For the Drabble Game Challenge (JugheadBetty, "All I want is you.", requested by Bex)
It's almost like fight or flight. In this case, however, it's vulnerability or run. Jughead chooses the latter.
He knows it's stupid, but he can't help it. He's so good at crafting words on his laptop, weaving stories together, projecting emotion through the written word. But actually talking about his emotions, learning to trust someone enough to rip himself open and lay out his very thoughts for another person? He doesn't know how.
"Jughead! Hey!"
His legs scream run, and yet, somehow, he feels stuck in place.
"What the hell was that?" Betty demands.
"I… I needed air," he says weakly.
He wishes she wasn't so clever. He loves her mind, but he hates that she can see right through him. She folds her arms over her chest, frowning. "Why did you run?"
"I can't, Betty. I can't."
"Can't what?"
"I can't be vulnerable! I can't just spill my heart, okay?"
She takes his hand. God, her touch is so gentle, and Jughead feels himself melting within seconds. "It's okay. It's me. You can talk to me."
"Falling in love wasn't exactly part of my plan. I'm not exactly normal. I don't dream of marrying my high school sweetheart, buying a house with a picket fence, and having two perfect kids."
"I'm pretty sure you just moved way faster than I intended," she murmurs.
"I love you. All I want is you. And that scares the hell out of me, Betty. I've never wanted anything or anyone the way I want you," he continues.
He's trembling now. Nerves, emotions, everything feels like one giant hurricane raging inside his body. He curls his fingers into his palm, making a fist and squeezing tightly, taking deep breath after deep breath.
It could never work. He and Betty are an impossible love that only exists in ridiculous romantic comedies. They don't exist in real life. Part of him wonders why he could have ever let himself think that they could be the exception.
And yet, here they are. She could have let him run, but she chose to chase after him. She could have shrugged it off and moved on. There are so many guys who would be better matches than he could ever dream of being.
Jughead shakes his head. The flutter of hope in his stomach makes him want to throw up. Hope has no place in an impossible situation.
"You think I'm not scared? I've had one crush my entire life. Just Archie. But that isn't love. Not the kind of love that I want. You're different, Juggy," she says, pressing her palm gently to his cheek. "I love you. And it makes me want to run away, too. But I'm not. I won't if you won't."
Jughead inhales deeply, closing his eyes. "I don't know how to be a good boyfriend. My dad and mom were… Their relationship wasn't great. My dad was the only role model I ever had, and that's not really saying much."
"You're not your dad. You're not perfect, but you're perfect for me."
He feels that tingle in his legs again. He wants to run away, never look back, let Betty move on with her life and forget about him. But there's so much beauty and tenderness in her eyes when she looks him, like she can see something that he can't. Like he's actually worth something. Like he could ever deserve someone as perfect as her.
And he melts again. "How could I ever deserve you?"
"Love isn't about deserving, Juggy. It doesn't always make sense. Sometimes, opposites find one another, and there's no rhyme or reason to it. It just is. You just have to decide if you're going to accept or run."
"If I'm honestly, the latter is kind of tempting," he says, and his lips twist into an almost smile. "But, I'll take the former."
Betty leans in, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "Good choice."
Jughead grins. "I'm bound to make a few of those here and there."