Jughead felt content. It was an odd feeling, especially on the train wreck that was usually his birthday. He usually ignored his own birthday and avoided others finding out, but this year was different. Yes, he was still about to enjoy a brilliant double feature at The Bijou courtesy of the legendary John Landis, but his beautiful Betty was at his side in the theater.
Now here they sat, side by side, Jughead's left arm extended over the back of Betty's chair, hand resting lightly on her jacket, fingers close to her sweater clad shoulder. A large tub of buttery popcorn resting in his right hand, while Betty's clasped a large soda with two straws. They were sitting in a comfortable silence, waiting for the movie to start, both lost in their own thoughts.
Jughead slowly turned to look at his gorgeous girlfriend, a question returning to his mind that he felt needed an answer. As if sensing his gaze, Betty's fixed her green eyes on his, her right arm on the arm rest, nestled into his side.
"Hey, I was talking to Kevin, and he said that you and Chuck had some scene in the cafeteria yesterday." Jughead inquired softly, his fingers lightly brushing against Betty's shoulder.
"It wasn't a big deal," she replied, with a quick shake of her head and a tight smile as she stared back at Jughead, attempting to brush off the whole conversation. Despite her best efforts of using her "perfect girl next door" persona, Jughead could sense an uneasiness to her tone.
Unconvinced, Jughead's face fell slightly as he turned to stare back towards the large movie screen in front of him, lightly chewing the side of his lip as he pondering his next question. "What exactly happened between you guys that night?" Jughead asked, his head turning back to Betty, his tone not accusatory but merely curious. His hand on her shoulder opened in an almost shrug like gesture, not that she could see it.
Never quite keeping eye contact, Betty answered, "Veronica asked me to keep the details under wraps, okay?" Her voice strong but still a quiet whisper. She seemed to be trying to convincing herself of her statement as much as him. Her eyes finally met his, her perfectly manicured eyebrows raising in a silent, but final question.
Jughead felt unsure of how to respond, an awkwardness seeping into the atmosphere around them. Betty was always honest with him. From investigating Jason's murder to discussing her family or his, they didn't have secrets. This was new territory for him. For them. Jughead subconsciously closed his hand in a light fist behind her back.
"Yea, alright," he responded curtly, and with a slight nod of his head as he held her gaze. Betty nodded along with him, before glancing down and away, her body language signaling she wanted the conversation to be over. "No worries," Jughead continued, "I only really ask because he made it sound like you were upset." Jughead voice was thick with vulnerability towards the end, at the idea that Betty might not be happy and he just wanted to help. His left hand rubbed against her shoulder, his body angling a bit to face his girl as he spoke, willing her to communicate her uneasiness to him so they could get past it.
"No," Betty interjected with a quick tilt of her head, "If I was upset about anything it was that I had to hear about your birthday from Archie and not you, Jug," she teased lightly, her face bright with a mix of incredulity and warmth for the boy next to her. As Betty teased in her soothing voice, her face and breathe both closer to his face as she spoke, Jughead had to glance away and up to the ceiling to suppress an eye roll. In that moment, all awkwardness was forgotten and they were just two happy teenagers celebrating a birthday movie night.
With a deep sigh, his beanie and jacket both feeling a bit heavy, Jughead knew the Nancy Drew side of Betty wanted answers. He was momentarily saved from answering that dreadful question twice when the lights in the theater suddenly went down. Instead, Jughead opted for a sardonic response he knew would bring that beautiful smile back to Betty's pink lips. Looking up at the dark screen, Jughead leaned slightly over and whispered, "Yeah, well, I didn't think you were an American Werewolf kind of girl," a small smile playing on his lips.
"Oh, that's where your wrong Jughead Jones," Betty quipped beside him, glancing up briefly to meet his amused gaze. "I'm all about the beast within," she finished before taking a swig of their shared soda. Jughead's gaze was still locked on her face, a look of pure adoration across his features for the girl who could match his wit and humor with such precision. Maybe birthdays with Betty were something to look forward too, he thought.
Laughing lightly to himself, Jughead turned to look back at the movie screen as the picture began. As the screen illuminated with the horror picture that were about to witness, his hand rested lightly on Betty's shoulder, his girl snuggled into his side trying to suppress her smirk with their drink, Jughead realized he might actually enjoy his new birthday tradition with his Betts by his side.