Chapter Text
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Chapter 1
“What do you mean Dilton quit!?” Betty Cooper asked, feeling the beginnings of a tension headache. “He can’t just quit! We have qualifying rounds in a month! Who am I going to skate with?”
“Elizabeth, sweetie, here’s a novel idea. You could try out to go to the Olympics by yourself,” her mother and coach suggested. “You’re good enough to go solo. Skate in the singles, we both know you’re capable of doing it.”
Betty shook her head. “I don’t think I could. I’ve had a partner since I was 5. And. . .”
“And?” Alice said.
“I just don’t want to watch Cheryl and Jason Blossom win a gold medal in pairs, again!”
Alice sighed. “Fine. Forsythe Jones just lost his partner and is looking for a new one as well. Maybe you should go and talk to him.”
“Jughead?” Betty repeated.
“Is there something wrong with Jughead?” Alice asked. “The last time I checked, he was a decent skater and he’s actually placing in competitions.”
“He’s unconventional,” Betty replied.
Alice nodded. “I will admit his song choices are a little different than what you’d normally hear in a skating rink. But it wasn’t like Toni Topaz was your most conventional skater either. I’m sure if he agreed to be your new partner, you could get him on a more traditional path.”
Betty huffed. “Jughead Jones!” she repeated.
“Come on Betty, It’s not like he has warts and pimples!” Alice said. “He’s actually pretty photogenic and you two would make a good looking pair. Just talk to him, just skate with him once and see if there’s anything there.”
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“Elizabeth Cooper wants to meet with me?” Jughead raised an eyebrow as he studied his couch, Geraldine Grundy. “What’s the catch?”
“No catch,” Geraldine answered. “Her partner dumped her recently and she’s in need of a new one. Since Toni recently quit skating—”
“Everyone thinks we’re going to be a match made in figure skating heaven,” Jughead finished for her. “That’s it, isn’t it?”
“You could just go and talk to her,” Geraldine answered. “Without any of that trademark snark of your's. Unless you want to quit skating too. You could always go for that English degree you’ve been talking about the last 7 years.”
“Quit?” Jughead shook his head. “You know I wanted to compete at least one more time before I considered retiring.”
“Talk to Elizabeth then,” Geraldine said. “She might be exactly what you’re looking for.”
“Ugh but she’s so. . . so. . .”
“Traditional?” Geraldine supplied.
“Uptight is the word I am looking for, actually!” Jughead answered. “She’ll probably want to change me and the way I do things. Isn’t there anyone else?”
“Now Jug, there’s always room to grow and change,” Geraldine told him. “Maybe the two of you could compromise.”
“If I agree to skate with her then I am one step away from see-through shirts and sequins!”
Geraldine put her finger to her lips and shook her head. “Shhh! She’s going to hear you!”
“You invited her here!?” Jughead frowned. “What were you thinking?”
“That if she didn’t plan a sneak attack, you would never agree to see me!” Betty said, crossing her arms.
Jughead inwardly groaned when he saw her standing across from him in a pink North Face fleece pullover, leggings, and her ponytail as tight as it was when they had first met in 7th grade.
“Betty Cooper, it’s so nice to see you again,” he said, deciding to fake being pleasant.
It wasn’t like they were rivals or anything. He actually liked her as a regular person, she was well-read, quick witted, and as pretty as hell. But as a figure skater. . . she was a thing of legends. Married to tradition, they probably wouldn’t mesh well on the ice and after years of coming in 4th at the Olympics, he at least wanted to be on the podium.
On the other hand, if he was going to medal at all, he probably had the best chance of doing it with Betty. She was a bronze medal princess and a fan favorite.
“She’s just here to see if you to have any chemistry on the ice. It’s like you’re auditioning each other,” Geraldine explained. “Do you think you could manage that or is it going to be a great imposition on you Jughead?”
“Just because I’m going to skate with you now doesn’t mean I’m going to be your partner,” Jughead said. “Got it, Sunshine?” he asked, rolling out his old childhood nickname for her.
“It’s completely understood!” Betty replied as she put her Lilly Pulitzer duffle bag down and toed her Keds off, smirking at him as she pulled her skates on and laced them up. “As long as you understand that just because I’m skating with you it doesn’t automatically make you my new partner.”
Geraldine rolled her eyes. “Will you to just get on the ice and skate your butts off, please?” she asked as she went to turn on some music, her choice, because they hadn’t choreographed anything. She just wanted to see how well they meshed together.
Jughead skated to the middle of the rink and took his mark, waiting for his cue. Betty joined him a second later and when Geraldine played the song, they started to move in sync with each other. It was like they’d been a pair their whole life, everything was instinctual. It was one of the most clichéd things ever to say they were creating magic on ice. But there was no other way to describe it as they skated off the cuff to the Blue Danube.
Geraldine felt her stomach flip a little bit as she watched them. Their chemistry was electric, organic even. Together, they could compete for gold. Together, they could probably even garner a fan base.
She could practically see Team Bughead trending on Twitter or on a t-shirt.
When they ended their impromptu routine and were sitting down in front of her, she shook her head and looked between the both of them. “I think it would be a colossal mistake if the two of you didn’t team up,” she told them. “You might even have a few events and Olympics left in you, if you did. At least try it for this year, if it doesn’t work out. You don’t qualify for the winter games, then you don’t even have to consider it but I really think you should at least give each other a chance.”
Betty pulled her ponytail tighter and took a deep breath. “Skating with you wasn’t too horrible,” she admitted.
“You do have some talent,” Jughead replied in a tone that implied you’ll do. “I wouldn’t be embarrassed to try out for anything with you.”
“I don’t do routines to Pearl Jam!”
“I don’t wear sequins!” Jughead retorted.
“Well, we’ll square away the tinier details later!” Betty answered, holding out her hand. “Give me your phone so I can sync it to mine. I’ll call you when we can meet with my choreographer and work something out for the qualifying rounds. We don’t have that much time left. We’re barely going to meet the deadline to enter as it is.”
“Right,” Jughead said. “Aren’t we already entered?”
“We need to reenter with each other,” Betty explained as she leaned in and took a picture of them together. “For my Instagram story. I’m very present on social media. Whoops, I have to go! I’m late for my work out! I’ll be in touch! Keep your phone on you!”
Jughead turned to Geraldine, his mouth open. “What was that!?”
“You’re Betty Cooper’s new partner. Congratulations!”
TBC. . .
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