I Promise

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I PROMISE

Even though there are more important things to worry about, Eleanor still goes to Archie's audition to the Variety Show. She sits next to Veronica, who actually convinced her to come with her. And Ellie being Ellie couldn't say no. Because, deep down, the truth is she's craving some mundane and normal things.

"Try harder!" Reggie shouts from the back.

"Do you think you're funny?" Ellie stands up, and turns around so she can face him. "Go back to kindergarden, Reggie."

"Uhh, E. That's your worst?"

"Shut up!" Kevin exclaims, and turns back to the red-haired boy. "Take your time, Archie."

Ellie gives her friend a reassuring look and a very confident smile. She believes in him, and is hoping he can believe in himself as well.

"What is happening?" Veronica wonders.

Josie leans forward, so they can hear her. "He's choking." 

"No, he can't be..." Ellie shakes her head.

"Archie? Clock's ticking." Kev warns.

Ellie looks back to Josie, and her dark-haired friend. "We have to help him." 

"No, sorry Ellie," The Pussy Cat's leader smiles. "there is nothing you can do for him now."

"Excuse me. Sorry, I gotta go." And Archie abandones the stage just like that.

The crowd burst into laughs and claps, like some morons. Ellie is mad at Reggie and his friends, yes the guy is the sweetest when he feels like it but then, sometimes, he's the biggest asshole in Riverdale. Which is a big compliment, seeing how all his friends are pretty close to that title.

Ellie stands up, and excuses herself. "I'm gonna go look for him." 

After a while of looking in the hallways, Ellie finally finds him. But she's too late, he's already with Valerie. Ellie sighs, and turns around, walking to the one place she knows she's wanted, the Blue and Gold

But before Ellie reaches for the handle on the door, Veronica approaches her. "Did you talk to him?"

"Ah, no." Ellie shakes her head, and tells her. "He was with Valerie." 

"Oh." Veronica breathes, and decides to ask her friend the real question. "Are you jealous?"

"Why would I be?" Ellie frowns, like it's the stupidest thing.

"Because you like Archie." Veronica states the obvious.

"I don't." She replies with a shrug. "We had one summer. That was the beginning and the end of it. Whatever it was."

The dark-haired girl chuckles. "You're definitely jealous." 

"You know what you could do instead of bubling about my non existent love life?" Ellie smiles widely at her new idea. "You know how to sing, you talked about it once, right? Well, I heard Archie tell Valerie how he needed a partner to get over the stage fear? So..."

"You want me to go offer myself." Veronica guesses. "Is that so you can keep him away from her?"

"I'm trying to help Archie." Ellie rolls her eyes.

"Is that just it? Or –."

Ellie finally opens the door to the Blue and Gold, and looks back at her friend one last time. "We're done here, V."

"Sure!" Veronica still manages to yell, before Ellie closes the door behind her.

Jughead and Betty are already there, and stop whatever conversation they were having to look at Ellie with smiles on their faces.

"Hey guys."

"Who was that?" Betty asks, curious.

"Veronica. We're trying to help Archie with something." Ellie shrugs. "So what did you find out about the Sister's of Quiet Mercy?"

"It's for troubled people." Jughead tells her. "So they learn discipline and respect." 

"What is Polly really doing there?" She sighs loudly. "I can't even imagine."

. . .

They talk about Polly over lunch, the subject doesn't leave their minds. They are too anxious, too nervous. No one can predict what they will find. They're sitting with the rest of their friends, or almost all of them, because Valerie is there too.

"What are you guys talking about? Anything I can help with?" Archie intervenes.

"What we're attempting is a stealth operation, Archie." Jughead replieds. "If we go in there with the entire Scooby Gang, forget it, we're compromised."

"Anyway, you need to focus on the show." Ellie touches his elbow lightly. "You can do it."

"Uh, no, I don't think so." He glances over to Valerie as he talks. 

"Except that yes, you can. Thanks to a certain Veronica-ex-machina you will even get a second chance." Veronica approaches them with a smile, and sits right between Valerie and Archie. "I had a few words with our director slash host, and reminded him that he has heard you sing on numerous occasions."

"Even though it compromised my artistic integrity." Kev mutters.

"Cutting to the chase, you have a slot if you want it." The dark-haired finishes.

Ellie leans slightly over the table. "Yes, yes he wants it." 

"Thank you, I would love to, but both of you saw what happened." Archie recalls.

"We all did." Kevin mumbles. Ellie looks over at her friend, and he quickly looks down at his food again, regretting his words right away.

Archie shakes his head. "Playing my songs in front of you guys is one thing, but getting back up there that stage by myself..." 

"You won't be by yourself." Ellie suggests, then looks over at Veronica. "Right?"

"That's right, Archiekins. Veronica Lodge is more than willing and able."

"Really?" Archie smiles at the offer.

Ellie bumps into him lightly. "You heard the lady." 

"Ok." Archie chuckles.

Veronica looks over to Ellie with a smile, that was gladly returned by the blonde girl. It's a good plan, and the dark-haired girl realizes how much Ellie really cares for Archie. There's no way to ignore it, it's right there, in her bright green eyes. And specially in her heart.

. . .

The next day, Veronica learns which one of them cares more. 

And the answer is the same as always, it's Ellie. She's the one who always cared more, about Archie, about everyone. And it makes Veronica angry to know that she isn't getting it back, and she never will. At least, not from Archie.

"Hey, V. Wait, are you ok?"

"No, I'm not ok!" Veronica snaps. "I'm not ok with Archie not giving a single crap about loyalty or his friends! We were trying to help him but, not wanting to take your place as the jealous girl next door, Valerie seems to be a much better partner!"

"Wait," Ellie grabs her friend's shoulders, and tries to understand what's happening. "what are you talking about?"

"Archie dumped me because Valerie quit the Pussy Cats." Veronica explains, and her next words might be harsh but they are meant to open her friend's eyes. "Guess he doesn't care about anyone but himself. Sorry, Ellie, but Archie is the kind of boy that won't notice you until you aren't there. You need to see that."

"Why... Why are you being like this, Veronica?"

"Because I'm your friend! I see the way you look at Archie. I've been there with other boys and let me tell you what I learnt..." Veronica steps closer, her voice cold. "You don't kill yourself over a boy that doesn't care, cause he'll bring another girl to your funeral."

Ellie steps back. "I don't understand," 

"I'm so sorry." Veronica takes a deep breath, realizing the things she just said, all it takes is a closer look at Ellie's sad green eyes. "I'm just so mad, I took it on you."

"It's ok, V." Ellie tries to smile, but she's still affect by her friend's harsh words. "Is it just because of Archie?"

The dark-haired girl sighs, and blurts out. "Fred Andrews kissed my Mom."

"Oh...Oh!" Ellie gasps in surprise, she was not expect this. "Is it... Is it serious?"

"I don't know. But my Dad is in jail, he's not dead." Veronica scoffs. "I'm mad at my Mom and at Archie's Dad." And then she shakes her head, realizing a few more things. "Even though I know I'm overreacting, I can't avoid it."

"I'm here." Ellie makes sure she knows. "For anything."

"I'm sorry, really, E. I didn't mean any those things. I was –." 

"It's ok." Ellie gives her a weak smile, knowing full well she did mean it. What she said about Archie, Ellie knows it's the cold hard truth. She knows, deep down.

"You know what," Veronica titles her head to the side. "I know what to do."

Ellie's confused, and follows her friend's gaze to the poster on the wall, right next to them. It's a spot on the Pussy Cats, Valerie's spot. Ellie shakes her head. "Veronica, I don't think it's –." But when Ellie turns around to face her, Veronica is already nowhere to be found. It's too late. The dark-haired girl is getting her revenge, and Ellie doens't want to be there to see it.

. . .

Betty pulls Ellie out of school, along with Jughead. They go on a bus to the Sister's of Quiet Mercy, and everything they can think about on their way there is that they are one step away from finding out the truth. All of it.

Betty turns to her sister. "Are you ready?" 

"Whenever you are."

They enter the building, and that place is scary to say the least, but they walk straight to the reception. An old woman looks up at them.

"Hi. I'm Elizabeth Cooper, this is Eleanor Cooper. We're here to see our sister, Polly."

"May I see some identification?" They reach for it inside their bags, and placed it on the small counter. The woman looks attentively at both identifications. "Sign in here, please." And pushes the book towards them.

First it's Betty who grabs the pen and writes down her name, next it's Ellie and her hand is shaking so bad that she knows it is a challenge to understand what she wrote.

The woman gestures towards the dark-haired boy with them. "He'll have to wait."

They just nod. And a minute later another woman approaches them and gestures for the girls to follow her. Ellie grabs her sister's hand tightly as soon as they start walking, because she's so scared it even makes her feel sick in her stomach.

"Polly's room is right this way. Though right now it's silent reflection time, and she usually spends that time in the Garden of Deliverance."

They never let go of each other, specially not after walking out into the garden. Ellie's scared of bugs and bears. But right now, that's insignificant. She's scared of how Polly is, is she really sick? Crazy, like their parents told them? Is her hair still of the very same shade of blonde? Or is it all gone along with her old self? Ellie's terrified of finding out.

The old woman points them the right direction, and leave the girls to themselves. Ellie's holding Betty's arm now as they start walking again, and it's not far when they notice a familiar blonde a few feet away, their hearts beating faster. 

"Polly?" Betty's voice has a hint of happiness.

The girl turns around, a smile finding it's way to her face when she recognizes her sisters. Running to them, Polly pulls both girls into a tight hug. Ellie spent a lot of time wondering how Polly is, what she is doing. Of course they could have listened to their parents and let it go, but Ellie, deep inside, still had hope, and this hug makes it all worth it. 

"You found us." Polly cries.

When they pull away, their green eyes go to their sister's stomach, the bump is hard to miss. That's the truth Ellie was so afraid to face, the pregnancy.

"You're –." Betty smiles.

Ellie touches her belly softly, and wonders. "Jason's?"

"Please be happy for me." Polly pleads.

"Of course we are." Betty gasps.

"I'm just..." Ellie tries to come up with words, good ones, but she doesn't really know what to say now. "We didn't know. We're so sorry."

"What did they tell you?" Polly asks, curious. "That I was on drugs? Alchool?"

"That you were sick." Betty tells her. "That you tried to hurt yourself."

"They told me neither of  you wanted to come. I knew it was a lie."

Ellie shakes her head at the truth, she's angry. "So they locked you here because you're pregnant?" 

"Because they couldn't control me." She explains. "Mom and Dad hated that Jason and I were dating. Jason's parents forced him to break up with me. Of course they didn't approve of a Blossom boy dating a Cooper girl. But when I told him about the baby, our baby. Oh, he was so happy. We were gonna run away. Start our family in a beautiful place. So, on July Fourth, I woke up, I packed a bag, and I went downstairs to start my new life. We were gonna meet on the other side of Sweetwater River. But Mom and Dad found out everything. There was a woman at the kitchen with two men behind her. They threw me in a back of a van. I was screaming."

Ellie looks down at her bracelet, on her left wrist, knowing full well how Jason planned to run away but never got to actually do it. How sad Polly sounds, it's heartbreaking. What their parents had done to her, it's horrible and unfair.

Polly grabs Ellie's wrist, taking her by surprise. "Have you talked to him? Does he know that I'm here?"

Ellie frowns. "Who's he, Polly?" And she glances over to Betty in fear of what this might mean.

"Jason. You're still friends right, Ellie?" She smiles. "Will you give him a message?"

"He... He..." 

Polly steps back, noticing something is not right. "What does he think happened? He knows I'm here because of Mom and Dad right?"

"You don't understand." Betty steps forward, trying to ease her into the truth.

Eleanor can't move, her hands are shaking. Breathing is becoming more difficult, her lungs are too small. A knot is forming on her throat, and she's panicking with the scene playing in front of her. It's like Jason's dying all over again.

"You just have to help me get out and I'll meet him. I'll go. A car at the route 40. I'm packed. We are –."

"Stop!" Ellie shouts, which scares both her sisters. 

"What's wrong?" Polly asks, in confusion at her sister's sudden snap. 

Ellie feels the tears rolling down her cheeks, burning her skin like it's poison. Betty places one hand on her shoulder, conforting her, letting her know it's ok. "Jason is... dead."

"What... What? No, no..." Polly starts crying, and she looks up at the sky. "I knew it. Oh my –."

Ellie throws herself against her sister, pulling her into a hug. It reminds her of when she first heard the news. It's like hearing it all over again, like the past couple of months have been only a nightmare. It's like Jason died right in this moment, and for Polly, that's what's happening.

"Come with me, you two." They pull away, and they turn around to face the woman trying to escort them out, but neither think it's a good idea to fight it.

. . .

They're locked in a room, Betty is desesperately trying to call Jughead but it isn't working. And Ellie, well she's leaning against the window, staring outside, into nothing, and a lot of thoughts run through her mind, but not a single happy one.

The door opens and it's Alice Cooper that walks right through it.

"Mom?" Betty frowns. "What are you doing here?"

"I pay the sisters good money. You think they don't notify me if Polly gets visitors?"

They don't have a good answer, but at least they go with some truth. And maybe they call it a win, one small win. Alice grabs her daughters, one hand for each wrist, and they're not really fighting, because worse case scenario she locks them up too. 

Of course, that good will is until they bump into Polly on the hallway.

"Mom?" Polly rushes over to Alice and shouts. "Jason is dead?! And you didn't tell me? And you kept me in here?!"

"Baby, it's for your own good."

Two men run to them right away, and Jughead shows up behind them. 

It all happens so fast. Polly is pulled away from them just like she was all those months ago, screaming and fighting and, as before, they can't do anything. Betty tries to take a hold of Polly, as does Ellie, the three sisters manage hug one last time. One last I love you and they have to let go, they can't hold on anymore. 

But Ellie can't stop herself, and so she tries to run after her sister, maybe try make up for the last time, when she did nothing. Before she can get any far, Betty grabs her by her waist, crying as well. Jughead rushes to them, helping Betty hold Ellie back.

"We're gonna take her out." Betty whispers into her sister's hair. "I promise."


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