#pairing: jughead x betty

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

Favorite Otps/Pairings: Jughead Jones & Betty Cooper (Riverdale) “From now on, we're partners. In Serpents, in life, all of it. Okay?"

[fbfh]

Sweet Pea x soft!reader hcs

wc: 1.3k

genre: mutual pining, tooth rotting fluff

pairing: sweet pea x soft reader

warnings: reader is implied to be smaller than sweet pea but he's like 6'3 and beefy so it's not too out of the question, reader is called clingy needs attention and hates being alone by jughead but sweet pea LOVES that about you, size difference, protective sweet pea, sweet pea is a rottweiler boyfriend, kisses and cuddles, mentions of fighting and gang activity

song recs: fight for me - heathers obc, big boy - sza

a/n: been watching the anime my love story and it's feuling my sweet pea obsession lol. I've also decided that while horribly bad, riverdale is camp. If I convince myself it's camp I can drag myself through it. It's supposed to be bad and make no sense and of course there's a "goblin king" running around town causing problems because it's camp.

tags: @yesv01 @magcon7280

Okay so like I said in my initial drabble

When Sweet Pea first sees you he deadass thinks you’re an angel

You are so sweet and soft and perfect

The only way to describe you is angelic

He’s so wrapped up in how alluring and enamoring you are that he doesn’t notice you’re just as drawn to him

You immediately see past his gorgeous and intimidating exterior to the soft great big heart inside him

You see all his good traits and you’re not scared off that he’s a little rough around the edges

But Sweet Pea sees that you’re not rough around the edges

And he doesn’t want you to become that way

Especially not because of him

He feels so protective over you from day one

Even though he’s fighting his obvious feelings for you and ignoring your obvious feelings for him, he still tries to look out for you

Keeps an eye on you a little, just to make sure no one’s giving you any trouble

You’re friends with Betty so you’re sort of tied to the serpents already, but he doesn’t want to drag you any deeper into gang life than you already are

So he tries not to fall any harder for you than he already has

Even though Jughead is always bringing you up, telling him that Betty says you’ve been asking after him

He can’t even process that Jughead just said you’ve been asking after him and about him a lot because of how Jughead keeps describing you

He says you’re sort of clingy and need a lot of attention, that you get nervous in crowds and you’re really touchy and hate being alone 

That’s why your last boyfriend broke up with you

But the more Jughead talks about you and your apparent flaws, the more perfect you sound to Sweet Pea

You’re exactly what he’s been dreaming of

Someone he can go all in with, someone who wants him and needs him as much as he wants you and needs you

Which is obviously a lot

And now it’s getting harder and harder to listen to that logical voice that tells him he’s no good for you, that you deserve someone from northside who can take good care of you and not drag you into any more chaos than you’re already surrounded by 

But you’ve been writing his name in your diary over and over for weeks now, and it’s really just a matter of time before you end up together 

All your friends know this

Betty and Jughead and Toni know this

Even Fangs knows this

Everyone knows but you and Sweet Pea

You both still think it’s an unreciprocated pipe dream

Something to imagine scenarios about before you fall asleep

You’re more alike than you realize 

But soon you find your way to each other

You just can’t stay away anymore

And once you’re together, once you’re finally in his arms, neither of you ever want to let go

Sweet Pea is an amazing boyfriend to begin with

But especially when it comes to someone as soft and sweet and precious as you?????

He’s literally the best person you could ever hope for

He’s a classic rottweiler boyfriend 

AND he’s a gang boyfriend

Plus Sweet Pea’s just naturally a very protective person to the people he loves

So you can guarantee you’ll be safe with him

He won’t hesitate to stare down anyone he thinks looks at you too long

But he’s not going to start shit with you around unless he has to

If he does need to fight someone, he’s going to make sure you’re not there to see it

Even if he has to ask Betty or Veronica or Fangs to drag you into the other room and stay with you until it’s over

He doesn’t want you to see him like that

But he knows how to hold his own, and Fangs and Toni both reassure you there’s not a fight he hasn’t been able to walk away from

You’re always there to patch him up afterwards too

You touch him so gently

With more love and care and tenderness than he’s ever gotten from anyone before

It makes it kind of impossible to regret sticking up for you

Even if he did walk away with some nasty scratches and a black eye

You’re still not scared of him

You don’t judge him

Like at all

He always makes you feel so safe around him 

All he’s wanted for a while is someone to go all in with

Someone to protect, someone to take care of

Someone who needs him

And you do 

You spend more and more nights together before finally confessing that you can’t really sleep without him anymore

When I tell you his heart explodes when you say that?????

God as if you couldn’t get him wrapped even tighter around your finger

Surprise! Yes you can

He dips you a lot too

Mostly because he’s so tall and it’s so easy and it makes you so nervous when he pulls you close and leans over you like that

It makes you all dizzy and he talks so close to your face for a few moments before finally kissing you

GOD it makes your head spin

You can’t get enough

And he can’t get enough of the way you look up at him all soft and sweet

Like you’re not scared of him

Which you’re not

It’s still kind of new for him

But it’s something he really hopes he can get used to

He’s touchy too

He pulls you into his lap and rests his head on your shoulder a lot

Or wraps his arms around yours

Don’t even get me started on holding his big old hands with both of yours

It makes his stomach flip every single time

And SO MANY FOREHEAD KISSES

You kiss his neck and jaw a lot too

Mostly because it’s all you can reach half the time

And because you know it drives him completely crazy

If you ever worried about getting unwanted attention from guys, you don’t have to anymore

EVERYBODY knows you’re Sweet Pea’s 

And EVERYBODY knows not to fuck with him

Sweet Pea can be fucking terrifying when he wants to

Which makes things like him pinning you to the couch and tickling you until you tap out and you’re both blushing giggly wrecks even cuter  

You completely and totally have scary boyfriend privileges 

And you take such good care of him too

He really doesn’t think he’s ever been this happy and content and at peace

His friends can easily attest to the fact that they’ve never seen him this happy either

And your friends have never seen you this happy too 

Over all, you’re really just a fantastic match

You become the emotional support couple of riverdale high so fast

People get used to seeing him walk you to classes he doesn’t even have 

Seeing you ride around town on the back of his motorcycle together 

Because you belong together

You really do

Sweet Pea might not know what the future is going to look like

He might not know what’s going to happen tomorrow

But the only thing he does know about his future is that you’re going to be in it

And he’s going to be in yours

You’re starting to make him dream about a soft domestic life away from gangs and murder and conspiracies

He doesn’t know if that’s practical or attainable, but he hopes it is

Until then, he’s more than happy just getting to be around you

Getting to see you all the time and wake up next to each other on the weekends

He loves loving you, he loves keeping you safe and happy

Just like you love him and keep him happier than he’s ever been

Just being with you is more than enough

[pileofboneswrites]

THINGS ARE DIFFERENT.

SUMMARY — this year brought a world of horrors for you. a car accident just weeks before your first day of sophomore year leaves you with no memory of the last year of your life. six months later, things have settled for you; you've got perfect grades, you're a cheerleader and your boyfriend is the quarterback. life is great, perfect even, until a certain raven-haired boy comes crashing into your life, causing chaos and triggering some of your memories to come back.

PAIRING — sweet pea x fem!andrews!reader | reggie mantle x fem!andrews! reader

WORD COUNT — 9.6k

WARNINGS — shitty friends, mentions of a car accident, cheating (caught in the act), lying, angst, fighting, swearing, i think that's it???? (let me know if i missed anything!!!!)

A/N — the plot of riverdale is kind of muddled in this fic; hiram logde's plans are apart of it somewhat, but jason is still alive. no mention of "yn" everyone mostly refers to her as andrews, reg refers to reader as "sunshine" a few times, and fred refers to her as kiddo, also the absolute SHITSHOW i went through to post this, oh my god, tumblr formatting is FUCKED (i usually write everything in my notes app or on wattpad bc i have lost so many partially done fics to shitty service). like i get WHY, but AHHHHHHHH (that's me screaming at the top of my lungs,,, 24 hour loop edition), not proof read

MASTERLIST | RIVERDALE

YOU.

"ronnie needs our support on this," your twin brother archie explains, he's leaning against the door frame of your bedroom.

your back is to him, and you're trying to get ready to head out for school. your homework, laptop and other things sit spewed around your room. utter chaos from your midnight homework session. you straighten yourself, finally meeting his eyes.

"yeah, and? veronica is your girlfriend, not mine archie." you reply, leaning down to shove your laptop into your school bag.

"please?" he pleads, and you roll your eyes.

veronica lodge's dad is no good for riverdale, you can feel it. every move he makes seems to rattle one of archie's friends, or cause a disturbance within the town. since hiram rolled in it seems like one half of riverdale is always up in arms. first jughead when the serpents trashed the drive-in, and the northsiders because of the southsiders joining the now only school in riverdale.

"arch, i don't have the same kind of love from my friends you do. i step on their toes over this, i'm going to be an outcast." you reply, zipping up your bag.

"you can always hang with us," archie sighs, crossing his arms over his chest. "i know that betty misses you a lot, same with jughead."

"then why haven't they reached out?" you snap, sick of the conversation at hand.

archie always gets your hopes up, then plans fall through or they "unintentionally" leave you out. so, you're done. they know that you don't remember anything from the last year; the good, the bad or the petty. you're done trying to change things when with every effort you're shot down. you want normalcy. you want your friends back, but if they're not going to tell you what's going on, or make an effort, then why should you?

"just think about it, okay?" archie says, and you shake my head.

you throw my bag over your shoulder and push past him. you pause in the hallway, guilt creeping up on you, but ultimately decide not to worry about it. archie's been babying you, coddling you even since the accident. which to an extent you can understand it; you could have died. at the same time you feel like you never have a moment to yourself. archie's always lurking. you jog down the stairs, patting vegas as you slip out the front door onto the footpath.

the weather is hazy, it's damp out, fog lining the streets obscuring vision twenty feet head. you thank the powers that be for you remember a jacket. you pull your hood up as you walk towards the sidewalk, but you catch sight of your boyfriend's car parked on the street.

"morning princess," reggie calls through the open passenger window.

"morning reg," you reply pulling the door open and sliding into the passenger seat.

"did you hear about southside high closing?" he prompts after you give him a quick peck on the lips. "means all the trash is going to be clogging the halls of riverdale high,"

"yeah, arch filled me in this morning. you'd think after all the drama surrounding archie and the serpents he'd be less than excited about them transferring in." you sigh, tossing your bag into the backseat.

"he's on their side?" reggie asks, mouth twisting in disgust.

"guess so," you shrug, pulling on your seatbelt as reggie pulls away from the curb.

"but you're not?"

"i'm indifferent," you reply. "i don't care one way or the other,"

"cheryl's going to hate it," he says, and you shrug again.

the drive is relatively short, and silent. when you and reggie aren't making out, it's usually pretty quiet. you're together on the principle of "it makes sense". that's quite literally how he phrased it when he asked you out. and to an extent he's right. it makes sense for a football player to be dating a cheerleader. it makes sense. that being said, your relationship is entirely physical and for show. you're more along the lines of friends with benefits than an actual relationship. he only calls you when there's a party, or he's horny. romantic, you know. reggie grabs your backpack, and you climb out of the car.

"morning!" betty shouts, climbing out of her mom's car.

"hey," you reply, watching as she b-lines towards you.

"you friends with cooper again?" reggie whispers, leaning against the passenger side door.

"no, her friends want my support about the southside," you whisper back, plastering on a fake smile.

"good morning," mrs. cooper says as she drives past.

"good morning mrs. cooper!" you reply cheerily, she smiles and waves before turning out onto the street.

"hey, can we talk for a minute?" betty asks, stopping a few feet away.

she looks like she always does. blonde hair pulled up in a tight ponytail, makeup pretty minimal and natural, and her signature grey crown sweatshirt.

"sure," you say, and reggie leans down to plant a kiss on your lips, as you grab your backpack from him. "see you in homeroom."

he just smirks at you, as you turn away. you feel his eyes on your back until the two of you slip inside of the school. you feel slightly more at ease without reggie by your side. you follow betty to the room dedicated to the blue and gold (your school newspaper). betty drops into her seat at her desk, and you drop your bag on the table and plop down in the chair on the otherside of her desk. you sit, crossing your arms over your chest.

"whats do you want?" you ask, your question coming out ruder than you'd intended.

"i uh, i wanted to touch base." she says, averting eye conact.

"touch base? we haven't spoken since before my accident, betty. what do you really want?" you snap, becoming both annoyed and upset that she didn't actually mean it.

you could have played dumb, you could have gossiped, you could have gave her a life update. but you spend so much time being fake with your 'friends' that you can't handle any more superficial small talk that neither of you will remember. she looks taken a back by your brashness, and you feel a twinge of guilt. just a twinge.

"i—" she starts, but you cut her off as you forcfully shove your chair back, causing an awful screeching sound as it drags across the tile floor.

"look, cooper, if you need something, be straight with me and don't get my hopes up to use me for information." you grab your backpack and trudge into the hallway crashing straight into someone sending you flying back.

you grunt, bracing for the impact but instead you feel two hands on my arms steadying me. you peak your eyes open, and see a tall guy with dark hair and a leather jacket.

"oh shit, i'm sorry," you mutter slipping past him as you rush up the stairs.

you feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up, like someone's watching you. you turn your head as you head up, and see the guy who caught you staring in your direction. he looks pissed, and you wonder for a brief moment if that anger is directed at you. you feel someone poke you in the shoulder and you turn your head to look at them. you jump in shock at how close she is.

"you good?" cheryl asks, the usual distaste in her voice, one eyebrow raised in question.

"yeah, fine," you reply walking in step with her, glancing down the stairs, to see a brown and pink haired girl pulling him away.

"—and i don't know why she wants this so bad—" cheryl's voice drifts off into backgroung noise, something that tends to happen more and more frequently.

that guy looked weirdly familiar. you swear you've seen his face before but you can't seem to place it. which is also happening more, and more frequently to you. you know it's going to bug the hell out of you.

"—and i said—" cheryl continues, as you head towards english.

"andrews!" you feel two arms wrap around your middle, and you're yanked backwards and lifted up.

"ahhhhhh!" you shout, startled by the sudden movement and contact, your kneejerk reaction is to raise your elbow and throw it into the first piece of flesh you connect with.

"andr- shit!" a familiar voice yells, as you free fall to the ground, landing on your ass hard. "what the hell, dude!?"

you lift my head and see cheryl's twin brother jason leaning over, clutching his stomach in pain. you clap your hand over your mouth in a mix of embarrassment. he glances down at you, rubbing the tender area, mouthing 'what the fuck' over and over.

"shit! jason, i'm so sorry—" you say, quickly standing up, he waves you away so he can take a second.

"what has you so jumpy this morning?" cheryl asks, crossing her arms and raising both her eye brows at me.

"no clue," you reply truthfully.

"too much caffeine likely," jason says, standing up right and throwing his arms cross both mine and cheryl's shoulders to guide us to class.

"how many cups a day are you drinking?"

"two," you reply, no hesitation.

you haven't been sleeping much lately, or at all really. you weren't sure what was worse; the lack of sleep, or the fact that when you do manage to fall alseep all you seem to dream of is the four agonizing hours you were trapped in your car after the accident.

"four with extra espresso." jason chirps, and you mock elbow him and he flinches, dropping his arm from your shoulder to shield himself. "not cool dude,"

"aw, prwincess," you mutter tapping his cheek with your hand.

you duck under his arms at a weak attempt to catch you, and slide into class dropping into your usual seat beside ethel muggs. mrs. leroy has all the desks grouped in twos. she likes to assign a lot of partner assignments and classwork, so you ended up with desk pairs.

"good morning," ethel says brightly, and you smile at her.

"good morning ethel, how was your weekend?"

"it was good, how was yours?"

"it was okay," you reply and shrug as mrs. leroy, our english teacher waddles into the room.

she drops her bag beside her desk and takes off her jacket, hanging it on the back of her chair before standing at the front of the room and clearing her throat.

"alright guys, we have a bunch of new students joining us. i'm sure you heard about the students from southside high tranfering in, and we're going to be very welcoming. as such, i've decided to change up your desk partners to kick off our next project." she says, and everyone groans. "hey! who knows, maybe you'll meet your new best friend!"

you drop your head down on the desk as she continues to speak.

"i call your pairs and you'll move to the assigned set of desk pairs, every up."

everyone obeys, clearing to the back, front and sides of the room as she spends the next fifteen minutes reseating you.

"mr. blossom and ms. topaz, these desks please." jason nudges your foot as he passes.

"she's pretty," he mouths and you roll your eyes, a shit eating grin on his face.

"mr. sweet pea, and ms. andrews."

"sweet pea, what kind of name is that?" cheryl snickers, rolling her eyes.

you step forward, dropping into the closest desk to you, ducking your head to look into your backpack for my notebook and pencil. you drop them onto the desk, and look ahead to the board.

"uh, excuse me—?" you turn my head, and see the guy who caught me in the hallway.

"yeah?"

he's cute. messy—but like the intentional kind of messy—dark hair, with curls over his forehead, and dark eyes. there's a hint of ink poking out over the collar of his leather jacket, you catch sight of a snake's head.

"can i— uh— can i borrow a pencil or pen?" he asks, and you nod, turning to dig into you backpack for one.

you feel his eyes on you, watching your every move as you dig. you pull out the first pen you find and hand it over. he reaches out, grabbing hold of it, and your fingers briefly touch. a shiver immediately shoots down my spine, and you drop your hand. you get a flash of a memory, it's difficult to piece together what you're remembering. you see a flash of a half empty vodka bottle, a leather jacket, and a tattoo gun. you gather your things, and jump out of your seat rushing to the bathroom, you hastily shove your notebook away and drop your bag upon entering the bathroom. you drop to your knees in front of the first toilet you find, and empty the contents of your stomach. you wipe your mouth with the back of your hand and lean back against the stall dividers, trying to catch your breath.

it was like for a brief moment you was there. you could hear the tattoo gun buzzing, you could feel the scratch against your skin and you could taste the vodka. you stand up, and walk over to the mirror. maybe you're losing your mind. you would notice a tattoo, wouldn't you? if you didn't know to look for one, maybe you wouldn't... you lift your hoodie a little, and catch sight of one of the snake's heads poking out from under the underwire of your bra.

"holy shit," you breath, pulling your hoodie back down.

you lean down, and turn on the water slashing it onto your face. you stare hard at yourself in the mirror. how could you not see something like that? why didn't anyone tell you? you were told that you grew apart from your friends, but by the looks of things you had a whole other set that no one knew about, or at the very least didn't want you to go back to. the bell rings, signaling the end of first period, and you stand there staring at yourself in the mirror. the door opens slightly, and the brown and pick haired girl sticks her head in and sees you.

"hey, are you okay?" she asks, opening the door fully to come in.

"uh, yeah, i think so." you reply, and she nods, not pushing the topic any further, which you appreciate.

checking in on you is a small act of kindness that not even my so-called 'best friend' cheryl could give. you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket, and pull it out, turning away from the sink to lean on it. think of the devil, a text from cheryl.

you don't reply, you just sigh, and shove your phone back into your pocket. you look up and catch the girl's reflection staring at you.

"uh, sorry." she says and you shake your head, mustering a small smile.

"it's okay, i'm—," you say, sticking out your hand to her.

"actually, we've met bef—" she cuts you off, but is cut off by the bell ringing.

then there's a loud bang on the door, and it opens slightly.

"topaz! we need to talk," it's sweet pea.

she throws you a sympathetic smile and heads out to the hallway. you there for another few minutes, fully aware of the fact that you're missing chemistry before you pull your phone back out, and call your dad. i can't handle this, i'm incredibly overwhelmed. all of this is too much. i know toni? i'm a southside serpent?

"hey kiddo, what's up?" he asks, answering on the first ring, it's his coffee break. "aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"i am," you reply, your voice shaking, immediately giving away how you're feeling. "i just— dad—"

"sweetheart?" he prompts.

fred andrews, a saint walking, ever understanding. you're incredibly blessed to have him for a dad. you force yourself to take a shaky breath, you're on the verge of tears and your eyes burn.

"can i have a day? i just— i'm so overwhelmed. can i go home?" you ask, the dam breaking, tears slipping down your cheeks.

"yeah, kiddo, i'll come get you and sign you out for the day, okay?" he says, and you whisper okay. "hang tight, i'll be there soon."

"thanks dad," you say, and hang up.

you stare at your reflection, your eyes are puffy and you look like hell. your hair is a mess, but you really don't have the energy to fix it. you grab a couple paper towels from the dispenser and wipe your face. you grab your backpack and head down to the office. you drop into one of the chairs across from mrs. bell's desk to wait.

"oh, hi," she says, exiting mr. weatherbee's office holding a folder. "how can i help you dear?"

"i'm not feeling well, my dad's coming to pick me up." you reply, forcing a small smile.

"oh i'm sorry to hear that dear, i hope you feel better," she gives you a sympathetic look as she plops down at her desk.

you're used to the look; the sad eyes with a small forced smile, you'd recived it a lot since the accident. there were no fatalities thankfully, but it drastically changed your life. at least you have to assume it did, you'd lost a year's worth of memories and it only took you a severe concussion and a couple weeks of physical therapy.

"good morning, dorris," comes your dad's voice, he steps into the office and mrs. bell smiles at him.

"well hello, fred." she says, a faint smile on her lips.

everyone on this side of town loves your dad. fred andrews is the kind of guy who will drop everything if you're in a bind, whether you're a friend or not. he signs you out on the sign out clipboard and turns to you.

"ready to go?" he asks, and you nod, standing up.

he slings an arm around your shoulders, and you wrap an arm around his middle as you walk. he doesn't ask you any questions, but you're sure when you get home he's going to have some.

SWEETPEA.

"she acts like she's never met us before," fangs says, sitting down beside sweet pea on the steps leading up to the bleachers.

they need privacy to talk about what's happening, this was the closest thing sweet pea could find. especially with all the gawking, stares and judgemental looks they'd been receiving since showing up to their new school this morning.

"i know, she didn't even say "hi" or anything. it's the least she could have done given everything," sweet pea grumbles, watching as toni walks towards them.

"she doesn't remember us," toni says, coming to a stop in front of them. "she literally doesn't remember us. like at all, she introduced herself to me in the bathroom,"

"what the hell?" fangs mutters, "maybe it's an elaborate plan to keep her summer in the snakes den a secret?"

"that is the dumbest thing i have ever heard," toni says crossing her arms over her chest. "you heard how she was talking before she ghosted us, she was over it all, the cliques, school, all of it."

"she said we were her family," sweet pea mumbles, "and then she disappeared. maybe it was all a lie,"

"jesus christ, or maybe, something bad happened to her, and she actually doesn't remember us." toni replies, the annoyance in her voice prominent. "and if she didn't remember us, then how would she know to contact us?"

"i sent her over a hundred texts since she disappeared, none of them have even been opened."

"case and point," toni says, rolling her eyes. "look, sit and stew in your misery, or confront her. i don't know about you guys, but i plan on getting my friend back."

with that toni turns on her heel, and heads back towards the school. fangs sighs, and stands up, brushing the dust off his ass as he turns to stand where toni had just been.

"maybe she's right," he says, looking down at sweet pea. "we know elly, she wouldn't just up and ghost us like this unless something happened. i want our friend back, and i'm with toni on trying by any means necessary to get her back,"

fangs studies sweet pea's face, looking for any indication that he's heard anything he said. after a moment, fangs sighs again, and turns to follow toni back into the school. sweet pea sits there on the bleachers, he watches as his friends grow smaller and smaller the further they get. he groans, and throws his head back. he's frustrated. he hasn't heard a damn thing from you in months, and then he sees you at his new school and suddenly his whole world collapses. he sighs, and pulls his cellphone out of the pocket of his leather jacket. he opens up his texts, and pulls up your messages.

you never showed up, you never called, you just disappeared. well, apparently you hadn't, but for sweet pea you did. other than toni and fangs he had no other friends in common at the time. no way of getting a hold of you when his calls all suddenly hit you voicemail. now here you are, back in his life, but so far from his reach. he had hoped a million times over the last six months that he'd find out what happened, that he'd get some kind of explanation or closure. something. anything.

but when his eyes landed on you, it was like all the anger towards you, and the situation melted away. for a second, it was like you were never gone. then that daydream snapped, and you were rushing away. not an ounce of recognition in your eyes. it hurt. his phone vibrates in his hand, and it brings him back. back to the bleachers, back to the harsh reality that you might have no clue who he is, back to the anger that swirls in his head, back to how much he loves you, and how much his heart hurts because you might no remember any of it.

he looks down at the screen, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees as the bell rings again.

YOU.

"alright, so, what's up?" he asks, as you drop onto the couch.

vegas jumps up beside you, and drops his head into your lap. you run your fingers through his soft fur and try to figure out a way to start this conversation.

"what was i like over the summer?" you ask, looking up at him.

he's standing by the front door, leaning against the archway leading into the living room. he's got his arms crossed and he's watching you silently.

"you were like you are now," he shrugs, "you didn't spend much time home, at first you were busy with cheryl and then you got a job."

"a job?" you ask, that's new information. "where?"

"the twilight drive-in," he replies, "you made some new friends with your co-workers, or so you said. you and archie were barely home over the summer,"

there's a few moments of silence as you digest this new information.

"dad?"

"yeah kiddo?"

"where was i going? why was i in that car?"

"truthfully, i don't know. archie said the two of you had gotten in a pretty heated fight, and you'd stormed out. a few hours later i got a call from sheriff keller,"

you nod, and sigh, leaning forward. you rest your elbows on your knees, and rub your eyes.

"i had a memory come back," you say after a minute, you don't look up at him. "it was weird though, it was really intense. it was like i was inside the memory."

"do you know what triggered it?"

"no," you lie, until you figure out what's going on with you, you plan to keep sweet pea and toni out of things. "it just hit me in the middle of english, and i had to get out of the room. i went to the bathroom and i puked."

"you puked?"

"yeah, nausea hit me seconds after the memory."

"well, at least you're making progress. the doctor said it could take a while,"

you nod, finally looking up at him. he checks his watch, and comes into the livingroom.

"you take it easy okay? don't strain yourself," he kisses your forehead and heads back to the front door. "i love you,"

"love you too dad," you murmur, watching him leave.

when you can no longer hear the rumble of his truck, you decide to head up to your room. until the accident you'd kept a near meticulous set of diaries, if you can find the one you was working on, maybe it can shed some light on what's going on.

it's weird, you're you, living in your body, but up until six months ago you were a completely different person. it's like living inside a stranger. you step into your room, it's a mess. clothes litter the floor, spilling from your closet, empty take away coffee cups, empty mugs from downstairs and energy drink cans litter the top of your dresser and desk. you go to the hall closet across from your room and grab a garbage bag and head back in. might as well clean up.

a few hours later you stand in the center of your now clean room. all your clean clothes have been re-folded or hung up, all the dirty clothes are in the wash and there's not a single thing out of place. except for—you squint, dropping to your knees in front of your bed, leaning down to pull two cardboard boxes from underneath. one is marked MY NOTEBOOKS, DON'T TOUCH (THAT MEANS YOU ARCH) in all caps—obviously your diaries, but the other has no label. you take off the lid and audibly gasp at the contents. sitting on top is a leather jacket with the southside serpents logo on the back, under the jacket is a dark green journal, a white handled switchblade, your old cellphone and a set of keys.

the screen on the phone is shattered, pretty near unusable by most people's standards. no one knew where your phone was after the crash. you'd just written it off as lost... finding it here, in this box changes things. you put it on the charger, and sit cross legged on the floor. maybe it'll be able to turn it on, if not you could to take it to a repair shop. you pick up the jacket, and check all the pockets. inside the left pocket is a half crumpled note, you pull it out and flatten it. it's definitely not your writing. it has one sentence, and it crushes you.

i love you too - sweet pea

you drop your hand holding the paper into your lap. that just makes everything even worse. does he know that you lost your memories? does he know about the accident? does toni? do they think you're pretending? were you on your way to see him when you crashed?

"fuck," you whisper, pulling your knees up to your chest.

you wanted the truth, and you got it, well part of it. how do you process all of this? how do you fix this? god, you just want to scream. throw things. have a little bit of a meltdown. it won't fix anything, but it might make you feel better. you rest your forehead on the edge of your bed and sit there on the floor, the jacket half hanging out of the box.

"hey?" comes archie's voice from the hallway, i jump at the sound. "hey- are you okay?"

you kick the box under your bed and glance up to see archie. he stops at the threshold, looking intently at you. you hear more sets of feet coming up the steps.

"i—"

you want to lie, you want to tell him you're fine. say everything's a-ok. but it's not. it's really not. and then betty, jughead and veronica come up behind archie and the damn breaks. you start violently, and uncontrollably sobbing into my arms. how did you wake up a year and a half older with such resentment for your three best friends? how did your life fall apart so quickly?

"hey, sh, sh, you're okay, everything's okay," archie says dropping to his knees to envelope you in a hug.

the other drop down on the floor with you. veronica and betty rub your back soothingly. you need to apologize, but you can't stop crying. maybe that's just as well, still a meltdown, just a different kind you suppose.

"i'm sorry!" you cry, frantically wiping your eyes with the sleeve of your sweater.

you dislike crying in front of people, and you know most people don't like having someone cry in front of them. you try and steady your breathing.

"hey, you don't have to apologize," veronica says. "we've all kind of been terrible friends since your accident,"

"that's why we're here," betty adds, patting your shoulder comfortingly.

"that's why they're here," jughead says, and betty swats at him and misses. "hey! let me finish woman! i was going to say, i've been a great friend. we had lots of fun working at the drive-in together,"

"jug..." betty says softly, using that same tone people often use when they're tip-toing around things that might hurt you. she shakes her head slightly, "she doesn't—"

"hey! don't talk about me like i'm not here!" you say loudly, all three of them turn to look at you. "i'm not fragile, you don't have to choose your words carefully around me, i have amnesia not brain damage."

"you're right," veronica says, staring each of them down until they nod. "we all need to stop treating you like glass,"

you quickly stand, your back to them for a minute. you take a deep breath, and turn around.

"arch, what were we fighting about when i left?" you ask, and he looks at you for a moment before swallowing, hard.

"you felt abandoned," he says, his eyes falling to the black rug they're sitting on. "you were upset because we were going on our annual nyc trip, but i'd also promised ronnie i'd help her with something in the morning, and i wanted to push the trip back by two, three hours. and you got really upset and exploded on me—it was entirely justified on your end—there was a lot of things you wanted to do together over the summer and i either canceled or forgot. i was a shitty brother."

"no, arch, you weren't. i'm sure i was just being drama—" you start, but archie raises his hand and you stop.

"no, i was being selfish. i made you a promise, and i broke it. i'm sorry," archie says, standing up and pulling you into a tight hug. "i'm sorry, i really am."

"and we're sorry," jughead says, as archie lets you go. "we thought that giving you some space would be a good thing, but we all got a little caught up in our own shit."

"i understand that, however, i've been alone pretty much for six months." you reply, crossing your arms over your chest.

"you've had cheryl, and jason, and reggie—you seemed like you were pretty happy..." betty says, and you shrug, looking away from her. 

"cheryl is nice— but all we talk about is her. jason's fun to hang with but we have nothing in common other than reggie and cheryl. and reggie.." you sigh, staring out your window over their heads. "reggie made sense."

"he made sense?" veronica asks, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"picking reggie made sense, and don't get me wrong i do like reggie, he's a great guy—a good listener, great at solving problems, fun to hang out with and all—but there's no connection." you sigh, you briefly contemplate telling them about the jacket, about your supposed summer with the serpents, but decide against it for now.

"are you going to break up with him?" archie asks, and you shrug in reply.

"i probably should," you sigh again, why does all of this have to be so damn hard? "did he ask about me when i disappeared this morning?"

"yeah, i told him you weren't feeling well. dad text me about you being home," archie says, and you nod.

"well, i say we grab dinner at pops tonight like old times," veronica says when the silence goes on a beat too long.

"honestly, i would love that, but i have to tie up some lose ends first. i'll meet you guys there at," you pause, walking over to your old phone, tapping the screen, relief shoots through you when it lights up, "say, 6?"

"sounds good," betty says, and they all stand up.

you unplug your phone, pocketing it as jughead, archie and veronica file out, heading back downstairs, but betty lingers.

"you okay, cooper?" you ask, teasingly.

she turns towards you sharply, hands clasped behind her back, "this morning, i— i really was trying to touch base with you. i know that the whole southside thing kind of has half the school losing it, but you told archie no, and i wasn't going to push it. he mentioned that you were upset about the group not reconnecting with you after everything, and i just wanted to see how you were— are."

"i owe you an apology for how i acted, i was frustrated with arch, not that that's an excuse, but i just kind of snapped. i'm really sorry, i shouldn't have taken that out on you betty,"

"your anger is justified, we should have been by you every step of the way—"

"you were busy, things happen. i missed you guys, sure, but this entire thing has been insane. i woke up six months ago with no memories from the last year. and to be fair, it's not like i made much of an effort with you guys."

"well, we're all okay now. and, you could never truly get rid of us,"

you let out a short laugh, throwing your arm over her shoulder, leading her out into the hallway.

"and you couldn't get rid of me if you tried," you say, and betty grins at you, her arm circling your back as you descend the stairs.

you're standing outside the mantle's house, trying to decide if now is really the best time to be doing this, but your rationality wins out and you move towards the door before you lose your nerve. you raise your hand to knock, but the door flies open and you're met face to face with mrs. mantle. 

"hi dear, are you okay?" she asks, a warm smile on her face. 

"yes. ma'am, i just..." you were not prepared for his mom to open the door. 

that was actually the worse possible thing that could have happened. mrs. mantle has always been such a kind, and wonderful person towards you. you almost wonder if she's the reason you'd let things between you and reggie continue as long as they have. 

"sorry, is reggie home?" you ask, and she nods, stepping out of the way to let you in.

"he's upstairs doing homework, are you staying for supper?" 

the longer you speak to her the more you're dreading following through with this. she's such a nice lady, and you're not entirely sure how reggie's going to handle this. you really don't want to lose her. 

you force yourself to shake your head, "no ma'am, i just have to talk to reggie and then i have dinner plans with my brother," 

she nods again, and you slip your shoes off, and head upstairs. 

you've been here so many times that you don't even have to think about where you're going. as such, this leaves time for you to panic and try to talk yourself out of it. you're not sure why. reggie had been a crush of yours for a long time, from middle school to freshman year at least. when you woke up without your memories from the last year, you'd still felt that way about him. you'd been excited when he initially asked you out. mind you that excitement fizzled rather quickly, realizing what the arrangement meant for your relationship.

you were disappointed, sure, but you weren't blindsided by any means. reggie had always given you the kind of vibe that he wasn't interested in settling down just yet. so, when you push his partially closed door open and find him with his tongue down the throat of a different cheerleader, you're not entirely shocked. the girl notices you first, she's younger than you and reggie by at least a year, and she squeals, pulling away from him. he doesn't notice you at first, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion before he follows her eyeline. they both look like deer, and you're the headlights.

"uh, h-hey..." reggie musters, sitting down beside the girl, "i think you should probably go,"

"y-yeah, g-go...." she says, jumping up and flying out of the room.

you stare at him, unsure of how to continue. sure, he'd made this infinitely easier on you, but at the same time you still find yourself hurting a bit.

"i'm sorry," he says, dropping his head into his hands.

"despite our "arrangement", reg," you use air quotes, "i thought you respected me more than this,"

"i do!" his voice comes out loud, then softer, "i do."

the silence that follows is deafening, and feels like it stretches for hours. he doesn't look at you the whole time, his eyes trained on the ground.

"well, you've made this decision a whole lot easier for me. i'm breaking up with you, reg." you sigh, "i don't hate you; i'm not mad at you; i am a bit disappointed, but i think we were kind of doomed from the start. maybe in a couple months we can try to be friends, just friends. if you're down with that..."

he raises his head, guilt written clear across his features, but he nods, "i'm sorry, sunshine. i really, really am."

"i know reg," you say, leaning down to give his hand a squeeze. "so am i,"

you turn to leave, hesitanting in the doorway.

"reg?"

"yeah?"

you turn to look at him, "see you around,"

4:50pm. you have about an hour and ten minutes before you have to meet archie and the others. you plop down on your bed, and flip your diary open. there are only eight entries.

entry 1: may 16th

i can't do this anymore. faking everything. it's driving me fucking insane. betty, ronnie, and archie are always flaking on me. internship this. summer job that. charity this. sorry i forgot that. jug is the only one who hasn't consistently left me hanging, and we're not even all that close. that being said, out of all of them, i'm starting to change my tune on that. he's even offered to talk to his manager about possibly getting me a summer job at the twilight. which would be killer, i'm there for most of the showings anyway. at least i'll get paid for doing something i already enjoy. then at least i'll have something going on. i'm honestly not ok with them constantly rescheduling things but for whatever reason i just sit there and take it. i need to start putting myself first, and find some friends that put in just as much effort as i do. i wonder if the three of them will even notice if i stop putting in the effort.

entry 2: may 19th

guess who has a new job!!! me!!!!!!!! i'm so excited, i don't think i've been this happy about something in a long time. i start tomorrow night, and jug's already introduced me to some of his coworkers. i'll be working in concession. we're even allowed to sit outside and watch the movie when we're between customers. i'm so looking forward to having this. betty, ronnie and i were supposed to go shopping today but they both just texted to cancel. go figure.

entry 3: may 20th

first day was a success! my new coworkers are so nice, i even made quick friends with a girl named toni. she's got pink highlights in her hair which really suit her. i also overheard that she's a southside serpent. mind you she doesn't really seem like the kind of people i’ve been told are in that motorcycle gang. then again, you're not supposed to believe everything you hear.

okay!! it's later now, and toni asked me if i wanted to hang out with her and her friends at the quarry tomorrow!! that's the first time in a really long time someone’s asked me to do something with them! i, of course said yes! i’m so excited!!

just got back from the quarry, i had so much fun. more fun than i’ve had all year! toni is so much fun to be around, she has the best energy, and it's just so refreshing to be around someone who actually wants to do things and live in the moment. the last time i hung out with ronnie and betty they were both glued to their cellphones, undoubtedly texting jug and archie. i also met her two best friends sweet pea and fangs, who are also super cool. they were really nice, and welcoming. i was pretty nervous, because i’d seen the two of them at the drive-in with fp a bunch of times, so i knew they were serpents, but they were both so nice! i’m really starting to wonder if the serpents are as “bad” and as much of a problem as other northsiders insist they are.

entry 4: june 21st

oh god, it’s been a month since my last entry. i have so much to write about… i honestly don't know where to start. i’ve been hanging out with toni, sweet pea and fangs pretty consistently since that day they invited me to the quarry. i’ve stopped chasing archie and his friends to hang out, and i was right in my guess that they wouldn't notice if i stopped trying. i haven't received a single text from any of them. i mean, i have from archie, but he’s my brother so that doesn't really count in my opinion. and i guess jug too, but we're coworkers and he was the only non-flake before anyway. either way, it’s been so nice having toni, fangs and sweet pea reaching out to make plans with me and when i reach out to them they actually follow through. we all have a lot in common; we enjoy a lot of the same music and tv shows.

toni is a god with her camera, i don't think i’ve seen more beautiful photography, and she takes the BEST candids. she’s taken so many pictures of us, she’s going to get me some physical copies for my scrapbook.

fangs can get you ANYTHING. he’s such a smooth talker that people just end up giving him things. he even got us into a sold out _ show. i’m really not sure how he managed, but we got escorted by security to the barricade.

i was supposed to go with betty, archie and ronnie, but i decided to flake on them for a change. that did get me a few texts from each of them, and i didn't answer them. i just turned off my phone and enjoyed the show. it was amazing!!!!!! i had an absolute blast.

i’ve also been spending more time with sweet pea… alone… (obviously, with toni & fangs too) he’s nothing like i thought he’d be when we met. here i go again judging a book by its cover, shame on me. but he’s so sweet, it took a bit to get him to open up to me, toni says he’s just protective, which i both completely agree and understand. with friends as cool as those two, i don't blame him. he goes out of his way for everyone; holding the door for old ladies, standing in the middle of a busy street so kids can cross. he seems so scary and mean, but that's just his defence. we've been getting a really close, and every time he asks me to hangout i get butterflies.

we're hanging out tonight too, i’m going to pick him up in twenty minutes and we're going to the quarry. i’m sitting in a booth at pop’s waiting for our food. i really like him, and i enjoy spending time with him. toni said she’s never seen him so happy, and that she thinks he likes me. i really hope he does, because i like him. i might even tell him as much tonight… that might be a bit too much, actually. i don't know. oh, pop’s calling my order, i’ll update you later!

just got back from the quarry, and oh. my. god. sweet pea kissed me! i was all nervous, and i decided i was going to tell him how i felt and before i got the words out, he leaned over and just did it! i’ve had a few kisses before, some good, some not so much, but this one? it was the BEST i’ve ever had. that thing you read about in fanfics or novels about fireworks or butterflies, it's REAL. he asked me out on a date too, and i’m literally so excited. i called toni before i added this update and she squealed. she was right, he does like me. mine and sweet pea’s date is wednesday night, we're going to watch a movieat the drive-in and then in the morning we're all going camping at sweetwater river.

my phone is ringing… it’s archie? weird, he usually texts me. i’m going to answer him, i’ll be right back.

just got off the phone with arch. mom is coming down from chicago for the weekend, and we were supposed to go together to pick her up, now he’s backed out on me and i have to go alone. what could be more important than picking mom up from the airport?! especially considering we rarely see her. whatever, i guess it’ll give us time to talk.

entry 5: june 30th

just dropped mom back off at the airport. this visit was so fucked. i picked her up, we had a lovely conversation, and then she asked me where arch was and i had to lie to her. he said he was going to call her and let her know, but apparently he didn't. then, he didn’t show up for family dinner, which he was also supposed to help me cook (spoiler: he DIDN’T). when mom and dad asked where he was, i was like a dear caught in headlights. i have no fucking clue!! i called him, and BAM! voicemail. mom calls him and woah, he picks up first ring. he lies, and gets away with it. arch was gone all weekend which screwed up my itinerary. i mean, seeing mom was the highlight, obviously, but archie and i planned all this stuff and we didn't get to do any of it. not to mention, archie had promised he’s take mom to the airport because he was gone all weekend, and then he didn't show! again! i had plans with toni, and i had to apologize and cancel on her (which isn't fair to her or me (but fuck us i guess??)) anyway, i’m banking on archie cancelling our yearly trip to nyc with everything going on. i’d lay money on it now.

entry 6: july 1st

i’m so mad right now. archie saw me and sweet pea coming out of pop’s with lunch, and got in sweets face. he has NO RIGHT. especially considering how much he's left me hanging lately. i will admit, i did something i shouldn't have, but he said something he definitely shouldn't have (that i shant repeat here (just know it's vile)) and i then punched him. sweets then threw me over his shoulder and carried me to my car. i bruised the crap out of my hand, archie’s got a hard face i guess. toni and fangs tried to lighten the mood when we got back but i couldn't help myself. sweet pea and i ended up leaving early, and we just drove around for a while. when i finally did calm down, he thanked me for standing up for him. why wouldn't i?? archie has no right to treat any of my friends like that, let alone my maybe boyfriend (we haven't really labelled it yet). and archie’s one to talk about people’s “priorities” and who they “really” are, seeing as toni, sweet pea and fangs have done nothing but be great friends and have been there for me all summer and he (MY! TWIN! BROTHER!) couldn’t even see his mother while she was down from chicago. i haven't seen archie since our altercation at pop’s and i’m more than okay with that.

entry 7: august 15th

sweet pea and i got into a fight. it’s nothing major, and i know he’s just looking out for me, but somethings aren’t really any of his business. namely, things involving my family. i was telling him about mine and archie’s annual trip to nyc, and how this will be the first year that it’s just the two of us. mom and dad usually go with us, and it’s the highlight of our summer. i’ve been really looking forward to it, and that i’m hoping this will help mend the tear we’ve both been helping create in our relationship. i’m not going to entirely blame arch because i’ve definitely not helped… especially when i punched him in the face in july. he’s finally speaking to me again. it took a couple of weeks and awkwardly dodging each other but we’re at least talking again. which is progress i guess. we haven’t talked about it either. he just walked into my room last tuesday and started telling about this video he saw, and then everything was fine again. we’ve always been like that, but what archie said really isn’t ok, and what i did really isn’t ok either. i plan to bring it up on our trip. anyway, back to sweets, he’s worried i’m going to get super hyped up about this trip and then archie’s going to yank the carpet from under my feet (kind of like he’s been doing all summer, but i digress). we leave in two days, and so far everything seems to be going well. i should apologize to sweets before we leave though, cause i did kind of snap at him… adding that to the to-do list.

entry 8: august 17th

fuck archie. FUCK. HIM. sweets was right. FUCK EVERYTHING. GODDAMN NORTHSIDERS. 

that was it, the last entry. you wrote that the night of your accident. that's why you were in your car. that's where you were headed. you close the diary, and smack it off your forehead. you close your eyes, and then let out a scream of frustration. you throw the book across your room, and pull your old phone from your pocket. you sift through your text threads, you'd sent more outgoing messages to betty, veronica and archie then they'd sent back to you for months before your accident. turns out they weren't  just shitty friends afterwards. 

you pause for a moment, your finger hovering over fp jones' contact. why would you have jughead's dad's number? up until hiram started causing a stir in town, jughead hadn't even been living with his dad so you never would've needed to contact him. you click it and a bunch of text messages load in. 

things were falling into place for you. they were shitty friends before. you were going to need new ones regardless, that's how you ended up in friendship purgatory at riverdale high. cheryl just isn't your cup of tea, and you're still not sure how you feel about reggie after everything you witnessed this afternoon. one thing you do know; you owe some people an explanation. you close out of the messages, and go to your gallery. the first picture that you see is one of you, toni, sweet pea and fangs, your faces all pressed together cheek to cheek, smiling widely. you smile, and then suddenly it's like a damn breaks and a years worth of memories come flooding in. you drop the phone, and rush downstairs, grabbing your keys from the bowl by the front door. 

"you guys are terrible fucking friends," you say, not really caring to control the level of your voice as you stomp towards your brother and his friends. "not you jug, you're fine, i'm talking about these three."

archie, veronica and betty share confused looks then look up at you. you tower over their table, anger coursing through you. you stare the three of them down quietly, eyes darting from one to the other, to the other.

"uh, didn't we already go over that?" veronica asks, her tone light and joking. 

"not really," you say, "i got my memories back, and you guys were fucking terrible. what did i do to deserve being cancelled on, and forgotten about so easily by you three? especially you arch, you're my brother. my twin. you of everyone are supposed to have my back!"

betty and veronica's eyes drop to their laps, and archie freezes, his eyes wide. 

 "while i appreciate your apology from before archie, with all the facts, i don't accept. what you did was fucking shitty, and i never would have done that to you. never. as for you two, if you don't like me, or just don't like hanging out with me, or just don't want to be my friend, stop making plans with me. i'm done being treated like that, and if any of you want to make things right, actually make things right, you'll be able to find me with my real friends; toni, sweet pea and fangs. who, unlike you three, actually like spending time with me. and for the record, are really good people, and deserve to be treated with respect." you turn on your heels to leave, and then pause at the last booth, whipping back around, "also, fuck you guys."

you pray that you're right about this. you never hung out with them during school, so you weren't sure if they were going to be at the quarry tonight. the weather's still nice, so you're hoping that you're right. you turn onto the familiar dirt road, and catch sight of their bikes in the distance of your headlights. relief washes over you as you get closer, you see three figures walking towards you and you pull in beside the bikes, like you had so many times before. you turn the car off, and jump out. 

"fucking hell, andrews! you scared the shit out of us!" you hear fangs yell, a bark of laughter leaving him. 

"guys--" you say, walking closer to them, your heart beating hard against your ribs. 

you almost wonder if it's going to beat right out of your chest, you're  so nervous, but you're so happy to see them. you missed them. 

"told you she knew who we were." sweet pea sneers, cutting you off. "what schools out so you can be friends with us again?"

"what? no--" you start but he cuts you off again. 

"where were you? why are you back now?" he bites out, and toni smacks him. 

"shut up and let her talk." toni says, nodding at you. "go,"

"i got into a car accident on august 17th. i have no idea how, or what happened, but i was trapped in that car for four hours, and spent two days in a coma. then when i woke up, i couldn't remember anything that happened over the last year. i now remember everything, and am really, really sorry for unintentionally ghosting you guys for six months." you pause to take a breath, and gage their reactions, "i know how this all sounds, but i promise i'm telling the truth,"

toni smirks, stepping forward to throw her arms around you, "i'm glad you're back, i fucking missed you."

you hug her tightly, "i missed you guys way more,"

"i bet you did," she laughs, letting you go, and stepping back.

you hug her tightly, "i missed you guys way more,"

"i bet you did," she laughs, letting you go, and stepping back.

she turns to look at fangs, and sweet pea and holds her hand out, “c’mon boys, cough it up.”

begrudgingly, they both pull five dollars out of their pockets and drop it into her hand. fangs then moves past her, and scoops you into a bone crushing hug.

“missed you,” he whispers, then lets you go.

“missed you too,” you smile, and the pair of them slowly slink back to the fire they’d been sitting around, giving you and sweet pea space.

sweet pea stares at you, dark eyes unreadable, his posture tense. it takes you back to how he was when you met for the first time. closed off, on guard, and analytical. you want to reach out for him, wrap yourself around him and never let go. you’re not sure he’s ready for that, so you shove your hands deep into the pockets of your jacket. your fingers catching the slip of paper he’d given you months ago, curling around it, you put it out and his eyes close briefly.

“i understand if you need space,” you say carefully, unfolding the small scrap. “but if you ever actually meant this, you have to know that i never would have left you hanging like that intentionally.”

he takes the note from you, his eyes leaving yours to look at it. he stays quiet for what feels like an eternity.

“i know.” he finally speaks, eyes still on the note. “deep down, i knew you wouldn't have left. not when you socked your brother for me. i was just so mad… at myself for what i said to you last, at you, for not following through on your text… then seeing you at school– it didn't make sense. instead of really thinking about it, like toni did, i just–” his eyes meet yours again, “i don't know, i let my fears take hold, i guess.”

"i--"

"JUST KISS ALREADY; YOU LOVE HER, HE LOVES YOU, THE END-"

"FANGS, SHUT UP!" toni yells, the sound of her smacking him and him asking her to stop follows.

you and sweet pea share a glance, and then both break out in giggles. when the giggles subside, you step closer to him, your hand landing on his shoulder.

"i love you, sweets, and if you need time--"

"i've had enough time, what i need now, is you." he says before pulling you against him, and kissing you.

he pulls back briefly, letting you catch your breath, "i love you too,"

[samdeancass]

Requested by Anonymous

Pairing: Veronica Lodge x reader

Halloween Event

Halloween Masterlist

You were sitting at a table in Pops with Archie, Jughead and Betty whilst Veronica ordered.

"This is my favourite time of year. The leaves are falling from the trees, the air is getting colder and the nights are getting cosier. What could be better than that?"

"Pumpkin spice latte, anyone?" You all jumped out of your skin when Veronica suddenly appeared at the table. "Jesus, Ronnie, seriously. Give us some warning next time, would ya?" Jughead held onto his chest as Archie chuckled from beside you.

"Never mind. This is my favourite thing to come out of this season. Thanks babe." You kissed Veronica on the cheek as she slid in the seat beside you, passing piping hot cups all round.

You took a sip of your latte and instantly melted into the seat. "This. Is. Just. Amazing." Sighs of contentment followed as everyone took sips of their lattes.

You smiled as you watched your girlfriend and best friends laugh and chat with each other. This is the way that you always wanted to spend the early autumn, surrounded by the people who are most special and closest to you. It made the season so much more special to you.

[wowthatsextra]

I loved your tags on that naley reblog about their natural chemistry and wanted to challenge you to name five pairings you think have UNnatural/forced chemistry! Chemistry is so subjective that there are no wrong answers :)

Girl I try not to hate on any ship ever but since it's a challenge imma take it :) you're right, there are no wrong answers but these are gonna be controversial so read at your own risk

1. Harry & Ginny (Harry Potter)

It's obvious. What the fuck was the shoelace? Why did they not give a shit about the main character's main love interest? I love them in the book but the movies failed to give the butterflies!

2. Tessa & Hardin (After)

Just... no. No amount of montages can fix the glaring lack of chemistry. The book made me mad so I already didn’t have a high opinion on them, but their movie scenes had me BORED.

3. JJ and Kiara (Outer Banks)

They do have chemistry, as they're very comfortable and combative with each other... I just don't see the romantic chemistry sorry 😭 they come off as just besties to me. And the way the entirety of S3 "realizing feelings" period was basically miscommunication as romantic tension kind of didn’t help changing my opinion. But I did love some of their romantic scenes in S3 so I guess they can win me over?

4. Frank & Julie (The OC)

Oh dear God. This is my biggest pet peeve about the entire show. They were supposed to be the "true love" choice while Bullit was the "safe choice" but it was like??? Like, sometimes I hate a character and am like "no but they're cute with x" but this time the closer he got to Julie the more I hated him lol, it was literally like negative chemistry. Just a mess.

5. Betty & Jughead (Riverdale)... after Season 1

It kinda hurts me to admit because I loved them in Season 1. That first love energy was immaculate. But then in the later seasons they got so stale and stiff 😭

[circlemidnight]

I just saw the synopsis for 7x10 jabitha investigating a mystery and barchie and veggie double date :(( i'm losing hope

Well we knew they would dip into old couples again? Possibly even with a weird Tabitha² love triangle with Jughead. Like Choni is the only sure thing right now. Also Tabitha is a great character and a much better protagonist than Jughead, so I'm excited for her to move the story along. Maybe we can pick up the pace on this murder plot finally and rescue Ethel too. And, I will just leave you with this:

When we kind of reset to the 1950s and we made that decision to go back to the OG comics, it was like that sort of informed what our storytelling would be and our storytelling really would be much more about dating, relationships, going steady, holding hands, and things like that, as opposed to the crazy Riverdale “oh my god, we’re in the shower” and all of that crazy stuff. It was a more innocent relationship type but we did kind of want to go back and think, before anyone is hot and heavy and ride or die — I don’t think anyone’s mentioned the word endgame yet in the 1950s because mercifully, it didn’t exist. One of the fun things about the 1950s is being able to see various pairings and various characters go on a date and casually date and not so casually date, and I can safely say that if you’ve only seen episode three, there is a lot more story between Archie and Betty and Veronica, specifically those three, and other characters that haven’t historically been matched with Veronica or Betty. So, there’s a lot more teen high jinks and romance to play before we lock into any endgames. [...] Lastly, you finally gave me what I’ve been asking you about forever: Jughead and Veronica having scenes together! I was living for them in episode three. What was the push for that? Was it because fans kept mentioning that they wanted to see them or were they just thrown together naturally since they didn’t get much time before? I think it’s a little bit of both. I mean, when we kind of did this soft reset, we sort of were like, “Okay, who haven’t we seen together?” We always love our typical sort of references and we started thinking of like, oh — and we love saying this in the Riverdale writers’ room and on the show, things like, “Oh my gosh, Jughead and Veronica are like the Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe of Riverdale High, the tortured writer and then the beautiful starlet.” And in the past, the little Veronica and Jughead content that we’ve had has always played great. We’ve just never gotten a chance to dig into that. So I can tell you that we are leaning into that and that that bubbles up in various times throughout the season, in a really fun way. It’s a fun pairing, those characters definitely have a spark.

(x)

and I will say that if things don't turn out the way you hope, there's a lot of talented people in this fandom that will create better endings for them. 💜

[deadairradioshow]

thoughts on jughead and veronica as a potential romance?

so many! you know a couple of years ago i actually had a very intense jeronica phase. there is some REALLY good stuff out there and i like them a lot; unfortunately they fall short of the mark. the same way betty and archie together fall short. they’re just too conventionally well suited to each other that there ends up being nothing THERE…

like. okay if uve seen up to even just season 2 of riverdale it makes a really good case for betty/jughead and archie/veronica - lots of traditionally interesting dynamics and insane things happen between these two couples. take for example betty/jughead. their romance seems to follow the same sort of lines as nancy/jonathan from stranger things - investigative surburban princess x ostracized alternative “artist” (even though jughead does a lot of writing on screen, in the first couple of seasons he always seems to have a camera on hand like jonathan). they have a very intense connection founded on the fact that they have similar priorities, which means in a lot of ways they didn’t get together for romance reasons in the first place. them becoming a thing is a side effect of being in the same circumstance. however, because the first thing in their relationship is not their attraction to each other, this means that the specter of veronica and archie is always there. like. think about it; betty wants archie, and she’s jealous of veronica who has archie. jughead wants betty, and is jealous of archie, because he feels like a consolation prize.

on the flipside, archie and veronica are built on mutual sexual attraction at the very start and it peters off because they don’t have the same priorities/interests/way of thinking. in this way, betty and jughead are also looming in veronica/archie, because veronica is jealous of betty who is “good” which is what she wants to be and hates jughead who is always in archie’s good graces - part of the reason that veronica wants to be with archie is because he is so Good. the narrative frames her as an agent of “good” whenever she’s with archie, and much more morally grey when she’s with reggie/chad/whatever. so when jughead, who is kind of the boy version of her - smart, pretentious, and snarky - is still beloved by the girl she would like to call her best friend (betty doesn’t fully get on the b&v train until s2, and even then it’s mostly betty calling the shots in the friendship) AND by her boyfriend, jughead by transitive law is “good” and “belongs”, things that veronica desperately wants for herself.

still in that relationship, archie sexually wants veronica, but is feeling pressured to be with betty. unsurprisingly, archie also wants jughead, but in less of a “he’s my girlfriend” way and more like “i want to tie my wrist to yours so that if your wrist breaks mine does too” because he feels bad about abandoning jughead and the road trip for ms grundy (which maybe i’ll do a seperate post on) but not only that, the narrative like, actively draws parallels between jughead and the girls (he walked in looking for the girl next door, but all he found was me). jughead and archie are described in the description of riverdale’s first season as “best friends” and this carries forward all the to the last season where it’s literally just by name and nothing else, but the point is that archie’s attention and therefore loyalty is split between three people with very different agendas and roles in the story/in the town.

which explains why perhaps the lightxlight and darkxdark pairings don’t have much appeal; betty and archie together in s5+6 was some of the most boring romance i’ve ever witnessed. jugheadxveronica is written off as ludicrous in-narrative because veronica kisses jughead ONCE in the three years they know each other, and then when suggested to do it again (jughead paradox) it’s all work and no play. even s7 jeronica is written in a weird slanted light because 50sjughead is asexual (?) up until veronica actively expresses interest in him (?) which came out of nowhere and then was dropped as a narrative thread and only picked up several episodes later. s7 jeronica is also really boring in that they don’t even like each other’s opinions on things (which is true to the main timeline, by the way) but also there’s zero chemistry there.

my theory is that the reason jeronica as a ship had so much forward propulsion until s7 was because their most important scene was actually a polycule one - the spiteful kiss in front of a visibly upset archie x betty was what really made jeronica so much more interesting than the other ships to me, but if you go one step further and consider their unaltered characters in a long-term relationship it gets really boring really fast.

i would argue, actually, that a lot of this is the fault of the non-adaptation of jughead’s comic-canon asexuality. they try to fix it later with the 50s scenes in the sweet hereafter and the characterization of s6 -> s7 jughead, but even then we end up with the four splitting off their various ways. the reason no single-woman x archie andrews relationship is compelling is because the choice made between girls is what’s compelling, and throwing jughead in as another viable option for a relationship kills the tension between the three of them by making it a perfect four, which is why i think messy polycule/bettyjughead/veronicaarchie dynamics are much more interesting, because the original thesis (well, i make it sound way more serious than it is) of the archie comics b&v choice was the opportunity cost. date betty and lose the sexy rich girl. date veronica and lose the childhood sweetheart. throw jughead in the mix, and now you have a different, even more compelling story of mutual confused desires. but separating them based on light/dark and playing happy families with them based on that dichotomy of pairing is boring. at least in the long run, without the specter of the other two left out.

[cipher04]

Seeking Roleplay Partners

Note: Not replacing any current partners, just always seeking to add more partners.

About Me:

I am 18+ and will only write with partners who are also 18+

Willing to double as any gender, any pairing, any fandom

Prefers writing male characters in male x female relationships (will do AxA when doubling)

Enjoys romance and action in my stories

Laid-back, communicative. I will not ghost you!

Flexible writer, quality posts: post length varies depending on the plot and the post, but my typical range is 1-3+ paragraphs

Attempts to reply every 1-2 days, but will let you know about any unintended absences

Prefers third-person

Willing to play canon characters and original characters

Prefers long-term stories

Most of all, I enjoy writing and collaborating. I consider myself easy to get along with and being able to bring my writing partner joy with each reply is something that drives my passion for this hobby!

Open to nsfw

Bonus: Not required, but I enjoy sibling dynamics. Keep in mind, I'm talking about platonic sibling interactions. If we're doubling with OC/Canon, it could be particularly interesting for our OCs to be siblings. It increases the depth of our world and increases interaction between characters. Again, not required. 

You can add me on discord at fandomfan#0404 or send a chat or message if interested.

Fandoms:

Seeking partners who are willing to play a canon female character. I have plots, pairings, and ideas for each fandom that I list here.

I am not picky. I will not be upset if you do not portray the character with 100 percent accuracy. Please, do not expect that there will be pressure to be perfect. I enjoy it when my partner adds their own twist, anyway

Willing to double and play as anyone you want in return!

Canon characters that I am seeking a partner to play will be listed under the fandom

Fandoms:

Pairings that I am seeking are listed beside the character, but these are not the only pairings I am willing to do. Again, for your half, I'll do whatever you want.

Here is the link to the entire list of my fandoms: https://cipher04.tumblr.com/post/678212321698611200/muse-post

If you will play someone from my list below, I can play something from any of these fandoms if you so desire! There might be others I know about as well so feel free to suggest other fandoms too

Pirates of the Carribean

Elizabeth Swann (Will Turner or male OC x Elizabeth Swann)

Arrowverse

Supergirl(CW's Arrowverse) (male OC, Barry Allen, Mon-El, or Oliver Queen x Kara Zor-El)

Fear The Walking Dead

Alicia Clark (Male OC, Matt Sale, Jake Otto, or Will x Alicia Clark)

Nancy Drew (CW TV show)

Nancy Drew (male OC, Ace, Ned Nickerson, or Owen Marvin x Nancy Drew)

Riverdale

Betty Cooper (male OC, Jughead Jones, or Archie Andrews x Betty Cooper)

The Lost World (1999 TV series)

Veronica Layton (male OC or Ned Malone x Veronica Layton)

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Cassie Lang (2023 film - Kathryn Newton portrayal) (male OC x Cassie Lang)

Outer Banks

Sarah Cameron

If interested, you can react to my post or you can send me a chat. Thanks!

[a-walking-fandom-reference]

Since you have the Jughead Aroace support in your bio, Archie characters for the ask game

!! yay!

Favorite Character- Jughead!! one of chs of all time

Second Favorite Character- Sabrina Spellman

Least Favorite Character- trula twyst

Character I’m Most Like- jughead probs… i also am aroace and couldn’t be bothered and am very sleepy tired

Favorite Pairing- platonic pairing- so many betty and jughead, sabrina and jughead, toni and jughead, the core 5, sabrina and salem (sorry they are mostly jug based he’s my fav) romantic pairing- sabrina x harvey or archie x betty x veronica x reggie

Least Favorite Pairing- JUGHEAD X ANYONE

Favorite Scene- idk like so many i mean there are so many comics and a majority of them bring me joy i really like when they wear fun lil outfits tho or jughead is just an aroace mood

Rating out of 10- 8 1/2

Send me a Series and I’ll Answer

[natsudragneelgf]

Okay real quick here's Riverdale pairings I wanted but never got:

Archie x Toni

Betty x Toni

Veronica x Toni beyond the lopaz mass delusion

Tabitha x Toni

notice how I wish they let Toni out of her cage for more than like 1 season with Fangs?? anyway

Cheryl and Veronica I got my kiss but I needed toxic Yuri scissoring

ArchieReggie might as well have happened in my book. But we could have had more

Ethelhead more of that for sure

Jughead could have lezzed out with Fangs. There I said it

Jughead and Toni should have also given it another awkward untimely stumbling shot. For me

That's all for now 🤔

[findroleplay]

Thanks for reading my post! I am 18+ and require all partners to be 18+ as well. This post contains a search for the Riverdale fandom. Before beginning, please note that I am willing to double! This is not the only fandom that I know either.

Riverdale: I am seeking someone to play Betty Cooper. I am willing to pair her with Archie, Jughead, or a male OC.

1. Male OC x Betty: This OC is someone Betty meets while in college or in the FBI. They connect, form a relationship, and eventually he comes back with her to Riverdale seven years later as they begin to engage in those plot points from the show! You may choose his face claim as I wish to make sure he is appealing to you!

2. Archie/Betty: Based on the events of the pilot episode. In this version, Archie has a crush on Betty just as she has a crush on him. She confesses her feelings to him in Pop's just as she planned on doing. In our roleplay, her plans are not ruined and she is able to confess her crush on him, which he will reciprocate and they can begin a relationship. We can rewrite events from the first episode, allowing Archie to take a more direct role in her story arc as her boyfriend.

2a. Archie/Betty: Based on the post-time jump when everyone comes back to Riverdale. I would enjoy writing out their rekindled romance.

3. Jughead/Betty: I'm open to starting at any point in their relationship, but particularly interested in a story where they do not drift apart after college!

If you are interested, please react to this post or feel free to send me a friend request on discord at fandomfan#0404. Thank you!

_

[sav1ored]

🍒  + my url pretty pls 🥺

send  me  🍒  +  a  url  and  i  will  write  positivity  for  them. || @w1dowed

//. Forever the betty to my jughead, because that's where this all began. Meeting you in the Riverdale fandom is sure as hell as a blessing. And even though that show went downhill, I'm thankful the show brought us together. Honestly, you are one of my closest friends on here, and I'm so thankful to have you in my life, now and forever. lol. no fr though I love you company, and I love how when we had our jug x betty ships we had so many threads ideas, so many different verse it was out of control. but I loved how we can just bring up an idea, and turn it into something more. I'll always have a place for bughead because of you. i love the ship, but you made me love it more. thank you for bringing my top to life with me.

now look at us now..... you are the maggie to my negan, and I wouldn't want it any other way. because while yes, negan x maggie is an EXCUSE ME pairing. when you and I talked about it, we realized how alike they are. I remember the first time we had brought up the idea of it--- I remember talking to you about it and then the rest was history after that ! Now look at us.... SCREAMING AND SOBBING over negan x maggie cause we're just NUTS LMAO !! BUT I'm glad it's you who I am screaming with over this paring. I love them to death, and that's because of you. we brought them to life, we brought them justice and we have brought them into many au ideas that it has my head spinning in the best of ways. I can't even begin to express how much this ship means to me, and it's an honor to be your negan for your maggie. I loe you maggie, I love all your muses. tilly.--- you name it, they are ALL perfect you are SO talented it leaves me in awe.

I have so much love for you, storm. you are def my main dude when it comes to well anything LMAO like ain't lying. I got a shit ton of love for you. I also love how we read fics together and get all JGKJSKJS over the SMUT LKE YASSSSSS EXCUSE we read negan x maggie smut it's HOT AF IDC !!! and I love how in our discord chat we end up rping in different areas xD like we messy but whatever we love it. Please know that I am forever grateful to have met you, for you to even want to roleplay with me? like I just--- have no words. I love you so much storm, I truly mean that you are someone I considered important to me. not just in the roleplaying world, but in real life. I told my fiance about our rps LMAO ! like YOLO! seriously though thank you for being such an amazing friend, thank you for being a beautiful soul. I love you so much. The Maggie to my Negan forever & forever. I'm glad we are bringing this ship to life together <3

[kyloren]

whatever we were tangled in, all of it was music → Jughead Jones x Betty Cooper ‘Baby Driver’ AU. 

Jughead Jones, a reluctant criminal and the best getaway driver in the business, after being coerced into working for a crime boss, must face the music when a doomed heist threatens his life, love, and freedom. 

“Now, I get absolutely no pleasure in taking hard-earned spoils from a stand-up young man such as yourself, but one must do as one must.”

Jughead nodded, taking the proffered slim stack of cash handed to him out of the hundreds that comprised what had been once his share of the money. Fred’s words rang in his ears — You don’t belong in that world — when he spoke: “One more job, and I’m done.”

“One more job, and we are straight,” corrected Hiram with a pleasant smile and cold eyes. “Now, I must go, but remember—” 

“You call, I answer. I know.”

.

.

It was a memory that had impelled him to leave the apartment and walk the city streets aimlessly until he found his way into a corner booth of a quaint, quiet diner with its old-fangled furbishing, obsolescent jukebox, and straight-out-of-the-sixties aesthetic, but it was The Girl that had inspired him to stay. 

Jughead noticed the girl who would soon become The Girl first by looking outside the window next to which he sat and noticing glimpses of her sharp silhouette through the tilted venetian blinds. He watched, transfixed, as she walked in, cheerful and smiling, a crisp autumn wind at her back and a skip in her step, like she was goddamn Audrey Hepburn on the set of Funny Face, his headphones blasting The Tremeloes’s blithe here she comes now, walking with a love, with a love that’s oh so fine into his eardrums and searing the moment into his memory. 

“Hi,” a perky voice chirped above him, pulling Jughead out of his reverie and making him realise that he must have been staring into the distance for some time because she was right here before him, bouncy, blonde ponytail, beatific smile, and all. “What can I get you?” 

Merry Christmas, @jemmablossom! This is your @bugheadsecretsanta gift. 🎁 Happy Holiday Season, sweetie!

[bettycooper]

In the issue, Cupid has his eye on Riverdale as Archie and his friends find themselves embroiled in the uncertainty of young love. As Archie and Veronica hit a speed bump in their relationship, Jughead explains his unique philosophy on love to Betty, while Kevin finds himself in too deep on a date of his own. The modern-style anthology one-shot will feature a mix of beloved and unexpected pairings, including Veronica and Dilton, Kevin and Devon, and Betty and Jughead.

- - - -

Send help. I’m trying to remain calm, but I’ve also been waiting decades for this kind of consistent Archie Comics Betty / Jughead content. I have NO CHILL.

[thehelleniclunarwitch]

25 Days of Christmas: Day 22

Prompt: “Would you stop eating all the popcorn! It’s supposed to go on the tree!” “But I’m hungry,

Pairing: Sweet Pea x Reader

“Y/n, what do you think of this one?” Fangs asked holding up his string.

Fangs had taken the edible spray paint and sprayed his popcorn red and green in a pattern.

“It looks great, Fangs,” Y/n beamed.

“Can I add it to the three now?” Fangs asked.

“Is it all dried?” Y/n asked.

“Yep!” Fangs exclaimed.

“Then go for it,” Y/n said.

Fangs almost tripped over himself in excitement to add his popcorn to the tree. Y/n shook her head as she looked over to her boyfriend. Sweet Pea had abandoned his string of popcorn. Instead, Y/n found him shoving the popcorn into his mouth.

“Sweet Pea!” Y/n exclaimed.

“What?” He asked around a mouthful of food.

“Would you stop eating all the popcorn! It’s supposed to go on the tree!” Y/n growled.

Sweet Pea shrugged as he shoved more popcorn into his mouth. Y/n narrowed her eyes at him.

“But I’m hungry,” Sweet Pea whined.

“Jug and Betty will be back any minute with food from Pops,” Y/n said.

“I can’t wait that long,” Sweet Pea whined.

“You’re the absolute worst,” Y/n sighed.

“No, I’m not,” Sweet Pea argued.

“We’re going to run out of popcorn because of you,” Y/n scoffed.

Sweet Pea’s shoulders fell.

“You’re always blaming me,” He growled.

“Dude, you’re the only one eating it here,” Fangs pointed out.

“Shut up Fangs,” Sweet Pea hissed throwing a handful of popcorn at his friend.

“No!” Y/n shouted.

“You little shit!” Fangs yelled back as he picked up a whole bowl and dumped it on Sweet Pea’s head.

“Guys! Stop!” Y/n shouted.

It was too late. The boys broke out into a full blown out popcorn fight. Y/n covered her face as the popcorn went flying. Having enough, Y/n started throwing things at the boys trying to get them to stop. That only made Sweet Pea and Fangs to turn their attention from each other and over to her.

“Wait, no!” Y/n growled.

Sweet Pea and Fangs laughed.

“Guys,” Y/n groaned as a bowl of popcorn was tipped over her head.

“Uh, what’s going on here?” Jughead asked.

The three of them turned to see Jughead and Betty standing in the doorway.

“Sweet Pea is the reason why we can’t have nice things!” Y/n shouted.

“Fangs started it,” Sweet Pea shot back.

“What? No!” Fangs growled.

“Enough children,” Betty said with a sigh.

“Sweet Pea. Fangs. Apologize to Y/n for ruining her project. And then two of you can clean all of this up,” Jughead said.

“But Jug!” Fangs and Sweet Pea exclaimed.

“Better get busy or your food will get cold,” Jughead said.

“Come on Y/n, you have popcorn all in your hair,” Betty said holding her hand out to her friend.

Y/n took Betty’s hand and the trio headed into the kitchen. Y/n sat and Betty started picking out the popcorn. Jughead started right in on his burger. A solid thirty minutes went by when Fangs and Sweet Pea finally came to join the others

“Sorry Y/n,” Fangs said.

“Yeah, sorry,” Sweet Pea said.

“Kiss me and you’ll be forgiven,” Y/n smiled.

Sweet Pea grinned as he bent down to kiss her.

“All is forgiven,” Y/n said.

“I can kiss you too and get your forgiveness,” Fangs said pushing Sweet Pea out of the way to plaster wet kisses all over her face.

“Ew, gross, stop,” Y/n said pushing him away.

Fangs danced away laughing as Sweet Pea glared at his friend.

The friends all sat around the table with their lunch. Y/n leaned against Sweet Pea. He took a huge bite out of his burger and sighed.

“See was that popcorn worth it?” Betty asked.

Sweet Pea rolled his eyes and Y/n laughed. If Sweet Pea had the chance he’d do it all over again.

[deadairradioshow]

while everyone in the show is written from the perspective of an omniscient narrator, there are some themes that run consistent - one of them being that neither girl is ever actually happy in a relationship with archie. it becomes more obvious in s5-7, because s5 is spent bouncing archie back and forth between veronica and betty, but barchie themselves admit there’s nothing there, and varchie isn’t satisfied with being in riverdale/being in nyc. when barchie does become canonized in s6, betty is ready to kill archie in rivervale so she can have his son; betty also readily kills archie when he’s strangling jughead; in riverDALE, betty is the one who suggests that archie and veronica fuck when veronica becomes venomous, betty suggests that veronica go with them to the wedding. veronica, this whole time, is also struggling with severe loneliness after she seperates from chad and then loses archie to betty, and then reggie walks away from her, and then her kisses literally become venomous. a lot of veronica’s arc throughout the seasons is about self-actualisation, and usually a boy (archie or reggie) is a step on that checklist - s6 forces her to be on her own. b&v are fundamentally also more interested in each other in s7 than they are in archie, stated explicitly so multiple times.

my point being that none of this is consistent with what the narrative tells us. jughead’s voiceover insists that both betty and veronica are in love with archie, and that nothing else matters to them, when in fact, the show SHOWS us that they are complex characters who simply happen to like archie as well. betty is representative of a “good” version of jughead’s desire; she loves him, purely and sweetly and truly, and most importantly - QUIETLY. betty does not voice her desire for archie, not ACTUALLY, until season 4’s musical episode, which is a representation of jughead does with his desire for archie: represses it, because he thinks he cannot express it (see: repressed homosexuality). on the opposing end, veronica represents a “bad” version of jughead’s desire - she loves him, but she took what she wanted (bad) she has sex with him (bad) introduces him to a life of crime via hiram (bad). veronica is also visually and personality-wise similar to jughead - she’s more of a material representation of jughead than betty, and all the bad that comes from dating her to archie is further proof to jughead how he should not want archie. it’s interesting also, how the voiceover insists that veronica is still the bad girl from the city and betty is still the good girl from the suburbs, despite veronica’s intentions and actions upon coming to riverdale were mostly good - and betty’s corruption and bad actions are never truly acknowledged by the narrative.

all this to say that i think season 7’s veronica-and-jughead pairing was to provide space for betty and archie to come together. once it became obvious that veronica and jughead were never going to work - the fictional loser version of 50s jughead is not only very naive and boyish, he’s fundamentally also not interested in girls. ethel’s attempts to flirt are ignored, veronica’s closeness is a surprise. i think that veronica x jughead in the final season in any capacity is author jughead following a thread of a relationship to it’s logical conclusive end; if betty is with archie, and that’s how it should be because they are both Good, and they were Neighbors, and in Love, then veronica must be with jughead because they are both Bad, and Outsiders, and Leftovers. jughead refuses to see another possibility because (and bear with me here) jughead has no use for romance.

that’s right! i said it! jughead has no use for romance in his stories. i think, personally, jughead never set out to be a romance writer. it’s not his strength. most of the relationships in riverdale are superficial and/or shortlived; but i think riverdale as a story was an attempt to reconcile a very troubled reality into a neater fiction. the messy, more realistic relationships from the earlier seasons vanish - fred and hermione dissipate, alice never dates after hal’s incarceration, kevin and moose (the only two mlm people knows) get put together. i think romance, although is makes up so much of the show, is jughead’s attempt at corralling his characters back into order, yet he cannot because his characters are real people who keep making things messy. the cleanest relationship i can think of is tabitha/jughead, which is a straight shot from begrudging allies -> friends -> lovers. no one ever comes between them, no one ever tries to stop them. they are the healthiest relationship in all of riverdale, and my personal belief is that tabitha has no basis in reality and jughead wanted to square away everyone so neatly that he invented a time-traveling angel girlfriend for himself. anyway

back to the point: i think jughead x veronica is his attempt at understanding the universe. if betty and archie go together, surely veronica and i do too - there’s no one else left over in the cast would be able to pair off with her. there’s also the general fascination with veronica; 50s jughead writes stories to please her and she picks feminist holes in them. fundamentally jughead and veronica are so similar that they cannot get along, but archie loves her, so there’s gotta be something there, right? veronica x jughead is an attempt to understand his own obsession with archie, aka his universe, and so he tries to make it work. i have more thoughts on this i’m gonna write down at some point bc i fear this reblog is getting too long

can i be riverpilled on main for a sec. if jughead has been controlling the narrative all along - which tbf we were told in the first five minutes of the show - then it makes sense that both betty and veronica are not representative of themselves, actually, but rather of himself. if we are to believe the story of riverdale, then two things are true: 1. that jughead has been in love with archie this whole time and 2. that jughead himself never wanted to be part of the narrative. think about it - each season, apart from 1 and 3, involve some kind of death/death threat for jughead (serpent battle, stonewall preps, rat…king? dead and sent to heaven for sabrina to retrieve him, literally booted out of the narrative). however, someone is still required for him to project his feelings onto. if you believe that riverdale is a story starting with the real events of jason’s murder, jughead takes on the role of investigator/narrator. this means he needs someone else to be the love interest: enter betty. someone he would’ve known since forever, and so all of sudden, as jugheads story starts, betty “réalisés” she wants to tell archie she likes him -> jughead’s own crush coming to light / vs. veronica coming to town and immediately catching archie’s eye (AND she resembles him, dark hair, dark clothing, pretentiousness galore) -> jughead wanting archie to want HIM. all of this explains why betty and archie never really click in s5, why betty repeatedly takes the chance to kiss archie despite her friendship with veronica being at stake (what jughead would do, if he could) why veronica cannot handle loneliness, why a lot of the time neither betty or veronica’s actions match up to the personalities that they actually have -> betty is repeatedly made out to be a “hero” struggling against her internal demons/serial killer genes despite everything that would condemn her as a bad person/friend whereas veronica tries to be better and still falls short at every turn -> representation of repressed homophobia re: how not confessing makes him feel better about himself, like he’s doing archie a favor vs. even thinking that he would LIKE to date archie makes him “feel evil”. in the end, betty and veronica don’t even actually care about archie, romantically; the one person betty misses more than anyone in the last episode is veronica (her long lost love) and veronica throughout the series spends more time trying to figure out what would actually make her happy even though she has archie and that should supposedly be the answer; this is their actual characters breaking through the shell of projection given to them by narrator!jughead. of course, this would’ve been solidified if cole sprouse wasn’t a coward and kissed kj apa on screen in the finale but you know what they say about the absence of a thing .