The Sad Breakfast Club // BUGHEAD + VARCHIE + KEVIN

DEUX

"You ask me one more question and I'm beating the shît out of you."

~ Andrew Clark, The Breakfast Club (1985)

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BETTY

HER MOTHER'S VOICE STILL rang in her ears.

"Better three hours too soon than a minute too late."Her mother always reminded her, scolding Betty on the very rare occasions that she was, in Alice Cooper's eyes, late. No wonder why Betty made it a habit to be the first person present in any gathering or activity—being 'late' only fueled her anxiety.

And so here she was, seated on the end of the front row, the first one to arrive and therefore the only student yet in the school library. Her arms shot up as her hands adjusted her ponytail, making sure it looked perfect and that no strand of hair had gone out of the way. Once she put her hands down, her palms flat against the table, she took a deep breath and leaned comfortably onto her chair.

Betty began to nervously tap her fingers against the wooden surface.

KEVIN

IF ONLY THE WORLD accepted him for who he was, then maybe Kevin wouldn't have to come to school on a Saturday for detention.

He lacked friends, he knew that. It was one of the many disadvantages of being one of the school nerds—since all of his 'friends' were students from the clubs he was a part of, he rarely had anyone to hang out with in his free time. It's either they didn't consider him as much of a friend as he considers them or they really were busy with their homeworks. Kevin hopes its the latter.

He hummed quietly as he made his way to the library, looking around the halls of the school to see if anyone else in the building. So far the only person he's seen was Mr. Weatherbee, too busy to notice him pass by his office just as he walked in the doors of the library.

Kevin's face paled as he saw Betty Cooper, the resident good girl of Riverdale High, his jaw slacking once he realized that she must be here for the same reason he is—detention. What on earth could have gotten Betty in trouble? Maybe it was because of Cheryl Blossom, or maybe it wasnt. Either way, Kevin knew he wouldn't have the guts to ask her about it. Or talk to her at all. He decided on doing what he does best, ignoring people and silently begging for their attention.

He sat on the far corner of the reading area.

VERONICA

VERONICA'S HEELS CLICKED AGAINST the tiled floor of the school as she strutted her way to the library. Her eyes were practically glued to her phone—she was texting one of her friends from New York. She kept her head down as she walked to the library, ignoring the other two students who were in there.

If she was being honest, Veronica was quite impressed with Betty Cooper, not shocked like she guessed others would be once they find out she had received detention. Deep down she's had suspicions that Betty isn't who she says she is, or who people say she is. If Veronica didn't know better, she'd say that she was just like her.

Insane.

JUGHEAD

JUGHEAD WALKED AROUND THE halls of Riverdale High, waiting for the clock to strike seven. He avoided the library, deciding he'd walk in there just in the nick of time, before Mr. Weatherbee throws another fit over him again. He didn't know the reason why, but Jughead has always had this thirst to always push everyone—most especially the principal—to the edge, make them annoyed with him as much as he was annoyed with them.

His footsteps were heavy against the tiled floor, his combat boots making so much noise in the wuiet hallways. He had his hands in the pocket of his Southside Serpent leather jacket, fidgeting with his switchblade as he whistled. His other hand reached up to adjust his beanie, designed in the shape of a crown.

Jughead wouldn't have become such a troublemaker if people didn't see him as one. Truthfully, their insults only egged him on to become the person they were convinced he was—southside scum just like his father and all other serpents. Initially, he didn't plan on sharing the same life as his father, but after being forced to move to the southside with him, that's exactly what he did.

He wanted to get out of town. While living in the northside with his mother and in most days, with the Andrews, he worked as much as he could in the Bijou, accepting any pay that will be given to him and any legal work he could to do. He planned on running away as soon as he had enough money for himself, to get away from Riverdale and apply for a scholarship and study to be a lawyer and still write novels.

But his mother beat him to it, dragging his sister along with her and moved somewhere far across the other sid eof the country. Of course Jughead was angry, and for a while, he lived under the care of Fred Andrews and his former best friend Archie. That is, until his father showed up on the Andrews' doorstep one day and demanded that his son come back home or he'd sue Fred for kidnapping or some shît excuse his father made up in his mind.

Jughead did come home, to the Southside. He hasn't stepped foot in that side of town ever since his mother moved to the Northside with him and Jellybean, which was when he sister was still a baby. Of course, when Jughead came back home with his father, most students in Riverdale High reacted, saying that he was the gum in their shoes they've always wanted to scrape, and that he was just like his father.

And Archie defended him, until he joined the Serpents, and pushed Archie away.

Jughead was on his way back to the library, his whistling still echoing in the halls, until he turned to the hallway of the library and abruptly stopped. He froze right on his spot, his whistling immediately stopped. He felt his fists clench as he stared at the figure on the other end of the wall, just as frozen as he was.

Archie Andrews.

ARCHIE

ARCHIE ALWAYS TRIED TO ignore Jughead, but he doubted he'd be able to block him out of his senses if they would spend the entirety of detention together.

His fists were clenched, just like he knows Jughead's fists are clenched too. With a heavy breath he started walking, slowly, noticing that he had started walking as well. Their stares were enough to shoot holes, and their eyes were cold with anger that have accumulated over the years.

Once in front of the huge library doors they stopped, and staring each other down. Jughead was already two inches or so taller than he was, and so his head was slightly tilted down as he looked at him. For a moment they remained like that, and Archie was sure they have already caused a scene.

A voice cut them off of their trance.

Betty cleared her throat, now standing up from her seat. She stared at the two, not having full knowledge of what really went down between them. They all used to be best friends, the three of them. She didn't know what happened woth their friendship, all she knew was that Jughead moved to the Southside and pushed everyone away, shut them all out of his life. She knew the things everyone said about him, but she didn't believe them. She couldn't believe all their lies, because the Jughead she knew was good.

"Are you two going to get inside on your own, or do you want Mr. Weatherbee to do it for you?"She asked, trying to instill a certain level of sternness in her voice, but ultimately she knew she failed. She could feel Jughead eyes on hers, a small smirk on his lips as he then snapped a glare back at Archie.

"Ladies first, Cherry."He spoke with sarcasm, his teeth gritted together. Archie had the same look of anger on his face as Jughead, his fists clenching tighter. "The only reason I'm not going to get back a you is because a person like you is not worth my time."Archie said, starting to slowly walk into the library, eyes still on Jughead.

"Hell, you're not worth anyone's time."