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No, you have been a loser, Archie Andrews.

[she gets it, she doesn't want to hurt veronica anymore than archie does. and even more, she doesn't want to hurt jughead. it had just been hard and lonely here and feelings for archie had popped back up after her last jaunt home.

she'd come to her senses after he got sent home. remembered where her heart lies.]

Time passed. I realized you're my best friend and I don't want to lose that.

( her words are like a whisper in his ear, soft fingers against his skin that leave goosebumps. he won't be able to forget this conversation, betty divulging it to him means something. he bites at his thumbnail from where he's perched at the edge of his bed. )

this is all new to me. i haven't had time to figure anything out.

( he doesn't want to write her off like before. )

we don't get to be faithful here. those stupid pills they roped me into trying already proved that.
it's been a weird week, betty, and i never want to lose you either.

I don't expect you to figure it all out, Archie. It's NOT new to me and I'm still figuring things out, figuring out who I am in this place.

[ it took so long for her to be anywhere close to comfortable.]

This place tosses us into situations where we can't control what happens or what we do or who we're with. And then there are situations we can control, things we have to do here to keep on going.

But you're not going to lose me, no matter what does or doesn't happen between us.

so it never gets any easier.

( maybe trying to fit settling into a pattern here into a ranking system is the wrong idea. developing crushes, being drawn to someone physically — that's not and has never been a challenge for archie. it's being stuck in a powerless situation like he's down on his knees in pop's or being dragged out of a high school gymnasium and thrown into solitary confinement with his hands behind his back all over again. )

what helps you keep going?

i don't know what's going to happen, i just know i'm going to be there for you.

It does get easier but it doesn't easy, if that makes sense.

Having other people to lean on helps. [ yes, those people do leave sometimes but she somehow keeps a lot of the same people.] And having Reggie here has helped. [ a year ago, she wouldn't have said that but it's true now. reggie has been one of her only constants and it's strange to realize that after so many years of resenting what he represented. ]

Find a routine, a job, helping other people. That helps too.

I'll be there for you too, Arch.

sort of but not really is the theme here

( staying busy and making friends sounds a lot like regular survival advice in getting out of riverdale alive. it's nice, he guesses, that in spite of the outlandish expectations this research program has for them, some things are the same. )

you and reggie are close? ( "close." it's not what he means but it is something that's crossed his mind incidentally. ) i'm glad you guys have each other. that you've found some kind of common ground.

( his two friends being friends? it's great. )

what kind of jobs do they hand out to high school students?

We've gotten closer. [ close, yes. having sex fairly regularly, yes. filming it for people to watch, yes. as close as she and archie have been? no. ]

There's a lot of service jobs. I work at a bar called the Magic Bell as a bartender and sometimes I sing. We just lost one of our bartenders if you want to ask Bellamy for a job. There's also a garage here, they might need people to work. And I bet there's construction too.

( he doesn't know how he feels about that seemingly innocent description or why he would feel anything. if he's even allowed to have a feeling. he compartmentalizes by moving on, pointedly not commenting on it. betty can read into it or not. she has at least one person here that she trusts, he doesn't want to hyperfocus on it. )

you mean we got whisked away to kinktopia and we still have to work customer service?

( b u l l s h i t. )

thanks. someone named hope told me i used to work at her bar. i'll keep bellamy in mind though and look around for any construction companies in the mean time. i never imagined i'd go from barely keeping two businesses afloat to sitting in a ritzy apartment all day.

[ if it weren't for reggie, betty wouldn't have made quota the whole time she's been here. but it's more than that now. she trusts him. he doesn't judge her for the things she's found she likes to do, he... fosters her interest in it. not to mention he saved her life.]

As Doms technically we don't have to but it's good to have something to do, right? And extra money for your submissive.

This definitely isn't Riverdale. You know that you don't have to sit alone, right? You can always come over here and hang out. A lot of nights I'm off work, Reggie and I just eat the room service and watch TV. I'll make you a spare key.

Edited 2021-03-26 04:19 (UTC)

right, my submissive.

( things he's not telling betty: he hasn't been here a full week and he's slept with two other dominants. truthfully, he puts aphrodisiacs and supplements to blame, but he ingested them. )

is reggie yours? your submissive, i mean.
not that anyone owns another person, other than what it says on paper.
can i bring vegas by?

uh when the 2 weeks on this study is up.
i don't want to put either of you in a weird spot.

I don't know. I think Reggie wants to wait to make sure Nick isn't coming back. I have until April to get a submissive or else I'll get punished. [ she's been looking for one, posting about it but no one has even so much as shown interest.] I hope he'll sign with me before that.

I'm sure Moose will be happy to play with Vegas.
You both can come over whenever you want, Arch.

( nick? the only nick he knows is a st. clair and reggie's not that guy. archie gives him the benefit of the doubt, assuming it's whoever he was contracted with before. )

that's barely over a week from now. ( betty says they're close but why leave her waiting anxiously? ) do you want me to ask him about it?

or play wingman on the network?

It's fine.[ she's trying not to stress about it.]

I've had people try to help me before. I'll be okay. I'll figure something out. [ she feels selfish hoping that Reggie will contract with her because that means the man who Reggie loves isn't coming back.]

Edited 2021-03-27 04:23 (UTC)

and if you don't figure something out?

( he knows this is betty for back off and i can handle this. will he listen? probably not. he doesn't know many submissives to ask though. )

Then I get my punishment.

[ but she doesn't think Reggie is going to let her down. ]

Edited 2021-03-27 05:04 (UTC)

( it's a bad idea but hey, guess what? he's full of them! maybe it's complicated and she doesn't want to see him despite saying he's welcome whenever he wants. maybe it makes him stupid because he should keep to himself until he's sure that the rain and the pills, and whatever the hell else he needs to worry about isn't about to sabotage him and all his relationships, but— )

what are you doing right now?

Reading in my room.

[ and dealing with other misfire texts. ]

Why?

do you want to get out of there? anywhere. just somewhere else.

( yes, he wants to see her face-to-face so she can't lie. yes, he wants it to be somewhere not her bedroom. or his. )

We can go for a walk? Or get a milkshake at the diner?

i'll walk with you and we can grab shakes? ( like they would be doing if they were home. ) i'd probably get lost on my own.

Meet you downstairs.

( here! )

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