Comfort and Hugs

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It was a perfectly calm day in Riverdale. The sky was free of clouds, allowing the sun to shine warmth on the otherwise chilly day.

It was this wonderful weather, that Betty was contemplating when the police officer told her that Hal Cooper had killed himself.

It was not the shock on her mother's face, nor the eerily serene smile on Polly that she wanted to focus on, nor the news itself. So instead, she gazed out the window, admiring the sterile blue sky.

Suddenly, the window started moving. It turned sideways and became farther away from her.

It occurred to her that maybe she was moving, instead of the window. She didn't have much time to ponder this, considering that one millisecond later, she was passed out on the floor of the police station.
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When Betty woke up, she was in her bed. Her shoes had been taken off, and her ponytail was taken out, presumably by her mother.

She sat up and winced immediately.

"Crap," she muttered, realizing her splitting headache.

Slowly, tentatively, she crept out of bed, pulling off her jeans and slipping on a par of pajama bottoms.

Suddenly, she remembered what had made her faint.

Shakily, she brought her hands up to her mouth. She felt her eyes cloud with tears, her breathing became ragged and thick.

As the tears threatened to pour out, she fumbled for her phone and called Archie.

He picked up quickly.

"Hey, Betty, whats up? How did that thing at the police station go?"

Betty felt a wave of relief after hearing her best friend's voice. "Can you come over Arch? I-" .

Her voice broke and she put the phone down.

"Betty what happened? I-shit, Betty, I'm on my way."

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Archie ran down his stairs with such force and speed that he practically fell down them. He then threw his front door open, barely remembering to close it behind him.

Betty was standing at the door when Archie got there. She opened it to let him in, and immediately collapsed into his arms with a heavy sigh.

They stood there in the doorway, locked in a tight embrace for some time. It was not until the air picked up a gentle wind and became saturated with thick, bulbous raindrops that the pair shuffled into Betty's house.

Betty led Archie to the kitchen. He sat at the counter as she turned around to make some hot chocolate.

Archie was staring out the window at the now pouring rain when he heard Betty.

"He's dead Arch." She said quietly.

Archie didn't know what to say.

"He um, he killed himself. I don't know how."

Archie found his voice. "Betty, I'm, I'm really sorry. I can't imagine-"

Betty cut him off. "Don't be sorry Arch. He deserved it. He was a monster. I'm not even upset."

Archie looked at her, the corners of his eyebrows lifted.

Betty sighed, her head dropped down between her arms on to the surface of the table in defeat.

"I hate him. Don't I? Don't you?"

"Well, yeah." Archie spoke with only the tiniest ounce of humor in his voice.

Betty turned her head up towards the ceiling and laughed darkly.

"It's not that I wish he was alive", she continued, "I just always thought, in the back of my mind..."

"Yeah?" Archie said, urging her to continue.

"I always thought, that, I don't know, he'd eventually get what he deserved? This just feels like he's escaping or something."

Archie noticed how tightly Betty was balling her fists. Her knuckles were white and the tendons of her arms were taut with effort.

He reached across the counter and gently guided her palms open. "Hey," He said comfortingly.

His eyes widened at the red crescents she had carved into her palms.

"C'mon, lets get you cleaned up" Archie said, leading Betty up to her room.

He took out the small box of bandaids he knew she kept under her bed. She had used this stash on him countless times when they were younger, when it seemed like Archie was always skimming his knees or banging his head.

Betty looked down, her ears feeling hot. "Arch, it's fine, really. It's just something I do when I'm stressed."

Archie ignored her, continuing to create a patchwork of bandaids on her hands. He finished quickly, running his fingers lightly over her palms to check his work. It was messy, but would serve its purpose.

Betty stared down at his fingers on her hands. Archie was stuck. He wanted to hold her hands to reassure her, but for some reason it felt wrong.

He didn't think Veronica nor Jughead would be happy with them holding hands, though it obviously wasn't a romantic gesture.

At least, he didn't want Betty to think it was a romantic gesture.

Truth be told, lately Archie had found himself staring at Betty's window at the oddest of times, wondering, longing for what might have been.

Of course, he'd never act on his crush. He had Veronica, she had Jughead, who she was clearly head over heels for.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to remove his fingers, and Betty wasn't pulling back.

Suddenly, Betty leaned forward, resting her head on Archie's chest. It wasn't a hug per se, but it was just as intimate.

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess, Arch."

Archie wrapped his arms around her torso. "Betty, you've got nothing say sorry for, really."

Betty lifted her head to meet his eyes.

"Thanks Arch." She said quietly, before returning her head to its place on Archie's shoulder.

As they embraced, Betty couldn't help but wonder why her first instinct had been to call Archie, as opposed to her boyfriend, Jughead.

Deep down, she supposed that she already knew why.
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A/N
-whew sorry I took so long to update :(

-to the person who suggested a grieving fic- I am so sorry. I tried to make this longer, and I really wanted to breakup Varchie and Bughead and eventually have a real Barchie ending, but I was so stuck, I had no idea how to write it.

- Tbh I didn't wanna post this at all because I kinda hate it, but I felt bad about not updating for so long

-THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT IT MEANS THE WORLD TO ME ❤️💖💗😘🥰😘😇😍🥰😋💗😍

-comment si te quieres

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