Chapter Text
Chapter 1
“We do not take a trip. A trip takes us.”
John Steinbeck, “Travels With Charley”
“I’ll go with you,” Betty Cooper said on July 5th, a day later than Jughead Jones had been planning on leaving for his road trip with Archie Andrews.
Jughead shook his head. “I was just thinking about canceling it. I don’t think your mother would be too thrilled if she knew you and I were going on a road trip together. She’d probably think I was trying to get you to sleep with me or something like that.”
“I’m pretty sure that she’d be more worried if I was going to drive in a car with Archie,” Betty answered. “She knows it isn’t like that between me and you. Come on Juggie, I know I’m not Archie but it could still be fun.”
That was true. She had a lot going for her too. Her taste in music and audiobooks was better compared to his other best friend’s. She wasn’t girl crazy (or even boy crazy for that matter, so he wouldn’t have to listen to non-stop chatter about who she thought was hot.) Thanks to her love for Nancy Drew and her experience with the Girl Scouts, she was handy with an actual road map. She could also cook from practically nothing at all and there was the added bonus that she smelled better than Archie and she was good at making conversation.
Plus, she was available since her internship in New York City had been canceled last minute. She’d probably be alone for most of the summer too since her sister Polly was off with Jason Blossom and she didn’t have a lot of friends. Archie was too busy with what Jughead assumed was a secret girlfriend to bother with them.
“Okay! Okay!” Jughead finally agreed. “If you’re really serious, we can take the road trip together.”
What was the worst that could happen? His unrequited love for her would intensify? That was bound to happen even if they stayed put in Riverdale. She would suggest they go to the Twilight to see a movie or she’d bake him a strawberry rhubarb pie after they’d spent the day picking strawberries and she would steal his heart a little more. It was a battle he had been losing since the first day they had met and she had shared her gummy worms with him on the playground.
Maybe hours in the car with her would help him see all her bad qualities and habits and he would finally be able to stop loving her.
“When should we leave?” Betty asked her excitement was uncontainable and even a little irresistible.
“I already have all the supplies we could possibly need for the drive, so we could leave as soon as you have a bag packed,” Jughead answered. “But don’t you need to ask your parents for permission before we leave?”
Betty faltered. “I’ll stop by the Register on my way home and talk to my father,” she answered. “He’ll say yes. They’ve been so busy dealing with Polly these days, they’ll probably be happy that I’m out of the way for the time being.”
“Just don’t mention we won’t have adult supervision,” Jughead advised. “Or the fact that I just got my driver’s license.”
Betty nodded, she was not an expert at sneaking out or lying to her parents because she’d never done it before but she kind of knew what to do because Polly had given her a detailed list about what to do. She had to give them just enough details to keep them satisfied.
“I know Jughead,” she said, patting his hand.
“And I know you don’t do stuff like this ever!” Jughead replied. “You could never be sneaky even if you tried!”
“Jug, I’ve got it covered!” Betty promised as she threw some money on the table and stood up. “I’ll meet you back here ASAP!”
“You better watch out,” Pop warned him as he came to collect the empty French fry baskets and milkshake glasses from Jughead and Betty’s table.
Jughead frowned. “What are you talking about Pop?”
Pop nodded towards the door. “It’s obvious you like her.”
“Who? Betty? Almost everybody likes Betty!” Jughead answered. “The people who don’t like her are crazy and jealous.”
“I’ve known you two since you were kids,” Pop reminded him. “I think you like her just a little bit more than a friend. You look at her with a look that I’ve seen you only reserve for cheeseburgers and pecan pie. Just be careful. Sometimes a road trip is just a road trip.”
“Pop, I know!” Jughead tried to assure him. “I don’t have any delusions that she’ll ever see me as more than one of her best friends. But thank you for your concern.”
Pop patted him on the shoulder. “I don’t think Betty would ever, ever hurt anybody intentionally but I would hate for you to get hurt.”
Jughead nodded. “I know but I know what I’m doing. Betty and I are just two friends taking the road trip that I was supposed to take with Archie. Out of most of the people in my life, I’ve always been able to count on her. She has never let me down.”
Pop sighed. “I guess all I can do now is tell you to have a good time and to be nice to her. And come see me when you get back, I want to hear all about this epic adventure you’re going on.”
.
Betty was back exactly one hour later with a small suitcase in tow and a tote bag slung over her shoulder.
“We’re good to go!” She called as she hurried over to meet him, her flip-flops slapping the pavement. “Dad said it’ll be fine but that we have to get our own hotel rooms and I have to check in every day so he’ll know I’m still alive.”
“We’re camping under the stars one night,” Jughead told her.
“So, we’ll use separate sleeping bags then!” Betty answered. “And I won’t tell if you won’t.”
Jughead shook his head and lifted her suitcase into his car. “Ready to go?” he asked, slamming the trunk shut and opening the passenger door for her.
“Let’s get out of here,” Betty replied, sliding into his vintage Convertible, putting on a pair of oversized sunglasses.
Jughead turned the key in the ignition. He handed her his second-hand iPod. “You’re in charge of the music for right now,” he told her as he pulled out of Pop’s parking lot and onto the street.
Betty scrolled through his multiple playlists before selecting one named Untitled. A cover of Bette Davis Eyes came over the speakers.
Jughead’s eyes widened slightly but he didn’t look away from the road stretched out in front of them. “You can play anything except that playlist!” he said. “Please.”
“Is it for your girlfriend?” Betty teased as she went back to the menu of playlists.
“You know as well as I do that I don’t have a girlfriend,” Jughead retorted. “Just change it, please!”
“Fine!” Betty conceded, changing the music like he had asked her to. “So, what’s our first stop? Do you have a plan?”
“I kind of have a plan,” Jughead answered. “It’s just a road trip, we were kind of going to go wherever the road took us. Do you have anything wrong with that?”
“No!”
Jughead could tell she was lying. Betty hadn’t made a wrong move since she was a little girl and she always had a plan.
“We’re going to stop and see my mother and sister,” Jughead said after a second. “And I wanted to try to stop at some of the places that have been on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. I’ve mapped them all out.”
“Of course you did,” Betty answered affectionately. “Do your mom and sister know you’re coming?”
“Yeah. I didn’t want to just drop in on them without any notice. Just in case they were busy or had other things going on,” Jughead replied. “They’ll be even happier when they see you’re with me. Jellybean keeps asking about you when I talk to her.”
Betty smiled. “Really?”
Jughead nodded. “I’m not just saying that either. She really does ask about you, she remembers how you used to watch the Disney Channel with her while you guys colored. I think it’s one of the highlights of her young life.”
“So, where else are going to go?” Betty asked.
“I don’t know. What do you want to do?”
“Maybe we can stop in New York City and see if we can win lottery tickets to see Hamilton,” Betty suggested.
“I don’t know, Betts. Broadway isn’t really my thing,” Jughead answered.
“Driving around in beat up old cars without a plan isn’t really my thing,” Betty replied. “And yet, here we are. Besides even with the lottery, getting Hamilton tickets is near impossible! Even Taylor Swift couldn’t get tickets.”
“Listen, if you want to try and go see a Broadway show then we can do that,” Jughead told her. “I’m just not going to love it.”
“You don’t need to love it,” Betty assured him. “You just need to sit through it! Oh and while we’re in New York, we should try and see where some of the romantic comedies were filmed!”
“How long do you think we’ll be in New York for exactly?” Jughead asked. “It costs a lot of money to stay in the city, you know.”
Betty didn’t really know how much it cost to stay in the city. Because although the Coopers weren’t as wealthy as other families in Riverdale, she had never had to worry about anything. Whenever she had gone with her family to New York, her father had always been the one with the credit card. All she really had to think about was what to wear to whatever shows her parents had gotten tickets to see. Jughead knew this. He knew that she knew that he knew it.
“Sorry,” Betty said meekly. “I hadn’t thought about money. You know what, let’s skip New York City altogether.”
“We don’t have to skip it completely!” Jughead protested. “There are a couple of used bookstores I’d like to see.”
Betty perked up. “Bookstores?” she repeated. “Oh, well. . . I love bookstores.”
Jughead smirked. “I know. Remember? We’ve been friends for long, I pay attention to you.”
Betty smiled again, it lit up the whole car and smoothed her fingers over her skirt. Jughead turned his attention back to the road, he could hardly stand it when she was happy. It did things to him. He didn’t know how he was going to spend a whole trip with her because he knew she would be prone to bursts of incandescent joy. And sometimes he would be responsible for it.
But it was too late to turn back. He couldn’t be an Indian giver, after all and take it back. Tell her to get out of the car and that she wasn’t allowed to go with him after all.
Besides, he had been really looking forward to going on this road trip. If he didn’t get it together, he wouldn’t be able to go because there was no way he could drive too far away without somebody with him.
He couldn’t do it without her. But she wasn’t a necessary evil.
Not by a long shot.
.
They made good time getting to Connecticut but were stuck in traffic once they got into the Constitution state.
“Maybe we should stop for now and leave first thing in the morning,” Betty proposed when it didn’t look like they were going to move much further down the highway.
“Ugh. I wanted to make it to New York by tonight,” Jughead said.
“Do you have a hotel reservation or something in New York?” Betty asked.
“No. . .”
Betty shrugged. “Well, then I don’t see why it’s so important why we make it there by tonight. You know, it’ll be fine if we get there by tomorrow. Half the fun of the journey is getting to the destination.”
“Sounds like Pinterest wisdom to me,” Jughead grumbled. “And not something you actually believe in personally.”
“I believe in all helping encouragements,” Betty replied, beaming at him as she turned down the music and got her phone out. “I’m looking for a place to spend the night.”
“It’s the day after Fourth of July,” Jughead reminded her. “I highly doubt you’re going to find a vacancy in the kind of place you’re used to staying to.”
Betty looked at him and huffed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that your typical bed & breakfasts might be full and we’re going to have to stay at a Motel 6 or something,” Jughead answered. “You know, rough it.”
“A Motel 6 is hardly roughing it,” Betty said.
“You’ve never stayed in one if you honestly believe that,” Jughead retorted.
“I don’t care if I have to ‘rough’ it. There’s no way I want to sit in traffic all night! There’s no way I’m going to let you sit in traffic all night and try to stay awake!” Betty told him. “I’m just going to find the first available hotel. I don’t care what it is.”
“You will if there’s mold in the AC,” Jughead told her. “I read travel blogs.”
Betty made a face. “Eww.”
“Or if somebody killed themselves in their hotel room,” Jughead continued, gaining traction with bugging her. “I know all the signs for that, I can tell you whenever we get there.”
“I’ll book us into a Holiday Inn Express or Hampton Inn then,” Betty said, rolling her eyes.
“They kill themselves there too,” Jughead answered, smirking at her. “But like I said, I know all the signs. I can tell you what to look for.”
“Ugh, Juggie!” Betty said. “You know what, I don’t even care. We’re stopping for the night!”
Jughead was beginning to think maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to bring her with him after all when he released a powerful yawn.
“You’re making me tired!” He accused her jokingly.
“I am not!” Betty protested. “There’s a Holiday Inn Express five minutes away from where we are right now, I’m going to call and see if they have rooms for us to rent.”
“It’s not even six o’clock yet!” Jughead said.
“So, we can get dinner and do some exploring,” Betty answered. “But trust me, waiting out traffic will be better for both our peace of mind.”
Jughead sighed, he knew there was no arguing with Betty as soon as she set her mind on something. So, he asked her for directions to the Holiday Inn Express she wanted to stay in and plugged it into his GPS.
.
Author’s Note: