Riverdale Pt. 01

"I guess I've been putting off thinking about my future," she said. "And Jug is put off by me going so far away for college. He keeps asking why I can't just go to community here."

"He's mentioned that to me. I tried to explain that it doesn't offer what you want, but I think he's a little insecure about you meeting other people."

"I sense that too. What do you think I should do?"

"If I ever get my shit together I promise to help you with yours," he told her.

They agreed to be truthful about Saturday, omitting the sex, of course, and they were sitting on Betty's porch steps when her mom pulled into the driveway. "Can I help you with that, Mrs. Cooper?" Archie called when Mrs. Cooper went to the back of the station wagon for her bags.

"Thank you," she replied and Archie walked over and picked up two pieces of luggage. He followed Betty and her mom into the house and put the luggage at the foot of the stairs. "I'm sure you guys have a lot to yak about," he said.

"Thank you for keeping me company," Betty said and then she kissed him on the cheek.

"No problem, Betty Cooper," he grinned.

"See ya, Archie Andrews," she replied.

"I was so glad when you told me you were with Archie yesterday," Mrs. Cooper said.

"Why?" Betty asked curiously.

"Because I don't worry so much about you when you're with him," she replied.

"And you do when I'm with Jughead?"

"Nothing against him, sweetheart, it's just that I know Archie would protect you. He's always protected you. He's always taken care of you."

"He does," she agreed.

"And you always seem to have a good time together," Mrs. Cooper said. "Again, nothing against Jughead, but there always seems to be a lot of drama with him, and it was nice to hear you laughing on the phone. Did you do anything after breakfast?"

"Yeah. His dad had asked him to drive over to Langston to pick up some papers for him so I kept him company."

"That's a long ride."

"It is but it was fun. We sang along with the radio and talked and joked around."

"That's what I mean," her mom said. "And he called you Betty Cooper! That brings back memories."

"For me too. It was really good to spend time with him. We can tell each other anything and know we won't be judged."

A few nights later Archie and Veronica met up with Betty and Jughead at Pop's. Over sodas and fries they made small talk until Betty asked Archie how his call with the college guidance counselor went. "Not so good," Archie told her.

"Why? What happened?"

"My math scores are too low for the courses I want to take so I have to take some remedial courses which will put me at least six months behind, unless..."

"Unless what?" Betty prodded.

"There's two night courses I could take at community... and if I get a good enough grade it would even me out."

"What?" Ronnie said sounding annoyed. "Night courses? How many nights? For how long?"

"Monday and Wednesday, three hours each night," he sighed. "And lots of homework."

"I'd never see you!" Ronnie complained.

"What are you going to do?" Betty asked him.

"I haven't decided," he said. "There's no guarantee I could get good grades. I'd have a lot of catching up to do."

"So, don't take them," Ronnie said. "Just take the courses they assign you. Graduating six months later isn't such a big deal."

"I did very good at my advanced placement math," Betty said. "I could help you. I know you could get it with a little tutoring." Ronnie scowled at her and Archie looked at Jughead. "Don't look at him for approval!" Betty scolded. "I make up my own mind! I'd be happy to help you. Just let me know what you decide."

"Thank you, Betty," he said sincerely. "I have a few days to decide so I'll have to think it over."

They were all quiet until a man and woman walked over to the table. "You were really great the other night, Andrews," the man said. "You made us so proud," the woman added.

"Thank you," Archie said.

"What was that all about?" Ronnie asked.

"The basketball game the other night," Betty said.

"Oh, yeah," Veronica said. "Did we win?" she asked and Betty rolled her eyes. It had been in newspapers all over the State and on TV for several nights.

"We did," Archie said as he smiled at Betty as if to say, see what I mean.

"Did you play good?" Ronnie asked.

"I did okay," he said and now Jughead was stifling a laugh.

As they were leaving Archie got Jughead off to the side. "Are you okay with Betty tutoring me if I decide to take the night courses. I don't want to cause any problems between you."

"You heard her," he said. "It's her call. She's not listening to me much these days."

"Are you having problems?"

"I don't understand why she has to go two hundred miles away to school when she could just take courses here at Community."

"She's going to a top caliber school, Jug. She knows what she wants to do."

"Yeah. We hardly see each other now with her working at the paper and getting clothes and stuff for her dorm room."

"Yeah. Ronnie and I are having the same kinds of problems. It's a big adjustment."

Archie texted Betty the following night:

Hey

Is for horses 😊

Are you busy?

No. What's up?

Can we voice?

Sure.

"Hi," he said when she answered her cell.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. It's about the math courses."

"Go on," she urged.

"I was up all night thinking about it and..."

"I was serious about wanting to help you! Anything you need. Whatever it takes. Is that what you were going to ask?"

"How do you always know what I'm going to say! It gets on my nerves."

"It's all part of my charm," she laughed.

"That's my line."

"Well, I'm stealing it. Now finish what you were going to say."

"I want to sign up for the classes but I wanted to make sure you would help me... if I needed it."

"You already know you need some help."

"Yeah. It's embarrassing."

"Don't feel that way. Sign up for the courses and let me know your schedule."

"Thank you, Betty Cooper," he told her.

"You won't be thanking me when I make you work your ass off."

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

"I have one question for you."

"Ask."

"Did you talk to Jughead about this?"

"Damn," he said. "I asked him the other night if he was okay with it."

"Archie!"

"I can sense that you guys are at odds and I just didn't want to add to it. I wasn't asking his permission, I just wanted to know if it would aggravate things between you."

"And what did he say?"

"That you do what you want to do."

"Well, at least he got that right."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No. I knew you would ask him about it if you were going to take the courses. Have you told Vee yet?"

"No. I'll talk to her after I sign up."

"Let me know when you do it, okay?"

"I don't know how to thank you."

"I'll think of something," she told him. "Damn. I have to get back to work. Call me!"

"Yes, teach."

"I signed up for the night classes," Archie told Ronnie that night.

"And I suppose Miss goody two shoes is going to help you?" she replied.

"Don't call her that!" he snapped.

"You two are awful chummy lately," she snapped back.

"We've been awful chummy our whole lives!" he said. "It's probably just another thing you never noticed!"

"Well, have fun learning math! Don't expect me to just sit around and do nothing all week!"

"Deal," he said and then he ended the call.

"Hi," he said when Betty answered. "I guess I should have texted first. Sorry. Can you talk?"

"Yes. Is something wrong? You sound angry."

"I just hung up on Ronnie," he told her.

"Hung up, like ended a call, or hung up, like bam."

"The bam," he laughed, "but cell phones don't do a good bam."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Don't be, but that's not why I called. I signed up for the math classes. It's Monday and Wednesday nights, one at 7:00 and one at 8:00. You're still going to help me, right?"

"Of course," she said. "Can I assume that Vee didn't take it well?"

"You can."

"Do you want me to talk to her?"

"No! It sounded like she is pissed at you too."

"I kind of expected that. No problem. So this Monday is the first class?"

"Yes."

"So I can expect you here around 9:30?"

"If that's what you want," he replied.

"I just want to see the texts and get an idea of what we have to cover, then we'll do Tuesday and Thursday to get you rolling."

"Thank you," he said.

"Stop saying that. You'd do the same for me."

"If I was able," he said.

"Will we see you at Kevin's party tomorrow night?"

"I doubt it."

"Aw... You don't have to be with her to come. Everyone will want to see you. It may be the last time everyone is together. Think about it, okay?"

"I'll think about it," he sighed.

Veronica called Betty the next afternoon. "Hey, Vee," Betty answered.

"Hi," Veronica said. "I assume Archie called you last night?"

"He did," Betty answered.

"Did he tell you we had a fight?"

"He told me you weren't thrilled that he was taking the courses."

"I was hoping we could spend a lot of time together this summer and first he tells me he has to work every day and now he tells me he has school at night and you're tutoring him. I was disappointed and when I called you goody-two-shoes he really got pissed at me. I wish he would stick up for me the way sticks up for you."

"He would," Betty said, but it made her feel warm inside that he had defended her.

"Did he say anything about the party tonight?"

"He said he wasn't going," Betty told her.

"Damn it! Why does he act that way?"

"Have you ever considered that you're acting like a spoiled brat? That you're only thinking about yourself and not thinking about him at all?"

"Now you're getting mad at me," she whined. "What am I doing wrong?"

"You don't support him at all," Betty told her. "You show no interest in what he wants or what he does."

"I do!"

"Tell me about the basketball game the other night," Betty said.

"Er... We won the game?"

"We won the state championship, because of Archie. He had a terrific game and scored at the buzzer for the win. He was interviewed by a dozen papers and TV news channels. It was the leading sports story for days. You never even mentioned to him, did you?"

"I don't follow sports," Vee said defensively.

"You should be following Archie! You don't and it hurt him that you didn't care?"

"He never said anything."

"And he never will."

"And his wanting an engineering degree is the biggest decision he's ever made. Have you supported him at all?"

"He... I... You both stick up for each other all the time!"

"That's what friends do, Vee. We support each other. What goes between you and him is none of my business unless one of you makes it. He needs help with these classes and I'm happy to be there for him, just like he would be there for me."

"Do you think he hates me?"

"Of course he doesn't hate you. He's at a major point in his life just like we are, with college and everything, and he has the extra burden of making money to support himself."

"I thought his mom was paying for his college," Vee said.

"Just the tuition and board. He has to pay for everything else, books, food, incidentals, and whatever."

"I didn't know that," she said.

"Look. If you're mad at me, I can understand that I guess, but he's my best friend and I'll always help him any way I can."

"I'll call him and see if he'll take me to the party tomorrow," she said, and Betty just shook her head, knowing that everything she said just went in one ear and out the other.

"Good luck with that," Betty said sarcastically.

"Thanks," Vee responded.

After his night classes started, Archie only saw Ronnie on Friday and Saturday nights. He was usually too tired on Friday to do much and they usually wound up fighting. It wasn't much better with Betty and Jughead. Tuesday and Thursday nights tutoring Archie were the highlights of her week. She kept the sessions serious enough that he learned but they still managed to have fun and laugh a lot. She wished they had time to be alone but it just never seemed to work out and she could see how tired he was from getting up early, working very hard on the construction sight and going to classes. Things were not going well with her and Jughead. He seemed to resent her time with Archie and she found herself making a lot of excuses to avoid having sex with him, and the two times she had given him hand jobs she felt guilty afterwards, like she had cheated on Archie! It was crazy and she knew they were headed for a breakup.

Archie's finals were on a Monday night at the end of August and his grades would be available on-line the following Wednesday. Betty was on pins and needles at the newspaper waiting to hear from him. She jumped when her phone chimed with a text message:

YOU ARE THE EFFEN BEST BETTY COOPER!!

"What does it say?" her mom asked knowing she was waiting to hear from him.

"It says I'm the effen best," she grinned.

"Does effen mean what I think it means?" she asked.

WHAT ARE YOUR EFFEN GRADES???

As. TWO EFFEN As. THANKS TO MY BETTY COOPER TUTOR!!

I'm very, very proud of you. Can you we voice.

I'm on hold with my Guidance Counselor, and people with hammers and pointy tools are giving me dirty looks. Tonight?

YES! Congratulations!

"He got two As! Thanks to his Betty Cooper tutor. He's on hold with his Guidance Counselor to see if he gets his requested classes," she told her mom. I'll talk to him tonight."

"Congratulations to you both," he mom said.

That afternoon a package from a florist was delivered to Betty. Everyone crowded around her desk as she opened it to reveal a single red rose, which was Betty's favorite flower. "Aw, Jughead sent you flowers," one of the ladies said, and everyone agreed that Jug was so romantic and how lucky Betty was. Her mom watched as she opened the card and saw the tears well up in her eyes.

"It isn't from Jughead, is it," her mom said. Betty shook her head 'no' and handed her mother the card.

-If I could only have one friend in this lifetime, I would choose you-

She knew immediately it was from Archie and could see how much it affected her.

"It's complicated," Betty said to her mom when she looked at her. "There are so many things I want to tell him but it never seems to be the right time.

"Well, you better make time, or you run the risk of losing him." she replied.

She was with Jughead at Pop's when Archie walked in with Veronica. She couldn't help herself from standing to give him a big hug. "I'm so proud of you," she said, and then she blushed when she saw everyone looking at her.

"What's going on?" Veronica said. "Proud of what?"

"I got my grades today," Archie said. "I've been trying to tell you since I picked you up."

"Oh, did you pass?"

"I did," he sighed.

"He got an A in both classes," Betty blurted.

"I texted her," Archie said when Ronnie gave him a look. "And I'm all squared away with my college classes. I'm accepted for my curriculum."

"Congratulations, I guess," Ronnie said. "I'm starving. Let's order."

"I loved the flower and especially the card," Betty told Archie when he called that night.

"I meant it," he told her. "Thanks to you I can breathe for a week or two before school starts.

"I see the light is on in your garage," she said.

"Yeah. My dad is working on the truck."

"Was Vee mad at you for telling me before you told her?"

"It's hard to tell what she's mad at me about lately because she's always mad about something," he told her. "Was Jug upset that you hugged me?"

"Yeah. I just feel so proud of you and I did it without thinking. I'm sorry."

"I'm not," he said. "Sorry that you hugged me, I mean, but I'm sorry if it caused you a problem."

"He's upset with me a lot lately too," she told him. "And he's spending a lot of time with Toni."

"Oh?"

"Damn it! Polly is calling me. She's here with the twins."

"I understand. I want us to talk before we go our separate ways to school, okay?"

"Yes! Some place where we can be alone!"

Veronica called Betty late Friday night. "Archie broke up with me," she sniffled. "Did you know he was going to?"

"No! What did he say? Did he give you a reason?"

"He said we've really grown apart over the last two months and he can see how excited I am to be getting back with my old friends and we weren't going to be seeing each other for a long time so I shouldn't be burdened with any guilt if I want to see someone else."

"Is he wrong?"

"I don't know. It's just... I've never been dumped before."

"It doesn't sound like you've been dumped," Betty said. "It sounds like he's setting you free of any commitment to him."

"Maybe, but it still hurts."

"I can understand that. Did you fight? Was he mad?"

"No. He was very nice and he seemed very sorry about it."

"You have grown apart, haven't you?"

"Yes, but that's because he ruined my summer by working and taking those stupid classes," she said.

"Think about it, Vee. You may realize he was right. We're all heading to a different world, new people, new experiences. It's not awful to start with a clean slate."

"How about you and Jughead? He seems to resent the time you spent with Archie."

"We have our problems," Betty said.

"Okay. Thanks for listening."

"Call me if you want to talk."

"Hey," Archie said when he answered Betty's call.

"Vee just called," she told him.

"How is she doing?"

"She's very upset but I think she'll get over it. How are you?"

"Awful," he admitted. "It was hard to do and I could see she was hurt. I didn't want to hurt her, Betty. She's meant a lot to me and she helped me through some really tough times but it's over between us. I hope she comes to realize that."

"We're you planning this for a while or did it just happen?"

"I've been thinking about it for a while," he replied.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you discuss it with me?"

"It had to be my decision," he said. "I chose not to involve you because you would be all conflicted and think you influenced me and feel guilty about it no matter what you advised me to do."

"I wouldn't!"

"You would have, and you know it. You're even conflicted now trying to figure out what it means," he told her.

"Maybe a little bit," she said.

"You know I'm right," he told her.

"Just once in a while though," she told him and she could feel him smile. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"No thank you," he said. "I know it was the right decision for her and for me, I'm just sorry that I hurt her."

"I understand but she'll get over it. I know she will."

"Thanks for calling," he said. "I haven't been sleeping much the last few nights worrying about this so maybe I can get some sleep now."

"Call me if you want to talk."

Betty lay in bed excited that Archie had broken up with Vee. He was right about not involving her. He knew she would have agonized about it. And now she had to straighten things out with Jughead. She had known for a while this day was coming. All she could think about was Archie and being with him. It wasn't fair to Jughead. He had to know there was something wrong with their relationship and she couldn't put it off any longer. It had to be resolved before she left for college and that was only a few days away.

"Hey, Jug, what's up?" Archie said as he answered the phone.

"You don't know?" Jug asked.

"I don't know what?" Archie asked.

"That me and Betty broke up," Jug said.

"No! When?"

"Tonight. I thought she might have spoken to you about it."

"She didn't. Did you break up with her or vice versa?"

"It was kind of mutual. I think we both knew it was coming. We haven't been that close this summer. It hurt me that she wanted to go away to college and she seemed to enjoy spending time with you more than with me. We agreed that we both should be free to see other people."