Coming out of retirement never felt this good!
After reading so many Bughead stories, I finally got inspired to write my own!
It's been bugging me how angsty Jughead's character is portrayed, both on the show and in fanfics ... I mean poor guy, can't he finally get a freaking break! What other horrors can he be subjected to?! So, instead of writing a mega-constant raincloud over me-super-angst fic, I decided to go the other way around and make this short story about Jughead being popular.
Hopefully someone will enjoy reading this!
"Are you sure you're okay with this Jug?" Betty asked as she stood in front of him, straightening his flannel shirt and the beanie on his head. Smiling satisfied, she leaned in for a quick kiss.
"Yes, mom." He said, slightly bothered. "Can you please stop asking me that! I'm coming with you but god knows something's bad going to happen. Parties just seem to attract bad voodoo… And if I can barely withstand the heckling from the Mooses and Reggies of high school, how I am to survive with the frat boys?" Pacing in Archie's bedroom, Jughead pursed his lips as he took a deep breath. He looked at Betty who tried to hide her smile. "Oh, you're just enjoying this aren't you?" He quipped.
Betty walked over to him and grabbed his hands. "I know you're worried and I am ever so grateful that you're agreeing to this but just try to relax, ok? I mean, this is a frat party at Riverdale college! We literally don't know anyone and hopefully they won't get to know us." She said, reassuringly. "We'll go there, try to talk to that Jeremy person and see if we can find out anything… And then, we'll be out of there and have a night cap at Pop's, my treat."
Jughead exhaled a bit, the nervousness slightly fading… She held his gaze and would not let go of it. He felt utterly hopeless as he knew he'd follow her through hell if she only battered her eyes sweetly at him. "I really hope that Jeremy person is worth all the trouble."
"Definitely." Betty exclaimed. "The girl I talked to the other day said that she'd heard Jeremy overhear some other girls talk about Lucy."
Jughead looked doubtful. "What?" He exclaimed, bringing one finger after another. "So this girl." He lifted one finger. "talked to this guy." He lifted a second finger. "Who talked about these other girls." He then lifted a third finger. "about the whereabouts of a stuffed vixen? This girl who you just started talking to at the coffee shop? Do you know how ridiculous this all sounds?"
Betty threw her arms in the air. "I know, it does sound stupid Juggie but the girl sounds legit, she's studying in journalism and Jeremy is a good friend of hers. She was quite nice and when I told her about our problem, she was more than willing to help. And besides, it's the only lead I got so far." Her voice faltered slightly.
"Oh come on Betts. Don't tell me you're really bothered by the loss of a stuffed dead animal?" Jughead shook his head, unable to understand why he himself should go on a quest on finding the whereabouts of a dearly missed mascot of the River Vixens cheerleading squad. "Lucy" as she was called stood proudly in the Riverdale's trophy wall for the last 18 years. Her bright red fur, piercing glass eyes and graceful stance constantly provided motivation and courage for the young aspiring cheerleaders before competitions. One can imagine the chaos that shocked the squad and the school when the animal had simply disappeared in thin air. The cheerleaders went into a frenzy, contacting Weatherbee and the police to insist for an investigation as their next competition was only two weeks away. Cheryl Blossom even offered a handsome reward (and threatening a school ban to the culprit). Luckily Betty and Veronica were not so affected by the loss of the animal but they soon realized that the rest of the team was.
Betty took it upon herself to try and help out her ailing squad by starting her own investigation (with the reluctant help of her dutiful boyfriend). They'd asked around the school without much results. They'd even asked Joaquin if someone from South Side High could have been trying to even a score with Riverdale High until Joaquin said that they did not even have a cheerleading squad and that they couldn't care less of stealing a piece of fur (or so were his words).
Their searches were fruitless and Betty and Jughead almost gave up until the River Vixens made a horrible show at the regional competition, one of the girls ending up falling from the top of the pyramid and breaking her wrist. They intensified their search until one day while waiting at a local coffee shop for her cappuccino she overheard the girl in front of her talking on the phone about this Jeremy who had seemingly overheard these girls talking about a stuffed fox. She befriended the girl and just her luck, Olivia was majoring in journalism at Riverdale College. They talked politely until Betty mentioned what she'd overheard and the current status of her cheerleading squad. Olivia had then invited her to a frat party where she knew Jeremy (who was her best gay) was going to be there.
"Look, Jughead, these girls can literally not live without that damn piece of fur,okay?" Betty said, frustrated that Jughead could not show some sympathy for the River Vixen. "They need Lucy back. We did bad at regionals, we have to try again at the second round and that's only 2 weeks away. We need her back, Juggie." Her eyes lowered as her expression saddened for a moment.
Jughead walked closer, fighting the urge to shake some sense into her, and pulled her in his arms, chewing on the words he wished he could say and instead relished into the sweet vanilla smell. "Don't worry Bets, we'll figure this out… Your lead sounds legit though, I'm pretty sure we'll find something…" He gulped. "As long as its not some deep dark secret or some list of a college frat house."
Burying her head in his chest, Betty chuckled and pulled playfully on his suspenders that were peeking out of his pants. "We'll be fine. Its across town, no one should know us." She repeated gently.
"You said should." Jughead replied uncertain.
Betty was about to reply when the phone rang. Rolling her eyes, she swiped at the screen. "Hi mom." She said exasperated. "Yeah…" She pursed her lips as her mother's voice resonated in her brain. "Mom! I told you, I'm going to dinner at Pop's with Jughead and then we're going to the movies…" Her eyes bulged as she held her mouth in a "O" while waiting impatiently to interrupt. "Mom! That's not fair!" She paused midway and walked over to the window. Jughead slowly followed her until they both could see Alice Cooper standing in Betty's room, pointing at them while she still held the phone. The cold dead stare from the reigning Queen revealed that no persuasion would make her change her mind. Jughead stepped away from the window, shivering from tip to toe. It's like having a deadly snake for a mother in law. He turned to Betty who seemed utterly defeated as she slumped down on Archie's bed. Her eyes lowered, she merely nodded and gave a short answer before pulling the phone away from her ear, throwing it on the bed.
Groaning, Betty fell back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Jughead sat down next to her, not liking what he was about to hear. "What happened?" He dared to ask, hating what her own mom could do to her. He placed his hands on her knees, rubbing them gently.
"My mom happened." Betty groaned. "She wants me to come home right now for an sudden obligatory family dinner."
"Well." Jughead said, concealing his relief and secretly thanking Alice Cooper. "That sucks. I'm pretty sure there will be other college parties we can go…"
"Oh, Jughead, god knows when that'll be and I mean, we got invited…" Betty said, huffing as she brought her arms across her chest. They both remained silent until Betty suddenly lifted her head and looking strangely at her boyfriend.
Jughead stared back, quizzically, until he noticed the fire behind her eyes and did not like it one bit. Betty sat up again, her eyes piercing into his. Jughead knew that stare very well and started immediately to shake his head.
"No." He said firmly.
Betty looked at him from below her lashes and smiled shyly. "No."
She scooted closer to him and grabbed his hands, her smile growing wider. "No." He repeated, knowing his defenses would not be able to stand the girly smiles, soft touches and sweet smells for very long. Betty then placed her hand on his thigh, gently drawing circles as she leaned her head on his shoulder. His body reacting to her proximity, Jughead sighed loudly before he gave in and pressed his body against hers, both falling back on Archie's bed. Giggling, Betty grinned as he kissed her neck and collarbone. She wrapped her arms around him.
"Thank you." She whispered in his ear.
He raised his head and looked at her. "Damn you and your womanly persuasions." He said huskily before their lips met and explored one another, all their problems disappearing momentarily. They heard a phone buzzing nearby and Betty lifted her head, knowing her mother was probably calling her again. She detached herself and sat up on the bed. Slowly she peaked her head towards the window and saw her mother again, one hand on her hip and the other holding her phone. Even if they were hundreds of feet away from one another, Betty could feel the ultimate "mom" look she was sending her right now and it didn't bode very well. Taking a deep breath, Betty stared at her back and lifted her hand. Five minutes. Alice narrowed her eyes before nodding her head. Betty waited until Alice left her bedroom before letting her shoulders fall down and took a deep breath.
"The evil step-mom is calling you home, I gather." Jughead said as he stood up from the bed.
"Yeah." She sighed, lowering her eyes.
"Well then I guess I should be going as well." He took a deep breath.
Betty pulled on his shirt and smiled reassuringly. "Look, I'm sorry I can't be there. I'll try to do my best and my parents were meant to see this play in Greendale so I'll sneak out as soon as they leave. Give me two hours tops, okay?" Jughead nodded his head and looked down, the uncertainty. Betty pulled his chin up and made him look at him, smiling brightly. "Hey, you can do this, ok? Just be yourself…"
Jughead's blue eyes opened wide before he looked away, slightly annoyed. "Yeah, like that ever helped…" He said darkly. "Like I said, Jughead and parties just don't mix together…" She gently brushed his cheek. "But I'll do it! For you Betty Cooper! I'll go try to find this Jeremy person and find that damn piece of shitty smelling fur."