This Spells Trouble - A Riverdale Fanfiction

Archie and Archwitches

Betty and Archie waited for Jughead to awake once more, both unsure what to expect. Would he be who he had always been, the sarcastic, gloomy, sensitive and affectionate Jughead? Or the lively, excitable, yet aloof Jughead, who had since replaced the previous?

When the raven haired boy's eyes fluttered, the watchers approached, sharing a look of uncertainty. Jughead let out a content hum, nuzzling against the pillow on which his head lay, his head shifting into a position that hid one of his eyes. The visible eye opened minutely, and his pupil peered out drowsily. A smile tugged at his lips.
"Hello," he murmured happily.

He lay there for a bit, evidently still sleepy, but he soon rose into a sitting position. He swept his hand through his hair, in an attempt to ruffle it, looking up in surprise when his hand met his beanie. He tugged it off casually and placed it on the end table, and in that moment, Betty was certain this was not the Jughead she knew. She sighed. She thought everything had been back to normal. He had seemed so much like himself when he had fallen asleep. Nevertheless, this was still Jughead, and so she greeted him politely.
"Hello, Jughead. How did you sleep?"

"Quite well, thanks. Raises the question though: Why are you two watching me sleep?"

He had an eyebrow raised, his head quirked. It looked so sweet and innocent, his confusion, and Betty struggled not to hug him affectionately. She instead gave a strained smile.
"We were worried. You....weren't acting like yourself."

"Understatement," she heard Archie mutter, though Jughead didn't seem to hear, unaware of the palpable atmosphere of the room as he spoke.

"Is it because of those pills you gave me? I told you I didn't need them, remember." Jughead shrugged in a way that meant 'just saying'.

Betty managed not to let her surprise show. He remembered that certain detail. Why then were other things forgotten? There was some strategy to his absent memory, some reason why they were forgotten. She looked to Archie, who was frowning. Betty returned to look at Jughead, making her expression as happy as possible.
"Archie and I are just going to go check on something for a sec. You won't touch any of my things while we're gone, right?."

"Scouts honour," Jughead said, hand raised like he was swearing an oath on the Bible.

"You hate scouts," Archie replied, crossing his arms.

"Not Girl Scouts! Their cookies are sublime," Jughead argued, before he stared wistfully away, probably imagining the glorious food item.

Archie rolled his eyes, but his smile proved he meant no ill intent by the gesture. Betty gripped his upper arm, leading him out of the room whilst Jughead was distracted with his thoughts. Archie didn't relent, allowing her to do so. Betty led him into Polly's old room, which was far enough that Jughead would not hear them easily. Only when she was certain the other boy didn't follow them, did she speak to Archie, through mostly stern whispers.

"I need you to find out where Sabrina is. I have no idea myself, but people are sure to have seen her. She might be staying at someone's house or something. But, once you find her, bring her here. We need her to reverse whatever she did."

"I'm not a detective, Betty. That's Jughead's job."

"Not this time, Archie. This time, it's our job. For once, Jughead needs our help. Please, you're the only person I got right now."

Archie paused, thinking. His thoughtful expression was soon replaced by a brilliant smile.
"Sure. I'll do whatever it takes."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sabrina woke with a start when she heard rapid knocking on the hotel door. Salem beside her groaned irritably, placing his paws over his ears as the knocking persisted. Sabrina looked to the clock beside her, moaning at the digits that glowed red on the screen. 7:35 was too early for a Saturday in her opinion. And yet the knocking continued. Damn whoever it was. Sabrina rolled off the bed and into a standing position, shuffling to the door like a sloth. She opened the door, and became alert almost instantly when shock snapped her out of her drowsiness.