Author's Note : So, excited to post this chapter! Things are gonna start getting angsty! Please, please, please let me now how you are liking the story so far! Also, let me know if you are feeling my song choices for each chapter. I am enjoying writing this and I really want to know if you are enjoying it as well. I like to read your thoughts on the situation. Anyway, onto the chapter!
Chapter Three Song : 'White Rabbit' by Jefferson Airplane
Disclaimer : Don't own the characters. Just really like them.
CHAPTER THREE :
The sound of white floral curtains being ripped open with schwick and blinding bright sunlight awoke Betty from a sound sleep. She cracked open an eyelid to see her mother opening the curtains on her second window.
"Rise and shine, sunshine!" Alice chirped.
"Mom? Why...?"
"Time to get up, sleepy head," her mother cut her off, "I have to get to work. You have chores to do and don't forget the Open House at the high school is tonight. Meet your teachers, tour the school and get prepared for Monday! I believe that nice young man you've been spending time with will be performing! I don't have to remind you again how important this year is for colleges. Extra curriculars and an impeachable moral character are the key words in the game."
"Mom..."
"Schools do look at that kind of thing, Elizabeth."
"I know that, mom."
"So, time to get up to face the day!" Alice beamed as she headed for the door, "No puffy eyes tonight. We want to make a good first impression."
Betty sat up in bed and rubbed a fist over her eyes. Just as her mother closed Betty's bedroom door behind her, Betty's cellphone beeped at her from the nightstand.
ARCHIE - You up?
BETTY - Just now. My mom practically dragged me out of bed by the ankle.
ARCHIE - LOL. Well I just wanted to say good morning.
BETTY - Good morning.
ARCHIE - I had fun last night.
BETTY - Me too.
ARCHIE - Especially at the end.
Betty didn't know how to respond to that last message, knowing he was referring to the kiss. After the movie, Reggie had dropped Betty off first and Archie had gotten out with her, telling Reggie that he would walk the block to his house after he had seen her safely inside.
He had walked her to her door and when she had turned to tell him 'good night,' he had leaned foward and pressed his lips to hers.
The kiss had been...nice. Archie's lips had been warm and soft. The kiss hadn't been either too sloppy or too dry. It had been...nice.
And he really was so sweet. She finally managed to reply.
BETTY- Me too.
It wasn't a lie. That's what she told herself. She had enjoyed the kiss.
ARCHIE - I'll see you at open house right?
BETTY - Yep.
ARCHIE - Great! :-) Can't wait.
Betty set her phone aside. It felt like Archie had just turned a school open house into a date. How had she not seen that coming? The same way she hadn't really seen the arm at the theater or the kiss coming, she supposed.
She wasn't going to think about it at the moment. She was going to focus on one thing at a time and get through the day. She wasn't going to worry about what she was going to say to Archie when she saw him or how she would respond if...when he kissed her again. Because he would.
Her phone dinged again and she almost ignored it, but she wasn't the kind of person who could just ignore a friend. So she picked it up.
V - Good morning, gorgeous!
BETTY - Good morning, V.
V - I need details. Did you and the ginger Adonis finally lip lock? Did he make his move?
BETTY - Yes and yes.
V - Swoon!
BETTY - Yeah.
Betty dropped the phone and went to take a shower. She didn't know if at the moment she was equipped to handle the enthusiasm of her best friend for something that she wasn't altogether certain of her feelings toward. Best to focus on the mundane. Shower, brushing her teeth, doing the dishes, taking out the trash; all of which could be handled in a step by step process and serve as a nice healthy distraction for at least the next hour or two.
After that...she'd figure something out.
When Betty arrived at the double doored front entrance of Riverdale, the tension in her body was such that her shoulders were practically scrunched up around her ears. Her mother placed a firm hand between her shoulder blades and guided Betty into the large brick building that looked like so many other large brick buildings. Alan had had to work late which was a small mercy. Betty felt a little silly in the outfit her mother had selected for her; a pink dress, white cardigan and matching pink ribbon in her hair. She felt like a child.
The two followed the crowd down the hallway to the auditorium where there were refreshments and a stage with speakers and lights. People were milling around, chatting and catching up. Alice spotted Betty's father, Hal in the corner speaking with Mayor McCoy and made a beeline for them, abandoning Betty at the back of the crowded room.
Betty wasn't alone for long however as Veronica appeared with a tall, handsome brown haired young man.
"Betty!" Veronica, looking svelte and sophisticated in a dark purple dress and pearl necklace, squealed and threw her arms around her neck in a quick embrace before stepping back, "This is Kevin Keller, our esteemed Sherrif's son. Kevin, Betty Cooper."
"Nice to..."
"My God!" Kevin cut Betty off, "You are..."
"I know." Veronica said.
Kevin looked at her, "She is..."
"I told you." Veronica beamed.
He turned back to Betty, "Your hair, those eyes! You're like a life sized American Girl doll. Can we keep her?"
"I've already signed the adoption papers." Veronica beamed.
Betty stifled a laugh, "My God, you guys."
Veronica linked arms with her and started guiding them down the middle aisle, "Reggie is saving us seats up front so we can be super close while Archikins plays."
"I just..." Betty struggled to think straight, "I just need to find a bathroom first."
Kevin nodded, "Sure. Out the doors, first right and down to the end of the hall."
"Okay," Betty said, "I'll be right back."
Betty practically lunged through the auditorium door and sucked in a gasp of air. She unfurled her fingers and looked down at her palms. Blood stained crescents winked back at her. She forced a breath and began walking down the hall. As she rounded the corner and the noise from the crowd dulled, another sound floated through the air.
Betty stopped walking and tilted her head, as though it would increase her hearing abilities. Jefferson Airplane? Slower this time, she started moving again, this time following the music. The humor did not escape her that she was following the notes of a song titled "White Rabbit" down the proverbial rabbit hole to its source. It seemed to be coming from behind a door with a metal plaque above it that read : Blue and Gold.
The school's paper? That was fortunate. She would be seeing about getting a position with them with the semester started. Maybe she could just take a quick look.
There was a glass window that took up the upper portion of the door, but the blinds were drawn. The door was cracked open the slightest bit. Using only her fingertips, Betty eased the door forward and peered around it. A tall, lanky boy clad in a black flannel shirt with white suspenders hanging loose from dark blue jeans leaned over computer, tip-tapping away. His back was to her but she could she the ends of his dark black hair peeking from beneath a gray wool beanie and she felt her breath catch in her throat as the image of the boy in the convertible from her first day in town rolled through her mind's eye. A noisy printer sounded off from the corner. The boy put his knee on a rolling chair and gave a shove with his straight leg, sliding across the linoleum floor to the printer. He produced an uncapped red Sharpy from thin air and began drawing circles on what the printer had spat at him.
Betty started to back out the door but before she could make her quiet exit, she bumped into a table that sat beside the door and sent a heavy plastic travel mug clattering with humiliating noise to the ground. The boy straightened from the computer and spun around to face her, locking her in place with that brilliant green gaze. His face was even more captivating than she remembered.
"Hi, there," he said as he clicked off the speaker hooked to his cell phone, one side of his mouth quirking upward it what might have been the most attractive smirk she had ever seen.
"Hi." She said, all wit.
He stared at her for another second and then took one step forward, "Uh, the open house is in the auditorium. It's down the hall to the le..."
"Yes!" She squeaked, and then calmed, "Yes. I, uh, I just came from there. I was looking for the bathroom, heard your music, saw the sign and peeked it. I was trying not to disturb you which I have obviously succeeded spectacularly at."
He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against a desk, raising his eyebrows at her, "You wanted to look in at a high school paper room?"
"Well, yeah." Betty said, not bothering to hold back her smile, "I'll be setting an appointment to meet with your editor on Monday. Hoping there's room for another journalist. I used to write for the paper at my old school and kind of wanted to pick up where I left off."
"You're in luck," He said, straightening and stepping toward her, "you're talking to him now."
Betty felt her eyes widen of their own accord, "Oh!"
He offered a hand, "Jughead Jones, editor and chief such as the title warrants."
"Jughead?" Betty couldn't stop the question even as she slipped her hand into his larger, warm one.
"Trust me, my given name is worse. And you are..."
"Oh, sorry! Betty Cooper!"
"Betty Cooper." His face broke into a full fledged smile and Betty thought her heart might stop, "Do you have any of your articles?"
"With me? Here?" Betty was a little taken aback, "Tonight?"
He nodded.
"Uh, well...no."
"Not very prepared for this are you, Betty Cooper?"
"Well, I...I mean..."
He suddenly broke into a full fledged smile, which was brilliant, and chuckled in a soft tone, "Relax, Coop. I'm messing with you."
Betty cleared her throat, stroked a hand over a curl that her mother had meticulously arranged and composed herself.
"Is your old school paper online?"
Betty quirked an eyebrow, "Of course."
He turned, punched two keys on the computer keyboard behind him and the rather outdated monitor blinked to life revealing the search engine "Sleuthster." Jughead turned back to her and jerked his chin toward the computer monitor, "Got enough time to pull it up and sit for a minute?"
Betty nodded, probably just a tad too eager. "Of course."
She walked over and bent over the keyboard, expecting him to step back and make room for her. He didn't. He smelled warm and spicy and wonderful. Betty tried not to let herself get distracted. She tapped in the web address of her school's newspaper and pulled up her articles. As soon as she stepped back, Jughead leaned in for a closer look. Betty watched his pretty green eyes dart back and forth as he scanned the words on the screen. It felt like an eternity before he turned back to her.
"Editor." It was a statement, not a question.
Betty responded, "Assistant editor."
"You gonna be gunning for my job, Coop?"
Betty smiled, big and bright, "Eventually."
Betty's heart almost stopped when he touched the corner of his mouth with the tip of his tongue. "Alright," he nodded, "Forewarned is forearmed, I guess. Your stuff is good."
Betty straightened, trying to appear unfazed and confident, "I know."
He gave one more solitary nod, "Staff meetings Mondays and Wednesdays at 3:30. Any other meetings are scheduled on an individual basis. Copies are due no later than lunch on Thursday. We Print Thursday evening and distribute Friday morning. See you then."
With that, he turned back to the computer. Betty, giddy and excited more than she had been since arriving, held in a tight squeal and then walked out, casting one last glance at the handsome dark haired boy over her shoulder. Just as her eyes slid back, he looked over his shoulder at her, meeting her gaze and gifting her with a parting quirk of his lips that was more smirk than smile.
Dear, Lord.
When Betty re-entered the auditorium, still grinning from ear to ear, she was greeted by Kevin and Veronica.
"Where were you?" Veronica hissed.
Betty's smile dropped, "What? I...the bathroom."
Kevin cast a covert glance around the room where people were apparently started to rise from their seats.
Wait. When had everyone sat down?
"You missed Archie's song," Veronica breathed.
"Oh, no!" Betty said, touching a hand to her forehead, "I didn't...I couldn't..."
Veronica rubbed her upper arm, "It's okay. I'm sure he..."
Kevin cleared his throat and jerked his chin to bring their attention to where Archie was zig-zagging his way through the crowd toward them.
Veronica's dark gaze bored into Betty's, "Okay, he was amazing. You found his take on 'Crazy' haunting. Go."
And Archie was there.
"Hey guys!" He took Betty by the arms and turned her toward him, "Well?"
Betty hesitated, "Uh...that was..." She glanced over at Veronica, "uh...haunting!"
"It was for you. Could you tell?"
Betty tried to swallow the boulder that had just lodged in her throat.
"Of course!" Veronica rescued her, "I mean, it was obvious."
"Yeah," Betty said, her smile tight and strained, "obvious."
That seemed enough for Archie. His smile was the opposite of strained. It was big and genuine; the way hers had been when she had been talking to Jughead. Something ugly twisted in the pit of Betty's stomach.
"Should we go to Pop's?" Archie chimed, "We should go to Pop's!"
"I'm in." Veronica said, linking her arm through Betty's and pulling her just slightly away from Archie. As the two turned their backs to the sweet souled ginger, they shared a 'that was close' look and made their way through the crowd to the exit, Reggie, Archie and Kevin trailing in their wake.
Archie climbed out of the passenger side of Reggie's car and couldn't stop the smile from his face when he saw Betty emerging from Veronica's town car with Veronica and Kevin. God, she was pretty.
And she was his.
The trio disappeared inside and Reggie trotted to catch up to them.
There was an extra swagger in Archie's step as he headed toward the entrance of Pop's. He was just reaching for the handle when he heard the rumble of a motorcycle nearby. Over his shoulder, he saw a rider pull in on his bike. The white hand drawn crown on the helmet and Serpents leather jacket told him it was Jughead. He turned away from the diner and went to meet his best friend.
"Jug!" Archie called.
Jughead pulled off his helmet, "Hey, Arch."
As Jughead dismounted the bike, Archie slapped a hand to his shoulder, "You gotta come meet my girl."
Author's Note : Well, that's it for now. Tell me what you think! How did you feel about Bughead's first official meeting? Like the song choice? Questions? Comments? Complaints? I appreciate any and all of it!
