I'm Darkness || Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones [2]

Devil

Eleanor was arriving home from her visit to the Mayor, she needed to call her to reason. She hand't asked for Jughead's helped, because she knew that if she wanted to get to Mayor McCoy she would have to go alone, and in peace.

"Chic?" Eleanor walked inside her home and called out, "Betty, is that you?"

"Hey,"

She turned around, an unfamiliar face walking down her stairs. That wasn't Chic, or her sister for that matter. That was a stranger.

Ellie frowed, "Who are you?"

"I'm Ben." He introduced himself, and gestured upstairs, "Chic will be right down. See you."

She was about to say something when Ben passed right by her and exited her house, bumping into Betty on his way out. He awkwardly greeted her, and left.

Betty faced her sister confused, "Who is he?"

"I don't know, Ben apparently." Ellie told her what she knew, she was just as confused, "He's with Chic, I think."

"What –."

Chic interrupted them, walking down the stairs with a bottle of milk in his hands. They both frowed at the view, but it was Betty who spoke up first.

"I thought you had a job interview."

"I did." Chic confirmed, "That was Ben."

"I'm sorry but..." Eleanor couldn't hold back her sarcastic remark, "what kind of job are you really applying to? Naked model? You're wearing a robe..."

"No." He laughed off her comment, "He works at the Bijou. Pretty sure I got the job."

She nodded slowly, "Oh, I'm sure you did."

"I thought that was one of your clients." Betty told him.

"No, I don't tell those guys where I live." Chic frowed, and stepped closer to her in urgency, "And don't you do either. Ever. Boundaries are key, they'll keep you alive."

Eleanor turned to face her sister in confusion once Chic walked up to the kitchen. She frow her brows at Betty, and her sister swallowed knowing she had spilled too much already.

"What is he talking about?" She was confused at first but then she remembered about their conversation back in the day with Kevin. "Please, please Betty Cooper tell me you're not doing that thing on the internet." When Betty didn't answer her and only looked down at her hands, and Ellie closed her eyes in frustation, "Why the hell would you do that?"

"Shut it," She pleaded, "you can't tell Mom."

"I'm starting to think that maybe I should." Eleanor argued.

"No!" Betty stepped closer to her sister, "Look, you know about this darkness inside of me. Chic has it too. He said it helped, I'm just trying to get rid of it, Ellie."

"We all are, Betty." She replied, "Stop it now or I'll tell Mom everything."

"I thought you always had my back."

Ellie looked her sister in the eye, "This is me having your back."

Betty might think she was the only one in that family struggling with darkness, the only one in the whole worlds. But she wasn't, Eleanor herself had struggled with it too. God, she still was. Pretending to be someone else on the internet wasn't going to help, and Ellie knew that.

Eleanor walked right back outside, not interested in being home anymore making time for her volunteering job with Veronica. She would have to make her time somewhere else.