In all of Riverdale there were no two better friends than Archie Andrews and Forsythe Pendleton Jones III, more commonly referred to as Jughead. On the surface, they had few things in common. Archie was kind, athletic, girl-crazy, and occasionally pretty clumsy. Jughead, while caring for others more than he'd let on, often came across as sarcastic. Sports were nothing more than a waste of time to him, didn't care much more about girls, and was always easygoing. The thing that eternally bonded them together was Archie's inexplicable ability to cheer Jughead up no matter what he was going through. While most of their classmates were turned off by Jughead's smarminess when he first moved to Riverdale, Archie was the only person who didn't give up trying to befriend him, eventually succeeding. The openness and honesty of their relationship meant that Jughead was Archie's sounding board for any predicament he faced. It was a role Jughead played once again while driving to school on a sunny Wednesday morning.
"Juggie, I've got a huge problem. I'm talking an absolutely monumental problem."
Jughead sighed and mentally prepared for what he was sure was another one of Archie's "I planned a date with Betty and Veronica at the same time, woe is me" problems.
"Which one is it?" Jughead asked. "Betty? Veronica? Both?"
"Now why do you automatically assume it's about one of them? I'll have you know I have a lot more going on in my life besides girls, Jug," Archie declared.
Archie stopped at a stoplight. Jughead turned and looked at Archie right in his eyes. After a few seconds they both broke out into hysterical laughter, neither one able to keep it together any longer. They laughed so long that neither one noticed when the light turned green, causing the car behind Archie's to honk its horn.
"Okay, you got me, Jug, "Archie admitted. "It's about Betty this time. She's acting…strange."
Often we hear about an actress or singer being a girl next door type, someone who's attractive but approachable, someone who means no harm to anyone and is sweet to a fault. Betty Cooper, while possessing all of those qualities, was also literally the girl next door, having lived next door to Archie their whole lives. They had been best friends growing up but at some indeterminable point, puberty, like it so often does, came and changed everything between them. Yes, they were still close friends but also in an on-again, off-again relationship as well. Whenever Archie needed a date, he could always count on Betty to pull through for him, no matter what else she may have to sacrifice. But now, something had changed.
"Strange how, Arch?" Jughead asked.
"Well, I asked her to go to a movie with me last night, and…she said no."
Prejudice. Police brutality. World hunger. These were issues the world faced that actually mattered. Archie finally getting shot down by Betty seemed like karma, if anything, not a "monumental problem". But, being Archie's best friend meant accepting all the parts of Archie, and that meant taking Archie seriously when he treated his dating life like it was the national debt or something.
"She actually said no? Has she ever done that before?"
"No, not once," Archie replied. "She's always been down to go out whenever I wanted. It was kinda nice, to be honest, having a girl always available."
"You mean it was nice keeping her on stand-by in case Veronica was too busy that night," Jughead accused.
"I don't wanna hear it, Jug. I don't make her do anything she doesn't want to do," Archie insisted.
"So now you're mad that she finally for once in her life said no to you?"
"Not mad. Just confused. I thought everything was fine. We've been just as cool as ever lately. Why wouldn't she wanna hang out with me?"
Seeing how much this really was affecting his pal, Jughead decided to withhold any confrontational remarks and try to be sympathetic to Archie's dilemma.
"Did she tell you why she couldn't?"
"Just kinda said something about school stuff. But we both know Betty. She's one of the smartest people in our grade. School's never been an issue for her. That makes me think she's hiding something," Archie suggested. "Could you maybe talk to her for me? See if anything's going on?"
Archie's car pulled into his designated parking space at Riverdale High as Jughead considered his friend's request. As much as he thought Archie was making a mountain out of a molehill, he knew he wouldn't hear the end of it if he didn't at least try to figure out what was going on.
"Yes, Archie, I'll talk to her. By 7:00 tonight you'll probably be sipping on milkshakes at Pop's together like nothing ever happened," Jughead predicted.
Archie patted his friend on the shoulder and smiled as they walked into the school building.
"Let's hope so, Juggie. Let's hope so."
…..
"I did it, Nancy! I finally did it!"
Betty Cooper walked into Riverdale High's newsroom, where Nancy Woods had come in early to edit some articles for the school's newspaper.
"No way! I didn't think you could really do it," Nancy admitted.
"But yesterday you said you had no doubt that I absolutely could do it," Betty remembered.
"Yeahhh…I was just trying to be a good friend," Nancy laughed.
"Well thanks for the confidence," Betty said sarcastically. "But I don't blame you. I didn't think I could do it either. But I did. I finally said no to a date with Archie Andrews."
Nancy squealed with excitement and pulled Betty to a desk to get the scoop.
"So what did you tell him?"
"Just gave him some obviously fake excuse about having school stuff to do. I don't think I've ever heard Archie so shocked," Betty reckoned. "It almost made me want to call him back and tell him I could go."
"No, no, no!" Nancy exclaimed. "You can't do that. You must remain strong. Believe me. Archie will never see your value until you start making yourself scarce. The reason he sees you as a number two is because you make it so obvious that he's your number one. Let him wonder about you a little bit and I promise you you'll start to get his full attention. I'd still be competing with Georgette, Liza, and Gina for Chuck if I didn't put my foot down and refuse to play that game. Now it's time for you to do the same."
"I guess you're right, Nancy. How long should I keep this up?" Betty asked.
"For as long as it takes," Nancy insisted. "Go on a few dates. I know plenty of guys that would love to go out with you."
"Yeah, right."
Betty spent so much time focused on Archie that even if Nancy was sincere she would honestly have no idea. Any attention she may have received from other guys never mattered enough to her to really register in her mind. Hearing Nancy's insistence that she did have options gave her hope that maybe she could actually make Archie a little jealous.
"I'm serious. Betty, you need to escape from the Archie bubble and see that there is a whole other world full of guys out there. Guys like Adam Chisholm," Nancy informed.
"Like football team Adam Chisholm?"
"That's the one," Nancy confirmed. "He's asked me about you a few times. Guys only do that for one reason."
"Well, he is kind of cute. I guess there would be no harm in talking to him. And if Archie happens to see us, then so be it," Betty said with a grin.
"That's my girl. The bell's ringing. Time to get to first period. I'll send Adam your way if I see him," Nancy assured.
"That's okay. I'll go find him myself."
Betty and Nancy performed their special handshake and went to their lockers.
…..
Mr. Gladstone's second period chemistry was not something Jughead found to be particularly riveting. While Mr. Gladstone was a really nice guy, having taught at Riverdale High for over ten years, there was not one student that took his class who could deny becoming at least a little bit drowsy whenever he opened his mouth. Almost without fail, he began to speak and eyes began to close. The only student Jughead found to be immune to the Gladstone curse was Dilton Doiley, who he was lucky enough to have as a lab partner. Dilton Doiley was Riverdale High's resident genius and probably could've already finished college if he wanted to. Although Dilton loved science, he enjoyed being among those his own age even more, even if he was possibly more than a little socially awkward. He may have been weirder than most, but he had a good heart, always willing to help Archie's group of friends with any science trouble they ran into. Betty, although not at a Doiley-level of genius, was not a slouch in the science department, her grades often fluctuating between a B+ and an A. Her lab partner was Ethel Muggs. Ethel completely adored Jughead, although he did everything he could to avoid her advances. Archie had joked that Ethel was into the cool beanie he wore on his head, but Dilton theorized it was Jughead's disinterest in chasing not only her but all women that made her pursue him so relentlessly. Usually staring at Jughead was what kept Ethel awake during Mr. Gladstone's class. However, 's discussion of neutrons, protons, and electrons were pushing the strength of her devotion to its utmost.
"And that is how covalent bonds are formed," Mr. Gladstone shared with a barely conscious class. "Now take the last ten minutes to work with your partner and start on those worksheets I handed out at the beginning of class."
As is most often the case when work was supposed to be done, very few of the students actually did any of the work, instead choosing to talk about what they were watching on Netflix, sports, and general gossip. Mr. Gladstone either had too much faith in the work ethic of his students or simply wanted to spend the last ten minutes of class in peace, for he didn't seem to pay attention to what they were talking about. Jughead figured he would use this opportunity to play his part as Archie's best friend and try to ask Betty about what had happened between her and Archie the night before.
"Hey, Betty, mind if I talk to you for a minute?" Jughead asked.
"Jughead, there is work to be done," Dilton declared. "The problems presented on this worksheet will not solve themselves."
"You're right," Jughead admitted. "Too bad you haven't invented a machine that could do it for us."
Jughead, having known Dilton for years, knew just what to say to get the gears turning in his head. He immediately began designing just such a machine on a sheet of scratch paper.
"How about it, Betty?"
"Actually, Juggie," Ethel interrupted, "I was hoping to talk to you. Talk you into taking me to a movie tonight."
"Sorry, Ethel, but Hot Dog ate some bad tuna last night and he's still sick," Jughead claimed. "I mean, just vomiting, vomiting everywhere. I couldn't leave him alone. You understand."
"Oh," Ethel sighed dejectedly. "Didn't he eat a squirrel last week? And a toad the week before that?"
"Eats everything in sight, just like me," Jughead said, pretending to chuckle. "Can I have just a minute, Betty?"
Ethel put headphones in her ears and began reading the worksheet.
"If you're going to lie to Ethel about not being able to go out with her, at least come up with a new excuse besides Hot Dog getting sick," Betty advised. "If your stories were true he should've thrown up his own intestines by now."
"You know I'd prefer not to lie at all but she doesn't take no for an answer," Jughead claimed. "But I don't wanna talk about Ethel's unconditional devotion to me. I wanna talk about your former unconditional devotion to our dear friend Archie."
"I wouldn't exactly call it unconditional devotion, but ok," Betty contended. "And there's nothing to talk about. I was busy. For one night. It's not the end of the world."
"That's pretty much what I said, but as Archie's best friend, I had to bring it up," Jughead confessed. "So nothing's going on? If Archie asked you out tonight, you'd say yes?"
"Maybe, maybe not. Depends on what I have planned," Betty figured. "Archie and I definitely aren't exclusive. He's proven that plenty of times. So I don't see anything wrong with me having my own thing going on."
If he was being honest with himself, Jughead completely agreed with Betty. She was an amazing girl that he felt Archie had taken advantage of one too many times. Even if he did go out with Betty occasionally, he always seemed to want Veronica more, who Jughead really didn't care for. She could be downright nasty to Archie, but he put up with it because of her looks and money. Jughead felt that if Archie was smart, he'd choose Betty before she got snatched up by another guy willing to give her the attention she deserved.
"You know what, Betty? You're absolutely right. You should be able to have your own life without Archie freaking out about it. Tell him no a few more times and that might be the kick in the butt he needs to finally wake up and realize how great you are," Jughead realized.
Jughead Jones was nothing if not full of surprises. Sometimes you wouldn't think he had anything more than hamburgers between his ears and then he could go and sneak in a wonderful compliment. He had been her shoulder to cry on more than once when Archie broke a date with her to go out with Veronica or someone else. Just because he was Archie's best friend didn't make him any less of a friend to Betty.
"Th-thanks, Jug," Betty choked. "I wouldn't ask you to pick sides-"
"It won't be picking sides," Jughead interjected. "I'll tell Archie you're just taking care of yourself right now and if he asks me my opinion I'll give it to him. You know as well as I do that sometimes Archie can be-"
"The best guy in the world," Betty said wistfully.
"And sometimes he's completely clueless," Jughead continued. "As his best friend, I say go date to your heart's content. I can pick up the pieces."
"Please don't get them mixed up with all of mine," Betty joked.
"They'll be kept in separate boxes, I promise," Jughead assured with a smile.
Soon enough the bell rang, dismissing all students to their third period classes. Betty left with a better resolve to do what she planned, become less dependent on Archie and more so on herself. Jughead left feeling proud of Betty and her newfound sense of independence. He wasn't looking forward to telling Archie his go-to girl was not going to be so reliable from now on, but because he truly wanted what was best for his friend, he knew this would be better for him in the long run. Maybe the new redhead that just moved to Riverdale would be enough to ease the pain.