Archie's POV

"Kissed who?... Archie kissed who?!" Veronica repeatedly screamed at me in the middle of the hallway. This cause all of Riverdale High to stop what they were doing and stare at us.

"Ronnie...can we talk about this later? You're screaming at me in the middle of the hall. Do you not see all of these people staring at us? " I whispered motioning for her to keep her voice down.

"Archie...if you are keeping secrets from your girlfriend...I can assure you this will not end well for us." Veronica threatened me as she walked the opposite way to her class. I decided after that I had to skip school, I needed to see Betty so I could talk all of this through with her. So I snuck over the South Side border and made it to Sunny Side Trailer Park, where Jug lived. Cheryl and Toni were sitting out on his porch talking. Jughead must've put them in charge of Betty, so sneaking in was going to be harder than I thought. I searched for a window that might be open and climbed through it. There I found Betty sleeping in bed.

"Betty..Betty......Betty? " I spoke softly trying not to scare her as she woke up.

"Archie?" She yawned, trying to sit up. "What...what are you doing here?" She asked noticeably in pain. It killed me to see her like that.

"Betty..maybe you should lay back down. " I said helping her adjust the pillows. I sat at the edge of the bed as she studied me up and down.

"I...haven't heard from you in a while. How's your Dad..how's V?" Betty said struggling to get comfortable in bed.

"My Dad's doing great, V's well...she's V what can I say. But I'm not doing too well at all Betty. I came to talk to you about that kiss...well I came to talk to you about everything." I said.

"Archie...if this had been a year ago, maybe I'd want to talk about the kiss too. Maybe I'd want to kiss you again. But we're different people now. Life is different now,  I don't feel the way I did about you a year ago anymore. I'm in love with Jughead right now and I think forever. The kiss was a moment of weakness, it didn't mean anything. You're with Veronica after all. You chose her long before Jughead and I even began." Betty said nervously twirling strands of her hair. She couldn't look me in the eye. 

"Betty, it's not just about the kiss! It's about you...it's about me! It's about us as best friends. We used to tell each other everything. Now I find out from Sweet Pea in the hospital waiting room that you've joined the Serpents! You've got to be out of your mind! You clearly have a death wish, the Black Hood's out to get you and the Ghoulies will kill any Serpent in their path. You aren't one of them Betty, you're a good girl from the North Side. You don't belong here." I said to her grabbing her hand in desperation. She looked at me confused and hurt as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Archie Andrews, you've known me our whole lives..yet you seem to have no idea who I really am. You said this was about you and me...and our friendship. Yet you don't seem to see how I'm crumbling. Wouldn't a best friend recognize the signs? Jughead did...I'm not just here for my health Archie...look that not important right now. You can't see the darkness growing inside of me, can you? Or did you choose to ignore it? Arch...I tried that too for a while and it didn't work. It made it worse, it made me hurt myself just to feel anything...anything at all. I would dig my fingernails into my palms till they bled. " Betty said as she showed me the moon shaped deep cuts that formed on her palm. But I bet you didn't know that did you? No, of course, you didn't, all you saw was this facade I built for years to please the world. Jughead is the only one who makes me feel comfortable with myself anymore. My own mother doesn't even really know who I am. So, of course, my best friend wouldn't. Everyone just built my reputation as Betty Cooper the North Side good girl. I eventually lost myself in it.  I'm not that girl Arch, Jug saw the real me and he chose to love it. That is all I could've ever hoped for. You only saw what you wanted to see. You rejected me last year and told me you could never be good enough for me. You know what Archie you're right you aren't because you chose not to see who I really am. I'm not hiding this from anyone anymore." Betty said as she looked down at the side of the bed, where her Serpents jacket was laying.

"Betty I had no idea you were suffering, you never told me? You can't expect everybody to just know how you feel! We all have our own stuff going on, I get it. But the Serpents are not the kind of support system you need. I am..V is..your family." I argued back with her.

"We all have our own stuff, Archie? Really! You're becoming just like V...I mean you're dating her it was only a matter of time. The Serpents are my family now, just like the Lodges are yours. Get used to it Archie. Jug isn't going anywhere Archie." Betty said starting to get visibly upset. I could see tears forming in her eyes. I don't know why I said what I did next,  I think it was the frustration. I spoke out of anger...hurting her worse than I had in the past.

"Well, Betty...now that your mind is made up. And you're prepared to alter your whole life for a group of gang bangers and your boyfriend. I guess I should start practicing my speech for your funeral then, right now you're as good as dead anyway. The Black Hood's out to get you and once the Ghoulies find out you're in the Serpents, your fair game to them too. Just remember this was your mistake. I tried to stop you. " I was yelling at this point. Betty looked at me in shock as a single tear dripped down her face. She was speechless, not sure what to make of the words I had just said.

"You only want what you can't have Archie...you and Veronica truly do deserve each other. Jughead has been the best thing to happen to me in this shit town. And if I do die Arch...save your speech for my boyfriend. I'm sure he'd love to hear what his best friend has to say about his girlfriend while he's grieving. " Betty scowled at me as she struggled to get up from the bed. She put on some jeans, tank top and her Serpents jacket and took off out the front door without giving me a second look. Cheryl and Toni tried to chase after her but she took one of the motorcycles and sped away. I walked outside as both of them turned to stare at me in shock.

"Where the hell did you come from? What the hell did you say to her Andrews??" Toni yelled at me with disgust.

"The window...look you won't be seeing me again, Betty told me everything I needed to know, so don't worry about it. " I said about to get in my car.

"You made her cry...we most definitely will be seeing you, when Jughead finds out. Don't worry we'll tell him." Cheryl looked at me with venom in her eyes as I took off.