Meadow Of Flowers ≫ Jarchie

42

Two weeks. No contact. Archie switched his seat in history to be with Tyler and Jughead reverted back to keeping his head down.

They both weren't getting much sleep.

Archie was sleeping with Tyler a few times a week to deal with the pain and Jughead had started drawing again to channel his.

He kept drawing Archie.

Archie wouldn't talk to Betty because she knew he'd ask, and Jughead wasn't talking to Jelly Bean because he had a habit of letting his sadness overcome him.

They missed each other a lot.

Two weeks of denial and heartbreak, that's what they were working with.

"Jughead!" A familiar voice hissed to him. He was sitting at Pop's after school, drowning his feelings in coffee. He snapped his head up and frowned at the sight of Betty. He wasn't in the mood for her blonde ponytail and sassy attitude.

She slipped into the seat across from him and stared at him expectantly.

"Yes Betty?" Jughead said tiredly.

"What's going on?" She asked impatiently, slapping her hands on the table.

Jughead jumped at the sudden noise and rolled his eyes. "He didn't tell you?" Betty shook her head. "We're not a thing anymore."

"What do you mean you're not a thing?" She exclaimed.

"We..." Jughead mouthed slowly. "No.... see.... each.... other.... no.... mo—"

"Is it because you won't get past 1st base?" She interrupted, ignoring his attitude.

"For your information, I did," he snapped.

"Then it's because he wouldn't come out," Betty sighed as she sunk into her seat.

"Bingo," he mumbled as he went back to stirring his coffee.

"You couldn't wait?" She asked softly, not trying to offend him.

"You and I both know Archie has no plans of coming out any time soon, and he told me he didn't want to. Was I supposed to stay with him?" He whispered harshly.

Betty nodded and rested her head in her hands. "I get it, but you two were really good together. I still don't like you very much, but I hadn't seen Archie that happy in a long time," she explained.

"Well I don't think he feels the same," Jughead scoffed. "He's sleeping with Tyler again. That's what he wants for the rest of his life."

"You know he doesn't want that," Betty corrected him. "He just thinks that's all he's good for and it sucks that he doesn't realize his worth but he was making progress with you."

"We weren't making progress though that's the problem," Jughead explained. His voice sounded strained, and Betty could tell that having this conversation was hurting him. "I want forever with someone who can only give me moments."

Betty wasn't sure how to respond. She couldn't advocate for Archie without being wrong. Betty wasn't sure that she wouldn't have done any different if she was in the same situation. "But does that mean you can't talk at all?"