Home sweet Home

Chapter 3

I walked into the bar and everyone froze. I thought I would receive hugs and smiles but people just stared blankly. 

"Guess who's home!" Veronica smiled but everyone just stayed silent. Toni walked through and she paused in her steps, staring at me.

"Hey T" I smiled, hoping for the same reaction Veronica gave me. Thank god she broke the tension by running up to me and hugging me tightly.

"T I love you but I need to breathe" I laughed so she loosened her grip.

"Sorry...I can't believe you're back!" she squealed. Another girl walked through who I didn't recognise. Was she a new serpent? She wasn't wearing a serpent jacket though.

"Melanie...I'll be back in a sec" Toni mumbled awkwardly. Melanie? This is the girl Jughead is dating. A wave of jealousy came over me. She has my ex boyfriend and my ex best friend...she's my replacement. Although it doesn't look like she's serpent queen just yet...or even a serpent. The girl walked back, not bothering to ask who I was.

"Betty..."

"I know who she is Toni. Archie told me." I informed.

"We can get out of here if you want?" she asked.

"No, no he's moved on. He has the right, it's okay. I'm just here to see my friends" I brushed it off. The conversation was quickly diverted when the two most idiotic but loving guys walked in. 

"Hey idiots" I smiled as I saw their faces drop. Fangs hugged me tightly whilst Sweetpea winked at me like he use to. 

"Drinks on me!" Sweetpea cheered as we all sat in a booth together. For at least an hour I was bombarded with questions and hugs. Veronica and Archie left soon after but I stayed longer. 

"Oh shit" Sweetpea mumbled but I heard. Everyone seemed to tense and all eyes were on me.

"Whats going on?" I whispered to Toni. 

"Turn around" she huffed. I turned my head and saw Jughead walk in with his girlfriend, them both laughing but freezing when they noticed the uncomfortable silence. He still looked as handsome as when we were teenagers...even more so now. He was muscular but not too muscular, still tall and had the same beautiful eyes. Our eyes locked and his smile dropped. 

"I'm sorry...I thought I could do this. I cant" I whispered to Toni before leaving swiftly. It was just too much.

I slept on the floor that night, not wanting to ask anyone to stay as I just couldn't face them. I let the tears fall as my eyes closed. I thought I'd be fine. Who was I kidding? I can't just forget what we had. I never will. 

MORNING

I woke to a knock at the door. I yawned and opened it to find Veronica stood there with a sympathetic look on her face and a bag of fresh pastries in her hand.

"Hey B..." she smiled sadly.

"Please don't give me that sympathy look" I complained as I let her in.

"Please tell me you didn't sleep on the floor! You could've stayed at mine!" she frowned.

"I didn't want to face anyone. Last night didn't exactly go well" I sighed.

"I know, Toni called me this morning. That's why I bought us some pastries so we could sit and chat" she smiled. We sat on the floor and stuffed our faces whilst talking about last night.

"I honestly thought I could handle it V. His face was in pure shock. He just looked so happy with Melanie...she seems lovely. Her and Toni look like best friends along with Carrie. I'm not needed anymore. I don't even know why I came back" I contemplated.

"You came back because this is your home! You belong here B, not across the country! You are still needed! Me and Arch love you and those girls could never outshine the bond you and Toni have. I even saw FP at Pops this morning and he'd love to see you. People do still care Betty. You're not going anywhere after we've all just got you back. Maybe you should just clear the air with Jug" she suggested. I smiled at the whole thing until she mentioned Jughead.

"There's a party tonight at the Wyrm. Come along and maybe you can talk there" she pleaded. I hesitated before nodding lightly. 

"Yay! My B is back to partying!" she squealed and hugged me. I spent the afternoon helping the movers get furniture into my house. Once they had left I unboxed and placed everything in. I finally had  some chairs for the breakfast bar, two couches, a TV and other small pieces of furniture. I made my bed and opened the windows to let some air in before putting my clothes in the wardrobe. For the party tonight I decided to wear a dark blue knee length dress with some pink flats. I curled my hair and applied some light makeup. I was about to close the wardrobe door when I saw my serpent jacket. My serpent queen jacket to be more specific. I put it on and it still fit like a glove. This is what I would usually wear and technically I am still queen. I decided I should give it back so I put it in my bag. Instead I put on a plain black leather jacket and some black sheer tights on with the dress.

At the party

I walked in and was greeted by loads of old friends.

"Well if isn't Riverdales golden girl!" FP grinned at me. I hugged him tightly before pulling back.

"FP! Still sheriff huh?" I asked happily.

"Indeed. How was your writing course?" he asked intrigued.

"Amazing! I learnt so much...but I'm glad to be back!" I cheered.

"I'm glad to have you back. Also, don't let that Melanie get you down. She's a bit...nasty to some of the serpents" he explained.

"She is?" I questioned curiously.

"Not many of them like her. She looks down on them. Hopefully Jughead will come to his senses. Being a supportive dad is tough when her attitude stinks" he complained making me laugh.

"Go have fun kiddo" he smiled and went to speak to Toni. I was talking with Sweetpea and Carrie, who seems so so nice, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Jughead stood their. Shit he looked good.

"Hi..uh can we talk?" he asked awkwardly. I nodded and we made our way outside.

"So...you're back" he started.

"Yeah..." I replied nervously.

"Look we don't need to drag this out. Lets just stay out of eachothers way" I huffed.

"Betty please don't be like that. Can't we at least be friends?" he asked.

"You sure Melanie would be okay with that?" I snarked.

"Don't be snarky" he sighed.

"You're right...I'm sorry. No hard feelings?" I hoped and thankfully he nodded. I pulled out the serpent jacket and handed it over.

"Your leaders jacket? Betty, you should keep it" he smiled sadly, handing it back.

"I should?"

"Yeah, it's not like I need it. Of course, you don't have the responsibility anymore but you can keep it" he smiled. I nodded and put it back in my bag.

"So uh do you want to grab a drink from the bar? I wanna hear about this writing course" he offered.

"You sure?" I asked nervously.

"Betty it's okay, stop panicking. We are capable of being friends" he laughed. Maybe he is...

"Okay" I nodded and followed him inside.