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As soon as the members of the newly-formed Archies joined their adoring fans Cheryl gave Toni a quick peck on the cheek. "Back in two shakes of a lamb's tail." Making a bee-line for 'B,' she took the blonde's elbow and steered her to the relatively vacant side of the diner. "So, Cousin," she opened with a knowing smirk. "Care to revisit our little 'tête-à-tête' about canoodling with Archie?"
It wasn't hard for Betty to turn the shock into confusion as it played across her face, but it was a little harder to stop the hint of panic from creeping into her voice. "What are you talking about?"
Cheryl rolled her eyes. "Please! Your performance of that one song – fantastic as it was – had more 'looks fraught with meaning' than the entirety of the show itself. You're lucky your significant others were up there on stage with you." After a beat she added, "And that I'm more perceptive than the average bear i.e. Riverdale hick." No one else seemed to have noticed, though she had no doubt that if Veronica and Jughead had been in a position to, they would have.
Refusing to believe (or admit) she'd been that obvious, Betty considered instead that her cousin slash frenemy was just trying to get her to incriminate herself… "Cheryl, I don't know what you think you saw, but…"
"Don't insult my intelligence, Betty Cooper. I've witnessed enough clandestine Barchie kisses to know there's something…" The thought was abandoned when Cheryl caught her companion's flinch. "Oh, well, this is a new development. Am I sensing there have been some I wasn't privy to?"
Betty kept the guilty tears at bay by sheer force of will. "Cheryl, I know you thrive on sowing chaos but you're way off base here. Haven't you realized by now that your spiteful attempts to destroy our relationships never go the way you think they will?" It was part lashing out, angry more at herself than the redhead, and part feeble effort to bluff her way out.
Cheryl stiffened at the accusation; recovered to tsk, "Wrong tact, Cousin; you would've been better off appealing to my sense of familial loyalty than lying to my face and insulting me." With an indignant toss of her flame-colored mane she began to saunter back to her girlfriend.
Yeah – 'cause familial loyalty had kept her from spilling the beans the last two times… But as she watched the receding figure, Betty decided she didn't have much of a choice. "Cheryl, wait. I'm sorry."
Stopping, Cheryl pivoted to bestow the blonde a steely gaze. "I'm listening."
"It's complicated," Betty grudgingly allowed, hands held out in supplication. An appeal to the girl's ego. "I'm begging you to let it go."
Cheryl's features softened, her lips pursed in sympathy (or maybe it was pity). "I'll consider it. But I have to tell you, Cousin: judging by what I saw up there tonight?" She paused for dramatic effect before spinning on her heel and announcing over her shoulder, "Even if I did, you two can't."
Realizing she wasn't the only one who'd been giving off vibes, Betty cursed herself the sudden appearance of butterflies in her stomach. She took a moment to compose herself before returning to the group which had lost Kevin but gained her mother, FP, and Jellybean.
Alice wasted no time in pulling her daughter tightly into her side. "Honey, you were soo good."
Forcing a smile, Betty reluctantly received the kiss to her temple. "Thanks, Mom." She locked eyes with Archie – who was standing arm-in-arm with Veronica – then quickly looked away from the reminder that she'd been anything but good.
"You all did great," FP amended with an affectionate roll of the eyes at his girlfriend. "I think it's safe to say The Archies are a hit." Not wanting to accidentally make things worse, he stopped short of mentioning how proud Fred would be.
"Not that there was ever any doubt," Veronica grinned, buffing her nails on her coat. "But since we did so great… celebratory milkshakes? My treat."
Panic once again gripped Betty, nowhere near ready to sit in a booth with the two people she'd betrayed so deeply and her best friend with whom she'd done the betraying (and had since fantasized about doing it again). "I'm gonna pass, guys. I'm kinda beat." The excuse sounded rushed to her ears but thankfully the three voices agreeing, one more enthusiastically than the others, drowned it out.
FP squeezed his daughter's shoulders. "Not you, little miss. It's already past your bedtime."
Jellybean rolled her eyes. "Bed's boring."
"Make sure you keep that thought," Alice laughed, ignoring the horrified glare her boyfriend shot her, before addressing her own daughter. "You'll come home with us, then."
"I think I'm going to walk. Work off this adrenaline so I can sleep." Figure out what Cheryl would accept in exchange for her silence…
Archie opened his mouth to offer his services but her boyfriend beat him to it.
"I'll go with you." Jughead was grateful for some alone time, having barely seen her all week. "Raincheck?" The last part was directed at the brunette.
"Sure," Veronica shrugged. "Archiekins and I can have an après-show mini-date."
Archie tried not to seem uncomfortable at the thought. He'd been ready to tell her about the kiss when she'd shown up in his room but since then couldn't seem to find the words. Probably because he hadn't yet figured out what he wanted the result of the conversation to be.
If Betty wasn't ready to share milkshakes she sure as hell wasn't ready to share her bed, literally or figuratively. "Aren't you going back to the bunker?" she prompted her boyfriend. "To finish your essay?" That dingy bunker, disgusting as it was, sure had proven a life-saver on more than one occasion.
"Guess I'm not getting the night off, after all," Jughead lamented to those assembled, playing off his disappointment. "You are a brutal task-master, Betty Cooper."
Hoping it wasn't as nervous as it felt, she gave him an apologetic smile and a placating, "At least you can stay and have your milkshake."
Jughead sighed. "No – you're right. If I get back to it now I might have some weekend left to enjoy." And a girlfriend willing to enjoy it with him.
Not liking this turn of events, Alice let out a disapproving tut. "Betty, you know I don't care for you walking these streets alone at night." Or at all, really.
Betty closed her eyes wearily. "Mom, I'll be perfectly fine…"
"Elizabeth," Alice interrupted. "I will not have this conversation again. There are too many…"
"I'll make sure she gets home safe, Mrs. Cooper," Archie broke in before she could have the conversation again. "Sorry, Ronnie." He'd just pick up the truck tomorrow.
It was Veronica's turn to sigh. "I guess I'll call my driver." Some celebration this turned out to be…
"It's 'Smith' now, Archie." Softening her tone Alice added, "But thank you."
Veronica was looking at Archie, seemingly waiting for him to protest her going home, and her sad expression as she finally left the group made Betty feel doubly shamed. "Arch, you don't have to…"
Alice put up a hand. "Either Archie escorts you or you come home with us. Those are your options." It seemed pointless when her stubborn daughter went searching for trouble every chance she got, but that was all the more reason to lessen the risk wherever possible.
Betty looked to FP for support in declaring her mother unreasonable.
"Don't look at me, Blondie," he advised with a wry chuckle. "For once I agree with her."
"Hey!" Alice swatted his arm.
"Betty, it's fine," Archie promised. "I kinda have to go that way anyway."
His boyish grin set off warning bells in Betty's head, and other effects elsewhere, but she knew she couldn't put up any more resistance without raising suspicions. "Thanks, Arch."
FP pointed Jellybean in the direction of the car. "Come on, Son. We'll give you a ride to your place of exile."
Alice frowned at him. "Don't make Betty feel bad. She's just trying to make sure your son graduates."
"She knows I'm just teasing," he defended, snaking an arm around his girlfriend's waist. "We Jones men need a little 'hard-ass' in our lives, don't we, Son? Keeps us on the straight-and-narrow."
"You wouldn't know 'straight-and-narrow' if it kicked you in the ass," Alice scoffed, though she did lean into him.
FP winked at her. "You love it."
"Gross!" Jellybean declared as they kissed over her head.
Jughead took advantage of the distraction to pull Archie aside. "Hey – can you do me a favor and try to get Betty to talk to you? She said we're okay after the fight but I don't know. She's been distant."
"Why don't you get Veronica to talk to her?" The moment it left his mouth Archie wished he could take it back; he'd only been thinking about the position he was being put in – as the most likely cause of the distance – not the position his suggestion would put Betty in. "I mean, I can ask but you know we haven't exactly been close lately." Lies.
"Yeah, but you're you," Jughead shrugged. "And if Veronica asks her it might just turn into a 'boys suck' session and I'll be worse off than when I started. At least I know you have my back."
Archie didn't point out that his allegiance did and always would lie with Betty; that probably went against bro code and might tip his friend off that he was currently stabbing him in it besides. "I see your point. Probably wouldn't be too good for me, either." In more ways than one. For all Betty's many talents, lying and feigning innocence weren't exactly her strengths.
"So you'll do it? Thanks, man." Jughead clapped him on the back.
When the guys rejoined the group Betty put away her phone she'd been using to entertain Jellybean (while their parents 'canoodled') and tried not to act like them being locked in a huddle was grounds for worry.
"Ready?" FP asked his son.
Jughead nodded as he approached his girlfriend. "I'll call you tomorrow? Or you could come visit. Give me a temporary reprieve from the life of Buck."
Betty gave him a tight nod but a more relaxed kiss, hand on his chest. "Bye."
"Archie, I'm trusting you with my girl," Alice warned, only half-joking. "Don't make me regret it."
"What she said," Jughead echoed with a wink.
God, Betty hoped her cheeks didn't reflect the flush she suddenly felt. And if they did, that it wasn't visible in the dim lighting of the parking lot.
Veronica returned just in time for everyone to exchange goodbyes, leaving her with her boyfriend and her best friend. "Here, B."
Smiling awkwardly, Betty took her purse from the brunette. "Thanks, V."
Archie could tell she was uncomfortable but manners wouldn't allow him to simply abandon anyone, much less his girlfriend. "Do you want us to wait with you?"
"No need," she told him, gesturing to the crowd that remained. "I'll find someone to chat with until my ride gets here."
"Are you sure?" he asked automatically.
Betty considered vetoing her, just to avoid the possibility of that someone being Cheryl, but the need to flee was too great.
Sliding her fingers under her boyfriend's coat to grip his shirt, Veronica tugged until their lips met. "Yes, Archiekins. Now go get our Betty home before she turns into a pumpkin." She spared the blonde a teasing grin. "Or her mom calls in the National Guard."
The chrome accents on the car they stood next to became incredibly fascinating to Betty as her best friends 'said' goodbye. She reengaged once they parted. "Talk to you tomorrow?"
Veronica nodded, then went off in search of someone to keep her company.
As soon as they set off Betty stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets. "Sorry. I didn't mean to take you away from…"
"Betty, I told you it's fine." Looking up at the sky he sighed, "I wasn't really feeling the whole celebration thing, anyway."
She knew how he felt, though her reason was decidedly less sympathetic. "How are you doing?"
Archie was going to assume she was talking about missing his dad because they'd yet to talk about what had happened between them (and knowing her, never would). He'd yet to decide what he was going to do about that… "I'm okay. I was distracted during the song so it wasn't so bad." Mostly with the performance, partly by her. "I guess it didn't really hit me until I saw you with your mom."
Glancing at him, she resisted the urge to extend a comforting touch. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," he quickly assured her, then regained his train of thought. "I mean, I'm used to my mom not being around. She comes back when I need her but she's not really present, you know?"
It was clearly rhetorical so Betty said nothing.
"But my dad was always there. Even when I didn't want him to be." God, what he'd give to be able to be annoyed by his dad again… "To go from that to pretty much being an orphan…"
His voice cracked and Betty's heart broke. Before she could think better of it she grabbed his arm and spun him towards her. "You're not alone, okay? You have me and Jughead and Veronica and FP." Too late she realized how close the move had put them, and looking up at him the breath caught in her throat. She tried to relieve the tension with a light, "Even my mom, but I'm not sure you want her; she's like four 'present' parents all in one."
Archie would like to be able to say he'd heard a word she'd said but all his attention was on her soft eyes and nervous smile and the lip caught between her teeth. He swallowed hard. "Betty…"
It was a warning, she thought, that if she didn't pull away… And she did. Jumped away, actually, when her phone dinged jarringly in the silence. Pulling it out of her pocket (almost dropping it in her haste), she didn't know if she was more relieved or disappointed. "Sorry," she instinctively apologized, then blushed because it must have sounded like she was apologizing for the interruption.
Saved by the bell… It was probably for the best, though he did have to quash a surge of (unfair) resentment. "Jughead?"
Definitely relief. Had to be… "V, actually. She wants me to make sure you're alright." Texting provided a convenient cover for avoiding his gaze as she quietly volunteered, "She's worried. I think she expected you to invite her home with you." To be honest Betty had expected the same, and the thought had made her feel irrationally sick.
Yeah – that was something else Archie just hadn't been feeling lately… It was the perfect segue into the kiss, especially given what had just almost happened, but he chickened out and started walking again. "What did Cheryl want?"
If he'd noticed then Jug definitely had, and she was glad she'd already come up with a story. Was seriously tempted to use it right now, actually… Sighing, she put her cell away and began to follow. "She knows. Well, thinks she knows, anyway."
"What?" He stopped short, surprised by the info but more so by her admitting there was something to know. "How?"
Betty shrugged as she passed him, trying to appear unconcerned. "She has a sixth sense for drama, remember?" They'd been counting on it when planning their little performances at Pop's and in the music room. "And apparently we aren't very subtle."
Falling into step beside her, Archie refrained from asking if that meant he wasn't the only one who'd been 'distracted.' Afraid calling her on it would make her shut down. "Do you think she's gonna say something?"
She'd thrown the 'subtle' part out there to see if he'd deny it; hated that she was pleased he hadn't. "I don't know. All she has are suspicions but I think she knows she doesn't need more. Considering the last time, it wouldn't take much for Jughead to believe her." Believe her enough to ask, anyway, and she wasn't sure she'd be able to deny it if confronted directly.
"Veronica, either, I think." He couldn't always tell with her, though his uncertainty here served more as a bit of bait. "She asked if I'd felt anything when we were pretending."
Eyes cutting to his profile, Betty had a brief (yet heated) internal debate before masochistic curiosity won out. "What did you tell her?"
Archie looked at his best friend – trying to figure out what it was she wanted to hear – but she was staring straight ahead. "That she was the only one for me. But I didn't say 'no.'" At the time he'd thought he was being clever, avoiding an outright lie; now he was questioning even what he had said.
It was the same thing she'd said to Jughead only she had said 'no,' knowing it wasn't the truth. Maybe to ease his doubts or maybe in hopes of convincing herself. Either way, she'd certainly never thought it would come to this.
After a few minutes he accepted she wasn't going to comment. "So how do you want to play this?"
"Play this?" Betty blinked at him.
Okay, maybe not the best choice of words… "I guess we tell them before Cheryl gets a chance to?" Part of him was happy to have his hand forced.
Betty gave a violent shake of her head. "No."
"No?" he repeated dumbly, though he knew he hadn't misheard.
She didn't like it any more than he seemed to. "There are no mitigating circumstances here, Archie. We weren't broken up with them or going up against a sadistic serial killer." Albeit the wrong sadistic serial killer… "Getting into an argument isn't an excuse. We'd only be hurting them for nothing."
Ignoring the tightening of his chest, Archie spun her around like she had him earlier. "For nothing?" He couldn't have misread all the signs.
Betty moved her tongue around her suddenly dry mouth. "This doesn't change anything, Arch. You love V and I love Jug." That was like her mantra now.
It was Archie's turn to shake his head. "Yeah, but…"
"There are no 'but's," she cut him off softly. "It was a mistake. We were upset and we turned to each other because it's familiar and safe. And it's easy because there's no baggage. No fighting about Serpent business or the future or school…"
"Uh, we fight about school every time you wake me up at 9am on Saturday for tutoring." He'd had to say something to derail her little monologue; didn't know if she'd prepared it specifically for him or if it was just what she'd been telling herself.
Rolling her eyes because that was hardly fighting, she continued as though he hadn't spoken. "…Or nefarious criminal enterprises or sick fathers. Whatever feelings you think you have will go away now that you've made up. Just give it a minute."
Archie's brow furrowed as she left him. "Wait – think I have?"
"Yes," she confirmed without slowing.
"I just told you I felt something when we were pretending to be together." He rushed to join her. "I wasn't having any problems with Ronnie then."
Yeah, so that was information she hadn't had when formulating her theory… "Maybe you can't separate acting from reality. Or maybe you subconsciously resent her for having to be nice to the man who put you through so much hell. I don't know, Archie; I just know it's not real."
He put himself in front of her, forcing her to stop. "You don't know that."
"Yes, I do. Because it doesn't make sense." Her eyes began to sting but she managed to keep them clear. "Years I waited for you to wake up and see me – to look at me like that – and nothing. Now all of a sudden…"
"Not all of a sudden," he immediately corrected, shaking his head. "When you kissed me…"
She clamped a hand over his mouth. "Archie, I swear to God, if you try to rewrite history – act like you didn't run right back to her without giving me a second thought – I won't be responsible for my actions." She couldn't handle that right now.
A little taken aback by the threat, he recovered just in time to grab her when she tried to sidestep him. "Damn it, Betty! I wanted to talk about it when it happened but you brushed me off. And then Veronica wanted to get back together and it was safe because I didn't have to give you a second thought. Think about if I was imagining it or if the kiss had actually meant something. If you were just missing Jughead. If what I felt was just about her rejecting me and I would only end up hurting you again…"
That was all very convenient and not at all comforting… "I brushed you off because I hadn't meant it to happen and there's only so many times a girl can hear 'It's not you, it's me.'" Letting out a brittle laugh, she tacked on a pointed, "And considering how pretty much the very next time I saw you your tongue was down her throat, it was the right call."
Hanging his head, he dropped his voice to a whisper. "I'm sorry." For how he'd handled it. For hurting her again even though it was the absolute last thing he'd wanted to do. "But when you got back with Jughead it was like proof, you know? That that was how it was supposed to be."
"And it was," she instantly agreed. "It is."
Archie hadn't missed her flinch as she'd corrected herself. "I don't think I can lie to myself anymore, Betty. When we were pretending to be together it didn't feel like acting. It felt normal. Right." As much as he'd tried to ignore it. "I looked forward to going to school. And I couldn't help but think about how different the last few years could have been. No mob, no trial, no juvie fight club, no bears, no Red Paladin…"
"You just proved my point," Betty interjected, latching onto that so she didn't have to acknowledge the rest. "Those things had more to do with who your girlfriend is than it not being me." She tried to be the forgiving type but that was something she would never be able to forgive: Veronica encouraging him to get so dangerously entangled in her family knowing exactly who her father was and of what he was capable.
Okay, so she wasn't wrong… "But it does have to do with you. Because if I hadn't been caught up in all my stuff I would've been there for yours. Chic and your dad and the Sisters and the Farm." The Adderall… He hated that he hadn't noticed how much worse it had gotten; liked to think he could have convinced her to get proper treatment if he had. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."
He seemed genuinely pained and her hand was halfway to his cheek before she redirected it to smooth down her ponytail instead. "Arch, it's okay. I wasn't alone."
"It's not okay." He'd justified it by telling himself that it wasn't his place – that he'd be stepping on Jughead's toes – but she wouldn't let that stop her if their positions were reversed. "It should have been me, and I can't stand that it wasn't."
Betty looked up at him pleadingly. "Arch, you have to stop." It wasn't that she didn't understand – it was that she understood all too well.
He couldn't. Wouldn't make the same mistake again. "And if it was you, you would've kept me from getting in too deep with the boxing and Dodger and the crime-fighting. Because you're my rock, Betty. You keep me grounded. You're still the first person I go to call when something happens…"
"That's what a best friend is," she argued feebly, retreating a step because her entire body felt hot. "You're just confusing…"
"Why?" He erased the space she'd put between them. "Why are you saying it like it can't be both? Why does 'easy' have to mean it isn't real?" It was what she'd said to explain away the kiss, and he held her gaze to hoarsely suggest, "Maybe it's so easy because it is real."
Her hand made it to his face this time, but only so she could physically impress upon him the importance of what she was saying. Or so she told herself… "I need it not to be real, Archie. Don't you get that?" Throat tight, she shared the thought that had plagued her since: "Because even if it is real, it doesn't matter."
"How can you say that?" Covering her hand with his own, he entwined their fingers. "Of course it matters."
"We love them, Archie," she sighed, gently freeing herself though she wanted to do anything but. "Whatever this is doesn't change that. So unless we're prepared to torpedo our relationships and have all our friends hate us to figure it out, our only option is to forget the kiss, bury the guilt and hope to hell I come up with something Cheryl wants more than the satisfaction of exposing us."
Archie began to pace around her, fists clenched in his pockets. "You're right."
Why was being right lately so damned painful? Tilting her head, she gave him a watery smile when he came back to stand before her. "It's a tough job – keeping you grounded – but somebody's gotta do it."
"You're right that those are our options," he clarified because she'd clearly misunderstood. "But I'm not sure the second one is any better than the first."
Betty closed her eyes, relief warring with reason. "I wasn't actually offering the first one as an option, Archie."
He cupped her face in both hands and waited for her to look at him. "I was an idiot for not realizing what I had in you until I didn't have you anymore. And then I was a coward for not saying anything all the times I could have. And now I guess I'm a selfish jerk because I don't care if everyone hates us." He knew it would be worse for her, though. "It would probably be awkward because technically you live in Jughead's house, but you could come stay with me."
"Arch," she breathed, wishing he wouldn't make this so hard.
Worried she thought he was pushing too fast, he shook his head. "Not, like, in my room. Just so you don't have to stay there." So he didn't have to think of her there.
Betty laughed through the tears but it lacked mirth. "Arch, there is no way me moving in with you right next door, in your room or not, would make it less awkward." Gripping his wrists, she let the steady beat of his pulse soothe her. "And you may not think so right now but you do care. Because if they hate us it means we hurt them."
"I just…" He dried her cheeks with his thumbs, trying to come up with an argument to dispute her logic. "We've already lost so much time."
"Arch, you can't say that." Not out loud at least. "We were with people we love. It's not fair to them."
Archie searched her eyes. "Can you honestly say you don't want to be with me?"
"Arch…"
"Betty…"
"No," she sighed, resigned. "But I can't honestly say I don't want to be with Jughead, either. And only one of those involves the worst kind of betrayal." Easing out of his grasp she started walking again before she could lose her resolve.
She was right. Archie knew she was right. What he didn't know was how to deal with it. "So you expect me to just forget it happened," he recapped, catching up to her.
"Well, it didn't seem so hard for you the last time, so…" She noticed his wince and immediately felt bad. "Sorry. I guess I'm still a little bitter about that."
Archie glanced at her; shared, "I'm still a little bitter about you choosing Jughead over me after the drag race so I guess we're even."
It sounded like there was an implication there but she was too afraid to ask; was barely hanging on as it was. "Maybe we should keep our distance for a while. Just until it passes."
The assumption that it would just pass bordered on offensive, like she still didn't believe him. "You really think it's that simple?"
She considered saying 'yes' but she needed to have one person she could still be completely honest with so she said nothing instead.
"Betty, I feel like I just got my best friend back," he protested. "And we're supposed to be making the most of our last months as seniors." How could they do that apart?
"Mmm," Betty hummed, summoning a levity she didn't feel. "Should have thought about that before you kissed me. Or was that to make us even, too?"
That wasn't quite how he remembered it happening – and he'd replayed it enough times over in his mind to be fairly certain – but he let it go. "I know I'm supposed to say I'd take it back if I could, but…"
It would be a lie… "I know."
The rest of the trip was made in silence, and they didn't stop until they'd reached the bottom of her (the Jones') footpath. "Guess that means I get to sleep in tomorrow," Archie realized flatly.
Betty shared his lack of enthusiasm. "Can I trust you to get your work done on your own?"
"No." Strangely, homework wasn't high on his list of priorities at the moment.
Well, she'd certainly asked for that one. Literally. "We need to get you an actual tutor." Veronica was already out because she was a distraction more than anything, and now, even if they weren't keeping their distance, she herself wouldn't be much better. "Maybe I can get Cheryl to do it; she would see we're trying." Earn them some goodwill.
That definitely wouldn't be his first choice but Betty was doing the driving and he was just along for the ride. Still, nothing said he couldn't try to steer a little… "You could ask her Monday."
Seeing exactly what he was doing, Betty lifted a teasing eyebrow. "Or I could call her."
"You could," he shrugged, giving her his most charming grin.
Betty ignored the leap her heart made; whispered, "Good night, Archie."
"Good night, Betty." Archie waited until she'd disappeared into the house before continuing to his own, anxious to see what the morning would bring.