Chapter Text
Proposal: Day 0
Well, You Left - Rilo Kiley
“So tell the mutual friends, you went and walked out on me
And now the weather gets cold, but you can finally breathe
Seemed some things are going prefect for you
It's usually just make believe”
Betty glanced at her phone, waiting for the chimes that would signal Veronica’s text. Tonight was the night Archie Andrews would finally propose to the girl of his dreams, and Betty couldn’t wait for her reaction.
When Archie had first told her of his plan three weeks ago, she was the first to offer suggestions. Though he’d been more than happy to listen, ultimately he went with a plan of his own. A nice, quiet dinner at their favorite Italian restaurant, followed by a midnight stroll in the park. He’d pop the question where the couple had finally made their relationship official for the second time.
Despite her high-school crush on the All-American quarterback, she’d been the one he’d asked to go ring shopping with him, the only one close enough to the both of them to really know what kind of ring Veronica would want. Archie had headed straight for the ostentatious, overly showy rings, but Betty had managed to talk him out of it, instead guiding him towards the classy, elegant, and less showy rings that Veronica had favored lately. Glancing at the clock she realized it would be at least another hour before they were even close to finishing dinner. So Betty went back to researching her latest article to kill time.
It was close to two a.m. before Veronica finally texted. ‘He proposed! I love the ring B! Totally your handiwork, isn’t it? :)’
Betty chuckled softly and send back a congratulatory text. She sighed and lay back on her bed, happy her friends were finally taking the next step in their lives together. Ten years ago the idea of Archie getting married to someone who wasn’t her would have torn her apart, especially if it were to her best friend. Then again, ten years ago she was still pining over Archie. She wasn’t still stuck on the boy who made her fall in love with him then disappeared from her life eight months later. Idly she wondered if he’d even come to the wedding. If he did, would he try to talk to her? Would she?
For a few moments she let herself wonder about him, whether he still thought about her as often as she thought about him. Knowing him, he’d be entirely indifferent about the matter. Or at least act like it. He’d always had a better grasp of handling his emotions than she had. Perhaps he wouldn’t feel anything towards her. After all, he’d been able to cut ties between them so easily the first time. And they’d lived in the same city for a few years now; if he’d wanted to see her again he wouldn’t have waited so long. He’d have done what she’d wanted to all those years ago and tracked her down. Only this time he knew exactly where she’d ended up.
Her phone gave off a soft ting, interrupting her thoughts, and she glanced at it. ‘Article ready in the morning?’ read the text from her boss. Betty groaned and sat back up, cracking her knuckles and getting back to work, more than happy to let an analysis of the New York mayoral election wipe any thoughts of old boyfriends and ancient history from her mind.
Xxx
Engagement: Day 12
Though it wasn’t unusual for Archie to ask her to lunch, his invitation coming so close on the heels of his engagement it felt more like a preparation for something unpleasant. There was no doubt in Betty’s mind as to what it pertained to though she sincerely hoped she was wrong. For the first hour they’d exchanged the normal pleasantries between friends, but eventually the conversation died down and her curiosity got the better of her.
"Why are we here, really?” Betty asked, picking at what remained of her food. She glanced up at Archie and found he had a guilty look on his face. “I know it’s not because you wanted to talk about floral arrangements,” she teased lightly, trying to calm his unease.
Archie gave her a half-hearted grin that vanished quickly. “I want Jughead to be my best man,” he said, his eyes searching her face for something. She kept a neutral expression on her face, her heart racing at what she knew was inevitable. Whatever had gone on between the two men in the past hadn’t been enough to break their friendship. And now that they were older, it was Archie and Jughead doing things, while Veronica and Betty went off on their own. It was a shame, she thought absently, that something that happened so long ago was still pulling on their friendship.
When she didn’t answer, Archie continued, mistaking her thoughtfulness for something else. “But I don’t want things to be weird for you. Either of you. If you don’t want to have to deal with that, I can ask Reggie, or Moose even.”
Betty smiled and shook her head. Archie Andrews, ever the sweet-heart, overly concerning himself about how other people felt. “No, if you want Jughead as your best man, then he’s your best man. Besides, we’re both adults. I’m sure we can figure something out.” Her gut tensed at how easy her words sounded and she prayed she was right on that point. “Besides, it’s your wedding. You get what you want. Whatever might have happened between me and Jughead is between us. That shouldn’t affect you. Or Veronica”
Archie gave her a shy grin. “Thanks, Betty. Do you want to talk about it? What happened between you two?” he asked, not for the first time.
Betty shook her head and took a long drink of her orange juice as she thought his offer over. It wasn't the first time he'd asked about her side of the story, and it wouldn't be the first time she refused to share it with him. There were some things she wanted to keep to herself. “No. Like I said, it’s in the past. If he’d wanted to do anything to change things he would have contacted me a long time ago.”
He gave her a searching look, his face quiet and thoughtful. There was something else he wanted to say, she knew that, but like all the other times he’d been brought up, Archie held his tongue. Instead he settled for a less direct question. “Why didn’t you contact him? I know you miss him. Or at least you used to.”
She sighed. “I wanted to. But when I found out he’d been in the city for almost a year and never heard from him, it just didn’t seem like I was someone he wanted anything to do with.
“You didn’t exactly reach out to him either,” Archie pointed out.
Betty pursed her lips, well aware of her own failure to bridge the gap between them. Then again, she hadn’t been the one to leave, to turn their back completely on their relationship. On their friendship. “That doesn’t matter now,” she said, her sharp tone warning him off of that particular conversation. “What does matter is that you and Veronica are getting married and we need to be there for the both of you on your big day.”
Archie paused and scratched his neck. “Actually, it’s not going to just be the wedding and rehearsal. Veronica’s already got a lot of people wanting to throw parties and showers for her. She’s been able to turn most of them down, but there’s people she can’t say no to.”
Betty raised her eyebrows. It was well known Veronica was a socialite of the highest caliber in New York, but even after seven years of friendship the heiress’ social demands could be overwhelming. “How many?”
“About ten, so far. Give or take. She’s working on getting people to combine them though.”
Already feeling overwhelmed, Betty took in a deep breath. She could do this. She would do this. It didn’t matter how awkward their first meeting would be, she and Jughead would be able to put aside their differences as adults and at least fake an outward air of civility. Besides, she was over him and the pain he’d caused her years ago. And if there was a twisting feeling of anticipation growing in her stomach, it was only because she was so excited for her friends.
Right?
xxxx
Engagement: Day 13
When Archie had called that afternoon, Jughead knew it wasn’t just for their normal afternoon of video games and pizza now that Archie was engaged. But it was one of the rare weekends where Veronica was out of town and Archie wasn’t prepping for a show, and now that they were older the chances of hanging out like in the old days were becoming few and fewer.
“So Veronica wants Betty to be her maid of honor,” Archie said after they’d both eaten their share of pizza, his eyes glued to the screen. Jughead gave a grunt of acknowledgement. “You ok with that?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” Jughead asked, tilting the controller to glide through a particularly tight turn.
This was something Jughead had long seen coming despite his best efforts at avoidance. Archie was head-over-heels in love with Veronica, and she, in turn, thought he hung the moon. Betty was still Veronica’s best friend, and he was still Archie’s. Ergo, they’d both eventually be thrown together when Archie finally got enough the nerve to propose to Veronica. Really Jughead was just surprised that they hadn’t been forced in the same room long before now.
Next to him Archie shrugged. “History,” he said simply.
Jughead sighed and hit the pause button. Knowing there was more to it than his best friend would let on, he set down his controller and turned to Archie. “It’s been seven years, Arch. I’m pretty sure we’re both mature enough to put any history we may have aside for you and Veronica.”
The worried crease between Archie’s brows softened and he gave a tentative smile. “I know Betty is. But you? Veronica still hasn’t forgiven you for floating those Paydays in her pool last Memorial Day.”
The memory drew a snicker from Jughead. “That’s a reference to classic cinematic history. Not my fault she doesn’t appreciate the comedic genius of Bill Murray.”
“Genius that got you banned all from Lodge family events for life,” Archie reminded him. His voice was stern, but he was grinning widely.
Jughead rolled his eyes. “Oh I shan’t live with myself without the privilege of entry to Castle Lodge,” he deadpanned. He picked up his controller and unpaused the game, drawing a cry of disbelief from his friend as he scrambled to recover.
They spent the rest of the afternoon playing video games and eating pizza, neither bringing the subject of Betty or weddings up again.
And if Jughead’s stomach slowly began to turn in on itself he could only blame the greasy pizza.
xxxxxx
“She would have liked to know how he felt as to a meeting. Perhaps indifferent, if indifference could exist under such circumstances. He must be either indifferent or unwilling. Has he wished ever to see her again, he need not have waited till this time; he would have done what she could not but believe that in his place she should have done long ago, when events had been early giving him the independence which alone had been wanting.”
Persuasion, Chapter 7