Author's Note: I know what you're going to say but time seriously got away from me. I'm really sorry, but we don't have time for excuses! On with the chapter!
~Sofi
*DISCLAIMER*
I DO NOT OWN RIVERDALE I AM JUST BORROWING THE CHARACTERS
Chapter 5 Part 2: Last Forever
The room was quiet, dark. The silk drapes had been closed over the window panes, shielding the bedroom from the harshness of morning's light. An even hum escaped an ornate clock propped upon a mantle. Matched with the dim glow, the constant hum gave a peaceful yet eerie mood to the scene. One drape, askew and slightly opened, let through one drop of golden sunlight. The beam dripped into a crystal upon a grand chandelier. Colors reflected from the edged stone throughout the room, brightening the dull that much more. One azure hue landed upon the sleeping figure's face, toning her skin to its liking. The shade complimented her raven hair brilliantly, fading away down the side of her neck. A steady breath escaped the maiden's lips, her chest heaving slowly and evenly.
A phone buzzed a few inches from her face. After a few seconds of the repetitive tone, the girl woke calmly, observing the time on the screen of her phone. 8:34 a.m.. She groaned rolling over to her side before stretching her well rested muscles. She quickly unlocked her device and tapped a contact, holding the phone up to her ear.
"Hello?" She mumbled, massaging her eyes to adjust to the morning.
"Veronica," the voice spoke, somewhat urgently. "I've been calling you since 7 in the morning! Please don't tell me you just got up,"
Veronica grinned to herself. "Only crazy people get up that early when there's no school, Betty,"
Betty scoffed, feeling almost offended. "Well, anyway, I just wanted to tell you to come to the Blue & Gold office this afternoon at 3, we have a plan for Archie. It involves the contents of the file you sent out."
Veronica paused. Her mind drifted back to that folder and what it held. She didn't hate her father, not like Betty anyway. But how could she stand for him, after everything he'd done? He was even willing to put her mother, his wife, into those crosshairs. Her thoughts soon lead her to the recording which still sat upon her bedside table. Veronica cleared her throat. "Okay, I'll be there. I've got something else, probably the most important thing."
"Perfect," Betty replied. A bang sounded from Betty's end of the line.
"B? You okay?" Veronica questioned, a worry growing from the back of her throat.
"Uh, yeah, a bird just flew into my window," Betty's voice sounded startled, but Veronica took her word for it. "See you later V,"
"You too B," With that, Veronica ended the call. She slumped back onto her covers. She didn't know whether to feel excited or nervous. After all, she was going to lose her father again. To hell with that, she thought, He should've never came back. Veronica sat up, quickly pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind. She grabbed an ivory robe from a hanger upon her door and trotted to the closet. Maybe she should just greet the day optimistically, in whatever way that meant.
. . .
It was 2:55 now, everyone gathered together in the Blue & Gold office. Except Betty. She was usually described as a punctual person, always ahead of time, on task. This worried Jughead, only because everyone else was already there, including Alice. He had tried to reach her multiple times already, but to no avail.
"Jug, try to calm down," piped Veronica, "she probably just took a detour,"
Jughead was pacing back and forth, circling a few chairs. He ran his hand through his hair, momentarily removing his beanie to perform the task for a rare glimpse of the dark fibers. "She would at least answer my calls,"
"I agree, this is weird," Kevin spoke, shifting his position to lean against a desk.
"Betty left before me," Alice spoke, mirroring Jughead's quizzical and worried expression, "She didn't mention stopping anywhere."
Just as these words escaped Mrs. Cooper's lips, in walked the girl next door herself, carrying several bags of take-out from Pop's. Jughead's head popped up relieved that she was here. She paused as everyone was looking intently in her direction. "What's up?"
Jughead crossed his arms, "Nothing, just that you seemed to disappear for a half an hour,"
"Sorry," the blonde expressed, setting several bags down onto a nearby table, "I wanted to surprise everyone, and my phone died earlier. I forgot to charge it." She ushered everyone to grab something from the bag and stepped to Jughead's side, being greeted by a small peck on the forehead.
Jughead brushed a thin hair from her porcelain face, taking her in. He surveyed her face closely, noticing the bags hanging low beneath her dreary eyes, foundation lazily hiding them. Her body slouched a bit, contrasting with her usually perfect posture. It was blatantly obvious that little effort was put into her iconic up-due, and even her walk was sluggish. He placed a gentle hand onto her shoulder, noticing her tenseness. "You okay?"
"Yeah, yeah," Betty replied, agitation way too apparent within her tone. "Just a late night, figuring out everything,"
"You sure?" He looked into her eyes, deeply searching for an honest answer.
"Honest Juggy, just not a lot of sleep," They leaned into together, sharing a brief but passionate embrace. He smiled, contagiously plastering the same onto Betty's lips.
Once everyone finished their meal, the serious matters came to conversation. Each person present (besides Fred Andrews who wasn't in town), gathered around Betty and Veronica to hear the master plan.
"So," Betty started, "I've made copies of the folders for each of you. We want physical, non-virtual copies of this information. It's not worth the risk keeping it on our phones." Veronica began handing out the copies to the attendees, sparing Cheryl who she gave hers to.
"Kevin, Josie, Toni, and Cheryl, you will begin to make copies and put them up around town. But do not let anyone know it is you. We need to keep this discreet for our own safety."
The four nodded at Betty. They swiftly grabbed their belongings and headed down the hall to the copier machine. The ones remaining were: The Core Four (minus Archie), and the parents.
"Parents," Betty began, FP and Alice smirking with intrigue. "You will oversee this operation, and make sure everything goes smoothly. FP, if possible, it would be valuable to get additional dirt on Hiram from the Serpents, but it isn't necessary."
The adults nodded, and they both made a mental note to inform Fred as soon as he got back from Chicago.
Betty then focused her attention to the remaining three, including her, left remaining. "Well then, that leaves us to start organizing the case for Archie's freedom. Let's get to work."
Time passed. Actually, a lot of time passed. About 6 hours, give or take a good ten minutes. Veronica had long since gone home, not forgetting to hand Betty the recording before she left. Jughead and Betty were the only ones left within the Blue & Gold while Cheryl and co. had left after nightfall to scatter the info. Everyone was exhausted, especially Betty. On top of all these Archie shenanigans, there was also the note, and the strange man, and the rock that hit her window. Betty wasn't stupid. She knew those were all tied together.
It was now about 9 o'clock when Betty finally stopped typing. She gently rubbed her eyes, which were aching from bright screen in front of her. Betty then rubbed her temple. God did she have the worst headache. The blonde teenager squeezed her eyes shut as the pain pounded and pulsed at the front of her head.
Jughead glanced up when he heard a heavy sigh from across the desk. "Hey Betts, why don't you head home. I'll finish up here, okay?" He spoke in a voice soft and sweet. She looked up to meet his eyes.
"Umm, are you sure? I could stay for a little bit longer-"
"Betts, really, you're tired, it's okay." He gave her a small smile of reassurance. He didn't want to make it blatantly obvious how terrible she looked, but it was still obvious to her.
She gave a sleepy grin back to the broad man as she hugged him. "Thank you, Juggy." She whispered into his chest, eyes closed with her weight leaning against him.
"Anytime, Juliet."
Before Betty trudged tiredly out of the room, they shared a passionate kiss. It lasted only ten seconds, but it felt like a lifetime. For once, in that moment, Betty felt totally and completely loved. Safe. Protected. All of the flaws that had washed up in her life seemed to disappear in just that moment. He welcomed her fully with open arms as her heart soared and she was surged with a beautiful and powerful energy. Oh what she would give to make that moment last forever.
"I love you, Juggy."
"I love you too, Betts."
If only that moment could last forever.
To be continued…
Author's Note: I was planning to end this on a darker, more agitating note but… we'll just have to leave that for the next chapter! It might be a bit until I release the next part, but it will be released sooner than this one. I hope enjoyed, thank you!
~Sofi