"Welcome to the Serpents. Officially."
Swallowing, Toni glanced around before her gaze settled back on Jughead's fresh tattoo. She could see the faint pink marks surrounded the tattoo of the irritated skin. It almost made her smile, but Jughead's fresh wounds stopped her. There was something admiring about the way he held himself. He would be a great leader one day, provided the town of Riverdale didn't cease to exist.
Toni murmured, "You're gonna have a hard time hiding that from Betty." She couldn't help but let a trace of bitterness escape her tone. Luckily, Jughead didn't seem to notice. Instead, he caught her gaze thrillingly.
"I think that's a non-issue now."
Toni drew in a sharp breath at his words, taken aback immediately. She dissected his words. She heard them, even understood them. And it scared her. So much. She tilted her head up slightly, meeting Jughead's deep-set blue eyes, just a ring of buffed sapphire glowing in the dim. To her astonishment—and much to her pleasure—he held her gaze. She saw raw pain in his eyes.
Toni's body took precedent over her mind.
She leaned forward and kissed Jughead softly on the lips, her mouth meeting his for the first time. Nervous pleasure raced through her, and she didn't think she felt anything so—forgive her language—magical. Toni hadn't felt the feeling in a long time. She hadn't realized that she had missed it. She also realized something else in that one instant: he was kissing her back.
She could sense his pain in that kiss. She wanted to take it all away.
No, Toni wasn't Betty, and Jughead probably still had feelings for the pretty girl with the sassy ponytail. But Toni was Toni, and she cared about Jughead, too. And maybe it was wrong for kissing him, but she wasn't taking advantage of him. She did care about him. That was the difference. And she knew how much he cared—still cared—for Betty. And that hurt. But was it so wrong to want him?
She knew it wasn't going to last. She knew that whatever they might come to would never last. But she took the leap of faith anyway.