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Rebound Love	By : sandyl666 Category: Comics > Archie & Co. Views: 13319 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: The comics Archie and Co, with its plot, characters, setting, etc does not belong to me. I guess they belong to John L. Goldwater, and a few others but I'm unsure. I make nothing by writing this fiction, and I don't plan to.

Chapter List
- 23
- 24
- 25
Chapter 24

“Ugh...” Betty sighed as she studied herself in her full body mirror. She placed her hand on the large bulge on her waist. She didn't resent her baby, of course, but she felt like such a whale, and she was only four months pregnant or so. It didn't help that she was always hungry, and her breasts were swelling up. She was barely able to find a dress that looked decent on her.
This one was damn near close to perfect though. She picked up the box it had been delivered in, one that was clad in pink velvet and topped with a baby blue bow, and read the note again.
Dear Ms Cooper
Congratulations on your nomination, and what I'm sure will be your win. Here is a dress to enhance your own beauty and that of your child. Will be looking forward to seeing you in it at the Board Awards.
From your greatest fan
Her mouth melted into a smile. When Trent had turned up with this box, she had been wary. She knew she had been receiving hate mail due to her scandalous relationship with Reggie, though Trent managed to get rid of most of them, but when she'd opened it, her breath had left her.
It was an evening gown, a maternity one, with capped sleeves, a straight neckline and a flowing skirt that reached all the way to the gown. It was conservative, yet it made her feel beautiful. On the front, right above her right breast, was a deep pink rose, its color bright as it stood out against the pale salmon pink of her dress.
She patted down the already wrinkle-free fabric, wondering who her greatest fan was, and how she could possibly thank whoever it was. Someone rang her door-bell and with a smile still on her face, she went to the door to greet her date for the night.
The morphing of Jason's face from excited to stunned made her throw her head back and laugh. He looked at her from head to toe, his gaze appreciative.
“Betty. You look...”
She did a little twirl. “Like the most beautiful whale that ever existed?”
“Have you even looked in the mirror? You're glowing. You look like some kind of goddess,” Jason said. She blushed.
“You look pretty good yourself,” She said, noting how dashing he looked in his tuxedo. It fit him perfectly, down to the Hyacinth in his breast pocket. She fingers it, the petals feeling like velvet against her finger pads. “It's beautiful,”
“I should have gotten a rose to match, though,” He said, studying her rose.
She shook her head. “I think we look perfect like this,” She said.
He smiled, nodded and offered her his arm, which she gladly took as he escorted her out of her apartment flat and down to his car. “When did you even get this dress?” He asked as they stood in the elevator.
“Oh... The most amazing thing happened! A fan gave it to me,” She couldn't help her giddy tone, no fans had ever sent her anything like this. Definitely not while a nasty rumor about her was circulating, the truth of which she could not deny.
“Really? A fan?” He frowned. “You sure it's not laced with poison or anything?”
She rolled her eyes. “You worry too much, Jason. Trent checked it out. He assured me it was fine,” She said. “In fact, it was almost like Trent knew who it was from...” she mused aloud.
“Really?” He said. “Interesting,”
“Yeah,” She said. He promptly changed the subject then, to whether they would be served any food, and he kept up this conversation as he drove them to the venue of the Award Show.

Reggie fiddled with his bow-tie, while slipping his hand into his pocket, touching a folded up paper in it to make sure it was there. His speech. He didn't need it, really, he had memorized it. He'd spent the better part of the night going over it over and over again in his head.
People may have laughed at his confidence – for him to make up a speech when he didn't even know if he'd win was preposterous. But that's how Reggie was. How he'd always been. He was never lost for words.
“Reggie!” One of the many cameraman called and immediately he had arranged his features into the most charming smile he could manage. A light flashed, and then he moved further down the red carpet, where he was subjected to more flashes and a few microphones shoved in his face.
“Reggie, are you confident about winning some of the categories tonight?” A particularly beautiful member of the paparazzi said. Her blonde hair had been coiffed into an up-do, and her dress revealed a lot of cleavage. He was surprised he didn't just forgo the top part of her dress.
“What are you talking about? I'm going to win all the categories,” Her mouth formed an 'O', and the way she grinned at him would usually have made him ask her number or ask to see her later on, but he was far too busy looking around for someone else.
She asked him a question then, but he'd not heard it in the slightest. “Sorry, what?” He asked.
“I was-” She paused, looking over his shoulder. “Oh, speak of the devil, there's Betty Cooper herself!”
He spun around so quickly he nearly knocked the cameraman's camera off his shoulder. He didn't even bother apologizing, he just gaped at the blonde descending down the carpet, hand-in-hand with the despicable Jason Blossom. He just managed to stop himself before spitting on the red carpet in his disgust.
That man just looked so wrong next to Betty. He shouldn't be there by her side. Nobody should be there. Nobody but him, that was.
He knew the exact moment Betty noticed him, because her eyes narrowed considerably. Everyone seemed to quiet down as she got closer to him, as if holding their breath to see what drama would unfold. Or maybe that was all in his head.
Jason touched her hand and she glanced at him as he whispered a few words in her ears. He felt his hands bunch up into fists. She shook her head then, before fixing her gaze on him. She was a few steps away from him now.
He opened his mouth to say something to her. He didn't know what. Something witty. Something apologetic. Anything.
That's when she passed him completely, without a word.
Betty Cooper had just snubbed Reggie Mantle on the red carpet.

Betty was shaking as Jason led her to the inside of the building. Not because she'd been asked a dozen invasive question. Not because people had been pointing to her belly and whispering conspicuously. Not because the flashes had temporarily blinded her and almost made her trip on her own skirt.
It was the look on Reggie's face when she passed him. She'd glanced at him quickly as she left, and his eyes had looked hollow and hurt. Almost the same way it did the night they found out about Archie and Ron's engagement.
Her grip on Jason's arm tightened.
“Are you okay, Betty?” Jason asked in concern. “You look pale,”
She looked up at her date, and a sense of guilt washed over her. Again, she was focusing on Reggie. And not on, who Jason always seemed to be attentive to her needs. She forced a smile. “I'm fine, Jason. Come on, let's go take our seats,”
He nodded and dutifully took her to her seat, but she couldn't help noticing that he looked worried, almost torn.
She felt a pang of conscience and opened her mouth to speak, but was immediately interrupted by the introduction of some of the other guests at the awards.
“Betty Cooper, now who is this?” Rachel said, a starlet who had just made her major break. She peered curiously at Jason, her smoky eyes almost shining with lust.
“This is Jason Blossom. He's my date,” Jason nodded and smiled at her.
“Oh, my. Are you telling me you're two-timing poor Reginald?” Rachel giggled.
Betty forced another smile. It was only the beginning of the night and her face hurt already. She suspected the ceremony was going to feel like an eternity to her.
“You shouldn't believe everything those tabloids publish, Miss,” Jason returned coolly.
Her coy smile disappeared, replaced with a look of displeasure. “I assure you that my source was not a tabloid,” She said.
“Whatever your source was, I think you should double-check it,” Jason suggested in a sugary tone.
“Oh really?” Rachel folded her arms before her chest. “How about the fact that Reggie uploaded a video confessing all? Or maybe that they're both wearing pink roses of the exact same shade?”
Betty stared at her in surprise, then turned her head to the entrance, precisely as Reggie was entering the hall. She'd been so distracted she hadn't noticed, but he really was wearing the same flower. She looked down at the one on her dress.
No way. It couldn't be...
“Are you telling me your sources are flowers?” Jason barked a laugh. Rachel's eyes narrowed as she stared at him. Then she turned up her nose at him and left.
Betty looked to Jason, worried. Celebrities had a ridiculous amount of power, and when they had a grudge things didn't often bode well for the person they resented. He just smiled at her. He didn't even seem surprised to hear about the flowers. Had he noticed it then?
“I think this is going to be a fun night,” he said.
She couldn't help giving a smile at the way he grinned as he said that.
The rest of the night went swell. Most of the other celebrities who greeted her were civil. They delivered somewhat believable congratulations on her pregnancy, and most didn't comment on the video of Reggie's apology. They didn't offer any food. But they did have waiters going around with trays of wine. The wine was excellent though, according to Jason. Betty wasn't allowed even a sip.
The performances were original, creative and as entertaining as would be expected of the Board Awards. Betty clapped at each announcement of the winner, glad for each of their victories. She didn't even care if she won at that point – she was just thrilled to be part of the festivities.
Reggie's latest film won the award for Best Picture, of course. He stood in the back with the rest of the cast as the director thanked everyone and the actors had a brief moment to thank everyone as well. Reggie declined his turn, which Betty found odd. Reggie never refused a chance to talk, especially with such a large audience.
Shrugging it off, she focused on the rest of the proceedings. The short musical numbers were incredible and she laughed liberally. Through it all, Jason held her hand, squeezing it periodically to let her know that she had his support.
When her category was announced, she held her breath... but she didn't win.
“Are you okay?” Jason whispered to her as the recipient of that particular award went up to the stage and chattered on about all the people she was grateful to.
She smiled. “I actually am,” She admitted. “I don't think I really ever believed I was going to win,”
“I did,” he said sulkily, which made her laugh.
The rest of the night went as she expected. Many laughs, some cries, a lot of awards.
The last one, though, was of the Best Actor in a Leading Role award. The camera zoomed in on all the candidates and Betty couldn't deny how dazzling Reggie looked on the camera.
Which just made her resent him more of course. Though she had to admit, it was a little admirable how good he could look no matter the situation and whether the camera was hidden or not.
“And of course...” The Board Awards host said. “The winner of the Best Actor in a Leading Role is...” A drum roll drowned out the sound of Betty's heartbeat. She couldn't believe it but in that moment, she actually was anxious from Reggie. Though from where she could see him, he looked completely calm.
“...Reginald Mantle!”
Cheers broke out in the hall. Betty sat, stunned, as the screen panned in on him. Reggie actually looked kind of nervous as he got up and headed to the stage. To anyone else, he would have just seemed flattered, but she knew him. She really did.
In fact, the way he almost stumbled on the stairs was a dead giveaway.
“That was on purpose,” He told everyone, pointing to the stairs, and they laughed. “Thank you. I'm really flattered to have been awarded this, again,” He said, holding up his trophy. She rolled her eyes. Again. Of course. He put the trophy down on the stand before him and looked out across the hall. His eyes met hers. “I know I'm supposed to thank everyone who has helped me gotten to this point, but I want to reserve this point in time to a very special person,”
Betty held her breath, her head felt light.
“Without her, I would have fallen apart completely and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be standing before you right now. I'd be in the ground, lying in a coffin. Of course, I'd probably still have won the award even if I was dead-” He shrugged. More laughter. “-but I wouldn't have realized how beautiful the world was. And I wouldn't know how scary the idea of fatherhood is, and how hard it hits,”
Some people glanced over their shoulders at Betty, but she found herself focused on Reggie alone.
“Bets. Thank you. Thank you for supporting me when I didn't deserve it at all, for putting up with me when I was selfish and hurtful. Thank you for always being my friend, even when I was a shitty one to you,” He sucked in a breath and sighed. “I'm sorry for abandoning you when you needed me most, for hurting me when you were giving me a chance to atone for my sins. I know you can't bring yourself to forgive. And frankly, I think you're in the right to think that. But I'm going to keep apologizing in as many ways as I can to show you just how much I care for you.”
A tear slipped down Betty's cheek, without her knowledge.
“I've tried apologizing in person, I've tried over voice-mail, e-mail, text messages. I've tried it over a video and now I'm doing it here, in front of thousands of witnesses. And I'm sure I can find many more ways to apologize to you. Including this now,”
Reggie stood beside the podium, then got to his knees. The crowd gasped, some actually put their hands to their mouths. Betty just felt frozen, she couldn't believe what was happening.
“This way I can apologize to you for not taking responsibility for the baby when you told me about it. This way I will have to be a father, no matter what. As long as you let me,” He took out a box from his pocket, and opened it. She couldn't see what the ring looked like from her seat, though the diamonds on it glistened from that far away. The camera zoomed in on it and she stared at what seemed like the most beautiful piece of jewelry she had ever known.
It was also one that she had seen before. Because she and Ron had gone nuts over it years ago.
“Will you marry me?”
His words reverberated in her head, and she couldn't seem to grasp its meaning. It's like they just bounced off her skull, a jumbled mess that she couldn't decipher.
She opened her mouth but nothing came out. “That's it, ladies and gentlemen,” Reggie said snapping the box shut and tossing the microphone away. It landed on the ground and let out a painful sound that everyone winced at. He jumped off the stage, leaving his trophy behind, and raced to Betty. Everyone was talking at this point, causing a drone of conversation that Betty couldn't hear most of.
Her body still could not move when he appeared right beside her.
She expected him to tug her out of her seat and pull her away, spirit her off roughly like he always did. But instead he held out his hand. Offering her a chance to back out if she wished. She could reject him there. And even though everyone was watching, it felt it was just she and him.
Her body acted before her mind could. It reached out and took his hand, allowing his to envelope her smaller one. His hand was shaking. His face melted into a smile of relief as he helped her up from her seat. He was about to take her away when she stopped him.
“But-” She finally managed to say, looking back at Jason, having remembered him at the last moment.
To her surprise, Jason was smiling at her. It wasn't a happy smile, but it was a smile nonetheless. “Go,” she saw his mouth form the word, but the buzz of chatter in the hall drowned him out.
Reggie whisked her away before she could say anything more to Jason, pulling her briskly down the aisle. He didn't say anything even as they exited the hall. He seemed to know where he was going, and took her past a back door where a car seemed to be waiting for them.
She slipped in, still thinking she'd wake up at any moment, and he followed after her.
“Drive,” he told the chauffeur, and the vehicle began to move. Reggie turned to her then. She couldn't face him, so she made herself busy trying to take out her cell from her purse. She needed to call Jason. She didn't know what she was going to say to him, but she couldn't just ignore him.
She found a message waiting for her on her cell, and didn't know if she should open it or not. Finally, she mustered her courage and pressed the button. A message from Jason popped up.
I'm fine. As long as you're happy, I'm happy.
“He's not as bad as I thought,” Reggie muttered, and she noticed he was looking at the screen of her cell too.
“He's an amazing person,” was all she could say. She suddenly felt exhausted. She put her phone back in her purse, then looked at Reggie. She still didn't know what to say to him.
He did, though. “Will you marry me?” He asked, more quietly this time, his tone not quite as sure.
She put a hand protectively over her baby, worried about what his proposal might mean for her child. He mimicked her action, placing his hand over hers, his fingers slipping in between hers and gripping her hand tightly.
She looked in his eyes and it told her enough. He was going to accept everything that came with being married to her, including being her unborn child's father.
“...Yes,” was her response.
- 23
- 24
- 25
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Rebound Love