieks, “I have a plan.”

Archie can’t exactly argue with her, since he knows there is absolutely nothing that would drive Jughead and Veronica more insane than seeing Archie and Betty dating, confirming their own buried insecurities and pushing them to admit their regrets. Archie found it all to be a little immature, but he also knew Betty’s most ridiculous plans only further proved how much the cause meant to her.

“Favorite color?” She prompts.

“Pastel pink,” he fires back.

“Favorite food?”

Archie smirks, “Pop’s fries.”

Betty smacks his shoulder lightly, a scolding glare.

“Well, they are.”

Archie would quiz her on every fun fact about him, but Betty already knows. It amazes him how easy it is to fall into this “fake” relationship, since they’ve been friends for as long as Archie can remember. He finds that he has an even harder time saying “no” to Betty than he did with Veronica, the pent up loyalty that’s been accumulating over the years.

“And yours is mac and cheese,” she gives him a quick eye roll, “which I know because I’ve been making it for you since we were eight.”

Archie feels his chest swell with a certain fondness.

“Yeah,” he nods, “You have.”

—Back to where we started

Archie and Betty walk hand in hand down the hallway, ignoring the obvious gasps and whispers from the surrounding crowds. For most, it’s not a huge surprise. But Archie does note Veronica’s wide eyes, shock playing over her features. It takes nearly a minute before she’s dragging him into an empty classroom.

“So you and Betty are-“

“Yeah,” he finishes, “We are.”

Veronica swallows, and he sees something flicker in her eyes, a knowing look that forces a sharp pang in his chest. He had played so many scenarios through his head, but it wasn’t the same as seeing her pain first hand.

“Well, I think that’s great,” she nods, but her voice cracks.

Archie wants to reach out, pull her close and hold her the way he had so many times before. But when his hand reaches out, it gets lost in the distance, falling weakly at his side.

He whispers, “Veronica—“

She’s already blinked the tears away, disappearing from the room.

Archie slides into the seat next to Betty’s at lunch, because he genuinely feels like he’s supposed to, and she doesn’t hesitate pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. He flickers his gaze over her face, how easy and normal it is for her to pretend they’re dating.

“I grabbed you an extra snickerdoodle,” he forces, hating how sappy he sounds.

When he holds the cookie up, Betty leans forward and snags a bite, right out of his hand. Archie can’t even bite back his laugh before it’s already out, and he resists the urge to lean toward her and kiss her, an automatic response.

Cheryl’s tray clatters on the table and she rolls her eyes.

“You two are even more nauseating than I could have imagined.”

For the record, Jughead’s reaction had gone entirely undocumented until the night of Cheryl’s party. Archie had assumed he was so caught up in Serpent business he’d disregarded Betty entirely. It actually provided him a big sigh of relief that he wouldn’t have to talk through dating his best friend’s ex girlfriend- who is also his best friend.

Betty is absolutely certain that Jughead won’t be at Cheryl’s party, since she’s on his long list of least favorite people. Veronica still recoils a little every time she sees them, but she also seems more accepting than before. She didn’t love him, after all.

When Jughead and the Serpents pull up to Thornhill, Betty’s nervous energy radiates off of her body and everything she touches. Archie’s first instinct is to reach for her and Betty shrugs him away, following Jughead out to the backyard.

Archie lingers by the screen door, watching their heated discussion. Jughead’s arms are flailing, while Betty flinches gently. He feels his fists clench at his sides and grounds himself to stop from running out there. Betty’s hand comes up to cover her mouth and she gives a tiny nod, Jughead turning his back and walking away from her. As soon as he’s far enough away, Archie slides the door open and makes his way over to Betty.

“Hey,” he whispers, “Are you okay?”

Betty shakes her head, tears rimming her eyes. He’s immediately hit with a wave of deja vu, the broken heart he saw after the homecoming dance, the devastation.

“He knows it’s fake,” she whimpers, softly. “He said it’s time to grow up.”

Archie has a million things that he wants to say, that he could say.

He doesn’t deserve you. He’s a dick. It’s time to move on.

Instead, Archie catches Jughead’s gaze, and does the only thing he can think of that will help. He grabs Betty’s wrist and yanks her forward, crashing his lips against hers. She freezes for a moment, eyes fluttering closed before she kisses him back, a sigh into his mouth. He exhales, releasing a lot of emotions he didn’t know he had, and Betty takes it in, leaning into his chest.

The first kiss was different. It was under different circumstances and alarming for reasons that Archie didn’t have time to explore. Kissing her at a party, in front of all of their friends, he had to wonder if this is the way things were meant to be all along.

“Jughead looked outraged,” Betty beams, nudging against his shoulder during their stroll home. “Outraged!”

Archie glances up at her enthusiasm, a small eye roll. “I noticed.”

He feels his heart beating a little faster, thumping against his ribs, without really knowing why. At the end of all of this, Betty’s endgame is Jughead. He has to continually remind himself that while their fake relationship is fun, it’s not going to end with them together. He can’t quite figure out why that bothers him so much.

Betty takes the three steps up to her house and gives him a quick glance over her shoulder and she smiles.

“Good job tonight, Arch.”

And he swears he catches a small wink from her right eye.

Come Monday, Archie finds Betty at her locker and lets his hands fall to her waist. Betty jumps under his grip, her back colliding with his chest. and she giggles softly.

“What are you doing?” She whispers, almost scolding.

“If Jughead thinks it’s fake,” Archie mumbles, against her ear, “Let’s prove that it’s real.”

He can feel Betty shudder beneath his fingers, and he likes the feeling of holding her, having an effect on her again. His fingertips dig in to her hips just slightly and Betty releases a sigh into her open locker. Her hands continue to flip through her textbooks, but her movements have increasingly slowed.

PDA is not exactly new to Archie, Veronica was a bit of an exhibitionist and most of the time he was the one blushing in embarrassment at everyone staring. But he was starting to understand the thrill, hands skating up Betty’s sides, all the while knowing the entire school could be watching.

Betty turns to face him, swallowing gently.

“Archie…” and she sounds unsure, for the first time since they started this ridiculous scheme.

He smiles, a little amused, “Betty.”

Her gaze flickers down to his mouth, before meeting his eyes. A small nod.

“I’m in.”

Archie and Betty do what they can to become unavoidable. Archie grabs her by the wrist after Vixen practice and presses a quick kiss to her lips, snatching her duffle bag to carry on the walk home. It’s easy, because it’s not too far off from how things have always been, just a change in the context. Sometimes, dating Betty is so easy, Archie lets himself pretend it’s real.

“How was your day?” He asks, Betty’s fingers slipping easily into his own.

“Pretty good,” she shrugs, “Cheryl still doesn’t think I’m capable of a full front flip.”

Archie throws her a grin, “Are you?”

“Probably not.”

Archie swallows his chuckle, pressing his mouth against the crown of her head.

Just a change in the context.

“I’m having a party this weekend,” Veronica grabs him by the arm, “You’re invited, obviously.”

Archie nods, but can feel his body tense in her presence, seeking out Betty’s glance. Instead, he finds Betty’s back pressed against her locker with Jughead in front of her body. Archie’s fists clench beyond his control.

“Cool,” he shrugs, “I’ll be there.”

Veronica is staring at Archie, but Archie’s gaze can’t leave Betty and Jughead down the hall. Her gaze follows his own and she swallows harshly next to him.

“I assume you’ll be bringing your-“ she clears her throat, “Betty.”

Archie nods, can’t see any reason why he wouldn’t. Except that his “girlfriend” is still trapped in the same spot, Jughead reaching up to push a few strands of blonde hair out of her face. And Betty smiles, a little, but her gaze seeks him out, and Archie releases a deep sigh of relief. Veronica catches it and rolls her eyes.

“Can’t fight fate,” she mumbles, under her breath, “Right, Archiekins?”

The night of Veronica’s party, Betty walks over to Archie’s and he drives them to the Pembrooke. He notes Betty fidgeting in her seat next to him and the energy already feels off. He sucks in a breath and stares out the windshield, suddenly certain that Betty will end their arrangement tonight. It was short lived, of course, and only a matter of time before Jughead would realize his mistake, asking for her back.

And there was no doubt it in Archie’s mind that if given the opportunity, she would choose Jughead over him in a heartbeat. He already had his chance and he blew it, he’d have to move on from here. His hand moves to her knee and she nearly jumps in her skin, throwing him a small smile.

“Everything okay?” he asks, voice soft.

“Yeah,” she nods hurriedly, “Yes.”

Archie stands next to Betty in the elevator and glances at her as she sucks in a deep breath. Her eyes meet his for a moment, and she blinks the moment away. When the elevator dings open, Archie is shocked to find Jughead is already sitting on the chaste in Veronica’s foyer, drink sitting nearby. He glances up at them for a moment, before shifting his attention back to Sweet Pea’s animated story.

Archie can practically feel Betty vibrating next to him, the anxious edge of care care care.

“Archiekins,” Veronica approaches them, a beaming smile, “B.”

“Hey Veronica,” Archie gives her a grin, hasn’t been able to call her Ronnie since the break-up.

Betty’s brow furrows, “You’re in good spirits, V.”

“Well,” Veronica continues her flashy proud smile, “I have reconciled my feelings about your new romance. No use in fighting the inevitable, after all.”

Betty is quick to react, eyes widening at the word inevitable, and Archie opens his mouth to retort, but Jughead appears before anyone can get another word out. The red cup in his hand sloshes, and nearly goes over Veronica’s shoulder, but he catches it time.

“BettyandArchie,” Jughead grins, slurring slightly, “ArchieandBetty.”

Archie is suddenly struck with how much Jughead reminds him of his father in that moment, and while FP may have changed his ways, the times got worse before they got better. His arm protectively snakes around Betty’s waist, and Jughead’s gaze follows the movement, a smirk playing on his lips.

“Relax, Arch,” he shrugs, but Archie takes the dig of Betty’s usual nickname for him, “We’re all elated at your new found relationship.”

“Elated,” Betty repeats, and Archie rapidly tries to decipher if he hears disappointment in her voice. She shifts her gaze to meet his, tries to offer something back. What does she want? Her eyes don’t give anything away other than seeking out his comfort.

“After all this time,” Archie says, gaze flickering over her face carefully, “Who would’ve thought?”

Betty swallows, nearly a smile, “Who would’ve thought.”

tbc

[barchiefanfiction]

Breathe You In

by keiraknighted

for Barchie Halloween

prompt: Harry Potter/Hogwarts AU

AO3 // ff.net

If Archie had his way, he would spend his free period outside practicing Quidditch, or maybe taking a nap. But Betty is adamant that he’s going to get at least an E on his History of Magic exam. Archie doesn’t even know why he’s still taking History of Magic.

But at least they can study together in the prefect common room, instead of having to share with the rest of Gryffindor. Archie still isn’t quite sure how he got to be a prefect. He’s sure it has something to do with Betty’s influence.

His stomach grumbles, and Betty looks up from her notes, amused.

“It must be nearly lunch time,” she says. “We’ve probably studied enough for today anyway.”

“I’m not going to argue with that,” Archie grins.

Betty starts packing up her notes. “I’m just going to the bathroom and then we can head to the Great Hall together,” she says.

Archie nods, packing up his things as Betty leaves the common room. A couple of minutes later, Veronica and Jughead return from class. Veronica shoves a tiny glass vial under Archie’s nose. The smell of perfume wafts into his nostrils, and it makes his heart beat a little faster.

“What does this smell like?” Veronica asks.

“Why are you shoving a bottle of Betty’s perfume under my nose?” Archie frowns, confused. He thinks it smells a little different, like it’s mixed with a couple of other smells, but that’s what he can smell most strongly.

Veronica stares at him, pulling the vial away. She turns to Jughead, and they’re both wearing surprised but gleeful expressions on their faces.

“Betty’s perfume?” Jughead repeats.

Archie feels like he’s missed the joke. “I mean… yeah? Is that not what it is?”

Veronica gives a snort of laughter and a second later Betty walks back into the common room. Veronica shoves the vial under Betty’s nose.

“What does this smell like?” she asks Betty. Betty glances at Archie, then gives Veronica an unimpressed look.

“I’m not falling for that,” she says. “I know you guys had potions just now and I know we’re making Amortentia this week.”

“Amortentia?” Archie repeats dumbly.

“Love potion,” Betty rolls her eyes. Veronica and Jughead both smirk at him knowingly, and Archie feels his stomach lurch and his face go hot. He’s spent the better part of a year trying not to let anyone know that he’s in love with his best friend, and now he’s basically just admitted as much to Jughead and Veronica. Stupid Slytherins.

“Archie fell for it,” Veronica teases. Archie gives her a pleading look, and a quick shake of his head. Don’t tell her, he’s desperately trying to get Veronica to understand. Veronica raises an eyebrow but she seems to get it.

“Oh?” Betty says. “What do you smell, Arch?”

“Uh,” he says. “Roast chicken.”

Betty laughs, shaking her head affectionately. “That doesn’t surprise me at all. Shall we all go and eat?”

  Archie and Betty have potions together the following day. He’s kind of glad Veronica and Jughead prepared him for what Amortentia is going to smell like for him. The scent hits him as soon as he enters the classroom, the unmistakable scent of Betty, and whatever perfume it is she wears every day. Only it’s much, much stronger. It makes him feel all woozy. He’s pretty sure they shouldn’t even be allowed to teach kids how to make this potion.

But the lesson goes fine, and they’re each allowed to keep a tiny drop if they have their own vial.

“What does it smell like for you?” Archie asks Betty as they leave the classroom.

Betty’s cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink. “Oh, um,” she stammers. “Lemons?”

“Lemons?” Archie raises an eyebrow. She’s obviously lying. She’s clearly embarrassed by whatever it is, and lemons isn’t exactly embarrassing.

“Uh huh, lemons.”

“Okay…” Archie says. He’s not going to push her, mostly because he doesn’t want her to possibly turn the tables on him. So he drops it and heads to Quidditch practice, while Betty heads back to the common room.

  Archie wakes up in the middle of the night, though he’s not sure why. His eyes fall over the other sleeping Gryffindor sixth years, Reggie and Kevin, trying to work out if one of them made a noise that might have woken him. He comes up short, but decides to get up to pee while he’s awake.

As he descends the stairs, he can hear someone muttering to themselves, and when he steps into the common room, he sees Betty, sitting by her cauldron on the floor, mixing some kind of potion in the firelight. And if the smell is anything to go by, it’s Amortentia. Archie’s stomach clenches. What is she doing making love potion in the middle of the night?

“Betty?” he says, his voice hoarse with sleep. She whips her head around, her eyes wide. “What are you doing?” Archie asks, coming towards her.

“Don’t tell anyone,” she says.

Archie sits beside her and peers into the cauldron. It looks different to what they made today.

“Are you sure you’re making it right?” Archie asks.

Betty huffs. “Of course I’m sure. It smells right, doesn’t it?”

It smells so strongly of her perfume, filling up the room with the scent of her, making Archie want to pull her close and kiss her. “Yeah, it smells right.”

They fall into silence as Betty continues to brew her concoction. Archie glances at her, trying not to judge. But he didn’t think she’d ever stoop so low as to make a love potion and use it on someone. It seems kind of immoral. But he’s also desperate to know who she’s so enamoured with she feels the need to use a love potion on them. Then again, he’s terrified to find out. The thought of her being with someone else kills him.

“Betty?” he asks, swallowing heavily.

“Yeah?” Betty replies, not looking up from her potion.

“Who’s it for?”

“Who’s it for?” she repeats, sounding confused.

Archie inclines his head towards the potion. “The Amortentia. Who are you planning on using it on?”

Betty looks at him, bewildered. “Amortentia?” she says. “I’m just making perfume, Arch.”

Archie stares at her. Oh god. “Oh,” he says. He licks his lips. He can feel his face turning bright red. He ducks his head, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Betty laughs, and it’s clear she hasn’t caught on yet. Why he thought she was making love potion. “Why would you think I was making Amortentia? Do you think I’m that desperate?” she grins.

“No, of course not,” Archie says quickly. Thank god she hasn’t figured it out. He thinks he’s in the clear, and he’s about to head back to bed, when Betty’s expression changes, her eyes widen, her mouth falls open.

“Archie,” she says softly. “Does… does Amortentia smell like this for you?”

Archie clears his throat. He wishes there were a way to deny it. “Yeah.”

“Oh my god.”

“I’m sorry, I—” he stops. He doesn’t even know what to say. He can’t look at her. “I’m an idiot.”

“I was lying about the lemons,” Betty says quickly. “Well, not entirely. It smells a little like lemons. But it smells a lot like you.”

Archie looks back at her, his heart pounding.

“Arch, I—”

He kisses her before she can finish. The smell of her perfume fills his head, and that combined with the pressure of her lips makes him dizzy. He kisses her like he never wants to stop, and he doesn’t, not really. But eventually she pulls away, and he opens his eyes slowly.

“I was going to say, I love you,” Betty whispers. “And you’re definitely not an idiot.”

Archie grins. “I am an idiot,” he says. “And I love you too.”

[barchiefanfiction]

Under the Full Moon

by keiraknighted

Prompt: Red Riding Hood/Werewolf AU for Barchie Halloween

AO3 // ff.net

In the town that Betty lives in, there are three rules that everyone is taught from the day they are born.

Always carry a weapon

Never go out at night

Do not go in the woods at night without a weapon

The woods are perfectly safe during the day. Men go hunting, women pick wild berries and flowers, children play in the trees. But come dusk, everyone knows the woods are a dangerous place. The trees whisper, and twist and turn. Up becomes down, east becomes west. Wild animals stalk through the night, looking for prey. It’s even said that on the full moon, werewolves roam the forest, turning victims into pack members. Of course, Betty knows that werewolves aren’t real. It’s just a myth to scare little children.

Betty’s mother, Alice, packs cookies and a loaf of bread into a basket, and firmly closes the lid.

“Now, Elizabeth,” Alice says, handing her daughter the basket. “You should have plenty of time to make it to your cousin’s house before dark. Do not get distracted, and make sure you’re well out of the woods come nightfall. Especially since it’s a full moon tonight. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mother,” Betty rolls her eyes. She’s not an idiot. Everyone in town knows the rules.

“You have your knife?”

Betty nods. There’s a dagger strapped to her thigh should the worst occur. Alice regards her daughter fondly. She reaches over and tightens the blonde ponytail before pulling the red hood of Betty’s cloak over her head.

“Be safe,” Alice says, before shepherding Betty out the front door of their cottage.

Betty skips towards the forest, glad to be out from under the watch of her overprotective mother for a few days. Her cousin Cheryl can be a little dramatic and bossy, but it’s a small price to pay for a few hours of freedom in the woods.

She ignores her mother’s advice about not getting distracted. She has hours before nightfall. She plans to take her time, pick some flowers, maybe sit in the forest and eat some cookies while she reads her book for a little while. She knows where there is a pretty clearing by the creek, not too far from the path, and she makes her way there, meandering slowly, enjoying the fresh air and the greenery around her.

She finds the clearing easily, and she settles herself down by the creek, amongst a patch of forget-me-nots. She removes her cloak and lays it down to sit on, so as not to get her pretty white dress dirty. She pulls a cookie and her book out of the basket, and starts to read.

It’s so peaceful out here, the only sounds are of birds chirping, and the creek bubbling beside her. That is until she hears the crack of a stick, and she looks up, startled, scanning the trees around her for some sign of movement.

The woods are perfectly safe during the day, she reminds herself. Still, her heart beats rapidly, and she shuts her book, reaching for the dagger under her petticoat.

She hears more crunching, footsteps coming towards her. She brandishes her dagger just as someone bursts through the trees and into the clearing, pointing an arrow at her, the strong on the bow drawn tight. He quickly lowers it when he sees who it is.

“Betty,” Archie breathes. “I thought you were a deer.”

Betty breathes a sigh of relief at seeing Archie, her neighbour and friend. She lowers the dagger and Archie politely looks away while she tucks it back into the garter on her thigh.

“What are you doing out here?” Betty asks, and Archie turns back.

He raises an eyebrow. “I’m hunting,” he says. “What about you?”

“I’m on my way to my cousin’s house. I thought I’d enjoy the serenity a while.”

“It’s not safe out here alone, Betty,” Archie says nervously.

Betty tilts her head, then looks up at the sky. “Archie, it’s broad daylight. Everyone knows it’s safe until dark.”

“Then why did you have your knife out?” he points out. Betty bites her lip. She shrugs.

“Let me walk with you,” Archie suggests. “I’m going that way anyway.”

“Sure,” Betty agrees immediately. It’s not exactly a hardship to have Archie walking with her. She enjoys his company, and she also enjoys looking at him. He has a nice face, the kind that gives her butterflies.

Betty puts her book back in the basket, and Archie helps her up. Betty picks up her cloak and swings it over her shoulders, sending forget-me-nots flying. She’s perfectly capable of fastening the cloak herself, but Archie steps forward to help her, and she lets him. She likes having him so close to her.

“Red suits you,” he grins.

They make their way back to the path and head in the direction of Cheryl’s house. It only takes an hour to walk there, and it feels like less with Archie by her side. Their hands brush a few times as they walk along the narrow path, and she hopes he might take her hand in his, but he’s far too much of a gentleman for that. She’s sure she’s given him a million obvious hints that she likes him, but he’s never had any interest in her beyond friendship anyway.

Betty is actually disappointed when they reach the edge of the woods. But then again, the sun is hanging low in the sky now and it’s probably for the best. They don’t want to get lost in there at night.

Archie stops at the tree line as Betty steps out of the forest, and she turns back to face him.

“Aren’t you coming?” she says.

Archie shakes his head. “I still have some hunting to do.”

Betty looks to the horizon, squinting into the sun. “It’s getting late,” she says. “I don’t think you should go back in there. What if you don’t get out in time?”

Archie smiles fondly. “It’s sweet of you to worry about me. I’ll be fine, I promise. I know these woods like the back of my hand.”

Betty chews her lip. She doesn’t want to leave him. “Okay,” she concedes. “Thank you for walking with me.”

Archie nods. “It was nothing.”

Before she can think better of it, Betty leans up and presses a kiss to his cheek. She pulls away, her own cheeks burning. Archie ducks his head bashfully.

“Be safe, Betty,” he says, almost like a warning. And then he disappears back into the forest, leaving Betty to make her way to Cheryl’s on her own.

  Cheryl’s family is richer than Betty’s. They have servants and paintings on all the walls, and Cheryl always has a new gown to show off.

Betty arrives at the manor, three times the size of Betty’s own home, and is let inside by the doorman. Cheryl sweeps into the hall in a scarlet gown, giving Betty a red-lipped smile, and pulling her cousin into a tight hug.

“How delightful it is to see you again, cousin!” Cheryl says. Betty is never quite sure how genuine Cheryl is being, but she hugs her back and takes her words at face value. Cheryl pulls away. “We have so much to talk about!”

Cheryl takes Betty’s basket from her and hands it to a hovering servant. She looks Betty up and down.

“I see you’ve adopted my signature colour,” Cheryl notes. “It looks almost as good on you as it does on me.”

Betty doesn’t have a chance to respond before Cheryl is leading her upstairs to her bedroom. Betty sheds her cloak, and the girls lounge on Cheryl’s bed.

“I can trust you, can’t I Betty?” Cheryl asks.

“Of course,” Betty responds earnestly.

Cheryl turns to Betty, her eyes boring into her. “If I tell you something, you have to promise not to tell anyone.”

“Okay,” Betty agrees, feelings strangely nervous. She doesn’t like the way Cheryl is acting.

“I’m a witch.”

Betty stares at her cousin. “A witch?” she repeats dumbly.

Cheryl nods seriously. “I’m making a potion. An immortality potion.”

“Why would you want to be immortal?”

Cheryl gives Betty a look of disdain. “Why wouldn’t you want to be?” she huffs. Betty shrugs. “I only need one more ingredient.”

“And what’s that?”

“Mushrooms.”

“Well there are probably some in the kitchen,” Betty points out.

Cheryl gives a sound of exasperation. “They can’t just be any mushrooms. They have to be picked at midnight, under the full moon.”

“Cheryl…” Betty says, beginning to understand where Cheryl is going with this.

“They grow in the woods.”

“Don’t go out there tonight,” Betty says.

“I’m going,” Cheryl says, “And so are you.”

Betty shakes her head. “No.”

“It will be safer with two of us.”

“It won’t be safe at all.”

“There’s a patch not far from the path. We won’t have to be in there long.”

“I don’t know, Cheryl…”

“Don’t be such a baby,” Cheryl snorts. Betty says nothing. “I need my beauty rest,” Cheryl says, pushing Betty from the bed. “I’ll wake you when it’s time.”

Betty picks up her cloak and heads to her own room. Of course she isn’t going to follow Cheryl into the woods. It’s a suicide mission. Only the most reckless and idiotic person would go into the woods at night, especially on a full moon.

Betty changes from her dress into a nightgown that she keeps at Cheryl’s and lies down on the bed to sleep.

  She swears she’s only been asleep for a few minutes when Cheryl shakes her awake. She’s terrified at first, before she realises it’s Cheryl. She’s fully dressed, wearing a black cloak and holding a lantern above Betty’s face.

“It’s time to go.”

“Cheryl…” Betty starts, her voice still hoarse with sleep. She sits up as Cheryl begins to walk away.

Cheryl stops by the door, spinning back to Betty, her long red hair fanning out around her. “I’m going. If you stay and I die, know that’s on you.”

Betty swallows. She only hesitates a moment before slipping out of bed. She quickly dresses and she slips on her shoes and cloak, before following Cheryl downstairs and out the front door.

“What about your parents?” Betty whispers.

Cheryl shrugs. “They don’t care.”

It isn’t far from Cheryl’s house to the woods. The full moon lights their way, and they barely need Cheryl’s lantern. But they’ll need it once they’re in the forest. The canopy of leaves will block most of the moonlight from above.

They stop when they reach the tree line. Betty stares into the forest, her heart in her throat, her pulse racing. This is a bad idea. There is no way they go in there and make it out alive.

“Come on,” Cheryl says, but she doesn’t sound as confident as before. Still, she holds the lantern up high and steps into the forest. Betty takes a deep breath and follows.

It’s dark in the woods, and the lantern doesn’t provide a lot of light. It’s only enough to see a few feet in front of them. The path is winding, and tree roots and rocks provide obstacles for the girls to trip over. An owl hoots nearby. Wind rustles the leaves above them, getting stronger. A branch breaks and falls to the ground, causing the two of them to jump. A wolf howls somewhere in the distance.

“Are we close?” Betty asks. She wants to get out of here as soon as possible.

Cheryl nods. “Here.” She points to a small boulder she’s marked with red paint. “This way.” Cheryl leads Betty away from the path. The crunch through the underbrush until they wander into a clearing. Cheryl moves the lantern around until the light falls on a small patch of mushrooms. Cheryl hands the lantern to Betty and kneels in front of the mushrooms, gathering them and shoving them into the pockets of her cloak.

Another wolf howl, closer this time.

“Hurry,” Betty says. Cheryl grabs a couple more mushrooms and then stands.

“Let’s go,” she says. She sounds as nervous as Betty feels.

Betty shines the lantern around. Everything looks different in the dark. “Which way did we come in?” she whispers.

Cheryl hesitates. “This way, I think,” she says, starting to walk. Betty has no idea if that’s right, but she has no reason to counter it, so she follows.

They’re almost out of the clearing when Betty trips on something, falling to the ground. She drops the lantern but it stays lit, thankfully. She reaches for it, picking herself up. She shines the light on the ground, looking to see what she tripped on. A bow. She picks it up. Her stomach drops, her heart beating rapidly. Archie’s bow. She looks around further, and sure enough, there’s his quiver, still half full of arrows. Worse, there are ripped shreds of his clothes scattered around.

“What’s wrong?” Cheryl asks.

Betty swallows. “My friend, Archie…” she says. “I think something might have happened to him. This is his.”

Cheryl stares at her a moment. “We have to go.” She grabs the bow, and picks up the quiver of arrows.

Betty nods. She tries not to dwell on Archie. Perhaps he’s fine. Maybe he dropped these and didn’t realise. Of course, Betty knows that’s nonsense. Grief wells up inside her, but she pushes it down. Now isn’t the time to cry.

“The path should be right here,” Cheryl says. Only it’s not.

“Cheryl…”

“Just, shh!” Cheryl puts her hand up in front of Betty’s face. “Let me think!”

A twig snaps behind them and Betty spins around. Goosebumps erupt all over her body. She swears there’s someone out there, watching them.

“Archie?” she calls, her voice shaking. No answer. “Cheryl,” she whispers. “There’s something out there.”

Cheryl nods, looking terrified. She can feel it too. “Betty—” she starts, but before she can finish, a great beast leaps out from behind a tree, knocking Cheryl to the ground. A wolf maybe, but much, much bigger. Cheryl lets out a shrill scream, the sound echoing through the forest. Betty stumbles back and trips on a tree root, falling onto her backside. This time the lantern shatters and the flame goes out.

“Cheryl!” Betty yells. She can hear the growling of the beast and Cheryl’s cries.

“Betty!” Cheryl screams, panicked. There’s another howl, close but not close enough to be the beast attacking Cheryl. Betty can hear the sound of the beast dragging Cheryl away. Betty tries to stand, but the moment she tries to put pressure on her right ankle it’s filled with a piercing pain. She gasps.

“Cheryl!” Betty calls again. Cheryl’s screams are getting further away. Betty tries to see something, anything, but she can barely see a foot in front of her face it’s so dark.

This night goes silent around her. The only thing she can hear is her own heavy breathing. Cheryl has stopped screaming. Betty doesn’t know if that’s because she can’t scream anymore, or if she’s just realised it’s not doing her any good.

Betty realises it’s not only her own breathing she can hear. She looks around, following the sound, and sees a pair of bright yellow eyes staring at her. She swallows. The beast growls, getting ready to pounce. Betty reaches under her petticoat, only to find her dagger isn’t there. She’d taken it out when she went to bed and never put it back. There’s nothing else she can do. She squeezes her eyes shut, ready to accept her fate.

She hears another growl, from behind her, and she opens her eyes to see another enormous wolf fly over top of her and land on top of the beast that had been about to attack her. She can’t see very well, but she can hear them snarling and growling, fighting each other. Is one of them trying to protect her, or does it just want her for a meal too?

She hears a whimper, and then one of the wolves scampers off into the night. She doesn’t know which one won. The winner pads over too her, panting. She looks into its glowing amber eyes. The beast is a beautiful thing, not scrawny like the usual wolves she sees. Big, with deep red fur that Betty wants to run her hands through. She wonders, briefly, if it might be a werewolf. She quickly reminds herself werewolves aren’t real.

Her heart pounds. She’s still scared, but the wolf doesn’t make any moves to harm her. It nudges her with its snout, as if trying to get her to stand up.

“I can’t stand,” she tells it, though she has no idea if it can understand her. “I hurt my ankle.”

The wolf whines a little, almost sympathetically. She has no idea why, but this wolf makes her feel safe somehow. Perhaps because it’s already protected her once.

The wolf looks around, its ears pricked. It looks back to her. It tilts its head, like its asking permission for something, but what, Betty doesn’t know. She soon finds out as the wolf takes her cloak in its mouth, and begins to drag her away. The terror she felt before returns.

“Where are you taking me?” she cries, though she knows the wolf can’t answer. She tries to struggle, but it’s no use. But she begins to realise the wolf means her no harm. He’s very gentle with her, and he stops when her hair gets caught in a fallen branch and lets her untangle it before continuing on.

He finally stops when they reach a small cottage. Betty has no idea where they are, except that they’re somewhere in the woods. She has no hope of finding Cheryl, or of finding her way out of here.

The wolf nudges the door open and drags Betty inside. There are a few candles burning, lighting up the one room cottage. There is a bed on one side, and a fireplace on the other, and a chest by the bed. But other than that, the room is mostly empty. The wolf seems to take up a lot of space with its hulking size. He nudges her towards the bed, and Betty crawls onto it, doing her best to not put any weight on her sore ankle. She’s fairly certain she just twisted it, and it will probably be fine in a day or so.

The wolf gives her an approving nod, then goes to sit by the door, at full attention, like he’s guarding it. Betty smiles in spite of herself.

“Thank you,” she says. The wolf turns back to her, tilting its head in confusion. “For saving me,” Betty clarifies. The wolf inclines his head again. Betty licks her lips. “My cousin, Cheryl…” she starts. Then she realises there’s no point. The wolf can’t answer her. And if the wolf leaves to find Cheryl, Betty will be left alone and vulnerable.

“Never mind,” she says, shaking her head. “You don’t have to sit there all night,” she tells the wolf. “You can come and sleep next to me.”

The wolf turns back to the door. Betty is disappointed. It would be nice to have a big fluffy wolf to keep her warm. Betty lays her head on the poor excuse for a pillow. It’s not the most comfortable bed, but it will have to do. She unfastens her cloak and puts it over herself like a blanket, then blows out the candle beside the bed.

She hears the wolf leave his spot by the door and pad over to the bed. Maybe he changed his mind. Betty scoots over to give him room and he gets up onto the bed, lying next to her. It’s comforting to have something so big and warm curled up next to her.

“Goodnight,” she whispers, burying her face into the wolf’s soft fur. Somehow, sleep finds her easily.

  Betty wakes at dawn, feeling sore all over. There’s a warm weight next to her, but she quickly realises it’s not the fur of the wolf she fell asleep next to last night. It’s skin. A man. She sits bolt upright, her heart racing. Her eyes fall on the naked body beside her, lying face down and still fast asleep. It’s Archie. Betty breathes a sigh of relief, both because it means he’s not dead, and because she’s not sleeping next to a stranger. The sight of his naked body does nothing the slow her heartrate, however.

She bites her lip. She probably shouldn’t be looking. But then again, what is he doing here, naked, in the first place?

“Archie,” she says, gently shaking his arm. He wakes slowly, blinking at her. Then he jolts out of bed, panicked.

“Betty!” he says. Betty’s eyes rake over his muscular arms, his chest his abs, down between his legs. She’d known he was good looking, but she had no idea he looked like this under his clothes. He quickly covers himself with his hands. She meets his eyes again. His face is bright red.

“What are you doing here?” Betty asks. “I thought you were dead!”

“I’m sorry,” he says quickly. “I meant to leave before you woke up but—” he swallows. He goes to the chest by the bed and opens it, fishing out a pair of brown pants and pulling them on.

“Leave? But…” Betty trails off, the cogs in her mind turning. The wolf that fell asleep beside her last night. A wolf with fur that was suspiciously close to the colour or Archie’s hair. Archie’s clothes in the forest, then him waking naked beside her. The wolf protecting her from the other wolves. The fact that this is obviously his cottage, with his clothes, ready for him, despite the fact that he has a home back in their own village. “Are you…?” she starts. She stares at him. “A werewolf?”

Archie nods shortly. He won’t look her directly in the eye. “I understand if you want nothing to do with me now.”

“Arch,” she says gently. “How could you think that?” She shakes her head. She gets up from the bed, putting only a small amount of weight on her ankle. It’s already feeling better. Her white dress is covered in dirt and torn at the bottom, but she’s not really concerned about that. She puts her hands on Archie’s bare shoulders, and he reluctantly looks her in the eye.

“You saved my life,” she reminds him. “I could never think less of you for that.”

Archie still seems unsure, but he gives her a small smile. It’s so sweet and he’s so genuine that she can’t stop herself from surging up to kiss him. He responds immediately, his lips moving against hers, but then it’s as if he suddenly remembers himself and pulls away abruptly.

“Betty,” he says, swallowing. “I know you thought maybe you and I would… be together,” he pauses. “And I always wanted to court you properly. But this is why I never could. You could never be with a werewolf.”

“I don’t care about that,” she assures him. “You’re clearly not an evil werewolf or you wouldn’t have saved me. Not like those other werewolves.”

Archie shakes his head, like he doesn’t believe her. “What about your mother?”

Betty grins. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

Archie laughs. “Okay,” he says. “If you’re sure.”

“Kiss me, Archie.”

He smiles, brushing her hair from her face with both his hands. Betty’s stomach fills with butterflies as he leans in, and her eyes close just before his lips touch hers. His hands find her waist and he tugs her close against his bare chest, leaving Betty feeling giddy.

The door slams open and the two jump apart, turning towards the open door. Cheryl stands there, bow and arrow poised to shoot.

“Step away from her,” Cheryl says, pointing the arrow at Archie.

“Cheryl!” Betty cries. “Oh my god, you’re okay!”

“Don’t worry, Betty, this ruffian won’t hurt you anymore.”

“Cheryl, it’s okay!” Betty hurries to assure her. “This is my friend, Archie. He saved my life last night.”

Cheryl eyes him sceptically but lowers the arrow. She turns to Betty. “Are you okay?” she asks. Betty nods. “Thank god. I never should have suggested we go into the woods at night.”

“It’s okay,” Betty says. “Are you alright? How did you get away from the wolves?”

“I’m okay,” Cheryl confirms. “The wolf only had hold of my cloak so I took it off and then I shot it with my bow and arrow. I managed to find my way out of the forest, but I came looking for you as soon as it was light.”

“I think that’s actually my bow and arrow,” Archie says.

Cheryl purses her lips. “Finders keepers,” she tells him. “And why don’t you have a shirt on?”

Archie’s face turns bright red and he goes back to the trunk for a shirt, much to Betty’s disappointment.

“You didn’t get bitten, did you?” Archie asks Cheryl.

Cheryl shakes her head. “No. Why?”

“Just… checking you’re alright.”

“I already said I was!” Cheryl huffs. “Now let’s go and see if we can find my cloak. I still want those mushrooms.” She marches out of the hut, and Betty turns to Archie with an amused look on her face.

“Your cousin is very… assertive,” Archie grins.

“She would kill you if you ever hurt me,” Betty warns him, smirking.

“Well,” says Archie, pressing a kiss to Betty’s forehead. “I best not ever hurt you then.”

“Come on, you two!” Cheryl calls back.

Archie laughs, and the takes Betty’s hand in his, their fingers interlocking as the head back out into the forest, safe once again in the morning light.

[barchiefanfiction]

Sweet as Pie

by keiraknighted

for Barchie Halloween

prompt: that pumpkin pie sucks but I will eat three slices because you look so proud 

AO3 // ff.net

Archie doesn’t cook. Ever. It’s not that he’s against cooking. It’s just that he’s terrible at it. He’s so terrible at it that once, when his dad wasn’t home, he tried to make mashed potatoes by putting raw potatoes in a blender. He’d called Betty to ask her why it wasn’t working and she’d just laughed at him for five minutes. Not his finest moment.

But despite his disastrous previous attempts at cooking, he’s trying again now.

Betty had texted him an hour ago saying she was craving pumpkin pie. Her mom used to have a tradition of baking it on the first Saturday of October every year, but since Hal went to prison, a lot of family traditions have been abandoned.

So Archie had found a recipe online, and now he’s in the kitchen, covered in the cinnamon that he’d spilled everywhere earlier, trying to work out the difference between beating and whipping.

He’s not entirely sure what he’s doing, but how hard can it be to follow a recipe?

His dad walks into the kitchen, surveying the carnage with dismay.

“I’ll clean it up, I swear,” Archie promises.

Fred looks amused. “Are you actually cooking?”

“I’m baking,” Archie corrects. That’s right, he knows what baking is. “Betty wants pumpkin pie.”

“Ah,” Fred nods knowingly. “Archie to the rescue, is it?”

“Something like that,” Archie mutters, turning pink. He avoids his dad’s knowing smirk.

“Good luck,” Fred says, leaving Archie to google whether or not brown sugar is the same as normal sugar.

The pie is in the oven when the doorbell rings. Archie doesn’t bother taking his apron off before answering the door. It’s Betty.

“You weren’t supposed to be here yet,” he says.

“I’m bored. You weren’t answering your phone.” She looks him up and down. “Are you… baking?” she says, incredulously.

“Don’t sound so surprised.”

Betty grins. “Sorry,” she says. “It’s just… remember the time with the mashed potato?”

“I remember,” Archie sighs. “Are you coming in or what?”

“Yes,” Betty says, still grinning impishly. “Veronica’s coming too, by the way. She’ll be here soon.” She brushes past him to get inside. “You smell like cinnamon,” she notes. Archie flushes.

He follows her to the kitchen where she leans against the counter. The timer dings and Archie goes over to the oven, slipping the oven mitts on his hands.

“What did you make?” Betty asks, peering over his shoulder.

Archie pulls the pie out and turns around, presenting her with the pie. It actually looks like it’s supposed to.

Betty’s face lights up, and Archie can’t help but smile proudly. “You made me pumpkin pie?” Betty says, clasping her hands together.

“Yeah,” Archie smiles, pleased with himself. “You want a piece?”

“Yes!”

He cuts her a piece and puts a dollop of whipped cream on the top before placing the plate in front of her with a flourish. Betty picks up the spoon he’s provided her with, and Archie watches with baited breath as she takes the first bite.

She pauses. Then she keeps chewing. She swallows.

“Well?” Archie prompts.

Betty smiles. “It’s delicious, Arch. Great job.”

Archie beams with pride and Betty shakes her head, smiling fondly.

“I’ll have some too,” Archie says.

“No!” Betty bursts out. Archie frowns at her, confused. She looks a little sheepish. “I, uh… want it all to myself?”

Archie rolls his eyes and cuts her another slice, though she isn’t even halfway through the first piece. Betty grabs the can of whipped cream and sprays it all over her pie. “It isn’t really pie unless it’s covered in whipped cream,” she explains.

Archie grabs the can and sprays it directly into his mouth.

“You’re disgusting,” Betty says affectionately.

“Says the girl who sprayed half a can of whipped cream on her pie,” Archie smirks. “You know you want some,” he says, holding the can in front of her mouth. Betty screws up her nose but she opens her mouth. Before Archie can press down on the trigger, Fred walks into the kitchen, and Betty quickly turns back to her pie, embarrassed. Archie puts the can of whipped cream down.

“What are you kids up to?” Fred asks. “How did the pie turn out?”

“Delicious,” Betty says with her mouth full. She gives Fred a thumbs up.

“Cut us a slice then,” Fred says to Archie, and Betty doesn’t object to sharing some of her pie with Fred so Archie cuts a slice for him. Fred takes a bite and puts his fork down, nodding. “Not bad, son.”

Fred and Betty share a look that Archie can’t decipher.

“I’ll eat your piece if you don’t want the rest,” Betty offers.

Fred raises his eyebrows at her. “Sure. I have to head out anyway.” Fred leaves the kitchen, and as he exits the house he calls back, “Veronica’s here.”

Moments later, Veronica joins them in the kitchen.

“Hey, V,” Betty says. She’s finished her first piece of pie and is nearly done with the second. Veronica eyes Betty’s plate.

“What are you eating?” Veronica asks.

“Archie made me pumpkin pie.”

Veronica looks to Archie. “You cooked?” she asks, incredulously.

“Why is everyone so surprised?”

“You don’t cook. You suck at it.”

“Oh yeah? Try this pie and prepare to eat your words,” Archie says.

“No, don’t,” Betty says.

“Why not?” Veronica says, even as Archie is cutting her a sliver.

“Betty wants it all to herself,” Archie rolls his eyes.

“It’s just a tiny piece, B,” Veronica says. She gets a small piece on her fork and puts it in her mouth. Then she promptly spits it out.

“What’s wrong?” Archie asks, concerned.

“No offence, but this is terrible,” Veronica coughs. “Betty, you actually ate this?”

“It’s not that bad!”

Archie looks to Betty. “You said it was delicious.”

Betty grimaces, turning pink. Veronica snorts. “She clearly lied.”

Archie stabs his fork into Veronica’s piece of pie to taste it, only to find out, it is, in fact, terrible. It’s definitely not sweet enough, and the pasty isn’t really cooked on the bottom. Plus, the pumpkin part has a weird consistency. Archie spits it out.

Betty looks at him apologetically. He bursts out laughing.

“God, why did you eat so much of it?”

“You looked so proud, I didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” Betty shrugs.

“You two are impossible,” Veronica huffs. “Archie, you cooked her pie, despite the fact that you can’t cook. Betty, you actually ate the pie, despite the fact that he can’t cook. You really are made for each other.”

Archie goes red, and risks a glance at Betty, who is steadfastly looking at her plate, her cheeks tinged pink.

“I need to go wash my mouth out,” Veronica says, heading to the bathroom.

Archie turns to Betty. “You really didn’t have to eat it,” he smiles.

“But you went to so much trouble,” Betty says.

“Yeah, but,” he shrugs, “I only went to that trouble to make you happy. Kind of defeats the purpose eating the pie made you miserable.”

Betty laughs. “It didn’t make me miserable. You being happy makes me happy.”

Archie grins. “Me too.” His eyes flick to her lips. She has a little speck of whipped cream on her bottom lip. “You have cream on your lip,” he says, brushing it away with his thumb, then sucking the cream off his thumb.

“Arch—” Betty says, and then she surges forward to kiss him. He kisses her back, and luckily, she tastes more like whipped cream than the terrible pumpkin pie.

Veronica chooses that moment to walk back into the kitchen.

“Barf,” she says, and Archie and Betty break away from each other. “Can we go to Pop’s for some real food or do you two need some alone time?”

“We can go to Pop’s,” Archie says. “But just know that the whole time I’ll be thinking about kissing Betty.”

“So what’s new?” Veronica rolls her eyes. “Let’s go, I’m famished.”

Archie takes Betty’s hand, and they follow Veronica outside.

“Hey, Arch?” Betty says.

“Mmm?”

“I really appreciate you making me pumpkin pie and everything,” she says. “But please never try to cook again, okay?”

Archie laughs. “Or,” he grins. “You can teach me how to cook.”

Betty smiles. She stops to give him a peck on the lips. “Deal.”

[barchiefanfiction]

Guilty Hearts - Final Chapter

by keiraknighted

AO3 // ff.net

Somehow, Betty manages to put the incident at the pool party to the back of her mind for the rest of the weekend. Archie is pretty good at distracting her.

But Monday comes, and she can’t avoid the truth any longer. She knows Veronica will still hate her, and probably Jughead, but she’s kind of hoping else will have forgotten already and moved on to something else.

No such luck. It seems like word has spread around the whole school, and not one single person is taking her side. She and Archie walk in to school together, not even holding hands, just side by side, and Betty can feel the dirty looks and whispers as they walk by.

Archie notices to. “You okay?” he whispers.

Betty nods. “It’s fine. I don’t care what they think.” She’s only partly lying.

She keeps her head down in her first couple of classes, trying not to draw attention to herself. The last thing she wants is to make a scene. She’s thankful she hasn’t seen Veronica at all today.

At lunch, she finds Kevin sitting alone at a table and goes to join him. Even if everyone else is against her, surely Kevin will still be on her side. He frowns at her as she sits down across the table from him.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

“Eating my lunch?”

Kevin huffs. He grabs his tray and stands up. Betty watches him, confused. He shrugs. “Sorry, Betty.”

“Seriously, Kevin? Even you hate me?” Betty says, hurt.

Kevin shakes his head. “I don’t hate you. But you’re the one in the wrong, and I don’t want anyone to think I’m on your side.”

He leaves to find another empty table, leaving Betty sitting alone. Archie appears a minute later.

“Hey,” he says, sliding onto the seat next to her, his hand brushing her back as he does so. “How was class?”

“Fine,” Betty sighs. “But no one wants to be seen with me.”

“I want to be seen with you,” Archie says.

“Which is apparently why no one else does,” Betty groans.

“You want me to leave?” Archie tilts his head.

“No! God, no.” Betty rubs his knee. “Screw what they think, right?”

“Right.”

It’s easy to say in the moment. But then Veronica walks through the cafeteria doors and Betty’s stomach sinks. Betty watches her, but Veronica doesn’t even acknowledge her presence as she walks past. Cheryl, however does. She stops in front of Betty and Archie, hands on her hips, ready to cause a scene. Betty glares at her, daring her to try something. Archie tenses beside her.

“Well if it isn’t the couple of the hour,” Cheryl smirks. “We’re all taking bets on how long you two will last. My bet is two weeks.”

“Screw you, Cheryl,” Betty snaps. “Don’t you have someone else’s life to ruin?”

“I think you’re the one ruining lives, homewrecker.”

“Leave her alone, Cheryl,” Archie says coolly.

Cheryl turns to him. “Oh, you think you’re off the hook, cheater?”

Betty opens her mouth to respond, but Archie places a hand on her knee, as if to tell her he’s got this. He stands up. The whole cafeteria is already watching anyway.

“Say whatever you want about me, Cheryl,” Archie says. “But I never cheated on Veronica.”

Cheryl eyes him with amusement. “You really believe that, don’t you?”

“It’s true.”

“Right, so, you never did anything with Betty while you were with Veronica that you couldn’t tell Veronica about?” Cheryl asks. Archie looks uncertain. “Never… held her hand? Kissed her forehead or her cheek? Slept in her bed? Never wrote her song? Told her you loved her? Thought about her while you were fucking Veronica?”

Betty glances at Archie. His face is bright red. His jaw ticks. He’s unable to refute any of Cheryl’s accusations. Betty knows Cheryl is probably only guessing. But Archie’s reaction tells Cheryl she’s right, and she purses her lips, looking like a cat who got the cream. She’s won this round.

“I thought as much,” Cheryl says. “So, you never screwed Betty. There are plenty of other ways to cheat.”

Betty swallows. Is Cheryl right? Had they been cheating on their partners the whole time, even by simply acknowledging the feelings between them?

“You’re both despicable,” Cheryl says. She flicks her long red hair as she stalks off to join Veronica and Toni. Archie sinks back to his seat.

  As it turns out, Cheryl really is taking bets on how long Betty and Archie will last. There’s a list stuck on Betty’s locker after school. She stares at it a moment before ripping it off. But she can’t stop herself from reading it.

How Long Will Archie and Betty’s “relationship” last?

Cheryl Blossom – 2 weeks

Veronica – 1 week

Toni – idk probably like a day

Ethel – 1 week

Reggie – 1 month

Dilton – 2 weeks

Jughead – who the fuck cares

Fangs – 6 days

Sweet Pea – 5 days

Kevin – 2 and a half weeks

Betty stops when she gets to Kevin, her eyes welling with tears. Even fucking Dilton Doiley is on this list. Does everyone in this school think her relationship with Archie is just some dumb fling?

She grabs her things and marches out of the school, tears blurring her vision.

“Betty!” she hears Archie call. She doesn’t stop. She walks faster. She doesn’t want him to know about this.

He doesn’t catch her until they’re a block away from school. Probably on purpose. She’s sure he could have caught her sooner if he’d tried. He grabs her arm and she turns to face him. As soon as she does, the dam breaks and she starts to cry. He immediately pulls her into his arms.

“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” he says. But it’s not, and Betty doesn’t feel like being comforted right now. She pushes him away. “What’s wrong?” he asks.

Betty shoves the list in his face. “They’re all rooting for us to fail!” she sobs. Archie takes the list and his eyes scan over it. He looks back at her, scrunching the list into a ball.

“They’re idiots,” he says.

“But what if they’re right?” Betty asks desperately. She probably sounds hysterical. “Maybe we should just end it now, before anyone else gets hurt. At least Cheryl won’t win the bet.”

“No,” Archie shakes his head. “Betty,” he says. He places his hands on her shoulders. “Look at me.” She does. “What’s done is done. I know it’s hard right now, but they’re all going to get over it eventually. Just give it time. And in the meantime, I need you. I need you to make this all worth it, because I love you and I refuse to listen to what they say. They’re wrong. They’re wrong, okay?”

Betty nods, though she’s still crying.

“Remember what you told me? We deserve to be happy. We have to stop feeling guilty for choosing our own happiness.”  

Betty nods again. “Okay,” she says.

“Okay?”

“Okay. I love you.”

Archie pulls her back into his arms and this time she lets him, because she needs him and he’s the only thing in her world right now that makes sense.

  After another day of people avoiding her, whispering behind her back, or just flat out calling a homewrecker, Betty takes refuge in the Blue & Gold office. Though she’s pretty sure no one will even read the stupid paper now. Neither Kevin nor Jughead will write for her now, and though she tries to write something herself, nothing feels genuine. She’s about to give up when there’s a knock at the door. Betty looks up to see Veronica standing in the doorway. Betty eyes her nervously, unsure if she’s about to get chewed out or if this is an olive branch.

“Hey, V,” Betty says softly.

Veronica glares at her. “Don’t call me that. You’ve lost all best friend privileges and that includes nicknames.”

Not an olive branch then. Betty swallows. “Why are you here?”

Veronica shuts the door. “I just wanted to hear it from you. Why you did it. What excuses you could possibly give me for betraying your best friend.”

Betty opens her mouth, but she’s at a loss for words. “I’m sorry,” she says lamely. “I really never meant to hurt you.”

“Well you did. God, how could you?” Veronica says, angry. “You knew how much I loved him. That I’d never loved anyone else before. Did our friendship mean nothing to you?”

“Of course not.”

“You thought you could have everything, didn’t you? The guy, the best friend. I don’t know why I’m surprised. You only ever think about yourself, Betty.”

Betty says nothing. Veronica stares at Betty with contempt.

“Just so you know, he’s never going to love you like he loved me. He’s going to wake up one day and realise that. And then it will be over, and you’ll be left all alone because you alienated all of your friends. It might be tomorrow or it might be a year from now, but trust me on this. Archie doesn’t know what he really wants.”

Veronica turns to go, but Betty calls out after her. “I loved him first, you know.”

Veronica turns back. “What?”

“You can sit up there on your high horse all you want, but I loved him first. I never loved anyone before him either. I loved him for years before you came along,” Betty says.

Veronica stares at her, as if she can’t quite believe Betty is actually standing up for herself.

“I know I hurt you, and I hurt Jughead, and I know what I did was wrong. But you knew I loved him, and I think you knew there was always a chance he loved me back. I know you’re mad at me. But I think you’re just as mad at yourself,” Betty shrugs.

Veronica snorts. “Whatever, Betty. Have a nice life,” she snaps, and then she storms out of the room.

Betty’s heart pounds. She doesn’t know if Veronica will ever forgive her. But she had to say it. Archie was right, they can’t go around feeling guilty forever. They can’t let the demons at this school dictate their happiness forever.

She finds Archie at his locker after school. She marches up to him and he barely has time to give her a smile before she grabs him and drags his lips to hers. His arms circle around her and he kisses her back. Her shoves her up against the locker, devouring her like no one is watching. Betty forgets they’re at school until someone yells, “Get a room!” and Archie quickly pulls away, his face red.

“Whoops,” he says. “I got carried away.”

“It’s okay,” Betty laughs. “Me too.”

“What was that for, anyway? I kind of thought you wanted to stay inconspicuous at school.”

Betty shrugs. “We’re happy. Let’s rub it in their faces.”

Archie grins. “Okay,” he says. And then he’s kissing her again, and they’re tuning out the rest of the world, because in the end, they only really need each other.

[barchiefanfiction]

Can I prompt you for Barchie Soulmate AU? (There is so many versions of those, from names appearing on body parts to seeing colors and so on, I'll let you pick which one you would like :) )

Some People Wait a Lifetime

AU where when you turn eighteen you can find out who your soulmate is, but only one of you gets to find out.

by keiraknighted

AO3 // ff.net

Cheryl Blossom is the first in their year to turn eighteen.She spends the day showing off her pretty white card, gold embossed with hername, and under it, Antoinette Topaz. Thetwo of them had gone to the soulmate office first thing in the morning andopened the envelope together, hand in hand.

“I always knew Toni was my soulmate,” Cheryl brags to no onein particular. Anyone in the common room who will listen. Betty tries not to,but Cheryl has a loud voice. “From the first moment we met.”

Betty is pretty sure that’s a lie, but who is she to rain onCheryl’s parade? Betty looks up from her book. Cheryl and Toni look happy. Whowouldn’t be, after having the fates confirm that the person they’re with istheir soulmate?

“They’re lucky, aren’t they?” Archie says, noticing hergaze. She looks to him.

“It’s not luck,” Betty says. “It’s fate. We all meet theright person eventually.”

“Maybe we already have,” Archie says. Betty’s eyes flick toVeronica, sitting by Cheryl, getting all the gossip. Betty isn’t entirelyconvinced that Archie and Veronica are soulmates, but she’s not about to tellhim that.

Cheryl’s voice carries across the room. “When we kiss it’snot like kissing just anyone. It’s like… sparks fly. Every single time.”

Betty’s gaze shifts again when Jughead walks into the commonroom.

“We have,” she says firmly.

“I guess we’ll all find out in a few months,” Archie shrugs.

Jughead is the first of the four of them to turn eighteen. Bettyknows better by now than to try and make a big deal out of it, so the two ofthem just go to Pop’s together and then go back to Betty’s to watch a movie onthe couch. Jughead hasn’t mentioned anything about soulmates all day, so Bettyhasn’t brought it up either.

They sit in silence for a moment after the movie ends,before Jughead speaks.

“You haven’t asked me if I found out who my soulmate is.”

“I figured if you wanted to talk about it you would,” Bettyshrugs. “So, did you find out?”

Jughead shakes his head. “I don’t need some glorified pieceof paper telling me who my soulmate is. I know it’s you.”

Betty smiles, and Jughead gives her a soft kiss.

“But if you want to get the proof when you turn eighteen, Iwon’t mind,” he clarifies.

Betty shakes her head quickly. “We don’t need that. I knowit’s you too.”

And for a moment, she really believes it.

 When Veronica turns eighteen, she throws a huge party at thePembrooke. Hermione agrees to vacate the building for the night, and the placeis occupied solely by drunk seventeen and eighteen-year-olds playing music tooloudly and doing things they’ll probably regret later.

Betty only has one drink, and even that goes to her head fartoo quickly. Thankfully she’s staying at Veronica’s tonight and doesn’t have totry and convince her mom she stayed sober the whole night.

There’s no talk of soulmates, not from Veronica or fromArchie, and for some reason Betty can’t bring herself to ask. But the two ofthem dance together and she sees them kissing at one point, so she supposeseverything must be alright.

It’s two in the morning when Hermione finally gets back andmakes everyone leave. Betty falls into bed beside Veronica, her eyes alreadyfalling shut. But Veronica is in the mood for a heart to heart.

“Thanks for staying over,” Veronica whispers.

“I think I’m supposed to thank you for letting me stay, notthe other way around,” Betty murmurs.

Veronica doesn’t seem to hear her. “I went to the soulmateoffice today.”

Betty is suddenly wide awake.

“I had this whole thing planned where I was going to get mysoulmate envelope and open it at the party in front of everyone.”

“And?”

“And it had already been picked up. My soulmate got therefirst.”

Betty stays silent, processing. She feels sad for Veronica,in a way. Sure, it’s always a possibility that your soulmate gets the cardbefore you do. (Though Betty has never been able to figure out why there can only be one). But shefeels like Veronica is missing out on an important rite of passage.

“It’s no big deal, obviously,” Veronica continues. “Whenonly one person can get the name, it’s bound to happen a lot. I guess I’ll justhave to wait for him to find me. And it means—”

“Archie’s not your soulmate,” Betty finishes. She’s notsurprised. But she does feel oddly… relieved.

“Yeah,” Veronica sighs. “We kind of always suspected weweren’t soulmates, but it’s different knowing.”

“Are you going to break up?”

Veronica snorts. “No, of course not.”

That surprisesBetty. What’s the point in being with someone you know isn’t your soulmate?Veronica seems to sense Betty’s question without her having to ask it.

“It could be years before I meet my real soulmate. I stilllove Archie. Why ruin a good thing on something that might not happen until I’mold and grey?”

Betty supposes she’s right. But it still doesn’t sit rightwith her. In a few months Archie will find out who his soulmate is, assuminghis other part hasn’t already retrieved the information. What then? She wondersif this is really what Archie wants, or if he’s just doing it to keep Veronicahappy.

“Are you still adamant that you and Jughead aren’t going to findout if you’re really soulmates?” Veronica asks.

“We are. We don’t need to find out,” Betty says.

“So then it can’t hurt to pick up the card. Frame it orsomething.”

The truth is, she does want that. Only moments ago she’dbeen lamenting that Veronica had missed out, and she realises she doesn’t wantthe same thing to happen to her.

“We’ll frame out marriage certificate,” Betty says. She doesn’task herself why she’s so dead setagainst having the soulmate card.

Veronica is silent for a moment. “Whatever you say, Betty,”she says, and her doubt latches onto Betty’s heart and gives a tiny squeeze.

 Betty is hesitant to bring it up with Archie, so she’s gladwhen he does it himself. They’re studying on Betty’s bed, as they’ve been doingall year. Archie is desperate to get good marks on his exams, and he claims hecan’t do it without Betty’s help.

“Did Veronica tell you she and I aren’t soulmates?” he says.Betty wonders how long he’s been wanting to bring it up.

“She did,” Betty says carefully, putting down her pinkhighlighter. “Are you okay?”

Archie sighs. “Yeah.” He lies down, putting his head onBetty’s pillow. Betty watches him, chewing her lip, waiting for him tocontinue. “On some level we always knew we probably weren’t soulmates. We eventalked about it.”

“That’s… good?”

Archie smiles. “I think it is a good thing.”

Betty smiles back, amused, glad he’s okay.

“It’s your birthday in a few weeks,” he says. He glancesdown. Clears his throat. Fidgets with his pen. “Are you going to—”

“No,” Betty cuts him off. “Jughead and I decided we don’twant to find out.”

Archie nods. He licks his lips. He glances up at her. Herheart races when their eyes lock. “If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.” She’s not.

“No offence but I don’t envy you. Meeting your soulmate inhigh school? Who wants that?” he snorts.

“I think it’s romantic,” Betty says, poking her tongue outat him. Archie smiles at her fondly. Then he ducks his head and returns to hisschool work like the conversation never happened.

 Betty gets up early on her birthday. Too early. It’s barelylight out, her mom still fast asleep. Her hearts pounds and her stomach churnsas she quickly dresses and heads out of the house.

She doesn’t know why she’s keeping it a secret. Jughead hasmade it perfectly clear that if he doesn’t mind if she wants to find out forsure if he’s really her soulmate. But she still feels like she’s doingsomething wrong.

The building is just a white building, but Betty can’t helpbut feel there is something otherworldly about it. Like it kind of gives off asoft glow. There’s a building like this in every town with a population overten thousand people. Riverdale’s soulmate office is small, and it isn’t reallylocated near anything else, which suits Betty just fine. She takes a deepbreath and walks inside through the automatic doors.

She’s never been in here before. Everything inside is whiteas well, and Betty feels like she’s entered limbo, and she’s waiting for herfate to be decided. She supposes in a way she is.

A woman in glasses looks up from a computer, sitting behinda bright white desk that comes almost up to Betty’s shoulders. Betty looks downat the woman.

“How can I help?” the woman smiles, her voice sweet andtinkling. Betty is pretty sure this place isn’t really part of the human world.

“I turned eighteen today,” Betty says. “I’d like to find outwho my soulmate is.”

“Okay,” the woman nods. “Just step through those doors andsomeone will be with you in a moment.”

Betty’s eyes follow the woman’s pointed finger to a whitedoor to her left. Betty swallows and walks towards it, pushing it open andstepping into another white room. She had been expecting something of adoctor’s office, she supposes, but it’s just a bare white room with a stool inthe middle. Betty perches herself on the stool and waits.

Moments later, a woman in a white dress enters the room. Adifferent woman from before. The woman smiles brightly.

“Congratulations on turning eighteen,” the woman says. “So,you’re ready to find out who your soulmate is?”

Betty nods.

“Okay,” the woman says. “What we’re going to do is we’rejust going to prick your finger to take a tiny sample of your blood to determineexactly who you are. Then I’ll go and put it into the system. We’ll wait a fewminutes, and then your card will be ready!”

“Okay,” Betty says nervously.

“But just be warned, that in half of cases, there is noresult,” the woman says. “This doesn’t mean you don’t have a soulmate! It justmeans your soulmate has already claimed your card. So you’ll just have to waitfor them to find you. Romantic, right?”

“I guess.”

“Are you ready?”

Betty nods.

 Betty doesn’t open the envelope right away. She carries ithome and puts it under her pillow. Then she decides better of it and puts itinto her schoolbag. Can’t risk her mom coming in her and finding it.

It weighs on her mind all day. She can barely concentrate inclass, or on any conversation. Her friends give her gifts, but she barelyregisters what they are. Veronica brings her a fancy cake she had madeespecially. Betty can barely eat two bites. She feels sick. Her thoughts restonly on the envelope and what it might contain. It could easily be Jughead. Hehasn’t been to the soulmate office. But it might not be him either.

She races home after school, not bothering to wait forArchie. She slams her door close and tugs the envelope out of her schoolbag. Sheholds the blank white envelope in her hands. She swears it feels hot, like thecard could burn through the envelope at any moment.

She holds her breath, and pulls the card out, tossing theenvelope away. She turns the card over and her stomach flips as she reads whatit says in gold cursive.

Elizabeth Cooper

&

Archibald Andrews

She stares at it, like it somehow might change before hereyes. It doesn’t. She clutches the card to her chest. She can’t breathe. Thisis the last thing any of them wanted, right? Betty wants to be with Jughead.Jughead wants to be with Betty. Archie doesn’t want to meet his soulmate inhigh school.

Soulmate. Bettyswallows. She shuts her eyes, her head spinning. Archie is her soulmate. It’ssomehow a shock and not a shock at the same time. It’s everything she wantedwhen she was fourteen years old. It’s everything that could derail her plansnow.

But no one has to know. No one saw her go to the soulmateoffice, and she has told no one. She’ll just hide the card and pretend it neverhappened. She grabs a book from her shelf, one she hasn’t read in years, andtucks the card between the pages. She replaces the book on the shelf and takesa deep breath. Nothing has changed. Nothing is different than if she had neverseen the card.

 Betty’s heart skitters when she sees Archie waiting for heroutside the next morning. She reminds herself nothing has changed.

“Hey,” he grins. Her heart skitters again. “Where’d you runoff to yesterday?”

Betty tries to formulate some sort of response. Why are herhands sweating so badly?

Archie’s eyes widen. “Did you go to the soulmate office?”

“No!” Betty says quickly.

“Okay,” Archie says. “Sorry. We were all going to go toPop’s to celebrate your birthday but you took off so fast after school.”

“Sorry,” Betty says. “I guess I just didn’t feel likecelebrating.”

“It’s okay,” Archie nudges her arm with his softly. “We’llmake you celebrate tonight instead.”

 The thing is, Betty had completely convinced herself she wasover Archie. It’s like somehow, as soon as Jughead entered the picture, she wasable to completely switch those feelings off. Only, she’s beginning to realisethey were never totally turned off. It’s like the pilot light was still burningall this time, just waiting for something to catch, and that goddamn card hasset her stupid heart on fire, reigniting old feelings.

And it’s not like she doesn’t still love Jughead. But herfeelings for Archie are something else entirely.

“I heard,” Veronica says coyly, as she and Betty walk into adress shop on a Saturday morning, “that sex with your soulmate is supposed tobe mind-blowing. Even just kissingthem is supposed to be better than just kissing a normal person.”

Betty fingers a blue dress tilting her head, considering.Their senior prom is in a few weeks, and Veronica has been wanting to takeBetty dress shopping for months. Veronica herself is getting a dress custommade, of course, but she wants to help Betty find the perfect dress. Betty isglad of the distraction. Anything to get her mind off Archie.

“Sex with Archie is pretty great, so if it’s automaticallybetter with your soulmate then I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me,”Veronica continues.

“But what if your soulmate just kind of sucks in bed?” Bettyasks.

“I refuse to believe the universe would want me to be withsomeone who quote sucks in bed,”Veronica rolls her eyes. “If I’m being honest, I envy whoever Archie’s soulmateis. Like, imagine the best sex you’ve ever had, and then multiply that bywhatever magic connection you have with your soulmate. Like—out of this worldfantastic sex. That’s what’s in store for Archie’s soulmate.”

Betty just about chokes on thin air.

“Oh wait, you’ve only ever had sex with Jughead,” Veronicamuses. “Multiply it by even more then.”

Betty huffs, annoyed. “Jughead isgreat in bed.”                                                

“Soulmate good?” Veronica presses.

It’s not like Betty has anything to compare it to. And she’snot lying when she says Jughead is great in bed. But definitely not soulmategood. She knows this because of the simple fact that he is not her soulmate. Ifthey’d had this conversation before she knew? She probably still would haveknown it wasn’t soulmate good.

The only other person Betty has even kissed, is, well… Archie. And yeah, maybe kissing him in that carthat one night rocked her to her core. Maybe his lips felt like they werepulsing electricity through her body. Maybe she’s always kind of known she andArchie were soulmates, even if for a while there she denied it to herself.

“Yes,” Betty says adamantly. She thinks Veronica believesher.

 It’s Archie’s birthday a week later. He makes Betty come tothe soulmate office with him. She goes, even though she knows there’s nothingthere for him.

If the woman at the front counter recognises her, she doesn’tshow it. Betty waits in the foyer as Archie nervously walks into the otherroom. He comes out ten minutes later looking disappointed.

“Well?” Betty says, keeping up her charade.

“Nothing,” he says. “I guess my soulmate already has it,” heshrugs.

“Oh,” Betty nods. “That’s disappointing.”

“It’s okay,” Archie says, putting on a smile. “I guess itwill be more of a mystery this way.”

 Archie and Veronica break up two days later. They both tellBetty it was mutual.

“We decided to end things, seeing as we could meet oursoulmates at any moment,” Veronica tells Betty, a complete turn around fromwhat she’d said a few months ago.

“We just don’t see the point in being with someone who isn’tyour soulmate,” is what Archie says, and that’s how Betty knows the break upwas his idea.

She doesn’t know how to feel about it. He’s single and he’sher soulmate. How could anyone, even Veronica and Jughead, judge her forwanting to act on that?

And yet, she knows he won’t want to know. He doesn’t wanther to be his soulmate. He wants to believe in the mystery of it all. Hedoesn’t want his soulmate to be some girl he’s known since he was four yearsold.

And Jughead still believes he and Betty are soulmates, andshe has said nothing to prove him wrong.

She reminds herself again that nothing has changed.

 It’s date night for her and Jughead, which involvessnuggling on the couch in FP’s trailer while they watch a horror movie. FP isat the Cooper’s, and Betty prefers not to think about what he and Alice mightbe doing. Betty has no idea if Alice and FP are soulmates. Betty had askedAlice once if she and Hal were soulmates. Betty was six at the time, and Alicehad simply said, of course, now let’s nottalk about this again. Now she’s pretty sure her mom had been lying. Butthen, maybe she wasn’t. Things don’t always work out, even for people who aresupposedly meant to be together. Fate can bring two people together, but itcan’t make them stay.

“Betty,” Jughead croaks, startling her in the middle of atense and quiet moment in the movie. Betty presses pause and turns to him. “Ihave a confession to make.”

“What is it?” she asks, worried.

“I went to the soulmate office today.”

Betty’s heart sinks. He knows.

“Were not—” he cuts himself off. He shakes his head. Hereaches over to the coffee table and picks up an envelope that Betty hadn’tnoticed until this moment. “We’re not soulmates,” he says, handing her theenvelope. She knows, of course, but she opens the envelope anyway, curiositygetting the better of her.

Forsythe Jones III

&

Rachel French

“Rachel French,” Betty reads aloud. “Do you know a RachelFrench?”

Jughead shakes his head. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I know wesaid we wouldn’t find out. But I guess I just had this niggling feeling.”

“Me too,” Betty admits. “Do you wish you hadn’t looked?”

Jughead shakes his head. “It’s better this way. I love you,Betty, and I think we could have been happy together for a long time. But wewould have always wondered if it was meant to be. It would have driven both ofus crazy.”

“So…” Betty swallows. “This is it then?”

Jughead nods. “Yeah, I mean—don’t you want to find out whoyour soulmate is?”

“I—” Betty swallows. “I kind of already did,” she admits.

“You didn’t tell me?” Jughead frowns. “Why?”

Betty shakes her head. “I couldn’t.”

Realisation crosses Jughead’s face as it dawns on him.“Archie,” he guesses.

“Yeah,” Betty nods. She feels as though she might cry. “Pleasedon’t tell him.”

Jughead hesitates. “I won’t. But you should.”

 “So, now that you know you and Jughead aren’t soulmates, areyou going to find out who yours is?” Veronica asks, putting the finishingtouches on her make up. It’s prom night and the two girls are getting readytogether in Betty’s room. Betty can tell Veronica has been wanting to bring upthis topic ever since Betty told her that she and Jughead broke up.

“You don’t have tolook so smug about it.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just—I kind of knew it.”

“Shut up.”

“I’ll go with you if you want.”

“No.”

“But what if it’s someone at school! You could dance withthem tonight at the prom!”

“I don’t want to.”

“I don’t get it. You love romantic things. Why won’t you findout?”

“Veronica, please,”Betty begs.

“Come on, Betty! Do you really want to go the rest of yourlife not knowing?”

“I already know!” Betty snaps, tired of the pestering. “It’sArchie, okay?”

When Betty finally brings herself to look at Veronica, shesees her friend looking positively gleeful. Not what Betty had been expecting.

“Archie?” Veronica says wistfully. “Well, isn’t that whatyou’ve always wanted?”

“Yes,” Betty admits. “But it’s not what he wants.”

“You haven’t told him.”

“Obviously not.”

“You should give him the chance to actually decide if that’swhat he wants or not.”

“He’ll feel obliged to be with me. It would ruineverything.”

“Betty—” Veronica starts, but she’s interrupted by a knockon the bedroom door.

“Come in!” Betty calls. Anything to stop this line ofconversation.

Archie opens the door and steps into the room. He looksdashing in his rented tux, holding a small box with what appears to be acorsage in it. He stares for a moment before clearing his throat.

“You look nice,” he says. “You too, Ronnie.”

“Thank you, Archiekins!” Veronica beams. “Is Jughead here?”

“Downstairs.”

Veronica leaves the room, giving Betty a pointed look. Thedoor closes behind her and the room is filled with a charged silence. Bettyfiddles with her earrings, not sure where to look. Not at him. He looks toogood. Her eyes fall on the box he’s holding.

“Is that a corsage?” Betty asks.

“Oh,” Archie looks down at the box. “Yeah. It’s for you.Sorry if it’s dumb.” He blushes, and goddamn it if Betty isn’t totally in lovewith him.

“It’s not dumb,” she assures him. She holds out her arm andArchie takes the corsage out of the box with some struggle, and slips it ontoher wrist. Her skin burns where his thumb grazes her arm. The pink flowerscomplement her dress perfectly. Archie drops her hand hurriedly and steps back,tripping over what seems to be his own feet, and crashing into the shelf behindhim, sending the contents flying all over the floor.

“Sorry,” Archie says as he crouches down to pick up thethings that had fallen off the shelf. “I don’t know why I’m so clumsy.”

“It’s okay,” Betty laughs, getting down on her knees to helphim. If she didn’t know better she’d think he was nervous.

“Oh shit, I think I lost your bookmark,” Archie says. Bettylooks up and sees him holding a book, and a said bookmark which appears to havecome loose from the pages. Something that is not a bookmark at all. Betty’sheart skips a beat.

“Archie—” she says, but he’s already turning the card over. Herheart pounds in her chest as he stares at the card.

“What is this?” he asks, swallowing. He’s trying to processwhat he’s seeing. “Elizabeth Cooper and Archibald Andrews,” he reads. “Is this—is this real?” he looks at Betty. She’s sure her face is bright red. She triesto say something, to explain, but she can’t speak.

Archie looks at her, the corners of his eyes creased withhurt. “Say something,” he says, like a plea.

“I’m sorry,” she finally manages. Archie just looks morehurt.

“How could you not tell me?”

“I thought it would be better this way,” Betty says.“Easier.”

“Because of Jughead? Veronica?” he asks, trying desperatelyto understand.

“No—I don’t know. They already know.”

“So you were just going to leave me in the dark? Let me waitfor my soulmate forever?” Archie accuses. Betty gapes at him. She hadn’tthought about it like that. She’d only been thinking of the foreseeable future,not like, forever.

“Archie—” she reaches forward to comfort him, but he pullsaway. Betty’s stomach jerks sickeningly. What has she done? Archie stands up.He looks like he’s about to say something else, but then he thinks better ofit. He heads for the door and doesn’t look back.

“Archie, wait!” Betty calls after him. She follows him outof the room, but by the time she reaches the top of the stairs he’s alreadyslamming the front door behind him. Jughead and Veronica stand at the bottom ofthe stairs, looking up at her, concerned expressions on their faces.

“What happened?” Veronica asks. “Did you tell him?”

Betty shakes her head. “He found the card.”

“I told you to tell him,” Jughead shakes his head. Veronicagives him a disapproving look. She looks back to Betty.

“Well? What are you waiting for? Go after him.”

Betty’s feet don’t want to move. She knows she has toexplain. She knows she fucked up, but the truth is, his reaction at seeing thecard hurt her too. He hadn’t exactly been happyto find out she’s his soulmate. Even for a moment, before he figured outshe’d lied. So yeah, she shouldn’t have lied to him. But in her defence, it wasfor self-preservation.

Somehow her feet carry her down the stairs and next door. He’snot there, though she hadn’t really expected he would be. She goes to the nextmost obvious place: Pop’s.

He’s there sitting in the booth furthest from the door, hishead in his hands. His hair is all messed up like he’s been running his handsthrough it in agitation.

Betty approaches the booth, her heart in her throat. Herfingers rest gently on the table.

“Can I sit here?”

Archie looks up, startled, and yet he doesn’t seem surprisedto see her. He nods, though he seems guarded. Betty notices the white card withtheir names on it on the table in front of him.

“I’m sorry,” they blurt out in unison.

“You’re sorry?”Betty repeats.

“Yeah, I kind of—freaked out, I guess. I shouldn’t have runoff like that. But I knew you’d find me here.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Betty says.

“It’s fine, Betty,” he sighs. Then he seems to reconsider. “Imean, it’s not fine. You should have told me. But it is what it is. I get it,”he shrugs, defeated.

“You do?”

“Yeah,” he nods. “It hurts, but I get it. You wanted yoursoulmate to be Jughead, or—someone else, I don’t know. You were disappointed.”

“Archie, I wasn’t disappointed,” Betty hastens to tell him.

“Betty. It’s fine, I swear,” Archie smiles sadly. “It’s just—Iwanted my soulmate to be you.”

It doesn’t dawn on her until that moment, the real reason he’supset. He thinks she doesn’t want tobe with him. She feels like a huge weight has been lifted off her chest, andshe lets out a light-hearted laugh. Archie frowns.

“But, Archie,” she smiles at him, “it is me.”

Archie still has an adorably confused look on his face.Betty wishes these tables weren’t so wide so she could easily lean across andkiss him. Instead she settles for reaching her hand over and slipping it intohis. The simple act gets her heart racing.

“I hid the card because I thought you didn’t want to be with me.You said you didn’t want to meet your soulmate in high school.”

“Oh,” Archie swallows, dragging his eyes from their hands toBetty’s eyes. “That was a lie. You were right. It is romantic.”

His thumb grazes her knuckles. Her heart pounds. She has noidea what happens next. She’s not sure the whole thing has sunk in yet. They’resoulmates. They’re meant to be together. They have a little piece of card withtheir names on it to prove it.

“Take me to prom?” Betty says. She has no idea why she stillfeels nervous.

“Yeah,” Archie nods. He seems kind of nervous too. “Ofcourse.”

He doesn’t let go of her hand as they get up and walk out ofPop’s and into the mild air of the night.

“So you really don’t mind that you met your soulmate in highschool?” Betty says.

“I didn’t meet my soulmate in high school,” Archie says, andBetty realises he’s right. “Betty, I’ve known you almost my whole life. And nowwe get to spend the rest of our lives together. Not everyone gets that.”

Betty feels herself welling up, and she hastens to wipe awaythe tears forming in her eyes. She really has no reason to be crying.

“Hey,” Archie says softly, stopping in his tracks. “Are youokay?”

Betty nods. “I’m just really happy.”

Archie grins. “Me too.”

“Kiss me, Archie,” Betty commands him, and Archie obeys. Andgoddamn if it isn’t the best kiss she’s ever had. That kiss sets her whole bodyalight, and her soul too. Sometimes the universe just gets things right.

[barchiefanfiction]

Guilty Hearts - Chapter 7

by keiraknighted

AO3 // ff.net

By Monday, word has spread about Veronica and Archie’s break up. Betty assumes Veronica told Cheryl and Cheryl told everyone else.

She and Archie don’t walk to school together. She’s not sure if there’s sides in the Archie/Veronica break up, but if there is, she’s definitely supposed to be on Veronica’s. So they decide it’s best to keep their distance at school.

She locks eyes with him at lunch as he crosses the cafeteria to join Reggie at his table with some of the other guys from the football team.

Betty’s own table consists of just herself, Veronica and Kevin. Betty hastily drops her gaze lest anyone notice the two of them eye fucking across the cafeteria.

Veronica appears to be doing better. At least, she’s not bawling her eyes out anymore. But she goes a little pale when she sees Archie and she quickly starts talking about the lack of healthy lunch options at this school. Something Betty knows Veronica has never given a shit about. But anything to distract herself from her heartache.

After lunch, Betty finds Archie waiting for her at her locker. She slows when she sees him, looking around nervously.

“What are you doing?” she hisses when she gets close. Archie gets out of the way so Betty can open her locker. “We’re supposed to be avoiding each other.”

“I just wanted to ask you something,” he says.

“Which is?”

Archie leans close and Betty shivers, feeling his hot breath against her cheek.

“Are you wearing that short skirt just to tease me?”

Betty stops suddenly. She glances at him. “And what if I am?”

“I wish we didn’t have to keep this a secret,” Archie groans.

“I’ll come over after school, I promise,” Betty whispers.

Archie nods. He clears his throat. “Thanks, Betty,” he says loudly. “I’d never pass math without you.”

He gives her a wink and Betty rolls her eyes before watching him leave. She pulls her books out of her locker and slams it shut. She almost jumps out of her skin when she sees Jughead standing there.

“You must think I’m a complete idiot,” he says. It’s the first thing he’s said to her since their break up. Hell, it’s the first time he’s even looked at her.

“What are you talking about?” Betty asks.

“You and Archie are together.”

Betty stares at him. “No, we’re not.”

“My dad said you were at Archie’s Friday night and basically all of Saturday,” Jughead says. “Right after he broke up with Veronica.”

Betty glances around. She grabs Jughead and drags him into the nearest empty classroom. “Archie and I are friends,” she says, once they have their privacy. “I can stay at his house.”

Jughead snorts. “Come on, Betty,” he sneers. “Show me some common decency. You owe me the truth.”

Betty bites her lip. He’s right. Doesn’t she owe him at least that? And if he’s already figured it out, what’s the point in denying it? “Fine,” she sighs. “You’re right. We’re together. Are you happy?”

Jughead shakes his head, looking at her like she’s lost her mind. “Happy?” he scoffs. “Not even close. “But at least I’m not as crazy and paranoid as I thought I was.”

“I’m really sorry, Jug,” Betty whispers. “I really did love you, and I never cheated on you.”

“Whatever, Betty,” Jughead shakes his head. “You know, I was on my way to forgiving you. Now I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to.”

Tears well in Betty’s eyes. She hates that she hurt him. Hates that they’ll never be able to go back to the friendship they had before.

Jughead turns to go.

“Wait, Jug,” Betty calls after him. She hates that she has to ask him this. She knows he’ll hate her even more. “Don’t tell Veronica, please?”

Jughead gives her a look of disgust. “Like I said. Whatever, Betty. But if you think she’s not going to find out some other way, you’re an idiot.”

Betty nods. Jughead gives her one last scathing look before he leaves the classroom.

  Betty is pretty sure a secret relationship is supposed to be exciting. And it is, sometimes. It is when they get home from school and she can finally get her hands on him. It is when they share a look across the classroom and her heart speeds up. And it is when she walks past him in the hallway and they brush hands just for a moment and she knows no one can tell how much they yearn for each other.

But other times, it’s just terrifying. It’s like she’s walking on eggshells, trying not to look at him too long, or talk about him too much, in case someone figures it out. She’s worried Jughead is going to tell someone and Veronica will find out. She can’t relax while she’s at school because she might slip up, and life as she knows it would be forever altered.

She wonders how long they’ll have to keep this up. Weeks? Month? Years? She would, if she had to. But she’d also love to scream to the whole world how much she loves Archie Andrews.

Cheryl Blossom’s pool party is definitely not the place to do it, though.

She doesn’t even know why she’s going, except that everyone else is, and it’s kind of hot, so why not?

She and Veronica show up together, and upon seeing Archie already in the pool, Veronica grabs Betty by the arm and leads her to the pool house.

“We have to put our drinks in the fridge,” Veronica says. It’s a valid excuse for avoiding Archie, except that their drinks are in a cooler full of ice and they don’t really need to put their drinks in the fridge, but Betty is happy to go along with it. It’s probably best if she avoids Archie too. She’s already well aware of how attracted to Archie she is when he’s all wet and half naked. She doesn’t need everyone at the party to see her drooling over him.

When they exit the pool house, it looks like the boys have started a game of pool basketball, complete with little plastic basketball hoops at each end of the pool.

“Betty!” Archie calls, swimming to the edge. “Come and play. The other team could really use you. They’re getting thrashed.”

Betty laughs. “Is that right. Who’s the other team?”

“It’s Kevin and Moose vs me and Reggie,” Archie says.

Betty is about to agree. She glances at Veronica.

“You should play too, Ronnie,” Archie says, hesitant.

Veronica shrugs. “I don’t want to get my hair wet,” she says. Betty watches as Veronica stalks away to sit on a lounger next to Cheryl.

“If I play the teams will be uneven,” Betty points out.

“Midge will play,” Moose says. “Won’t you, Midge?” he yells.

“But we get Betty!” Kevin says.

“Screw you, Kevin!” Midge laughs, but she slides into the pool anyway.

Betty looks down at Archie in the pool. He grins at her as she tilts her head. She sighs. “Okay, fine,” she agrees.

As sweet and accommodating as Archie is in everyday life, he’s competitive when it comes to sport. As are Reggie and Kevin. Moose and Midge don’t seem to care as much. Playing basketball in a pool is much harder than Betty would have thought, even playing without a proper basketball. She’s not that competitive when it comes to sport, but something about the way Reggie and Archie crow about their impending victory makes her play harder.

Kevin passes her the ball and she swims for the hoop. She’s almost there when Archie grabs her around the waist and pulls her back, spinning her around. She tries to hold onto the ball, but then he’s tickling her and she can’t hold onto the ball any longer. Archie laughs as he grabs it and throws it down the pool to Reggie.

“Hey, no fair!” Betty complains. “Basketball is a non-contact sport!”

“I don’t know… ref?” Archie calls.

Reggie, evidently, is the referee. “I’ll allow it!” it yells as he shoots the ball through the hoop.

Archie laughs as Betty splashes him, advancing on him. He grabs her and pulls her towards him. She swears for a second he’s about to kiss her, and Betty is about to let him. Nothing matters except the feel of his skin on hers. He remembers himself at the last moment and swims away.

Betty’s heart pounds, and she looks around, wondering if anyone had noticed the interaction. She meets Kevin’s eyes and he raises an eyebrow. Oh god. Had he seen?

“Well, I’m done playing if you guys aren’t going to play fair,” Betty announces, swimming for the edge. Truthfully, she doesn’t want to risk another close call.

“Yeah, I’m done too,” Midge agrees. The girls get out of the pool, and the game seems to end after that, Archie and Reggie claiming the win.

Betty grabs her towel, wrapping it around herself as she heads to the pool house to get a drink. She opens the fridge and stares into it for a minute, focused more on her indiscretion with Archie than actually getting a can of soda.

She looks up when the door of the pool house slides open and Archie walks in, still dripping wet from the pool. He gives her a smile and her heart races. She smiles back, shutting the fridge.

“Hey,” she says as Archie approaches. She’s about to comment on the fact that he nearly got them caught, but the second her mouth is open, his tongue is inside it. Betty’s arms slide around his neck and she closes her eyes, unable to stop herself from kissing him back, though someone could walk into the pool house at any moment.

The towel drops to the floor and Archie’s hands are on her waist, burning into her skin. She gasps as he breaks the kiss and lets his mouth press against her neck instead.

“Someone could walk in,” Betty manages to choke out.

“I’m getting everyone drinks. They’re all too lazy to come in here,” Archie murmurs. Betty’s head rolls back as he continues to kiss her neck. He lifts his head and begins to toy with her bikini top. “You’re driving crazy wearing this thing,” he groans. The words send a pang between her legs.

“That’s the idea,” Betty smirks. She guides his hand to her breast and he pushes the material of her bikini top aside, exposing her pink nipple. He thumbs the hardened peak softly, before bringing his head to her breast and sucking her nipple into his mouth. Betty gives a soft whine, his ministrations having a direct effect on her clit. Her head swims.

A voice cuts through her desire, a voice that doesn’t belong to Archie. “I changed my mind, I do want—” Kevin says as he walks into the pool house.

Betty shoves Archie away hurriedly, covering herself up, but it’s too late. Betty feels her face burn, and when she glances at Archie, he’s looking bright red and sheepish.

“Are you two…?” Kevin looks between them. Betty can’t even look him in the eye. “Together?” Kevin finishes.

“Yeah,” Archie says. There’s not much point in trying to deny it. They could pretend this is just some one-off hook up, but somehow that would be worse. Betty doubts Kevin would believe it anyway.

Kevin shakes his head. He looks at Archie. “You’ve only been broken up with Veronica a week,” he points out. Betty doesn’t like his accusatory tone. She would’ve thought he’d be happy for them. For her. He always used to root for them.

“Yeah,” Archie nods. Betty’s tongue feels like lead. “We’re in love,” he says. Betty’s heart lurches. The words don’t seem to have the same effect on Kevin. He looks to Betty.

“Don’t tell Veronica,” she whispers.

Kevin sighs. “Fine,” he says. “But I can’t promise she won’t find out anyway. Especially if you two continue to make out in public places.”

Betty cringes. Kevin leaves the pool house. Betty picks up her towel and follows him, Archie right behind her.

“Where are the drinks?” Reggie yells. Archie stops. Betty glances at him.

“Right,” he swallows, going back into the pool house. Betty looks around for Veronica but she doesn’t see her. Instead she locks eyes with Cheryl, who purses her lips, eyeing Betty suspiciously. Betty adjusts her bikini top subconsciously, and heads for a lounger.

She lies back, closing her eyes, trying to calm her racing heart. Kevin knowing isn’t the end of the world. Maybe he’s judging them, but he knows she’s always loved Archie. How could he blame her?

She thinks maybe she falls asleep for a minute or two. When she opens her eyes again, Cheryl is gone. Archie is talking with Reggie by the pool, both holding a drink. Veronica is still AWOL.

Betty takes the opportunity to check Archie out while no one is looking at her. Her attention is diverted when the back door of Thistlehouse swings open and Veronica marches out, Cheryl right behind her. Betty sits up, watching as Veronica makes a beeline for Archie.

Archie looks up at the last second.

“You asshole!” Veronica spits, pressing her hands against his chest and shoving him, sending him flying backwards and splashing into the pool.

“V!” Betty says, standing up and making her way over. “What the hell?”

Veronica whips her head around, shooting daggers at Betty. “Fuck you, Betty.”

Betty feels like she’s been slapped. She swallows. “V…”

“Are you, or are you not, fucking my ex-boyfriend?”

Betty opens her mouth, flailing, trying to think of anything to say. She feels sick to her stomach. She glances at Archie, who has surfaced again.

“Ronnie…” he tries.

“Don’t,” she snaps. Betty looks to Kevin, silently asking if he told. He shakes his head. Veronica looks back to Betty, her expression changes from one of anger to one of betrayal. The hurt in her eyes causes Betty physical pain. “How could you?” she says, her voice cracking.

“Veronica, I’m so sorry—”

“Save it.” Her expression hardens again. “I can’t believe I ever thought you were my friend.”

Cheryl chooses this moment to interject. “Feel free to leave the party anytime, backstabber,” she says, smirking.  

Betty collects her things, feeling hollow. She feels like everyone is watching her. Archie appears at her side as she leaves, and everyone else goes back to the party. Except Cheryl who grabs her arm as she’s going.

“I know you think I did this just for the drama,” Cheryl says. “But Veronica deserved to know the truth.”

Betty seethes. She hates Cheryl with every fibre of her being. “How did you even know?”

Cheryl shrugs, looking pleased with herself. “You’re not subtle, Betty,” she says. “Veronica didn’t want to see it. But she wasn’t hard to convince.”

“I hope you’re happy, Cheryl,” Archie snorts.

“Ecstatic,” she says, smiling a joyless smile.

Archie puts his hand on the small of Betty’s back and leads her from the party. Betty’s stomach churns, her head throbs. She has no idea how she’s going to face school on Monday.

[barchiefanfiction]

Guilty Hearts - Chapter 3

by keiraknighted

AO3 // ff.net

Veronica suggests a girls’ date at Pop’s after school on Thursday, and Betty agrees. It will be nice to spend some quality time with Veronica.

“Is Archie okay?” Veronica asks as they wait for their milkshakes.

Betty frowns. “Of course, V. Why wouldn’t he be?”

“I don’t get why he’s staying at your place and not mine. I told him Daddy was perfectly fine with it as long as he sleeps in the guest bedroom. Of course, I’d sneak him into my room but that’s beside the point.”

Betty shrugs. “He said he wanted to be closer to home and school. But if you’re worried about him, maybe you should talk to him?”

“I’ve tried, but he keeps shutting me out,” Veronica sighs. “If he says something, will you tell me?”

Betty nods, though it’s a lie. Veronica is her best girl-friend, and she loves her. But Betty’s loyalty is to Archie first, always.

Veronica shows no other signs that she’s annoyed that Archie is staying at Betty’s. Betty can’t help but think that might not be the case if Veronica knew what had happened between Betty and Archie the night of the Black Hood. Or if she knew what Betty had been thinking about as she touched herself last night.

The girls finish their milkshakes and walk back to Betty’s place together. As they reach the house, they hear the strumming of a guitar and Archie singing from his own garage, and they bypass the Cooper house in favour of seeing what Archie’s up to.

He stops playing immediately when he notices the girls watching him.

“Don’t stop on our account,” Veronica says. “I haven’t heard you play anything new in ages.”

“We practised together at school today,” Archie points out.

“But not something you wrote,” Veronica huffs.

“He’s been writing all week,” Betty says. Archie shoots her an accusatory look. Betty shrugs. What’s the big deal? It’s not like it’s a secret that he writes songs. She’d like to hear it too.

“Come on, play me something, Archiekins,” Veronica bats her eyes at him, and apparently that’s all it takes, because he sighs and his fingers find their place on the neck of the guitar.

Veronica looks pleased, and she drags the stool from the drums over to sit down. Betty remains standing. Archie glances up at them one last time before he starts to strum.

“Your name, gets my heart racing Can’t see the demons I’m facing You’ve always been right there on my side Even when I’ve fucked up, let you down, or lied

I swear you know me better than I ever could I swear you hold me tighter than anyone else would I swear you love me more than anyone should I swear you make me feel, make me feel so good.”

Truthfully, the song could easily be about Veronica. She clearly thinks it is, from the way she’s tearing up. But deep down, Betty knows it’s not. She closes her eyes as she listens to the lyrics, and she knows Archie is singing to her. Maybe it’s that one line. I swear you know me better than I ever could. No one knows Archie better than she does, not even his dad, and certainly not Veronica, who hasn’t even known him a year.

“Don’t want to be without you I always dream about you Look me in the eye and try to say it’s not real And I feel I don’t deserve you But I swear I’ll never hurt you I just want to make you feel the way you make me feel.”

Archie finishes the song, and Veronica applauds, standing up from her stool. Archie puts the guitar down, glancing at Betty. Betty chews the inside of her cheek, keeping her arms folded. Veronica rushes over to Archie and he stands up as Veronica kisses him.

Betty watches, her stomach sick as Archie’s arms circle around Veronica. She has no right to feel jealous, and yet she does.

Veronica pulls away. “I can’t believe you wrote me a song,” she gushes. “It was so good, Archiekins. Right, Betty?”

Both of them look to Betty and she nods. “It was really good, Arch,” she smiles. She’s not lying. The song really was something. But it’s left her feeling hollow. Or maybe it’s the way Veronica is clinging to Archie. The way Archie clutches her waist. The way they kiss like no one is watching. Maybe the song is about Veronica after all.

“I’ll let you two have some alone time,” Betty says. Neither of them even responds as Betty leaves the garage. She heads to her room and throws herself on her bed.

She’s glad she never let herself truly entertain the thought of being with Archie. Sure, she had a couple of fantasies, but she never deluded herself into thinking something might actually happen between them. Not this time, anyway.

After all, he’s never going to leave Veronica. And it’s not like Betty is going to leave Jughead either. And even if they both happened to break up with their respective partners, it’s not like anything could ever happen. Anything that could occur between Betty and Archie, any relationship that might blossom, would be seen as an act of utter betrayal. Which is why that night in the car remains a secret.

And even if Betty had, somewhere deep inside her, imagined that something could still happen between her and Archie, one day, far in the future, she is very much aware now, that no such thing will ever be possible.  And somehow, coming to that realisation hurts like hell.

  It’s warm, the Saturday of the Spring Fete, the warmest day of the year yet. It’s sunny outside, although there is a storm forecast later. Sure she’ll be home by then, Betty puts on a dress for the occasion. It’s a short floral thing, with buttons all the way down the front. She thinks she looks pretty. She feels pretty.

Especially when she walks out of her room and Archie smiles at her and tells her she looks pretty. She tries not to blush.

“Jughead’s picking me up in a minute,” Betty says. “We’ll meet you there, I guess.”

Archie frowns. “On his motorbike?”

Betty nods. “Yeah.”

Archie glances down at what she’s wearing. And okay, maybe it’s not the most suitable motorcycle gear, but he has a spare helmet and it’s only a couple of minutes away. Jughead swears he’ll never crash.

“How about we all just go in Ronnie’s car?” Archie suggests. “She’s coming to pick me up soon anyway.”

Betty nods. “Okay.”

It’s not like Archie to be the sensible one, but she does have to concede he’s right. She’s not sure what she’d been thinking, except that it was a cute dress and that Jughead wouldn’t let any harm come to her. Would he have let her get on the motorbike with her legs uncovered like that?

He says nothing about the dress when he arrives. He gives her a peck on the lips, and puts his bike in the garage when Betty tells him they’re getting a ride with Veronica.

The fete is being held in the park, and there had been people around all week setting up, decorating and organising. Kevin had tried to rope Betty into helping, but she had claimed she had too much to do with the Blue and Gold.

It seems like the whole town is there, enjoying the warm weather and the spring atmosphere. Jughead takes Betty’s hand as they leave the car and start wandering through the stalls of food and drink and games. Veronica and Archie walk behind them. There’s a slight breeze that ruffles Betty’s hair and the bottom of her dress, but even then, the day is pleasant.

The four of them grab some fries and hotdogs and find a place to sit on the grass. Betty struggles to find a position that doesn’t flash her underwear to the whole world.

“I can’t wait to hear what you guys have been rehearsing all week,” Betty says to Veronica.

Veronica beams. “I really think we’re going to give Josie and Cheryl a run for their money.”

“It’s not a competition though, is it?”

“Everything with Cheryl is a competition.”

Jughead chews on his hot dog, not bothering to finish swallowing before he speaks. “What time are you guys performing?”

Betty looks to Archie while Veronica answers the question, wondering why he’s so quiet. Her face heats up when she realises he’s looking at her. More specifically, the expanse of white skin that’s showing beneath the hem of her dress. She glances down, checking if he can see up it. Some sick part of her hopes he can.

“Betty, you really need to get a tan if you’re going to show that much leg,” Veronica says. “I feel like I’m going blind.” Her voice is teasing, but she must have noticed Archie looking, otherwise why point it out?

Betty tugs at her skirt self-consciously. She meets Archie’s eyes, and he flushes, knowing he’s been caught, not only by Betty, but Veronica too.  

“Don’t listen to her, Betty,” Jughead says, placing a hand on Betty’s knee. Archie looks away quickly.

“I’m only joking,” Veronica says. “Betty knows that. Archiekins, get me a drink, will you?”

Archie nods. “Sure,” he says, getting up and heading back towards the food stalls. Veronica watches him go.

“How will he know what to get you?” Betty asks.

“He should know,” Veronica shrugs.

  Jughead and Betty stand in the crowd while Archie and Veronica take their places on the makeshift stage.

They sing Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper. Archie starts.

“Lying in my bed, I hear the clock tick and think of you…”

Betty feels Jughead slip his hand into hers again and she looks to him with a smile. He looks serious.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” he says. Betty nods, and they weave their way to the back of the crowd.

“What’s going on?” Betty asks as Veronica’s voice echoes through the park.

“You say go slow. I fall behind.”

“You know I trust you, right?” Jughead asks. Betty nods. “And it’s not that I don’t trust Archie, I swear…”

“Jug? What’s going on?”

“I’m just airing my insecurities so they don’t… fester,” he huffs. “So you can reassure me.”

“Okay…”

Archie and Veronica continue singing in the background. “If you’re lost, you can look and you will find me, time after time…”

Jughead takes a deep breath. “I didn’t like the way he was looking at you before.”

Betty’s stomach clenches. So Jughead had noticed too.

“What do you mean?” she asks.

Jughead shrugs. “He was staring at you. A few times.” A few times? Betty had only noticed the once.

“He was probably just spaced out. Not thinking about where he was looking,” Betty says.

Jughead shakes his head. “He was definitely looking at you. Like… like he was picturing what was under your dress.”

“Watching through windows, you’re wondering if I’m okay. Secrets stolen from deep inside. The drum beats out of time…”

Betty flushes. “Jug,” she says, sounding much calmer than she’s feeling. “If he was… and I really doubt he was, then that’s all on him. There is nothing going on between me and Archie. I can’t control what he looks at or what he thinks.”

Jughead nods. “I know.” He lets out a long breath. “So you don’t think I should mention it to him?”

Betty shakes her head. “He’s probably just having a dry spell with Veronica. She hasn’t been around much while he’s been at my place. He’d probably be distracted by any pair of legs.”

Jughead nods. He seems placated. Betty only feels a little guilty. (For what? She hasn’t done anything wrong, has she?)

The catch the end of the performance, and Betty is sure that she must be imagining that Archie is looking dead at her.

“If you fall, I will catch you, I’ll be waiting. Time after time.”

After the performances, the fete seems to be winding down a little, and dark clouds have blocked out the sun. Cheryl approaches, hand in hand with Toni. Strange, Betty had no idea they were together, or even that Cheryl was into girls. Or Serpents, for that matter.

“I’m having a little after party at Thistlehouse if you guys want to come along,” Cheryl offers.

“Sounds great!” Veronica says, at the same time Archie says, “No thanks.”

They look at each other. “You go,” Archie says. “I can walk home.”

“Are you sure?” Veronica asks. She glances upwards. “It looks like it’s about to rain.”

Archie shrugs. “I can make it back in time.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Betty says. “Jug, you want to come and get your bike?”

Jughead shakes his head, also looking somewhat dubiously at the sky. “I don’t really want to ride in a storm.”

“I can drop you home if you like?” Veronica offers. Jughead glances at Betty before nodding.

“Thanks,” he says.

Archie gives his own cursory glance to the sky, as thunder rumbles somewhere in the distance. “Come on,” he says to Betty. “We better go now if we want to make it home before it starts raining.”

Betty risks a glance at Jughead. He nods again, like he’s trying to convince himself there isn’t anything to worry about. Betty smiles at him, trying to convince him the same.

Archie goes to leave.

“Archiekins. Wait,” Veronica says, and Archie turns back. Veronica grabs him and pulls him down to kiss him. Passionately. Possessively. Betty has to look away.

Veronica lets Archie go, and she stalks off with Cheryl and Toni. Jughead gives Betty and Archie one last indecipherable look before he follows.

  There’s no reason for their hands to touch as they walk home. The path is perfectly wide enough for the both of them. And yet with every step, the backs of their hands brush against each other, sending goosebumps up Betty’s arm.

Thunder crashes. Betty looks up.

“Do you think we’ll make it?”

Archie considers. “Probably not.”

Moments later, the heavens open and it begins to pour. Betty squeals and Archie laughs.

“Come on,” he says. He grabs her hand and they sprint down their street towards Betty’s house. They’re absolutely drenched by the time they make it inside. Betty’s heart is racing and she’s sure the grin on her face is as wide as the one on Archie’s.

Archie goes to take a step towards the stairs, but Betty grabs his arm, stopping him.

“Wait, wait!” she hisses. “Mom will kill us if we drip water all over the carpet.”

Archie tilts his head. “Is she home?” he asks.

Betty shakes her head. She supposes as long as it dries before Alice gets home it will be fine. She’s about to say so, but Archie is already slipping off his shoes and socks. Then he pulls his sopping shirt over his head. It falls to the floor with a splat. Betty watches, her heart in her throat, her face flaming. Archie’s eyes don’t leave her as he reaches for the button on his jeans. He undoes his pants and pulls them off, letting them join his shirt on the floor.

Betty lets her eyes trail over his body, the sight of him half naked making her heart pound and her knees weak. She wants to run her tongue over every inch of him.

She looks down at her own drenched dress, clinging to her every curve. She reaches for the top button. Her hands shake, whether from cold or nerves she doesn’t know. She fumbles with the button, unable to get it undone.

Archie steps towards her. “Here,” he says. Betty drops her hands and lets him take over. He’s so close she can feel his breath, see his bare chest rise and fall. Heat radiates from his body and she wants to press herself against him. Partly for warmth, partly because she aches to touch him, to feel his body hard against hers.

He undoes the buttons on her dress slowly. She trembles as his knuckles brush over her bare skin, her breasts, her stomach, and she feels like she might die. It’s excruciating to be this close to him and not be able to do anything about it.

He could stop when he gets to belly button. The dress would still come off easily. But he drops to his knees, and the dirty fantasies that arise in Betty’s mind are almost too much to bear. He keeps unbuttoning her dress, revealing her pink panties. It would be so easy for him to just lean in and kiss her there. Run his tongue along her slit. God, she wants him to. Every fibre of her being yearns for him to touch her there, with his tongue, his fingers. She wants him to suck on her nipples, finger her until she can’t stand it. She wants him to put his cock in her and fuck her until she can’t walk.  

He reaches the bottom of the dress and stands up. Betty bites her lip as he slides the dress from her shoulders and lets it fall to the floor. Her pussy pulses, desperate for attention.

“Your panties are all wet too,” Archie murmurs. Betty flushes. “From the rain,” Archie clarifies.

Betty looks down, barely able to make eye contact. His cock has formed a large tent in his boxers, and Betty finds herself blushing again. Fuck. Has he been thinking about the same things as she has?

She looks back up at him. “Arch,” she says, her voice barely a whisper. “I wish we could—”

“Me too,” he says hoarsely. “You have no idea how much self-control it’s taking not to kiss you right now.”

Betty’s eyes flick to his lips. She feels the same way. It takes every ounce of her being not to give in to her desires.

Why are they doing this? To torture themselves?

Are they still toeing the line, or did they cross it eons ago?

Betty swallows. “We should put our clothes in the dryer.”

Archie nods. They scoop up the wet clothes and throw them in the dryer. They head upstairs and Betty grabs them both towels. They head to their respective rooms and Betty peels off her damp underwear and wraps herself in the big fluffy white towel.

Then she goes back to Archie’s room. He’s got the towel wrapped around his waist and he’s lying on his bed on his phone.

“Hey,” he says when he sees Betty in the doorway. He gestures for Betty to come over, and she pads across the room and lies beside him on the bed.

She doesn’t know why she didn’t get dressed. Perhaps to torture herself a little more. Perhaps to torture him. Perhaps she’s hoping the towel will slip and she’ll accidentally reveal herself to him. She gets a thrill at the thought of it. God, she’s sick.

Archie slips his hand into hers and gives it a squeeze.

“Betty,” he says. “What the fuck are we doing?”

“I don’t know,” Betty whispers.

Archie turns on his side to face her, and Betty does the same.

“Do you want me to—” he starts. “Should I—?”

“Should you what?”

His phone rings.

“It’s Veronica,” he says, pulling his hand from Betty’s. He answers. “Hey, what’s going on?”

Betty watches him.

“Yeah, she’s right here,” Archie says, glancing at Betty.

He jolts upright, looking panicked.

“No!” he says. “Who told you that?... Cheryl? Fuck. No, I swear that’s not what happened.”

He swallows and glances at Betty.

“No… well, we kissed. And maybe—look, can we talk about this in person? I’ll come pick you up… okay I’ll meet you at the Pembrooke then.”

Betty’s stomach churns, guilt and dread eating at her. Veronica somehow found out about what happened the night of the Black Hood.

Archie hangs up, looking angry and defeated. “Cheryl saw us in the car that night. She told Veronica we fucked.”

Betty feels like she might throw up.

“But we didn’t.”

“But we almost did.”

Betty can’t deny that.

“Betty…” Archie groans. He seems torn up. Guilt, probably. “I need you to tell me, before I talk to Veronica. Do you want me to fix things with her?”

Betty stares at him. What is he asking her? Whether she wants to be with him? Of course she fucking does. She’s been in love with him since she was ten years old. Younger, maybe. But it’s way too late for that. They can’t be together. Their friends would never forgive them.

“Of course,” Betty lies. “It’s still salvageable. You guys weren’t together when it happened.”

Archie nods, his jaw tight. “Right.” He gets up and Betty does the same. Betty goes for the door.

“If it goes well I probably won’t be back tonight,” Archie says. Betty nods.

“Good luck, then,” she says. She goes to leave again.

“Betty—” Archie says. She stops, turning back one last time. “You should probably talk to Jughead before someone else does.”

“Right,” she nods. “Good point.”

She steps out into the hallway and closes the door behind her. Time to work out what she’s going to say to Jughead. What can she say to ease the blow? What does she need to do to save a relationship she’s not even sure she wants to save?

[barchiefanfiction]

Guilty Hearts - Chapter 5

by keiraknighted

AO3 // ff.net

After breaking up with Jughead, there is nothing Betty wants to do more than wrap herself in Archie’s arms. But she can’t go running to Archie yet. She has to keep a safe distance until he’s ended things with Veronica. So, she calls Veronica instead.

Veronica is over in five minutes with two tubs of ice-cream and a bottle of wine she snuck out of her fridge at home.

Betty cries. She cries because she hurt Jughead, because she lied to him, because he hates her and he thinks she doesn’t love him. Veronica hugs her and holds her tight, and Betty cries even harder, because she’s an awful friend who’s plotting to steal her best friend’s boyfriend.

They eat the ice-cream straight out of the tub, and Veronica puts The Duff on, and Betty feels better for a while.

The movie ends, and the tubs of ice-cream are empty, as is the bottle of wine. Veronica turns to Betty.

“Are you feeling any better?” she asks.

Betty nods. “Yeah. Thanks, V. I know it’s dumb to cry because I’m the one who broke up with him. But it still hurts.”

“I know,” Veronica nods. “But I’m here, any time you need me.”

“Thank, V,” Betty says. She hopes her lies are enough to stay friends with Veronica. Because if she ever finds out the truth, Betty doesn’t know if Veronica will ever forgive her.

 It’s torture, waiting for Archie to break up with Veronica. One week passes, and then two. Betty has to act like she’s perfectly happy watching him hold hands with Veronica, watching them kiss, knowing they’re spending their nights together. It drives her crazy.

She’s kept her distance from Archie and Jughead over the past few weeks, throwing herself into working on the Blue & Gold, and hanging out with Kevin or Veronica when she needs company. Kevin seems to have no idea what’s going on between her and Archie, and Betty figures if Kevin hasn’t caught on, they must be in the clear.

After three weeks of torture, Archie grabs her by the arm after school on Friday, while she’s grabbing her books from her locker.

He leans in close to her ear. “I’m doing it today,” he whispers. And then he’s gone. Betty watches him walk down the hallway, but he doesn’t look back.

Betty’s stomach churns. She’s not sure if she’s excited or nervous. She walks home alone, her mind in turmoil. She wishes she knew what Archie was going to say to Veronica. What if Veronica guesses why he’s breaking up with her? What if he chickens out? What if Veronica convinces him they should stay together?

Betty goes to her room with the intent of doing her homework, but she finds she can’t concentrate. She gravitates towards the front window, looking out, awaiting Archie’s return.

Her heart speeds up when she sees him walking down the street, from the direction of Pop’s. Is that where he’d done it? He’s alone, but she can’t make out his expression. She races downstairs and out the front door, beating him to his house. His blank expression doesn’t change as he ascends the steps.

“Well?” Betty asks.

“Come inside,” Archie says, putting a hand on the small of her back and guiding her through the front door. He shuts the door and Betty turns to him, ready to hear every detail of what went down with Veronica. Archie glances around, like he’s afraid someone might be watching.

“Let’s go upstairs,” he says.

Betty follows him upstairs, her stomach in knots. She feels like he’s about to break up with her, and they aren’t even together. But what if he’s about to tell her it’s not going to happen? He’s staying with Veronica? Betty doesn’t think she could bear it.

They reach his room and Betty shuts the door behind them. Archie goes to the window and closes the blind before turning back to her. She watches him in anguish, waiting for him to say something, to confirm her worst fears.

Archie steps towards her, running his tongue over his bottom lip. He looks nervous as he approaches her, and Betty’s heart pounds erratically. He’s an inch away from her.

“Arch—”

He cups her face in his hands. He brushes his thumb over her bottom lip, and Betty feels goosebumps erupt all over her body. And then he kisses her. Betty’s eyes flutter closed and her insides turn to mush. His lips are soft against hers, gentle but desperate, like he can’t quite believe this is real. Betty feels the same.

It’s over too soon, and Betty keeps her eyes closed for a few moments, still reeling from his kiss. Archie’s hands drop from her face and Betty slowly opens her eyes. Archie’s smiling at her. She beams back at him, still feeling all gooey inside.

“I have wanted to do that for so long,” Archie whispers.

“Me too,” Betty says. Archie goes to kiss her again, but she stops him. “It’s over, right?” Betty asks. Because she has to be sure. She can’t do this if he’s still with Veronica. “You broke up with her?”

“Yeah,” Archie nods. “I told her it was because of her Dad. I think she believed me.”

“How was she?” Betty asks nervously.

Archie shrugs. “She seemed fine. She said she saw it coming.”

Betty waits for the wave of guilt to hit her. It never comes. She smiles, and she slips her arms around Archie’s neck, and pushes herself up on her toes so she can kiss him again, harder, longer. Archie responds with fervour, his tongue delving into her mouth, making Betty press herself harder against him, desperate to be closer to him, to feel his touch all over her body.

Betty breaks the kiss, and Archie whines, chasing her mouth with his own.

“What else have you been wanting to do?” Betty murmurs. Betty hears Archie’s breath catch.

“You have no idea,” he says, his voice hoarse. Betty gets a thrill from the words.

“Show me.”

Archie’s lips crash against her own again, his mouth hot but delicate on hers. His lips trail from her mouth, across her jaw and down to her neck.

“I want to kiss you everywhere,” he breathes before he sucks her skin into his mouth. Betty moans, and it feels so good that she doesn’t even care that later she’s somehow going to have to cover up the mark he leaves.

His hands slip under her top, his fingers dancing on her bare skin, and Betty lifts her arms so he can get it over her head. Archie cradles her in his arms as her drops his lips to her collarbone, continuing to kiss her skin, down her chest, the hollow between her breasts. Betty reaches behind her and unclips her bra and Archie pulls away, watching her with baited breath. Her heart hammers against her rib cage as she lets the bra fall from her chest shyly. She stands there for a moment, her nipples hard from arousal, and Archie just looks at her in awe.

He lifts his right hand and grazes her nipple with his thumb. Betty’s breath catches. He does it again, and she can feel a tug between her legs, her panties dampening. She wants him to put his mouth on her straining nipples, but instead he grabs her hands and walks backwards until he hits the bed. He sinks onto it, pulling her with him, guiding her onto his lap. She straddles him, and she can feel him hard between her legs. She bites her lip. It’s all she can do not to grind down on him. Her pussy throbs, desperate for some friction.

Archie distracts her by dragging his tongue over her right nipple, sending thrills through her body.  His fingertips rest against the bare skin of her back, and Betty’s arms circle his neck. He moves his head to her other nipple and sucks it into his mouth. Betty whimpers. The throbbing between her legs only intensifies. She can’t help herself, she grinds down against him feeling the pressure of his hard cock through two pairs of jeans. Archie gasps, releasing her nipple from his mouth.

“God, Betty,” he groans. He sounds wrecked already, and the sound of his husky voice only spurs Betty on. She grinds against him again and he lets out a small moan. He surges up to kiss her again, and his hands reach for her hair, pulling the band from her ponytail and letting her blonde hair fall around her shoulders. His fingers tangle in her hair as he kisses her.

Betty brings her hands to the hem of his shirt and pulls it upwards, breaking the kiss so she can pull it over his head and gaze upon his perfect body. It hardly seems real that she’s allowed to touch him now, that she can live out the fantasies she’s been having for months.

With that in mind, Betty pushes Archie back on to the bed so he’s lying down. She hovers above him for a moment, on all fours, and then she drops her head to his chest, and runs her tongue over his hard body. She trails her mouth down and down until she reaches the waistband of his jeans. She knows he’s hard as hell in there, and she wants to lick his cock, make him groan her name again. She reaches for his fly, but Archie catches her wrist, sitting up.

She looks up at him, tilting her head in confusion. As far as she knows, guys love having their dick sucked.

“I don’t want you to do that yet,” he says.

“Why?”

“The first time my cock is inside you, it’s going to be making you feel good,” he says. Betty’s stomach flips over and her core pulses with anticipation.

“Then do it already,” Betty says. She doesn’t think she can wait any longer. Archie pulls her back up onto the bed and flips her over so she’s the one lying on her back. He undoes the button on her jeans and pulls them off slowly, leaving her in just her panties. She feels exposed all of a sudden, and she blushes at the way he stares at her, like he’s never seen anything so beautiful.

He presses his middle finger to the outside of her panties and drags it down her slit. Betty gasps and rolls her head back.

“Can I take these off?” Archie asks, his voice hoarse.

“Yes.”

Betty holds her breath as he pulls her panties down, lifting each of her legs so he can remove them completely. And then she’s naked in front of him, her heart racing. He leans over her and presses a soft kiss to her lips.

“You are so beautiful,” he tells her. “I love you.”

Betty smiles. She hadn’t realised how much she needed to hear that again. “I love you too,” she whispers.

“I’m going to make you feel so good,” Archie murmurs. He continues looking into her eyes, even as he gently brushes his fingers along the inside of her thigh. His fingers reach her wet slit and Betty spreads her legs for him. He thumbs her clit and Betty whines quietly, arching her back. His fingers delve into her folds and his lips press against her neck again.

Betty’s breathing becomes laboured as Archie’s fingers thrust inside her, and she squirms beneath him. She can feel herself nearing her peak as Archie fingers her and kisses her breasts.

“Yes,” she pants as the pressure builds. “Arch, I—” she cuts herself off with a soft moan, curling her toes as her orgasm hits her. Her eyes squeeze shut, but she knows Archie is watching her writhe in pleasure, his fingers still inside her.

“Fuck, Betty,” Archie says. “I love watching you come. I’ve been thinking about it since that night in the car.”

Betty doesn’t know what to do with that information. That he’s been thinking about her like this for months now.

“Is that when you started to want me?” Betty asks, almost timidly. “After I kissed you that night?”

Archie swallows. He shakes his head slowly. “No, Betty. I wanted you long before that. I just… couldn’t admit it to myself, I guess. That I thought about you differently.”

Betty surges up to kiss him, taking him by surprise. “Make love to me, Archie,” she says, sounding desperate. Archie moans into her mouth, and he finally undoes his jeans and pulls them off hurriedly, while Betty strokes his chest.  She drags her hand down his chest and abs and slips it into his boxers, biting her lip when she feels his hard cock throbbing beneath her fingers.

Archie kisses her messily, hungrily, pushing her back down onto his bed. He removes his boxers, and Betty finally gets to see him naked. His cock is long and thick, and Betty’s stomach lurches at the thought of it inside of her. She wants it so badly.

Archie reaches into the top drawer of his nightstand and pulls out a condom. He rips it open, and Betty watches as he attempts to roll it onto his cock. His hands are shaking. Betty feels her heart squeeze. He’s nervous.

Betty had been nervous herself at first, but she hadn’t expected Archie to be. Betty has only ever done this with one person before, Archie is much more experienced.

“Sorry,” he mutters as he fumbles with the condom. “You’d think I’d never done this before.” His face is red, and he’s clearly embarrassed. Betty reaches over and helps him put the condom on. She kisses him to calm his nerves. His hands are steady again when he presses them against her back.

Betty lies back, pulling Archie with her, still kissing him.

“Are you ready?” Archie whispers. Betty nods, her stomach filling with butterflies. Archie positions his cock at her entrance and Betty spreads her legs for him, pulling her knees up. She watches as he gently pushes the tip of his cock into her, lifting her ass off the bed slightly. He brings his eyes up to meet hers, and she bites her lip, nodding for him to continue.

She knows his cock is big, but she’s unprepared for just how much he stretches her as he pushes into her. Betty lets out a strangled moan as his cock fills her, and she feels as though she might break.

“You okay?” Archie asks, his voice strained.

“It feels so good,” Betty whines. Archie thrusts his hips, tentatively, as if he’s testing out what he can do to her. His cock hits her centre and Betty spasms, fisting her hands in the sheets beneath her.

“You like that?”

“Mmhmm.”

Betty’s eyes flutter closed as he thrusts again. He stills for a moment and Betty thinks she might die from anticipation. She jerks her hips and it’s Archie’s turn to moan. Betty hooks her legs around him, pulling him closer, deeper inside her.

“Please, Archie,” she groans.

He loses control then, driving into her hard. He fucks her desperately, and every jolt of his cock goes straight to her core, winding her tighter and tighter. The sounds that come from her mouth are high pitched an unintelligible, except for his name.

“Arch,” she moans, sounding like a complete wreck.

“Yes,” he pants. “Say my name. Say my name like that.”

“Archie. Archie. Arch. Oh my god, Arch.”

He keeps fucking her, even as she comes beneath him, crying out, arching towards him, her whole body trembling. And then he comes, holding himself inside her as his body goes rigid and he groans. He finishes, and drops his head to her shoulder, panting, the two of them completely shattered. But god, Betty already wants to do it again.

Archie rolls off her, still breathing heavy, and Betty curls into his side. She presses a soft kiss against his shoulder.

“Were you nervous?” she whispers. He blushes again, and Betty loves the way his whole face turns bright red.

“Yeah,” he admits. “Weren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Betty says.

He turns to her. “I just wanted it to be really good. I didn’t want you to be disappointed.”

“I’m definitely not disappointed,” Betty laughs. “You’ve already given me more orgasms than anyone else ever has.”

Archie’s eyes widen. Betty hadn’t really meant to tell him that, but it’s too late to take it back now. “Jughead never…?” he trails off.

Betty shakes her head. Archie studies her for a moment.

“And what about yourself?” he asks. Betty tilts her head in confusion. Archie clarifies. “Have you given yourself orgasms?”

Betty’s face floods with colour. “Oh,” she says. “Yes.”

“What do you think about?” Archie asks, his voice hoarse. “When you touch yourself.”

Betty can already feel the throbbing beginning between her legs again. “You, mostly,” she whispers.

“Me too,” Archie says.

“You think about yourself while you jerk off?” Betty grins.

“Shut up,” Archie laughs. Betty snorts with laughter, and Archie pulls her into a hug, still grinning.

“I need to get a drink of water,” Betty says.

Archie lets her go. “Okay.”

Betty rolls out of bed, enjoying the way Archie watches her naked body as she searches for her clothes.

“Wear something of mine,” he says. Betty glances at him, then makes her way to his closet. She pulls out a button-down shirt and slips it over her shoulders, before buttoning it up, leaving the top few buttons undone.

“Well?” she asks, posing for him.

“It looks so good I want you to take it off so I can kiss you everywhere, like I said I was going to,” Archie says.

Betty smiles, desire pooling in her stomach at the thought of Archie going down on her. “When I get back,” she says.

Betty skips downstairs, feeling light and happy. She walks into the kitchen and stops dead, her stomach dropping when she sees Fred closing the fridge. He spots her and does a double take.

“Betty,” he says, not even bothering to hide his surprise.

“Archie and Veronica broke up,” she says quickly, then curses herself. If it wasn’t obvious enough already what she and Archie had been up to, from her wearing nothing but Archie’s shirt, it sure as hell is now. She may as well have said hey, I’ve been fucking your son but it’s okay because he’s single now.

“Oh,” Fred nods. Betty’s face burns.

“I was just… going to get a glass of water,” Betty says.

“Right,” Fred says. He’s clearly feeling just as awkward and embarrassed as she is. “I’ll just… let Archie know I’m home.”

Betty nods as Fred leaves the kitchen.

“Mr Andrews?” she calls after him. He turns back.

“Yes, Betty?”

“Don’t tell anyone I was here?” she says.

Fred nods. “Of course,” he says. He leaves the room then. Betty hopes he knocks before he goes into Archie’s room.

She gets herself a glass of water and takes a few sips before pouring the rest back down the sink. She heads back upstairs, stopping at the top of the stairs when she hears voices coming from Archie’s room.

“Are you surprised?” she hears Archie say.

Fred chuckles. “I was surprised to see Betty in the kitchen. But I’m not surprised things didn’t work out with you and Veronica.”

“So, you approve?” Archie asks.

“Of course, I do, son,” Fred says. “Whatever makes you happy.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“I’m going to head out for a while, okay?”

“Okay.”

The door opens and Betty continues walking, as if she hadn’t been standing there eavesdropping. Fred nods at her as he passes.

Archie grins at her from the doorway, pants back on, and Betty cringes. He grabs her hands and drags her back into his room.

“Oh my god,” Betty says. “That was so embarrassing.”

“He had to find out sometime,” Archie laughs.

“What if he had come upstairs earlier?” Betty says, imagining the horrifying situation. “He could have heard us.”

“But he didn’t,” Archie says. “And now he’s gone, so you can be as loud as you want while I eat you out, okay?”

“Oh my god, Archie,” Betty says, blushing.

“What? Don’t you want me to do that?”

Betty blushes even harder. “No, I want you to.”

Archie grins. “Come on then,” he says, leading her back to the bed. “And keep my shirt on.”

[barchiefanfiction]

Guilty Hearts

by keiraknighted

AO3 // ff.net

Summary:  After their clandestine encounter the night they caught the Black Hood, Archie and Betty try to fix things with Veronica and Jughead. Only, they can't seem to stop thinking about each other.

Prompts:  Fred is out of town and doesn't want Archie staying home alone so he has to stay at the Coopers for a week while he's gone. Jughead and Veroncia aren't fond of the idea of Betty and Archie sleeping under the same roof based on the fact they know they still have feelings for one another and during the stay the sexual tension between Betty and Archie is at an all time high, leading to a beginning of a secret romance

+

barchie happened while they were dating their current partner. Instead of a kiss in the car that was in season 2 they do more. They try to fix things with their partner ,but realize they want to be with each other please?

Chapter One

Betty collapses on her bed after walking home from school alone. The day has been completely and totally exhausting. With Southside High closing, it seems like a constant battle to keep both the North siders and the South siders happy. Cheryl still won’t let it go. And yet, other than that almost frivolous drama, everything is perfectly normal. It seems strange to Betty, after weeks of being tormented by the Black Hood, of constantly thinking about ways to catch him and ways to keep her friends safe. She doesn’t have to worry about that anymore.

She should feel content, at peace, and she does feel relief to some extent. But after everything she went through, after everything the Black Hood put her through, after that night with Archie, hunting the Black Hood through the night, she doesn’t know if she’ll ever truly feel at peace in this town again.

She badly wants to forget that night. She wants to forget being held at gunpoint, and forget Archie getting into that coffin in the hopes of sparing her life. And God, does she want to forget what had happened with Archie only forty minutes earlier, in a car outside Cheryl Blossom’s house. Somehow that’s the part that haunts her the most.

She groans into her pillow as the memory surfaces.

Archie gripping her hands tightly, looking at her with those deep brown eyes, telling her how much he needed her. The pounding of her heart. All rational thought leaving her brain as she kissed him, the warmth that bloomed in her chest when he kissed her back. Desire swelling inside her. And then somehow, she was in his lap, straddling him, and his hands were in her hair, under her shirt, between her legs. They’d only come to their senses when they realised neither of them had a condom.

Betty cringes now when she thinks about what might have happened had Archie had one on him. It would have been such a mistake. It was a mistake to let it get as far as it did. And maybe as she thinks about it now her heartrate speeds up, and a there’s a throbbing between her legs as her panties dampen. Maybe she can still feel the ghosts of his fingertips on her skin. But it doesn’t mean anything. It can’t mean anything.

Especially since Betty’s very next unwanted vision is the memory of Archie and Veronica stumbling into the common room only a few days later, mouths all over each other. They’re back together. Which is a good thing, of course. It means there is no need for Betty to bring up the other night with Archie like she’d been planning to. They can just forget it ever happened. Or at least, hide it so well that Archie thinks she’s forgotten about it. That works just as well.

But seeing Archie with Veronica had made Betty ache. Not for Archie. For Jughead. She misses him. Misses having someone. She can’t remember now why they aren’t together. She’d spoken to him today at school, and honestly? He seemed like maybe he missed her too.

She calls him. He picks up almost instantly.

“Betty,” he says. He sounds happy she called.

“Jug,” Betty smiles. “Can we talk? Maybe you could come over. My mom isn’t home.”

There’s a silence at the other end, and Betty wonders if maybe she’s made a mistake. But then he says, “Sure, I’ll be right over,” and Betty hangs up the phone and lies back down on her bed, clutching it to her chest.

She hears his motorbike pull up a few minutes later, and she pulls back the curtain on her front facing window to peer down at him. She watches him take off his helmet and shake his hair loose. He has such nice hair. Betty wishes he’d show it off more. He looks up and meets her eyes, and Betty gives him a little wave before skipping down the stairs, two at a time, to meet him.

He lets himself in and he’s waiting just inside the door. Betty stops at the bottom of the stairs. They’re supposed to talk. She should probably tell him what happened with Archie. He should probably apologise for breaking up with her in the first place. But right now, Betty knows those conversations are only going to complicate things, and right now she doesn’t want complicated. She just wants him.

She surges forward, and Jughead meets her halfway, their lips colliding.

“Jug, I need you,” Betty whispers. “I’m ready.”

Jughead swallows. “Yeah?”

Betty nods. She’d almost gone that far with Archie. It should be easy with Jughead.

Upstairs, Jughead’s lips latch onto hers again as she leads him into her room. Betty smiles against his mouth, spinning him around and onto the bed. She’s distracted by movement from the corner of her eye and she turns her head toward the window. She can see Archie standing there in his bedroom, watching her. She can’t decipher his expression.

Caught off-guard by his sudden appearance, unwanted images of him flash through her mind. Underneath her, all over her. Her own voice echoes in her head.

“Touch me, Archie.”

“Like that?”

“Yes. Like that.”

She flushes, remembering how desperate she’d sounded, and how it felt when he put his fingers inside her. She’d gone that far with Jughead already. But with Jughead it had been more careful, more deliberate. She’d thought about it, had time to get nervous and overthink it, and change her mind several times. And then when it was over it didn’t seem like such a big deal.

It’s the opposite with Archie. She hadn’t overthought it at all. She let herself get caught up in the moment, handed herself over to her lust. And now it seems like a huge deal.

“What is it?” Jughead asks, propping himself up on his elbows. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want. I just want to be with you, Betty.”

Betty whips her head back around to face him, feeling guilty. She should tell him.

“It’s Archie,” she says in a rush. She swallows.

“Well, close the blinds so we can have some privacy,” Jughead grins. Betty gives him a forced smile and heads to the window. She makes eye contact with Archie again. He smiles. Betty’s stomach flips over and she hastily closes the blind.

  Archie appears on her doorstep the next morning. Betty freezes when she opens the door. Archie grins at her.

“What are you doing here?”

“Nice to see you too.”

“Sorry. I’m just surprised to see you.”

“I live next door, remember?”

Betty rolls her eyes, and Archie chuckles.

“I thought I’d walk you to school,” he shrugs.

Betty nods. “Okay.”

Betty grabs her schoolbag and follows Archie outside.

“So,” Archie says. “You and Jughead are back together.”

“We are,” Betty says, not looking at him. “So are you and Veronica.”

“She came over on Christmas Day and we worked things out.”

“Good. I’m happy for you, Arch.”

“Yeah, me too. Happy for you, I mean.”

Betty glances at him. His brow is furrowed like he’s deep in thought. He doesn’t look happy.

They should talk about that night. They should debrief about everything that happened, support each other after what they went through together. No one else was there. No one else could ever understand what it was like for Betty to bury her best friend alive.

But if they talk about that it might lead to talking about the other thing. Which they should probably also talk about. But just thinking about it makes Betty’s stomach tighten. Besides, what is there to even say about it? It clearly meant nothing. The whole conversation would just be pointless and uncomfortable.

Archie opens his mouth to speak. Betty cuts him off.

“We should go on a double date! Now that we’re both happily in relationships again. I’ve missed that.”

Maybe her voice is a little too high, a little too eager.

“Sounds good, Betty.”

  They don’t see that much of each other after that. Sure, they see each other. But they never go on that double date, and they don’t walk to school together. They’re both too wrapped up in their significant others, trying to make sure whatever went wrong last time doesn’t go wrong this time.

Archie tries out for the wrestling team of all things. Betty wants to make fun of him for it, but she finds she never gets the opportunity. She doesn’t even see him through her window, and she assumes it’s because he’s spending most of his time with Veronica at the Pembrooke.

Then again, he’s not the only one who’s barely been around. Betty has spent a lot of time with Jughead in FP’s trailer, doing her best to be a doting girlfriend. She’s wracked by guilt for what she did with Archie, and she wants to tell Jughead, to be honest with him. But something holds her back.

Jughead even provides her with the perfect opportunity, admitting to her that he’d hooked up with Toni during the break up. But if the tiny twinge of jealousy Betty had felt at learning that information told her anything, it’s that Jughead would be ten times as hurt if Betty told him she’d hooked up with Archie of all people. Anyone else, anyone, and maybe it would be fine. But Archie? Jughead would never forgive either of them.

So, she buries her guilt and puts on the façade of the perfect girlfriend. Jughead doesn’t seem to notice how hard she’s trying. She thinks it should be easier, being his girlfriend. But she can’t seem to get Archie out of her head, no matter how hard she tries.

If she’s not with Jughead, she’s at the Blue & Gold office, running the paper entirely on her own. Jughead will write a story or two for her, and Kevin, and a few others, but no one else is really interested in actually running the paper.

It’s there that Archie finds her after school, a couple weeks into February, trying to work out some last-minute layout errors. He taps on the doorframe, and Betty looks up.

“Can I come in?”

“Sure,” Betty nods. “Sorry about the mess.”

Archie raises an eyebrow at her and she laughs. Like he cares about the mess. He pulls up a stool across the desk from her.

“What brings you here?” Betty asks.

Archie shrugs. “I feel like I’ve barely seen you lately.”

“Too busy with the wrestling team?” Betty teases.

“Ha. Shut up.”

“Why exactly are you doing wrestling?”

“Just… trying new things,” Archie says. Betty sees right through him. She gives him a disbelieving look. He sighs. “Ronnie thought it might… impress Mr Lodge.”

“And how is that working out for you?”

“Great, actually. Well, he likes me now.”

“But what about basketball?”

“What about it? I can’t do both.”

“But you love basketball.”

Archie shrugs. “Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for your relationship.”

Betty hides her disapproval, ducking her head to look at her layout again. Sure, sometimes you have to make sacrifices in a relationship. But should he really have to give up a sport he loves for one he hates, just to impress some criminal?

“Listen,” Archie says, breaking the silence. Betty looks up again. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately.”

“You have?” She feels her heart flutter at the words.

“I feel like I owe you an apology.”

“An apology? Why?”

“For… for what happened the night of the Black Hood. I let things get too far, and then we didn’t even talk about it and I just got back with Veronica without seeing how you felt about it. I’m sorry.”

Betty shakes her head, her eyes welling with tears. “Archie,” she says. “God, that’s nothing. You don’t owe me an apology for that. I buried you alive, I—I still think about it. I have nightmares about it sometimes. I’m so, so sorry, Arch, I—”

“Hey, listen to me,” Archie says fiercely. His eyes flash. “You don’t ever have to be sorry about that. Ever. I got into that grave willingly and I would do it again.”

“Even if I couldn’t save you?”

Archie’s lips curve up, just a little. “Even then. I would die for you, Betty Cooper.”

Betty doesn’t doubt it. Her heart swells, his love for her almost palpable. She hopes he knows how much she loves him too.

“I would never let you.”

“I know.”

There eyes meet, and Betty’s heart is thundering in her chest. Can he hear it? Can he feel the tension between them, or is it all in her head?

“Betty,” Archie says, his voice low. “That night—"

Betty swallows. His eyes rake over her, and she shivers. She knows it’s not all in her head. He feels it too. There’s something between them, some spark that ignited that night in the car.

Archie opens his mouth to continue.

“Don’t say anything,” Betty whispers. He can’t say it out loud. If he says it out loud it might mean something.

Archie looks disappointed, and Betty yearns to reach out and touch him, comfort him, hold him in her arms. She folds her hands in her lap tightly.

Archie nods shortly and leaves the room. Betty exhales as soon as he’s gone. Her hands are shaking, and her heart is pounding.

She groans, putting her head in her hands. It’s nothing, she tells herself. You don’t have feelings for Archie.

Except, she thinks maybe, actually, she does. And what’s worse, is she thinks he might actually have feelings for her too.

[barchiefanfiction]

Guilty Hearts - Chapter 6

by keiraknighted

AO3 // ff.net

At some point, they leave Archie’s room to find some food. There’s leftover Chinese food in the fridge and they carry it back upstairs before Fred can come home and catch them half naked in the kitchen.

Betty loses count of how many orgasms Archie has given her, and eventually they tire themselves out and settle for whispering in the dark, wrapped up in Archie’s sheets and each other until they fall asleep.

Betty wakes on Saturday morning, well-rested but still a little lethargic. She looks over at Archie lying next to her, still asleep. She watches the gentle rise and fall of his chest, smiling softly.

She should probably feel guilty. She just feels loved up, and deliriously happy.

Betty places a hand on Archie’s chest and he stirs as she traces circles across his chest with her fingertip. She kisses his shoulder, and then leans over further so she can kiss his chest. She can see him smile, so she knows he’s awake, but he keeps his eyes shut.

Betty smirks to herself, and pulls away the sheets to reveal his erection.

“What are you doing?” Archie murmurs.

“Waking you up,” Betty replies. She wriggles down the bed so her head is level with his crotch, and places a kiss on his hip bone. She looks up at him. His eyes are open now and his pupils are blown. “May I?”

Archie nods, swallowing thickly. Betty kisses the tip of his hard cock and feels it twitch beneath her lips. She runs her tongue along the underside of his length, then swirls it around the head. Archie whimpers and Betty feels a pang between her legs. She licks his cock again, then puts her mouth over the tip. She takes him into her mouth slowly, wanting to take his whole cock inside her mouth, but unsure she’ll be able to.

She gags when his cock hits the back of her throat and he strokes her hair soothingly.

“You’re doing so good, Betty,” he says. He must sense that she’s not exactly experienced at this, and his words reassure her. “That feels so good.”

Betty hums against him and he gives a small groan, spurring her on. Archie cards his fingers through her hair as she bobs her head up and down on his cock, using her tongue to make him moan her name.

She can tell he’s holding back, letting her lead the way when he’s obviously desperate thrust his hips and speed up the pace.

“Betty,” he moans, sounding wrecked. A thrill goes through her. She doesn’t think she’ll ever tire of hearing him say her name like that. “Betty, I’m gonna come,” he warns her. “Can I come in your mouth?”

“Mmhmm,” Betty answers, and Archie grips onto her hair, jerking his hips to her face and his orgasm hits him. His come spurts into her mouth and Betty swallows the hot liquid with ease.

Archie lets her go, panting heavily, and Betty wriggles back up the bed to lie beside him. Archie wraps his arm around her and pulls her close so they’re face to face.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he says.

“I wanted to,” Betty says. “I liked it.”

“Yeah?” Archie seems surprised. His free arm rests between them, and he toys with Betty’s nipple absently. Betty however, is hyper aware of it, the tingling between her legs growing stronger. She squirms, pressing her legs together tightly. Archie grins. Perhaps he’s not as unaware of what he’s doing as Betty thought.

“Are you teasing me?” Betty asks.

“Maybe.”

He stops playing with her nipple and drops his hand between her legs, cupping her mound with his whole hand before sliding a finger between her folds. He fingers her until she comes, watching her the whole time.

Both satisfied, Archie wraps Betty up in his arms, as if he can’t bear to have any space between them for even a second. Betty smiles lazily, stroking the back of his hand with her fingers. She feels like they’re in the own little bubble, as if the outside world doesn’t exist. It’s just the two of them, and that’s all that matters. She doesn’t ever want to leave the bubble.

“Arch?”

“Mmm?”

“What are your plans today?” Betty asks.

“Staying here with you,” Archie says. Betty likes the sound of that.

“Even though your dad is probably home by now?”

Betty feels Archie smile against her shoulder. “We don’t have to have sex,” he says. “We can just hang out. Watch a movie or something. I’ll play you your song.”

“My song?”

“The one I wrote a few weeks ago,” Archie reminds her. Betty’s stomach flips over, and she can’t help but smile. It was about her after all.

“I should go home and shower,” Betty says.

“You can shower here,” Archie says.

“Together?” Betty asks, grinning.

Archie laughs. “Just can’t get enough, can you?” he says.

  Living in the bubble with Archie is good. Betty feels on top of the world as they shower and get dressed, and head downstairs for breakfast, where Fred has made pancakes.

Archie suggests a Harry Potter marathon, and the three of them settle into the lounge room, Betty and Archie on the couch and Fred in an armchair. It’s kind of like old times, except now Archie has his arm around her and she’s snuggled into his side.

Fred leaves towards the end of the first movie, not one to be able to sit down and be idle for too long, but Betty and Archie stay and put the second movie on, and then the third one. As the credits roll for the Prisoner of Azkaban, Betty looks to Archie to see if he wants to start Goblet of Fire, but she finds he’s fallen asleep.

She tries to gently extricate herself from his arms, but the movement jolts him awake.

“Sorry,” she whispers.

“Did I fall asleep?” Archie yawns.

Betty nods. “I think I wore you out.”

Archie chuckles and presses a soft kiss to her lips. Betty feels her phone vibrating and she reaches for it, her lips still presses against Archie’s. She has to pull away to look at the screen, and her stomach plummets when she sees who is calling.

Veronica. The bubble bursts, and reality comes hurtling in. Betty glances at Archie. He’s as white as a ghost.

Betty answers.

“Hey, V,” she says lightly. “What’s up.” Veronica is silent for a moment. “V?” Betty prompts, her heart pounding, a sick feeling in her stomach.

She hears Veronica sob, and her heart cracks in two.

“Betty?” Veronica says, her voice stained with tears. “Will you come over? Archie—” she sobs again. “Archie broke up with me.”

In that moment, Betty has never hated herself more. “Of course, V. I’ll be right there.”

Betty ends the call and looks to Archie. She doesn’t have to ask him what he’s feeling, it’s written all over his face. It’s the exact same thing as Betty is feeling.

Sheer terror and undeniable guilt.

  Betty makes a quick stop at home to get changed before she heads to Veronica’s. Alice and FP are talking in the living room, and Betty tries to sneak past.

“Elizabeth!” Alice calls, and Betty knows she’s in trouble. She stops and pokes her head into the living room. “Where have you been?” Alice asks, disapproving.

Betty glances at FP. The last thing she needs is FP running home to Jughead and telling him she spent the night at Archie’s.

“Can we talk about this later, Mom?” Betty says. “Veronica is really upset and she needs me.”

“You can tell me where you were all night and all day right now, or you’re not going anywhere,” Alice says.

Betty groans inwardly. “I was just hanging out with Archie.”

“Next time you can at least call or text me to tell me where you are,” Alice says.

Betty wants to argue, but she doesn’t want to run the risk of being grounded and not being allowed to go to Veronica’s, so she just nods and heads upstairs. Her mother can’t have been too worried about her, Betty doesn’t have any texts or missed calls from her.

As soon as Betty has changed her clothes, she grabs her mom’s car keys and heads to the Pembrooke.

Andre lets Betty inside, and she makes her way to Veronica’s room.  

“V?” Betty calls, knocking hesitantly on the bedroom door. Moments later, Veronica wrenches the door open and throws her arms around Betty.

Betty wraps her arms around Veronica and rubs her back soothingly as Veronica sobs into her shoulder.

“I can’t stop crying,” Veronica says quietly.

“It’s okay,” Betty says. “Let’s go sit down.”

Veronica nods and pulls away, leading Betty into her room where they sit on the bed. Veronica wipes her eyes, red rimmed and watery. Her cheeks are stained with tears and she’s wearing her silk pyjamas. Still beautiful, but looking worse for wear.

“I’m so pathetic,” Veronica sniffles. “Crying over boys is so last century.”

“You’re allowed to be sad,” Betty says.

Veronica nods and bursts into a fresh round of tears. Betty puts her arms around her again.

“I didn’t think it would wreck me this much, you know?” Veronica says through her tears. She pulls out of Betty’s arms to reach for a tissue. “I told him I was fine, that I saw it coming. And I was at first, and I didn’t want him to feel guilty, because I know my family is hard to be around, and he deserves so much better, but… I just really miss him.”

“I know,” Betty says.

Veronica lies down and Betty lies down next to her. Veronica takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

“And then Time After Time came on the radio earlier and I just… started crying. I didn’t even know why at first.”

A lone tear escapes the corner of Veronica’s eye.

“I love him so much, B,” she says, her voice shaking. “I even thought about asking him to take me back. I never loved anyone before. What if I never love anyone again?”

Betty remains silent. It’s too much. Everything Veronica is saying just fills her stomach with dread. The guilt is too much to bear. It almost makes her confess everything. But she can’t. That would only make it worse. If Veronica is a mess now, after losing Archie, finding out what Betty has done would shatter her completely.

Betty swallows. “Of course you will, V,” she whispers. “This isn’t your only love. It’s just your first love. You’re going to find someone else who loves you so much more than Archie ever could, and you’ll forget all about him.”

Veronica gives her a watery smile, and Betty wishes her words were completely selfless.

“So will you,” Veronica says. “You’ll find someone too. Someone who will make Jughead become a distant memory.”

Betty swallows the guilt she feels, because she has to lie, and nod, when the truth is she already has.

  Betty spends the night at Veronica’s, remembering to text her mom this time. By morning, Veronica has stopped crying at least, even if she hasn’t stopped yearning for Archie. Betty knows the feeling all too well.

As she leaves the Pembrooke and makes her way home, she tries to push away her guilt, and the question that keeps niggling away at her mind: was it worth it?

Is her own happiness really worth the pain she’s putting Veronica through? Have she and Archie made a mistake?

She gets home and flops down on her bed, feeling exhausted. She didn’t get much sleep last night. Guilt does that to a person. Instead she’d stayed awake and listened to Veronica weep through the night.

Archie appears in her room five minutes later. He must have been waiting for her. He lies down beside her and Betty cuddles up to him, nuzzling into his chest.

“How was she?” Archie asks.

Betty exhales. “Pretty messed up,” she admits. “She cried all night.”

“Fuck,” Archie mutters. “I feel awful.”

“Me too. Do you think Jughead cried?”

“Probably.”

“He never talked to you about it?”

“Not really.”

Archie is silent for a moment as he strokes her hair. She doesn’t know if he’s doing it on purpose to soothe her or whether it’s subconscious, but either way it’s comforting.

“Betty…” Archie starts. “Are we terrible people? Did we do the wrong thing?”

Betty sits up, propping herself up on his chest. She looks him in the eyes and shakes her head.

“No,” she says vehemently. And maybe she’d been wondering the same thing, but she can’t bear to hear Archie say it out loud. “If we stayed with them we’d be unhappy. And if we weren’t together we’d be unhappy.”

“What if that’s what I deserve?” It’s not really a question. He says it like he really believes he deserves to be unhappy.

“Arch,” Betty says, her heart breaking for him. “Don’t ever think that. We’re allowed to be happy. We deserve to be happy.” She kisses him, and he kisses her back. “I love you,” she says.

“I love you too.”

[barchiefanfiction]

Guilty Hearts - Chapter 2

by keiraknighted

AO3 // ff.net

Betty has a dream. Archie is in it.

They’re in the Blue & Gold office, and the conversation they have is similar to the one they’d actually had. Only this time, he kisses her. And then he undresses her slowly, and himself, and he touches her everywhere she wants to be touched.

She wakes up breathing heavy, aching to be touched for real, her panties soaking.

Jughead stirs beside her, and Betty sighs, feeling desperately guilty.

She tries to tell herself it was just a dream. She can’t help what she dreams. It’s the same as if she had a sex dream about some random celebrity.

But she can’t really defend closing her eyes and letting the fantasy continue, though she’s wide awake and her boyfriend is right next to her.

It’s just that though, isn’t it? A fantasy. Nothing is ever going to come of it, so what harm is it? Jughead never has to know.

 On the first Sunday of Spring, Betty wakes up to sunlight streaming in through her window, and birds chirping outside. It’s going to be a mild March.

She gets up and pads down the hallway, only to find her mother changing the sheets in Polly’s room, though Polly has been gone for months now.

“Mom?” Betty asks, hovering in the doorway to her sister’s old room. Alice looks up. “What are you doing?”

“I know no one has slept in here, but that’s exactly the reason the sheets need changing. Everything in here is covered in dust,” Alice says.

Betty shakes her head. She’s sure her mother has gone crazy.

“Besides, Archie will hardly want to sleep in a bed covered with flowers,” Alice continues.

Betty squints at her mom. “Archie?”

Alice fluffs one of the pillows. “Didn’t he tell you? Fred is going away for a week and Archie is staying here.”

“Here?” Betty chokes. She can’t imagine why. He’s perfectly capable of being on his own for a week, and even if he wasn’t, Betty would have thought Veronica was the obvious choice for who to stay with.

“I was surprised too, Betty,” Alice rolls her eyes. “Why it had to be here I’ll never know, but Fred was quite insistent. And we do have a spare room,” she concedes.

“Okay,” Betty nods. She’s not entirely sure how to feel about this. An entire week of living with Archie.

It’s not a bad thing. She likes spending time with Archie. But with the feelings she’s been having lately, she’s not sure it’s a great idea to be in such close proximity to him for an extended period of time.

He arrives with a bag and his guitar an hour later. Betty had thought he’d kind of given up music for the time being.

“Where should I put this stuff?” Archie asks.

“We’ve put you in Polly’s old room,” Alice tells him. “Betty will take you.”

Of course, Betty is aware that Archie knows exactly where Polly’s room is, he’s been in their house enough times over the years. She takes him there anyway.

“It’s good to see you with your guitar again,” Betty says as Archie dumps his things on the floor.

“My dad said the same thing,” Archie says.

There’s a moment of awkward silence as Archie surveys the room and Betty surveys Archie. Or maybe it’s not awkward at all. Perhaps she’s imagining things.

“So, I guess you’re going to be living here for a week,” Betty says.

“I guess so,” Archie nods. “It’s okay, right?”

“Yeah, of course,” Betty hastens to assure him. She hesitates. “Random question. Why here? Why not Veronica or Jughead? Or just staying at home?”

Archie shrugs. “My dad didn’t want me to stay home alone. He said it’s not safe, even with the Black Hood gone. And your place is the closest to school and home.”

“Okay,” Betty nods. “Well, I’ve got some homework to do, so I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

Archie nods, and Betty leaves him to get settled in.

  Betty has another dream about Archie. Well, this one is more of a nightmare.

She’s back in the cemetery, a gun pointed at her head. She piles dirt into the grave, and it hits the coffin with a sickening thud each time. She knows Archie is in there. Only this time she can’t save him. She fills the grave. The Black Hood shoots himself in the head. Covered in blood, Betty digs through six feet of dirt with her hands. When she finally gets to the coffin, inside is Archie’s lifeless corpse. She clutches at the body, crying and screaming his name.

Someone shakes her awake.

“Betty! Betty!”

Her eyes fly open and she jolts upright. Her heart pounds and she’s breathing heavy and still in her stomach is that sick feeling of guilt. But Archie isn’t dead.

“I’m right here,” he says, his voice soothing. He sits down beside her on her bed, dressed in just a pair of boxers.

“Archie?” she says, her voice croaky.

“Yeah, I’m here, it’s okay,” he says.

Betty nods, bursting into tears. Archie wraps his arms around her and rubs her back while she cries into his shoulder.

“You were dead,” she sobs. “I buried you and when I dug you up you were dead.”

“It was just a nightmare,” Archie tells her. He lets her cry into his shoulder for the better part of half an hour. Eventually she calms down and pulls away, suddenly aware of how he’s almost naked and how he’s warm and he has this comforting smell that makes her a little nostalgic.

Betty wipes tears from her cheeks, Archie watching her, concerned. “How are you okay?” she asks. “I have nightmares about that night three or four times a week. Every time my phone rings I think it’s going to be him, even though I know he’s dead. I know. But I still feel like any minute he’s going to come back and force me to do things. Kill more people. And you seem fine.”

Archie swallows. “I’m not fine,” he tells her. He slips his hand into hers. “I lied before. About why I’m staying here. My dad was fine with me staying at home by myself. But I couldn’t bear to be alone for a week. Every noise makes me think the Black Hood is breaking into my house. It’s bad enough when my dad is there, but I think I’d go crazy if I had to be there alone. And I have nightmares too.”

Betty listens to all this, watching him. Her heart aches for him. He doesn’t look at her while he speaks, instead focusing on their joined hands.

“What are your nightmares about?” Betty asks.

Archie shrugs. “Mostly about my dad being shot.”

“I’m sorry.”

He meets her eyes then. “I feel scared, all the time, and I hate it. I didn’t want to admit it to anyone.”

“No one would think less of you.”

Archie doesn’t seem convinced. “That’s only part of the reason I’m staying here. It’s not just the Black Hood I’m afraid of. It’s Hiram Lodge. I think he’s a killer, Betty. And he wants me to do things…”

Betty squeezes his hand. “I’m here. I’m here for you. Don’t let him manipulate you, Arch. You have such a big heart and I know you will do anything for Veronica. But don’t let the Lodges change who you are.”

Archie smiles. His thumb gently strokes the back of her hand, and the feather light touch gets Betty’s stomach fluttering. She should pull away, but she doesn’t. She just watches him caress her hand like it’s nothing. She feels him watching her, and she looks up, meeting his eyes.

“I should go back to bed,” Archie says, his voice hoarser than it had been previously. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Yeah,” Betty nods. She wants to ask him to stay. She knows he wants her to ask him. He stands, only dropping her hand when he can’t reach it any longer.

“Arch?” Betty says hesitantly, as he reaches the door. He turns back. She opens her mouth. She almost tells him to stay. “Goodnight,” she says instead.

Archie smiles. “Goodnight, Betty.”

He closes the door behind him and Betty lies back down. Somehow, she knows she won’t sleep. After a minute of consideration, she folds her covers back and slips out of bed, padding down the hallway to Polly’s old room. She doesn’t bother knocking, just pushes the door open.

If Archie is surprised to see her he doesn’t show it. He doesn’t say anything, just shifts over, so there’s room on the bed for her. Betty closes the door and walks over to the bed, getting under the covers beside him. He puts his arms around her silently, and she’s asleep in minutes.

  Living with Archie doesn’t mean spending 24/7 with him. They walk to and from school together on Monday, but they both have different routines in the morning and after school.

Betty is already basically ready before Archie even gets out of bed. He uses his fifteen minutes to do his hair and scoff down two bowls of cereal.

After school, Betty heads straight to her room to do homework, while Archie plucks at his guitar in the next room. She thinks he must be writing something. She can’t really make out any lyrics or even much of the melody, but she finds the strumming soothing.

Betty helps her mom cook dinner while Archie goes for a run. Betty swears that boy has some kind of internal clock that lets him know when food is about to be served, because they’re just about to dish up when Betty hears the front door open again.

“Dinner’s ready!” Betty calls, and moments later she hears Archie enter the kitchen, panting. Betty turns to make fun of him for his impeccable timing, but when she looks at him, she finds the words die on her tongue. She probably shouldn’t be rendered speechless by a shirtless Archie Andrews anymore, after all, he’s shirtless a lot. But something about his messy hair and his sweaty chest gets her hot all over. Yeah, she really shouldn’t be turned on by this.

“Is it okay if I have a quick shower before we eat? I promise I won’t be long,” Archie says. He meets Betty’s eye and she nods, because apparently that’s all she’s capable of right now.

“That’s fine, Archie,” Alice says. Archie nods and heads upstairs. Alice gives Betty a suspicious frown, and Betty can feel her face turning bright red. She busies herself with tossing the salad.

Archie is fully dressed when he returns downstairs five minutes later. He joins Betty in the kitchen and helps her dish up the spaghetti. Betty can’t look at him. He may have a shirt on now but he’s still all damp and sexy, and he smells really good.

In any case, the damage has already been done. He’s got her all flustered and hot and she can’t stop thinking about him without his clothes on.

He sits next to her at the dinner table, his knee pressed against hers. She could move. It wouldn’t be very hard to just shift slightly so they aren’t touching. But she doesn’t.

“This is delicious, thanks, Mrs Cooper,” Archie says, twirling another mouthful of spaghetti onto his fork.

“It’s just spaghetti, Archie,” Alice rolls her eyes, but Betty thinks her mom looks pleased. Archie glances at Betty and grins. He thinks he’s such a charmer. She shakes her head, but she smiles anyway.

“Archie, are you singing at the Spring Fete on the weekend?” Alice asks.

“Yeah,” Archie nods. He moves his leg abruptly so their knees no longer touch. “With Veronica.”

Archie glances at Betty, and she’s plunged back into guilt. She reminds herself she hasn’t done anything wrong. She just has to get a handle on her thoughts and emotions before they get too out of control.

After dinner, Archie offers to do the washing up. Betty offers to help him but he waves her away, and Betty retreats to her bedroom. She tries to finish up her homework but she can’t seem to concentrate. She’s still on edge from before, and her body is still all tingly. She bites her lip, glancing at the door.

She crosses the room and makes sure the door is firmly locked. She settles back onto her bed and gingerly slips her hand into her panties. She’s soaking wet, like she knew she would be.

She lets her finger slowly trail along her slit a couple of times, and then she circles her clit, feeling it throb. She bites her lip and closes her eyes, trying to conjure up an image of Jughead. Jughead is sexy, there’s no doubt about it. He’s got that dangerous brooding thing going on, and damn it if he doesn’t look good in a leather jacket.

But the image doesn’t last long. As Betty lets her fingers work her clit, her thoughts inevitably slide to Archie, all sweaty and muscular. Betty whines as she rubs her clit, imagining it’s Archie’s hand and not her own. She imagines him on top of her, kissing her all over her body, fingering her like she’s fingering herself now.

Even as she nears climax, she knows it’s wrong. He’s her best friend’s boyfriend. Her boyfriend’s best friend. Could it get any more fucked up than that? And yet the guilt is nothing compared to her arousal, her desperate need to come, and it’s only the fantasy of him that gets her there.

She lies there, breathing hard, her hand still in her panties, fingers covered in her own juices. The guilt really hits her then. It isn’t fair. She was over him! She was perfectly happy and in love with Jughead, her crush on Archie dissolved to nothing.

Except apparently it hadn’t. Apparently, she had just buried it so deep she’d forgotten about it, but now it’s back, worse than ever.

She’s a terrible person. A bad friend, and an even worse girlfriend. She shouldn’t want him. And yet she does, she does, she does.