Hate To Love You.
#7: secret relationship au
#45: pretending to hate each other au
The two friends were sitting together on opposite sides of their usual booth. Betty was twirling her straw in her vanilla milkshake while Archie recounted to her how her dad's health was progressing. The shooting at the diner had been a wake up call for the town of Riverdale. A reminder that things had changed for the small town.
Nothing was ever going to be the same again.
The sharp ring of the bell overhanging the door of the diner rang out signifying another arrival to the quiet spot in town.
Jughead Jones spotted Archie and raised his head in acknowledgement before going to the counter to order his usual with Pop's who nodded and returned to the kitchen. Betty was doing her best to ignore his arrival focused solely on the droplets of condensation running down her glass.
The loud clearing of his throat demanded her attention as she looked up, her head tilted in question as she looked him and down.
His hand rested on the back of the booth behind her head. "Is this seat taken?"
She made a display of rolling her eyes and huffing loudly as she shifted over allowing him space as he took the seat in the booth next to her.
"There is space over there Forsythe." she exaggerated his name, watching him prickle at just her using it.
"But I want to sit next to you. Elizabeth," he whined, mimicking her as she stuck out her tongue in response.
"Can you guys just be civil for one night?" Archie suggested from his seat watching who used to be his two best friends going at it again.
"I can be civil. Can't speak for Cooper here though."
"It's Betty, you know it's Betty." She shot back in response. Archie sighed loudly and leant back in the booth praying that Veronica would just hurry up and arrive. She was always running late leaving him alone with the two scrabbling children who used to be friends.
"Sorry Cooper has a certain ring to it, don't you think Archie."
"Whatever." He shrugged his shoulders craning his head again to see whether he could see the distinctive flash of purple that would signify Veronica's arrival. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her arrive with the comforting ding of the shop door opening. She sauntered over to the booth where they were sitting delicately sitting next to her boyfriend before she smoothed down the skirt of her purple dress. Not a hair out of place.
"You're late." Archie grumbled his arms folded across his chest.
Veronica ignored his mood and leant over to press a kiss on his cheek. "Good things take time Archiekins." Archie continued to sit in a huff so Veronica turned her attention to the pair opposite her. "Did I miss anything?"
"Just Jughead being annoying." Betty replied as she threw a look at Jughead, who had placed a hand to his chest in mock outrage.
"Me. Annoying? Betty you wound me."
"Right business as usual then." Veronica surmised as she turned to Archie who nodded his head in shared exasperation.
It hadn't always been this way. Her and Archie could remember numerous nights spent at Pop's Shoppe sipping milkshakes, sharing fries and discussing the going ons in the small town. They had been the team that had brought to light the killer of Jason Blossom. They were those meddling kids. And it had felt good. Veronica had even entertained the thought that maybe the sleuthing duo weren't just sleuthing in their spare time. That maybe Betty had found her knight is a grey woollen beanie. But then the fighting had started.
Neither her nor Archie knew what it was about. They had asked Kevin who also was in the dark as to why their friends had fallen out. They thought that it would pass eventually as most fights with close friends do. Once the realization hits that what was worth fighting over isn't really and everything is forgiven. Only it didn't. Three weeks on and there were still the jibes, the name calling and the refusal to even sit next to the other if they could help it. Except on nights like tonight when Jughead had seemingly decided that it was the perfect way to get under Betty's skin.
Archie just wanted his best friends to be friends again. Or at least be civil to each other. To be in the same room without arguments or eye rolls or snide remarks. But it was soon going to be okay because Archie he had a plan.
It wasn't a very good one, not by Veronica's or Kevin's standards. But it was a plan and Archie was proud of it. He just wasn't quite ready to share it with anyone just yet. Just in case they talk him out of it.
"Hey guys I was wondering whether you might be able to help me out tonight." There was some trepidation in his voice as asked aware that he was beginning to put his plan into action.
"Sure Arch." Betty replied almost immediately always keen to help her friends.
"Thanks Betty. I have been working on a new song and was wondering whether you would be okay to listen to it. I mean I need an objective opinion. No offense Veronica."
"None taken." Veronica responded taking a sip of his milkshake.
"And since you two have been so vocal in your opinions of my music before." Betty looked away from him at this statement remembering that time at lunch when her and Jughead had said some not so kind things about Archie's style of music.
"Of course Arch. Anything we can do to help."
"Yeah sure man." Jughead replied nonchalantly as he nodded appreciatively at the waitress who had brought out his order. "We can eat first right."
"Typical, always thinking about your stomach." Betty said jumping on the chance to make a comment against him. Jughead stared at her as he took a large exaggerated bite of his burger, chewing as loudly as he could. Betty hated loud eaters Archie could already see her tensing up in response.
"Yeah you can finish your burger, Jughead."
"Good." He replied offering Betty a taunting grin as he took another bite and Betty crossed her arms in front of her.
*
Archie had taken them back to his house in his dad's old pickup truck. It had been some awkward driving lessons with Fred still not yet cleared by the doctors to resume driving. So Archie was his personal taxi at the moment. But thankfully he had been able to pick it up quickly under Fred's guidance.
The four of them entered the converted garage and Archie went over to pick up his guitar, before he began to look around the garage in confusion. He began to tap his jeans pockets as the others watched him. Jughead was impatiently tapping his foot, while Veronica and Betty looked concerned and began to scan the room not even sure what they were looking for.
"Damn." Archie said looking at Veronica.
"What?" Veronica looked at him concerned.
"I think I left something up in my room. My lucky guitar pick." A loud scoff from Jughead's direction had Betty scowling at him. "Veronica can you help me look upstairs."
"I can look too." Betty offered, but Archie held out his hand stopping her movements towards the exit as she went to follow the couple.
"It'll be too cramped in my room with all of us looking. Maybe I did leave it somewhere down here. If you don't mind looking too."
"No problem." Betty smiled brightly.
"Thanks guys. Really. It's red, with blue stripes." He shouted as he pushed Veronica out the door. Betty and Jughead moved to the other side of the garage before Archie poked his head outside the door which was now only slightly ajar. "Just so you know this is for your own good. You two need to talk out whatever is going on." They both stared at him confused until they heard the door shut behind him and the distinctive click of a lock being shut on the other side of the door.
"Oh no he didn't." Jughead exclaimed as he ran to the door twisting the handle and pushing to find that it didn't budge. "He locked us in." He turned to face Betty who was now by his side.
"Guess there is no 'lucky' guitar pick then?"
"Guess so." Jughead sighed as he looked around the edge of the door for some way to shift it before deciding it was a lost cause and turned to face Betty who had closed the distance between them. There was a distinctive mischievous tint in her eyes one that he had seen before. "Looks like maybe Archie is taking our fighting a little more to heart than we thought."
"We should tell them shouldn't we?" Betty's eyes searched his own already knowing the answer.
"I think it might be time. Before he takes even more drastic measures than locking us in his garage."
"But for now we are here all alone. Locked in with no means of escape." Betty ran her fingers up the flannel shirt that she had been itching to touch all night. Betty knew the real reason Jughead was frustrated to be helping Archie with his music. They had almost a standing date at FP's trailer. Far away from prying eyes, mainly those of Alice Cooper, the two teenagers could become lost in one another.
"What did you have in mind?" he asked having a pretty good idea of what she had in mind and he was in complete agreement.
"Well the garage is sound proof." She said with a quirk of her eyebrow as she balled the material of his flannel in her fist and pulled him towards her, her lips locking on his.
The 'fight' had been her idea. The night of the Jubilee they had found themselves at the office of the Blue and Gold working on their final article together before Jughead would be transferred to the Southside. They had been through so much together and their friendship had only strengthened through the investigation of Jason's murder.
She had thought about how much he meant to her, wondered if she now meant the same to him. But neither were brave enough to make a move until that night. While she leaned on his shoulder reading over the paragraph he had written he had looked up at her. Watching her lips purse carefully as he could already see her critiquing his work in her head. He noticed the way the light from the screen hit her face giving her an almost ethereal glow and he knew then that he would never forgive himself if he didn't kiss her.
He cupped her cheek in his hand reaching up as she seemed stunned at his sudden action. He tilted his head around twisting so that he could capture her lips with his own. A soft kiss. Enough to relieve the pressure that had been building in his gut the last few months while also stoking the fire burning there. He pulled back briefly but she chased his lips with her own, returning the kiss in earnest. The rest was a blur to him as their lips moved against each other. His hand on the back of her neck, hers reaching under his beanie, a chair falling to the ground as he stood and pulled her to him. Everything seemed to be coming together.
But then they had found out Fred Andrews had been shot. That while they had been together tangled in the sheets of his childhood bed in FP's trailer Archie had held his Dad who was bleeding out on the floor of Pops diner. Then Jughead had needed to move to the Southside and it just didn't see, like the right time to share their relationship with the rest of the gang. Betty had come up with the idea of them pretending to be fighting, knowing that Veronica and Kevin would catch onto them all too easily if they didn't provide a distraction. It wasn't the best idea but it was only meant to be a few days at most.
It didn't take either one long to discover that they started to enjoy their teasing and performance a little which only made their eventual rendezvous more exciting. Perhaps that was part of the reason they continued to maintain the charade well past the time it was needed.
"It is so hard to keep my hands off you." He murmured into her neck as he pulled her down to straddle his lap as he sat on the old couch of the garage. "Especially when you are so feisty." He pulled himself up to nip at her lips which she kept teasingly just out of reach.
"Is that so, Forsythe?" A wicked smile played on her lips and he inwardly groaned at the sound of his real name. Although if anyone had to say it he preferred it to be her.
"That I won't miss." His hands slipped under her sweater and the thin blouse it covered. She was always so warm. He felt the softness of her skin as his hands trailed up her back, keeping her in place as he pulled her down for another kiss. Her hips ground against his own and he struggled to keep himself in check. He wanted to lay her down bare beneath him and take whatever he needed, knowing that she would be only too willing to let him.
Her fingers were in his hair in an instant. His beanie falling somewhere behind the couch. They always found their way to his locks. Betty was well aware of the importance of his beanie and the barrier that it provided between him and the rest of the world. He couldn't help the groan that left his lips as her fingertip traced over his scalp knowing all the right places to press and pull. His fingers meanwhile slipped under the band of her bra as he pulled her closer still. He felt her chest solid against his own as his lips moved away from her lips as she groaned in frustration at the loss of contact. He brushed his lips against the outer shell of her ear. "I want to see you come undone." He whispered into her ear and her hips bucked into his in response to his words. She would have never had imagined the things that would come out of his mouth but was glad that she was the one that got to hear them. That his words were just for her.
His fingers moved downwards to the hem of her sweater and pulled it over her head. Before his lips were again on her neck, not wanting to break contact from her for longer than was needed. Her hands were exploring his body as he removed her hair tie letting her blonde locks tumble over her shoulders as he pulled back to examine her. Her eyes intense, lips swollen and it was all for him. Unable to resist for much longer he pressed his lips to hers again as she returned the kiss in earnest.
Their movements soon became hurried as they continued to kiss while each divesting the other of their clothing until they were down to their underwear. Betty let out a squeal as Jughead moved her to lay on the couch before trapping her with his own body over her. His lips travelled lower as he braced himself above her, they ghosted over her neck. Her collar bone. The touch was so light but Betty felt every sensation her senses taking in every movement as lips traced the outline of the lace of her bra and she raised her hips towards his. She felt his hardness at her centre the thin material between them doing nothing to hide his arousal.
She wanted so badly for him to claim her. "Please, Juggie."
They jumped apart as the door to the garage swung open and the cool air of the night filled the garage.
"Oh my god. My eyes. My eyes." Kevin took in the scene in front of him before clasping his hand over his eyes. Jughead grasped the cushion from the sofa and covered his lap and his obvious bulge, while Betty's arms flew around her torso as she grasped Jughead's t-shirt and pulled it up to cover herself. "Are you decent?" Kevin shouted as he peeked through his fingers.
"Sort of." Betty's meek reply came from the couch her heart was still thumping in her chest, partly from her recent state of arousal and partly from being caught in the act. Literally by her best friend. Kevin slowly removed his hand from his face as he took in the looks of the two lovers in front of him. Betty's hair was loose from the usual ponytail and Jughead's trademark beanie was nowhere to be seen.
"So how long has this," he moved his hand between the two of them. "Been going on."
"Since the Jubilee." Betty answered. Jughead remained silent. While his eyes scanned the room for his jeans to provide him with some more modesty. "We were going to tell everyone eventually. But then so much was happening and it just didn't seem like the right time." Betty explained realising that their plan sounded even weaker out loud than it did in her head.
"What are you doing here anyway?" Jughead piped up as he grabbed his jeans from the floor, while he held the cushion tight to his body.
"I got a text from Veronica to say that Archie had locked the two of you in here. She was worried that given how things were at the moment that the two of you might tear each other apart. Not tear each others clothes off."
"We're sorry Kevin really. I guess we just sort of got caught up in each other."
"I can see that Betty." Betty's blush intensified as she looked away. "I'm going to go and Archie and Veronica while you get dressed. Then you can tell them yourselves." Betty looked sheepishly towards Jughead who scooted closer to her on the couch. He reached down to hand her her clothes which she accepted shimmying into them as she handed him back his shirt.
"Look on the bright side Betts," Betty stared at him for a moment before he sighed. "No need to call me Forsythe again. Ever." She rolled her eyes as he pulled her in for another kiss not caring anymore who saw them.