Dark Hearts || Archie Andrews and Jughead Jones [1]

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The words spoken last night are still haunting Eleanor's mind, the way Archie kept defending Ms. Grundy maker her feel sick to her stomach, and it isn't about the fact that he actually likes her, it's about what he did - and keeps doing - because of it. 

Ellie's patiently grabbing the books she'll need from her locker when she's approached by a very anxious ginger boy. "Can we talk?"

"I wasn't the one who told Betty, if that's what you wanna ask me." She slames shut the locker's door, and turns her back on him with one last word. "Bye."

Archie follows behind her. "Actually I wanna know if your sister is gonna write about Grundy and I in the newspaper..."

Ellie stops on her tracks and turns to face him in desblief. "Who do you take her for?"

"I'm scared, ok? If anyone finds out –."

"Yeah," She rolls her eyes, tired of the same conversation over and over again. "we wouldn't want your lover to go to jail." 

"This is not a joke, ok?" Archie scoffs at her lack of seriousness. "I need your help, Ellie, if –." 

"No! I'm tired, Arch." Ellie snaps, and this is way she prefers to mock the situation and be sarcastic instead. Because when she lets herself feel it, everything crumbles. "Of being the option you go to when you messed up and you don't want to face the consequences alone." Ellie sighs loudly, and tells him what he already knows. "You're in it deep."

When Ellie leaves her friend behind, and turns the corner, she doesn't have time to process what just happened, because she bumps into Betty right away. One look to her right, and Eleanor quickly realizes her sister had just exited the music room.

"Betty,"

"I... I have an explanation." Betty quickly replies.

Ellie crosses her arms over her chest. "You better." 

. . .

Both Veronica and Betty are sitting across from Archie and Ellie. 

"Ms. Grundy showed up in Riverdale near a year ago out of thin air." Betty tells Archie, and by the look on his face he's already disaproving whatever she's saying. "There's no record of her before that. Her facebook, her Linkedln account, they were all created a year ago. Before that, she's a ghost."

In front of them, on the table, there is a picture of an old lady, the only Geraldine Grundy that Betty was actually able to find. 

Now, Archie's just confused. "Where... Where did you find all this?"

"The deep web. The dark internet." Veronica jokes. "Check it, it's all online. Googling."

"And did you cyber-stalk Ms. Grundy before or after you interviewed her for a fake article?" Archie accuses. "Why are you doing this, Betty? I'm not in any danger."

"She's just looking out for you." Ellie shrugs.

"But it's the truth. I'm with her!" He insisted, and his eyes changing between the three girls. "I know what we have and neither of you do."

"We would if you had told us." Ellie scoffs, and she doens't miss the opportunity to speak up some things that have been bothering her. "Remember that whole summer or do you only remember the Fourth of July weekend?"

"What is that su –."

"She taught Jason Blossom." Betty interruptes their arguing with one more information, one that could change everything. "Did you know that?"