Ages: Both Jughead and Betty are 23

All through the night, I'll be awake and I'll be with you. All through the night, this precious time, this precious time when time is new, all through the night, today, knowing we feel the same without saying.

September 26, 2017

Betty Cooper. A girl with so much character, so much passion. A personality that could not be matched by anyone. At first glance, she looked like your typical good girl. Pastel sweater, a perfect ponytail, and pale blue jeans. She was the girl that was always therefore everyone. Assistant in the mayor's office, journalist, and editor for the school newspaper The Blue and Gold. A perfect 4.0 GPA and straight A's. She was your perfect all-American girl with her bright green eyes, clear skin, and sleek blonde hair. A cheerleader and best friends with Archie Andrews, star of the football team. She spent her days volunteering and her nights studying. To the small town of Riverdale, she was perfect. An amazing role model, a perfect daughter and sister. Betty Cooper was flawless.

But very few people saw the other side of Betty. Very few people knew what Riverdale's sweetheart was doing when their eyes weren't glued to her. Nobody knew what happened at night when she disappeared to the south side of town. Once she had crossed the tracks separating the two parts of town, Betty cooper was a different person. Her hair was never up on the south side, it was always down in loose curls, framing the face that typically looked so innocent. Her nude makeup was traded for something darker, her eyes framed with eye liner accented with a smoky eye and dark lipstick. She ditched the pastel colors of her closet and wore ripped jeans, muscle shirts, and her favorite of all, her jacket. Not just any jacket, the jacket that connected her to the south side of town. The sleek leather of the black jacket adorned with the sign she had come to love.

A few years before, the snake would have disgusted her, it would have her repulsed. But now, she wore it with pride. She strutted through the town with the jacket on, proud of what she had become. Proud that here, on the south side, she didn't have to be the perfect daughter and student. Here, she was just Betty. She was who she had always longed to be and who she had dreamed of. This had never been her vision, of course, but it had felt so perfect. Betty Cooper joined the Southside Serpents with a fire burning inside of her. At first, she had been extrinsic to the Serpents and they were unsure of the perfect girl from the other side of the tracks joining them, and it had taken time to convince them that she was eligible, that she could do it. She was pushed by the need to show them that she was not the innocent little girl that she was always mistaken for. After a long time, and many obstacles thrown at her, she was accepted. She was nearly ecstatic when she felt the interior of the warm leather jacket against her smooth skin for the first time. The perfect fit and snugness of the jacket had made her feel like for once, she had a place in this world that she had not been practically born in to.

The first few months of being a Serpent was not easy. She had already known it would happen, there was no way joining the Serpents wasn't going to lead to here. She already had a well-known reputation no doubt. So when she first walked into the bar that all the Serpents were, she had been expecting a bit of teasing and being pushed around. What she hadn't known at the time, though, was that it was going to be more than a little. It took a while for her to finally figure out exactly how to get them to stop. She eventually decided that if she wanted them to stop, she had to show them that she was done, that she had had enough. So the next time she showed up, she did not come as the Betty everyone knew to be so sweet and perfect. She showed up with her eyes lined in black, her makeup dark and her clothes darker. Her jeans ripped to no extent, and the leather jacket she began to cherish was hanging off of her slim frame ever so slightly. As soon as she walked in, it was like she could feel all eyes burning into her skin. Every head turned her way and she could hear whispers begin to arise. She had expected this too, and everyone in that bar remembered the night that she walked in, she was sure of it.

"Hey Cooper!" one of the girls, Toni Topaz, shouted at her, laughing "You look like you got attacked by a Hot Topic!"

"At least it doesn't look like my clothes came from a dumpster, Toni." she shot back, wincing slightly when she realized what she said.

Toni laughed a little and patted her on her back before responding with "Maybe you aren't so bad, Cooper." then walking away.

As much as it confused her, Betty walked away glowing with pride. She fought her way through the night, either ignoring the snide remarks or commenting on them, she felt invincible. By midnight, she felt better than she ever had before and on her way back to her small apartment, she couldn't help but stop at Pop's to reward herself with her favorite strawberry milkshake. She shook the leather off of her shoulders before folding it carefully and stuffing it under the back seat. Sure, she couldn't change her clothes, but if anything would ruin her reputation, it would be showing up on this side of the tracks wearing a Serpent jacket.

When she stepped out of her car, she felt the breeze of the cool wind under her muscle shirt and began walking a little faster to the door, shivering slightly. She walked in the door and she nearly melted at the feeling of the heat on her chilled skin. She smiled at Pop as he mopped the floor, who turned to see who had entered the small diner so late, his eyes widening at the sight of her. It was a second before he recovered and smiled back.

"The usual, Ms. Cooper?" he asked and she was grateful he didn't say anything about her current apparel.

"Please." she replied and looked around the diner she had practically grown up in. Despite, thinking that it was only her and Pop in that night, her eyes widened at the sight of Jughead Jones, one of her childhood best friends, staring at her. She knew she shouldn't have been too surprising, Jug was here every night in the exact same booth that her, Archie and him always sat in. But she was too caught up in the moment to expect him to be there, to expect anyone at all to be there. She blinked a couple times before smiling at him too and approaching the booth that was almost a second home to them.

"Mind if I sit?" she asked with a smile and he shook his head, mute.

By now, Betty's breathing was starting to increase, and she hoped that she hadn't ruined anything. That she hadn't done anything that had him so shell-shocked and quiet. It wasn't until Pop put down the milkshake she ordered that she felt her fists begin to curl, her nails puncturing the skin. Jughead was still silent, staring at her with a new spark in his eye that she had never seen before. She wasn't sure how to feel about it, either. She had been friends with Jughead for years, since they were in diapers. Did this new appearance really change things that much. She felt the blood begin to pool in her sore palms and uncurled her fingers with a slight gasp, nearly ashamed with herself. She picked up a white napkin and wiped the blood clean off her palms. Then, without thinking, she dropped the napkin on the table and picked up the glass in front of her. The cold stung her open wounds, and she felt more blood slowly leaking out of the cuts.

Jughead didn't seem to notice the blood, on the glass or the napkin, or even on her palms. She wasn't sure how to feel about that, either. Jughead, who had always been there, didn't notice when the tears pooled in her eyes and she blinked away the stinging feeling. It took a moment before she built up the courage to try and speak to him.

"Jug?" she nearly whispered, silently screaming for him to answer. It was another thirty seconds before she whispered his name again brokenly on her lips.

He snapped out of his reverie and with one look at Betty, concern filled his eyes and in a flash he was up and on the other side of the booth, his arms wrapped tightly around her.

"Sorry." he sighed, picking up a napkin and opening her curled fists, wiping away the nearly dried blood.

Betty didn't say anything, she just pressed into his side, wiping away a stray tear. It had been like this for years, the both of them hopelessly in love with each other but neither having the guts to say anything. Everyone around them could see it every time they looked at each other, every time this happened. Betty couldn't help the feeling of longing to be close to him, even as she was resting her head on his shoulder, his arms wrapped tightly around her. A large part of her wished he would say something, wished he would make a move. Anything. But instead the two sat together in the diner booth until Betty's milkshake had melted and the fries Jughead had ordered before she came in were cold. Betty could see Pop Tate looking at the two of them from behind the front counter, and she knew they were thinking the same thing. She could cut the tension between the two of them with a knife, and she could already envision Pop Tate handing her one so she could do so.

"Juggie." she mumbled, burying her face in the crook of his neck

"Yeah Betts?" he replied, his voice breathy as she tried to get comfortable, nearly climbing into his lap.

"We need to talk." she almost laughed at the words. God she sucked at this.

"'Bout what?"

She pulled away from his neck, and looked into his sparkling eyes. She stared at him for a second, her eyes flickering down to his lips that looked so damn kissable right now. She bit her lip, ignoring the taste of the lipstick from earlier and replied to him in a whisper.

"You know what, Jug. We can't avoid this forever, I can't."

"Betty," he sighed, his voice low and gravelly

"Jughead," she responded, almost defiantly at his unwillingness to speak

They stared each other down for a few minutes, Jughead's eyes hard and stubborn, Betty's teeth working at her lower lip. They were both silent, and the intensity in the room was almost at a peak. When the silence was finally broken, it was to Jughead's gravelly voice.

"Stop doing that." he nearly growled at her and she could barely stifle the gasp that begged to be heard.

"Stop doing what?" she asked as innocently as possible, fluttering her eyes and smiling.

"Biting your damn lip before I do it for you." This time, Betty couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her mouth. His eyes were darkened with what she could only guess was lust and she had to stop and remind herself that even if they were the only ones here beside Pop, it was still a restaurant.

"Then do it." she whispered, looking at him, her eyes hopeful and full of need. This was it, this was when it would all happen, she had never wanted him more than she did at this moment, staring in his blue-green eyes.

Their gazes were held by each other for a minute before he leaned forward and captured her lips with his own. It was full of passion and lust, rough and needy. She moved further into his lap and his arms wrapped around her and pulled her close to him, deepening their kiss. When he bit down on her lower lip she gasped, not having been expecting him to actually do it. Reluctantly, she pulled back and smiled back at him, flushed, and leaned down to bury her face in his neck.

"That's what we need to talk about." She said, pressing a soft kiss to collarbone. She looked up into his eyes, and a blush rose high on her cheeks when she saw the lipstick that was smeared on his lips. "Also, 'rebel' looks great on you." she added, stifling a giggle.

He groaned and wiped at his lips, attempting to get some off. She smiled at him and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Jug?" she said softly, loving the way his arms felt around her.

"Yeah Betts?" He asked, placing a soft kiss to her forehead

"What... what does this all mean, Juggie?"

"What do you mean, Betts?"

"What are we?" she asked, stumbling over her words

"What do you want us to be, Betty?" he replied with yet another question

"I don't care. I just... What ever you want to be, if you want me to be, I'm yours."

She didn't miss what almost sounded like a growl, low in his throat and he pulled her closer, lifting her head with a finger on her chin. He looked into her eyes and he kissed her again, roughly, but she could feel the love that it was filled with. He pulled back and placed another kiss upon her lips, soft and chaste. She smiled at him and in that moment, after all these years, she was sure. She loved Jughead Jones.

"I like the sound of that." he said, cupping her face in his hands "Mine."

She leaned in to the touch and her eyes fluttered shut. "Yours." she whispered back to him, leaning into his chest and inhaling the smell of him.

By the time they left it was nearly three in the morning. They had spent the past two hours talking and stealing kisses, laughing and chatting with Pop. Once they finally left, Jughead turned to Betty and the look in his eyes was filled with so much hope, so much love, that she couldn't help but pull him in for another kiss before asking what he wanted to say.

"I was actually wondering, if maybe you wanted to come back to my house?" he began to trip over his words and she had never seen him so nervous "Oh god, that sounds horrible that isn't how I meant it, I swear. I just know that you have sleeping problems and was wonderi-"

Betty cut off his miniature rant with a chaste kiss on his lips. She smiled up at him and felt so happy that she was his.

"Jug. I'd love to, of course." After that night, she decided, she never wanted to sleep somewhere that wasn't with his arms wrapped tightly around her, his head resting on her shoulder, the scent of him overpowering any other smell.

We have no past, we won't reach back. Keep with me forward all through the night; And once we start the meter clicks, and it goes running all through the night.