heartbeats ; bughead

01

elizabeth;

Pop's. 

The one place where I can be safe. 

Safe from--

"Seriously, Bee?" A raven-haired girl plopped into my booth at Pop's. She took the half-finished vanilla smoothie from my hands and slurped away the rest, popping the bloodred maraschino cherry at the top into her mouth, smiling mischieviously. She frowned at me, and exclaimed, "What's with the glum face? My Betty would be all smiles with, of course, a cherry on top!" 

I couldn't help but smile. "It's nothing, Vee. I was just thinking about Polly. She's--"

"Psh. Yeah, right." A red-haired boy walked up to me, pecking my cheek lovingly. Then, he slid into the booth, next to Vee. 

"If you were thinking about Polly, you'd have a smile on your face. After all, she is getting married." 

After he said this, he grinned at Veronica and put his arm around her, and she rolled her eyes, but she was smiling at the same time. 

I sighed. "Okay, fine. You got me, Arch. I wasn't thinking about Polly. I was just..." Vee leaned in. "Yes?"

"When I was walking to Pop's, I saw a boy. Like, a boy our age. He was getting pushed around by some gang, I think the Serpents. They were calling him names and punching him." I smiled sadly. "I wanted to help him, but they beat him to death before I could even--" 

Veronica slid in next to me and gave me a tight hug. "It's okay, Bee. It's not your fault. If you even went there to stop them, you would have the same fate as that boy."

"Thanks, Vee. I know how bad it can get to be alone on the dark streets of our Riverdale, with no family, and--" 

"Betty..." Archie started, "You couldn't have helped that boy. I don't want to see you hurt, nor does Roni. So don't do anything risky, okay?"

 I nodded silently at Archie, thinking about how lucky I was to even be sitting here, in this booth, in Pop's, without a care in the world, and with the two people who I love most. 

I hope you guys liked it, and sorry it was so short, I promise the next one will be longer :3! If you guys have any suggestions, please share, and thanks a lot for reading!

~mo