I Want You to Be Alive
Chapter 2
A knock sounded at his door as Archie took his headphones off and looked towards his door to see one of the very few people he wanted to talk to right now.
"Ronnie!" he cried out as he embraced her wanting nothing more than to feel her warmth.
"I heard about Betty, how are you holding up?"
"Sometimes I feel as if I'm fine. That I've finally accepted that she's gone and sometimes I feel like we're back at the beginning of our freshmen year and she'll walk through those doors at any moment ready to tell me her newest secret."
"It seems like she had a lot of those."
"We all do Ronnie; I just didn't know hers were as severe."
"No one did."
"I'm pretty sure one person was aware of what was happening to her." Archie hissed narrowing his eyes slightly just by thinking about him.
"Asking him about it won't help you grieve Archie. It's best to leave well enough alone and focus on her memory."
"It might not help me grieve Ronnie, but it will help answer some of the questions that I have."
"Promise me you'll wait a little bit before you talk to him. You're not the only one whop lost her Arch you have to remember that."
"I'm trying but sometimes it's hard you know."
Veronica nodded as she pulled him closer trying to comfort him as best she could, but for whatever it wasn't enough. It never would be again. Not without Betty Cooper alive and well.
"Did you want to grab something to eat. I can get some take out from Pop's if you don't feel like going out."
"I think going out will actually help me some. I'll get my jacket and then we can go."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah it's worse for me to be alone with my thoughts right now and maybe being around other people will help. Besides I've been dying for a strawberry milkshake."
"Well what do you know I'm in the mood for a chocolate milkshake." Veronica answered smiling at him as he went to go get dressed.
When they got to Pop's, Veronica got them a booth as Archie ordered their food and looked over as he sucked in a deep breath at what he saw. Jughead was here with the serpents and there was nothing Archie wanted more than to talk to him.
"Arch don't" Veronica said putting her hand on his arm as if to stop him.
"I just want to talk to him for a second. I promise I won't get nasty. I- I just need to say something about it to him. Anything."
"Just don't strain yourself Archie. You're still grieving."
Nodding, Archie made his way to where jughead and the serpents sat as he tried his best to seem approachable. When Jughead saw him, he stiffened rising up to meet him as they stood face to face. But Archie couldn't back down. He couldn't show fear around these people. Especially one he used to call a best friend.
"Hey Jug. How are you holding up?"
"My girlfriend is dead Andrews. How do you think I feel?"
"I'm not going to try to understand how much pain you must be in. I don't think there's anything more tragic than someone taking their own life."
"The problem with that Archie is that Betty would never kill herself. It's not who she was and deep down you know that. She was murdered Arch. She didn't kill herself."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I know my girlfriend Archie. You can't tell me that something about this whole situation doesn't seem off to you. Why would Betty kill herself when she had everything she always wanted?"
Anguish filled Archie's gut as he lowered his voice so nobody but Jughead would hear. "Jughead, I know it's hard, but there's no evidence suggesting that Betty was killed."
"There has to be Archie. She didn't kill herself I know it."
"Jug- "
"Listen if you're just going to stand here and fill me with self-doubt than you can just go back to daddy's little princess and fuck off. I'm going to find out who did this to my girlfriend with or without you. Now go run along before you really start to make me angry."
"If you ever need to talk. You know where to find me." Archie replied as Jughead waved him off letting him go back to Veronica wondering if Jughead had a point. Had someone really killed Betty Cooper?