Betty has a dream. Archie is in it.
They're in the Blue & Gold office, and the conversation they have is similar to the one they'd actually had. Only this time, he kisses her. And then he undresses her slowly, and himself, and he touches her everywhere she wants to be touched.
She wakes up breathing heavy, aching to be touched for real, her panties soaking.
Jughead stirs beside her, and Betty sighs, feeling desperately guilty.
She tries to tell herself it was just a dream. She can't help what she dreams. It's the same as if she had a sex dream about some random celebrity.
But she can't really defend closing her eyes and letting the fantasy continue, though she's wide awake and her boyfriend is right next to her.
It's just that though, isn't it? A fantasy. Nothing is ever going to come of it, so what harm is it? Jughead never has to know.
On the first Sunday of Spring, Betty wakes up to sunlight streaming in through her window, and birds chirping outside. It's going to be a mild March.
She gets up and pads down the hallway, only to find her mother changing the sheets in Polly's room, though Polly has been gone for months now.
"Mom?" Betty asks, hovering in the doorway to her sister's old room. Alice looks up. "What are you doing?"
"I know no one has slept in here, but that's exactly the reason the sheets need changing. Everything in here is covered in dust," Alice says.
Betty shakes her head. She's sure her mother has gone crazy.
"Besides, Archie will hardly want to sleep in a bed covered with flowers," Alice continues.
Betty squints at her mom. "Archie?"
Alice fluffs one of the pillows. "Didn't he tell you? Fred is going away for a week and Archie is staying here."
"Here?" Betty chokes. She can't imagine why. He's perfectly capable of being on his own for a week, and even if he wasn't, Betty would have thought Veronica was the obvious choice for who to stay with.
"I was surprised too, Betty," Alice rolls her eyes. "Why it had to be here I'll never know, but Fred was quite insistent. And we do have a spare room," she concedes.
"Okay," Betty nods. She's not entirely sure how to feel about this. An entire week of living with Archie.
It's not a bad thing. She likes spending time with Archie. But with the feelings she's been having lately, she's not sure it's a great idea to be in such close proximity to him for an extended period of time.
He arrives with a bag and his guitar an hour later. Betty had thought he'd kind of given up music for the time being.
"Where should I put this stuff?" Archie asks.
"We've put you in Polly's old room," Alice tells him. "Betty will take you."
Of course, Betty is aware that Archie knows exactly where Polly's room is, he's been in their house enough times over the years. She takes him there anyway.
"It's good to see you with your guitar again," Betty says as Archie dumps his things on the floor.
"My dad said the same thing," Archie says.
There's a moment of awkward silence as Archie surveys the room and Betty surveys Archie. Or maybe it's not awkward at all. Perhaps she's imagining things.
"So, I guess you're going to be living here for a week," Betty says.
"I guess so," Archie nods. "It's okay, right?"
"Yeah, of course," Betty hastens to assure him. She hesitates. "Random question. Why here? Why not Veronica or Jughead? Or just staying at home?"
Archie shrugs. "My dad didn't want me to stay home alone. He said it's not safe, even with the Black Hood gone. And your place is the closest to school and home."
"Okay," Betty nods. "Well, I've got some homework to do, so I'll talk to you later, okay?"
Archie nods, and Betty leaves him to get settled in.
Betty has another dream about Archie. Well, this one is more of a nightmare.
She's back in the cemetery, a gun pointed at her head. She piles dirt into the grave, and it hits the coffin with a sickening thud each time. She knows Archie is in there. Only this time she can't save him. She fills the grave. The Black Hood shoots himself in the head. Covered in blood, Betty digs through six feet of dirt with her hands. When she finally gets to the coffin, inside is Archie's lifeless corpse. She clutches at the body, crying and screaming his name.
Someone shakes her awake.
"Betty! Betty!"
Her eyes fly open and she jolts upright. Her heart pounds and she's breathing heavy and still in her stomach is that sick feeling of guilt. But Archie isn't dead.
"I'm right here," he says, his voice soothing. He sits down beside her on her bed, dressed in just a pair of boxers.
"Archie?" she says, her voice croaky.
"Yeah, I'm here, it's okay," he says.
Betty nods, bursting into tears. Archie wraps his arms around her and rubs her back while she cries into his shoulder.
"You were dead," she sobs. "I buried you and when I dug you up you were dead."
"It was just a nightmare," Archie tells her. He lets her cry into his shoulder for the better part of half an hour. Eventually she calms down and pulls away, suddenly aware of how he's almost naked and how he's warm and he has this comforting smell that makes her a little nostalgic.
Betty wipes tears from her cheeks, Archie watching her, concerned. "How are you okay?" she asks. "I have nightmares about that night three or four times a week. Every time my phone rings I think it's going to be him, even though I know he's dead. I know. But I still feel like any minute he's going to come back and force me to do things. Kill more people. And you seem fine."
Archie swallows. "I'm not fine," he tells her. He slips his hand into hers. "I lied before. About why I'm staying here. My dad was fine with me staying at home by myself. But I couldn't bear to be alone for a week. Every noise makes me think the Black Hood is breaking into my house. It's bad enough when my dad is there, but I think I'd go crazy if I had to be there alone. And I have nightmares too."
Betty listens to all this, watching him. Her heart aches for him. He doesn't look at her while he speaks, instead focusing on their joined hands.
"What are your nightmares about?" Betty asks.
Archie shrugs. "Mostly about my dad being shot."
"I'm sorry."
He meets her eyes then. "I feel scared, all the time, and I hate it. I didn't want to admit it to anyone."
"No one would think less of you."
Archie doesn't seem convinced. "That's only part of the reason I'm staying here. It's not just the Black Hood I'm afraid of. It's Hiram Lodge. I think he's a killer, Betty. And he wants me to do thingsā¦"
Betty squeezes his hand. "I'm here. I'm here for you. Don't let him manipulate you, Arch. You have such a big heart and I know you will do anything for Veronica. But don't let the Lodges change who you are."
Archie smiles. His thumb gently strokes the back of her hand, and the feather light touch gets Betty's stomach fluttering. She should pull away, but she doesn't. She just watches him caress her hand like it's nothing. She feels him watching her, and she looks up, meeting his eyes.
"I should go back to bed," Archie says, his voice hoarser than it had been previously. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah," Betty nods. She wants to ask him to stay. She knows he wants her to ask him. He stands, only dropping her hand when he can't reach it any longer.
"Arch?" Betty says hesitantly, as he reaches the door. He turns back. She opens her mouth. She almost tells him to stay. "Goodnight," she says instead.
Archie smiles. "Goodnight, Betty."
He closes the door behind him and Betty lies back down. Somehow, she knows she won't sleep. After a minute of consideration, she folds her covers back and slips out of bed, padding down the hallway to Polly's old room. She doesn't bother knocking, just pushes the door open.
If Archie is surprised to see her he doesn't show it. He doesn't say anything, just shifts over, so there's room on the bed for her. Betty closes the door and walks over to the bed, getting under the covers beside him. He puts his arms around her silently, and she's asleep in minutes.
Living with Archie doesn't mean spending 24/7 with him. They walk to and from school together on Monday, but they both have different routines in the morning and after school.
Betty is already basically ready before Archie even gets out of bed. He uses his fifteen minutes to do his hair and scoff down two bowls of cereal.
After school, Betty heads straight to her room to do homework, while Archie plucks at his guitar in the next room. She thinks he must be writing something. She can't really make out any lyrics or even much of the melody, but she finds the strumming soothing.
Betty helps her mom cook dinner while Archie goes for a run. Betty swears that boy has some kind of internal clock that lets him know when food is about to be served, because they're just about to dish up when Betty hears the front door open again.
"Dinner's ready!" Betty calls, and moments later she hears Archie enter the kitchen, panting. Betty turns to make fun of him for his impeccable timing, but when she looks at him, she finds the words die on her tongue. She probably shouldn't be rendered speechless by a shirtless Archie Andrews anymore, after all, he's shirtless a lot. But something about his messy hair and his sweaty chest gets her hot all over. Yeah, she really shouldn't be turned on by this.
"Is it okay if I have a quick shower before we eat? I promise I won't be long," Archie says. He meets Betty's eye and she nods, because apparently that's all she's capable of right now.
"That's fine, Archie," Alice says. Archie nods and heads upstairs. Alice gives Betty a suspicious frown, and Betty can feel her face turning bright red. She busies herself with tossing the salad.
Archie is fully dressed when he returns downstairs five minutes later. He joins Betty in the kitchen and helps her dish up the spaghetti. Betty can't look at him. He may have a shirt on now but he's still all damp and sexy, and he smells really good.
In any case, the damage has already been done. He's got her all flustered and hot and she can't stop thinking about him without his clothes on.
He sits next to her at the dinner table, his knee pressed against hers. She could move. It wouldn't be very hard to just shift slightly so they aren't touching. But she doesn't.
"This is delicious, thanks, Mrs Cooper," Archie says, twirling another mouthful of spaghetti onto his fork.
"It's just spaghetti, Archie," Alice rolls her eyes, but Betty thinks her mom looks pleased. Archie glances at Betty and grins. He thinks he's such a charmer. She shakes her head, but she smiles anyway.
"Archie, are you singing at the Spring Fete on the weekend?" Alice asks.
"Yeah," Archie nods. He moves his leg abruptly so their knees no longer touch. "With Veronica."
Archie glances at Betty, and she's plunged back into guilt. She reminds herself she hasn't done anything wrong. She just has to get a handle on her thoughts and emotions before they get too out of control.
After dinner, Archie offers to do the washing up. Betty offers to help him but he waves her away, and Betty retreats to her bedroom. She tries to finish up her homework but she can't seem to concentrate. She's still on edge from before, and her body is still all tingly. She bites her lip, glancing at the door.
She crosses the room and makes sure the door is firmly locked. She settles back onto her bed and gingerly slips her hand into her panties. She's soaking wet, like she knew she would be.
She lets her finger slowly trail along her slit a couple of times, and then she circles her clit, feeling it throb. She bites her lip and closes her eyes, trying to conjure up an image of Jughead. Jughead is sexy, there's no doubt about it. He's got that dangerous brooding thing going on, and damn it if he doesn't look good in a leather jacket.
But the image doesn't last long. As Betty lets her fingers work her clit, her thoughts inevitably slide to Archie, all sweaty and muscular. Betty whines as she rubs her clit, imagining it's Archie's hand and not her own. She imagines him on top of her, kissing her all over her body, fingering her like she's fingering herself now.
Even as she nears climax, she knows it's wrong. He's her best friend's boyfriend. Her boyfriend's best friend. Could it get any more fucked up than that? And yet the guilt is nothing compared to her arousal, her desperate need to come, and it's only the fantasy of him that gets her there.
She lies there, breathing hard, her hand still in her panties, fingers covered in her own juices. The guilt really hits her then. It isn't fair. She was over him! She was perfectly happy and in love with Jughead, her crush on Archie dissolved to nothing.
Except apparently it hadn't. Apparently, she had just buried it so deep she'd forgotten about it, but now it's back, worse than ever.
She's a terrible person. A bad friend, and an even worse girlfriend. She shouldn't want him. And yet she does, she does, she does.
