Betty wakes up with Archie curled naked around her, and butterflies in her stomach. She suddenly remembers his shirt and her panties left downstairs by the front door last night, and hopes to God her mom stayed with FP last night.
She turns over and her eyes fall on Archie's bare chest. The butterflies intensify. She runs a hand across his chest, revelling in his perfect body.
"What are you doing?" Archie murmurs, his voice deep and gravelly from sleep.
"Admiring," Betty whispers back. Archie's eyes open and he squints down at her. Betty smiles and Archie returns her smile with a mischievous one of his own. She feels his fingers dancing on her inner thigh, higher and higher until he reaches the juncture of her legs. He slips a finger into her easily and her head rolls back against the pillow as he pumps into her lazily.
"Mmm," Betty moans. "You're so good at that –ah—"
He fingers her to climax slowly, but she comes loudly, and now she really hopes her mom isn't home.
"We should keep doing this," Betty murmurs.
"Sleeping together?"
"Yeah," Betty says. "I don't want to stop. Do you?"
Archie shakes his head slowly.
"We could be like… friends with benefits," Betty suggests.
"Friends with benefits," Archie repeats. He mulls it over. "Okay," he finally agrees. Betty grins.
"Okay," she says. That settles it. "Now I have to go and get our clothes from last night before Mom gets home. Meet me in the shower?"
Archie nods, and Betty quickly slips on her dress from last night and hurries downstairs to hide the evidence.
After that, they make sure to always have sex at Archie's place. Betty was spending most of her time there anyway. It's just now she has the added bonus of an orgasm or three (or four or five).
Archie drops her off at her house one Saturday morning, and his dad is out the front watering the lawn.
"Hey Betty," he calls. "You haven't seen my son lately have you?"
"Very funny, Dad," Archie rolls his eyes. "I saw you at work yesterday, remember?"
"I know, I know," Fred says defensively. "Still, I feel like I barely see you. Why don't you come over for dinner tonight with me and Leanne?"
Archie makes a face and Betty elbows him. "Be nice," she hisses.
"Come on, Archie," Fred tiles his head. "I'd love for you to get to know her. You can bring Betty if you like."
Archie looks to Betty. She nods, and Archie lets out a long sigh.
"Okay," Archie agrees. "That sound nice, Dad."
Leanne answers the door, and Archie immediately stiffens. Betty grabs his hand to calm him down.
"Archie," Leanne smiles. "So good to see you."
"You too," Archie lies.
Fred appears at Leanne's side. "What are you doing ringing the doorbell?" he scolds. "You know this is always your home."
Archie shrugs.
"Lovely to meet you," Betty says, to fill the awkward silence. She holds out her hand. "I'm Betty, I live next door. We haven't officially met."
Leanne smiles. "Yes, nice to meet you too, Betty," she says, and stands aside to let Archie and Betty inside.
"Dinner's just about ready, so why don't you two have a seat at the table?" Fred says.
The dining table is already set, and there are flowers in a vase in the centre. Whatever is happening in the kitchen smells amazing. Betty finds a seat next to Archie, and he scoots his chair closer to hers so he can rest his hand on her thigh. Leanne and Fred bring out the food, roast lamb and vegetables and set it down on the table.
"I'm glad you could finally come for dinner, Archie," Leanne says. Betty can tell she's nervous, and she prays Archie goes easy on her. "Fred says you've been very busy."
"Yeah," Archie nods. "Sorry about that."
"Busy with your girlfriend, no doubt," Leanne smiles knowingly, her eyes sliding to Betty. Betty almost chokes on her mouthful of potato, her face growing hot. Archie's face is bright red as well.
"Oh," he stammers. "Betty's not my girlfriend," he says quickly. "We're just friends."
Betty nods in agreement. To her credit, Leanne doesn't seem the least bit embarrassed by her mistake.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she says. "You were holding hands when I opened the door, I just assumed," she shrugs. "I guess friends do that now?" she looks to Fred, confused. Fred shrugs. Betty feels like she might die from embarrassment.
"Betty and I have been friends since we were four," Archie explains. "We're very close. But we're just friends."
Why does Betty's heart feel like it's being stabbed every time he says that? Archie squeezes her thigh and her clit gives an answering throb. Because they're such good friends.
"If you say so," says Leanne.
Later, Betty sneaks Archie past her mom, and he fucks her on the floor of her bedroom. Betty knows damn well they aren't just friends, that she doesn't want to be just friends. But she's entirely too terrified to do anything about it.
It's been a few months since Betty has seen Veronica, but she whirls into town and into the spare bedroom at the Cooper residence and it's like no time has passed at all. They're still the same two girls who are determined to let nothing come between them.
There is one major difference about Veronica though. The huge rock on her left hand that Betty is sure must weigh as much as Veronica herself. Veronica wears it with pride, brandishing her hand in front of Betty's face to show it off.
"Oh my god, you're engaged?!" Betty squeals. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted to tell you in person," Veronica says. "Isn't it divine?"
"It really is," Betty agrees, grabbing Veronica's hand so she can admire the ring. "Congrats, V, I'm so happy for you."
"You'll be my maid of honour, of course?"
"Of course!" Betty squeals again. "Come on, let's get your things upstairs and we can start planning the wedding."
The two girls dump Veronica's things in Polly's old bedroom and then crash on Betty's bed. Veronica tells Betty about all her ideas for the wedding, though she and her fiancé haven't even picked a date yet.
"You're so lucky," Betty says dreamily. One day she's going to get her perfect happily ever after too.
"Oh my god, sorry," Veronica exclaims. "I've been totally self-absorbed. How is your love life?"
Betty isn't sure why, but she doesn't feel like she can tell Veronica about Archie. Besides, that's not exactly her love life. It's just her sex life. Even though she's pretty sure she might actually be in love with Archie after all, but that's beside the point seeing as he doesn't love her back. Never has, never will.
"Non-existent," Betty sighs. "There's not exactly a lot of people to meet in Riverdale."
"So come back to New York! I don't know why you even left in the first place," Veronica rolls her eyes.
"Because I changed my mind about being a writer, and it's too expensive to live in New York when I don't have a single clue what I'm doing."
"And what are you doing now?"
"I'm… writing," Betty sighs. For her mother, no less. Not exactly what she'd dreamed about when she was a teenager.
"Don't worry, B," Veronica smiles. "You'll figure it out. You've got all the time in the world."
Betty isn't so sure, but she smiles anyway.
"I want to catch up with Archie while I'm here too," Veronica says. "Have you seen him lately?"
Betty's entire body heats up at just the mention of his name. It's pathetic.
"Archie?" she says, too quickly. "No, not really."
Veronica eyes her suspiciously. "Why did you say it like that?"
"Like what?"
"Your voice is all high and weird. Like you're hiding something."
"I'm not hiding anything."
"Betty Cooper, you are the single worst liar I've ever met. What is going on with you and Archie?" Veronica demands.
Betty curses herself for being so transparent. She could try to lie again, but she's pretty sure Veronica isn't going to stop until she's satisfied she's heard the truth.
"We kind of… had sex," Betty admits.
"What?!" Veronica exclaims, her face lighting up like a kid on Christmas. "How could you not tell me this?"
"It's not a big deal," Betty assures her.
"When did this happen? How?"
"The first time was—"
"The first time?" Veronica interrupts. "How many times has this happened?"
Betty swallows. She's sure her face is bright red. It's not that she feels awkward talking about sex with Veronica. It's the fact that it's Archie, and that Veronica is definitely going to figure out how Betty really feels about him, and Betty isn't sure she's ready for anyone to know that yet. Or ever.
"A lot," Betty says, nervous. "It started like a month ago. We're doing this friends with benefits thing."
"Friends with benefits," Veronica repeats flatly. "You're joking."
Betty shakes her head. "Why? What's wrong with that?"
"Betty, it's an absolutely terrible idea to have casual sex with your best friend that you happen to be completely in love with," Veronica says wisely.
Betty's mouth drops open. "You know that?"
"It's pretty obvious," Veronica rolls her eyes. "How could you do something so stupid?"
"I didn't know I was in love with him!"
"A weak excuse if I ever heard one. You've been in love with him since you were, what? Ten?"
Betty swallows, meeting Veronica's eyes. "You think I've been in love with him this whole time?"
Veronica nods. "You did hate his girlfriend Georgia an uncalled-for amount. She hated you too."
"She did? Why?"
"She was convinced Archie had feelings for you. I'm pretty sure that's why they broke up," Veronica shrugs like it's no big deal. It feels like a very big deal to Betty.
Betty groans. "What am I going to do?"
"You've got two options. One, you tell him how you feel and hope he feels the same. Or two, find someone else to have sex with until you're over him."
"I don't want to have sex with anyone else."
"Then tell him."
Betty shakes her head. "I can't. It will ruin everything."
Veronica tilts her head, a sympathetic look on her face. "Look, why don't we just go out tonight and you can just flirt with someone else. Nothing else has to happen."
Betty swallows, nodding. "Okay. I can do that."
They go to the speak easy again, partly because Veronica owns it, and partly because, well, there isn't really anywhere else to go.
"By the way," Veronica says as they head through Pop's to the entrance of the speak easy. "I invited Archie. I hope that's okay."
Betty's stomach flips at the mention of Archie's name. Before going out, she hadn't really cared what she looked like tonight, although Veronica had made her dress up anyway. Now she looks down at her dress, wondering if Archie will like it. She really is pathetic.
He's already there when she and Veronica walk in, looking like he belongs on a sexy calendar or something. Betty's knees go weak, as if she hasn't been fucking him every night for the past month. She wants to want someone else, anyone else. She's not sure it's possible.
Archie beams when he spots Veronica and Betty, immediately abandoning his conversation with FP to greet them. He pulls Veronica into a hug, and then she's flashing her brand new ring in his face.
"Wow, congrats, Ronnie," he says. "When did that happen?"
"Last week," Veronica beams.
"I better be invited to the wedding," Archie jokes.
"I wouldn't dream of leaving you off the guest list."
Archie finally turns his attention to a neglected Betty.
"Hey," he smiles softly, and Betty feels her insides melt.
"Hey," Betty squeaks in reply.
"You want something to drink?" he asks. Betty nods.
"I'll have a white wine, please," Veronica adds, and Archie heads to the bar to get their drinks. Veronica grabs Betty by the arm and whispers in her ear, scouring the room.
"Okay, who here is flirt-worthy material?" Veronica wonders. She surveys the room, mentally examining every guy in the place until she finds one suitable for Betty's attention. "That one," she decides. He's probably a few years older than them, and Betty doesn't recognise him. Maybe he's from out of town, but maybe he's not. It doesn't matter anyway, since the only point to this exercise is to flirt with him to keep Veronica happy. Betty has no intention of taking it any further than that.
"You go and sit down and I'll invite him over," Veronica instructs. Betty obliges her.
It doesn't take Veronica very long to convince the guy to come over, and then he's introducing himself as Rowan and sitting on the chair next to Betty. Betty wonders what Veronica told this guy. Archie arrives at the table a few moments later with drinks for the three of them. He sets the drinks down and takes a seat across from Betty.
"Archie, this is Rowan," Veronica introduces.
"Hey," Archie shakes Rowan's hand, seemingly unphased by the newcomer.
"So, Betty," Rowan turns back to her, "you're from Riverdale?"
"Uh, yeah," Betty nods. She glances at Archie. She suddenly feels very weird about this. She doesn't think she can flirt with this guy while Archie's watching. But then again, who cares? She and Archie are just screwing around. He doesn't own her, and he's likely not going to care anyway.
"And what about you?" Betty asks Rowan. "I'm sure you're not from here. I'd definitely remember you," she smiles, batting her eyelashes a little.
"You're right," Rowan grins. "I'm actually from Greendale. Thought I'd come over and check the speak easy out, see what all the fuss was about."
"Oh, well, Veronica's actually the owner," Betty says.
"Is that right?" Rowan says, but he couldn't sound less interested. He doesn't even glance at Veronica. Perhaps it's the enormous diamond on her finger. He knows he doesn't have a shot with Veronica, but he thinks he might have one with Betty.
"You want to dance, Betty?" Rowan asks.
Betty nods. "Sure."
Rowan leads her onto the dancefloor, and Betty resists the urge to look back at Archie to see if he's watching. She's not doing this to make him jealous. He has no reason to be jealous anyway. They're just friends.
Betty kind of has fun dancing with Rowan. He seems like an okay guy. But he's not Archie.
The song ends and Rowan goes to get them more drinks while Betty heads back to the table. Veronica is noticeably absent, and Archie is looking sullen.
"What's up?" Betty asks.
"What's with that guy?" Archie asks.
"What do you mean?"
"He's all over you," Archie huffs.
"So what?"
Archie looks surprised. "You're into him?"
Betty shrugs. "Maybe."
"Oh," Archie swallows. "But what about—I mean, I thought you and I—"
"It's not like we can keep doing what we're doing forever," Betty shrugs. "At some point I'm actually going to want to be with someone who doesn't just see me as a friend."
"Right," Archie says, his jaw clenching. Betty is sure he's just annoyed he's not having sex tonight. At least, not with her.
"Are you okay?" Betty asks. She smiles. "You're not jealous, are you?" she jokes.
Archie meets her eyes. "No, Betty," he says. "I'm not jealous. Just… tired. I think I'm going to go home." He downs the rest of his drink and stalks away from the table. Betty watches him as he passes Rowan, slamming his shoulder against the other man, causing the drinks Rowan is carrying to spill onto the floor.
"What the fuck, man?" Rowan calls after him. Archie doesn't stop, and then he's disappearing up the stairs.
Veronica appears at Betty's side. "What happened?"
"I don't know, he's acting all weird. I think he thought I'd be going home with him tonight," Betty shrugs.
"You should go after him," Veronica urges.
"But about Rowan?"
"Who cares about that idiot!" Veronica huffs. She pulls Betty from her chair and pushes her towards the exit. Betty is reluctant. Veronica grabs her by the shoulders.
"Betty," Veronica says, her face dead serious. "You are completely delusional if you think that man doesn't love you. He's acting weird because he's insanely jealous that the girl he wants is flirting with some other guy in front of his face."
Betty's stomach flips over. Could Veronica be right? "But you told me to flirt with Rowan!"
"I thought it would make Archie get his shit together and tell you how he feels. But apparently he's just as stubborn as you are," Veronica rolls her eyes. "Now go after him!"
She spins Betty towards the exit, and Betty pushes through the crowd, her heart pounding. She races up the stairs and through the diner, out into the warm summer air. The sun is only just setting and the sky is blue and purple and gold. She spots Archie on the other side of the parking lot.
"Archie, wait!" she calls. He stops, and Betty rushes over to him. She looks up at him and he can barely look at her. His eyes glisten and his cheeks are a little wet. "Hey," she says gently. "Are you crying?"
Archie shakes his head. "Definitely not." A blatant lie.
"I'm sorry," Betty says. "I didn't mean to upset you."
Archie shrugs. "I'm okay."
"I don't get why you care so much anyway. It's just sex. You can have anyone you want," Betty says.
Archie gives a watery laugh. "Betty. Is it not obvious? I don't want anyone else."
"Why?"
Archie's mouth forms a thin line. He gives her a pained expression, and then he exhales dramatically. "Because. I'm in love with you. Obviously."
"Obviously," Betty repeats dumbly. The words hit her like a freight train. He's in love with her. She can barely comprehend it. It's one thing for Veronica to tell her, it's completely different to hear it from Archie himself. Somehow she manages to gather herself, and she surges up, kissing him, taking him by surprise.
"What's going on?" Archie asks nervously. Betty pulls back.
"I'm in love with you too, obviously."
Archie's face slowly breaks into a grin. "I thought you said we were just friends."
"You said that."
"I'm pretty sure you suggested friends with benefits. I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend that morning at Pop's, the day after the first time."
Betty closes her eyes and shakes her head, feeling like an idiot. If she'd just let him speak that day, they could have been a couple all this time.
"Ask me now," she whispers.
"Betty," Archie murmurs. "Will you be my girlfriend?"
Betty nods emphatically, and Archie and Archie tugs her close, kissing her long and slow.
"Did Georgia really break up with you because she thought you had feelings for me?" Betty asks. Archie laughs.
"Where did you hear that?"
"Veronica," Betty shrugs.
Archie shakes his head. "No," he smiles. "I broke up with her because I did have feelings for you. It's always been you, Betty."
He kisses her again, and she kisses him back, wrapped around each other as the sky gets dark around them.