Archie's POV

"This is your fault, Ronnie. It's been weeks..have you even talked to your father about happened to Betty? " I asked as I waited for Jughead to come back through the doors. I just needed to hear that Betty was okay. I just needed to know we had more time. I needed more time...to fix things.

"Archie...he doesn't tell me anything! I tried to talk to him about it, but he left the apartment before I could. " Veronica cried as she sat across from me in the waiting room. "She's my best friend Archie! You're making it like I wanted this to happen!" She yelled at me. I didn't say anything. "Wait you don't honestly believe I wanted this to happen do you, Archie? " Veronica asked looking at me. Again I didn't say anything, I just looked down at my phone. "Archie Andrews answer me right now. " Veronica said sternly.

"Ronnie there isn't much to say...I know you pretend that you don't see I have feelings for Betty. But you do...and I think that could've led you to make a bad decision and get your father involved." I sighed.

"Wow, well there it is. At least you finally admitted it. No, Archie, I would never do that to Betty. I know how much she loves Jug and how much he loves her. This isn't about us...like you said before. You know what you're doing....exactly what my father would do. You want to get in between a relationship with these feelings you all of sudden seem to have, now that we've almost lost our best friend. Betty loved you Archie...for years You were the one who chose not to see it. Don't you dare start to see it now when it's convenient for you. She's always been there right in front of you...why now did you finally decide to notice her? " Veronica asked as she got up and walked over towards the nurse's desk.

"Ummm did I miss something?" Jug laughed as he walked up to me.

"Just another fight...I don't know much longer I can take it, man. " I sighed.

"Well on the bright side I have some good news. Betty's awake..she's asking for you. You and I have to talk later to Arch. I'm going to get her some coffee. The doctor said she can finally have it." He said looking at me with a weird uneasy expression. He knew something I didn't. He walked towards the cafeteria as I walked down the hall to her room. She had bruises all over her arms, cuts, and bandages all over her.

"You should see the other guy..." She laughed as I sat down next to her bed.

"Betty... I... I wish I had words." I stuttered.

"Archie...this is no one's fault. Don't be hard on Ronnie...she didn't know. I know she didn't. I pushed for this. I had a feeling Hiriam was behind all of this." Betty said as she pulled on the sleeves of Jugheads shirt she put on. "Much more comfortable than the hospital gown." She smiled at me.

"Betty, how did you know?" I asked.

"I looked into the development in the town and found out Hiriam owned more than he was letting on. And he was trying to buy out the Southside next. The Ghoulies can be bought and the fact that Penny already had a grudge against Jug. It all made sense why they came back to Riverdale. So I called Hiriam, that night after I left your house. I told him I'd sacrifice my life for Riverdale. He knew if I was gone Ronnie and you would end up hating each other, Jug would leave town. He told me I was the glue holding this town together. So he accepted my offer." Betty sighed. I looked at the bruises on her arms...the shape of them matched the ones around her neck.

"Betty..." I said.

"Archie..please don't ask." She said already well aware of the direction I was going in next.

"Who did it!" I said starting to get angry.

"I just said...I didn't want to talk about it." Betty said sitting up. She grabbed my hand. "Please Archie respect that." She said.

"I guess I'll have to Betty. I...have something to show you." I said. "When I heard you were awake...I texted my dad to bring me my guitar. I wrote you something." I said as I walked out to grab it from the hallway.

"A song?" She asked.

"Yeah...I promised you one day I would. Remember when we were little. It only took me a month." I said making her smile as I started to strum my guitar. "If you could see the way that you look to me. I bet you'd be amazed at the sight. You'd see a heart that's fearless and true. From my point of view, oh you shine! No doubts, no more fears. I see you shine and the dark disappears. Then I know everything is going to be fine. Because you shine oh how you shine." I sang. She just looked at me speechless. "That's all I have so far.." I stopped halfway.

"What a surprise gazing into your eyes, I swear I still get lost in the light. No photograph could possibly show, the you I know. No doubts, no more fears. I see you shine and the dark disappears. Then I know everything is going to be fine. Because you shine oh how you shine." Betty sang back to me. "Archie, you and I really have to talk." She sighed.

"Wow, that was perfect and about what?..." I said looking at her. We didn't break eye contact till the door opened. Then Betty dropped the topic altogether. Oh my god...she heard me tell her I love her. That's why she wanted to talk.

"Oh god Archie's got the gutiar...is he entertaining you with his musical abilities at least?" Jug laughed as he sat down a the edge of Betty's bed.

"Yeah...he did. He does a killer rendition of the itsy bitsy spider." Betty laughed. She didn't mention the fact that I sang her a song I wrote for her. Or the fact that she sang back to me her own added verse.

"Don't mean to toot my own horn, I'm going to go try to sing it to Ronnie and apologize. " I said as I walked out. Veronica was waiting in the hall for me. "Ronnie not now...please...I'm begging you. " I said trying to walk away from her.

"I love you Archie Andrews...how dare you walk away from me. " Veronica said as she chased after me in her heels.

"Ronnie...I love you too." I said turning to look at her.

"If you love me...you won't leave. Archie, Betty, and Jug are in love. You can't get between that because she almost died and now you don't want to let her out of your sight. I mean you didn't do anything when you saw Malachai attack her in the cemetery. You stood behind a bush like a shaking leaf. That's right I followed you...I wanted to see if you were cheating. You did nothing Archie...how can you say you love her..you watched Malachai crave his freaking initial in her hand. You watched...stop blaming me for what my father did. Start blaming yourself for all the things you didn't do...then come talk to me. Grow up, Archie. I won't let you waste my time any longer. I'm going to see my best friend now. And yes...Jughead has been standing here the whole time, listening to me confess to what I saw you do." Veronica scoffed as she walked through the swinging doors. I turned to face Jug..the look on his face told me all I needed to know.

"You watched? You watched?" He repeated himself trying to comprehend what he had just heard.

"Jug I couldn't jump in, the Ghoulies were everywhere. I was worried if the bush moved, they'd hurt her worse, thinking she brought back up and that it was an ambush. I'm so sorry I  panicked." I said.

You panicked? You panicked! Archie my girlfriend has fucking scarification of an M on her hand. A permanent reminder of everything that sick bastard has done to her." Jughead said getting angrier and angrier by the second.

"What do you mean everything? Wait! Is this what Betty wouldn't tell me?" I asked him as if I had the right to know.

"Fuck..Archie...I can't look at you right now. I wanted to talk to you before about what you said to Betty when you came to visit her. You thought she couldn't hear you, but she heard everything. You told her you loved her. What the hell is wrong with you Andrews!" Jughead said as he walked back through the swinging doors. I ran after him.

"Jug please don't tell Betty! I wasn't even supposed to follow her!" I begged him.

"Not only did you follow her, you didn't jump in when she needed you the most, as usual! You also lied to her and me when I saw you two together in front of the school. Stay away from her Archie...stay the fuck away. You don't love her, you just want what you can't have! Well fuck If you're taking what's mine Arch!" Jug said as he walked back into Betty's room. Veronica was walking out, she sighed out of frustration as she walked past me.