Betty and Archie are carving their Halloween pumpkins. And as Archie looks up at Betty and sees her soft smile and the brightness in her eyes he thinks it's moments like these that he feels the regret and he wonders what it would be like to call her his own
Here is a short one shot I wanted to do for Halloween ?. It's sweet and short and a bit a fun for the holiday. I love this pairing so had to do a quick Halloween story for the two. I'm still working on my other story Always "My Girl". I'm on the last two chapters and if anyone is wondering yes I am in the middle of writing chapter 8 it's just taking some time. I'm trying to figure out how to include all the loose ends and wrap things up hopefully it will be done by next week. But anyways please let me know what you think of this little short in the comments below. And that you for reading even if you don't like it. But makes me happy when I do get comments and kudos. Enjoy
Archie's POV:
It was a week before Halloween and Archie had been feeling a little lost. Everything was changing and Archie wasn't sure where that left him. He had just started a thing with Veronica and it was new and exciting. But he wasn't sure his heart was really into it. He wanted to look at Veronica like Jughead looked at Betty. "Betty". Her name tumbled in his mind over and over again but he wasn't sure why. He didn't know why every time he thought of her he had a sinking feeling in his stomach.
As if he had been calling her Betty appeared in his bedroom doorway. "Hey Arch. What you doing on the floor." Archie was splayed out on the floor of his bedroom lost in his own thoughts. "Oh nothing... was just doing some sit ups". He knew it was a lame excuse but it was the first thing that came to his mind. He really didn't want to explain to Betty the scrambled mess his brain was at this moment. Usually Betty knew when he was lying or when something was wrong but she didn't notice this time. Archie frowned when she started to speak not noticing his internal turmoil. "Well get up and come down stairs I got something for us". He perked up a bit hearing she had something for "them". When was the last time she had said "them" or "us" that referred to him and Betty.
That thought took him back a bit but he got up and followed her down stairs. "What is it Betty? Did you bring me a burger and shake". He joked. That was always their thing eating a burger and shake together and it was the only thing he could think of. "No Arch. It's even better! Just shut up and come see". He rolled his eyes but the smile grew as he followed her into his back yard. When he seen what she had brought his smile grew even wider. "Pumpkins! You got us pumpkins?" She looked over at him her eyes bright. "Yeah. Halloween is coming up and I don't know. We really haven't spent much time together..." she trailed off not finishing that thought but he already knew what the end of that sentence was. "Since she got with Jughead".
He must of had a sour look on his face because Betty noticed his reaction to her statement. But she thought it was something else that was bothering him. "What? You don't like them?" He seen her face fall a little so he was quick to reassure her. "No no Betty this is great! I was just thinking how much has changed... you know after Jason's murder. He lied again and again she didn't notice. "Yeah things have been really crazy. That's why I wanted to start up our tradition again. Me, you pumpkins" I thought it would be fun... and just nice to spend sometime with my best friend. Archies heart warmed at her words and he smiled softly at Betty nodding his head. "Yeah it would be great Betts. I've missed you". She smiled back at him and grabbed his hand and gave it a little squeeze. She dropped his hand too quickly for his liking. Archie could still feel her warm hand in his and it left a slight tingle in his fingers. "Well what do you say let's get these pumpkins gutted". She made a silly "yuck face" and giggled which made Archie laugh. "Yeah let's do this".
They were elbow deep in pumpkin guts laughing at old memories of when they were kids doing this very thing when a big blob of slimy pumpkin hit Archie's face. Shocked and a little confused Archie looked up to see Betty laughing with a cute pink color tinged on her cheeks. "Oh no you didn't just do that". Archie was already planning his attack on Betty. "Yeah and what are you going to do about it Andrews?" It was a challenge and Archie wasn't about to turn it down. Archie grabbed a big scoop of his own just as Betty was doing the same.
Before he knew it they were both flinging pumpkin guts at each other. Then Betty was squealing and running away from him. "Oh no you don't you started this Cooper". Archie ran after her with the squishy insides in his hands. Betty screeched and yelled as Archie came after her. Betty was all out of ammo and he knew he had her. Archie tackled Betty as they both tumbled to the ground laughing as they went down. Archie ended up on top smearing the goop onto her face and arms. Betty kicked and wiggled her body trying to get out from under him but Archie had her pinned to the ground with his body. Just like when they were kids Archie stuck some of the gooey goop down the front of her shirt.
Betty wiggled more and screeched louder as he did so. They were both out of breath, laughing so hard they could feel cramps start to form in their stomachs. Archie's head was a bit down so when he looked up into Betty's eyes and seen the soft smile and brightness in her eyes it took him back. It was moments like these that he was full of regret... the "regret of turning her away". And as Archie looked at Betty he wondered what it would be like if Betty was his.
He hadn't noticed his own hands drifting upwards from her waist up under her shirt. His hands were resting on her bare stomach the sticky mess still all over his hands. Archie had the softest look on his face staring into the eyes of his best friend. A warmth had started to build inside Archies chest and his body pressed more firmly into Betty's. Her breath hitched and all laughter stopped as they both stared at each other. Betty didn't move a muscle and as if Archie couldn't control his own body he sunk further onto her. He wanted to be as close as possible he wasn't sure what he was doing he just knew it felt right.
His face started to come closer to Betty's as his thumbs stroked softly over her stomach. Archie could feel Betty's heart racing in her chest and he knew Betty could feel his. And the moment before his lips touched hers the back door banged open and he heard his dad call him. "Archie you back here!"
Startled they both struggled to get up quickly. Betty was wiggling underneath him and he groaned as she made contact with his groin. In that moment he hadn't noticed he was hard until it made contact with Betty's body. That's when Betty noticed too her eyes widened and flickered down. Archies hands were still on her bare stomach and they were tangled up together. They finally got up and broke apart it was one of the hardest things Archie had to do when he finally let her go. Betty rushed back to the pumpkins and Archie followed slowly trying to adjust himself discreetly. He sat back down across from Betty just staring at her face. She was flushed the most beautiful pink radiating off of her.
Just then his dad came out the door and down the stairs. "There you are. And oh hey Betty your here too!" He heard the excitement and surprise in his dads voice. "Hey Mr. Andrews! Yea... yeah just thought I would come over and start up mine and Archie's tradition again". Her voice squeaked a little at his name and Archie looked up at her face. She was still flustered and Archie couldn't help but smile. "That's great and it looks like you two still don't know how to keep the guts off each other". Archie blushed as did Betty because all they heard was "keep off each other. "I remember when you two were kids and would do this every year. And I also remember how Archie couldn't keep his eyes off of you". Archie and Betty's heads shot up looking at Fred with wide eyes. "Wha wha what?" Archie stuttered out. "Oh yeah you had it bad boy. I always thought you two would end up together but you know..." Fred trailed off in thought. "But here you guys are still friends and both in a relationship. It really is nice seeing you two together again. Well have fun you two make sure to show me the finished product. I believe I still have some candles in the kitchen drawer".
Fred headed inside not knowing what had happened just before he came out and not knowing what his words did as he left. Archie chanced a look at Betty and seen her face was bright red. But what was most startling was she was looking at him dead in the eyes. She had a curious but confused look on her face. Archie was embarrassed but he couldn't rip his eyes from hers. And yes moments like these he wonders why he ever turned her down.
The End