Archies POV

The entire weekend had past and Betty and I hadn't said a word to each other since Friday night. We'd occasionally and very briefly caught each others eye through our windows but what would usually be a relay of messages, funny faces or stupid phone calls was now just a blank stare. We'd gone longer with out talking in our time but we'd never had an argument to that extent. It was almost abnormal for the two of us. I could hear the light sound of the shower down the hall from dads ensuite, indicating that he was up which meant that it was time for school but going to school was the last thing I wanted to do right now. While I wanted to resolve things with Betty, I knew it wouldn't happen easily and it wouldn't be fixed the minute we saw each other in the halls. And having the friendship group we do, there was no way we where going to keep this to our selves. Begrudgingly I slowly raised myself out of bed ruffling my hands through my hair in the process before exiting my room and making my way down the hall to the bathroom. After turning the shower on, I pulled back and began removing my clothes from my body catching a glimpse of my face in the mirror. The bags under my eyes supported the fact that I hadn't got any sleep all weekend. The water slowly trickled down my body as a thick layer of steam ascended up into the air around me, I could feel my body slowly waking up as each droplet hit my skin yet my energy levels just seemed to be at the same level they where when I woke up. After exiting the shower and going into my room chucking any clean clothes on that I could find, I quickly made my way downstairs before heading into the kitchen. My dad sat at the island sipping his usual morning coffee while reading the daily paper with a spread of bacon and eggs layed out on the island and as per usual there was a plate already waiting for me. "Morning Kiddo. Made you the usual." He said softly as he shot his head up from the paper after hearing my footsteps. "Thanks dad." I responded with a wide smile as I sat myself down on the stool before quickly digging into the meal, scoffing it down as quick as possible. "Woah, Woah. Slow down there bud. It's not a race." My dad said causing me too look up from the plate to meet his gaze revealing a very concerned and humored expression. "Sorry dad, I've just got some work to do before school and have to get in early." I replied as I chugged down the remaining orange juice that sat in my cup before wiping my hands on my black jeans as I stood from the stool. It wasn't necessarily true about having to get in early for work, while yes there probably was work that I had to do that I should've got done over the weekend but the real reason is that at this point I wanted to avoid running into Betty outside. "So no Betty. You guys are inseparable when it comes to walking to school together." My dad explained as he watched me move around the room, collecting various snacks for the day. I could feel my jaw clenching as the thought of Betty ran in my mind, dad didn't need to know our issues at this point. Even though he was great with advice this was one thing I wanted to fix on my own. "I think we'll survive one day dad. Anyway, I'll meet you at Pops tonight for dinner." I responded with a small smile as I chucked everything in my backpack before slinging it over my shoulder receiving a small nod from my dad in return. After grabbing my lettermen jacket from the coat hanger, I quietly slipped out the front door making my way down towards the sidewalk before turning in the direction of school. I wanted to get past Bettys as quickly as possible but I found my feet coming to a slow pace as I walked in front of the house. My gaze quickly shifted up to her bedroom window revealing the curtains still drawn, though due to the light on in her room you could make out certain objects. Suddenly a shadow appeared behind the window causing me to speed up and run ahead till I reached a few houses further up, I didn't know if it was Betty but I wasn't going to take any chances.

By the time I got to school, it had reached the time as to when I would usually leave for school. It was strange, I was only at the school when it was this empty when I had morning practice or if I stayed back after school. The halls almost seemed like a ghost town, A place that would usually be crawling with students was bare, besides myself obviously and the occasional teacher walking towards there offices. Deciding not to head to my locker, I made a quick turn into the student lounge only to see Jughead spread on the couch stuffing his face with a burger. "Bit early for a burger isn't it Jug?" I questioned as I walked around the couch before plonking my self down on the arm chair that sat to the left of the couch. He looked at me with a disgusted look as he chowed down his current bite that filled his whole mouth. "Hey, It's never too early for a burger. Plus I had to come in early and print an article and you know me, I'm always hungry and I'll eat a burger at any time, anywhere." He said with a smirk before divulging into his burger once again causing a small laugh to escape my lips. "Speaking of early, what are you doing here so early and without Betty as well." Jughead questioned as he kept a firm gaze on me while his mouth continued to consume whatever contents of the burger where left in his mouth. "I had to come in early and study for sociology and as for Betty, I just didn't ask her." I explained as I reached into my bag pulling out my sociology text book and a pencil before plunking them on my lap as I rested my feet on the coffee table. "Well that's out of the ordinary. You guys walk together everyday." Jug responded as he began pressing the situation causing me to become slightly more irritated. "Yeah I know, I guess I was sidetracked today and forgot to ask. Listen can we just drop this." I retorted as I lifted my head from my book to meet Jugs gaze who just showed utter confusion. "I'm just saying, it's not like you guys to miss out on walking to school toge—." "Jug shut up. Just shut up and eat your food alright. Just drop it." I interrupted with an agitated tone as I slammed my hand on the book while gesturing my hand towards him catching him off guard causing a confused yet amused look to spread across his face. "Alright, alright. I understand but whatever's going on between you two, fix it." Jug explained with a clasped burger in his hand as he leaned back on the couch, causing me to shoot him a small glare. "Thats all I'm saying. I promise I'm done." He said in surrender as he held his hands up by his head before a small smile plastered on his lips. After squeezing my eyes shut, giving them a small rub while gently shaking my head, I dived my attention back into my studying, hoping to get the thought of what today was going to be like out of my head. If Jug was like that just to me, I couldn't imagine what everyone else was going to be like and not just to me but to Betty too.

The student lounge slowly became more and more congested as the beginning of school grew closer, Kevin slowly shuffled his way in shortly after 7:15 with Josie in tow followed by Cheryl at 7:30 radiating her usual Blossom attitude, making her self known. We all interacted in the usual morning conversation, talking about school, home life and just anything we could generally find to talk about. Luckily for me the topic of relationships hadn't come up yet which was surprising considering the people I was sitting with. As if on cue Betty walked through the door of the student lounge with Veronica and Reggie trailing behind. My eyes followed her every movement as she swerved her way through the crowd of people before placing her self on the arm rest of the chair as to which Kevin was sitting, I quickly averted my gaze as her eyes where coming up to meet mine. There was an awkward silence that hung in the air as I could feel everyones eyes shifting between me and Betty as they watched us and to be honest if I was one of them watching our situation I'd be doing the same thing. It wasn't like me and Betty to not speak or even make eye contact and for anyone who knew us you could tell something was wrong just by little things like that. Not being able to handle the tension that hung in the air or the guilt that I was feeling just by being in the same room as her, I quickly stood up throwing my bag over my shoulder causing everyones eyes to fixate on me, before making my way out of the circle we where in. "I have to go. I have to talk to Moose about, something." I explained in a hurried voice as I exited the door to the student lounge unaware that Moose had walked directly past me and entered upon me leaving. I'd only made it ten meters down the hall before the sound of Veronicas heals echoed against the walls. "Hey Andrews. Will you stop for a second." I could hear coming closer and closer as my feet came to a halt in the middle of the hallway before turning around to see her coming towards me. "What is it Ronnie?" I questioned with a sigh as I tightened my grip on the strap of my backpack. "What the hell was that back there?" She questioned as she came to a stop in front of me before she folded her arms over her chest. She sounded just as confused as Jughead did this morning.
"What do you mean?" "Don't 'what do you mean' me. Is there something wrong between you and Betty at the moment?" She questioned as her voice softened while her eyes wandered over my face. "I'm surprised she didn't tell you." I responded as I let out a long breath while averting my gaze to the floor. "Tell me what?" Veronica fired back as her eyes searched mine for an answer while her face grew more stern yet concerned at the same time. "Look Ronnie if you wanna know why don't you just ask Betty." I exclaimed as I became more agitated while I pointed my arm in the direction of the student lounge. "Because I'm asking you. I'll get Bettys side of the story later but right now I'm asking you." Veronica retorted while taking a small step forward. A long sigh escaped my lips as I shook my head in amusement. If there was any one who didn't like seeing me and Betty argue, it was Veronica. "It's a long story an—" "Well I have time. So come on. What happened?" Veronica questioned with a firm voice as she looked at me with piercing look while she titled her head slightly to the left not removing her gaze from mine. There was no point fighting her on this, she was going to find out at some point.

Bettys POV

Usually the school days would fly by, it'd be simple. Wake up, go to school, come home and it would feel like it went past in the quickest amount of time. But today everything just seemed so slow. In fact the whole weekend felt slow. Surprisingly though the day was coming to an end as the bell for fifth period rang at the end of lunch, indicating that there where only three classes left before I could go home. Lunch wasn't the same today. Archie wasn't sat with us which didn't surprise me considering our current situation. We'd manage to avoid running into each other all day since this morning in the student lounge, which is actually surprising considering the amount of classes we have together but somehow we managed to not cross paths at all. I hated the situation we're in, the entire argument keeps replaying in my mind and the more I think about it the more I realize how stupid the entire outburst was. I needed to speak to him and clear the air. We both know that we hated being mad at one another and it is the most painful thing not being able to talk to each other. I was suddenly snapped from my thoughts by Veronica leaning against the locker next to mine with a mischievous smiled spread across her lips. "I know that smile. It means you have an idea for something." I explained as I shut the door to my locker before turning to face her mirroring her stance. "Maybe." She responded with a cheeky tone as the smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. "Don't you have world history with Mrs.Anderson right now?" I questioned as I leaned off my locker and began walking in the direction of the library with Veronica in tow. "Yes, I do but I am really not in the mood to deal with one of her lectures right now so I figured I'd skip it and work on some new songs in the auditorium instead." Veronica explained as she looped her arm through mine as we slowly began walking down the hallway side by side. I knew there was more too it than she was putting, she wouldn't of just come and found me just to tell me that. "And what has this got to do with me?" I questioned as I turned my head slightly to look at her before fixating it back on the pathway in front of us. "Well I was hoping you'd come with me and give me some feedback." "I don't know V, I have a test next period that I have to study for." I said in a hesitant voice as we stopped walking in the middle of the hallway, slowly turning to face one another. "It'll be quick I promise, then we can go to the library after and study there. Please." It was possible to say no to Veronica but the idea of not studying right now was actually appealing. I needed something to clear my head anyway. "Alright. Fine." I said with a smile causing a large grin to spread across Veronicas lips before she looped her arm through mine again, pulling me in the direction of the auditorium. We spoke about nonsense for a while, just rambling about anything we could come up with. It surprised me that she hadn't asked about Archie yet but maybe thats because she already knew. "Archie told me about what happened." Veronica said right on cue as if she was reading my thoughts. It didn't surprise me, she did follow him out of the student lounge after all. "He did. I bet he told you I was being unreasonable and totally out of line." I said with a small hint of sadness. The more I thought about the situation, the more upset I got at myself for dealing with it in such a shitty way. "No he didn't actually. He just said you guys got in a fight and that he overacted and took things out of context and how things got out of hand really quickly." Veronica explained softly as she rested her hand over the other which was wrapped over my arm. "Yeah, they did. We've had bad fights V, I mean even the Haley situation wasn't as bad as this. That was heartbreaking but this one just felt like our worlds where clashing and crumbling." I could feel small tears welling up in the corner of my eyes as memories from the fight came in to vision. "I just wanna talk to him so we can move past this." I explained with a soft tone as we began slowing down as we got closer to the entrance to the auditorium. "Then why don't you. The quicker you guys resolve this the better, other wise it's going to drag on and become a bigger issue." I knew Veronica was right, if we dragged this on and didn't speak about it, it would seem to be a lot bigger than it actually is and that would cause more problems in the future. "Yeah I know. I'll find the time to speak to him in the next few days." I responded as we came to a stop outside the door that led to the auditorium. "What about you speak to him now." Veronica suggested with a sly tone almost as if she was up to something. "Well I can't now, We came to the auditorium to do run throughs on your song." I replied with a confused tone while shifting my gaze between the door and Veronica. "Yeah, about that. Slight change of plan." Veronica stated as she titled her head slightly to the left while putting on a wide smile. "Archie's in there waiting, for you." I could feel my heartbeat increasing just by hearing those words leave Veronicas lips. The idea of speaking to him again not knowing what the outcome would be scared me. "What?" I exclaimed firmly with a shocked tone as I looked from the door back to Veronica. "Listen. No couples are perfect that's just a fact of life. But you and Archie, you're perfect for each other, I mean that. And this argument is just another hurdle you guys are going to have to overcome and it will be nothing more than a blip in the future." There was so much confidence in Veronicas voice that it was pretty much impossible to find a flaw in her point. "I thought you weren't an expect at relationships." I said with a smile as I titled my head slightly. For someone who hasn't being in many relationships, she sure seemed to know what she was talking about. "Not when I'm in them. But when my two best friends are in one together, I am a master." She responded with a large smile as she gave my arm a light squeeze before gesturing her head in the direction of the door, telling me to go in before she turned on her heels and proceeded back down the hall we came down.

The auditorium had a thick silence hanging in the air, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. It was strange being in here when it wasn't for an assembly or performance of some kind, it seemed so much bigger when it was empty. As my gaze wondered around the space of the room, it came to a halt when seeing a figure on the stage sitting on a simple wooden stool. There he was, looking as handsome of ever, he mustn't of heard me come in as his eyes where glued to the pages of the book he was reading. Slowly I made my way up the side stairs that led up to the stage, he must of heard the sound of my shoes against the stage floor as his head shot up, his gaze meeting mine. "Hey." He said softly while closing his book and placing it on the floor while remaining on the stool, his voice full of compassion causing my heart to start beating even faster. "Hey." I could feel the nerves building up in my body as my fingers began fiddling with one another. "Sorry about Veronica. I just didn't know if we where on speaking terms or if you'd come if I asked you so I figured I'd get Ronnie to ask you instead." He explained with a small stifle of a laugh though I knew behind that kind facade, he was crawling with pain and guilt. "Quite the mastermind." I responded with a giggle as a smile spread across my lips as our eyes locked, causing a small smile to pull at the corner of his lips before faltering as he dropped his head, averting his gaze to the floor. "I would've come, if you asked." I explained as my fingers intertwined, resting in front of me. We didn't say anything for a minute, our eyes just fixed on one another, searching for the slightest bit of comfort. He looked like a little lost puppy with those big brown eyes, there was so much pain that he was hiding, pain that only I would be able to notice. Suddenly I charged forward while Archie quickly stood from the stool, our bodies crashing together yet fitting perfectly like a puzzle piece as we embraced. My arms gently wrapped around his neck, overlapping each other as my head rested in the nape of his neck while his arms snacked tightly around my waist, drawing me closer to him as his head buried in the locks of my hair. It felt as though a huge weight had being lifted off my shoulders just by being in each others arms, it felt like home. 

"I'm sorry." I muffled against his neck as my fingers began filling with the loose strands of hair on his neck. "No, no. I'm so sorry." Archie said quickly as he leant back against the stool before pulling away from the embrace slightly creating a small space between us, looking into my eyes while his hands still rested on my waist as mine came to rest on his shoulders. "Look. I overreacted and I should've let you explain instead of jumping to conclusions and it wasn't fair for me to spring that on you and with everything thats being going on I understand that you may not of being thinking about College directly. But just know that whatever you choose, I'll support you no matter what." His voice radiated love and compassion as his eyes stayed fixated to mine, I could feel my heart begging to flutter as I watched him in pure admiration. "Thank you." I responded softly as my eyes flicked from his eyes to his lips before slowly leaning in and pressing my lips against his. The kiss didn't go any deeper it was just long and full of love. Our lips slowly pulled apart, lingering near one another for a while as our foreheads leant against each other while our eyes where shut, the two of us just savoring the moment while it was here. "But it's not like I wasn't bad that night either. I shouldn't of said what I said and I should've thought about how it was going to be received on your end. It was wrong." I explained softly as I pulled my head back fixating my gaze onto his. "It's okay." He said softly and quietly almost like a whisper as he moved his arms further around my back pulling me closer. "You're not holding me back. I need you to know that." I said softly yet sternly as my hand slid up from his neck to cup his cheek, my thumb lightly grazing along his cheekbone. "I do." He replied with a small nod as his jaw clenched slightly. "And listen if I do end up staying in Riverdale for a year, that'll be my decision for my own reasons. So don't blame yourself or ever think its you fault if that happens. Because its not." I needed him to know that whatever my decisions where, they weren't his fault. I can't have him blaming him self for something I decided, it would break me. "And if we do happen to end up going to colleges on two separate ends of the country, we can do the long distance. It'll be hard but I know we can do it. Whatever happens we'll get through it together. Okay." I explained softly as my eyes searched his for reassurance, he gently began nodding his head with his head down while pulling his lips back in attempt to fight any tears that threatened to fall. I could feel my heart breaking as I watched him, it hurt me more than anything to see him struggling. Slowly I guided his head up to meet my gaze with my hand resting on his jaw line before gently yet passionately pressing my lips against his. I could feel the tenseness in his body escaping as our lips moulded together igniting the spark between us. My hand remained on his cheek while the other rested at the back of his neck, the tips tangling themselves in his red locks while one his hands cupped my cheek and the other rested on the arch of my back drawing me closer to him. Our lips slowly parted as we pulled apart gazing into one another eyes, smiles spread across our lips. "I love you." Archie said softly as his thumb ran along my cheek. "I love you too." I responded with a smile as my hands gave his shoulder a light squeeze. I wish I could say that everything was just the way it was suppose to be but it wasn't. Home came into my mind as I remembered the events of the weekend, causing my mood to dramatically change. "Hey, you okay?" Archie questioned as he lowered his head to meet my gaze while grabbing one of my hands in his gently tracing circles against my palm. "Don't worry about it's nothing." I responded with a small laugh though I knew Archie wouldn't drop this and he wouldn't stop at nothing until he figured it out. "Betts." Archie said in a more serious and knowingly tone as his eyes gazed into mine. A long sigh escaped my lips as I leant my head back slightly before returning it to its previous position. "Homes a war zone at the moment." I said as I moved my gaze to where our hands where intertwined. "Why? Whats happening?" Archie questioned with a concerned tone, I could feel the worry radiating off his body as his body gently tensed up. "Chic called over the weekend and said he'd be coming down to visit for two weeks. Chics always being a sore spot for dad and he and mom have just being fighting with each other about it non stop all weekend. Pollys even staying with Cheryl to get away from all the stress its causing her. It's just so hard to be home at the moment." I explained while trying to fight back tears which where forming in the corners of my eyes. "I'm so sorry Betts." Archie said with sincerity as he pulled me into the space between his legs as he rested further back on the stool. I gave him a small smile in response as my fingers gingerly began fiddling with the collar of his henry shirt. "Yeah but it'll pass, just have to wait for him to come and then for him to leave." I said as a long sigh escaped my lips before a small smile plastered across my face. "Well how about this, tonight you join me and my dad for dinner at Pops, then come back to mine, hang for a bit and then you can go home when your ready." Archie explained with his signature smile that just made me weak at the knees while stroking his thumb along my own. "You sure?" I questioned before continuing on. "I know how much Monday night dinners at Pops mean to your dad." I said softly as my eyes wandered over his. It was true though, Monday night dinners at Pops where Fred and Archies things. I used to go with them when we where little on the rare occasion that my mum would let me. "He'll be fine besides he loves you, you always put a smile on his face. He'll love it." Archie said after letting out a stifle of a laugh as he dropped his head before pulling it back up to meet my gaze. It warmed my heart just knowing how much he cared. "Well in that case, I'm in. Thank you." I replied softly as a smile crept across my lips. "You're welcome." Archie replied before slowly leaning forward and pressing his lips to mine, the kiss would've slowly grown more deeper if it hadn't of being for the bell ringing. "Please tell me its not sixth period." Archie questioned with a groan as our lips parted before he hung his head back, looking at the ceiling. "Sadly yes and we both know that means we have a test in Mr.Fords sociology class." I said with a laugh as I watched him groan like a child. "Can't we just stay here?" He questioned as he snaked his arms around my waist pulling me closer, while brining his head back and nuzzling it into the crook of my neck, gently beginning to press kisses against my skin working his way up to my jawline. I could feel my heart beat increasing as I bit my lip in attempt to hold back the pleasure that I was feeling while my hands rested on his shoulders. "Sadly no." I said firmly as I used my hands to push his shoulders back causing his head to come back up to eye level, revealing a sad pout on his lips. A small laugh escaped my lips as I watched him before quickly leaning in and pressing a quick peck against his lips before grabbing his hands in mine pulling him off the stool. "Come on." 

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UPDATE! Lets try get this chapter to 20 votes. I hope you all loved this chapter. I know it's a long one but I felt like I couldn't split it. Anyway I exciting new chapters for this story that I'm working on which I can't wait for you guys to read. Will it be smooth sailing from here on out for Betty & Archie? Will the arrival of Chic spark some conflict between the three? Find out in the new upcoming chapters which are coming soon. Please vote and comment, it means so much to me and I love hearing your feedback and what you guys think! New chapter soon!

Love you all!

-S 💕💕💕