Hi Everyone! i know this couple is quite unconventional but if you haven't noticed, i like unconventional couples! I love Pll and Riverdale and this one-shot just sprung on me! it's a bit angsty though. hope you enjoy it! Apologies for any spelling/grammatical errors.
I have to clarify few changes I made: after A(Wren, that's what i would have liked) was caught during the girls' sophomore year of high school because the police was actually competent( lol), Ashley, who is Clifford's sister decided to move back to Riverdale for a fresh start during holidays before junior year. They were all in the same year.
Disclaimer: I don't own PLL and Riverdale
WORDS LEFT UNSAID
Hanna inhaled the cold, crisp air and let it out in a heavy sigh. The night was cool but not cool enough that she would need an outer coat. But of course, it wouldn't be Hanna if she didn't look flawless. She wore a simple peach blouse with light blue torn jeans and high heeled open toe ankle boots. Her curly hair was now shoulder length. For girls like Cheryl, Veronica and Hanna, it all was effortlessly when it came to style. They always looked good no matter what they had on.
She finally found a bench and sat down, looking around the dark night, leaves rustling in the background. The streets were practically deserted, save for a couple of occasional people who passed by. She could almost make up the neon sign of pop's diner somewhere in the distance.
She hadn't been around for the past five years, eager to discover the world and leave her mark. However at some point, she felt the need to go back to her roots.
They had all moved on to some degree: From what Archie had told her, Cheryl had taken over or to be more precise, had successfully revived the 'family business', Veronica had gone back to New York city and was enrolled into something she didn't really remember after taking a couple of gap years travelling, Betty was interning at some law firm while Archie attended community college and helped Fred with the business after the latter was involved in an accident that left him partially paralyzed.
And then, there was him. She had often wondered what had become of him over the years that she'd been away. She had wondered if his eyes still held as many emotions as he felt. If he still wore his signature beanie or if coffee was still his poison.
She was so lost in thought that she never noticed that someone was approaching the bench she was sitting on.
"Fancy seeing you here." The voice she had missed so much for the past years resonated in the silence of the night. Hanna shivered, almost feeling her heart in her throat. She could remember the countless times she had seen him in her dreams, whispering to her everything she'd wished he had said. But those things were for another girl, sadly.
"Well, it was always my spot." She lifted her head and was greeted with the handsome face of none other than Jughead Jones. His right foot rested on the edge of the bench and his arms were crossed at the elbows on his bent knee. He still had his signature beanie but his hair had grown slightly longer. He was taller, his shoulders broader.
"You mean our spot." He corrected her teasingly, his eyes roaming over her body.
"That it was." She conceded, looking into his eyes. He seemed older. Of course, they were all older, but Jughead's eyes looked as if he'd seen it all. She had always known that he was an old soul. An old tortured soul who didn't feel worthy of anyone's love.
He dropped his foot to the ground and took a sit next to her. He was dressed in a black tux with a white untucked shirt and loose tie. His trademark beanie and converse gave his appearance the 'Jughead' flair that only he could pull off effortlessly. He flicked his lighter open and lit a cigarette.
"You still look beautiful you know. I like the short hair and all; makes it hard to grab but it suits you." He took a long drag of his cigarette.
"And you've started smoking I see." Hanna said in a disapproving tone.
"What can I say? I had to pick a poison." He chuckled.
"I thought yours was coffee." Hanna commented, remembering the countless times they had shared coffee in the wee hours of the morning while talking about their favorite authors, well mostly him while she told him about her dreams of going to Paris and Italy to study fashion.
"But that was our thing, after you left, I had to pick something that didn't remind me so much of you." Jughead sighed and looked at her with a sad smile.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I never was able to enjoy coffee as much."
They both knew they were dancing around the issue; that much hadn't changed between the two of them. They were never good at dealing with feelings. They had come close so many times but had always held back. Hanna would often make light of the situation while Jughead would just use sarcasm and the subject matter would be put off for later.
"Looking smart I see, any special occasion?" Hanna looked at him with a smirk, knowing the fact that he hated dressing up.
"Aye aye, dinner at la casa Cooper." Jughead replied with faux cheer, shaking his head.
"That bad huh?" She knew Alice and Hal only saw Jug and his dad as something that could be stuck at the bottom of their shoes.
"You know them Han, I am not exactly what parents wish for their daughters." He rolled his eyes and took another drag of his cigarette.
"As long as Betty loves you, that's all that matters. Congrats on the engagement by the way." Hanna mustered all of her energy to smile but she couldn't. She felt as if she had swallowed thousands of shards of glasses.
"Thanks, would have sent you a card but I suppose that implied me knowing where to find you which I didn't."
"How is FP?" Hanna decided to change the subject, she wasn't ready to deal with where he was headed just yet.
"He's good you know, he'll be ecstatic to know you're back. You should come by, he'll make you his famous beef stew." Jughead smiled at her fondly.
"Oh, how I missed that stew, I'd marry him for it!" Hanna joked with a laugh.
"Are you kidding me? The whole town would!" They both shared a laugh. In that moment, it felt like old times where they could just talk about everything and not worry about anything.
They had developed an unlikely friendship to say the least. No one understood how two people who were so essentially different could be friends. When she had moved to Riverdale over the holidays after sophomore year, she was the talk of the town. There had been rumors that her friends and she had been victims of some sort of deranged stalker. Being Cheryl's cousin, she didn't disappoint. She was as every bit gorgeous as was expected. Jughead had to scoff whenever Archie would drool over her and lose any ability to utter any coherent word. Betty and Veronica were weary of anyone related to the Blossoms while Kevin couldn't help but admire her sense of style. And of course Reggie and his posse couldn't wait to hit on her.
Jughead only saw another blonde privileged whiny brat who was probably entitled. But when the school year had started, he didn't expect her to be as real as she had been. She carried a darkness around her that he couldn't help but be attracted to. He had been in charge of interviewing the new student and had expected flippant answers but she had given him much more, her soul. Deep down, she was more than the designer clothes she wore or the people who seemed to gravitate toward her. However, they didn't become besties overnight.
"So, Paris huh?" He asked in a conversational tone but she knew him. She knew he was angry with her but was trying to ease her into talking about why he sought her out, or maybe she did seek him out. After all, she went to their spot.
"You've always known that's where I was headed." She shrugged lightly, looking at the empty street.
"Yeah, I always knew you'd go places Han. You were always too good for this place." For me.
"But this is home, just as much as Rosewood is Jug. I could go to the ends of the earth but I'll always come back you know." To you
"Yeah, but this is the kind of town that sucks the life out of you until you give your all. And then all you're left with are regrets and bad choices." Jughead leaned back and crossed his legs at the ankles.
"What is life without regrets though? We'd never get stronger otherwise. We'd just be cowards who couldn't face our past."
"Is that why you came back? To face your past because of your regrets?" He finally turned his upper body to face her, but she just stared at the road in front of her.
"I don't know, maybe." She admitted softly. "Hey, how are things with Betty?"
"They're good you know. She has already made collages of the wedding and prepared everything." He chuckled and then sobered up. "It's in three months, you should come."
Hell No! She wanted to scream. She felt her heart being torn apart, no worse, being put in a meat grinder. She needed to leave, to go back to Paris and move on with her life.
"Sure. Is Your family coming to the wedding?" She was referring to the South Side Serpents.
"I don't know, Betty isn't really comfortable with the idea." Jughead sighed and Hanna felt for him. She knew how much they meant to him and how they always had his back.
"I am sorry, maybe you can have something with them later." She offered as a way of consoling him.
"Yeah…maybe, you should come by and see them before you leave, they'll be happy to see you." He gave her a genuine smile.
"I'd love to."
"So...how was Paris?" He changed the subject suddenly, catching her slightly off guard but she recovered quickly.
"It was good, lots and lots of French. You would have loved the mimes and croissants." She laughed.
"Any French men I should be polishing my gun over?" He lifted a brow questioningly and somehow Hanna felt he was dead serious despite his light tone.
"I was there to study Jug, not moon over guys." She rolled her eyes at him.
"I had to ask, five years is a long time." He shrugged, dropping his cigarette and crushing it under his converse.
"Well there has been no one." She shrugged as well. Other than you. But she dared not say it.
"I feel so flattered." He deadpanned sarcastically.
"Jug_
"Why?" He finally asked and looked at her intensely, the lightheartedness gone in a blink.
"You know why." She shifted uncomfortably and looked down at her hands.
"No, I don't. You were gone for five years. Five years! It didn't occur once to reach out? But of course you would have had to say goodbye first." He looked at her with so much hurt and anger that she felt ashamed.
"I wanted to Jughead, so much. But I_I couldn't." She stood up abruptly and started walking, not knowing where she was going, she just needed to get away from him and his questions.
"But you could with Archie." He let out a harsh laugh. "Of course, it has always been Archie!"
"Archie has nothing to do with this, you know what? Forget it, I am sure Betty is waiting for you." She hissed and resumed her walk.
"You don't get to run away, not this time Han!" He was on his feet immediately and caught up with her in two long strides. He caught her by the elbow and spun her around, her face almost slamming in his chest.
"Look, I don't want to talk about it." She said, not looking him in the face.
"Talk about what? I hate to break it to you but I happen to want to talk about it, you've been selfish enough!" He dropped her elbow. They were so close but yet, not touching. They were angrily facing each other.
"What good will it do jug, huh? We're no longer the naïve kids we once were!" She shouted, covering her distress with anger.
"We never were naïve and you know it! The others like Archie always had that blinding optimism but never us, we saw things through different lenses because of the horror we had both seen. You and I always got each other on a different level. And yeah, we were all friends with Veronica, Betty, Archie, Kev and sometimes your cousin but the two of us were always different. Admit it." He said, his eyes pleading with her.
"I saw Betty and you." Hanna blurted out with a sigh, suddenly feeling tired of all their games.
"What?" If the issue wasn't so serious, Hanna would have found his confused face so cute.
"I went to your trailer that day, before I left and I saw the two of you. The way you looked at her and kissed her…I knew in that moment that I'd never have the place I wanted in your life. She was the kind of girl that you needed. She was so pure and innocent and I was just me. That day, I finally realized that she was not only the one you wanted but the one you needed."
The confession hung between the two of them and Hanna looked at him, begging him to understand.
"Han, I_I, damn!" He swore softly and rubbed his face tiredly, turning to the side.
She took a step back with a sad nod.
"Look, it was long ago, I just thought you should know." She smiled sadly.
"Han, please stop talking." Pause. "I had never been in love with Betty or anything. I can admit to being infatuated at some point but it was never love. What you saw was a mistake. And if you had just asked me, I would have told you. I thought we were better than this Han, I thought we talked about things."
"Jug_
"Please let me finish." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "When we first met, I thought you were just another dumb blonde with daddy issues_
"How flattering." She scoffed. "Sorry." She looked properly chastised after he gave her a glare.
"But the more I got to know you, the more I wanted to peel off those layers. You were so much more Han and so strong for having gone through what you went through and still stand tall. When you opened up to me and told me what happened to you and your friends, I admired you and understood you on some level. I had seen darkness, I lived and reveled in it but you hid it well. You could fool the others but never me. Your eyes showed so much that I could sometimes see myself in them. You accepted me completely. The others could never fully accept my Serpents' side. But you had no qualms about strutting your way into the south side, demand to see me and put in my place in front of everyone." He chuckled at the fond memory.
"Well, you wouldn't return my calls, I wasn't about to let you wallow in your self pity." Hanna smirked. "And to be honest, I was so scared."
"That day was the day I realized I wanted you! Hell, you gained the respect of my people, especially FP. He told me to put it under lock and key or I'd regret it." He laughed. "I saw your kindness and generosity. But me? I was a damaged kid from the wrong side of town. What could I possibly offer you? You were going places that I wasn't. And then, when Betty came around, we talked about you and ended up kissing. Not my finest moment." He took her hands in his, his eyes begging her to believe him.
Hanna didn't know what to say. It was so much to take in.
"And despite it all you got engaged." She remarked in an accusatory tone.
"You left! You don't get to make me the bad guy here! I didn't know how to find you and Betty, she was there, Okay? She helped me cope with your absence, she was there every day until it finally clicked. I owe her a lot." He explained with a pained expression. "I can't just leave her. She was there when you weren't."
"I know…I just, I want you to be happy. If she's the one to do that, then I am happy for you." She tried to hold her tears but could barely do it.
"Han_
"Do you…love her?" She asked unsure.
"I don't know." He sighed, suddenly looking way older than his twenty-three years of age.
"We never had much luck with timing huh?" She returned his sad smile.
"Love never chooses."
"Is this what this is? Love?"
"Don't know what else it could be." He caressed her cheek and she leaned into his touch.
"I am leaving tomorrow." She suddenly stepped away from his embrace.
"I want you to stay."
"I can't, this is too hard, I am going to Rosewood, I'm overdue for a visit anyways." She shook her head firmly.
"Hanna, I have to say it, before I never get this chance again, I am in love with you. Always have and always will." He cradled her head in his hands.
"You can't say that!" She hissed angrily.
"And why not? It's the truth! I promised you I'd never lie to you." He replied just as angrily.
"Betty doesn't deserve this Jug, she's too good for that."
"I know…but we spent our lives skirting around this, I needed to say it. I love Betty but I'll never love her like I love you, you need to know that." He stepped closer to her and took her soft hands in his rough ones and looked at her face. He tried to memorize the look of pure adoration on her face because he somehow knew it was the last time he'd ever see it.
"I love you too Jughead Jones, always and forever." She kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"I wish you could come with me tonight, and let me show you how much I love you." His eyes darkened by desire almost begged her.
"We can't"
"I know." He nodded in understanding and felt foolish for giving in just for a second.
"Goodbye Jughead."
She slipped her hands out of his, turned around and walked away from him. She had decided that this would be the last time that she ever saw him. She couldn't pretend to be happy for them, not when she knew that he loved her and not Betty, but at the same time, she would respect their vows and keep away.
Jughead looked at her, probably walking away from his life forever. He was so lost, how was he supposed to go back to Betty when the love of his life was slipping further away with every step she took?
And this is it! Please R&R my lovelies!