Don't ask me when we're 18, because I'll say no
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"Well cousin, I had my doubts, but I must confess you really did a great job decorating the room for prom", Cheryl admitted.
She was radiant in her red dress and Toni couldn't help but asking: "How's the poll from prom queen going ?"
"Well, considering Cheryl relentlessly threatened us to vote her prom queen, I don't think this will be an issue", Betty replied, while searching for Jughead, "Excuse me".
She left Cheryl and Toni alone, and the southsider said: "Cheryl, you have to stop threatening people."
"A queen must be served by her people, my love", the Blossom heiress replied. "Now, shall we go ?"
Betty rushed to Jughead as soon as she saw him: "Hey ! Is everything alright ?"
"Hopefully, yes", Jughead said. "Apparently, all the remaining tapes are at the police station. My father is reviewing them, he told me he'll keep me informed".
"Okay", Betty said with a sweet voice, while tugging a lock of hair striking out of his beanie, "In the meantime...let's try to have some fun tonight, okay ?"
She gave him puppy eyes and Jughead couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright Betty Cooper, I'll dance for you. But only for you." he said.
Since Betty was busy talking to Jughead, Veronica had no choice but to step on stage to cover for her best friend when the music stopped. She confidently walked to the mic and improvised a speech: "Good evening everyone ! Hope you're all having a good time for senior prom. It had been a long year, full with... harships, and joy, and tears... but we all made it through ! Thanks to our courage... and Pop's milkshakes definetely helped !"
The joke made the assembly laugh, especially because Pop did sponsor the prom with Cheryl. Kevin raised his glass at Veronica who went on: "So, now, to announce the king and queen of prom... Kevin ?".
Kevin gave her the enveloppe as he was standing, holding a red-velvet cushion where one crown and one tiara were lying. Veronica opened it and said with a bright smile: "Ladies and gentlemen, Riverdale High is proud to announce for the first time his two prom queens, Cheryl Blossom and Toni Topaz !"
Everyone cheered as Cheryl and Toni exchanged a warm kiss before rushing to the stage to get their crown and flowers. Kevin made a sign to the DJ and Cheryl and Toni went to the center of the room for their dance.
"And now", Veronica announced, "The dance of the queens".
"This is the first time I'm being crowned prom queen", Toni said to Cheryl as they danced to a slow music, "That tiara is beautiful".
"I picked it just for you my love", Cheryl replied with a warm smile.
Kevin and Fangs joined them on the dancefloor, followed by everyone, including Betty and Jughead.
"See ?" Betty teased Jughead. "It's not so bad, isn't it ?"
"Well it's not when you have the perfect girl in your arms", Jughead replied with a smile.
As he leaned to kiss her, they were interrupted by Toni, who was dancing with Cheryl near them and said mockingly to Jughead: "You don't have the perfect girl in your arms, I do".
"That's true", Cheryl said.
"Well, I know a lost battle when I see one", Jughead sighed.
Betty giggled, and suddenly, the music was replaced by a familiar looped guitar chord. Betty froze and turned to the stage. It was Archie, who was sitting in the middle of the stage. He was focused on his fingers pressing the chords so he could play the song perfectly... a song Betty knew.
"Wait, why is Archie singing ?", she asked, wih an ounce of panic. "This wasn't in the planning."
"He filled in at the last minute", Cheryl replied with a shrug. "I told him that he could".
There's no warning when everything changes
You let down your guard and I saw something strange
I thought, she's not made for this world
"Are you alright ?" Jughead asked when he saw Betty's expression.
"I...I'll be right back", she stammered, before rushing out of the dance circle, leaving Jughead alone and confused. But the King of Serpents never had the opportunity to go after her, as his phone rang.
"Dad ?", he said.
"Hey Jug, you might want to see this...", FP said on the phone.
Jughead didn't need to be said twice and hung up.
"Hey ! Tell Betty I'm at the police station", he quickly said to Toni before rushing out.
"She's not a messenger, you hobo", Cheryl commented.
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Veronica was touched as she was staring at Archie singing on stage. Mary, his mother, told her in confidence he had a song prepared for her and now she finally got to hear it. Archie was focused on his voice and guitar-playing but she could feel him being drawn into his music. She would give him a nice reward for that.
So give me tonight
I don't know much
But I know this feels right
So give me tonight
If you carry the torch
I'd follow the light
I'd follow the light
But suddenly, all the lights went out. Veronica looked up like everyone and the music was replaced by a confused murmurs from the crowd.
"Alright, alright everyone ! Don't panic !" Kevin shouted. "We'll figure out what's happening..."
The flashlights from the phones emerged and Veronica went down the stage when she saw Betty. She was the one responsible for the prom after all.
"Hey, B... What's happening with the lights ?"
"FP just called me... They found something on the tapes !", Betty said hastily. "V... can you cover for me ?"
Veronica knew she couldn't let her best friend down. "Go, B. Me and Archie will handle everything here"
"Thanks !"
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"Well, that could have been worse", Veronica said to Archie as they were exiting the school.
"Yeah... yeah it could", Archie was looking at the street where Betty had ran out to the police station.
"Don't worry", Veronica told him. "These two will be okay. They're always looking out for each other"
She put her arms around him. "Now, to turn this evening around. How about we go to my place so you can sing me the rest of that song you wrote for me ? What do you say, Archiekins ?"
Archie looked uncomfortable, as is he was struggling deep down. Finally, he sighed and said: "Ronnie, look... there's something I need to tell you"
Veronica saw he was looking serious and loosened her embrace. Archie hesitated but finally said:
"I...I didn't write this song for you. I wrote it...I wrote it for Betty".
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When Betty arrived at the police station, she stood in the waiting room, wondering when Jughead would come out. The second she saw FP, she ran to him.
"What happened ? Is Jug alright ?"
"Everything's fine, Betty", FP sighed, "Jughead is reviewing a tape in my office, he's... I think you should go see him"
Betty nodded and went inside. Jughead was leaning against his father's desk, turning his back on him while watching a tape, his arms crossed. Betty froze when she saw the scene. It was, once again, a snuff film, a reconstitution of... the rehearsal she did with Archie. Two people were wearing masks representing her and Archie and they embraced each other while kissing, or mostly rubbing the masks against one another.
Jughead finally turned his head to look at her over her shoulder. He seemed distressed. "Is is true ?"
Betty didn't have the words.
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"Ronnie, please, wait !"
"Wait for what, Archie ? What do you want me to say ?".
There was no mercy in Veronica's voice.
"Look, I'm sorry, neither of us knew what was happening ?"
"Oh yeah ? What's your excuse now ? Were you chased by the Black Hood ? You wrote her a song, Archie ! What do you want me to say ?!"
Archie knew there was no excuses.
"Go to hell, the both of you !", Veronica finally blurted out.
"Ronnie..."
But the moment Archie tried to stop her, Veronica turned around and slapped him as hard as she could. The noise made the few students outside glance at them.
"I said go to hell, Archie !"
And she disappeared in the night.
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"You know what ? That actually doesn't surprise me, Betty. Because the second you suggested that fake love story with Archie to fool the Preppies, I knew you never forgot about him"
" No ! Jug, please, that's not true, I love you !" Betty cried, trying to make Jughead look at her in vain.
She tried everything she could to tell him how sorry she was, how she stopped it, how nothing happened after that... except the little meetings in the bunker. But every words seemed to be worse. Finally, Jughead left her on the parking lot of the police station and went out on his motorbike.
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A few days later
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"Elizabeth Cooper... I put up with many, MANY of your mistakes. But I never raised you to do this."
"But Mom, that's not what happened, please..."
"Do you know in what situation you're putting me ? And FP ? Have you thought before acting ?"
"No Mom, I didn't think, that's what I'm trying to tell you !"
"And now look where it got us, Betty ! See, I told you from the beginning you should have focused on your studies and NOTHING ELSE. Not dating a Serpent like Jughead Jones, not wandering around town solving mysteries, and certainly not lip-locking Archie Andrews in his garage !"
Betty was angry at the world, at herself. Deep down, she knew her mother was right. Now that Jughead got out of the house, it would only be a matter of time before FP left too. Especially since Jellybean was not happy staying under the same roof of the girl who broke her dear brother's heart. She tried to talk to her, to FP, but it was too awkward.
Two days later, they left.
And now, she could also hear her mother cry because FP left a void in her heart no one could ever fill. Heartbroken, Betty stayed in the dark, never opening the store of her room out of fear of seeing the face of Archie Andrews.
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"V..."
"...Did you hear something, Kevin ?", the Lodge heiress asked out loud to her guy friend who was really embarrassed finding himself in the middle of this situation.
"V please, talk to me", Betty implored. "I really need someone to talk to about this."
"Well, you should have thought about that before kissing my boyfriend, Betty", Veronica retorted, flipping her hair very much like Cheryl. "You should be happy now that we broke up, right ? No more rivals".
"No !" Betty protested. "I don't love Archie, I don't want him !"
"Oh cut the crap, Betty !", Veronica yelled. "You never stopped loving Archie and you never stopped wanting him ! Can't you see ? No less than a month after he rejected you, you were dating Jughead. It's called rebound."
Betty darkened.
"I can put up with you blaming me for kissing Archie, but I FORBID you to tell me I never loved Jughead. We stayed together for years, we were always there for each other. Don't you DARE telling me I didn't love him".
"And yet, here we are", Veronica said, turning away. "I don't want to see your face or Archie's !"
.
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This was the worse summer Betty could ever imagine: she was torn between trying to reach Jughead or Veronica and enduring the heartbreaking separation between her mother and FP. This isn't how she wanted things to end. Her heart was broken because she needed Jughead. Kevin could have been a great support if he didn't take the train to New York the day after prom for his intership at Broadway. Actually, the only person who wanted to talk to her was the one she was avoiding like the plague: Archie Andrews.
Betty kept her stores shut all summer and after ignoring Archie's texts, she finally blocked him.
She did everything to keep herself busy, especially preparing herself for Yale. She visited Veronica to try to talk to her from time to time, but each time she found herself in front of a closed door.
Finally, it all went down the last day before her departure to Yale. She was walking back from Pop's with burgers and milkshake for dinner... as Archie was going out of his house and they ran into each other. As usual, Betty ignored him and just climbed the few stairs to the path leading to her entry porch.
"Betty !" Archie called.
She ignored him.
"Betty you can't avoid me forever ! Please, we need to talk about this".
Betty felt angry at herself seeing she was slowing her pace, but replied: "I have nothing to say to you, Archie"
"So what ?" Archie retorted, spreading his arms. "That's it, we go our separate ways ?"
How dare he acting all outraged ? Betty thought.
"Yes ! Yes, we are ! After everything you put me through, I think the best thing we can do now is calling quits."
"I couldn't just lie to Veronica !"
"Actually, you could have, Archie !" Betty finally turned to him.
She was angry, fuming. She didn't even realize she dropped the Pop's bag, spilling the milshakes and the fries, because she was angry at him.
"Why did you have to sing this song in front of EVERYONE ?", she exclaimed, walking towards him with her eyes full of rage tears. "Do you know I lost EVERYTHING because of you ? My best friend, my boyfriend, now even my mom won't talk to me ! And you want me to feel sorry for you ?! You couldn't just break up with Veronica, you had to drag me into your mess !"
"I didn't", Archie protested, "Look, I didn't want things to go like this, I swear..."
"That's the problem with you, Archie, you just can't make a decision !" Betty exploded, tears falling down her cheeks. "Veronica, Josie, Mrs Grundy, Valerie, and now me ! You're just juggling between all of us because you don't know what you want ! I knew what I wanted from the start, but you turned me down. And now what ? You want me to be with you ? After I lost everything ?! Why ?"
"Betty..."
But she never let him finish. She raised her hands to stop him from getting closer. "Here's how it's going to be...You're gonna go to the Naval Academy, I'm going to Yale. That's all there is to it."
When she turned to get inside, she heard: "Ask me when we're 18 and I'll say yes."
She froze. He remembered that ?
"That's what you told me.", Archie went on, his heart beating. "We're 18 now, so I'm asking you..."
"Don't..."
"Betty Cooper..."
"Archie I swear to you, don't", Betty implored, her fists tightened as she was crying.
"Will you wait for me ?"
The question sounded like a death sentence to her. Betty couldn't stop crying. There was so many answers she could give... but all she managed to say between her tears was: "Goodbye, Arch.".
And she went back inside.
The next morning, she was gone.
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Seven years later
"So what time does your friend has to come ? Stan isn't it ?", Mary Andrews asked her son.
"He said he'd be there by 2", Archie assured.
"I hope the guest room I prepared in the ground floor is enough", Mary anxiously said.
Archie laughed.
"Believe me, mom, after everything this guy's been through, this room will look like a palace, and even the food we dump in the trash will taste like a top-chef dish."
"Well I'm not serving him food we dump in the trash", his mom warned him.
Archie laughed. The sound of the bell ringing echoed in the air.
"That must be him. I'll be right back."
But when he opened the door, it wasn't Stan. The man in front f him seemed much younger, had his two legs and impeccable brown hair. He had two big bags, and probably got out of the taxi that was driving away now. Archie furrowed his eyebrows.
"Can I help you ?"
The man seemed confused and looked at a paper he was jolding in his hand.
"Oh I'm sorry, I must have the wrong...address. I'm looking for the Cooper's house ?"
"It's the next house", Archie replied, while pointing at the white house of his formet best friend. "And you are ?"
"Oh... yes... Adam Chisholm. Nice to meet you.", said the man while extending his hand.
"Archie Andrews.", Archie replied, shaking his hand. "You're a friend of the Coopers ?"
"Well, I was supposed to meet Betty but I supposed she's running late. Said she was going to see her mom at work to surprise her. But she must have written the address wrong. Sorry, mate."
"Wait, let me help you !" Archie offered.
"Why, thanks, buddy !"
Archie grabbed one bag, Adam the other and both walked towards Betty's house. Aside from being helpful, Archie was curious about Betty's new friend. He didn't need to wait long before all his answers were answered. Adam's phone rang.
"Hey honey... you gave me the wrong adress... No worries, I met your neighbor, Archie Andrews... Wait, I can't hear you well, where are you ? With your mom, where... ? Sweet Lake ? What is that ?"
"Oh, it's Sweetwater River", Archie interrupted his conversation. "It's not far from here".
Deep down, he felt a knot in his stomach, but couldn't tell if it was the uncomfortable thought of seeing Betty after they separated on such bad terms.
"Betty ? Betty I can't hear you...".
Adam put on the speaker in the hope to hear her better, and Archie couldn't help but also hear Betty's voice almost inaudible because there was a loud noise behind her:
"Adam ? Adam I can't hear you there's a...truck behind me that..."
Betty could never finish her sentence and Adam and Archie both heard her loud scream coming out of the phone, followed by the noise of an engine accelerating.
Archie forgot all manners and snatched Adam's phone from him. He called desperately.
"Betty ? BETTY ?!"
But there was no answer.
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Riverdale Season 5 to premiere on 2021 January, 20th
Don't forget to leave a review ! :D
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