Hello there! Yes, this was a quick update! Why? Because I took such a long time to update chapter 3, I wanted to make up for it. I hope it's worth it! Please excuse mistakes, as this was written and edited by a human being, and human beings tend to make mistakes. I do not own Riverdale! Shoutout to my reviewers: you 5 are the real MVP's. Enjoy this chapter, and please comment and share!
Betty looked at the freshly closed door of Pop's, still confused at why Jughead had basically run away from her. Did she offend him in any way? I've done it again! Betty thought. I've managed to make the only person I've truly ever cared about run away from me not once, but twice! How impressive. The blonde wouldn't let Jughead get off this easy though. Her inquisitive, journalist instincts were tingling: she simply had to know why he disappeared so long ago (and secretly wondered why he left her without an explanation).
Instead of running out the door after him, though, she sat and formulated a plan to get him to talk. Once she got home, she dialed her best friend, the intimidatingly gorgeous Veronica Lodge. Despite Archie going to Homecoming with her in 9th grade, they talked out their problems and have since become nearly inseparable.
Veronica picked up and said, "Betty?"
"V? I have a plan, and I'm going to need your help."
Surprised and confused at her words, Veronica simply replied, "Spill."
Jughead exasperatedly threw himself into his mattress. Of course the one person he wanted to see after 3 long years was taken by none other than Archie Andrews. Only life would be this cruel to a person like him. And when Betty just showed up at Pop's, fresh from a probable date with Archie (or so he thought), Jughead's emotions took over, and he greeted her with malice and ran away like a coward.
Damn it, he just couldn't face her. Not today. Not after seeing that.
Then, suddenly, he got a call from Archie. Fucking perfect timing, Arch, Jughead thought bitterly. But he couldn't show any of them he was mad; at least, not again. They didn't know he had practically stalked Betty today in hopes of reviving a relationship that probably didn't even exist in her mind, so he had to act natural. And the natural response to a ringing phone is to pick up.
Act happy. Act normal. "Hey, Arch," Jughead said, his voice cracking slightly. "It's been a while."
Archie, oblivious to the fake normalcy in his voice, replied, "Sure has, Jug. I know, I know, I haven't really talked to you since you left Riverdale for Toledo, but Betty was really keen on having me talk to you and ask you a favor."
At the mention of Betty's name, Jughead felt a pang of jealousy that hit him harder than he would have liked to admit. After a short pause, he let out a long breath and said, "What does she want?"
"She told me and Veronica that she saw you at Pop's, and she was really happy to see you again and decided it would be a great time to 'get the gang back together' on a camping trip. I understand if you can't go, but it seems like it means a lot to her, and we both know it would be a dick move if you let her down. What do you say?"
On one hand, the last thing Jughead wanted to do was see her with Archie, as it was just a painful reminder of what he had given up when he left for Toledo. But on the other hand, Jughead could never bring himself to let her down: they were still friends (at least in his mind), and he doesn't want to be the person that lets down someone who was there for you in the darkest of times.
After moments of consideration, he sighed and said, "I'll be there, Archie. Text me the details."
Jughead hung up, and lay down on his bed, just staring at the ceiling. What had he gotten himself into?
Bright and early the next morning, Betty sat in bed, doing advanced homework. If this camping thing worked out the way she wanted it to, she would be missing a couple days of school (without her mother knowing, of course). Suddenly, her phone started ringing. Glancing at the caller ID, she saw it was Veronica.
"Hey, V. Any news?" Betty said hopefully. When she proposed her plan to Veronica, she simply said that Jughead was in town and that she wanted to get their entire group together like old times. What she didn't divulge was her actual plan to "get lost" in the woods with Jughead so that he could finally explain to her the details of his disappearance. Yes, this was a very drastic measure, but Betty felt like he would just shut himself off completely if she tried confronting him alone at FP's trailer. This way, it was a group gathering, and the circumstances were purely "coincidental." Nothing too suspicious, right?
(That's what she wanted to believe.)
Veronica began rambling, "Looks like our sad little breakfast club is having a reunion! Jughead told Archiekins that he would show. I'm surprised he even said yes; you know, he talked a big game about being an 'outsider' and a 'weirdo,' but personally I -"
Betty cut her off, effectively ending the conversation with a, "Great, V! I'll finish planning and we'll get this all figured out."
"But, Betty, we still haven't-"
"Bye, Veronica." Betty hung up. As much as she loved Veronica Lodge, she was certainly a handful.
Inside, Betty was bursting at the seams with excitement. He said yes! She felt like she was a freshman in high school again, acting all giddy and almost too enthusiastic because of a boy. In the back of her mind, there was this fear that she was letting him into her life too easily again, that it was too soon and too painful to remember all the times he was there for her, both happy and sad. But Betty pushed that to the back of her mind and moved forward with an infectious zeal and lust for life. Silently, she thanked Jughead's reemergence for at least giving her that part of her personality. She had a lot to regain, but she would save that for the trip. Quickly looking outside to make sure her parents were at the grocery store as they said they would be, Betty climbed off of her bed, turned on her speaker, and began dancing, just as she did when she first became a River Vixen. As the music played, Betty felt free.
(When she heard the lyric: My youth ain't tangled up in bad decisions, all Betty could think was: Damn straight.)
The next day, Betty told Polly her plans of camping, and told her to cover for her. Polly smiled at Betty wistfully, like she wished to come with them and gain her childhood back. But she smiled at her sister and told her she would do anything for her, because that was the truth. Betty walked out of Polly's room with a little more spring in her step, and Polly couldn't help but smile.
Jughead looked at his minuscule closet and began packing a few of his flannels and jeans. According to Archie, they would be gone for 5 days. Jughead inwardly groaned at the thought of the awkward conversations between him and the rest of the gang. You see, they had time to grow closer together, while Jughead was once again left to figure it out on his own.
But despite all of his doubts and worries, Jughead could feel a bit of excitement. Fuck, he thought, that's not supposed to be there. Although he would never admit it, Jughead was excited to be with Betty Cooper, even if she (unintentionally) broke his heart. No, Jughead, don't do that. Don't let her in again. She's with Archie. Respect her space. Let her be. As much as he wanted to fight for her, to grab her by the face and look her in the eye and tell her he's always loved her, there was always that endless stream of consciousness telling him that she is happy where she is, and that he shouldn't disturb that because her happiness takes priority over his desires. And as a person of logic, Jughead always let his head conquer his heart, letting her slip away bit by bit.
Hope it wasn't completely terrible... tell me what you think of it so far!
