Summary:

Jughead Jones loves Betty Cooper. Betty Cooper loves…well, she thinks she loves Archie Andrews. It just makes sense….right?

When unrequited love means more than heartbreak, loving someone who doesn't love you back can be deadly. As Jughead and Betty face the possibility that their loves aren't returned, they face a future filled with flower petals.

Author's Note:

Since Hanahaki Disease is a bit of an unusual trope here's a brief summary of the disease. Hanahaki Disease is a fictional disease which occurs when a person is suffering from unrequited love. Their lungs fill up with flowers making it difficult to breathe. There are generally two 'cures'—the love being requited, or removal of the growth (and therefore the associated feelings for the beloved also being removed). Otherwise, the outcome is death.

With that said, a couple of quick warnings. There's a bit of body horror here. Characters cough up blood and flowers. I'm not overly graphic, but it does get mentioned quite a bit.

Also, Betty's crush on Archie plays a significant role in this story, especially the first couple of chapters. Sorry. I promise, this is Bughead endgame.

(~Part One - Lily-of-the-Valley~)

Lily-of-the-valley -

return to happiness; you've made my life complete

Chapter One - Unrequited

She entered the diner with Archie. The red head had an arm wrapped around her shoulders and she leaned into him. A wistful smile played at her perfect pink lips. The ends of her blonde ponytail brushed along his arm. He said something to her and she laughed like it was the wittiest thing she ever heard. Betty and Archie were the epitome of a Norman Rockwell painting. A fairy tale come to life. A YA romance with the ending already written.

Jughead ground his teeth as he tried to ignore the couple. Tucking his head low, he slouched into the booth, half wishing to disappear. There was no room in the narrative of their story for him. Happily ever after had never applied to Jughead Jones, why should it concern itself with him now?

If Archie even bothered to survey the rest of the diner, he never noticed his so called best friend, sitting alone in the booth. Betty only had eyes for Archie and never glanced in Jug's direction. Jughead didn't know if he should be grateful or not for the oversight. So, instead he focused on his computer, the open document, and the mystery which needed solving. Despite his best efforts to ignore them, Jug continued to catch the sweet lilt of her voice, even if he couldn't make out the words.

Archie, there's something...

It started small, little more than a catch in his throat. Jughead coughed in an attempt to clear the snag. Trying to convince himself it was anything other than what he knew it to be. A pang blossomed deep in his chest, bringing with it a tickle in his lungs, a slight fluttering as he exhaled. He ignored it. What else was he supposed to do?

He sipped at his water, trying to quell the fit before every eye was on him with morbid curiosity. The water didn't help. Holding his breath, Jughead tried to contain the next coughing fit. Sweeping his laptop into his bag, he all but sprinted to the restroom. He barely made it before he was forced to gasp for air. There wasn't enough room in his lungs to take a full breath. Instead, the action set him off in an explosive, body racking fit of coughing.

Jug held a handkerchief to his mouth. A little old fashioned, he knew, but what was he if not an old fashioned kind of guy. When the coughing fit gave way, he pulled the handkerchief from his lips. Brilliant crimson speckled the snowy white cloth. He folded the handkerchief as though by hiding the evidence he could deny the truth.

Leaning against the door of the restroom, Jughead sank to the floor. If anyone needed to use the toilets, they could bloody well wait. He was in the middle of an existential crisis here and needed a few moments of privacy to compose himself. All summer he'd experienced the pinching in his lungs, the wheezing breath. No one paid any attention to him, so he was able to pass off the initial symptoms as something much less fatal. Maybe it was allergies. Or, he was out of shape. Or, had developed asthma.

But, no, he could no longer deny the truth. On his tongue, the coppery taste of blood mingled with bile and something much sweeter. Part of him wanted to weep, but what good would that do? The dice were cast, he was fated to die young and heartbroken like an eighteenth or nineteenth century poet.

Without the lung capacity for a satisfactory deep sigh, Jughead wheezed a melancholic one instead. He opened the handkerchief and studied mottled stains. Scattered among the red splotches were several perfectly formed, white, bell shaped blossoms. Lily-of-the-valley.

He had Hanahaki Disease.

Betty sat across from Archie in a booth at Pop's. A giddy thrill ran up her spine. She'd waited all summer for this moment. Tonight she would make her grand confession and her fate would be sealed. Despite her nerves and shaking hands, she reassured herself once again that the odds were in her favor.

Her crush on the boy next door had been a long standing fact. It had been the safe kind of crush, she'd never allowed herself to feel deeply or too strongly. Letting yourself to fall too deeply was dangerous—especially before you knew how the other person felt. But, as she spent the summer across the country, away from her home and friends, that she realized how much she loved the boy next door. She and Archie fit together. They made sense. And, Betty was ready to take that next step.

Growing up, it had always been the three of them—Betty, Archie, and Jughead. They were her best friends. She couldn't imagine life without either of them. Over the summer, whenever she thought of home, her daydreams featured what it would be like to date Archie. Walking home hand-in-hand after school, sharing shakes at Pop's, and stealing kisses in the tree house behind the Andrew's house. They would be voted to the homecoming court and the couple most like to stay together after high school. With perfect clarity, she could picture the suburban home with its white picket fence and two point five dark hair—red—red haired children. They were perfect for each other. The ideal couple—shining and glorious—especially in a world where unrequited love meant death or numbness.

Archie was a safe choice. The right choice. He was the one she was head over heels in love with. Surely he saw it too. She had made a list of attributes one should look for in their potential partner and Archie met…well, he met most of them. All the important ones. They belonged together like peanut butter and jelly.

For a brief moment over the summer, Betty had considered what it would mean to love Jughead instead. She hadn't dared allow the thought to take hold. The smallest glimpse of the idea terrified her. If she allowed herself to love Juggie, it would be passionate, intense, and consuming—everything she could not afford love to be. Everything she had been warned to avoid. So, she blocked it out completely. Jughead was the friend she couldn't afford to lose. Archie was the better choice. They were perfect together.

"So, how was your summer?" Archie asked as he dragged his fry through a puddle of ketchup.

Betty started as she was pulled out of her reverie. Archie was so sweet to ask about her summer. She had so much she wanted to share with him. Unlike with Jughead, she and Archie hadn't talked more than a couple of times over the course of the summer. But, it only made sense. There was the difference in time zones to consider and he'd been so busy helping his dad. "Oh, it was great. I mean, an internship is a lot of boring work nobody else wants to do, but there were also some really great opportunities. You remember that article I sent you? It's not much, but it's my first officially published piece…"

"Oh yeah," Archie interrupted. He shook himself like his mind had wandered and he'd finally found something to grasp onto. "I showed it to my dad. He said it was really good. I didn't get a chance to read it yet, but I'm certain it was swell. You're always so good at writing."

"Oh…" Betty deflated a bit. He hadn't read her article. She had sent it to him over a month ago. Jug had read it within five minutes of her sending it and had immediately called to congratulate her.

"So, my summer was crazy busy too," Archie blustered on like she'd hadn't been in the middle of telling him something important to to her. "I was helping my dad, right, and construction isn't anything like I thought. And, I know the other guys thought I got it easy cause I'm the boss' kid, but really it was cause I'm like fifteen and can't use any of the heavy equipment."

Betty nodded along and picked at her burger as Archie continued to regale her with the details of his summer. She'd tamped down the small, insidious voice at the back of her head which whispered he had only asked about her summer as an excuse to launch into stories about his own.

When Archie finally paused in his breathless recitation about his summer, Betty smiled brightly and gave his hand a squeeze. He was so earnest and handsome. His eyes lit up with passion as he talked about his newfound interest in music. "Music? That's fascinating Arch. I can't wait to hear your songs."

A scarlet flush tinged his cheeks. If anything it made him more endearing. So modest. "They're not ready yet. But, once they're done, of course, you'll be the first to hear them. I'm sure my writing is nothing compared to yours."

"I can't wait. And I'm certain they will be wonderful." Betty bit her lip. She'd been editing Archie's papers since the third grade when they did their research 'papers' on animals. Sure, his writing had improved since then, but it still wasn't great. Maybe poetry—or songwriting—was his calling. After all, writing poetry called for a different set of skills than writing prose. "If you like, I could read your poems—lyrics?—for you."

His face lit up like he was hoping she'd say just that. "Thanks a million Betty, you're the best."

It was her turn to blush a pretty pink. He thought she was the best. She took a deep breath, now was as good of a time as any. "Archie, there's something..."

"I don't have any with me right now, but when we get home, I can give you my notebook so you can read them," he continued on without realizing she was trying to tell him something. In another booth, someone stifled a coughing fit. Betty felt a twinge of sadness for that person, that kind of cough usually meant only one thing. She couldn't find out who it was without turning around and there was no subtle way to do so. Besides, the person deserved their privacy. Archie paid no more attention to the coughing than he did to her interrupted confession. "Though could you maybe read it tonight, cause I'd like my notebook back tomorrow. Like, since we're both writers now, you know how it is…"

"Mm, yeah." Betty fidgeted in her seat. No deep breath to gather courage this time, she didn't dare give him another opportunity to interrupt. "Archie, I've been wanting to tell you something all summer."

"What is it?" He cocked his head to the side in a way which reminded her of Vegas. The comparison to his earnest, loyal golden retriever made her smile.

"I lov—"

The bell above the door jangled, cutting her off. At the first chime, Archie's eyes strayed from Betty and focused on whoever walked through the door. It was as if Archie had completely forgotten Betty was there.

As the sharp click of heels crossed the tiles, Betty saw what all the fuss was about. A girl about her own age with dark hair and immaculately dressed stood at the register. "I'm here to pick up an order for Lodge."

"Just a minute," Pop said as he grabbed a tray to deliver a meal to another table.

Archie was out of his seat and asking the new girl to join him while she waited. The girl sat next to Archie. When she saw Betty she smiled brightly and offered her hand across the table. "I'm Veronica Lodge."

Good breeding won out over the disappointment welling in her heart. Betty shook Veronica's proffered hand. "Betty Cooper. Welcome to Riverdale."

"And I'm Archie Andrews." He stared at Veronica like he had never seen a pretty girl before. "Did you just move into town? I could show you around. Where are you from?"

Veronica's laughter was warm and inviting. "Oh aren't you sweet. Yes, I'm new. My mother and I just arrived today…."

There was a heat in his eyes as he looked at Veronica and his attention was rapt as she spoke, hanging on every word. Betty's heart sank. He'd barely seemed to notice when she tried telling him something important. And when she talked about her summer, he was more eager for her to finish than to listen. This didn't mean anything, she told herself, Archie is just being friendly. He's a friendly guy. Despite her mental pep talk she didn't quite believe herself. Had she really fallen for someone who didn't love her back?