Moose has bought a van.
He thinks it's the absolute greatest thing ever, and he keeps going on about how much of a bargain it was. Or at least, that's what Kevin has told Betty. And because of said van, Moose has insisted on driving everyone to the coast for a few days. It's their last summer together before they all head off to different colleges, different cities, and they've all pooled their money to rent a house on the beach.
On one hand, Betty is excited. Who doesn't want to spend time with their friends at the beach with no adult supervision? (Although technically most of them are adults now too, including Betty. But that doesn't mean her mother is any less controlling.)
On the other hand, it's probably going to be weird. She and Jughead only broke up a few months ago, and Veronica and Archie only a month before that. Things are still a little awkward between them, though they keep trying to pretend they aren't. And everyone else going on this trip are couples. So it's either going to be the time of her life or a complete travesty. Betty can't be sure yet.
Kevin texts that they're on their way, so Betty grabs her bags and heads outside to meet them on the street. Archie comes out of his house a second later, bag and guitar in tow.
"Thought it might be fun to have a singalong or something," he says by way of explanation.
"Good thinking," Betty grins.
Moose's van stops in front of them a minute later, music blaring, and the side door slides open.
Toni pops her head out. "Hey guys, get in," she grins.
Betty looks into the van. "Uh, where?" she says. The van is already packed. It's supposed to be a ten-seater, but the middle two seats are piled high with bags and suitcases.
"Did you guys forget we were coming?" Archie jokes.
"It's fine, there's plenty of room," Moose yells from the driver's seat. Kevin looks very comfortable beside him in the passenger seat. At the back of the van Josie is in deep conversation with Veronica, her legs draped over Reggie who sits between them.
"Here," Toni says, shifting over a seat so she's sitting in Cheryl's lap, flicking Jughead with her hair in the process.
"Ow," Jughead says. Archie grins and shoves his bag and guitar on the pile of luggage. Betty does the same, all the while eyeing Josie and Reggie, expecting them to follow Toni's lead to give Betty somewhere to sit. Only they don't. They barely even look up from their conversation.
Archie takes the spare seat, which Betty thinks is uncharacteristic and ungentlemanly. Not that she thinks she deserves it more than him. It's just, usually he'd offer. She resigns herself to trying to make some space among the luggage.
Archie grabs her hand, and she barely has time to give him a questioning look before he pulls her into his lap.
"Really, Archie?" Betty says, unimpressed.
"Come on," he says. "You'll get crushed by all that luggage."
"It's a four-hour trip," she says. But she hasn't moved from his lap.
"Can someone shut the door so we can get going?" Moose says. Betty does it, being the closest. She hesitates before making a decision where to sit. Archie tilts his head at her, his lap still on offer. She glances at the pile of luggage. Moose puts his foot down, and before Betty can think better of it, she stumbles back onto Archie's lap.
He hooks an arm around her waist and adjusts her into a better position, pulling her as close to him as possible.
"Comfortable?" he asks, and Betty turns to see him grinning. She just rolls her eyes and turns away. Comfortable? She's not even slightly comfortable. For one thing, she's trying desperately not to put her whole weight on him, and she's got her back and shoulders rigid, trying to touch him in as little ways as possible. He's still got his arm around her, but she's trying steadfastly to ignore it.
"Hey," Archie leans forward to whisper in her ear, after they've been driving for all of ten minutes. Betty shivers. "Relax."
He's right. She can't spend four hours sitting like this. And what's the big deal anyway? It's Archie. It's not like it's some gross dude who's going to try and take advantage of the situation. It doesn't mean anything. He just doesn't want her to get crushed by luggage.
She leans back against his chest, ignoring the way her heart races. She tries not to think about how nicely their bodies fit together.
Betty isn't prepared for intimacy of sitting in Archie's lap. They're all dressed for the hot weather, and her skin touches his in every place possible. Her thighs on his. His arm across her midriff. Her shoulders against his biceps. She's trying to appear unaffected, but she's not entirely sure she's succeeding, if the way Toni eyes her knowingly is any indication.
Kevin starts some weird car game, and Betty tunes out entirely, letting her head fall back against Archie's shoulder. She forgets to stop herself from daydreaming, and she starts imagining being able to do this with Archie any time she wants. She traces patterns on the arm around her waist with her fingertips, lost in her fantasy world where she's his girlfriend and their cuddling turns to making out on his bed.
Before the fantasy can turn x-rated, she's startled out of her own thoughts by Archie shifting her forward and adjusting his own position, so she's perched on just one of his legs. Betty feels her cheeks burn from embarrassment, though he can't possibly know what she'd been thinking about. Still, she feels like an idiot for even entertaining such thoughts.
"Sorry," he says. "Uh, leg cramp."
She's not sure if she's imagining it, but he seems a little embarrassed too. She wonders if he has guessed what she was thinking about after all. She turns away to hide her red face, and accidentally makes eye contact with Toni again. Toni raises her eyebrows, smirking. She then gives Betty a wink, before Jughead elbows her to tell her its her turn to name a song with the word house in it.
Betty decides she should probably join in the game or she'll end up accidentally planning imaginary wedding to Archie.
They dump their bags and head directly to the beach as soon as they arrive, not even bothering to fight over rooms yet. It's warm and the sun is shining brilliantly, and the ocean calls to them. Well, some of them. Cheryl refuses to get in the water and instead sets up a banana lounge under an umbrella and starts reading a magazine.
The rest of them splash around for a bit before Reggie pulls out a frisbee and declares that it's boys against girls. In the interest of fairness, and his hatred of any kind of team sport, Jughead sits out, joining Cheryl underneath her umbrella. And maybe Betty accidentally on purpose lets Archie tackle her a couple of times, but she'll squeal in protest even as she's loving every second of it. And if she stares at his bare chest a little too long, she's pretty sure no one else notices.
They stay out on the beach until they get hungry, and they head back to the house to cook a barbecue. Well, Archie and Moose cook, and everyone else sits around, getting started on the copious amounts of alcohol they'd all brought with them.
Then Josie is claiming she wants an early night, though it's clear she and Reggie have other plans for their room, and the other couples are all suddenly interested in "getting their beauty sleep," and the bid for rooms is on.
There are five rooms, two people per room, which, as far as everyone had agreed at the time of making the booking, is the perfect amount. The couples can all have their own rooms, and Betty assumes she'll share with Veronica and Archie will share with Jughead. Simple enough.
Cheryl and Toni are quick to claim the master bedroom, and no one feels like getting in an argument with Cheryl on the first night. Two slightly smaller rooms, featuring queen sized beds instead of the king that Cheryl and Toni are sharing, are claimed by Kevin and Moose, and Josie and Reggie, leaving a room with a bunk bed, and lastly, the basement room.
"Should we rock, paper, scissors for who gets the bunk beds?" Betty asks, looking to Archie and Jughead. Jughead shrugs and holds out his fist. Betty loses, Jughead crushing her scissors with his rock. Betty sighs, resigning herself to a night full of complaining about getting the worst room from Veronica.
Except, Veronica doesn't look upset at all. "Great!" she smiles brightly. "Jughead and I will take the bunks."
"Wait, what?" Betty frowns. The boys look equally confused. "I figured you and I would share, V," Betty says.
"No offence, Betty," Veronica says, looking apologetic, "but you snore." She grabs one of her bags and struts down the hallway towards her room, leaving Jughead to bring her other bags. Betty waits for Jughead to refuse. Surely he can't want to spend the next few days sharing a room with Veronica. But he just shrugs, picks up her bags and follows her down the hallway.
"You do snore," he calls back.
"I do not snore," Betty mutters, indignant.
"I guess we'll find out," Archie jokes. She looks at him, and it dawns on her that she has to share a room with him. Which is fine. Completely and totally fine.
The two of them head warily down to the basement with their bags, Betty leading the way. The room itself is not that bad. Sure, it doesn't have any windows, but it's spacious, and has all the attributes of a standard bedroom. Nice carpet, a closet, some artwork on the walls. It even has its own ensuite, so at least they won't have to share a bathroom with the others.
The bed, however… it gets Betty's heart pounding just looking at it. It's supposed to be a double, but Betty doesn't even think it's that big. Archie will probably take up more than half of it. And sharing it with him, well, that means a lot of being very close to him. In a bed. Together. She's not sure she can handle it.
"I'll sleep on the floor," they say at the same time. Betty laughs nervously, and Archie smiles wryly.
"It should be me," Archie says.
"Don't be stupid. You're just trying to be chivalrous. I'll sleep on the floor," Betty negates.
"Come on, Betty," Archie rolls his eyes. "There's no way I'm letting that happen."
Betty knows arguing with him is futile. He always has to be the one to sacrifice. And then before she knows what she's even saying, the words are out of her mouth; "We'll just share it, then."
Archie eyes her dubiously. "Are you sure?"
Betty nods. No take backs now. It will be fine. She can share a bed with Archie and not be weird about it.
Archie nods. "Well, let me know if you change your mind. Do you want to shower first?"
"You go first," Betty tells him. He doesn't fight her on this one. He grabs his towel and goes into the bathroom, shutting the door firmly behind him. A few moments later Betty hears the water running. While he's in the shower, Betty rummages through her bag for her towel, toiletries, and pyjamas. Towel: check. Toiletries: check. Pyjamas…? She pulls everything out of her bag, and then goes through each item individually. Still nothing. Not even any clothes that might sort of pass for pyjamas. Three different bikinis, but no pyjamas.
"Shit," she mutters out loud, just as Archie pulls the door of the bathroom open.
"Everything okay?" he asks. Betty whips her head around. He's standing there in the bathroom doorway, nothing but a towel draped low around his hips, his hair wet from the shower. Her mouth hangs open, and she feels hot all over, and a very unwelcome tug between her legs. Oh god. This is bad. This is very, very bad.
"Betty?" Archie prompts, frowning like he has no idea how good he looks right now, or the effect he's having on her. Betty swallows.
"I, uh—" she stammers, turning red. "I guess I forgot to pack pyjamas."
"Oh," Archie says, walking over to his bag. "You want to borrow something?"
"Huh?"
"Here." He throws a clean shirt at her. "You can wear this as pyjamas. I brought too many anyway."
"Thanks," Betty says. She grabs the t-shirt, and her towel and toiletries and hurries into the bathroom.
She takes her time in the shower, trying to calm herself down. The last thing she needs is to be lusting after her best friend when she has to share a room with him for the next few nights. She eventually shuts of the water and towels herself dry before putting on Archie's shirt and a clean pair of panties. She hates herself for the thrill she gets when she slips the shirt over her head.
She brushes her teeth and finishes up in the bathroom, then double checks the length of the t-shirt. Satisfied it covers everything important, she takes a deep breath and walks back into the bedroom. Archie is dressed now, thankfully. Well, he's wearing a shirt and underwear at least. But there's something about the way he's sprawled casually across the bed that makes her heart lurch. He looks up from his phone when she walks out of the bathroom, and he stares at her for a moment. Betty tugs at the hem of his shirt self-consciously.
Archie licks his lips. "Ready for bed?" he asks her. Betty nods, her heart skittering. She switches off the overhead light, then heads for the side of the bed that Archie has left for her. Which, coincidentally, is the side she likes to sleep on normally. She doesn't dwell on it. She crawls under the covers, pretending Archie isn't there.
"Is it okay if I take my shirt off?" he asks.
Betty finally looks at him. "Of course," she says.
"I didn't know if it would be weird or not." He pulls it off and Betty turns away again, switching off the lamp beside her.
"Goodnight, Arch," she says.
"Night," he says, switching his own lamp off.
Betty lies there in the dark, as close to the edge of the bed as she can possibly be, trying to lie as still as possible. Perhaps she should have told him to keep his shirt on. It's definitely weird. This whole thing is weird. At the moment she's managing to not touch him at all, but if either of them rolls over even slightly, they'll be pressed up against each other. Worse, she's acutely aware of how much she wants to be pressed up against him. She can practically feel his body heat radiating off him, and that throbbing between her legs is back. She tries to scoot further away from him, and promptly falls off the bed with a thud.
Archie switches the light back on. "Are you okay?"
"Fine," Betty mutters, crawling back into bed.
"I won't bite," Archie grins. "And I swear I don't mind if you touch me."
"Okay." She shuffles a little closer to him.
"Betty," he says. "Relax," he tells her for the second time that day. "Are you sure you don't want me to sleep on the floor?"
"No, it's really fine," Betty says quickly. Then, to prove her point, she moves even closer to him, so her shoulder is against his chest. "See?"
"Okay," he chuckles, then switches off the light again. He rolls onto his back, so they're shoulder to shoulder. They lie in silence for a while before Archie speaks again.
"It's still so early," he says.
"Blame Josie and Reggie."
"I do blame them. Do they really think we fell for that we need an early night bullshit? We all know they're up in their fancy room right now fucking."
"Their room isn't that fancy."
"It's fancier than ours."
"Why are they even here, anyway?" Betty groans.
"Josie is friends with Cheryl?" Archie guesses.
"And who is Cheryl friends with?"
Archie laughs at that. "Be nice," he scolds affectionately.
"They're all so inconsiderate," Betty huffs. "Leaving us with the worst room. They used our seats as a luggage rack and then only Toni would give us any room to sit down."
"We know what all the couples are doing, but what do you think Jughead and Veronica are up to?" Archie wonders.
"Probably bonding over how much I snore."
Archie laughs again. "That was cold of Ronnie. But this isn't so bad, is it?"
Betty considers. It's not so bad, she realises. It's nice, actually. Comfortable. He's somehow made her forget her self-consciousness, and she feels completely relaxed now. Still a little bit turned on, but that can't be helped.
"No," she says. "It's nice."
Archie is silent for a moment. "Well," he says finally. "Goodnight, Betty."
"Night, Arch," she replies, a smile on her face.
Betty wakes up with his arms wrapped around her. Sometime during the night, their perfectly innocent position of lying side by side had morphed into spooning. Which could also be perceived as perfectly innocent, except for the fact that Archie's hard-on is pressing insistently against her ass. And okay, she knows that's just something that happens with boys, and it's most likely got nothing to do with her. But her stupid brain heads straight to the gutter, and she starts thinking about how she'd like to pull his boxers down and wake him up with her mouth.
To make matters worse, the shirt she's wearing has ridden up during the night, which wouldn't be so bad were they not lying skin to skin. The whole situation is very overwhelming, and Betty knows she needs to get out of there before a) Archie wakes up, b) someone else walks in, or c) she does something very stupid like lick his chest.
Betty extricates herself from his arms carefully, and heads upstairs for the kitchen, with the intent of getting a glass of water. It's still early, so she assumes no one else will be up yet. She is sorely mistaken. She steps into the kitchen and freezes when she sees Veronica and Jughead chatting quietly by the sink.
"Oh," she says, a little awkwardly. "Hey."
Veronica looks her up and down. "Isn't that Archie's shirt?"
Betty glances down. "Uh, yeah. I forgot to bring pyjamas."
"Riiiiight," Veronica raises an eyebrow, entirely unconvinced.
Betty rolls her eyes. Could it have been two worse people to catch her in the kitchen wearing Archie's clothes? Betty looks to Jughead. "We didn't have sex, if that's what you're thinking."
"None of my business," Jughead shrugs. "The two of you seem kind of inevitable now anyway. And I'll be happy for both of you when it happens." He gives her a rueful smile, but other than that he seems… genuine. He stands up straight from where he'd been leaning against the counter, and he gives Betty's shoulder a pat as he leaves the room.
"He's right, you know," Veronica says. "If you and Archie want to be together, then be together."
"He doesn't see me like that," Betty says. "Never has, never will."
Veronica looks at Betty like she's just said the dumbest thing of all time. "If you say so," is all she says, and she too exits the kitchen.
The girls spend the morning in town checking out the shops, while the boys do god knows what back at the house. They reconvene for lunch, and then hit the beach again in the afternoon. By the time it starts getting dark, the group is gathered around a fire pit in the backyard. There are plenty of chairs, none of them matching, but Betty still finds herself settling next to Archie on the loveseat. He puts an arm around her shoulders, like it's the most natural thing in the world. Betty takes a long sip of her beer, despite hating the taste.
"Okay, what kind of beach getaway is this?" Toni announces. "We haven't even played one drinking game."
Reggie hoots in agreeance. "Anyone got a good one?"
"Truth or dare," Cheryl suggests.
"Not a drinking game, babe," Toni says.
"If you don't answer the truth or do the dare you have to finish your drink," Kevin suggests. "And if the person you dare does the dare you have to take a sip. Same with if the answer the truth."
"Alright, Kevin, truth or dare?" Archie calls across the fire pit.
"Dare," Kevin answers instantly.
Archie grins. "Strip down to your underwear and dance around the fire!"
"Should have known this was a bad idea," Kevin mutters, but he's already taking his shirt off. Veronica films the whole thing on her phone while everyone else laughs uproariously. Archie takes a sip of his drink.
Betty doesn't drink much, only taking a sip of her drink when Moose completes the dare she gives him of singing an entire One Direction song. She's entirely too aware of how romantic it feels to be snuggled up to Archie by the fire with his arm slung around her shoulders. Her turn eventually comes around, and she picks truth, if only so she doesn't have to get up and do something embarrassing.
"I've got one for you Betty," Reggie says, already looking smug. Betty braces herself. "Who's better in bed, Jughead or Archie?"
Betty feels her face turn bright red. Does everyone think she and Archie had sex last night?
"Why do you want to know, Reggie?" Archie says. "Neither one of us will have you anyway."
"Ha. You're hilarious, Andrews," Reggie snorts. "Answer the question, Betty, or finish up that drink you've been nursing all night."
"Well, seeing as I've never had sex with Archie, I wouldn't know," Betty huffs. "Does that answer your question?"
"Bullshit," Reggie coughs.
"Okay, okay, new question," Josie says. "Who was your first kiss, Betty?"
A perfectly innocuous question, if the whole group didn't already think she's sleeping with Archie. But they were just kids, so surely no one will make a big deal out of it. She doesn't even know if Archie remembers it happening.
"Archie," she mutters. She glances at him. "When we were kids, remember?"
"I remember," he says quickly.
Reggie snorts with laughter. "I swear, if these two aren't already fucking, they will be by the end of the night. Anyone want to make bets?"
Betty rolls her eyes. "What, because we kissed one time about a million years ago?" she says sarcastically.
"Can we just get on with the game?" Cheryl snaps. "No one cares about Archie and Betty's stupid love life."
"I care," says Kevin.
"I'm kind of intrigued," Toni agrees.
"I just want to be right," Reggie says.
Betty groans, and she can feel Archie laughing silently next to her. She's not sure what he finds so funny.
"Okay, Archie," Kevin claps his hands together. "Truth or dare."
"Dare," Archie says. After the questions Betty got, she doesn't blame him.
"Kiss Betty," Kevin challenges, looking smug. Betty feels her insides clench. Will he do it? Or would he rather just swallow the rest of his drink?
Archie leans down slightly and places a kiss on the top of her head. Betty isn't sure if she's relieved or disappointed.
"Booo!" Toni yells. "This is getting ridiculous. I can't be the only one who thinks so?"
"I agree!" Kevin says. "We're all getting sick of you two dancing around each other."
"It is a little repetitive," Veronica agrees. "Jughead and I already told them they have our blessing. I don't know what's taking them so long."
"Come on guys," Archie says. "It's not like that."
"It's not like that?" Cheryl scoffs. "I think it was like that yesterday when you invited Betty to sit on your lap."
"I—" Archie starts, but Toni interrupts him.
"And don't think I didn't notice your little situation," she cackles. Betty wonders how drunk she is.
"What situation would that be?" Betty asks. She feels Archie tense up beside her.
"Oh, you didn't feel it?" Toni says. "The situation in his pants?" Toni winks.
Archie mutters something about a natural reaction.
"Okay, let's settle this once and for all," Kevin says, standing up. "Betty, do you like Archie?"
Betty's stomach drops. "Sure, I like him—" she starts, ready to deny that her feelings are anything other than friendship.
"Betty," Kevin interrupts. "Do you like him or not?"
Betty glares at Kevin. "Yes, okay?" she says. "Are you happy?" It's out there now. She can't take it back. Things are probably going to be weird between them now.
Kevin turns to Archie. "Archie. Do you like Betty?"
"Yes," he says. Betty waits for him to add as a friend. But it never comes. Just yes. Her heart starts racing.
"Finally, we got that settled," Kevin breathes. "Who's turn is it?"
The game continues on around them, but Betty can't focus on anything anyone is saying. It's like all her senses are dulled except for touch, which is heightened, and all she is aware of is Archie pressed against her side, his arm around her, brushing her shoulder with his thumb, feather light, driving her insane. But she can't do anything about it. Because if they get up and leave now, everyone is going to know why. But then Archie leans close to her, brushing his lips against her ear, and her breath catches in her throat.
She stands up. "I think I'm going to get an early night," she says.
"Me too," Archie agrees, following her lead. She grabs his hand and practically drags him inside, while their friends wolf whistle and make suggestive comments as they go. Betty is done caring.
They make it to the basement, and then Archie's hands are on her waist, pulling her snug against him. They both lean in, and everything stops for a moment, her heart, her breath, time itself. And then their lips collide, and it's everything she's been fantasising about. She stumbles backwards towards the bed, pulling him with her, until she's flat on her back with Archie on top of her. Her hands find their way to his hair, and his tongue finds it's way into her mouth. They clutch at each other, their kisses growing more desperate and hungry, until Betty is sure her lips will be bruised later.
Her skin burns from his touch, her whole body feels like it's yearning for him. Archie's lips leave hers, and she gives a whine of protest. She doesn't think she'll ever get sick of the taste of him. Her whine turns into a gasp of pleasure when his lips come back down on her neck and it sends a shock of electricity though her body, straight to her clit.
"Arch," she says, and she can hear the desire in her own voice. "Did you bring any condoms?"
"No," he says, lifting his head. "But Reggie gave me a heap yesterday," he grins. "He was shocked I didn't have any. He was convinced I'd need them."
"Turns out Reggie is good for something after all," Betty says, and Archie laughs. Betty smiles up at him. She's sure nothing has ever felt so right.
"Archie," she says. She sits up, moving her hand up underneath his shirt, lightly grazing her nails across his body. "Undress me."
Archie undresses her slowly, kissing each part of skin he uncovers. He pulls her top over her head first, then leans down to place kisses across her stomach. Her stomach fills with butterflies in turn. He slips her bra straps off her shoulders, then presses his lips against each one softly, and then to her collar bone. He leaves her tingling everywhere he touches.
He keeps kissing her neck while he reaches for the button on her denim shorts, and then pushes her down onto the bed so he can pull them off. His own shirt follows them to the floor. Betty cups his face as he leans down to kiss her again.
"You're so beautiful," he murmurs. Betty smiles into the kiss.
Archie's fingers trail down her stomach, toying with the waistband of her panties before he slips his hand inside. His fingers find her clit and she gives a small moan against his lips. She bucks her hips against his fingers involuntarily, trying to get some friction. Archie's kiss becomes deeper, more insistent and Betty feels just as desperate.
The rest of their clothes are removed in a flurry, and then Archie is reaching for one of the condoms Reggie gave him. He sinks into her, and she bites her lip, then gasps at the feeling of being filled so completely. He fucks her gently, lovingly, yet somehow desperately as well, like he's been yearning for this, longing for it for as long as she has. Her name rolls off his lips and she responds with his, getting closer and closer to climax. Her hands pull him closer, her hips meet his every thrust. They climax, almost in sync, and Archie presses his forehead to hers.
In her afterglow, Betty cuddles up to Archie's side, and he puts an arm around her. Her eyes drift shut, and she can't keep the slight smile from her face. Archie strokes her back absentmindedly.
"Let's stay like this forever," she murmurs.
"Okay," Archie agrees.