Work Text:
Reflecting upon this instance, Jughead Jones III would know that it was the beginning of the end. Though now he was considering the possibility of enjoying the perpetual bliss of no other than pink-nailed, curly haired, glossed lip Betty Cooper.
Her blonde hair was not what compelled Jug, not her brilliant blue eyes as deep as the sea, and not the way her lips formed his name.
While Jughead enjoyed these things, he was daunted by the fact that this woman, this unstoppable force, this being compromised of contradictions, somehow managed to find her way directly into his dreams. Whether these fairy tales took place at day or night mattered not, seeing as Betty Cooper was the sun and as much as Jughead wished he was the moon, he identified himself as a dwarf galaxy, consumed by a grander force, at the mercy of the eye-catching.
Amongst his sea of misfortune, the fact that Betty juxtaposed him almost constantly while the pair wrote for the blue and gold was but a rouge wave.
"Earth to Jughead. Brooding isn't going to help us as much as you'd like it to."
And speak of the devil, in this case a girl who hung the stars but somehow received the short end of the stick with a certain ginger jock, one Jug happened to love himself.
"Jughead."
This was Betty Cooper, speaking his name in a way that he had heard so many times but with an otherworldly amount of differentiating purpose.
Her voice was soft, speaking into the lost abyss of his mind.
"Hey." Betty touched Jughead's shoulder, her glossed lips smiling and radiating the warmth that the raven haired boy craved to soothe him. "Jughead, what's going on? Something wrong?"
Jug only smirked, hiding the goings on of his mind. This happened offended, much more than to which he would admit.
"No, I'm fine. Tired."
Jug's words were practiced, as if he had spent an eternity with the lies of the phrase practiced on his lips, and Betty seemed to have recognized that. Whether it was from hearing him repeat it over the course of years of school together, or Betty's own discourse of lines in a story book that she wanted her life to be, Jug didn't know or want to find out.
"You know," the blonde girl said, smiling wryly and turning to face her own work on her desk, "if brooding after you've had too long of a silent monologue about your unworthiness is your way of asking me out, I accept."
She said nothing else, simply placed herself into her work with a grace Jughead couldn't shake from his mind.
Jughead couldn't find his words, couldn't form a coherent sentence that wouldn't seem as if he was tripping over himself mentally, which he managed to do physically as he stumbled out of the room.
The next series in many of unfortunate events leading to Jughead's infatuation of Betty Cooper presented itself fairly quickly after the first.
Somehow Jughead Jones was in a booth at Pop's with Betty Cooper, and though he wished his mind would find a way to calm sanctuary, it was racing more than ever.
The air was warm, unusual for Riverdale during the spring time. Flowers were blooming in all different shades and hues, birds were chirping. But somehow the man who adorned his precious beanie could only focus on this woman beside him, warmer than any summer day and brighter than the sun that was responsible.
Betty Cooper was more breathtaking than any gust of wind and more eye catching than any blossoming floral arrangement.
"Juggie. You're in your head again."
And there it was again, her dainty hand acting as an anchor to the world Jughead drifted away from so often.
"I'm sorry, I know you're already aware of the angst of the teenage boy mind."
Jug would be damned if he said he didn't feel a swell of pride at Betty's soft giggle and the smile that lingered after the melody concluded.
"What's going on under that beanie?"
Betty asked softly, smiling politely with hidden concern.
"God awful hat hair."
"Jug," her voice scolded, smirking while she stared at him with the adoration and wonder of a child.
"Okay, alright. You're sitting with me at midnight in an outdated diner, which isn't quite far enough along in the unrealistic game that is my life to unlock my tragic backstory, but I'm feeling generous and somehow can't say no to you."
"That's dangerous." Betty whispered, a grin breaking on her face. Jughead risked missing a few of these by pulling her closer by her waist and winding a lanky arm around her petite frame.
The oxymoron that was Betty confounded Jughead. Initially touching her, one would assume she was as soft as cotton candy that people plucked from paper straws, as fragile and easily moved by warm summer air that winds its way through a county fair. But this blonde girl was not that superficial, because upon more pressure on her frame, a person with the privilege of touching Betty felt her unfeigned existence. She was not fragile, not as faint as it would seem. This princess was a little less Cinderella and more Leia, Jughead thought with a soft chuckle as he stared at his royal highness herself.
"Besides," Betty said, leaning into Jughead and relaxing into his frame as they awaited their milkshakes, "who is Jughead Jones? I want to know. Really."
After a beat of silence, Betty sat up and turned her body to face Jughead completely.
Jug adjusted, letting Betty move freely. He smiled at just the thought, as if anyone could stop Betty from doing anything she wanted.
"It's a very long story, filled with many sighs. You'd be better off without it." Jug insisted, nervously shifting his body away from the glimmering girl in pink.
He told himself to stop his defensive mechanisms and let out everything, tell Betty all he wanted to say and be who he wanted to be. However, he was Jughead Jones and she was Betty Cooper, and upon her request for his backstory like he was an easily unlocked character, Jug was beginning to feel as if this was all slightly too foreign for both parties involved.
"Look, Betty, really..." Jughead, with a shake of his head had now managed to completely terrify the girl next to him. "Maybe me and you, maybe this-"
"Hey." Her voice was soothing, and all of a sudden Jughead wasn't alone in his mind. Betty was there, coaxing him out of his solitary confinement of cranial structures. Her hand reached for his and for a moment, they were in their own world. "No pressure." She smiled gently, her thumb running over the back of his hand.
"And why is that?"
Jug asked softly, taking a cautious glance to meet her bright blue eyes.
"Because I've got years to figure you out, Jughead Jones. And that's what I plan on doing."
He replies with nothing but a twitch of his lips, trying to shape sentences in his mind.
And that night he tells her everything, sighs and all. Betty would rather be no where else.
The following days passed quickly, which was usual for Jughead. Usually twenty four hours would drone on and feel as if it was a week, limping alongside him as he attempted to find somewhere to sleep at night.
He and Betty had gone on no further dates, but he often accompanied her on the adventures she intended on risking her freedom for in order to get a good scoop for the blue and gold.
If asked, without hesitation Jughead would say he was joining her for the same reason.
School was different with Betty in his life. She listened, she cared.
That was more than Jughead knew how to thank anyone for.
There was no denying that Betty would go to any lengths necessary to achieve what she wanted. So when she appeared at Jughead's current resting stop at Archie Andrews' house in the middle of the night, Jug remained the only person untouched by shock.
"Dare I ask what brings you here at this-"
"I can't think." Betty responded in a staccato fashion, cutting the discombobulated boy off.
Her hair was down around her shoulders, brushed through haphazardly, and she had thrown on some sweatpants Jug hadn't seen her adorn in years.
"Um..." Jughead wanted to offer a solution, but it would be a lost cause when the girl of his dreams was already at his door. This specific girl, who he highly doubted didn't have a plan already written out for when she achieved waking him up from his deep slumber by spamming the doorbell. He noticed Betty's nails were cut raggedly, showing she had chewed on them in sudden panic. Now she had one in her mouth, gnawing on it and looking up at Jughead like she was drowning. Betty grew more and more upset, looking like she didn't even know where to start to tell him what was wrong.
"Okay. Hey, Betts. Look at me."
Jughead smiled slowly, a soothing motion in attempt to calm his girl down just a small amount. His palms came to meet the distressed girl's cheeks, pulling her head in a position where he could meet her eyes. He'd be lying if he claimed he didn't get lost in them for a moment, as he always did.
"Let me get some clothes on, and we can go on a walk? Is that what people like us do?"
"People like us?" Betty asked softly, her troubled eyes scampering to find somewhere to look as Jughead pulled her inside.
"Yes. Me and you. Us. Sit down, I'll be right back. Sorry to disappoint, but I can't just go out naked."
Jughead was halfway up the flight of wooden stairs when he heard the scattered blonde girl call to him, "you look nice without the hat."
After a pause, he turned and looked at her from his perch on the stairs. The cold draft was beginning to make his bare skin prickle, and he thanked god he at least adorned pajama pants.
"Your obligation to say that is much appreciated."
Betty smiled softly, a peak through the stormy clouds that seemed to be gathered in her mind recently. Jug hurried off to grab a shirt, careful not to wake Fred or Archie. The duo had been so accommodating that Jughead truly didn't know how to cooperate. It was more than anything he'd ever known, more of a family than he could admit to having.
Autopilot guided the now fully clothed boy down the stairs and to his girl, his angel, his Betty.
Her mind had seemed to mellow out as she looked at pictures on the refrigerator. Archie made an appearance in almost all of them, excluding only a precious few that were artwork he had exquisitely formed at the age of nine. When she heard footsteps of a certain lanky teenager she yearned more than anything to call her own, she turned.
"I have to say, you never cease to surprise." Jug smiled nervously, inwardly panicking due to lack of knowledge as to why this unstoppable, perfect girl was unraveling before his very eyes in the middle of the night. He thought for a moment that this was the most gorgeous he had ever had the privilege of seeing Betty Cooper. Her messy hair, loose graphic tee with some slogan on it from middle school field day, and her sweatpants all topped with the spotlight of the refrigerator's beam, cascading along her face and highlighting her tense features. There was a time and place for lip gloss and curly hair, but for now Jughead could ask for no more than the effortless beauty of Betty in his kitchen at two in the morning.
"I honestly cannot admit to being the best in these situations, so maybe you could do me a favor and know I'm trying my best."
Jughead smiled, trying to keep the banter lighthearted to no avail. Betty only returned with a weighed down, "Yeah, okay." Her eyes darted for a place to rest, and she found them at her muddy white sneakers.
"Hey, look at me. What's going on, Betts? I mean, if you don't want to talk, we don't-"
"It's Polly." Betty finally whispered, her voice so hushed it was a faint memory carried away by the white noise of the refrigerator whirring.
Jughead said nothing, a talent he had mastered by years of studying people. If Betty wanted to say more, she would. The last thing Jug was expecting was a forced confession on her behalf, so he simply stared understandingly at her, watching the shadows dance across her face.
Her mouth finally contorted, a deep breath shakily inhaled, and she whispered what Jughead would commit to memory.
"She's sick, and my parents want to pull her out of college and place her in a group home, but I-" The blonde hair girl choked on her words and Jughead moved silently to grab her a water and some fruit from the fridge. "I can't let that happen, Juggie, I can't let them take her, we'll fall apart, we'll crumble-" Betty's lip trembled and her eyes closed, her fists clenching. Jughead hurried up his process of haphazardly chopping up fruit and placing it on a plate that was chipped and cracked. After delivering the snack he prayed would help to calm his girl, he placed himself in a chair next to her. The two turned to face each other and Jughead gently grabbed her wrists.
"Your family will not crumble." Jughead said gently, caution seeping in his words. "Hey, listen to me." He whispered now, battling the combination of the refrigerator's song and rain beginning to patter at the windows.
Betty's eyes met his own, and the world ceased turning. Jughead would later laugh at himself for it, but now he could admit to the crime of imagining a love ballad playing as if they were in some movie, in a slow motion scene that subsequently caused viewers to clutch their hearts.
"You know what we're gonna do?"
Betty whispered a soft, "what?" from behind her tears, wiping her nose on a tissue she had crumpled in one of her hands.
Jug said nothing, in disbelief of himself as he felt his feet carry him to his phone on the kitchen counter.
"Juggie..." Betty whispered, shaking her head very gently. "I'm not-"
"Dance with me, Betty Cooper."
Jughead requested, his words dancing delicately around the soft melody coming from his phone.
Betty's face lit up, a fusion of confusion and excitement. "Okay." She scoffed, her broken grin showing reluctant enjoyment. "No way you know I love this song. No way in hell." Her voice picked up as her confidence did.
"You trust my self control concerning stalking much too highly." Jug's smirk said it all, his hand held out towards the shaken girl. "Or maybe I asked Veronica."
"That bitch." Betty said with a small chuckle, her head shaking in feigned reluctancy that remained as she took the boy's rough hands.
Jughead felt some sort of markings on the blonde girl's palms, but stayed silent.
Not now, he thought. They had all of the time in the world, and were protected by this soft light, the rain, and the irrevocably cheesy Queen song that Betty hummed, reverberating through Jughead's chest where her face was pressed snugly. Her eyes fluttered to a close as the two teenagers swayed, fingers and thumbs intertwined and arms securing one to another.
This was it, and somehow being each other's tether to the world neither of them too much enjoyed, melancholy didn't serve it justice.
"We don't have to talk." Jughead said softly, pulling away just enough to lean down and press a soft kiss to Betty's forehead. Warmth radiated from her naturally, and she found her way of outshining anyone in the room. She was impossible to ignore, and now Jughead's thoughts were spiraling.
"Jug." Betty whispered, looking up at him with all intentions of compelling him, captivating him with her charm and her playful smile. She was still shaken, still worried, but now secure. "I've been meaning to tell you something."
Jughead's heart dropped and his mind raced to the worst option, but he hid this by spinning her and pulling her petite frame back to his side. "Dare I say elaborate?" He inquired softly, the melody close to conclusion.
"I would sure hope so." Betty whispered, her hand beginning to jitter. The boy with Raven hair suddenly feared he had upset her, envisioning her blonde hair flitting in the breeze as she stormed out of the house and into the rain, never to speak to him again. His nightmare fantasy was stopped abruptly by Betty's hands on his face. Jughead looked down at her, raising an eyebrow in suspicion. "What are you gonna do, try to-" his defense mechanism of sardonic humor was cut short as Betty stood on the tip toes of her white sneakers and pressed her soft lips to his.
Jughead had never felt the swell of love in his chest -if one could even call it that, he didn't know. He had no experience- and he briefly feared he was harboring a heart attack. After pushing that thought away with the rationale of, 'if this is a heart attack, I'll die happy. If not, I'm kissing Betty fucking Cooper,' Jughead reached upwards from his hands at his sides, gripping his girl's waist and filling the gap between them.
When the girl Jughead was certain was too good for him pulled away, his mind raced and he lacked any skill of speech. So he pulled her in again, submitting to the will of the girl he had admired for too long.
In the morning, when Fred Andrews caught Betty asleep in Jughead's lap as they sat on the couch, the boy with crystalline eyes would swear that nothing happened. Of course, then he would cave and sputter to Fred and Archie over breakfast how they danced, and how he hoped his first real kiss would be shared with the same woman as his last.
The summer air hinged on the story of Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper. This balmy day in particular, the latter had suggested a day alone for both parties, partially due to the former's moping at the lack of new movies to watch and a mean case of writer's block. Polly had been sent away and Betty, understandably not taking too well to the change, needed a day away from Riverdale as well. As much as she loved her town, she had to admit that it became suffocating at times.
Betty suggested it first, her eyes lit up and her hands clasped in front of her chest as she had done when convincing the boy in the hat she adored to write for The Blue and Gold. That sneaky little minx, Jughead cursed in his mind. She knew his self control wavered around her, if not completely collapsed at the sight of her cinched pony tail bouncing towards him in a crowd.
"A what now?" Jughead had asked, tilting his head. "You want us to spent a weekend acting as if we're homeless, for fun?"
"You are /such/ a negative Nelly! No! I want to take a road trip, just me and you. It will be so much fun, I'll tell my mother I'm with Veronica. You can tell Fred-"
"You win, save the concrete plan you've concocted for when it's in action." Jughead deadpanned, though a smile crept onto his face at the sight of Betty, his Betty, bobbing up and down on her heels excitedly as if she was a child who found a puppy and was just informed they were allowed to keep.
Jughead always admired that about her, and remained radio silent on the subject. Betty had the wonder of a girl with the strength of a woman, and Jug couldn't ask for any more than her, a super hero in her own right.
And here he found himself, driving halfway across the country looking for god knows what, god knows where. All he knew was that Betty was there with him. He'd also be lying if he said she wasn't quite the distraction. Her hair was down, the first Jughead had seen since the night she appeared at his door approximately two weeks ago.
Now that school was out, Betty was different. Not for worse, not for better. Jughead saw her as Betty, his Juliet. With a small grimace at the pavement he drove on, Jughead realized that double suicide wasn't what he was striving for. Regardless of two households alike in dignity, Verona was far from here and Betty far from Juliet. Her slowly tanning feet were propped out of the window as she sat back, a journal propped in her lap that she scribbled furiously at. Jug wondered how she could even manage writing with her blonde curls whipping around her face at such a high speed. Her bright red lips curled into a concentrated scowl as she wrote, and though his curiosity often got the better of him, Jughead learned the hard way not to interrupt Betty Cooper when she was writing.
So the summer wind blew through the windows and inflated their clothes, whipping at their hair.
The radio sang its song, carrying a tune that Betty would like for sure, Jughead thought silently.
Finally, after an hour of Betty jotting whatever had taken over her mind for the allotted time, she snapped her book closed and let out an exasperated sigh, closing her eyes and tipping her head back to rest on that of which her arm was meant to occupy.
Jughead allowed this silence for a moment, and decided to go out on a limb to ask what he had been dying to know.
"...so, do I even want to ask where we're going?" He inquired cautiously, sparing a glance over at his girlfriend.
"Um..." The blonde girl straightened herself in the seat, sticking her head out of the window to steal a gaze into the clear noon sky. "Not much longer down this road." She said with a grin, leaning over to press a kiss to Jughead's pale cheek. "What, don't you trust me?" She dared to ask, leaning on her arm rest in anticipation.
"Last time you had to ask that, we spent a night in an insane asylum." Jughead said flatly, glancing over at Betty, who scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"We did not /have/ to stay there, I wanted to! You could've left at any time!" She defended herself behind multicolored sunglasses, assisting Jughead in focusing on the road more than keeping the sun out of Betty's eyes. The risk of eye contact forcing his mind into overdrive was not particularly wanted when behind the wheel.
"Ooh! Here it is, pull over!"
Betty said, excitedly bouncing in her seat and ringing her hands together.
To their right, where Betty's eyes were trained and her polished nail was pointing through the rolled down window, was merely a field of grass, similar and almost exact to multiple that Jug had passed three hours ago.
"/What?/" He asked, his eyebrows creasing so hard that had he worn his hat, it would be wrestled out of its place on his head.
"Right here!"
Thank god no one was behind the truck Jughead had managed to borrow from his father under some innate excuse, because the field was passing fast and Jughead did not want to put much effort into turning around. He screeched to a halt, feeling his own eyes widen as the chassis of the car creaked when Jughead pulled off of the paved road and into the open field.
"Jesus Christ, a little warning next time would be great! I don't intend on 'macking it'-" Jug used air quotes, emphasizing his point. "-with anyone but you for a while, /especially/ my airbag!"
But Betty didn't hear a word, she was out of the car as soon as Jughead had neared a stopping point. "And now we wait." She whispered, barely able to be heard as the trees rustled far in the distance, the ankle length grass swaying with them.
"Betty. My darling girlfriend. Love of my life." Jughead's tone dripped sarcasm, a side effect he blamed on the heart attack he had just survived. "What the fuck is this? Why did we drive three hours for this?"
"Shh." Betty whispered, kneeling down to scoop up a fluorescent blue butterfly on her finger.
Jughead couldn't bring himself to be upset with her, because Betty always had a reason. She knew what she was doing, five steps ahead at all times.
"Didn't you bring your old man camera?"
"My extremely expensive, antique Polaroid? If that's the one you mean, then yes. I did." The boy glanced back at where he had parked his truck, on the shoulder of the road comprised of chipped pavement.
"Go get it. Please?" Betty grabbed her boyfriend and pulled him close, pecking his lips in a casual fashion that she was most fond of.
After reluctantly distancing himself, Jug found it in his power to sigh as he gazed down at Betty.
"As the princess wishes." He murmured, turning away from Betty for just a moment.
Then he reversed the action and faced her, squinting. He wished he could mask his mischievous smile, but of course this was to no avail. "Why...?"
"We must record this monumental achievement! I, Betty Cooper, actually made you take a road trip with me to come to some random field in the middle of no where! If pictures are not taken, Juggie, I fear no one will believe me."
And so that's what took place. Jughead went to unspeakable lengths to get the 'most flattering' angles, as Betty called them. The joke was on her, he thought to himself. Every angle was her most flattering, not that she would even need them. He laid on his stomach, propped on his elbows with one eye open as he shot the blonde, picture after picture collecting and spewing from his camera.
He would later deny letting a girl with lip gloss for a best friend coax him into approving making himself a model in a field of daisies and grass for her enjoyment as she took pictures of him for once, but in the moment it was perfect.
The sun started to set after taking a break to eat a few sandwiches Betty had already created, as Jughead could've predicted. Five steps ahead at any given time, Betty Cooper didn't forget sandwiches.
The sun sank, acting as copper dwelling to the depths of the ocean of the sky, painting it red and purple and every color in between.
Betty decided to bring out the blankets and pillows she had brought along. She packed them into the back of Jug's truck, fashioning a small safe heaven in the form of a makeshift bed.
The two planted themselves there, laying on a raft amongst a sea of grass under a purple sky. Betty sat up, distancing herself from Jughead unintentionally. He could tell an explanation was on the horizon, and he braced himself for comforting. He had Googled it, and was certainly a pro now. The five steps told him exactly what to do. Foolproof.
"Polly and I used to do this." She finally admitted. Her words cut like a knife through the wind, as if she was unafraid of the ever changing current of air. She let her words be torn from her lips and to the trees, up with the fireflies that glimmered like her own eyes when she spoke like this. "When mom and dad were fighting, when things got bad. She would drive me out as far as she could and we would spend the night in her car, watching the sky and talking about everything. Sometimes we dared to talk about nothing, only wishing we could be on a far away planet. In our own little way, I suppose we were." The girl sighed, shrugging effortlessly and shaking her head. "But whatever, I don't mean to make you feel like you're replacing-"
"No." Jug said so softly that he hadn't realized it actually left his lips until he registered Betty's reaction. Her lips closed and she tilted her head as if urging him to elaborate. Under her gaze he would rather do nothing else. "I mean..." He stuttered and forced himself to sit up, now mirroring Betty exactly. "No. I know you aren't replacing her with me. You know-" he said with a chuckle that ended too abruptly, hiding a melancholic sigh. "-Jellybean used to love the stars. I'm sure she still does." He found himself giving Betty her same hopeless shrug of shoulders back as he continued. "Sometimes I like to look at the stars at night and convince myself that she's looking at the same sky. Makes me feel more connected, like she isn't a world away." The boy ended hesitantly, his words drifting off in volume.
Betty hadn't said a word, and she was now glaring at a star in the sky that was bold enough to become the first one that emerged from the departing clouds. "I wish I was a world away sometimes. Away from Riverdale, away from all of this dread and hurt, away from-..." She stopped herself short. "-but even then I wouldn't be happy. Away from myself is where I want to be. Take me away from Riverdale, away from my family, but I will never be away from me."
"Betts?" Jughead prodded as he reached forward to nudge her hand into his own.
"Mm." Betty murmured in response.
"The world is yours to take." He smiled sadly as he exposed to her a fact that he didn't want to share at any cost. If Betty realized her potential, her power, she would leave him. She would run and never look back. Jughead's mind stalled as he realized something; he yearned more than anything to see Betty happy, even at the expense of his own joy. "Betty." His head shook and he stopped himself before he choked on the lump forming in his throat. Here, under the stars with her, a world away from Riverdale, he had never felt so at home. "You can topple mountains, Betty Cooper. You can raise empires and free nations, your mind alone can steal the hurt and pain from this god awful world we live in. /Betty/." Jughead realized that he was now completely turned towards her, both hands clutching hers in desperation of getting his point across. "There are galaxies of thought behind your eyes. Elizabeth." Betty's hands tensed, then relaxed. "The world, this earth... it is at your mercy. It's yours to take, so /take the mother fucker./"
Jug didn't have time to think or take precautions, it was all coming out now and he had no use in hiding. Throwing apprehension to the wind, he was now bathing in the moonlight that shrouded Betty's features.
"Can I tell you something?" Her voice sounded from a place of fear, Jughead could hear it in the shaky ending of her question.
"Always." He whispered as he prepared himself for the hook, line, and sinker of Betty kicking him to the curb just as he had exposed only the tip of the iceberg of his feelings for her. His hands slipped from hers but she kept him in place, not allowing his wrists to pass her finger tips any longer.
"I love you, Jughead Jones." Betty whispered, and in the starlight, Jug could've sworn he witnessed a tear falling from the crystalline eyes he had loved, and that now loved him.
"I, me-" Jughead failed speaking yet tried again, chuckling nervously as Betty let out a sigh of relief. "Just come here." She whispered, pulling Jughead's face to close the space between them. The kiss they shared transcended all others, and this night would live on in the cosmos for much longer than the powers that be would suffer the mercy of. And in this kiss, this broken yet hopeful kiss, Betty felt water dampen her finger tips. Trailing them upwards and traversing Jughead's cheekbones, she would find their origin at his eyes.
He said nothing, simply gripped Betty's wrist very gently and crumpled, tears no longer restrained and sobs no longer silenced.
On this night, Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper would live on as soulmates, as one, and as the world intended them to be.
Betty Cooper didn't have the privilege of saying she was speechless very often. She enjoyed speaking to people, as opposed to her boyfriend who still had a problem with reaching out welcomingly. Of course, Betty didn't want to see Jughead changing any time soon. It was simply assumed that while being so close to someone as open and sociable as Betty, Jug would've acquired at least a fraction of her traits. Alas, he remained the same. Betty knew that she would have it no other way. After two years of their dynamic relationship that contained countless arguments and late night talks, Betty and Jughead were bathing in the enjoyment of each other. They had evolved into something stronger, realizing they were more powerful and resilient together than they were apart. Betty, however, had become very tense as her stress grew from balancing journalism and her newly enrolled college courses. Jughead was working on his novel as well as taking up a few jobs to assist in paying for Betty's schooling. She received many scholarships after high school graduation, but those would not cover everything. Alice Cooper had not taken kindly to her idea of moving in with Jughead, meaning no more funding from Mama Cooper. He had been kind in suggesting they flag the idea, but as usual, Betty's mind was set and nothing in the world could change that.
This all landed her here, her signature ponytail and clothing had survived from high school with a more sophisticated twist. She hadn't grown much in height over the two years, which she cursed when she realized her relatively short legs were simply not making the cut for ideal transportation from her job at the most renowned media producer in the northeast, to where she attended highly renowned classes at her enrolled university. These two locations were regretfully twenty blocks apart, meaning just an inconvenience for driving or walking. This wasn't an issue in warmer months, but Betty would be lying if she said sleet in her face wasn't necessarily ideal. Luckily, she didn't have to worry about this now. Summer was in full effect and it carried her along as she hurriedly scampered to her oh-so-beloved job straight from her previous class. She looked less than well-tempered, evident when she stuffed her books into the satchel on her back haphazardly with a little too much force.
Betty looked down at her phone, daring to know if she had left something in her classroom. These days she was so busy that she truly didn't enjoy checking her phone, resulting from a year of messages filled with extra assignments that would only leave her with more work.
But Betty realized that this was not one of those instances, her eyes scanning the message in her phone and letting out a relieved sigh at the sight of her boyfriend's name. Upon further investigation she came upon the knowledge that he was merely checking up on her. Jughead had realized after Betty left that she had forgotten to take her Adderall.
'From: Juggie: Left your meds here, care to take a coffee break and I can deliver them like the award-winning boyfriend I am?'
Betty whined aloud, covering her face in frustration. She would love nothing more than a lunch date with her boyfriend, but she had work in ten minutes. Betty barely possessed time to eat by herself anymore. She huffed as she walked hurriedly, typing a quick response filled with remorse to Jughead.
'To: Juggie: I wish. I'm okay. Work in 10, love you.'
Then her phone was shoved in her back pocket and she picked up speed.
At the end of the day, Betty absolutely could not process that she survived the entire day without eating much. Climbing the steps to their apartment seemed like a hike up Everest, but she resisted the urge to take a break as she neared the last flight and opened her door with a turn of her keys.
"Baby, I'm home." She called, her voice wistful at the sight of her apartment. Jughead had cleaned, that much was obvious. Typically, she would come home to half of the cleaning all her own. This time was different, and she couldn't help but wonder why. "Juggie?" Betty called, her voice gaining volume as her nerves prickled. She had already not taken her medication, and her mind was racing. Where had he gone? She glanced over at the table, where his phone lay face down. Jug never left his phone, he had to be here.
"Sorry! Sorry, hey!" Jughead greeted her, running out from their bedroom and nearly slipping on the wooden floor due to his socks being his only form of traction.
Betty yelped, covering her mouth. "Jughead Jones! Don't scare me like that!" She placed one hand on her hip and one on her forehead in exasperation. Jughead was pulling on his hat and a flannel, his pants in the process of being buttoned quickly.
"What are you-"
"Well, you're home early and I didn't want this to go this way, but whatever." Jughead finished getting fully dressed. He looked nervous, Betty realized with a hint of suspicion. "Let's go out. I want to take you out to eat and we haven't been able to do anything lately, between my schedule and yours." He was so hopeful, it gleaned in his eyes. Betty hated to knock him down.
"Oh, no, we can't. I can't. Jug-"
"Come on Betts, you're running yourself ragged." Jughead pressed on, approaching his girlfriend and pulling her into a hug that he hoped would find its way to calming her nerves.
Betty began to protest, but instead rested her head on his shoulder and melted into his embrace. A night off would be good.
"Okay." She murmured, closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath that morphed into a sigh.
"Okay?" Jughead asked and pulled away only a few inches, keeping her within his reach. She looked exhausted. "Don't worry. I recognize the bags under your eyes are no less than Gucci."
Betty let out a tired giggle, shaking her head. "Let me get ready. Where are we going?"
"It's a secret." Jug smiled nervously.
"Last time there was a secret place we were traversing to, you just had no plans and we ended up at Pop's." Betty accused with squinted eyes. "Which, now that I'm thinking about it... does not sound too bad."
Jughead scoffed, clutching his chest in feigned offense. "What? Nonsense! Do not mistake my spontaneity for ignorance!" He grabbed Betty and hoisted her up by her thighs.
Betty's hair bounced and she grabbed Jug's face, leaning down to peck his lips.
"Now put me down. I've been craving a Pop's burger for weeks and there is no time to waste." Betty requested as she twisted out of his grip, bounding to the floor. Soon enough they were ready and at the door.
"Okay. Oh damn, I left my phone." Jughead threw out as an excuse and retreated back to the bedroom. He returned and nodded towards Betty. "Got it."
But as Betty risked a glance at the table, she realized his phone still sat there. She said nothing, trusting that Jughead wasn't attempting to pull something over on her.
Pop's was more crowded than Betty had seen it since she was a young girl. Since their move from Riverdale, their frequency at their favorite diner had been only a fraction of what it was before. Business was booming, which the two noticed as they walked hand in hand into the protection of bright red fluorescents.
"You get a seat. I'm gonna go talk to Pop." Jughead said, pressing a kiss to Betty's temple and releasing her hand.
Something was certainly going on, Betty always saw right through her boyfriend. She loved his scheming only when she was involved in it, like old days where they worked for The Blue and Gold. Betty, never one to do what she was told, found her way around the counter in a crouched position. What her eyes fell upon, she wished she could shake from her mind. Her hair stood on end, prickling at the back of her neck. Jughead, her boyfriend and who she hoped to spend the rest of her life with, was whispering to the owner of the diner who they both knew well enough to be family. The raven haired boy was handing something over to Pop, something that held so much potential danger that he was obstructing it from anyone's view but the man in front of him.
Betty covered her mouth and fled to a seat, attempting to look as casual as possible. She was visibly shaken, which she tried to play off as she fiddled with her silverware.
Before long, Jughead was sliding into the seat next to her and wrapping his arm around her petite frame. "Hey, gorgeous. Come here often?" He asked with a smirk, raise of his eyebrow, and then an innocent kiss to her neck that was exposed after her body temperature spiked due to seeing her boyfriend in such a state.
Betty forced her smile, but there was no way the chuckle that somehow escaped had been able to be controlled. Jughead could elicit a response from Betty so easily that it could've been considered sport for him. "Whatever." She said, blush overtaking her face at the affection.
A waitress waltzed her way over. "I was told that you two are alumni of Pop's and should be given /extra/ special treatment." She seemed nice enough, but when a wink was sent Jughead's way, Betty went on the defensive. "Mhm that's us." She said hurriedly, tilting her head. "Anyways... I think I'll get-"
"Pop knows our order." Jughead said, flashing the girl a smile.
Betty's mind was often off the wall, but now the possibilities were spiraling. She checked her palms, where four crescent-shaped scars remained.
"Betts?" Jughead asked cautiously, taking her hands into his own. He seemed to have noticed her gaze upon them, something that only happened when she was becoming upset or shaken. "Hey, what's going on?"
"Stress." Betty lied smoothly, smiling nervously and shaking her head. What had Jug gotten himself into? Dealing drugs? That couldn't be right. "Stress from work. Speaking of work-" she straightened up in her seat, "-what work have you been doing lately? We haven't even been able to talk about how your /income/ is going, and-"
"Betty." Jug smirked, shaking his head in a way that still remained the quickest route to a fluttering heart. "I know I've been acting a little off today, and the past week, but I have good reason-"
"What did you give to Pop?" Betty forced the question out and prayed Jughead didn't take it to heart. She was suspicious, and typically this trait would get her out of trouble. This time, it seemed to be the other way around.
"/What?/ Betty, were you /spying/ on me?"
"Well, I-"
"Two milkshakes for two Joneses." The waitress sat down the two drinks and smiled at Jug, then stood back but didn't walk away.
Betty chuckled nervously, slightly relieved that their conversation was cut short. However, she did hear something that was incorrect.
"Two Joneses?" Betty asked, her smile now morphing into a confused grin. And all of a sudden, three pairs of eyes were on her. Pop watched from across the room, the waitress covered her mouth with excitement, and Jughead merely shrugged with confidence in every move. "How's the milkshake?" He asked, tipping his head towards the light pink shake that Betty always loved from this diner they grew up in.
"Jug, what's going-" Betty stopped and her heart skipped a beat. Floating on top of her milkshake was whipped cream, topped with a cherry with a straw sticking out of it. Around this straw was a ring that rested on top of the red cherry, shimmering and catching the eye of anyone who dared to look its way. Jughead had selected it simply because of those features that reminded him of Betty. He was now standing up, climbing out of the booth to find his way down to one knee on the cold, tile floor.
Betty said nothing, covering her face as it heated up. She was sure her face was redder than any sunburn she had ever adorned.
"I once knew a girl who reminded me of a princess." Jughead started, taking a deep breath as Betty scooted out of her seat to stand and look down at him.
The milkshake with the ring remained on the table.
"She was kind, and generous, more intelligent than anyone would give her credit for. She was kept captive by a family who she herself held together. She loved as fiercely as she acted, bold and daring and unforgiving." Jughead was getting worked up now, apprehensive and nervous above anything else. "This princess was too good for the Knight who adored her, yet she gave the broken boy a chance anyway."
Betty felt a tear slip down her cheek and she shook her head, her grin splitting her cheeks. "Jughead-" She whispered wistfully, enamored in every sense of the word.
"But though it took a few tries and few admittedly awkward affectionate encounters-" he smiled jokingly, and Betty heard the restaurant chuckle with her. They were catching eyes as always, gazes of the whole room locked on Betty and Jughead. "-the Knight witnessed this princess become more than anyone had ever dreamed, but he always knew was in her potential. This princess was not one, and never was so, but a queen." Jughead's smile twitched with anticipation. "This Queen, this mountain-toppling and ground breaking queen shook the earth with every step, and left no eye unscathed to her burning beauty and wit. So my queen, my princess, best woman I know... Elizabeth Cooper." Jughead stood and scooped up the milkshake with the floating ring perched upon it from the table.
"Will you marry me?" Jughead whispered, handing Betty the entire shake.
"Jug-" Betty nodded vigorously, for now she could not find any word but 'yes,' slipping from her lips and tumbling it's way right to Jughead's heart. Applause rumbled the whole diner and Jughead plucked the ring from the shake, thankfully clean, slipping it on Betty's finger. Admittedly, this was difficult due to Betty not being able to still her jittering appendages. Many more words would be exchanged, many more vows. Of course they would harbor more arguments, but nothing could amount to these two people, these two human beings who would go to the end of the Earth to protect one another. There would be more quips and suspicions, but certainly more tears that healed scars that were too deep to surface, emerging only where they were buried deep in their souls. Because he was Jughead Jones, scarred beyond belief and still not completely healed, and she would be come to be known as Elizabeth Jones. There was not a doubt in her mind that she would stop at nothing until their love carried away all problems yet to come, for nothing could amount to what she felt for her soulmate, and what he felt of her.