AU: futurefic. Three years after Elizabeth Cooper ran away from Riverdale, three years after Archibald Andrews and Forsythe Jones was attacked and nearly died, and three years after Jason Blossom's murderer was caught. The town was once again quiet, until the sudden reappearance of Elizabeth Cooper with her bag in one hand and her son with the other. Riverdale was once again abuzz.

There's a gasp when Veronica Lodge opened the door to her home. She took a long, whole look at her best friend. She didn't know what to do, and stood there frozen. That was saying something, considering the fact that there was little that could make her stand still with surprise.

When Elizabeth Cooper left the town almost a year prior, she never said goodbye to anyone. Or if she did, no one said a word about it. Here are the facts of her disappearance: the night before Forsythe 'Jughead' Jones III and Archibald 'Archie' Andrews were attacked by Jason Blossom's murderer, she left. She brought a small suitcase, and left a note for her family, specifically for her sister and her sister's child. In the note, she bade them goodbye, and told them to give her diaries to her best friends Veronica Lodge and Kevin Keller, and the rest of her things for Polly and of course, her niece and nephew, Jaylyn and Shirley. She went to Pop Tate's before she left and ordered a takeout of a burger and strawberry milkshake, her favorite, and paid Pops to give a burger and a shake to Archie and Jughead. And then she took a bus, and was gone for good.

"Hey." The blonde woman smiled at her, and cleared her throat. "H-how've you been?"

Kevin Keller popped up behind Veronica. "Who's there, Ronnie-oh my god. Betty?!"

When Elizabeth Cooper finally came back, her hair was dyed dark brown, and was wearing glasses. She was carrying a trunk of her things and a baby with dark hair and green, green eyes.

Ronnie's face changed from shocked to sad. "Oh, Betty…"

"Veronica. Kevin. Meet my son, Charles."

When Jughead Jones woke up on the hospital bed with neither Betty nor Archie (nor his dad, but then again, he's always not there) nowhere to be found, he panicked. He made a scene, inside that hospital. Until Fred Andrews came and calmed him down, showed him Archie in the ICU (This is your entire fault. You shouldn't have, now he's almost gone. Stab wounds on his body, almost dead. Just hanging on. Make a joke now, then. Make a joke on how your bestfriend is dying because of you-)

("Jughead, why'd you stab me in the back?") It echoed inside his mind. A pleasant dream that ended in a nightmare.

"Where's Bets?" his voice was hoarse, and he asked for her because he needed her, his anchor-

("I believe you.")

"Jug… she's gone."

He didn't know what to do. Punch Fred Andrews? Scream at his face? Instead he clutched his hands tightly.

("We'll get you out of here.")

"What do you mean gone?"

"She left. The night before you got attacked. She left."

"Hey Juggie?"

"Hm?"

"Do you remember second grade?"

"Ha… The time Archie proposed to you, s'that it?"

"No, no. The time you proposed to me. It was summer before second grade."

"What? I didn't do that."

"You did."

"No, I didn't."

"Archie's gone so when I wasn't with Pol, I was with you. Remember? I baked you those crown-shaped choco chip cookies."

"Ah… Yeah, now I remember. Those were still the best cookies I've ever tasted. Even Jellybean liked them. Ehem. 'Wan more Betsy cook's!'"

"Hm. I know that, because the next day you pleaded me to marry you because JB only stopped crying when you gave her some cookies and you thought that would solve that. You even knelt down and everything. With a donut. And begged me to marry you."

"See, Bets? I did not propose, like our beloved friend, Archie Andrews. I begged. There's a difference."

"Alright, you win this round, Juggie. I don't know how you do it though. Make it sound like begging's better."

"Heh. Probably my macabre, depressing aura that surrounds me constantly. Anyway, why the question? What about it?"

"If I said I'd leave town, would you go with me?"

"I mean, I knew, because of your diaries… but… well, nothing beats the real thing," Veronica shook her head, as if still not getting over from what was in front of her. "He's all you, isn't he?" she gestured towards the small boy sleeping. "Except…"

Kevin, however, was unusually quiet, as he paced back and forth inside the room.

Betty was unbelievably nervous, as she tucked Charles in. "The eyes and the hair?" she replied.

"Yes."

Betty sighed in reply as she sat at the edge of the bed where her son was sleeping. She was thankful that her high school best friend had at least agreed to let them stay at least even for a while, but is scared because Kevin, talkative Kevin, had not said a word. She smiled ruefully at them as she began picking on her hand. "Then it's all his dad…"

"Bets…" Veronica sat beside her, taking the woman's hand on hers.

"Are they… Are you angry?"

"I honestly don't know. I mean, I was, when I learned. But time passed and I just… I missed you B. I couldn't… You're the sister I never had."

Betty smiled, and the two shared a hug.

It was then Kevin broke from his pacing and glared at Betty. "Well, I'm angry."

"Kevin-" Veronica stood up to try stopping him from speaking, but Betty took her hand and shook her head. Let Kevin Keller tell her how angry he was.

"You just don't leave your bestfriends when you're pregnant, Betty! We're your friends! We were supposed to help you! And I was so worried about you! Worried sick, by the way! And I just-" he paused, and leaned down to hug her. "God, I missed you."

Betty laughed, despite her tears. Veronica might have been a soul sister, but Kevin was a friend since her childhood. A close, childhood friend. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," he smiled as he pulled away, but frowned as soon as they weren't touching anymore. "It was three years, Betty. We thought you'd be coming back as soon as the killer was caught, but you didn't even show. Not a word or anything!"

"I… I'm really sorry about… Well… Anyway, how is-…" Betty halted and dampened her lips with her tongue. She gulped. "How's Jughead?"

Veronica's eyes, then soft, suddenly hardened in a flash. She glared. "You're better off not knowing."

"V?" Betty turned to Kevin for help, but he quickly avoided her gaze. She turned back to Veronica.

"He's just like his dad."