Chapter Text
The event was somewhere between a gala and a night club opening, a rare event that drew not only middle-aged parents but also their young professional children at attend. It was held in August at the city’s social club, a huge behemoth of a venue connected to the city government building and the city’s resident small, prestigious university. The prodigious halls were lined with dark mahogany wood and old stone, gold and black carpets lit up with the specialty lighting hired by the team of event planners.
Betty and Veronica had been going together since they were eighteen, the legal age for attendance to try to counteract all the underage drinking, despite the fact that the served all attendees with or without ID. The best friends had gone shopping downtown for the occasion, the event being one where their best dresses weren’t good enough.
Veronica had chosen a slinky, ruched, floor length dress made from a silky black material, two straps holding each shoulder up and a long train trailing out the back from hip level, twisting and turning to meet the floor. She looked stunning, dark and mysterious with her cat eye makeup and her silky smooth hair.
Betty had gone for a different look, one that suited her infinitely more comfortably: a baby blue floral lace dress with an allusion neckline. It nipped her in at the waist and flared away from her body, hitting the floor in a voluminous bunch. It had silver thread running through that caught the light as she moved, examining herself before the mirror in one final before they hopped in Veronica’s fancy family car to set off to the event.
“You look amazing, Betts,” Veronica beamed, coming up next to her in the mirror to join her. “A vision.”
“I look so… demure,” Betty laughed, not being able to help comparing herself to the sexy Veronica next to her.
“It’s a good look for you,” Veronica replied matter-of-factly, “Makes people want to corrupt you.”
Betty rolled her eyes and laughed as they grabbed their gloves, shawls, and clutches to head downstairs.
The ride to the event with Veronica’s parents had been uneventful at best, with Hermione, Hiram, and Veronica discussing various individuals that would be attending tonight, reminding each other of small details to appear more interested and interesting. Betty called her parents home from the car telephone to check whether or not they had left already; the lack of answer had indicated that she was correct.
The crowds waited for the doors to open, milling about with crystal flutes of expensive champagne, some people already showing their buzz more than they should have been this early in the evening. Veronica ran off to say hi to a school friend. Betty veered off in search of her parents.
“You look wonderful, Betty,” Alice glowed as Betty approached them. “I got you a drink.”
“Thank you,” Betty said as she took it in her white gloved hands, gratefully taking a sip and looking around.
She saw the mayor and the mayor’s children, happily mingling with some of the state senators. The big businessmen were there with their pretty, blonde wives on their arms, decked out in diamonds and pearls. She saw a flash of dark hair and shivered, stretching to get a better look but unable to get an eye on the person she thought she’d seen again.
The doors finally opened and the crowds shuffled in, oohing and ahhing about how everything had turned out, running into people they hadn’t seen in the foyer, grabbing more drinks.
“The Club looks nice,” Betty mentioned to fill the silence as they filed in.
“Oh, it’s fabulous, isn’t it? Deborah was on the decorating committee and she said that they spent forever on the theme. It turned out wonderfully.”
Betty had to agree. The grand ballroom was decorated ornately, every surface glowing with delicate white, pink, and purple flowers and candlelight, bathing the room in effervescent intimacy. Betty looked around the head in front of her to see a jazz band playing dancing music in the corner by the dance floor.
The dinner lights were low and the guests immediately started chatting up a storm, heading for their tables and off to dance. Everyone who was anyone in Riverdale’s political and social scene was there, milling about, dressed to the nines, and sipping on cocktails while discussing the latest in business and politics. Betty saw some of her professors from school, chatting to other faculty members and associates.
“I believe I saw Archie Andrews, who else’s red head could that be?” said Hal Cooper.
“Archie’s here?” Betty perked up slightly at the thought of seeing her childhood best friend and adolescent crush.
“Let’s find our seats and I’m sure we’ll run into him,” Alice replied, herding her family to their seats at a round table towards the front of the room near the dance floor. Betty didn’t know how she did it, but Alice always seemed to pull enough strings to make the family look more important than they really were. Betty sat down, pulling her shawl off and setting her clutch on the table next to her plate.
“Do my eyes deceive me?” A teasing tone came from behind her. She whipped around to find Archie, grinning at her.
“Archie Andrews, in the flesh!” She teased back.
“You wanna dance?” he asked, reaching for her hand.
“I’d be honored,” she said, grabbing his hand and following him to the dance floor as the band started a jazz cover of some Everly Brothers song.
“How was Columbia?” she asked, placing her arm around his neck and her hand in his hand as they started to swing back and forth. It had been years since she’d seen him; he had graduated and already been through one job, taking a break before moving to another. She remembered it being in sales, but she couldn’t quite remember.
“Perfect, really. I love the city,” he said, still smiling, “But I’m glad to be home for the summer before I start work again. I miss the small-town life most of the time.”
“It is a small town, that’s for sure,” she laughed.
“I’ve missed you loads,” he admitted sheepishly. “It’s hard for a guy out there without his best friend.”
“It’s hard out there for a girl without her best friend too,” she replied sadly, cheering up when a thought occurred to her, “But it’s given Veronica and I the opportunity to become a lot closer.”
Archie wrinkled his nose. “Veronica Lodge?”
“She’s different than she was in high school, Arch,” Betty insisted, “We’ve been done with high school for three years now. She’s much more down to earth. Much less angry.”
The band slowed to a new song and he pulled her closer, moving his hand down her back slightly.
“Whatever you say,” Archie replied disbelievingly. “Anyways, what are you up to these days?”
Betty had to stop the blush from creeping up her neck. “Not a whole lot, just working for my parents and finishing up school. I’m hoping to graduate next year. I just have a couple more semesters of credits to get through.”
“Me too!” he replied excitedly, “Maybe I can go to your ceremony.”
“That’d be nice, Arch,” she replied, genuinely happy at the thought. “You seeing anyone these days?”
“Nah,” he replied, scanning the room behind her head for a moment, “Dated a bit at school but nothing serious when there’s too much fun to be had.”
“Of course,” she laughed, “I’d expect nothing less from Mr. Football.”
“You dating?”
“Uh,” her voice catching for a moment, “Not really. Kind of like you, minus the fun part.”
“Oh, c’mon, Betts,” he teased, “The Riverdale U boys must be climbing over themselves to take you out on Friday nights.”
“I’m not in high school, Archie Andrews,” she laughed again, her cheeks hurting from how much his good nature was making her smile, “I’m not looking to go to Pop’s after football games anymore.”
“You looking for something serious then?”
“No,” she shrugged, leaning against him slightly, resting her head on his chest and he lead them, “The guys my age, heck even your age, just seem a little too… immature. Trying to pin me when we barely know each other. Acting like… I don’t know.”
“That’s okay. Boys are always up to no good anyways,” he said as he laughed. She could feel the rumble of his chest against her head.
“Well, you’d know, wouldn’t you?” she teased, looking up at him again.
“How about if we’re still single when we’re forty, we’ll get hitched?” he suggested, teasing her back.
She laughed back, nodding. Part of her wished that she’d had chemistry with Archie. Their relationship would be so easy, all dinner parties and well-behaved children, American-made cars and day trips to the beach. She’d had a fat crush on the boy when she was younger but the attraction had diminished as they’d grown. Now they were left with an extremely platonic friendship and she was left feeling nostalgic for something she’d neither had nor wanted.
The music slowed to a stop and Archie lead her off the dance floor, kissing her cheek and mentioning something about finding his parents. She turned back, looking for her mom, who gave her a wave to get Betty’s attention.
When approaching the table, she realized that her seat and the ones next to her were inhabited by a group of men, dressed in expensive black suits, chatting with her parents and the other current occupants at the table. But hers, hers was taken by a someone she knows. The sight of the back of his head startled her and despite herself, her heart started racing, her palms starting to sweat. She smoothed her dress and her hair while she walks, trying to simultaneously dry her hands.
She walked up to him and slid her left hand down his shoulder, squeezing slightly as her hand wraps around him. He was warm to the touch and she was thankful that she’d painted her nails for the occasion.
“Excuse me, sir,” she said, more confidently than she felt, lowering her voice down from her normally higher pitched voice, “I believe you’re in the wrong seat.”
He turned his head to look at her and her breath hitched.
“Hello, darling,” Jughead Jones said, his demeanor unsurprised, his voice smooth and deep, “Pardon me.” He took her hand and kissed her ring finger, his eyes moving up to meet hers and lingering. She felt the butterflies in her stomach burst and wondered what he’s thinking. She looked her up and down, smiling lasciviously when he saw the blush reach her cheeks.
Jones was an old friend of the family’s, well Veronica’s family really. She’d seen him more at Veronica’s house than she had her own. Betty remembers him from years ago, him coming to office of the Register when she was in high school helping her parents out for a summer. He had talked about investment opportunities for the newspaper or something like that with her parents. She hadn’t been sure what he did for a living, but she remembers how he all but ignored her save for polite salutations when coming and going.
The summer after she graduated, he’d come to the Lodgess when she was a guest for dinner. Veronica had mentioned a business associate of her parents, a Mr. Jones, but Betty hadn’t put two and two together until he had walked through the door. He had paid her slightly more attention this time, hiding a smile every time she blushed.
“He’s dishy,” Veronica had stated plainly after dinner while sitting on her bed and taking her heels off.
“What?” Betty exclaimed as she spun around.
“What do you mean what? He’s hot,” Veronica had shrugged.
As per usual, the two women had complete different taste. Betty couldn’t even think of the older man in that way. He looked to be at least a decade older than them, if not more. She had no judge of age, but was sure that he was entirely too old to be thinking of whether or not he was hot. Betty had paid him no notice nor given him a second thought for the next few years.
Jughead let go of her hand and stood up to pull her chair out for her, motioning for the man next to her, presumably one of his employees, to stand up and vacate his seat so Jughead could sit next to her.
“You look magnificent, Elizabeth,” he said, his eyes clouding with darkness. She shivered.
“Thank you, Mr. Jones,” she said warmly, a perfect picture of politeness, gaining more of her confidence back, the confidence that he had shaken out of her when he had looked her up and down. She took a sip of her champagne and composed herself. “How is business?”
“I don’t want to talk about business,” he replied, his voice lowering even more.
“Well what would you like to talk about then?” She asked teasingly, “Enlighten me.”
He chuckled, raising his eyebrows at her as he leaned in slightly.
“I’ll let you know when I decide,” he replied, his voice playful. He’s flirting with me, she thought.
“That doesn’t seem entirely fair,” she said, mock pouting, sticking her bottom lip out just slightly. His eyes flicked down to her lips as he licked his own. He laughed and the butterflies in her stomach started moving around again at the sound.
“How about a toast instead?” he said, raising his glass.
“Sounds like perfection,” she said, leaning her elbow onto her crossed knee and placing her chin into her hand, holding up her glass with the other.
“To tonight,” he said as he clicked her glass with his own.
They each took a sip, looking each other in the eye as they swallowed. Her eyes flicked down to his lips as he leaned into her ear. Her heart started beating harder at the smell of his aftershave.
“Go wait for me in my office,” he whispered as he kissed her on a cheek.