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Betty never thought that once all her dreams came true, all she’d want was to disappear.
She’d chased her dream of being an actress for as long as she could remember. Growing up they were poor, her mother having to support three kids on a waitress’s salary.
All she knew was that she didn’t want that. She wanted to have enough money not to have to worry about it and to never go ignored again.
Well here she was, in her mid 20’s, not only with enough money to support her mother, brother and sister, but with enough to burn. She was involved in a lot of charities and wanted for nothing.
She had her pick of roles, she was invited to all the hottest parties, and she was dating a man even more famous than her.
But parties quickly grew boring and being cheated on and degraded every move she took was exhausting.
She couldn’t eat so much as a french fry without Chuck making some comment about having a fat girlfriend, or take a second away from him in the spotlight without him threatening to ruin her career if she pulled the plug.
Their fans loved them together, and she was smart enough to realise that it indeed was good for her career.
That didn’t mean that it wasn’t all too much sometimes, that even a talented actress like herself couldn’t pretend anymore.
She was losing it more and more lately. All she wanted was to run away and never come back.
She was having one such night, sitting alone at a table while Chuck hit on anything that moved, having rammed into her earlier in the day about how her dress looked too small and that she had to fire her dietician.
She was a size 4, smaller than even she thought she should be, but she was still counting every calorie and working out six days a week.
She took a deep breath and searched the room for Jughead, her personal bodyguard whenever she went to events or traveled alone.
He’d been her calm in the storm for the last six months. He didn’t talk much, but he was kind - kinder than any tall, dark, handsome and badass tattooed man probably should be.
She smiled to herself when she spotted him standing by a wall, his eyes on her as another guard said something to him.
Their eyes tore away from each other in the same second, Chuck grabbing her upper arm and pulling her up a little too forcibly.
“Either look like you're having fun or leave,” he hissed, his teeth clenched.
She pulled her arm free, the pain of his tight grip remaining. “I never wanted to come anyway,” she said, walking away quickly, hoping he wasn’t on her tail.
Halfway down a dark hall she heard him catch up and took a deep shaky breath, trying to hold the tears in but unsuccessful. She just couldn’t take it sometimes.
Usually she waited until she was in the shower or bath to cry, but this time she just couldn’t wait.
“Leave me alone,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself before realising the touch on her shoulder was much gentler than Chuck’s ever was.
“Hey,” Jughead spoke with concern, looking back to make sure they were alone as she looked up at him.
God, she was so stupid. She’d been lusting over him ever since they met, imagining the sweet ways he’d take care of her if they were any other two people.
“You okay?”
“I’m sorry,” she said with a sigh, looking down and wiping a tear away before he could see.
“Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head no. She’d lied to him before, about the same thing.
It was nice how protective he was. She guessed that was his job anyway and felt stupid for wishing it was more.
She held her breath when his finger came below her chin, forcing her to look up. “You know I can always tell when you’re lying,”
She glanced at his lips, already perfectly aware about how gorgeous he was. She just watched him for a moment, the light stubble on his jaw and the lovely moles painting his pale skin.
She wanted to give in, speaking before she could chicken out. “Get me out of here, Jug,”
She watched the bob of his Adam’s apple, looking from side to side before gently taking her elbow and escorting her further down the hallway.
They moved in the shadows of the building, silent as they crept by others. She felt better already, her heart beating with a mixture of excitement and nerves.
“Wait here,” he told her when they entered the garage. And she did, watching as he walked down towards the attendants to get the car. He was tall and slender, but muscular, and she imagined he was probably tattooed from neck to toe. Of course she’d only ever seen his forearms and slivers of chest, she daydreamed about seeing more.
He glanced back at her as the man went to get the keys, then was quickly coming back and ushering her the rest of the way.
He opened the door for her to get in the back, where the windows were tinted, then joined her in the car by getting into the driver’s seat in the front.
“Where do you want to go?”
“As far as we can,”
He smiled, such a handsome smile, into the rearview mirror. “Should we get you a change of clothes first?”
She nodded with a smile of her own. She really did want to do this.
As he drove back to the home she shared with Chuck, she looked out of the window at the passing lights, thinking maybe this time she’d do it, she’d leave Chuck and run away for good.
When Jughead pulled up, they both stood in the driveway, each one waiting for the other to speak.
“I’m going to grab a bag,”
If he was surprised he didn’t show it. “Maybe we should take my bike?”
She nodded, thinking it was probably best, then rushed inside to quickly change into a t-shirt and jeans and grab a few essentials that she could think of. She also grabbed a few extras for Jughead, a toothbrush and deodorant.
He had gotten his bike ready to go, handing her his helmet.
She was actually going to do this.
She followed his lead in getting onto the bike, wrapping her body against his, lighting a fire in her she’d never felt. She knew this should feel wrong, but it just didn’t.
She felt like she was finally doing something that was really, truely, just for her. As the wind began to hit her skin while the bike picked up speed, she could have sworn she felt like she was flying.
In that moment she was as free as a bird.