Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Archie Andrews is laying on his bed, facing the TV with wonder in his eyes. His best friend Betty Cooper is laying next to him, watching the TV alongside him.

"'I'll be right heeeere'," Betty quotes, sounding tired. "I love this movie."

She turns to face Archie. "This won the Oscar, didn't it?"

"How should I know," he answers, reaching for the remote to change the channel. "If anyone would know, it's Jughead."

He had actually had this conversation with Jug a few days ago. "Spielberg was robbed," he had said. "This was before he outgrew his Peter Pan syndrome."

"But Gandhi?" Archie had asked, confused. "I mean, why give an Oscar to a movie you can't sit through?"

Remembering what his friend had said, he changes to channel to the one his mom works for, not surprised to see her face on the screen.

"5:00 this morning, all of the airline's scheduled flights were cancelled..."

"New do?" Betty asks, sitting up and remarking on Mary Andrews's newest hairstyle. It's styled up and, although Archie loves his mother, it is pretty ugly.

He smiles at his mom on the screen, even though he knows she can't see him. "She likes big hair."

Betty has gotten up from his small bed and is putting her shoes on, getting ready to leave his room through the window she came in that night and on countless other nights. "It must weigh a lot," she comments. "How does she walk upright?"

Archie honestly doesn't know, but he chuckles at his friend's joke. "Ha ha." He turns to look at her. "Where are you going?"

"Home."

"Spend the night."

"Can't."

"Come on, you always spend the night!" Archie says, his voice raising an octave slightly. He doesn't understand why she wouldn't spend the night. He was a nice guy, right? Betty liked him, didn't she?

"Not tonight," she answers.

Confused, he asks, "Why not?"

Betty pauses a second before responding. "I just don't think it's a good idea for me to sleep over anymore, you know?" She sounds slightly rushed as she says it, looking at Archie disapprovingly.

Sitting up from his sleeping position, Archie questions her again. "No, I don't know." He places the remote on the bedside table. "Come on, you've been sleeping over since you were seven. It's a Saturday night."

"Things change, Arch." She stares at him. "Evolve."

"What the hell are you talking about, Betty?"

Stressing out, Betty picks up her jacket from the floor. "Sleeping in the same bed was fine when we were kids, but we're 15 now." She puts her jacket on.

"Yeah..." Archie says.

"We start high school Monday."

"Yeah..." Archie repeats.

"And I have breasts!" She pats a hand on one of them to make her point clear.

Embarrassed, he laughs. "What?"

"And you have genitalia!" She gestures to his lower body.

Still laughing, Archie says, "I've always had genitalia."

"But there's more of it."

They share a stare for a few seconds and he's sure that he's red like his hair. "How do you know?"

"Long fingers," she says effortlessly. "I gotta go." Betty's already halfway out the window when Archie is pleading for her to stay.

"No, Bet, don't hit and run! Come on, explain yourself."

She steps back into his room to, as he said, explain herself. "I just think that our emerging hormones are destined to alter our relationship and I'm trying to limit the fallout,"

Archie gets up and faces her. "Your emerging hormones aren't developing a thang for me, are they?" he teases her.

"A thing?" Betty asks in disgust. "No, I'm not getting a thing for you, Archie." She leans back, smirking. "I've known you too long. I've seen you burp, barf, pick your nose, scratch your ass..." She counts them off her fingers as she goes, making him laugh internally. "I don't think I'm getting a thing for you."

"Then what's the problem?" He still doesn't know her deal. He's seen her naked before, it wasn't like sleeping in the same bed would change anything between them.

She smiles. "We're changing and we have to adjust or else the male-female thing will get in the way."

Archie scoffs. "What kind of crap is this?" He leans back onto his bed. "It doesn't apply to us, we'll get over it."

Betty shrugs, her arms crossed. "And how do we do that?"

"By going to sleep," he says, falling onto his mattress and pillow. "I'm tired."

"That's avoidance," Betty stats, turning back to the window.

"No, it's proof..." She turns to face him again. "Proof that we can still remain friends despite any sexual feelings for each other."

There's a look on her face as she considers it, then she sighs. "I don't think it works that way, Archie."

"Come on, don't get female on me, Betty. I don't want to have to start calling you Elizabeth."

She grins and runs to his bed. "Oh, Elizabeth this." Betty jumps on top of him and playfully punches him until they are both laughing and giggling. She's still punching him (she's got a good punch, Archie notes) when he's pushing her off him and onto the other side of the bed. He holds her arms back and is resting just on top of her chest.

"Okay, I give," Betty says, her voice strained. He takes his hands off and she sighs at him.

God, she's beautiful, Archie can't help himself from thinking as they smile at each other. The silence between them is too strong. He fills it. "We're friends, okay? No matter how much body hair we have?" Betty holds back a laugh but it comes out as a sigh. "Deal?"

She nods. "Deal."

He leans further back onto his pillow. "And we don't ever talk about this again? Deal?"

Betty sits up, taking her jacket off once more. "You got it."

"Cool," Archie says, laying down completely.

He pulls the blankets over himself, and then Betty, who was finally warming up to the idea of sleeping in the same bed as lowly old Archie.

"Good night, Betty."

"G'night, Archie."

They squirm for a bit, trying to get comfortable in his small bed, Archie sprawling his body and Betty curled up more.

In the end, the squirming stops, the silence putting Archie to sleep, and leaving him with one thought.

Why'd she have to bring that up, anyway?

Chapter Text

Betty is waiting at the docks of Sweetwater River for her 2 best friends, although one of them is getting on her last nerves, the way he grins at her and his wit always so quick, even when it's not necessary.

She sees the boys running towards her, and smiles at Archie.

Jughead Jones is right beside him, a smirk on his face as he is running (really, he's jogging. Jughead would never willingly run) towards her.

Betty is not impressed as they slide beside her and Jughead nudges her just slightly, pushing her into the water. But not before she grabs his shirt and drags him under as well, the asshole.

The water rushes over her, cold now making her shiver. She hopes that Jughead feels the same cold wash over him.

Pulling herself up onto the dock, Betty storms to Archie. "He did it again- he grabbed my ass," she says, frustrated and freezing with no towel to dry herself off.

"Like you even have one," she hears Jughead scoff from behind her. Who did he think he was, to comment on the size of her ass? And how would he have known, unless he had been looking?

The realization dawns on her and she doesn't know whether to feel flattered, creeped out, or grossed out. "Bite me, would you?" she snarks at him.

Archie runs a hand through his red hair and stares at his friends. "Whatever happened between the two of you, can you please work it out? I miss the days when we were kids."

Oh right, those days. Betty reminds herself of how fun they were when the three of them would spend their days in the booth at Pop's, talking about everything young kids would talk about.

She wished that she could go back to a simpler time when she and Jughead didn't hate each other, and the three of them were the closest of friends. Now, Betty and Jughead barely talked, while Archie still remained in touch with the both of them daily.

Her memories are interrupted by a taxi parking just across the greenery where they stand. A girl with black hair and skin the colour of a weird mix between beige and brown stepped out and Archie stared. "Well, my mouth drops," he states, smiling at her beauty.

Betty has to admit, she is beautiful. Archie and Jughead both leave her standing on the dock, her clothes still wet and her body still freezing. She rolls her eyes and follows after the boys she considers friends.

The girl is walking towards them and they are walking towards her in turn. "Hey, there," the girl says as they all finally stop walking.

"Hi, my name's Archie. Nice to meet you." Archie reaches out his hand for the girl to shake and she takes it.

Jughead then introduces himself. "I'm Jughead."

The girl's face scrunches up in confusion. "I'm sorry, did you say Jughead?" she asks, the name stumbling over her tongue.

"Yes, I did. Trust me, you don't want to know the real thing."

The girl looks at him weirdly and then back at Archie. "I'm Veronica."

They look at each other and Betty can feel the chemistry from behind and she feels... jealous? Why would she be jealous?

"Hi, I'm Betty." she introduces. "I live down the street."

After shaking her hand, Betty pulls her arm away. There's a few seconds of silence before Archie fills them. "So, Ronnie, are you just visiting?"

She nods. "Yeah, my daddy is in jail and my mom lives here so I'm just living here until he gets out."

Betty's brain keeps the prisoner father tidbit in mind while Archie says, "So you'll be going to school here then?"

"Yeah, 10th grade."

"Hey, cool, us too." Archie gestures to both Betty and Jughead and Betty just want to be left out of the conversation. The thought of Archie drooling over the new girl is still unsettling in her and she doesn't know why.

Veronica starts to back up slowly. "My mother is waiting, I need to get going." She starts to walk away before turning back to add, "But it was really nice meeting you guys. And I'll see you in school." She winks at Archie and then makes her way back to the taxi.

"If not sooner," Archie calls after her, and Betty knows he's desperate, although he's usually like this when he meets a new girl.

"'If not sooner?'" Betty asks, mocking him before walking back to the docks to clear her mind and dry herself.

The sudden presence of Veronica and Archie being utterly obsessed with her still lingered in her mind. She didn't know why she was getting so worked up about her friend liking someone, he liked someone new every day.

But with Veronica? Something just felt different.