Archive of Our Own

The halls were full of love-struck teens as they held hands walking to and from classes, teddy bears and bouquets of flowers in differing sizes, with the occasional bounce of balloons in-between. Jughead Jones walked down the halls, scoffing under his breath, shaking his head at the disgusting display of love while listening to Sweet Pea yak on and on in his ear. All the girls that bothered to pay attention to him were of low morals, and didn’t meet his level of intellect. All the girls he would’ve bothered with usually went for the athletic kind, or were too afraid to even meet his glance.

Well, the one girl.

Betty Cooper was every boy's dream. She was sweet, shy, and kind. They had grown up together as children in the sandbox of Riverdale Elementary, but when his alcoholic father uprooted him to the Southside to give it one more shot as a family with his mother and little sister, he had to say goodbye to Betty. He never even thought he'd see her again, and almost forgotten about her altogether over the years until Fate stepped in – Southside High was closing for good, and all current students were being transferred to Riverdale High.

They had almost picked up right where they left off, despite their different upbringings and new circles of friends. When she locked eyes with him on his first day in the halls, she ran forward, ignoring the shocked looks on her friends' faces and his, jumping into his arms. He hugged her tightly, noticing how badly his cheeks hurt from the first genuine grin he had on his face in years.

'Juggie, I can't believe it! You're home!' She had said, shoving her smiling face into his unruly locks. He chuckled against her, not letting go.

'That's right, Betts. I'm home.'

“Jug? Hey, Jones! You home in there?” Sweet Pea knocked on Jughead's forehead, causing the beanie wearing boy to scoff and shove his hand away.

“I'm here, unfortunately. Barely listening to your uninteresting babble.”

“Wow, thanks.” Sweet Pea looked away and Jughead opened his locker, switching his books for the next three periods of the day. Half listening, Jughead heard Sweet Pea whistle and slap the back of his leather jacket.

“What?” Jughead hissed, slamming his locker shut. Sweet Pea motioned for him to turn around, and when he did, his stomach clenched with jealousy. Right down the hall, heading his way, was Betty Cooper carrying the biggest teddy bear he had seen that day, and a gift bag. Attached to the gift bag was a balloon, bright red and featuring a T-Rex, with the words 'I Chews You!' underneath him. She probably got accosted by Reggie Mantle or Chuck Clayton that morning.

“Looks like your girl has got another valentine, Jones.”

“She's not my girl, ass.”

“Sure,” Sweet Pea said with a sneer. While Jughead had adjusted to the friend zone just fine since Southside High moved in with the Bulldogs six months before, he still had a sore spot for Betty Cooper. While she was occasionally seen sharing a booth and milkshakes with the likes of the football team, she hadn't committed to courting anyone in school.

'I don’t know, Jug,” she had said, 'No one so far had really caught my eye.'

Before he realized what was even going on, Betty stopped right in front of him. She alternated between meeting his gaze and looking down at her feet. Jughead shoved his hands in his jean pockets and rocked back and forth. “What's up, Betts?”

She cleared her throat and threw her shoulders back proudly. When their gaze met again, she smiled. “Juggie, I just wanted to tell you that you are the best friend a girl could ever have. Even after all those years apart we are still close, and although our lives have gone in directions we're sure they would never have gone, I'm glad our paths have crossed again. I love you so much, and...” she pushed the gift bag towards him, “...I was wondering if you would be my Valentine?”

Jughead stood in shock, while Sweet Pea chuckled and slapped him on the back again. “See ya later, Jones,” he said as he walked away. Jughead reached out and grabbed the gift bag. Once the bag left her hands, Betty held out the teddy bear for him to grab too. He grabbed it and looked from it to Betty's face. She was still smiling but her eyes looked full of anxiety.

“Betty, these are for me?”

“Yes, Juggie.”

“You mean to tell me Reggie or Chuck didn’t pounce on you this morning begging you to take these tokens of their undying affections?”

Betty giggled. “No.”

“But why me?” Jughead reached into the gift bag and pulled the gift out. It was a signed first edition of In Cold Blood. Jughead gasped. “Betty, do you realize how much these go for?!”

“Yes, and I don’t mind. Anything for you, Jug.” When he looked up, her cheeks were stained a light pink. Jughead's eyes alternated from her eyes to her lips before he finally took a deep breath and leaned in to kiss her. Without a second thought, Betty leaned in, capturing Jug's face within her hands. After what felt like an eternity, they released each other.

“Of course I will be your Valentine, Betty Cooper. As long as you'll be mine.”

“Of course I will,” Betty giggled. Jug smiled and grabbed for her hand. Their fingers entwined perfectly. As they started to walk down the hall to their next shared class, several people turned to stare. Was that Betty Cooper, The Betty Cooper, holding hands with the Serpent Prince?!

“But Betts,” Jug said suddenly, “I don't have anything for you.”

“It's okay, Jug,” Betty said, laying her head on Jug's shoulder, “your love is enough.”